Neither Celeste nor Trevor spoke again.Celeste's younger cousins had rarely seen Trevor before. Now that they were seeing him in person, they couldn't help but look at him with curiosity.As someone who had held a position of power for years, Trevor exuded authority effortlessly, even without trying. When he noticed their gazes, he glanced at them briefly.Unable to meet his eyes, they instinctively looked away, not daring to stare any longer.Trevor showed no reaction to this, nor did he make any effort to exchange pleasantries. He simply shifted his gaze away, calm and indifferent.Trevor was the man Celeste loved. She had thrown herself into this love headfirst, and after all these years, she still couldn't escape.Given the way Trevor had treated his own niece for so long, it was impossible for Ivan not to harbor resentment toward him.However, what could he do?The Rodriguez family was powerless against Trevor.Now that Trevor was here, as the host, Ivan had no choice bu
Zachary said, "Sure."Trevor nodded and turned to Celeste. "Are you going home tonight?"Celeste had still been going over the conversation between Trevor and Zachary in her head. When he suddenly spoke to her, she paused for a moment before responding, "No."Trevor nodded again. "Got it." Then he stood up and said, "I'll come by later to pick Jo up."That meant he was leaving.Celeste replied coldly, "Got it."Trevor didn't say anything else to her. Instead, he walked over to Betty and said, "Madam Klein, I have things to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."Betty didn't stand up, and her tone was equally cold, "Sure. I won't see you off."Trevor didn't seem bothered by her indifference. He turned to Ivan, gave him a slight nod as a form of greeting, and then left the banquet hall.Outside the hotel, Beck had just stepped out of his car when he saw Trevor walking out. His movements stalled for a brief moment.Trevor quickly got into his car and drove off.Beck watched but re
Jordyn wrapped her arms around Celeste's neck, burying her small face against it to shield herself from the cold wind.Celeste's clothes were soft and warm, and Jordyn snuggled into her embrace, rubbing her face against her neck with enjoyment.Trevor was always punctual. By the time Celeste carried Jordyn to the parking lot, his car had pulled in.Seeing them, the car stopped right beside Celeste.Even though her dad had arrived, Jordyn didn't get down from Celeste's arms. Instead, she playfully said to Trevor, who had lowered the car window, "Dad, carry me inside."Trevor didn't say anything. He simply got out of the car and took Jordyn from Celeste's arms.Happily, Jordyn swung her legs in the air while nestled in his hold.As Trevor leaned in to take her, Celeste caught a familiar scent—Wynn's perfume.When he had been sitting beside her earlier, he hadn't smelled like this.This meant that after leaving them, he had gone to the Shaw family.Trevor looked at her and said,
Perhaps guessing the reason for Celeste's hesitation, Beck said, "I can guarantee you that personal matters will never interfere with business between me and your uncle."Hearing this, Celeste asked, "Are you sure?""I'm sure."Celeste knew Ivan's company was in a difficult situation. So, after a moment of hesitation, she said, "Alright.""Let me know when you're free, and I'll arrange a time to meet.""Alright," Celeste replied.At that moment, Beck looked at her dark hair, slightly tousled by the cold wind, and said, "The night wind is chilly. You should head inside."Celeste paused. Those were the exact same words Trevor had said to her just moments ago.She nodded without saying anything else and got into her car.Beck remained where he was.As her car passed him, Celeste rolled down the window, nodded to him as a farewell, then stepped on the gas and drove away.Only after watching her car disappear into the distance did Beck get into his own car and leave.Betty, Ivan
It wasn't until noon, when it was time for lunch, that Matthias and Celeste finally got a chance to take a breather.At that moment, Celeste's phone suddenly rang. It was a message from Lottie, asking if she wanted to go skiing with her in the afternoon.Celeste replied via voice message, "I have things to do today, so I won't be going. You go ahead and have fun.""Alright then."In the evening, while Celeste stepped out of Zachary's study to get some water, Lottie sent her another message.This time, it was a few photos. And the people in the photos were none other than Trevor, Wynn, Jordyn, Beck, and Shanice.Then, Lottie sent another message: "My friends and I were having such a great time skiing, but then we ran into them. Totally ruined the mood!"Celeste only clicked on one photo. Once she confirmed who was in them, she didn't bother looking at the rest.Seeing Lottie's complaint, she calmly replied with a voice message, "Just enjoy yourselves and ignore them."Lottie qu
After watching Jordyn and Beck leave, Trevor and Wynn also got into their car and headed to the restaurant.A few minutes after they arrived in their private dining room, Zachary also arrived."Mr. Newman." Seeing Zachary push the door open, Trevor and Wynn both stood up to greet him.Zachary showed no surprise upon seeing Wynn.Wynn politely reintroduced herself, "Hello, Mr. Newman. My name is Wynn Locket. We met before at the technology exhibition—""I know." Zachary's expression remained neutral as he briefly shook her hand.After he had sat down, Wynn took the seat beside him and said, "I greatly admire you. I've always hoped for the opportunity to meet you in person and discuss the AI industry face-to-face.""Mm."At that moment, Trevor's phone buzzed. He stood up and said to them, "I need to take a call. You two go ahead and talk."Wynn nodded.After Trevor had stepped out, Wynn picked up the menu and handed it to Zachary. "Mr. Newman, shall we order first and discuss t
