Chapter 435: The Lecture Hall Emptied Like a Receding Tide After the Departmental Meeting

The lecture hall emptied like a receding tide after the departmental meeting.

Reid Everett's gang slunk along the walls like sewer rats, hunched and furtive.

Humiliated before the entire faculty, they wished the ground would swallow them whole.

"Clara, you were absolutely brilliant!" Maya Torres' eyes sparkled like searchlights.

Noah Kessler unconsciously straightened his posture. "Let's see anyone call our research team amateurish now."

"Next time we run into Reid's crew, I'm looking down my nose at them!" Maya was already daydreaming about the scenario.

Her grin stretched ear to ear, brighter than a landlord counting rent money.

"Clara, can we have more moments like this? Slapping arrogance right back?"

"You think this is some online game?" Noah adjusted his glasses.

"Want me to slap you next?"

Maya glared at him, cheeks puffing like an angry chipmunk.

* * *

Victoria Holloway drifted home in a daze.

"Oof—"

She nearly collided with Catherine Holloway carrying a bowl of bird's nest soup.

"Walking around like a ghost... Don't forget tomorrow's blind date with Roger. Redwood University graduate, multiple International Research Citation Index publications..."

"Clara Whitmore got published in Meridian Science." The words tumbled out.

"What science?" Catherine frowned. "Why bring her up?"

"The journal Meridian Science." Victoria's voice tightened.

Catherine's spoon clattered against the porcelain bowl.

* * *

Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains.

Clara gathered her lecture notes, heading for the dining hall.

She nearly collided with Elias Mercer at her doorway.

They froze simultaneously.

"Morning, Professor." Clara recovered first.

"Morning." Elias's ears pinked. "Campus-bound?"

"Breakfast first."

"Join me?"

"Sure."

Walking beneath the elms, Elias remarked, "The university posted your achievement online."

"Only possible with your lab access." Clara kicked a pebble. "And you as corresponding author."

Elias did carry some weight with Meridian Science's editors.

"Preparation meets opportunity."

Their shadows lengthened in the dawn light.

Since that candid conversation, Elias no longer avoided her.

As for whether those dreams still came...

Only the frequently changed bedsheets on his balcony knew for certain.