Chapter 316

Sophia Sullivan remained silent.

The lab restructuring was a fact.

The lack of output was also a fact.

She didn't need to argue.

She sat back down.

Amelia Roscente's seat was right next to hers.

Amelia couldn't hold back a light laugh. "Sophia Sullivan, so this is your day."

"Life has its ups and downs," Sophia said calmly. "The wheel of fortune turns."

"Still so stubborn!"

Sophia looked straight ahead.

Not a trace of anger showed on her face.

Amelia was infuriated by her composure. "Do you really think you can outmaneuver Professor Lowell? Eleanor Watson is old. She can't compete for resources or influence anymore. Being her student, you're isolated and vulnerable. You're just a target."

"Back then, we fought tooth and nail to become Eleanor Watson's graduate students. You won. I lost. But who could have predicted things would turn out like this?"

"So winning isn't always winning, and losing isn't always losing. You probably didn't see this coming either, did you?" Amelia's lips curled into a smug smile.

What did it matter if she was first in the entrance exams?

What did a stellar interview mean?

She bought that CPRT Dynamometer with her own money, and in the end, she still had no lab to use it in.

"Sophia, after you broke up with my brother, how did you manage to sink even lower? Did you think getting into grad school was your big comeback? That it would make my brother see you in a new light? That it would make my mom regret losing you as a daughter-in-law? You're delusional!"

Sophia smiled.

Her eyes and the curve of her lips were full of genuine amusement.

"From what you're saying... it sounds like my getting into grad school was a successful comeback. Your brother did see me in a new light. And your mother does regret losing me. Is that right?"

"You—"

"But unfortunately," Sophia's smile vanished, "I pursued graduate studies because I wanted to learn. Any 'comeback' in your eyes was merely incidental. As for what your brother or your mother thinks, it's irrelevant to me. Because—"

"No matter how highly your brother might think of me now, no matter how much your mother might regret it, I would never go back."

"You're ungrateful!" Amelia snapped.

"Oh."

"Hopeless! Shameless!"

Sophia: "You're just raging impotently. Your entire family is projecting their own nonsense."

"?!"

Caleb Watson sat next to Amelia.

He hadn't caught every word of their exchange, but seeing Amelia's gritted teeth and furious expression told him it wasn't a friendly chat.

Jude Granger nudged his shoulder. "Caleb, why do Amelia and Ashley always have it in for Sophia?"

"This world has its share of strange people," Caleb said quietly. "They themselves are lacking, so they can't stand to see others succeed. In the end, they fail in both character and capability."

Jude looked slightly confused.

He took a few seconds to process it. "Exactly! But I think Ashley is actually very capable. I hardly ever see her in the lab, yet she quietly published another paper. I wish I could be that good someday…"

A look of yearning crossed Jude's face.

He hadn't officially started his research project yet.

Professor Victoria Lowell didn't pay him much attention.

Amelia and Shane Holloway already had their own research directions and projects.

Ashley Lowell went without saying.

Any good resources Professor Lowell had were funneled her way.

Only Jude, the earnest one.

He didn't come from a wealthy family like Amelia.

He wasn't as smooth-talking and ingratiating as Shane.

He certainly didn't have Ashley's innate luck.

So he could only tough it out patiently.

The only silver lining was that his fellow townsman, Caleb, was willing to lend a hand.

Blake Cunningham spoke. "...All the groups have reported, correct? Are there any other matters to declare?"

It was standard procedure.

After each group's report, time was allotted for announcing formal declarations within the school.

These weren't trivial matters worth bringing up in a meeting.

They involved major issues like personnel changes, reports of misconduct, or expulsions.

A representative from the oversight committee would publicly read the declaration to ensure fairness and transparency.

Usually, this segment was mentioned and quickly passed over.

Because there was nothing to declare.

Everyone assumed today would be the same.

But then—

The oversight committee representative on the stage stood up. "There is one item."

The room erupted in murmurs.

Even Blake Cunningham raised a surprised eyebrow.

"The specific matter is a notification letter regarding the application from Sophia Sullivan's research group to establish a self-funded laboratory off-campus. We have received it and are currently verifying the relevant procedures. Further developments will be reported promptly to the school and university administration."

His words landed like a thunderclap.

"Self-funded lab? What does that mean?"

"Did I hear that correctly?"

"Who's building a lab? Another university-enterprise collaborative research studio? Those aren't called labs…"

"Key point—notification letter, not application. That means Sophia's group has already taken action. This declaration is just a procedural formality!"

"Wow—the news lately always feels so surreal. First, someone spent a fortune on a CPRT Dynamometer. Now someone's building their own lab?! Is a lab like a cabbage you can just plant wherever you want?"

"Uh! Is it possible the people who bought the CPRT and are building the lab are the same group?"

"Huh?!"

"…"

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

The members of Professor Victoria Lowell's team were stunned into wide-eyed silence.

Shane looked utterly bewildered. "Wh-What are they saying up there?"

Ashley murmured, "How is that possible…"

Amelia's eyes were also wide with disbelief. "Sophia is… building a lab?"

Caleb listened, momentarily stunned.

Then, understanding dawned.

What a masterstroke!

They were actually doing something most people wouldn't even dare to imagine.

In that moment, a wave of self-disgust washed over him—

Disgust for himself, content to be trapped in a cage, lacking even the courage to try to spread his wings.

Compared to Sophia, he felt like a complete failure.

Jude was also shocked.

But he recovered quickly. "Sophia and her team are amazing! They're building their own lab?! My god, is that even possible? I heard building a lab takes not just time and money, but the approvals are super difficult. Especially for a bio-lab, the authorities are usually very strict. How…"

They made it sound as simple as eating or drinking?

"But a lab belonging to your own team sounds incredible! No more having to kowtow to the school, no more worrying about being reported or framed…"

Jude was fiercely envious again.

"Country bumpkin! No sense of the world!" Shane snarled viciously.

Jude frowned. "Have you ever seen anyone build their own lab? Name one other person who has."

Shane: "…"

"Can't name one? Then you haven't seen it either, right? So you're a country bumpkin too?"

"You—"

"What about me? It's true!"

Shane: "?" Since when did the pushover talk back?