The Long family had a master in the venerable realm, which was the reason they held their position in Houston.
Many years ago, however, the venerable realm master had been gravely injured in a battle. On the brink of death, just as the Long family was about to collapse, an old Taoist priest named Perry appeared.
Perry claimed he could help the Long family heal their master.
This brought new hope to the Long family.
Unfortunately, Perry wasn't able to fully cure him. He only managed to keep the master alive for a few more years.
Though he could have healed the master completely, Perry was a cunning man. He told the Long family that, next time the master fell critically ill, there would be another opportunity to save him. He advised the family to protect Anita, as that would be the key to securing the master's salvation.
That's why the Long family had always treated Anita so well.
Now, the master of the Long family was at death's door, but that promised opportunity still hadn't appeared.
Besides visiting Anita and meeting her brother, Sophia's main task was to find out about the opportunity Perry had mentioned.
She'd asked Anita about it several times, but each time Anita had looked clueless, insisting she knew nothing about Perry or the opportunity.
Sophia didn't believe it. How could Anita not know who Perry was when he had specifically told the Long family to protect her?
Now, with the master gravely ill, Sophia was desperate. She hoped Anita would finally have some answers.
John's words had hit a raw nerve, and Sophia couldn't hold back her tears.
Seeing her cry, John felt instantly guilty. He didn't know how to comfort her. He couldn't hold her in his arms like he did with Alice—they weren't that close.
"Miss Long..."
"I hate you!" Sophia cut him off sharply.
John was taken aback. What had he done now? He had only tried to reason with her.
Before he could say anything else, Sophia stood up, wiped her tears, and turned away, clearly done with him.
At that moment, Anita walked in, finishing up her shooting. She immediately noticed Sophia's red eyes and asked, "What happened, Sophia? Did John piss you off?"
"Your brother is a shameless rogue," Sophia shot back bitterly.
Anita blinked, surprised. "How do you know he is..."
She cut herself off mid-sentence, realizing her mistake. She walked up to John, scowling. "You've gone too far! Why are you in such a rush to pursue a girl?"
John raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Sis? I'm not pursuing Sophia. I'm not interested in her at all."
Anita looked at him like he was a fool. She was a professional actress, after all, and a bit too imaginative for her own good.
Sophia, still sniffling, added, "Anita, listen to this. Your brother is shameless. I told you, he's a man without morals."
Anita blinked, trying to figure out what happened. She thought John hadn't said anything particularly bad. Why was Sophia calling him shameless?
Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Anita's head.
"Oh, I get it now," she said, smacking her forehead. "I admit, John is excellent and adorable. But you're a girl, Sophia. You need to be a little reserved. Haste makes waste."
Anita knew John was charming, and she couldn't help but think that Sophia had fallen for him at first sight and was too eager to confess her feelings.
She smiled knowingly. "But you can't just throw yourself at him like that. You'll make John think you're one of those frivolous women. John is very traditional and serious—he'll definitely turn you down without hesitation."
John smirked and added, "That's right. I'm a very traditional and serious man. Sophia, you can't just call me a shameless scumbag just because you're rejected."
Sophia glared at him, but before she could respond, John felt a sharp pain in his side.
Looking down, he saw Anita pinching him with her delicate fingers, her face a mask of frustration.
"Shut up, you bastard," she hissed under her breath. "Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do!"
John blinked in realization. Anita was just playing along.
Sophia, who had calmed down a little, quickly caught on. "Anita, you misunderstood. I didn't fall in love with this shameless rogue. I hate him!" she insisted, backing away from John.
Anita tilted her head, still skeptical. "If you don't like John, why did you cry then? You're not the type of girl to cry over things like this."
Sophia looked flustered. "I… I cried because of my grandfather's condition, not because of this shameless guy!"
John finally felt a little better hearing this. He'd been worried he'd crossed a line, but it seemed that Sophia's tears had nothing to do with him after all.
Still, Sophia wasn't done. "Anita, the real reason I came to New York today was to ask you about the opportunity Taoist Perry mentioned. Do you know anything about it?"