Chapter 243


    The weekend flew by in the blink of an eye. As Sophia did quite a bit of exercise for the past two days,


    she almost overslept. In fact, she would have beente to Sunshine Group''s morning meeting on


    Monday if she had not set the rm the night before.


    Around noon, she emerged from the conference room, with Yvonne catching up to her. “Ms. Yarrow.”


    Sophia looked at her secretary with a smile and queried, “What is it? Did the Cooper family make a


    move?”


    She had not forgotten about her bet with Alexander.


    “Not yet.” Yvonne shook her head before bringing another matter to her employer''s attention.


    “Jadeborough University gave me a call today. They''re having an anniversary celebration this


    Wednesday and would like to invite you as one of the special guests.”


    Raising her brows, Sophia replied, “Reject them.”


    She was not one to enjoy such events.


    “Understood, Ms. Yarrow.”


    Right after Yvonne spoke, an assistant walked over with an invitation card in her hand. “Ms. Leighton,


    Ms. Yarrow, this is the invitation card from Jadeborough University.”


    Sophia took the card over and gave the content a once-over. The signature affixed at the bottom of the


    card belonged to the chancellor of the university, Marcus Rubis, indicating that he was the one who


    extended the invitation to her.


    After she was done reading, she folded the invitation card and was about to hand it to Yvonne when the


    latter''s phone rang.


    shing an apologetic nce at Sophia, Yvonne said, “My apologies, Ms. Yarrow. I need to pick up


    this call.”


    Sophia nodded in acknowledgment and decided to bring the invitation card back to her office.


    However, no sooner had she taken a few steps forward than Yvonne ran up to her with her phone in


    hand. “Please hold on for a moment, Ms. Yarrow,” thetter voiced.


    “Hm?”


    Yvonne covered the phone''s microphone and exined, “It''s a call from Jadeborough University''s


    chancellor, Mr. Rubin. He asks that youe to the phone if you''re avable.”


    Truth be told, Sophia''s four-year experience at Jadeborough University could neither be described as


    good nor bad.


    As a beautiful girl who was often chauffeured around in a luxury car, it was unavoidable for rumors and


    gossip about her to circte on the campus.


    In the year of her graduation, Sophia was embroiled in a rather high-key incident, and it was Marcus


    who personally settled it for her.


    She had no qualms about rejecting a call from anyone else, but she had to answer the call from


    Marcus.


    “I''ll take it.” Sophia took the phone from her secretary and greeted the man on the other end of the line,


    “Hello, Mr. Rubin.”


    “It''s been a while, Sophia. Will you be attending the university''s anniversary celebration?”


    Sophia was quite close to the chancellor, getting Yvonne to send him some gifts during the festive


    season. Although they rarely kept in touch with one another, she remembered Marcus fondly.


    The man did not beat around the bush. Hence, Sophia smiled and decided not to mince her words. “Mr.


    Rubin, you know my personality. I''m not suited for these events.”


    Marcus''ugh sounded from the other end of the line. “I know, I know. That''s why I''m personally giving


    you a call. We''re inviting you because we''d like to allow our current students towork with some of


    our best alums. Besides you, we''ve also invited your senior, Joshua Lewis. Since you two have


    partnered up and started apany together, why don''t you let him do all the talking if you''re not up for


    it?”


    He paused for a moment before continuing in mock anger, “Well, you think you''d be let off the hook by


    sending me gifts every year? If you still remember me after graduating years ago, why wouldn''t you


    drop by for a visit?”


    Sophia chuckled at Marcus'' response. “Now that you''ve put it that way, won''t it be disrespectful of me


    to continue rejecting your invitation? Don''t worry; I''ll definitely be attending the celebration with


    Joshua.”


    “Good, good! You don''t have to worry about anything too. You and Joshua are well-known among the


    students. They''ve been making a fuss about wanting to meet you, so I''m shamelessly giving you a call


    for their sake. Also, when you twoe over, I assure you that you won''t be harassed by the media.”


