The Scent of 384

Chapter 384

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 was thoroughly prepared. 1

At first, when she heard Matthias say Celeste was the lead author, she had been utterly shocked.

But if this paper really was Celeste’s independent research, as Matthias claimed, then wouldn’t that mean she was even more impressive than her advisor, Cayden?

How could that be possible?

She wasn’t Matthias.

There were countless geniuses in the world but not everyone could become like Matthias.

So most likely, the paper was actually Matthias‘ work, and he was simply using it to boost Celeste.

Once she’d convinced herself of this, she cast a casual glance toward Celeste, watching her chat confidently with Rodney and the others, before looking away. 2

Lilian and Linda were thinking along the same lines as Wynn.

Linda, who was more hot–tempered, grew furious watching Celeste carry on like she was some real expert, even daring to give advice to Rodney.

She nearly couldn’t hold herself back from standing up and exposing “the truth“. But since neither Lilian nor Wynn said anything, she didn’t dare speak out either, no matter how angry she felt.

Jorge had also inwardly questioned Celeste’s abilities. But seeing Rodney’s focused, genuinely excited expression while speaking to her, he started to waver.

Could Celeste really be this capable?

The meal lasted longer than expected.

Before everyone left, Celeste and Rodney exchanged contact information.

Rodney, aware that he’d taken up so much of Celeste’s time during the meal, turned to Trevor and said apologetically, “Sorry, Mr. Fleming. Once we started talking shop, I just couldn’t stop…”

Trevor replied, “No problem. The reason I invited everyone to lunch today was to let everyone get to know each other. That way, future collaborations will go more smoothly.”

As the group began to disperse, Beck finally found a chance to say a few words to Celeste.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Celeste replied.

Miles, seeing Beck go over just to congratulate Celeste, didn’t think much of it–assuming he was just being polite.

Trevor also noticed Beck approaching Celeste.

He glanced over, then looked away without any change in expression.

But Wynn, watching all this, pressed her lips together tightly.

Did Beck really believe Celeste was that professionally capable? Was that why he liked her?

But then…

No, that couldn’t be it.

Beck had seemed to like Celeste even before Harper Corporation and YodaVision started cooperating.

So clearly, his feelings for Celeste had nothing to do with her professional abilities.

Just then, Trevor’s voice sounded beside her, “What are you thinking about?”

Wynn snapped out of her thoughts.

Seeing that Celeste had stolen all the attention today, and that Trevor hadn’t spared her a single extra glance, she curved her lips into a light smile and said, “Nothing.”

Whether Celeste’s abilities were real or not–it didn’t matter.

In Trevor’s eyes, she simply didn’t exist.