Chapter 500

A year ago, Sophia Sullivan had briefly used Alexander Laurent's physics lab.

She met Professor Quincy Evans and Dr. Zoe Langley there.

Over several months, they went from strangers to acquaintances.

Quincy once noticed Sophia processed experimental data at an astonishing speed.

He learned she had taught herself programming and wrote a small app for data organization.

It could even perform multi-dimensional classification and sorting.

Quincy was deeply impressed.

He asked Sophia to write one for the lab too.

This app greatly improved their data processing efficiency.

Quincy often sighed while using it. "Thank goodness for Sophia."

Yesterday, the program crashed.

Dr. Simon Lowell tried to fix it.

The entire system ended up paralyzed.

No one dared touch it now. They had to ask Sophia for help.

Alexander sounded hesitant. "Are you free today? If not, another day is fine…"

Quincy's original words were: "If I don't get Sophia here today, I'll—I'll publicly have diarrhea!"

He went to the hospital for medicine yesterday. It temporarily helped, but the pain returned at night.

He had been running to the restroom all morning at the lab.

Six times just before noon.

That threat was effective.

Sophia said, "I'm free. I'll come now."

"…Okay. I'll meet you at the main gate."

She wanted to refuse, but he had already hung up.

Ten minutes later, Sophia saw Alexander at the gate.

They walked while discussing the crash details.

Alexander explained, "The sorting function failed yesterday afternoon. After attempting repairs, even data export became impossible."

Sophia pondered. "I'll need to examine it to determine the exact cause."

"Sophia! You're finally here—" Quincy rushed over excitedly as they entered the lab.

"Are you feeling better, Professor Evans?" She smiled and nodded.

"The medicine helps, but full recovery will take a couple more days."

"Were your test results clear?"

"The doctor said everything's fine."

"That's good."

Quincy pulled her to the computer. "Alex explained the situation? Without the program, data organization takes an hour. The efficiency is terrible."

"Thank goodness you're here. This was becoming unbearable."

"Ahem!" Alexander cleared his throat softly.

Quincy looked slightly embarrassed. He quickly adjusted a chair. "Please, sit—"

"Thank you, Professor Evans."

Sophia sat down. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.

She identified the problem within half an hour.

Next came debugging.

It wasn't difficult for her, but it required time.

Alexander ordered lunch.

"Eat first. You can continue after." He placed the meal box beside her.

She turned and smiled. "Thank you, Professor."

"Of course." He paused. "Actually, you don't need to be so formal with me."

She didn't catch the disappointment in his tone. She joked, "Better to be polite. I wouldn't want to be accused of disrespect."

Alexander's voice grew quiet. "I'm not your teacher."

She looked down, opening the meal box. "It's close enough."

Alexander fell silent.

The lid opened, releasing the aroma of food.

All her favorite dishes—

Sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed egg with shrimp, shredded pork with green peppers.

She thanked him earnestly again.

Alexander seemed to want to say more but stopped.

After lunch, Sophia continued debugging.

She worked until five in the afternoon.

Aside from restroom breaks and brief conversations, she remained focused on the screen.

"…Is Dr. Lowell not in today?" Sophia asked.

Quincy sighed. "That guy still isn't over his breakup. He's been taking lots of time off these past two weeks. Didn't come in again today."

"Breakup?" Sophia was surprised.

"You didn't know?!"

She shook her head.

Quincy leaned closer, sharing the gossip in a low voice.

Hearing "Alex fired Lillian Lopez not long after returning from Shanghai," fragments of memory flashed in Sophia's mind. Her expression turned subtle.

"…Perhaps he loved too deeply. The separation is painful. Give him time to adjust. He'll come around eventually."

Sophia hummed softly and asked no more.

Other people's affairs were not her concern.

As the evening sun set, Sophia finally completed the repairs.

Quincy immediately tested the program's functions—

Half a minute later. "It's fixed! Really fixed! It works again!"

Zoe jumped for joy. "Wonderful! No more manual data entry. Today was torture!"

Quincy checked his watch. "It's so late. You've worked hard all day, Sophia! Alex—"

"…Hmm?" Alexander seemed distracted.

Quincy said, "Sophia helped so much. Shouldn't you show some appreciation? At least treat her to a meal?"

"Absolutely. It's the least I can do."

"Good! I'll book a restaurant right away."

Alexander nodded.

Inviting Sophia meant including Quincy and Zoe too.

The four arrived at the restaurant to find the dishes already served.

They sat down and began eating.

Midway, Sophia went to the restroom. Returning, she took a call from Julian Winston in the hallway.

"…Sorry for the wait. I checked with R&D. They are developing the thermosensitive material you mentioned."

Sophia's eyes lit up.

"But it's unclear if it meets your requirements. I suggest an on-site inspection to test parameters. Of course, only if you have time…"

"I have time!"

Julian paused for two seconds. "The location is in Z City. It will take several days. Are you sure you want to go yourself? I can handle it."

She had to go.

"Okay," Sophia nodded. "When do we leave?"

He said something on the other end.

She smiled. "I look forward to this trip to Z City too… It's settled then. Ten tomorrow morning at the airport… Yes. We'll talk more then."

She hung up and walked back briskly.

Unaware Alexander, who had gone to pay the bill early, overheard every word.

She was going to Z City with Julian?

Had their relationship progressed to traveling together?

Alexander's eyes darkened instantly.

After the meal, they left the restaurant. Sophia got into Alexander's car.

Silence filled the ride.

Sophia was planning her Z City itinerary and didn't speak either.

What was the weather like there?

How many clothes should she pack?

…

By the time they reached her apartment building, she had everything figured out.

They walked side by side toward the entrance.

Alexander suddenly stopped and called her. "Sophia Sullivan—"

The woman turned, startled. "Professor? What is it?"

He had never used her full name like this before.

The man stood in the shadows, his expression unreadable. "Why Julian Winston?"

"…What?"

"I thought Sebastian Evans was my rival. But he became your cousin. I was relieved he was out of the picture. I thought I would be the one by your side."

"If you ever wanted to date, I should have been the first one you saw."

"But it's not Sebastian. And it's not me. It's Julian. I don't understand. Can you tell me why?"

Sophia was completely stunned.

"Pro—Professor, what are you talking about?"

Alexander slowly lifted his head. The streetlight illuminated his profile. The deep affection in his eyes was unmistakable.

"You still don't understand? Then let me be perfectly clear—"

He gazed into her eyes, enunciating each word. "Sophia Sullivan, I am in love with you."

"Madly in love with you."