Chapter 0235

Hansel kicked the overturned bowl, sending the porcelain shattering against the floor. The sound of it breaking echoed sharply, causing Ingrid to flinch in fear.

"I told you to stop pretending in front of me! You have three seconds to get back to your room. Don’t show your face around me," he shouted while pointing upstairs, his eyes full of seething anger.

Ingrid didn’t dare linger. She simply hurried up the stairs while trembling.

After that meal, Miranda noticed that her relationship with everyone seemed to improve further. A big part of this was thanks to her cooking skills.

Hence, she began to prepare a little extra for lunch each day, making it easy for others to “grab a bite.”

In return, Sandy and the others helped her out by explaining some of the more complicated experimental methods. But the biggest change was with Silas.

Since Miranda read through and mastered Silas’s speed calculation notes, the way he looked at her shifted completely.

He often pulled her aside to discuss various calculation problems. Miranda, who was always eager to learn new things, picked up the material quickly. Before long, she could turn what Silas taught into her own knowledge.

This only fueled Silas’s enthusiasm further. He practically treated Miranda like his protégé, eager to mentor her at every opportunity. They would often sit down together whenever they had a free moment, always with scratch paper and pens on hand.

“Silas, it looks like you’ve taken on a star pupil. It’s been ages since I’ve seen you this invested in something,” someone teased.

“Dr. Quinton, you can’t play favorites! I’m also your student, and I demand the same treatment as Miranda!” Bryan joked, raising his hand in mock protest.

Silas waved him off. “Go, go, go–finish your lab report and stop talking.”

The group burst into laughter, and even Miranda found herself smiling slightly. She didn’t even hear Paul.

“Miranda? Miranda?”

“Huh? Dr. Jefferson, did you call for me?”

“Yes, come over for a moment.”

“Oh, okay.”

The next day, Silas wasn’t laughing anymore.

Sandy noticed his sullen expression. “Silas, why the long face? Did the big boss give you a hard time?”

"Big boss" was their nickname for Paul. In the lab, the leader was always called the “big boss.”

Silas sighed and gestured at the stack of documents beside him. “Yeah, he said I looked too idle and handed me a new project. He told me to start prepping for it. Looks like I’ll be even busier now. Won’t have time to discuss calculation problems with Miranda anymore…”

It couldn’t be helped–Miranda’s quick thinking and clear logic made her a favorite among teachers. But with a new project on his plate, lab work had to take priority.

Sandy patted his shoulder sympathetically. “I heard about that project. Honestly, no one else could do it but you. Hang in there!”

He sighed heavily. After all, there was no other choice.

Before they knew it, Saturday rolled around again, and it was finally time for a break. Miranda had just gotten home and sat down for barely two minutes when Winter called.

“Mimi, my cousin is getting married, and my mom wants me to go shopping with her to pick out a gift. But I’m swamped with a new project and don’t have the time. You’ve got a good eye. Could you go with my mom instead?”

“When?”

“Tomorrow.”

Miranda said, “I don’t mind, but what about your mother? Is she okay with that?”

Winter laughed. “Oh, she’s all for it! She keeps saying my taste doesn’t match hers, but yours does. She’s practically begging to have you as a daughter. Do you still think she’d mind?”

“Alright then,” Miranda agreed with a smile.

Paul had been busy all night again, and by the time he got home, the sun was already up. With the change of seasons, he probably caught a cold; his head felt heavy, and he couldn’t hold on any longer, so he came back to rest.

As he pulled out his keys to unlock the door, he suddenly noticed the door across the hall opening at the same time.