Jason returned home at five in the afternoon, reeking of alcohol. He had gotten completely wasted last night and had been drinking again at lunch today.

Evelyn sensed that something was off. Jason had a low tolerance for alcohol and rarely drank, so when he did, it would take him at least ten days to recover from a hangover. Maybe he was just trying to numb his worries about the Stark family; alcohol could provide a temporary escape and make things feel a little easier. That was the only reason she could think of.

After Jason got back, he showered and headed straight for the guest room. Evelyn didn’t want to deal with him, but for some reason, she was worried about him damaging his stomach with all that alcohol. So, she brewed a cup of strong tea and took it to him.

As she was making the tea, she couldn’t help but scold herself: Evelyn, you’re not just foolish; you’re pathetic! Even if Jason ends up with a stomach ulcer, it’s his own fault. When he wakes up, he won’t even glance your way; you’re just meddling in his business!

She walked into the guest room and glanced at Jason, who had his eyes tightly shut, clearly asleep. She gently set the cup on the nightstand and turned to leave, but unexpectedly, Jason suddenly grabbed her!

She stumbled and found herself pinned under him. Just as she was about to get up, Jason rolled over and pushed her down again.

“Evelyn.” The way he said her name made her notice the faint redness in his eyes.

She looked away from him. “You’ve had too much to drink. Just have some strong tea, sleep it off, and you’ll be fine.”

“I feel awful—” Jason grabbed her face, forcing her to look into his eyes.

She replied softly, “You already have a low tolerance, and you’ve been drinking heavily for two days straight. Of course, you’re going to feel bad.”

“It’s my heart that hurts, not my stomach—” Jason turned away, lying down with a heavy sigh. “Forget it; you wouldn’t understand.”

Evelyn’s heart was already as cold as ashes from Jason’s words, so she didn’t feel like probing any deeper and chose to focus on her own matters.

Jason slept until the evening and left for the hospital after freshening up, leaving Evelyn alone in the large house. That night, he didn’t come back, and she didn’t bother to ask where he was.

On Sunday morning, she went to watch a movie with Jean and spent the afternoon strolling down the pedestrian street. It wasn’t until Monday morning, when she was heading to work, that Evelyn realized it had been two nights and a day since she last saw Jason.

She suspected it might be due to the elder Mr. Stark’s deteriorating condition, or perhaps Jason was off doing who knows what. She typed a message for Jason but deleted it before sending. What do the Stark family and their issues have to do with me?

If anything serious happened to the elder Mr. Stark, Jason would naturally reach out to her for support. Why should she waste her energy worrying about someone who didn’t deserve it?

With Director Logan and the vice station manager both in trouble, a new leader was coming on board. At the meeting, the new leader got acquainted with each position.

The new station manager, Dane, was in his forties, down-to-earth, and serious about his work. He had spent over a decade at a county TV station and five years ago had been promoted to the Riverton Municipal Publicity Department due to his excellent work. Now, he had been entrusted with the station manager position during a crisis.

Dane was fired up and ready to go. He mentioned that the host competition had garnered significant public attention due to the scandal, and they needed to expedite the semifinals and finals while ensuring fairness and transparency.

William had his secretary send the interview content to the program team by nine in the morning. Out of courtesy, Evelyn replied on WhatsApp, “I’ve received the interview content. Thank you, Mr. Leighton.”

At that moment, she realized she still hadn’t received the money from the transfer William made yesterday. After a moment’s thought, she sent another message: “Mr. Leighton, please make sure to collect the money.”

William didn’t respond.

Around noon, William called her.

“I heard the semifinals for the host competition are set for this Saturday. I need to move my niece’s tutoring session up.”

“Your niece is participating in the competition too?” Evelyn couldn’t believe how coincidental that was.

“Not only is she participating, but she also scored pretty high to advance.” William chuckled. “Isn’t it funny? You’re actually one of her judges.”

Evelyn had interviewed hundreds of candidates and couldn’t remember which one William was talking about. “With the new leadership at the station, my workload has increased significantly, so tutoring can only be done in the evenings.”

“We can work around your schedule. Starting tonight, as long as you have time, you can decide the specific times and duration for tutoring until Friday.”

“Let’s see how it goes. If her professional level is either too good or too poor, it won’t make much difference whether we do the tutoring or not.” Penny had mentioned that half of the candidates who made it to the next round had done so through monetary means, and Evelyn had no idea how skilled William's niece actually was.

“I finish work at six-thirty and can start at seven. It’s not convenient for me here, so Mr. Leighton will need to provide a relatively quiet place.”

“Let’s meet at Platinum Estate. I have a small apartment there that’s close to the station, which will save you travel time.”

“That works. Mr. Leighton, please send me the address, and I’ll head over after work.”

After ending the call, Evelyn felt that dealing with William was quite pleasant. When she communicated with Jason, even without arguing, it was rarely this easy.

The station placed a lot of importance on her securing the interview with William, assigning someone specifically to communicate details with his secretary. After work, the director of Business Talks gathered the key staff for a brief meeting. Evelyn rushed over to Platinum Estate, arriving at seven-fifteen.

William had been waiting in the parking lot for quite a while. As she got out of her car, she quickly apologized, “Sorry, I had a short meeting right before I left work.”

“I understand. We all have our circumstances,” William replied, gesturing for her to enter.

William was dressed casually in light-colored clothing, a refreshing contrast to his usual corporate look. Platinum Estate and 9Bliss Garden were similarly priced, both occupying prime real estate in Riverton. William’s apartment was a single unit per floor, offering ample privacy.

As she turned the doorknob, a bright, sunny girl rushed to greet her, beaming as she exclaimed, “Miss Joy, do you remember me?”

“Sophie!” Evelyn was taken aback. Out of the hundreds of candidates she had personally interviewed during the auditions, there were no more than ten who she truly remembered, and Sophie was definitely the one who stood out the most!

“I knew you’d remember Sophie! This saves me from having to introduce her,” William said as he took her coat and handbag, hanging them on the rack by the door.

“But wait, I distinctly remember your personal profile stated—” Evelyn felt a bit confused.

To support Jenny’s advancement, Director Logan and her colleagues had suggested eliminating Sophie from the competition. But Sophie had shown such strong skills, and Evelyn, wanting to protect her, had made the unilateral decision to keep Sophie and let Jenny be eliminated instead. As punishment, Director Logan had docked her five million in advertising performance.

“My profile mentioned my father passed away early and that my mother is a sanitation worker—” Sophie laughed lightly as she continued, “I wanted to prove myself through my abilities, so I made up some details about my parents. Some judges look down on people; they would eliminate me just to let Jenny advance for a little money, ignoring their conscience.”

“How do you know all this?” Evelyn was increasingly puzzled.

Sophie took Evelyn’s hand in hers. “I have connections in the studio. They told me that you had been scolded by Logan for trying to help me.”