Wynn was momentarily stunned before she pressed her lips together.This wasn't the answer she'd wanted.Zachary was about to push the door open and leave when Wynn quickly stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Newman, how do you think I should improve?"Zachary paused for a brief moment and replied indifferently, "Do more research. Keep up with the latest developments in the industry."Just as he finished speaking, Trevor returned.Before he could say anything, Zachary stated, "I've done what I needed to do. I'll contact you in a few days.""Alright."With that, Zachary left.Trevor looked at Wynn and noticed her expression wasn't great. "Didn't go well?"Wynn nodded frankly. "He didn't accept me.""What did Mr. Newman say? Tell me about it."Wynn recounted the entire conversation, including Zachary's evaluation and advice."You're definitely capable," Trevor said. "And I think his advice is quite fair."Wynn paused. Lately, she had indeed spent less time diving into professiona
Maybe because he saw how exhausted they were, Zachary let Matthias and Celeste go home early that night.After a long day, Celeste took a shower as soon as she got home and went to bed early.…There was something that needed their attention at InnovaTech the next day.In the afternoon, Celeste and Matthias found time to make a trip there. As soon as they arrived, they started discussing technical issues.Not long after, Jorge and Xavier walked in, led by InnovaTech staff. Both of them looked surprised to see Celeste.Xavier raised an eyebrow. "She's actually an employee at InnovaTech? What a coincidence."Jorge shrugged. He didn't even really know her, so how would he know if she worked at InnovaTech?Hearing their conversation, one of the InnovaTech staff members said, "Are you talking about Ms. Rodriguez? She's not an employee here. She's a tech specialist from YodaVision, and she's here today to help with some technical issues."Sensing that someone was looking at her, Cel
Bryson, unaware of the grudge between Celeste and Wynn, followed up on Rodney's words and said, "Yes, we were just discussing some new developments in the industry."Ms. Locket also studied AI—more minds mean more ideas. It would be great if Ms. Locket joined the discussion."Wynn responded, "Oh, I see..."As she spoke, she glanced over at Celeste.After finishing the serious work discussions, Celeste had planned to leave. But unable to resist Rodney and Bryson's enthusiasm, she stayed and chatted with them for a while longer.Now with Wynn's arrival, she finally had an excuse to excuse herself.She stood up and said, "It's getting late, and I have something I need to attend to. Mr. Fleming, Professor Leonard, Professor Milford, let's chat again next time."Besides Celeste's recently published paper, a few other companies in the AI field had also made significant technical breakthroughs lately.When they were chatting earlier, Celeste had quickly grasped the core of those break
Celeste nodded and sat down on the sofa by the coffee table.Trevor then instructed, "Have someone bring us some coffee."Zeke replied, "Already taken care of."Just as he finished speaking, Naomi came in carrying coffee.When she saw Celeste, she froze for a moment. "Ms. Rodriguez?"Naomi had been the one to take over Celeste's job after she left Fleming Group. Since then, they had basically had no contact.Celeste nodded with a smile, "Long time no see.""Long time no see." Naomi smiled too. But given the situation, it wasn't really appropriate for her to chat too much.She placed the coffee carefully in front of both Celeste and Trevor, and was about to leave when she seemed to remember something and turned back to report on some work matters.After listening, Trevor said, "Got it. I'll have time this afternoon. Tell him to come by before three.""Okay." Naomi answered, then smiled and nodded politely at Celeste before hurrying out.Celeste watched her leave, slowly stirr
After they finished playing golf, Celeste and the others still had other plans.Trevor and Wynn had joined midway, and perhaps guessing that Celeste and the others had other arrangements that they might not be suited to join, Trevor took the initiative to say, "We have some other plans later, so we won't keep interrupting everyone's fun."Hearing this, Rowan and Theodore didn't insist on keeping them and said, "Is that so? That's fine. Let's meet up again next time when we're free."Trevor smiled and nodded before leaving with Wynn.Matthias had actually been a bit worried that Trevor and Wynn might tag along for their meal afterwards.Seeing Trevor leave on his own initiative, he felt a little relieved and whispered to Celeste, "At least he knows when to back off."Celeste smiled and hummed a response.…After they had walked a distance, Trevor finally asked, "Upset?"Having stumbled twice today, Wynn was indeed feeling down. Especially seeing how much Rowan and the others li
