Ryan sat in the cozy Bradford family mansion, phone in hand, feeling a bit off. He thought ra would be back soon, but three days had passed without a word from her. Normally, she''d be back in a couple of days, armed with his favorite gifts to smooth things over.


    Ryan didn''t have the highest opinion of ra-she seemed to know little beyond chasing after men-but he couldn''t deny she was a fantastic cook who always catered to his whims. After all these years, he developed a slither of affection by


    now.


    Just after logging out of his game, he caught wind that Quinn was live streaming. Intrigued, he tuned in and found her in a face-off with ra.


    With a sigh of relief, Ryan assumed ra was still upset about Quinn swiping Simon, but that didn''t mean she should take it out on him. She still hadn''t shown up to cook for him.


    In a fit of mischief, he sent ten virtual gifts to Quinn and stayed glued to her stream, deliberately ignoring ra''s. He was certain ra would recognize his gesture.


    However, ra maintained herposure, steadily answering questions from the viewers.


    "I don''t know the person sending those gifts, and it''s got nothing to do with me. Let''s focus on my apples," she calmly stated.


    Ryan was fuming at her indifference. In a huff, he sent dozens more gifts, nearly burning through a million dors.


    His antics drew a crowd to Quinn''s stream. The tform highlighted big spenders like him, naturally drawing more eyes to Quinn''s channel.


    [Quinn, don''t overdo it. Helping farmers is great, but we''re not exactly strapped for cash,] Ryanmented.


    Quinn''s eyes sparkled with gratitude. "Thanks for looking out, Ryan. I''m not short on money, but helping others makes me happy."


    Viewers saw their interaction and realized Quinn wasn''t putting on a show; she was genuinely a wealthy heiress.


    But what was going on between her and that other streamer?


    As Quinn and Ryan yed up their sibling bond, ra kept pushing her apple sales. Her cool demeanor irked Ryan. He wanted to check out ra''s stream but felt it would look like admitting defeat.


    Instead, he stayed on Quinn''s stream, constantly expressing his concern for her.


    Meanwhile, ra watched her order numbers climb, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Finally sold ten thousand orders. That''s a hundred thousand pounds of apples. Thanks for the support. But I injured my kneest night and need to take care of it. Plus, I need to arrange for the farmers to pack and ship your orders. See you this afternoon."


    Everyone thought she''d ride the wave of traffic, but she signed off so abruptly that those expecting drama felt like they''d hit a wall, and left unsatisfied.


    Quinn noticed ra end her stream, feigned concern and addressed through the camera, “You should check out ra''s stream. She must be upset. Don''t do this next time. When she streams again, send her some gifts too."


    That made Ryan feel a bit smug, and he left ament.


    [I''m not going to. Who knows why she suddenly went to South Ashford? Maybe to get someone''s attention or to mess with you, Quinn.]


    "Don''t talk like that about ra," Quinn chided. "Anyway, go have some fun. I''ll keep selling these apples. I should wrap up the support task in a few days."


    After leaving the stream, Ryan couldn''t help but nce at his phone, waiting for a message from ra. But ten minutes ticked by, and his phone stayed silent, fueling his irritation.


    Meanwhile, ra met with the liaison from the support project, who looked uneasy. "Miss ra, I''ve got some bad news. The farmers signed a deal with another teamst night. They don''t n to work with you anymore, so those orders you sold probably won''t be shipped. They''ve put their trust in Miss Quinn''s team."


    ra''s face remained unreadable as she stared down the contact.


    The liaison fidgeted, "Even though Miss Quinn''s selling at a lower price, she''s willing to put up a million dors to help the farmers. After crunching the numbers, they realized they''d earn more than they ever did in past years, so they decided against partnering with you. I wanted to tell youst night, but Miss Quinn said to have you sell apples first."


    Addison was furious. "What''s the deal? We had an agreement for this support project! ra was out in the rainst night streaming, worried about the farmers losing money, and offering higher prices than before. While she''s got your backs, you team up with Quinn to pull a fast one? Now all the orders are sold, and you''re not shipping them, but leaving her to take the heat. You could''ve told usst night or this morning, but you waited until noon, and made her sell thousands more orders!"


    This was clearly a setup. ra worked hard to promote the apples, yet there would be no products to ship, leaving her to take the me.


    Addison was nearly in tears, feeling the injustice on ra''s behalf.