Chapter 277

He quickened his pace to catch up.

"Clara, wait for me."

She deliberately walked faster.

Ethan watched her retreating figure, a smile in his eyes.

At the school gate.

Sophia had had enough. "You followed. You escorted me. When will you sign?"

"You said yesterday the terms were negotiable. Does that still stand?"

"What are your conditions?"

"This Saturday and Sunday. Give me two full days."

"What do you mean?"

"Spend two days with me. You can't refuse any request."

"After it's over, I'll sign immediately."

Sophia laughed in anger. "I need your signature, but not enough to sell myself."

"Just two days," Ethan's gaze was intense. "Do you really hate me that much?"

"Some things are better left unsaid out of politeness. You insist on asking."

"Yes. You are that hateful."

She turned and walked through the school gates.

Ethan stood there with a bitter smile. "I didn't mean it like that..."

"In your eyes, am I really that despicable..."

Sophia went to class first.

After class, she met up with Hannah Morse and Marcus Lawrence.

They headed to the lab.

They only had five days of access left.

They had to complete the first phase of data before the deadline.

The lab door was wide open.

Several cleaners were moving things out.

Hannah rushed forward. "What are you doing!"

"Who said you could touch this! This is our stuff!"

This lab held too much of their effort.

Every item was carefully chosen.

Every corner was cleaned by their own hands.

Strangers suddenly barging in made Hannah instantly furious.

"Put it down! Put everything down!"

The cleaners looked at each other. "The college notified us to come move it."

Sophia stayed calm. "Who notified you?"

"Professor Victoria Lowell. She said it failed the fire inspection."

"Told us to move everything out for renovations."

"That old witch again!" Hannah gritted her teeth.

"We still have five days! She can't even wait that long?"

"Is she even fit to be a teacher?"

The cleaners shook their heads helplessly. "We're just following orders."

Sophia didn't give them a hard time. "It's noon. Go to lunch first. We'll deal with this afternoon."

"Alright. We'll head out then."

Hannah's eyes reddened. "Sophia, we still have over a dozen data sets to run."

"What do we do if we can't use the lab?"

They had decided to build their own lab, but that took time.

At this stage, they needed to complete the experiment for data analysis.

Getting kicked out now threw all their plans into chaos.

"This is too much. Does she own the college?"

Shane Holloway sauntered over, hands in pockets. "What pig is squealing?"

Hannah's eyes widened. "You're the pig!"

"Touchy about being called fat."

"Heh— You still have time to argue about that?"

"If I were you, I'd just leave on my own. Save yourself the embarrassment of being thrown out."

Shane wore a look of smug triumph.

Sophia pulled Hannah back. "Let's just pack our things."

"Sophia!"

Shane laughed triumphantly. "Should have been this sensible from the start."

"Did you really need me to come kick you out? How pathetic."

Sophia picked up an instrument.

As she passed him, her hand suddenly slipped.

Bang!

A sharp cry of pain erupted.

Holy crap.

Shane Holloway clutched his foot, hopping in place.

He was grimacing in pain.

Sophia Sullivan looked utterly innocent. "My hand slipped. Your face is so thick, you should be fine, right?"

Hannah Morse didn't say a word. She just hoisted an entire lab table.

Shane's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

Hannah grinned. "Moving stuff—"

The table flew toward him.

Shane scrambled away, rolling and crawling.

The table crashed to the floor with a deafening bang.

"Are you insane?!"

Marcus Lawrence strode past.

He stepped squarely on Shane's other foot.

"Ah— Sorry. Not wearing my glasses. Stepped on some trash."

Hannah corrected him seriously. "Trash can be recycled. That thing is worse than trash."

Shane was trembling with rage.

"This has to be moved today! Otherwise, I'm calling the janitors to do it for you!"

He spat the threat and fled in disgrace.

Hannah planted her hands on her hips and laughed. "Don't run! I'm not done moving things yet!"

Her laughter died, and her face fell.

"Only five days left."

Marcus looked grim. "This is beyond insulting."

Sophia walked to a corner and pulled out her phone.

"Professor Laurent, can you do me a favor?"

...

After noon, the janitor returned.

This time, he wasn't there to move things.

"Students, the school says the move is postponed for now. It'll happen in five days."

Sophia knew Alexander Laurent had intervened.

"Thank you for your trouble."

"No trouble at all. It's my job..."

The equipment was returned, and the lab was restored to its original state.

Hannah and Marcus immediately changed into their lab coats.

Sophia joined them.

The three worked until ten at night.

Lunch and dinner were takeout.

Sophia checked her watch. "It's ten. Let's call it a day."

Hannah said, "We continue tomorrow."

Marcus nodded.

They took a taxi home.

Sophia was the first to get out.

The hallway was dark and cold.

She pulled her coat tighter.

"Sophia."

Alexander Laurent was in workout clothes, sweat on his brow.

"Professor, you're running this late?"

"No time during the day. Making up for it now."

Sophia waited for him to approach.

They walked upstairs together.

"Thank you for today."

"Don't mention it. Is five days enough? I can try to get more time if not."

"It's enough."

The fire safety issue couldn't be overlooked.

They would have to move eventually.

She didn't want to trouble him further.

They reached the seventh floor.

"Goodnight, Professor."

"Goodnight."

Sophia closed her door.

Alexander returned to his own apartment.

His study computer was on.

Messages from Quincy Evans were popping up frantically.

[Running again?]

[Five times in one night? Are you possessed?]

[Is there gold on the road?]

[Forget it. I'll analyze the data myself.]

Quincy went offline.

Alexander thought of the scene in the hallway.

The girl standing alone.

The light made her look slight and solitary.

Fortunately, he had run into her on his fifth trip downstairs.

Getting to walk a flight of stairs with her.

Not bad.

The corner of his mouth lifted.

...

Sophia arrived home.

Warm air greeted her.

She drank a glass of warm water.

It was almost eleven by the time she finished showering.

She sat down, rubbing her temples.

Her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, her expression darkened.

"...Hello."

"Sophia, just one day."

"?"

Ethan Roscente's voice was soft. "Just one day. I won't make any unreasonable demands. Everything will be outdoors. I'll bring you home before dark."

Sophia was wary. "What do you want?"

He gave a bitter laugh. "Seeing you is so difficult now. I just want to talk quietly."

It had become a luxury.

Something that required an exchange to achieve.

He pressed his lips together in self-mockery.

Sophia said, "...Alright."

The man's eyes lit up.

"But on one condition," she added.

"What condition?"

Sophia said, "Any request, if I don't like it or feel uncomfortable, I refuse directly."

"Okay."