?Chapter 1071:


    Jeff walked in and set a paper bag on the table. His gaze lingered on the bloodstained gauze wrapped around Ste’s forearm, a frown creasing his brow. “Ste,” he said gently, “let me take care of that. The bandage is loose. If you leave it like that, it could get infected.”


    Ste’s first instinct was to brush him off, but after ncing at her clumsy attempt at changing the bandages, she gave in with a small nod. “Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”


    To her surprise, Jeff’s hands were incredibly gentle. He carefully unwrapped the old gauze, cleaned the wound as if he had done it a hundred times before, applied ointment, and pulled out fresh bandages and tape from his bag to rewrap it.


    It was all done quickly and smoothly, taking barely five minutes. Curious, Ste tilted her head. “You’ve got some serious skills. Where did you learn to do all this?”


    Jeff kept his focus on securing the bandage properly. “My mom’s been sick on and off for years. I’ve been the one taking care of her wounds.”


    The words hit Ste harder than she expected. She realized her question had been careless—he had told her about his mother a long time ago.


    She looked down, a little embarrassed. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to bring that up.”


    Jeff gave her a soft, reassuring smile. “It’s really okay. You already knew about her. I didn’t take it the wrong way.”


    Once he was done, Jeff didn’t rush off. Instead, he pulled out a stack of papers and slid one in front of her. “Hey, I’ve got some questions about mytest research. Mind helping me out?” He looked a little shy about it, as if he felt bad bothering her while she was hurt.


    But Ste didn’t mind at all. She walked him through it patiently, exining everything he needed.


    Before they knew it, an hour had flown by.


    Realizing he had eaten into her lunch break and still had more questions, Jeff stood up quickly. “Sorry, Ste. I didn’t mean to take up your whole break. I’lle back tomorrow. I won’t bother you again today.”


    From that day on, Jeff started showing up more often—almost every day, actually. At first, it was all academic: questions about his paper and research discussions.


    But little by little, their conversations grew more casual, more personal.


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    People around the research institute began to notice. Sandra, who was close to Ste, had grown used to seeing Jeff around and understood that he was merely a student Ste was assisting.


    But not everyone knew the full story. Before long, the rumor mill kicked in. People started whispering that Ste might have found herself a new love interest—and a younger man, no less.


    The gossip spread like wildfire.


    One afternoon, William was in Paul’s office, sipping tea, when Paul cautiously brought it up.


    “That guy who’s been visiting Ste a lottely—he’s her junior, right?” Paul asked, trying to sound casual while clearly treading carefully. “They’re not, uh… involved, are they?”


    William’s expression tightened at the question. He lifted his teacup, keeping his tone light but unmistakably irritated. “What do you mean?”


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