Chapter 108

"Half an hour ago. Zoe, could you take a look and see if this ratio is appropriate?"

Zoe, hearing a professional question, didn't hold back. After understanding the experimental steps, she quickly offered suggestions for adjustments.

Lillian saw how serious Sophia looked the moment she arrived and couldn't help but curl her lip. What real skill could an undergraduate possibly have?

Putting on airs!

Sophia worked through the entire morning. When she finally looked up, she realized everyone had already left their stations, probably gone for lunch and a break.

Checking the time, she saw there was an hour and a half for the break. She planned to grab a quick bite and then return to continue the experiment.

Just as she stepped out the door, she saw Alexander walking toward her with a takeout bag.

"I went downstairs to get lunch and brought you a portion."

Seeing he only had one bag, she guessed he had already eaten.

"Thank you."

After eating lunch in the break room, she made a cup of coffee to perk herself up.

She had adjusted the ratio of the reaction materials based on Zoe's suggestion that morning, but the results were still not ideal.

This set of data was sufficient to support the conclusion in her paper, but Sophia believed the accuracy could be improved further.

This meant the experiment needed to be redone.

At this moment, she was immensely grateful to Alexander for lending her the lab. With these resources, she wasn't afraid of having to redo it multiple times.

Thinking of this, Sophia finished her coffee in a few gulps and prepared to return to her workstation.

As soon as she entered, she saw Zoe, Quincy, Simon, and Lillian gathered together discussing something.

She was about to greet them when she noticed that as she approached, the group automatically dispersed and quickly returned to their respective places.

Sophia was taken aback for a moment, but she didn't dwell on it and threw herself back into her experiment.

Different circles don't have to mix.

People naturally have different thoughts and values.

It's like a hunter and a woodcutter. One tracks prey, the other gathers firewood.

Their goals are different; they cannot walk the same path.

If they meet by chance and get along well, they can travel together for a while. If they part ways, there's no need for regret. Everyone has their own destination.

Everything should be left to nature.

The experiment had to be started over, and time was tight.

Sophia was responsible for both sampling and data collection and analysis, essentially doing the work of an entire team by herself.

What could she do? She was a one-woman army.

When things got busy, she spent sixteen out of twenty-four hours in the lab.

The days passed. Zoe and Quincy occasionally came over to chat.

Simon sought out Lillian to talk whenever he had a free moment, so he didn't interact much with Sophia.

As for Lillian, ever since that awkward dinner, she hadn't initiated a conversation with Sophia.

Most of the time, Sophia was alone.

...

After working non-stop for a week, Sophia finally found some time to rest. Looking down, she realized her clothes were wrinkled.

Although the lab had a break room and showers, she hadn't anticipated being this busy and had only brought two changes of clothes. She decided to take some time to go back home today.

The succulents on the balcony were thriving, but the orchid had already wilted.

She added feed to the small fish in the aquarium, did a quick clean of the room, packed some clean clothes, and prepared to return to the lab.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

Seeing the name on the caller ID, Sophia's heart skipped a beat.

Sophia Sullivan's phone screen lit up.

Olivia Lopez's name flashed repeatedly.

She swiped to answer.

"Sophia Sullivan! How dare you ignore my calls?!"

Olivia's furious shout came through the receiver.

Sophia held the phone away from her ear.

She checked her call log.

A string of missed calls.

All from Olivia.

She had been swamped these past few days.

She meant to call back several times.

But kept forgetting.

"Sorry, Liv." Sophia's tone was apologetic. "The lab's been crazy."

Olivia snorted.

"My birthday is next month." She emphasized, "You have to come."

Sophia chuckled softly. "Of course I remember."

The gift had been ready for a while.

Olivia seemed satisfied.

The call ended.

Sophia returned to the lab.

She heard a groan as soon as she entered.

Simon Lowell was frantically tugging at his hair.

"Why won't it compute?!"

He was staring miserably at the data on his screen.

Professor Quincy Evans adjusted his glasses.

"The third node might be the issue." He pointed at the screen. "The steps aren't clear."

Simon wailed, "I've run it eight times!"

Dr. Zoe Langley leaned over to look.

"The third node is fine." She offered a different opinion. "The formula can be simplified."

Lillian Lopez picked up a pen.

She circled several data points.

After recalculating, she arrived at a new answer.

"Is this correct?"

Zoe nodded. "That should be it."

But Quincy frowned. "It still doesn't match up."

Sophia happened to walk by.

She glanced at the screen.

"The two data points in the seventh row are wrong." She said quietly. "It's not 50 and 71."

The lab fell silent.

Four pairs of eyes turned to her.

Lillian was the first to scoff.

"You understand physics?" Her tone was mocking. "Stop pretending you know what you're talking about."

Zoe tried to mediate.

"Sophia, we've all double-checked this data." She said tactfully. "You might be mistaken."

Quincy also nodded. "Professor Laurent and I have verified it."

Lillian cut in directly.

"Do you even know how different biology and physics are?" She sneered. "Don't interrupt with uninformed comments."

Sophia frowned. "I can explain—"

"Explain what?" Lillian's voice rose. "Think your high school competition gold medal makes you an expert?"

"This isn't a competition." Her tone was sharp. "Scientific research requires rigor."

Zoe seemed to want to say something.

But remained silent in the end.

Perhaps it was good for the newbie to learn a lesson.