Chapter 021: The Best Actor in Two Categories

"Mom, it’s not that complicated. We were just puzzled by some of the actions of Uncle Silas, Aunt Sylvia, and the second uncle and aunt from the Foster family. We were simply expressing our genuine doubts; there was no other meaning," Seraphina said with a light smile.

Standing to the side and seeing her remain so unruffled, Leo's eyelid twitched slightly.

However, his sister’s words didn't seem to have any flaw in them.

It was a fact that their uncle hadn't notified them before returning to the country. As for his claim about wanting to give his parents a surprise—Leo didn't believe it for a second.

And that group from the Foster family had indeed shown up without a word. Anyone with a modicum of breeding would know that such behavior was extremely discourteous.

"Is that so?" Xenia looked at her skeptically.

Seraphina nodded with a faint smile. "Truly."

Then, her smile faded slightly as she added, "However, Uncle Silas and Aunt Sylvia's return is one thing, but making such a huge scene... isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

"Your uncle actually explained that part to us. He said both his and Sylvia's careers were based abroad, so they have to start from scratch after returning. They wanted to use this opportunity to generate some momentum for themselves." Silas's explanation seemed reasonable, but Xenia didn't like this way of doing things.

Generating momentum was fine, provided one did it through their own merit. Using the reputations of the Pierce and Foster families to create hype was somewhat distasteful.

"Whether it's building momentum or just a high-profile return to deliberately let everyone know the Pierces and Fosters have 'someone like them' around—only they know for sure," Leo said with a hint of mockery.

Hearing this, Xenia glared at him. "They are your elders regardless. Don't be so impolite."

She scolded him verbally, but in truth, Leo's words had registered with Xenia.

One should never harbor intentions to harm others, but one must always be on guard against being harmed.

Previously, she hadn't thought much of it, but through that brief encounter just now, Silas and Sylvia felt different to her compared to how they were twelve years ago before they went abroad.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly was different.

It was just that, compared to outsiders, she naturally trusted her own children more.

Or rather, she was more inclined toward her own children.

Since Sera and Leo both seemed to dislike Silas and Sylvia, she would simply keep a distance from those two.

There was no need to upset her own children for the sake of outsiders.

Xenia's line of thinking wasn't based on unconditional favoritism; it was more that she knew exactly what kind of people Seraphina and Leo were.

They wouldn't dislike someone without a reason.

"You two... oh well, I know you must have your reasons and your own judgment. I won't say more. However, you should still be more careful with your words and actions in the future. It’s better to keep certain thoughts to yourselves rather than showing everything so plainly. Being straightforward isn't always a good thing."

Hearing Xenia say this, the siblings nodded to show they understood.

But they were hardly "straightforward" people.

Leo had been so blunt only because he sensed Seraphina's distaste for those two, and he genuinely didn't trust them either.

As for Seraphina, since Leo had already been so direct, she couldn't undermine him. Not only could she not undermine him, she had to speak in his favor, which led her to be just as blunt.

"Then I'll head downstairs first. You two should tidy up and come down as well. Don't mind the other Fosters, but that boy Finnian is alright. He only caught up with them outside our gates and didn't actually come with them. He just couldn't stop them, so he had to follow. He explained that to me privately just now."

"Since he's a guest in our home, and you are of the same generation and quite familiar with Finnian, you shouldn't keep ignoring him."

"I'll be down after a quick word with my sister," Leo said.

Xenia gave the two of them a long look, stood up, and left the study, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

She stood outside for a moment, shook her head, and then turned to go downstairs.

These two kids, still whispering secrets.

But seeing the siblings getting along so well made her very happy.

A family should be harmonious and discuss things together; that's the only way to live a comfortable life.

"Sis, is there something wrong with those two?"

Seraphina arched an eyebrow at Leo.

She walked over to the sofa and sat down. "Why do you ask?"

Leo followed and sat beside her.

"You've always been one to ignore the outside world and focus entirely on music. But lately, you haven't been spending all your time in the practice room. You even had the heart to help Mom trim the flowers in the yard. I thought your unusual behavior was due to that blind date, but today I realized that wasn't it."

"You love peace and don't make many friends, but you've never really shown such obvious dislike toward anyone before."

Seraphina understood; he had indeed picked up on her distaste for those two.

She thought she had hidden it quite well.

As expected of her brother—he was sharp.

Instead of following his lead, she asked, "You're in your senior year now. Is your study schedule heavy lately?"

She asked the question, but Seraphina knew very well that even senior year was easy for Leo.

She herself had skipped grades, and Leo's abilities were no less than hers back then, yet he hadn't chosen to skip.

Thus, he had no academic pressure.

"It's okay, not too bad," Leo said modestly.

"Since it's not too bad, you should drop by the company more often."

She didn't say it explicitly, but Leo understood her meaning. Still, he asked, "Are you saying... they might make a move on the company?"

Silas and Sylvia didn't have the capability to take down the company, but since they had been preparing for over a decade, there were bound to be one or two of Silas's people within the Pierce Group.

While they couldn't cause major waves, even minor disruptions required effort to handle.

In her past life, she knew nothing at the beginning. Combined with the loss of her family, she had no heart for business and didn't know who Silas's moles were. Later, after learning from Silas and taking revenge with thunderous methods, she took control of the Pierce Group. By then, no one dared to pull stunts under her watch, so she naturally didn't identify the original plants.

However, if she had investigated thoroughly then, she certainly would have found them.

It was just that she was confident they couldn't cause trouble under her leadership, so she hadn't bothered.

"It’s never wrong to keep an eye out, but limit yourself to company matters; don't worry about the rest. Between your studies and helping Dad with the business, you won't have enough energy for anything else."

Leo was about to say that these things didn't actually take much effort and that he could help with whatever she was doing, but when he met Seraphina's eyes—smiling yet undeniably firm—he swallowed his words.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but he just felt that lately, his sister had become much more assertive.

It wasn't a cold or harsh assertiveness, but one that radiated naturally.

An aura of authority without anger.

It made people instinctively trust and believe in her.

It felt as if as long as she was around, he had nothing to worry about.

But hadn't she spent all these years focusing only on music and nothing else?

In other words, she wasn't supposed to be particularly skilled in anything but music.

So where did this inexplicable trust in her come from?

It was far too unprincipled.

He clearly wasn't such an unprincipled person...

Oh well, so be it. Since she had her own plans, he would just listen to her. If he acted on his own, he might end up disrupting her strategy.

"Then if you need me to do anything, just say the word."

A few minutes later, the two went downstairs.

Seeing them, Finnian, who was sitting on the sofa, waved enthusiastically. "Sera! Leo!"

The two walked over, sat down, and greeted him in turn.

They chatted for a while.

With the other Fosters present, they didn't discuss anything important. Finnian didn't even ask about the rumors regarding Seraphina's blind date, despite his curiosity.

As they were talking, he suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Sera, have you heard of Sterling?"

Seraphina's hand on her knee suddenly tightened.

Two seconds later, she relaxed.

She looked up at Finnian with a calm expression. "I haven't. Who's that?"

"I knew you wouldn't have; you never pay attention to these things."

"Sterling. He's twenty-four. He won the Best Actor award twice when he was only twenty and became an overnight sensation. Then he moved his career abroad to the international stage and recently won Best Actor at an international film festival. Word is he's about to return to the country."

Finnian knew she didn't follow the entertainment world, let alone celebrities. He brought up Sterling mainly because his name shared the same character as Silas's.

It was the surname Sterling.