Zane waved a hand dismissively. "No worries, keep going."


    With that, he and Mirabe left theb.


    Watching them walk away, Meg took a deep breath and quickly refocused. "Looks like we''re done for today," she said to the others, her expression calm.


    "Guess so. We''ll pick it up tomorrow," one of the members replied.


    Meg nodded and got to work tidying up the documents scattered on the table. Once everything was in order, she pulled up a chair and settled in, clearly nning to continue her own research.


    The others, who had already shut down the equipment, looked at her in surprise. "Meg, you''re still going to work?" one of them asked.


    Meg hummed softly, then said, "The paper submission deadline is right around the corner. We can''t afford to let people who treat this like a hobby waste all our hard work."


    Hearing this, the members couldn''t help but think about the student Mr. Zane had brought along. If that girl hadn''t interrupted to leave, maybe Zane wouldn''t have left early either.


    Besides, experiments usually take hours. Why show up if you have other ns?


    Feeling a bit frustrated, they exchanged nces. No one mentioned leaving; instead, they pulled their chairs closer and sat back down.


    "Since we''ve got the time, let''s go over our arguments again," someone suggested.


    Everyone was working hard for their future, and if this experiment seeded, it would significantly boost their careers. No need to let irrelevant distractions derail them.


    ***


    Meanwhile, in the elevator, Zane was chatting with Mirabe.


    "Being a data analyst can be pretty dull. Sometimes, analyzing experiments takes ages. If it doesn''t work the first time, you try again and again..."


    Mirabe listened quietly but felt the need to chime in. "Professor, the main reason for so many attempts is often due to skill level."


    Zane, who had intended to say something encouraging to prevent his student from feeling disheartened, found himself at a loss for words.


    Just then, the elevator dinged, signaling their arrival on the ground floor.


    The doors opened to reveal Mr. Calvin waiting to board. Seeing Zane and Mirabe, he paused.


    Zane, recalling an awkward encounter from a few days ago, felt uneasy but still greeted him. "Mr. Calvin."


    Calvin acknowledged him with a nod, knowing his student was conducting an experiment today. "How did it go?" he asked casually.


    Zane stepped out of the elevator before answering, "Not great."


    Calvin raised an eyebrow. "Not great?"


    Zane nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly. Turning to Mirabe, he said, "Didn''t you have something to do? You should go."


    Mirabe nodded. "Okay," she said, and quickly left.


    Calvin, noting theck of manners in the student, withdrew his gaze and, recalling something, asked, "The student you mentioned the other day, observing the experiment, wasn''t this freshman, was it?"


    Bringing along a clueless freshman to observe an important experiment? That was just absurd.