Mirabe''s cheek twitched. "Friends, huh?"


    ze cleared his throat, casually nodding towards the street.


    Mirabe raised an eyebrow and nced over. With just a quick look, she sighed,


    "I wonder which big shot owns that fancy car parade. So jealous."


    ze: "..."


    Patrick: "..."


    Did she really just say that?


    Acting oblivious to her friends'' reactions, Mirabe strolled along at her own pace. Before long, they reached the school.


    Once seated, Mirabe, feeling a bit bored, pulled out her phone. The conference hadn''t kicked off yet, and she was just there for the ride, not expected to share any thoughts.


    Her friends, on the other hand, were a bundle of nerves.


    Soon, a professor from Riverside University came over, asking them to take the presentation materials to the back.


    Patrick quickly fished a USB drive from his bag. Robert, standing next to him, took it, saying, "I''ll take care of this. You guys focus on your speeches."


    "Thanks, professor," Patrick nodded with gratitude.


    "Stay cool, no need to stress. I believe in you," Robert smiled, offering a bit of encouragement before heading backstage with the professor.


    Backstage was buzzing with professors from different schools chatting away.


    A math professor had arrived a bit earlier than Robert and had already handed the USB to the professor handling the projector. "Hey, Mr. Robert, any ns after the conference? When''s your flight back?"


    Robert nced over, handed off his materials to another professor, and replied, "We''re flying out the day after tomorrow, with tomorrow free."


    "Just one day off? Your department''s tight-fisted, not giving the students more of a break," the math professor remarked.


    Robert wasn''t one to let suchments slide. He chuckled, "Our students are so into studying, a break makes them restless. Can you believe it?"


    Math professor: "..


    Seriously, who is he taking a jab at?


    Another professor joined the conversation, and Robert seamlessly chatted with them.


    The math professor rolled his eyes, checked the time, and decided to hit the restroom.


    As he left the backstage area, he bumped into someone at the door.


    Something ttered to the ground.


    Rubbing his sore shoulder, the math professor looked up at the other person, who didn''t even bother to


    ligize, just shot him a cold look


    he was the one in the wrong.


    With a frown, the math professor noticed a USB drive on the floor. He picked it up


    and handed it over. "You dropped this."


    The person paused, snatched it without a word of thanks, and strode inside.


    The math professor felt like he''d swallowed a flypletely irritated.


    Who acts like that? So rude!


    He rubbed his shoulder and made his way to the restroom.


    swny


    A few minutester, after returning from the restroom, he scanned the backstage for the person who bumped into him but didn''t spot them. .


    By now, the conference had started, pulling his focus back.


    *


    Up front, the conference kicked off with Patrick and his group making their presentations.


    The venue was brightly lit, with the stage lights dimming only when the student team''s prepared materials were being projected.