    Verily, she was ttered beyond words. It was Jadeborough University''s seventieth-anniversary


    celebration, and the event was widely publicized. At the moment, Sophia could be considered a “hot


    topic,” so it would not be weird for the media to pay extra attention to her upon her return to the


    university.


    Yet, Marcus was assuring her that they would not be harassed by the media. It showed that he was


    being immensely considerate of them.


    Regardless of whether his purpose of inviting them back to the university had to do for the sake of


    Jadeborough University''s future graduates, she could not deny that Marcus had her and Joshua''s best


    interests at heart.


    Given what he said, there was no reason for Sophia to continue rejecting the invitation. “You''ve put in


    so much effort, so naturally, I''d be there no matter what.”


    There was no need for Marcus to say anything else after receiving a satisfactory response. “All right. In


    that case, I''ll stop disturbing you any further and let you get on with your work.”


    Back then, Sophia entered Jadeborough University as the highest achiever in the entire state, which


    brought great prestige to the university.


    Being the highest achiever, she also received an offer from Quadfield University before the results were


    even released.


    Although Jadeborough University was reputable, Marcus knew it was almost impossible to get the


    state''s highest achiever to join them.


    To his surprise, Sophia rejected the offer from Quadfield University and enrolled in Jadeborough


    University instead.


    At that time, Marcus was so excited that he almost fell over when he caught wind of the news from the


    Admissions Office.


    The state''s highest achiever had chosen Jadeborough University, catapulting them to fame in the blink


    of an eye. The university was even featured on the news. Countless mediapanies wanted to


    interview Sophia, but she rejected all of them. She was only a young girl at the time, so of course, it


    was no surprise that she received some help dealing with the media, and the person who aided her


    was none other than Marcus.


    On her first day in university, he went to her dorm and met her in person.


    Sophia had juste of age. When she saw him, she smiled at him amiably. Not a hint of nervousness


    or excessive politeness could be seen in her as she calmly told Marcus the reason she had chosen


    Jadeborough University.


    Marcus knew at once that she would be an incredibly talented individual in the future.


    Last year, countless rumors regarding Sophia''s divorce from Odyssey''s chairman, Alexander, circted


    on the inte. In fact, there were numerous posts on the university''s forum which imed that they


    were all disillusioned with Sophia. However, Marcus firmly believed that the calm andposed young


    lady he knew was not what the inte described her to be.


    He became even more convinced of her caliber upon seeing her performance at Expedite''s recent


    stockholder meeting.


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    Soon after, it was revealed that Sophia was one of the founders of Technology Innovations, and


    countless headlines emerged once more. No one expected that a youngdy, who was merely twenty


    years old, would have the courage to invest such a huge amount of money in Technology Innovations''


    smart home system project.


    Artificial intelligence was not popr in the country at that time, and even Marcus had not heard of


    such technology. If it were not for Sophia''s gutsy investment, Jadeborough University would not have


    been able to produce another talent like Joshua.


    Although Marcus invited Sophia for the sake of the university''s future, he truly wanted to see her again.


    Very soon, Sophia received a message from Katherine. Thetter inquired about Jadeborough


    University''s anniversary celebration on theing Wednesday, texting: I''m envious! I want to be an


    alumnus, too.


    Katherine did not graduate from Jadeborough University, but she liked to pose as a student of the


    university and praise Sophia on the university''s forum back in the day.


    The anniversary celebration was a big deal. Naturally, Sophia and Joshua were invited to the event as


    esteemed alums.


    If Katherine were not afraid of Jonice''s scolding, she would definitely tag along with her friend to


    witness the celebration.


    Sophia smiled and replied: Firstly, you have to be a student of Jadeborough University.


    Feeling as though her intellect was being insulted, Katherine wrote back: That''s mean!


    Is Jadeborough University that impressive? Fine, it is. I only needed forty more points to enroll in the


    university, but s, this is the fate of an underachiever.