Chapter 809

“What’s taking you so long? I thought you’d fainted inside the bathroom and was already planning to rescue you!”

“Oh. I’m fine. I was just dealing with some stuff,” Sophie reassured.

“With Butterfly’s case, you mean.”

Tristan knew Sophie’s relationship with Butterfly. Thus, he deduced that Sophie would not turn a blind eye to the situation.

“Mm-hmm. I found the address of the place where I believe she’s being held captive. I still need to get someone to check, though.”

“I’ve found a location too, and I’ve also sent people to investigate,” said Tristan. “Don’t worry! You can entrust me with this case. I won’t let you down.”

Sophie hummed in response.

The sooner they rescued Butterfly, the sooner she no longer had to see Nicholas. Being with Nicholas was as insufferable as hanging out with the devil himself.

Sophie did not doubt Tristan’s abilities. However, there was always a thick tension between Tristan and Nicholas. One wrong move on their side might result in enraging Nicholas.

“All right. Let’s dry your hair first. Otherwise, you might catch a cold!” Tristan coaxed.

Butterfly was not in immediate danger, which means they still had a lot of time. Tristan was confident that she would be found eventually.

Leading Sophie out of the bathroom, he pressed his hands on her shoulder and forced her to take a seat on the bed before patting dry her hair with a towel. Once her hair was no longer dripping with water, Tristan took out a hairdryer and blow-dried her hair.

At that moment, the doorbell sounded.

Tristan went to greet the door. The manager of the hotel had personally delivered their dinner to their room.

“Mr. Tristan, here’s the food you ordered. If there’s anything else that you need, feel free to let us know,” the manager offered courteously.

The manager was well aware of Tristan’s identity and status, which was why he had delivered dinner to the room himself.

“Sure. Bring the trolley inside.” With that being said, Tristan stepped to the side.

Without wasting a moment, the manager and the staff entered the suite and arranged the food on the dining table.

“Enjoy your meal, Mr. Tristan.” Not wanting to intrude on his guests’ space for too long, the manager left with the staff immediately after they served the food.

By then, Sophie’s hair was already dry. Her soft hair hung loosely on her shoulders. Still dressed in nothing but a bathrobe, she exited the bedroom and took a seat at the dining table.

“Come over and eat something!” she called out to Tristan, knowing that he still hadn’t eaten.

Tristan took a seat opposite Sophie.

“You don’t have to accompany me if you don’t want to. I know you’ve already eaten.”

“I might have eaten, but I didn’t have much appetite,” Sophie replied. How could she have the appetite to eat when she was stuck with Nicholas?

Tristan did not reply. Instead, a pleased smirk formed at the corner of his lips.

It was evident that Sophie’s statement had pleased him.

The taste of the food presented by the hotel manager was already exquisite. Combined with the fact that Tristan was in a great mood, he ate quite a huge portion.

Sophie also ate some of the food with him.

Right after dinner, Sophie’s phone rang.

It was a call from Arius.

“How’s it going? Are you guys not coming back to rest tonight?” Sophie skipped the formalities and jumped straight into the topic. She knew that they had gone to the International Medical Association.

“Yeah, we’re not coming back tonight. The situation is grave, Sophie.” The mutation that time around made the virus extremely potent.

If even Arius had announced that the situation was grave, it was not a situation to be taken lightly.

“Got it. I’ll be there tomorrow,” Sophie promised. She would not be of much help if she were to go there now with her current state. All she wanted to do at the moment was to get some sleep.

Only after she was well-rested could she deliver her best work.

“Okay. Have a good rest tonight. Dr. Smith and I will be here to handle it!” Arius reassured.

The situation at that moment was indeed perilous, but Sophie was still struggling with jet lag. It would not be beneficial to anyone if she were to head over immediately.

“Okay.”

After hanging up the phone call, Arius turned to Barney. “Sophie will be here tomorrow.”

