From Trash to Treasure: The Sinclair Family's Beloved Genius

Under the amber glow of the streetlights, a man stood dressed in a black suit. His leather shoes were polished to a mirror shine, and at one-point-nine meters tall, he was a conspicuous figure on the crowded sidewalk.

A faint smile touched Jasper Shaw’s handsome face as he slowly walked toward Chloe Sinclair.

The next moment, Chloe Sinclair felt a shadow fall over her.

Looking up at the man before her, she asked in surprise, "Aren’t you on your way back to Emberfall?"

"My flight was supposed to be tonight, but it got delayed. I came out for a walk and didn’t expect to run into you. What a coincidence."

Chloe Sinclair hesitated, not quite believing him.

A flash of doubt crossed her eyes as she looked into Jasper Shaw’s.

’They were a long way from the airport.’

’Even if Jasper wanted to take a walk, would he really come this far?’

Chloe Sinclair didn’t call him out on it. Feigning ignorance, she just nodded. "Oh, I see."

A glint of light flashed in Jasper Shaw’s deep eyes. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"Thanks, but my classmate..."

Chloe Sinclair trailed off, her gaze shifting to Summer Beckett, who was currently hugging a large tree and bawling his eyes out.

Jasper Shaw’s eyes swept over, his expression darkening as a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.

"I’ll take him home first, and then I’ll take you."

A smile bloomed on Chloe Sinclair’s lips, as alluring as a poppy.

"Okay."

She didn’t mention she had driven there. Instead, she had a few male classmates haul Summer Beckett into the front passenger seat while she and Jasper Shaw sat in the back.

Once in the car, neither of them spoke.

Jasper Shaw sat with his back ramrod straight, his gaze fixed ahead without blinking. Chloe Sinclair, on the other hand, looked out the window, her posture much more relaxed.

Even though the two weren’t talking, the driver in the front thought they looked oddly well-matched and unconsciously slowed the car down a bit.

Sensing the drop in speed, Jasper Shaw said, "Faster."

The driver tensed up and slammed on the accelerator. The car sped up, and in less than twenty minutes, they arrived at the Beckett family’s villa.

Chloe Sinclair was about to get out and help Summer Beckett inside, but the man beat her to it.

Chloe Sinclair looked up, her eyes full of confusion.

Jasper Shaw: "Summer Beckett is drunk. I’ll take him in."

Chloe Sinclair raised an eyebrow.

’It hadn’t been long, but Jasper Shaw had already investigated her social circle so thoroughly.’

After getting out of the car, the man suddenly realized his slip-up. His heart lurched, and he subconsciously glanced at the young woman through the car window.

But Chloe Sinclair’s expression hadn’t changed. She was focused on her phone, seemingly paying no mind to what he had just said.

Jasper Shaw let out a long, silent sigh of relief.

This was the same Jasper Shaw who hadn’t been afraid even when facing down so many hostile shareholders years ago. Yet, the moment he realized he’d said the wrong thing, his heart was flooded not just with guilt, but with fear.

Now, looking at Chloe Sinclair, he didn’t know what to say.

’What if she finds out I had her investigated?’

’What if...’

An indescribable emotion churned inside Jasper Shaw. He tightened his grip and roughly dumped the dead-drunk Summer Beckett at the Beckett family’s front gate.

A moment later, Mrs. Beckett opened the door to find her precious son passed out and snoring on the ground.

Seeing this, Jasper Shaw said nothing more and turned to leave.

After getting back in the car, he sat down beside Chloe Sinclair, the soft rustle of their clothing audible in the silence.

Jasper Shaw froze and subconsciously glanced at Chloe Sinclair.

"Aren’t we leaving?"

Jasper Shaw: "Right away."

With that, he shot the driver a look.

The driver caught the look in the rearview mirror and immediately nodded.

The ink-black Bentley sped along the silver-lit road.

The Beckett and Sinclair family homes weren’t far apart, a forty-minute drive. The driver had been flooring it, weaving unimpeded through the traffic.

All the other cars kept a wide, three-meter berth from the luxury vehicle, terrified of making one wrong move and losing their life savings.

Halfway there, Jasper Shaw couldn’t take it anymore. "Slow down!"

The driver jumped, wondering what he’d done wrong, and quickly reduced his speed.

But it wasn’t long before they arrived at the Sinclair residence.

As soon as they reached the villa’s entrance, Chloe Sinclair got out.

She took a few steps, then turned back, walked around to Jasper Shaw’s side, and bent down to tap on the window.

Jasper Shaw quickly lowered the window. "What is it?"

Chloe Sinclair: "Thank you for taking me home today, Mr. Shaw."

The young woman’s voice was soft, with a playful lilt at the end that was utterly enchanting.

Jasper Shaw froze for a moment. Before he could react, he looked up again to see that Chloe Sinclair had already reached the villa’s entryway.

He felt a flicker of happiness from what Chloe Sinclair had just said.

Jasper Shaw sat quietly in the car. He didn’t know how long passed, but only after he saw the lights on the second floor turn on did he finally close the window.

"Let’s go."

In the car, Jasper Shaw’s cold expression returned.

Unlike his demeanor with Chloe Sinclair, his face now held a faint, grim aura that warned others not to approach.

He made a call, and the person on the other end picked up instantly. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Don’t have anyone investigate Chloe Sinclair anymore."

He paused, then continued, "Keep the bodyguards, though. Have them continue protecting her from the shadows."

—

Not long after Chloe Sinclair went upstairs, she heard the car start up downstairs.

But the sound quickly faded.

Chloe Sinclair glanced out and saw that Jasper Shaw had left.

She thought for a moment, then picked up her phone and sent Jasper Shaw a WeChat message.

This time, he replied almost instantly, sending one of those "old people" sticker packs.

’That familiar style... he probably stole it from the old master again.’

Chloe Sinclair was in a good mood. After washing up, she went straight to bed.

But she had just lain down when the system’s tasks arrived.

[BEEP—]

[Random Task 1: Repair the intelligent robot White and complete the primary autonomous evolution system. Task completion will award 888 reputation value.]

[Targeted Task 2: Secure a front-page feature in the *Mathematics Annual Journal* and *Science Magazine*. Task completion will award 888 reputation value.]

Chloe Sinclair raised an eyebrow, finding it a bit unbelievable. "Is this a reputation value giveaway?"

In the system, the robot-like Eight felt its circuits seize for a moment.

Unwilling to admit that Chloe Sinclair was just progressing too quickly, it stubbornly retorted, "The system is giving you a freebie. Did you really think our 2.0 version would only issue tasks this simple?"

Chloe Sinclair just clucked her tongue twice and said nothing.

The tasks issued by the system this time were so simple that it made her wonder if the system was giving her charity.

Eight guessed Chloe Sinclair’s thoughts and didn’t hesitate to throw cold water on her enthusiasm. "The robotics system hasn’t even taken shape yet, let alone autonomous evolution and upgrading. I doubt anyone has even proposed such a concept, have they?"

Then, Eight sighed. "Tsk, humans are so weak."

"Is that so?"

Chloe Sinclair smiled faintly. "What if I’m the one who opens that door to science fiction?"