Sylvie sat in silence for a long moment.

Her beautifully made-up face was now clouded with a look of utter disbelief.

She stared at the post on her phone, reading every word slowly and carefully, just to make sure she hadn’t misunderstood.

Elodie… had become Professor Sterling’s new graduate student?

The idea was so absurd that Sylvie felt almost dizzy, as if the world had tilted beneath her feet.

“What does this even mean?” Naylor was the first to speak, his brow furrowed, eyes wide with shock. “Since when did Elodie become Professor Sterling’s student?”

He’d grown up knowing Professor Sterling as a family friend; he understood exactly what the man represented in the world of scientific research. Every student Sterling had ever taken under his wing was renowned in their field— household names in academia.

And Elodie? Where had she come from to suddenly leapfrog the rest of them?

“There’s got to be some mistake.” Maurice finally found his voice, all traces of his usual laidback attitude gone. He stared at the screen in disbelief. “Verdant University’s grad interviews had a whole lineup of geniuses this year. Even you, Sylvie, didn’t make the cut, but somehow Elodie did?”

Sylvie’s thoughts were a tangled mess.

But it was Maurice’s careless remark-“didn’t make the cut”-that stung. She clenched her jaw, lips pressed tightly together, unwilling to respond.

She couldn’t help thinking something had to be off.

“Professor Sterling was at VistaLink Technologies for their product launch-that much makes sense, especially since Alexander is his only son. It’s not strange for him to attend as a special guest. But this sudden claim that Elodie is his new student? It just doesn’t add up. Maybe someone got their wires crossed and started spreading rumors,” Maurice reasoned, trying to sound logical.

After all, Verdant University hadn’t published the official results yet.

And besides…

Didn’t they all know what Elodie’s background was? She’d been a stay-at-home wife not long ago, just cooking dinners and taking care of the house. After that, the only thing she was known for was her messy divorce with Jarrod and her dramatic job switch from Silverstein Group to VistaLink Technologies. Sure, she’d picked up a bit working under Alexander, but a few months of experience could hardly put her in the same league as them.

Was she supposed to leap to the top overnight?

Naylor, finally regaining his composure, said, “Let’s just wait and see. No need to jump to conclusions.”

He gave Sylvie a reassuring look.

He’d overheard people from the Neural Intelligence department discussing it just before he walked in. Sylvie had scored 432 on her grad interview-an almost unbeatable score in their field. People were already betting she’d be Professor Sterling’s last student. By every standard, she should have easily placed first. So this rumor about Elodie… Clearly, something was off, something they didn’t know yet.

Sylvie had already collected herself. She nodded with poise. “Thank you. I understand. I’ll be meeting with Professor Sterling this afternoon. I’ll find out what’s really going on directly-no need to pay attention to idle gossip.”

The post on social media hadn’t been confirmed. She wasn’t about to let rumors rattle her.

And even if Professor Sterling did pick someone else, it certainly wouldn’t be Elodie.

Naylor glanced at her, then looked down, lost in thought.

He couldn’t help feeling the whole thing was odd. How did a rumor like this even start?

Maurice, tamping down his own shock, quickly messaged their group chat:

-Something bizarre just happened. Word is Elodie is Professor Sterling’s new grad student. Sylvie’s fine, but we should get this checked out.

@Jarrod, what’s your take on this?

-@Joseph, where are you? You’ve been MIA all day.

Joseph didn’t reply.

After a long pause, Jarrod finally answered: Got it.

Tell Sylvie to meet me at the coffee shop near VistaLink Technologies after she’s done.

He didn’t respond to any of Maurice’s other questions.

Maurice was left confused by the cryptic answer.

Maurice: Are you tied up right now? Will you be able to make it later?

This time, Jarrod didn’t reply at all.

Sylvie frowned as she read the messages, guessing that Jarrod must have run into something urgent and had to change his plans.

With Jarrod’s influence, it was no wonder so many leading figures from Neural Intelligence were at the event today-the guest list was certainly impressive.

As for Professor Sterling attending the VistaLink launch, that was understandable, given Alexander’s connection.

But the issue of his new student…