Being Pursued By Ex-husband

Perrin hadn't seen Carter for a long time. John was also Carter's comrade-in-arms before he retired from the military. The three of them chatted about old times, completely unaware of the time flying by.

Maximilian had specifically tagged along with his father there that night to meet his idol, Sophia. Initially, he wanted to discuss how he could achieve such high scores as Sophia on every examination. However, after asking a few questions, he realized that having an extraordinary intelligence quotient was an innate privilege.

Not to mention, Sophia had a high IQ and was also a hardworking student. It came as no surprise that her grades were always outstanding.

Maximilian's results were not bad, and getting into a top-tier university wasn't a problem for him. Still, he had ambitions, and his current grades were still a little lacking to enter his desired school.

Now that he realized the fundamental reason for Sophia's excellent grades, Maximilian felt somewhat disheartened.

Sensing his silence, Sophia knew she might have inadvertently dampened his hopes.

She took a sip of coffee before turning to smile at the young man. “What's the matter? Are you feeling discouraged?”

Maximilian had always been an exemplary student since childhood. In addition, because of Carter's profession and Maximilian being a boy, the latter developed a prideful character.

His questions and Sophia's answers had indeed caused him to lose heart.

Maximilian wasn't adept at lying, but he was also too embarrassed to admit that he had been demoralized by the few questions.

As a result, he blushed and remained silent.

Sophia arched her brow and said, “Are there any students who come from particularly wealthy families in your class?”

At his age, Maximilian had yet to understand the connection between family background and studying. Hearing Sophia's words, he merely assumed she was changing the topic of discussion and nodded. “Yes. Our class prefect and class representative both came from rich families. The class prefect's parents own a company, so they are loaded, while the class representative's father is the chairman of a listed company, and his mother is the lady boss of an art exam training center.”

“Do you envy their wealth? Do you feel inferior because of that?”

Maximilian was baffled after hearing that. “Why should I envy their wealth? Those are things their parents gave them. Their parents worked hard for them before they were born. Besides, there are also students from low-income families in my class. Although my family is not exceptionally rich, we don't lack money. I am still blessed with having pocket money to spend, so why should I feel inferior? Moreover, if I perform well in the university entrance exam, get into a top university, and work harder to further my studies, I may earn a decent amount of money after graduating.”

Students are naive, after all. Sophia smiled. “So, why do you feel discouraged because my IQ is high and I achieve such good grades? My intelligence is innate, just like others' family backgrounds. These are things beyond our control. Even though someone's IQ cannot be altered, a person's family background can. Similarly, academic performances can be changed too. I believe you don't need me to tell you the story about how the clumsy birds have to start flying early, right, Max? My talent just makes it a little easier for me to do well in my studies compared to others, but if you work harder, it doesn't mean you can't catch up with me one day.”

Listening to their conversation from one side, Kylie couldn't stop herself from chuckling. “Max, Sophia rarely puts so much effort into consoling someone. If you still feel disheartened, she will probably be depressed.”

Sophia glanced at Kylie without refuting the latter. “If the future pillar of our nation decided to give up on pursuing his dreams because of me, that'll be an unforgivable sin on my part,” she chimed in.

Maximilian fathomed Sophia's intent, blushing slightly in embarrassment. “Thank you, Sophia.”

“You're welcome.” Sophia grinned and picked up her handbag. “Excuse me. I'm going to the restroom.”

Kylie nodded in response. Sophia glanced at Perrin, who was happily chatting with Carter and the others. She didn't interrupt them and got up to leave the room.

Carter booked the hotel, which had just recently opened for business. That was Sophia's first time visiting that place, so when she stepped out of the private room and reached the junction at the end of the corridor, which splits into several paths, she couldn't figure out where the restroom was.

Fortunately, she ran into a waiter who showed her the direction to the restroom.

The restroom wasn't crowded, so it didn't take Sophia long to finish using the toilet.

The time was past eight at night. Many of the guests in the other private rooms had finished their dinners and were dispersing. Sophia noticed a group of people moving in her direction, so she instinctively stepped aside to let them pass.

Heath Barker didn't see Sophia at first. However, Shiloh Chambers, standing beside him, suddenly nudged him and said exaggeratedly, “Heath, look at that. Hurry up and take a look. Where did that beauty come from? She's gorgeous!”

Heath was absorbed in a popular game on Twitter and on the verge of advancing to the next level. Shiloh's disturbance had caused him to lose his in-game progress. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and shifted his gaze upward to see Sophia, dressed in a pink floral dress, standing quietly at one side.

The square collar of the dress revealed her delicate neck. As he looked up, Sophia's exquisite countenance entered his vision. She was slightly lowering her head, and from his point of view, her glossy, rosy lips resembled freshly cleansed cherries.