Zachary looked a little awkward, holding his hands up as if to exin.

"She was the one who hugged me. She''s drunk."

Melvin pulled Sarah away from him and snapped,

"Pervert."

He supported his sister as they left, but not before shooting Zachary a scathing re.

Zachary stood there, watching them disappear. His expression turned distant, quietly disappointed.

That version of Sasa just now... she really was adorable.

The Day of the Bidding Conference - The Wilsons

Mr. Wilson looked at Vivian with a rare seriousness.

"This bid is critical. You''re not allowed to fail."

"I understand, Grandpa," she replied firmly.

At City Hall, a luxury car pulled up outside. A pair of sleek heels stepped out of the vehicle.

Vivian, dressed in a sharp business outfit, walked into the hall with two assistants trailing closely behind.

It wasn''t hard to tell-every guest at the conference was a major yer in the business world. Even a few elusive industry giants, who rarely showed their faces in public, were here today.

This particr project was a cross-national coboration. Winning the bid wouldn''t just boost apany''s reputation-it could solidify their standing in the East Coast market.

Vivian had worked tirelessly to prepare. Two weeks prior, she had her team dig through extensive research, analyzing every majorpany. Eventually, they put together the mostpetitive proposal they could manage-all in the hopes ofnding this contract.

Historically, the Reynolds Corporation had always dominated these bids. In fact, Wilson Group had previously secured several deals only because of Reynolds Corp''s support.

The conference room was massive, and onlypanies with proven capabilities had made it through the strict screening process. The weak didn''t even get past the front door. Vivian sat near the front row.

As expected, she spotted Zachary sitting ahead of her. And seated beside him was... Melvin.

Her lips curled into a bitter smile.

So, the two of them had already joined forces behind the scenes.fn2db5 The source of th?s content is find?novel/fn2db5

Still, Vivian had confidence in this bid.

Mr. Wilson had even tried pulling strings at City Hall in the days leading up to the event-but was turned down. That alone showed how seriously the government was taking this project.  s

The bidding didn''t begin with the main project but with a piece ofnd.

"The bidding for Plot No. 1 begins now. Starting price, fifty million," the auctioneer announced cheerfully.

A hand shot up from the back row almost instantly.

"One hundred million," came the call.

"Bidder No. 35 offers one hundred million. Any other offers?"

City Hall''s bidding sessions didn''t usually waste time with small increments. Everypany had done their homework. They knew the value going in.

Plot No. 1 was quickly awarded to Bidder No. 35.

Several rounds passed before it was finally time for the main event.

Meanwhile, Melvin turned to Zachary with a smirk.

"Ready?"

"Of course. They''ve been waiting for this from the very start," Zachary replied coolly.

He had said it before-Wilson Group''s shares were just the appetizer. The real show started now.

"We can see that everyone''s eager for Project No. 3," the auctioneer said with a smile. "Please have your proposals ready. I''ll collect all the documents and submit thems together for evaluation. Thank you for your patience."  s

Everyone nodded. This process was familiar to them.

No one checked their phones. No

one realized that a bombshell news article had just gone live-and was already shooting in the trending list with explosive speed  s