Mirabe''s captivating almond-shaped eyes sparkled as she read Zane''s message. She sensed that Zane had been acting a bit offtely. Instead of continuing to text, she decided to call him directly.


    The call connected quickly.


    "Is everything okay, Professor?" Mirabe asked calmly, cutting straight to the chase without beating around the bush.


    Zane fumbled with his phone, finding it difficult to articte his thoughts, but he realized it was time to stop hiding the truth. "The head of DO Group has scheduled a meeting for tomorrow."


    Hearing this, and piecing it together with the message on Messenger, Mirabe seemed to have an inkling of what was happening. "Is the meeting at the Tech Institute?"


    Zane hummed in confirmation.


    Mirabe''s eyes narrowed slightly, and a breeze lifted the wisps of hair on her cheeks, giving her an indescribably rxed air. "Why?"


    The word "student" made Zane feel as if the temperature had dropped a few degrees.


    He coughed, avoiding mentioning how Calvin had ckmailed him with patents and papers, and simply said, "The head of DO Group has had previous coborative dealings with the Tech Institute. You know, Mirabe, we had already signed a cooperation contract with the Tech Institute for the artificial life databasest year, so..."


    Before he could finish, Mirabe seemed to understand his implication and interrupted, "So the Tech Institute wants to take over the DO Group project, right?"


    Zane hadn''t expected Mirabe to be so sharp. A bitter smile tugged at his lips. "You could say that."


    "Heh." Mirabe chuckled lightly and stepped into the school cafeteria.


    Zane felt a pang in his heart at her emotionlessugh, knowing that despite Mirabe''s easy-going nature, she possessed a pride typical of a genius.


    This was the main reason he hesitated to talk to her about the patent issue. There were too many unpleasant things in this world, and when you''re not in a position of power, you have no choice but to grin and bear it.


    Such is the harsh reality of life.


    "Listen to me, Mirabe. It''s okay if the Tech Institute takes over the project. We''ll have other


    opportunities in the future. Besides, I''ve negotiated with them. Even if we step back, we won''t lose any of the prize money we''re due," Zane hurriedly exined.


    After ordering her meal from Marian, Mirabe calmly said into the phone, "Oh, I see. Is there anything else you wanted to say, Professor? If not, I''m going to go eat now."


    Zane, who had a lot more he wanted to say, suddenly found himself at a loss for


    words. After half a minute of silence, he managed to respond, "...Okay."


    However, before hanging up, Mirabe asked, "What time should I be there tomorrow?"


    Her tone was as usual, betraying no sign of disturbance.


    Zane replied with a dry "Nine o''clock."


    "Alright." Mirabe ended the Messenger call with that.


    Zane put down his phone, his expression growing more worried.


    He couldn''t tell whether Mirabe


    had taken his words to heart orice


    she had other thoughts. Regardless, the visit to the Tech Instituteo tomorrow was crucial.


    *


    Mirabe sat down at a table in the corner with her tray of food, eating while she


    took out her phone to send a message.


    "Are you blind?"


    "If you are, I can offer you a cure for free."


    The recipient, J, had justnded and turned on his phone to find these two


    messages: "????? Have you lost your mind?"


    With a smile on her face, Mirabe''s fingers danced leisurely across the screen:


    "From today on, our father-son rtionship is severed."