Chapter 17
Chapter 17 Never Seen Him Before
The moment Sophie went out of school, Butterfly called.
“What’s up?”
“Are you at Jipsdale?” Butterfly asked. She had not seen Phantom in person ever since the establishment of Wings of Light. Now that she was at Jipsdale, naturally, she wanted to meet the young woman.
“Yes.” It was not as if Sophie was planning to hide from anyone.
“Let’s meet, then!” Butterfly excitedly cried out.
“Why?” Is there a need for us to meet each other?”
“I want to meet you! I’ve already seen the other members of Wings of Light. You’re the only one left. I doubt you know about this, but everyone’s curious about you.”
“I’m just an ordinary person.”
“F*ck, Phantom. You’re telling me that you’re an ordinary person? Phantom who topped the first in the hackers’ ranking is telling me that she’s a normal person. Are you joking?”
“Butterfly, there’s a reason for me to be at Jipsdale.”
Once she was done settling those matters, she was going to leave.
“What is it? Do you need our help?” Butterfly promptly asked with concern.
The other members of Wings of Light were all concerned about the youngest but the most impressive member of their organization—Phantom—and Sophie knew that.
“It’s fine. I can deal with it myself.”
“Phantom, you have to remember that you’re not alone. You have all of us backing you up.”
“I’m at Lumen Street. Are you going to come?”
“All right, I’ll be right there. Send me your location.”
I’m about to finally meet Phantom. The others must be jealous!
Sophie had been staying at a café on Lumen Street, which provided laptops to their patrons, ever since she came out of school.
She turned on the laptop and logged into her email account before reading her recent emails.
One of the emails was from Arius Gullifer.
He asked her about when she was going to the international medical association. Sophie replied to the email saying that she had not made up her mind yet.
Just as she was done with the emails, Butterfly arrived. The moment she entered the café, she spotted Sophie.
Even though they had not met before, Butterfly instantly recognized her.
“Phantom, it’s me, Butterfly.” Butterfly took a seat opposite Sophie.
It was then Sophie raised her head to look at the speaker.
“Just call me Sophie.” After all, it was best to avoid calling her Phantom in reality.
“Sophie, how long are you planning to stay at Jipsdale? I have an assignment that I need your help with.”
“What is it? Can you all not deal with it?” Sophie was not planning to take on any assignments for a while.
“Here’s the thing. Dr. Yarren’s missing. Do you know Dr. Yarren?”
“Are you talking about the Dr. Yarren from the Academy of Sciences?”
“That’s right; that’s him. He has a crucial technology with him right now.”
“I see. I understand. I’ll do it.”
“But the payment for this assignment isn’t high.” Or, at least, thirty million was a small sum in comparison with the amount that the major companies offered to Sophie to get her to join them.
“It’s fine.” Hacking was a hobby. Earning money from that hobby was merely an added benefit.
“Is that all about work? Say, why have you come to Jipsdale? Do you really not need our help?”
“I really don’t.”
Right then, Sophie’s phone rang.
“Where are you?” came Tristan’s voice from the speakers the moment Sophie picked up the call.
“I’m at Lumen Street. What’s the matter? Did something happen?” Sophie was confused by the call. Does Tristan have that much time on his hands?
“It’s nothing. I’m going to come to you now. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Who is that?” Butterfly curiously asked.
“A friend’s uncle,” Sophie replied after a moment of thought.
“Uncle?” Her friend’s uncle shouldn’t be that young. With that thought in mind, she added, “Phantom, you have to be careful. Some older men like young girls like you..”
“I know.”
“What do you know? Forget it. No one will dare to be mean to you with us around. As long as you’re in Jipsdale, you can lord over anyone.”
“Butterfly, why didn’t I realize that you’re so humorous in the past?”
Hearing that, Butterfly, who felt that she was too old to be called cute at the age of twenty-five, turned red in the face.
“All right, since you have a friend who’s coming over, I’ll take my leave first. I’ll send you the details of Dr. Yarren’s matter. You can go right ahead to the state office to look for the police captain.” They had to work with the people from the state office as well.
“Okay.”
Not long after Butterfly left, Tristan arrived and sat opposite her.
“How are you feeling? Do you want to go to the hospital?”
“I’m fine. Mr. Tristan, are you really that free?”
“It appears that I am. What’s wrong? Is someone bullying you?”
“I’m the bully. Who would dare to tread on my toes?” Sophie said, unintentionally showing her true colors.
“The doctor has asked you to get proper rest for now, so it’s best that you heed his advice.”
Tristan had been in a rush to come to her, but the moment he saw her, the sense of urgency dissipated.
He then ordered a cup of coffee.
“How are you in Jipsdale Premier High? Fitting in fine?”
“Not bad.”
Sophie was completely unperturbed by Queenie and her gang.
Hearing that, Tristan turned on a laptop, about to work from there.
Both were attractive people—one carried an air of elegance, while the other was a beautiful young woman. Their presence in the small café caught the attention of many.
Tristan did not deliberately try to continue the conversation. Instead, he would chat with her a little once in a while, and somehow, his words enticed her.
Sophie did not mind Tristan staying by her side.
After a round of her game, her phone rang.
“What’s the matter, Grandpa?”
“Soph! Can you come home for dinner tonight? Didn’t you promise me that you’ll come back once a week?” Josiah was rather upset that, even though he had gotten her back from Horington, he still rarely saw her.
“Tonight?”
“What is it? Can’t you even have a meal with your grandpa?”
“All right. I’ll come home tonight.”
“You’d better.” Josiah then told her a few reminders before ending the call.
“Who was it?” Tristan was curious. It was his first time seeing her so meek.
“My grandpa,” was all she said. She did not wish to say anything else to him, for she did not want anyone to intervene in the Tanner family’s affairs.
Sophie then began packing her things. The Tanner residence in Jipsdale was a distance away from the café, and the drive there would take over an hour.
“Let me send you there,” Tristan offered.
Sophie did not reject him and left the café with him.
That day, Tristan was driving a silver Lamborghini. The figure of the car was particularly smooth, and its mere presence was attracting the attention of many passersby.
When those passersby realized that the owner of the car was an extremely handsome man, some women felt the urge to approach him. Unfortunately, the look on Tristan’s face was extremely stern so no one dared to actually come close to him.
Tristan then opened the door to the front passenger seat for Sophie. Once she was inside, he closed the door for her. In other words, he was a perfect gentleman.
That made the women around the car turned green with envy.
“If only I was that woman!” one said wistfully.
“Did you look at yourself in the mirror? She’s young and pretty!” another retorted, thinking, There are few in Jipsdale who can be a match for her!
Meanwhile, Willow, who was shopping with her friends, noticed the commotion.
Why haven’t I seen this man before?
