The meeting this time had also invited the brainputer interface team from Starnova, serving as an academic exchange between personnel from both sides.


    Eleanor Sutton pushed open the conference room door. Eight core members of theb were already seated inside, andn Goodwin was sitting next to the head position.


    He was dressed in a deep gray suit, posture steady, head bowed as he reviewed the documents in his hand. His head of white hair appeared especially stark under the lights.


    Seemingly hearing the footsteps, he looked up. Eleanor, however, naturally greeted the engineers from Starnova without making eye contact with him.


    Eleanor''s seat was at the head of the table. She connected herptop to the projector, and the meeting soon began.


    She led the presentation on key recent advancements in brainputer interface research. The entire conference room was silent, filled only by her clear voice and the faint sound of slides changing.


    He could understand Eleanor''s exnations well enough, but it was mostly the Starnova engineers who posed questions to her. As Eleanor answered their queries, a pair of eyes remained fixed on her face, then drifted to her beautiful head, as if trying to peer through and see what constructed that brilliant mind.


    Her intelligence astonished him. The sweetly naive girl from his memory was gone. So too was the yful woman who had snuggled in his arms demanding kisses, disrupted his work, bought him sses on a whim, and insisted he wear them.


    Yet they had shared a bed for six years-


    But the woman sitting beside him now exuded an unapproachable, academic air that made her difficult to grasp and decipher.


    Eleanor was listening to an engineer''s exnation when her gaze inadvertently shifted to the man beside her. Ian had been staring so intently that his focus had drifted, making him appear somewhat distracted.


    Eleanor''s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.


    That nce snappedn back to alertness instantly. If he wasn''t mistaken, the look Eleanor had just given him could only be interpreted as... disdain.


    He immediately cleared his throat softly, sat up straighter, and collected himself. Although, this feeling didn''t seem entirely unpleasant.


    After the meeting concluded, Eleanor shook hands and said farewell to the engineers Ryan stood nearby also establishing connections. Later, once the Starnova engineers had left.


    Eleanor turned and sawn standing behind her, one hand in his pocket. "Can we talk?" he asked.


    "Sorry, I have other matters," Eleanor replied.


    "I wasn''t distracted earlier. I''m not entirely uninterested in your meeting—"n attempted to exin.


    Eleanor met his gaze with clear eyes. "If Mr. Goodwin is too busy, he need not attend such academic meetings in the future."


    Ryan and Callie, standing to the side, exchanged a nce and wisely made themselves scarce to avoid any coteral fallout.


    Eleanor didn''t intend to say more and moved to walk past him toward her office.


    "Your presentation today was excellent,"n praised in a low voice.


    Eleanor left without another word. Shortly after, Tan also stepped out. There had been a glimmer of good news in Eleanor''s meeting information-they had at least touched upon a potential key to awakeninga patients.


    Vanessa began applying her makeup in the afternoon.


    She was to apany Walden Wells to a private dinner that evening. Within their circles, the fact that she was Walden Wells''s woman had spread like wildfire. Coupled with her own beauty and social skills, Walden Wells was, for the time


    being, utterly taken with her, taking her wherever he went.