Chapter 91

Joseph was from out of town, with no connections in Aloville. He had to rely solely on his abilities to make it here.

His skills were on par with Gavin’s, but he wasn’t offered a position by the company for two reasons.

First, his results in the school competitions weren’t as good as Gavin’s. Second, after Gavin finished his internship, Natalie made a trip back home.

In her previous life, Josie hadn’t known about Natalie’s family background and had always thought Gavin had stayed purely on his merit.

It wasn’t until later that she realized there was some behind-the-scenes help from Natalie.

Natalie’s mother was the deputy director of a prestigious research institute.

She had always wanted Natalie to take over her position and become the top expert in cell medicine research at the country’s leading institute.

But Natalie wasn’t as exceptional as Audrey expected. Afraid of letting her down, Natalie had to do whatever it took to climb up the ranks.

Gavin was her safety net to secure a job after graduation.

Later on, Kyle, Jaden, and Vincent all joined that institute since Natalie had been pulling the strings behind the scenes.

In her previous life, Josie thought it was Aiden who helped her get into the institute. However, it was just another piece in Natalie’s plan all along.

On the surface, it looked like everyone had made it big by joining the country’s most prestigious research team.

However, each of them had paid a price more than they could bear.

In the end, Josie was the only one who paid with her life.

“Josie, what’s wrong?” Adeline asked, holding Josie’s slightly trembling hand and looking at her with concern.

She asked, “Are you nervous because the competition’s coming up?”

Josie nodded. “A little. You just mentioned your boyfriend. It reminded me that Joseph’s about to start his internship soon, right?”

Adeline sighed, “Yeah, he’s been working really hard. He should be able to start his internship next semester."

“He’s been checking out a few hospitals lately, but after thinking it over, he still wants to go to a research institute.

“His grades have always been solid, and he’s basically lived in the lab with his advisor these past two years.

“But getting into a research institute is no joke–especially the Aloville Advanced Research Center. People like us don’t stand a chance of getting in.”

Zoey looked up. “Too bad my family doesn’t know anyone at the research institute, or I could’ve helped you!”

Zoey’s words gave Josie an idea. She felt that she could talk to Delilah about it. She remembered that Joseph was quite talented. If he just got a real chance, he might even outshine Gavin.

In her previous life, Gavin was just a party guy.

Thanks to the advanced research institute’s equipment and resources, he managed to make a name for himself in the medical world.

Josie felt that there was no reason Joseph couldn’t do the same if he had the same opportunity.

Josie decided to give it a try.

Even though a lot had changed since she had time-traveled, Natalie’s goals hadn’t changed. In the end, they would still end up on opposite sides.

Their team had six people, but at the moment, Delilah’s team only had Sean, Claire, and Josie. That wasn’t nearly enough.

Delilah needed more talented people to help her.

But for the moment, Josie kept quiet. She didn’t want to get Adeline’s hopes up if it didn’t work out.

Five days passed in a blur, and Josie was running back and forth between the hospital and school almost every day.

Delilah had said that Josie’s basic knowledge of acupuncture was solid, but the next stage of her training would start after the school competition.

For the moment, she needed to focus on the competition.

Josie went back to the hospital dorm to pack her things, planning to stay at school that night since the competition was the next day.

Even though it was only a little past six in the evening, the sky was already pitch black since it was October.

Josie pulled her coat tighter around herself and turned into the alley next to the hospital. It was the only way to get to her dorm.

Once she stepped inside, she realized the streetlights were out.

The narrow alley, just over 60 feet long, was swallowed in darkness. It was enough to make anyone uneasy.

She’d barely taken a few steps before she hesitated, then turned around, deciding to take a different route.

But as soon as she turned around, her head slammed right into someone.