The group chatted while playing golf.However, it was obvious that Theodore and Rowan were far more interested in the topic they were discussing than in the game itself.At first, they talked about international affairs. As the conversation went on, Theodore and Rowan ended up simulating a battle arrangement right there on the spot.As they got more and more into it, Celeste and Matthias simply stood by and listened, along with Trevor and Wynn.Maybe not wanting the younger ones to just stand around, Rowan said, "Why don't you join in and share your thoughts?"After a moment, Celeste spoke up, "With strong enemies on all sides, it's not suitable to charge in alone. So for now, staying put would be a good choice."Hearing this, Wynn paused.She had to admit, it was a good idea. If Celeste hadn't said it first, she honestly wouldn't have thought of it herself.Just as that thought crossed her mind, she saw Rowan smiling and nodding in agreement.Matthias reacted quickly too. He
Rowan said to Trevor, "Since you're here, why don't you stay and join us for a while?"Trevor replied, "Sure."After exchanging a few pleasantries with Trevor, Rowan turned back to Harold, Matthias, and the others and asked, "Where were we just now?"Matthias answered, "We were discussing how we should appropriately handle the situation if we discover a foreign probe entering our controlled area."Hearing this, Wynn couldn't help but start thinking about it too.Rowan smiled and asked, "What do you think? Cel, do you have any thoughts?"Earlier, Matthias and Celeste hadn't had time to really think about it before Trevor and Wynn showed up.Now that Rowan asked again, Celeste and Matthias both paused briefly.When Wynn heard Rowan call Celeste by her nickname, she suddenly got distracted.Cel? Rowan was addressing Celeste so intimately.Moreover, she noticed that whenever Rowan looked at Celeste, his demeanor was very warm and kind—he genuinely seemed to admire her.She frown
After dinner, Jordyn followed Celeste back to the Rodriguez residence.That night, she received a call from Rowan, inviting her and Matthias to play golf the next morning.Celeste agreed. However, when she saw the address Rowan sent, she hesitated for a moment.The golf course happened to be a property owned by the Fleming family. She had been there before.Still, since she had already agreed, it wouldn't be appropriate to back out now.…Early Saturday morning, she drove out as planned.When she and Matthias arrived at the golf course, Rowan, Theodore, and Harold were already there.Seeing them, Rowan and the others greeted them with a smile, "You're here."Celeste nodded.Rowan asked, "Do you know how to play golf?"Celeste nodded again. "I've learned a bit."After some polite small talk, they began playing golf while chatting casually.Not long after, just as Celeste was putting away her club, she saw two people walking toward them from a distance.It was Trevor and Wy
Although Celeste and Matthias had already asked Candice to politely decline Cayden's request for a meeting, he still showed up uninvited two days later.Since he had come in person, Celeste and Matthias couldn't completely refuse to see him.They gave him a brief, symbolic reception, but after chatting for just over ten minutes, they politely sent him off.After that, whenever Cayden tried to arrange another meeting, they simply ignored him.With Celeste and Matthias maintaining a firm stance, and unable to meet with them, Cayden invited Wynn out for a meal the next day instead.During the meal, Cayden chatted with her about the developments in the industry for a while before saying, "If you had joined YodaVision last year, you would've grown so much by now. What a shame."At their last meeting, Cayden had asked about her current situation. After hearing she hadn't gotten into YodaVision, he didn't comment much.But now, recalling the matter, he couldn't help expressing his regr
Celeste didn't care how Trevor thought of her or looked at her, nor was she interested.After leaving the restaurant, Celeste and Matthias' group headed back to Fleming Tech for a meeting.This time, Lilian and Linda didn't follow. But Wynn did.Seeing Wynn come along again, Matthias secretly rolled his eyes and said, "Mr. Fleming, about Ms. Locket—"Trevor seemed to know what he wanted to say.Before Matthias could finish, Trevor spoke up, "If you're concerned about confidentiality, you don't have to worry. If anything does happen, I'll take full responsibility."Matthias had expected him to say that. After all, when they first started working with InnovaTech, Trevor had said exactly the same thing.Even so, Matthias still needed clear assurance.Hearing Trevor's words, Matthias put on a half-hearted smile and said, "I feel better with your assurance."During the meeting in the morning, the seat at the center of the table was occupied by Trevor alone. Now that Wynn was here,
Before Trevor could respond, his phone rang.He stepped outside to take the call, and by the time he returned, the food was being served.Miles' question was left hanging—brushed aside just like that.Right now, the author of the paper that engineers in the country and abroad were scrambling to read was sitting right in front of them.As the meal progressed, Rodney and his students couldn't help but ask Celeste questions as they skimmed through the paper's core content and experimental data.Whether they asked about specific parts of the paper or about broader problems that had puzzled them in their own research, Celeste responded to everything fluently and confidently.Wynn watched in silence. Her heart was calm.Watching Celeste speak so assuredly with Rodney and the others actually seemed like she did know what she was talking about.But was that really possible?Given Matthias' capabilities, if he was willing to credit Celeste as first author, then he must have ensured she