“Okay. It’s good for her to get enough rest,” Barney stated with a serious expression.

Arius took this opportunity to get Barney to take a break as well. “Dr. Smith, you should go back and rest as well. It’s not good for your health to be working all the time! Besides, this task is not something that could be settled in a short time.”

“It’s fine. I’m not tired.”

So many people had been infected by the virus, not to mention the severity of the situation. How could Barney possibly sleep in peace?

“Arius, I really am not confident this time,” confessed Barney. The virus that they were dealing with was completely uncharted territory.

They had never seen anything like it.

Countless difficulties would await them once they started researching.

Seeing how dejected Barney was, Arius could only comfort him. “Dr. Smith, don’t overthink it right now.

There will always be a solution to every problem. The only thing we can do now is to try our best and work hard. As for the rest, we can only leave it up to fate.”

The virus was a strain that they had never encountered before. It was a completely new species.

Even though there were professionals in every corner of the International Medical Association, no one had any specialty in regard to the virus, which made the task in front of them even more daunting.

“We should send Sophie back!” Barney suggested. “She should have never been involved in all this in the first place.” If she wasn’t careful, she might actually not be able to make it back that time around.

“Dr. Smith, do you really think that she’ll go back?” Arius questioned. When it came to Sophie, it might be possible to convince her to stay at home before she made her decision. At that moment, however, Sophie had already flown over to Anglandur. In other words, she would not be returning to her home country without a fight.

Barney let out a sigh.

If he had known about the situation earlier, he would have never allowed the two of them to come.

“Don’t worry, Dr. Smith. With the three of us here, we will be able to solve this, regardless of how strong this virus is.” Arius remained positive.

“Let’s hope so!” The situation was not looking up. Because of that, Barney did not dare to make any guarantees.

Meanwhile, Sophie’s expression turned solemn after she had hung up the call from Arius.

“Is the situation grave?” Tristan broke the silence. Before they had arrived, Tristan had already received the news that the virus that they would be dealing with was extremely dangerous.

“Mm-hmm,” Sophie hummed in response. After a while, she turned to Tristan. “Tristan, I hope that you will go home first.” If they could not contain the virus in the end, Sophie did not wish for Tristan to stay in Anglandur.

For a while, Tristan was silent.

“Do you really think that I’ll leave you here alone?” he asked all of a sudden.

It was Sophie’s turn to be speechless.

Neither of them wanted to see the other risking their lives, which was why they wanted to be as cautious as possible.

In the meantime, Nicholas had returned to the mansion. Upon reaching, he went to see Butterfly himself. Besides being less energetic, Butterfly was not harmed.

When she saw Nicholas approaching, she deliberately made things difficult for him.

“Nicholas, I need to go out for something.”

“What do you need? If there’s anything you need, just inform Richard. He’ll help you get whatever you need. You’re Sophie’s friend, so I do not wish to make things difficult for you. With that being said, do not try me. Otherwise, I will no longer play nice.”

Nicholas was only a gentleman in front of Sophie.

No other woman would experience gentleness from him.

“I want to buy some feminine products. How can a man like Richard buy what I want?”

“Bras, panties, or pads?” Richard retorted immediately. “No matter what you need, I’ll buy them for you.”

Butterfly was rendered speechless.

Richard was really beginning to get on her nerves.

“I want to buy those things myself. I won’t like the ones others get for me. I wouldn’t be used to it. I’m the person Sophie cares for the most. How can you guys let me live in discomfort—”

“Woman, enough with your tricks. If you’re not used to it, don’t use it!” With that being said, Nicholas turned to leave.

He did not have an ounce of patience in him.

Butterfly stared at his silhouette in disbelief.

“Hmph! No wonder Sophie doesn’t like you! You’re such a dense guy!” Enraged, Butterfly roared at Nicholas.

To her surprise, Nicholas halted in his tracks and turned around. A deep sorrow filled his gaze as he met hers.