Orion's words were deliberately ambiguous.

Sophia, standing nearby, could barely maintain her composure. She never expected Orion to bring Lemira to this business dinner.

And now he was getting touchy-feely with her in public. Didn't Orion care about her reputation at all?

Everyone thought she and Orion were a couple.

Lemira glanced back at Orion. Did he have any idea how misleading his words sounded?

His woman?

Orion didn't even look at her. He simply pulled out a chair for Lemira, then took the empty seat next to her.

Lemira's gaze faltered. If she remembered correctly, that seat had been Sophia's just a moment ago.

Hadn't he noticed?

The atmosphere grew tense. Rumor had it that Orion was fiercely protective of a girl he was seeing, but could it really be the streamer SweetLemon?

Sophia, left standing awkwardly, finally spoke up. "Orion, we're here to discuss the new Al project. Ms. Langston isn't familiar with the subject; she'll probably be bored out of her mind."

A rich kid at the table chimed in, "Yeah, what would a streamer understand about this stuff?"

The comment was laced with disdain and condescension.

Sophia walked over to the rich kid, and someone immediately stood up to offer her a seat, a clear sign of deference.

Someone else changed the subject, steering the conversation back to the Al project. "Maple Group winning this bid was a sure thing. They have the strongest technology and the best funding. When the product launches, it's going to dominate the market."

"We owe it all to Mr. Everhart's keen eye. My family was skeptical about this project, but now they're eating their words."

Lemira listened as they discussed the future of the Al project. Once the product was on the market, Maple Group's value would skyrocket, and so would her income.

Sophia said to Lemira with a subtle smile, "If you're bored, feel free to leave at any time. No one will mind."

"I'm fine," Lemira replied coolly.

The rich kid immediately pounced. "Well, it seems the lady is quite interested in our Al project. Do you have anything to add?"

Lemira thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Not at the moment."

It was still the early stages. The projections would all come true eventually, but

talking about them now felt like bragging.

Her answer prompted a laugh from

the rich kid, his eyes filled with mockery. "Miss, if you don't understand you can just ask. No need to pretend you know what's going on."

The mood in the room dropped a few degrees.

Sophia took a sip of her drink, but her eyes were cold. This was the perfect opportunity to teach Lemira a lesson about staying in her lane.

Orion's expression darkened instantly. Just as he was about to speak, Lemira let out a soft laugh.

The rich kid glared at her. "You find this funny, miss? Is pretending to be something you're not amusing?"

"Yes, it's quite amusing."

Lemira looked at him calmly. "You misstated the name of Maple

Group's latest system. You also got its performance specs wrong. The data you quoted was for the

previous version

"That's impossible! How would a streamer know any of this? Did you sneak a peek

at confidential files on Mr. Everhart's computer?"

The rich kid, flustered and angry, glanced instinctively at Sophia, not wanting to lose

face in front of the woman he was trying to impress.

Sophia finally intervened. "Orion, how could you be so careless? I know you're fond of Ms. Langston but there should be a limit. Business competition is fierce. It would be disaster if Ms. Långston decidentally leaked something."