Chapter 715 Very Well Said
The hotel’s third floor housed the conference hall, while the second floor was an open coffee bar.
When Catherine arrived, Richard was already seated in a corner, gazing at the beautiful scenery through the floor-to- ceiling windows. Catherine walked directly to the opposite side of Richard, ready to out a chair to sit down. Upon hearing the sound, Richard stood up and pulled a chair for her. “Long time no see, Catherine. Your taste hasn’t changed, has it?”
“No.”
Hearing this, Richard called over a server and ordered an Americano with no milk or sugar. It was a flavor he remembered Catherine liked. Despite her sweet looks, she enjoyed such a bitter taste, Due to its uniqueness, Richard remembered her taste all at once and had done so for many years.
“Catherine, the conference room was crowded just now, and I didn’t have the chance to talk to you. Luckily, you haven’t forgotten our code, or else I would have had to come find you personally.”
When the two of them left the conference room earlier, Richard used a particular language to hint at Catherine, asking her to meet at the coffee bar on the second floor. They had once worked in the same laboratory on the same project. A few members used a special tapping method to create a language in their leisure time. This language was similar to Morse code and could translate some short texts. In the world, only a few people from their laboratory knew this language.
Compared to Catherine’s composure, Richard seemed much more excited. ” Catherine, are you leading the Styre University to participate in the competition this time?”
Richard knew Catherine was from Eskana and thought she had devoted herself to the relatively weak Styre Team for the sake of her homeland.
In response to Richard’s inquiry, Catherine shook her head. “No.”
“No?” Richard was somewhat puzzled. “Weren’t you just standing up for the Styre Team earlier?”
The server brought the coffee that Richard had ordered for Catherine. She took a sip, furrowed her brow, and then set the cup down. Due to her low blood sugar, Branden often added a suitable amount of sugar to her drinks. As a result, she had become less accustomed to such bitter coffee. “I am a participant, not the team leader. ”
“Participant?” Richard looked at Catherine in disbelief. He scrutinized her repeatedly, trying to confirm that she was not joking. It was pretty surprising that Catherine was a participant. After all, when they worked together, she had been one of the youngest and most outstanding researchers in their group. With her background and talent, she could have easily led a project in one of the most renowned laboratories in Alton, so how could she possibly be a participant in a team that couldn’t even make it to the top three in the competition?
“Catherine, even though your expression tells me this is true, I still find it hard to believe.” Richard looked at her with a wry smile, stating a fact. ” After all, the Styre Team is not the strongest in this competition, and we both know that!”
“Just because it wasn’t the strongest before doesn’t mean it won’t be this time!” Catherine said in a nonchalant tone, yet it sounded quite assertive.
If anyone else had said those words, Richard would have sneered and perhaps even ridiculed them harshly. But when he heard Catherine say so, he understood that this time, it wouldn’t be as predictable as in previous years for Alton to win the Bide Cup. Catherine was the biggest variable, and her presence was destined to change the result of the competition.
The next day, an apology letter from the Johnville Team was posted on the official Bide Cup forum. Many participating teams had heard about the conflict between the Johnville and Styre teams. No one had expected that the once arrogant Johnville Team would be the one to issue an apology.
Johnville Team’s arrogance was even greater than its reputation, and many teams had suffered at their hands without any means of seeking justice. It was the first time they had seen this team apologize so sincerely.
Amelia immediately forwarded the apology letter to the group chat, saying, [Catherine, you are so amazing! ]
Ronin and the others had heard the news the day before. They had initially planned to teach Edson a lesson. However, after hearing about Catherine’s retaliation, they couldn’t help but laugh at the punishment he received.
Ronin commented, [How dare that guy disrespect Catherine? He deserved it! He’s lucky he didn’t get dung thrown at him. It’s a light punishment.]
Zobber had obtained first-hand information, adding, [I heard that because his mouth was so big, the plunger couldn’t be removed. He was sent to the hospital to get it out finally, and his whole jaw was dislocated!]
Upon hearing Zobber’s intelligence, everyone in the group chat burst into laughter.
Having finished reading their messages, Withal couldn’t help but mention Catherine. [Catherine, next time, try a different way to punish him. It’ll save the doctors from unnecessary trouble!]
The incessant buzzing of her phone slowly roused Catherine from her slumber. She opened her eyes and stretched forward. She had been resting in the dorm room with Amelia the night before. Around ten o’clock, Branden suddenly knocked on the door and carried her upstairs.
Seeing Branden focused on his phone, Catherine muttered, “What are you looking at?”
Branden turned around, wrapped an arm around Catherine’s waist, and pulled her close while showing her the phone. “Take a look for yourself!”
Bemused, Catherine lowered her head to look at the phone. She scrolled through the messages and stopped at the one where Withal had mentioned her. She replied to him, [Got it. Will keep that in mind.]
After Catherine sent it, the previously lively group chat suddenly fell silent. A bit puzzled, she carefully reviewed her message and found nothing amiss. The signal on the phone was strong. She tried to inject some humor, yet it seemed to have startled everyone. What’s going on?” she wondered.
Just as Catherine pondered this, a soft voice came from above her. “You are using my phone!”
Catherine was momentarily stunned. After scrutinizing the profile picture for a while, she realized she had made a mistake. Her phone was the same make and model as Branden’s. Even the profile picture he used was quite similar to hers, which showed a ray of sunlight piercing through the darkness.
She had just woken up and was a bit groggy, so it was normal for her to use the wrong phone to reply to messages.
Still receiving no response, Catherine casually tossed the phone aside and calmly said, “We’re all adults. What’s with the fuss?”
Branden was amused by her haughty demeanor. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. “Very well said!”
