Chapter 22: Aurora Has No Choice!

David was thrilled to hear that but found it difficult to believe. "Aurora, are you serious?"

Aurora didn’t respond to him; instead, she patted his shoulder. "Professor Wallace will scold me if I don’t show up now..." She walked ahead, leaving David to hurry after her.

"By the way, do you know why Professor Wallace called you?" David asked, still confused about why the professor wanted to meet only Aurora and Max.

"I have no idea. Maybe he wants to assign me another project..." she replied. However, her steps paused again as she turned to David. "You can’t come in, David. He didn’t ask you to."

David laughed, scratching his head.

"Of course, I won’t go inside. I’ll wait for you here so we can go to lunch..." He narrowed his eyes at her, smiling playfully. "Aurora Spencer, don’t forget... You promised me lunch yesterday." He chuckled at her surprised expression.

Aurora flashed a smile, and David felt his heart swell at how adorable she looked when she smiled.

"My bad, David. I almost forgot. Alright, wait for me here; we’ll have lunch together," she said before entering Professor Wallace’s office.

***

"Aurora, you finally made it! Come join us..." Wallace smiled warmly as he watched Aurora enter the room and motioned for her to sit beside Max.

"Sorry, Professor, I’m late," Aurora replied apologetically as she settled beside Max.

"It’s fine, my dear," Wallace reassured her. He was happy to see her take her seat.

"Alright, I won’t take up much of your time," Wallace said, cupping his hands together before continuing. "You both know why I called you here, right?" he asked, staring at them in return.

Aurora was stunned. How could she possibly know? She turned to glance at Max beside her.

When she saw that Max wasn’t even looking at her and had his eyes fixed on the professor, she couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

Suppressing the urge to playfully smack Max’s head for ignoring her, she thought, ’This little brat! Just wait; if I get the chance, I’ll ask Danny to scold you.’

"Yes, Professor, I know..." Max’s voice only added to Aurora’s tension.

She felt confused because she had no idea why their professor had called them even after trying to recall Aurora Spencer’s memory.

"And what about you, Aurora?" Wallace only intensified her panic.

Aurora had no choice but to lie to him. She would wait for him to explain why he had called them. "Yes, I know, Professor," she replied calmly.

Wallace joyfully laughed before congratulating Max and Aurora on their selection for the internship program at Stardust Tech.

Only two candidates were accepted from the many applicants this year; both were his favorite students. He felt incredibly proud.

"Max, Aurora, you have been selected because you are the best among many applicants. I sincerely hope you can help our university, particularly our faculty, elevate its reputation as the leading institution for producing top computer experts and programmers in this country."

Aurora was left speechless, too shocked to understand that the professor had called her for this reason.

Last night, she planned to cancel her participation because she didn’t want to return to Stardust Tech and encounter Patrick and Alex. However, now she had no choice but to accept her fate and return to the Stardust Group.

***freeweɓnovel-cøm

At the cafeteria by the woods,

Aurora still found it hard to believe that she must return to the Stardust Group, this time as an intern rather than as Alex’s assistant.

She lost track of how often she silently took a deep breath, ignoring David’s question—curious to know why Professor Wallace had called her.

"Aurora, You know I might die of curiosity if you continue to ignore me, right?" David said helplessly, his gaze pleading for her to spill everything. But she completely ignored him. He sighed deeply and savored his beef tacos.

Aurora stifled a laugh as she watched him eat with enthusiasm. He seemed no longer curious; instead, he appeared genuinely hungry.

Shaking her head lightly, Aurora looked out at the scenery outside, trying to enjoy her lunch—fruit salad.

But her frustration grew when the fruit salad turned out to be bland. The beautiful autumn scenery outside their faculty cafeteria couldn’t help her regain her appetite; she had completely lost it.

Aurora set her cutlery down on her plate and saw David sitting across from her. He had already finished his tacos, and his curious gaze was still fixed on her.

"Do you remember the internship program we applied for at Stardust Tech?" she asked.

David frowned and nodded slightly, clearly confused about why Aurora had brought it up so suddenly. But moments later, a realization hit him.

His eyes widened. "No way. They already announced the results?"

"Yeah, they chose two people this year."

"You and Max?" David’s voice rose slightly, revealing his annoyance with the outcome.

Aurora felt too lazy to respond. She simply nodded and finished her glass of water. Just as she was about to place the glass on the table, she noticed Max walking toward the cafeteria.

She quickly lowered her head to avoid being seen, not wanting him to spot her.

At that moment, she only wanted to finish her lunch and leave. She planned to visit Serendipity Restaurant and go shopping, as she needed to buy a few new outfits.

Unfortunately, when Aurora attempts to hide from Max, David lets her down.

"Aurora, I agree that they chose you because you are the best in our class. But Max? Damn it! Why did they pick him? I’m better than him... right? "

David expressed his frustration toward Max while he was walking nearby. Naturally, Max overheard his comments and quickly changed direction toward them.

Aurora noticed the slight glint in Max’s eyes as he looked at them, clearly showing his anger.

Before Aurora could warn David, he slammed his hand on the table, grabbed his can of Pepsi, and drank it in one swift motion.

"Seriously, they picked that jerk Max?! Why didn’t they choose me? I’m the best candidate!" David protested angrily.