LOGINAlthough Wynn's emotions were in turmoil, she quickly forced herself to calm down.Hearing someone interrupt, she paused and looked toward the speaker. He was a stranger.Noticing Philip's displeasure, the man immediately put on an apologetic smile. "My apologies, Professor Lancaster. I was just curious. I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation."He was a guest after all.Though Philip had never met the man before, it wasn't appropriate to make an issue of it. "It's fine."Then, seeing that nearly everyone around them had turned to look over, he realized they were all wondering whether he truly intended to take Celeste as his student.He smiled. Then, his gaze settled briefly on Celeste before sweeping across the crowd.After that, he and Thomas walked onto the stage.Looking out at the guests, Philip said with a smile, "Thank you all for coming to celebrate the anniversary of my institute. "Regarding my decision to take on a student, I had originally planned to come onst
Philip turned to the newcomer, frowning. "And you are?"His expression had already darkened. He was displeased not only by the rude interruption, but also by the accusatory tone in the man's voice.Worse still, the man hadn't exactly tried to keep his voice down. If anything, he'd spoken loudly enough for the entire banquet hall to hear.And just as Philip suspected, everyone nearby caught the question. The surrounding conversations gradually died away as people turned to look in their direction.Naturally, Celeste and Matthias were among those who heard it.The two exchanged surprised glances. Neither of them had imagined that Philip had actually intended to take Celeste as his student.Beck and Miles knew that Wynn had been hoping to study under Philip. They also knew Trevor had planned to bring it up with him that evening.From what they'd heard earlier, things had seemed to be going smoothly, and Philip appeared to think very highly of Wynn.But that had only been a short w
"Besides, Caleb said she hasn't divorced yet…"If she really is married, then what's going on between her and Matthias? She got involved with him before her divorce was even finalized? Fine, let's say that's true, but she also kept Caleb hanging while going after Wynn's boyfriend? Damn. She's got some nerve. That's seriously wild," Xavier remarked.Jorge's face darkened as he looked toward Celeste."She's really got the guts," he said coldly.Following his gaze, Xavier looked over as well.Even without getting close enough to hear the conversation, it was obvious how much Philip admired Celeste. And he wasn't the only one. The other leading figures in the AI community clearly held her abilities in equally high regard.A mere undergraduate had overtaken someone like Wynn—a PhD holder who had studied overseas—and in just over one year had become one of the brightest rising stars in AI.Compared to Celeste, Wynn had practically faded into obscurity. In fact, Celeste's reputation wa
Jorge had thought that perhaps Caleb had rushed over to Celeste simply because of his professional instincts.However, after following him over, the excessive concern and worry in Caleb's eyes and the way his attention remained fixed on Celeste made it clear that he had not been mistaken.The person Caleb liked was indeed Celeste.Xavier was still completely stunned. He never would have imagined that the person Caleb liked was Celeste.After recovering from the shock, he became anxious. "How could you possibly like her? Caleb, do you even know what kind of person she is? She—"Before he could finish, Caleb interrupted him. "I know. Actually, I know her better than you do."He understood why they were reacting so strongly. "I know what you're going to say, but there must have been some misunderstanding about what happened before."Celeste's character was absolutely trustworthy. He trusted what he had seen with his own eyes.In his view, Celeste was an exceptionally genuine and s
With that, Matthias supported Celeste as they headed upstairs.Beck, Caleb, and Kieran watched them leave.Wynn and Trevor also watched Celeste disappear upstairs.When Celeste had gotten hurt, Wynn had happened to be looking in her direction. She had clearly seen the panic in Beck, Kieran, and Caleb as they rushed toward her.But she knew Trevor hadn't noticed any of that.When the accident happened, he was in the middle of a conversation. It was only after someone mentioned the commotion that he turned to look.Thinking of this, Wynn glanced at him.To her satisfaction, Trevor had already withdrawn his gaze from Celeste and Matthias's retreating figures. Looking completely indifferent, he simply resumed chatting with the people around him.A faint smile appeared on Wynn's lips.Once Celeste was out of sight, Caleb also looked away.Jorge walked over and was about to speak, but someone beat him to it and struck up a conversation with Caleb first.Seeing that it was an old f
Jorge was a little surprised.Because of Caleb's personality and profession, he had never been particularly interested in banquets like these. He only attended occasionally, usually because he didn't want to disappoint his friends.Since he was merely accompanying them out of loyalty, whenever Jorge or Xavier wanted to leave early, Caleb had never insisted on staying.Caleb genuinely disliked these events.So, for him to behave so differently tonight, there could only be one explanation. Someone he cared about was here.The thought struck Jorge almost instantly. The woman Caleb liked was at this banquet.A smile tugged at Jorge's lips as he turned to tease his friend, but then he noticed where Caleb's attention was focused.Caleb was staring intently at Matthias... and Celeste.Jorge froze before a startling thought flashed through his mind. The smile vanished from his face, and his grip on his glass tightened instinctively.But…Just as he was about to dismiss the idea, a







