Chapter 148
Chapter 148
Half an hour later, Briar still appeared in the dining room, dragging her feet. Frank greeted her enthusiastically, “Briar, over here, come sit
Briar completely ignored Ashton, who was watching her eagerly, and walked straight past him to sit beside Frank. She said nothing and silently ate her
breakfast.
At Shoneport University, Frank had long grown used to Briar’s cold and quiet demeanor. He didn’t find it strange at all and happily whispered to her as they ate.
However, Connor, who had spent years in the complex and dangerous border areas, immediately noticed that Briar was intentionally giving someone the cold shoulder. His gaze turned to Ashton, and he mouthed, “Mr. Wade, she’s mad.”
Ashton mouthed back, “I know.”
Connor continued, “Want me to drag Frank away?”
Ashton shook his head to decline. If Connor forcibly dragged Frank away, Briar might clam up even more.
Lacking experience in relationships, Ashton rubbed his temples in frustration and mentally asked, ‘How do I coax an angry girlfriend?”
After breakfast, Briar refused Ashton’s offer to drive her to school and instead walked to Shoneport University with Frank.
Watching the girl with the backpack walking away without even looking back, Ashton looked utterly helpless. He turned to Connor with sincerity. “How do you usually coax Frank when he’s mad?”
Connor raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Wade, my way of coaxing might not work for you…”
Ashton looked puzzled. “Why not?”
Connor cleared his throat and replied plainly, “Frank is tough and can take a lot of… rough handling.”
That made Ashton cough awkwardly. “Yeah, that method definitely doesn’t work for me.”
Briar was soft and delicate. She couldn’t handle that kind of roughness.
Besides, he couldn’t even bear to see her cry. Now that she was mad, he didn’t know what to do.
Connor shrugged, clearly unable to help further.
When the campus king and queen arrived at school together, many students at the gate saw them. They rushed to snap photos. The school forum immediately made Frank and Briar’s joint appearance the top headline again.
Countless people were jealous, envious, or secretly bitter. But Briar, who had been invited by retired Shoneport University professor Wyatt to his lab, was completely unaware.
“Briar, come here,” Wyatt said, peering over his reading glasses. When he saw Briar enter the lab, he smiled warmly and beckoned her over.
Briar walked over and greeted politely, “Hello, Mr. Dutton. Hello, Mr. Swift.”
Joshua smiled as well. “Briar, Wyatt has been holed up in the lab recently and only got a chance to check his phone yesterday. That’s when he saw your performance in the open class.”
Briar nodded in realization. “So that’s what happened.” That explained why, as soon as she arrived at the research building, someone told her to come to this lab. Someone was looking for her.
Wyatt said, “Yes, Briar, your demonstration of the golden needle technique was impressive. I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in joining my lab. Perhaps…I wonder if I have the honor of being your teacher?“.
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10:36 Mon, 18 Aug o
Chapter 148
Wyatt beamed with kindness as he looked at Briar. “Of course, I know you already have a mentor. What I mean is, if you’re interested, you can still join my lab and work on some research projects with us.”
Briar smiled. “Sorry, Mr. Dutton, my mentor doesn’t allow me to take on another. But if there’s an opportunity, I’d love to join your lab and contribute to the experiments and research.”
There were two top traditional medicine labs at Shoneport University, one led by Joshua in the main medical research building, and the other was Wyatt’s renowned, selectively open lab. Many dreamed of joining it, but few were chosen.
Although a little disappointed, Wyatt still nodded with a smile. “That’s great. Before the end of the year, I’ll be assembling a core research team for an important project…”
Meanwhile, Frank stood awkwardly on the side, feeling thoroughly ignored.
Finally, when they finished discussing business and were about to let Briar leave, Wyatt turned and noticed, “The Wade family kid? When did you get here?”
Frank responded, “Mr. Dutton, I came with Briar.”
Wyatt laughed awkwardly. “Oh, really?”
Joshua knew that whenever Wyatt started talking about his beloved traditional medicine, he’d forget everyone and everything else around him, u quickly changed the subject.
He said, “Then it’s settled. In a few days, I’ll have Briar officially report to your lab.”
Wyatt nodded repeatedly. “Alright. I’ll add her to the list of lab members right now.”
Joshua then led Briar and Frank out.
Frank said, “Mr. Swift, this big research project of Mr. Dutton’s… with all the confidentiality and national–level experimentation, isn’t it risky to let someone as young as Briar in? Won’t she get bullied?”
He was genuinely worried. Politics and competition in labs could be just as brutal as in the real world, especially when national–level projects were involved. If things went wrong, having research stolen was the least of the problems. There could be frame–ups or sabotage too.
Joshua knocked him on the head. “You think Mr. Dutton is some useless old man? When has anyone in his lab ever caused that kind of trouble?”
“Ouch, that hurt!” Frank covered his head. “I was just worried Briar might get bullied. She seems like the kind of girl that’s easy to pick on.”
Upon hearing that, the quiet Briar nearly tripped and fell. She quickly clarified, “I’m actually pretty capable…”
She didn’t know how Frank got the impression that she was weak and easy
to bully.
Frank caught her just in time. “You see? You can’t even walk without tripping. How capable could you be?”
Briar thought it made sense. She couldn’t argue back.
Joshua reassured them, “Don’t worry. Since Mr. Dutton personally invited Briar, he’ll protect her. Besides, with you and that Ashton boy watching over her, who in all of Shoneport would dare go against her?”
After a pause, he added, “Besides, with you and Ashton watching her back, who in all of Shoneport would even think about crossing Briar?”
Frank thought about it and agreed. “True.”
Briar thought, ‘Seriously, does no one believe I’m actually tough?
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10.30 Mon, Tu Aug
Chapter 148
Meanwhile, in a presidential suite at a certain hotel.
“What? Mr. Dutton’s confidential experiment included Briar? She’s just a student from the traditional medicine department. What gives her the right to enter his lab?”
In upper class circles, some news always spread fast. For example, the news that Wyatt was forming a national level confidential research team had already made its way through the elite social scene.
They had their own channels to gather intel, and the Wade family was always among the quickest to respond. They were already well prepared
Emily was one of those who got the news early. As a top student in the modern medicine department, she had been racking her brain for a way into Wyatt’s lab.
Participating in a national–level confidential project would gild her resume like nothing else. She had even tried asking Ashton for help, only to be flatly refused.
And now, Ashton had helped Briar get into the project instead.
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AD
