Miranda noticed the exasperated expression on his face and couldn’t help but laugh. “Take it, Uncle Paul. My dad’s braised beef is amazing, and not just anyone gets to eat it.”

“What did you call me?” Paul stepped closer, placing one hand on the wall. “Hmm?”

Miranda had nowhere to retreat, so she could only lift her eyes, looking at him innocently. “I was just repeating what my dad said, it wasn’t me.”

He was left speechless.

“Dr. Jefferson, the hallway is quite narrow, maybe you should step back a little?”

Paul remembered he still had a cold and didn’t want to pass it to her, so he sighed softly. He withdrew his hand and moved aside.

Miranda couldn’t help but feel that he was truly easygoing and quite the gentleman.

He accepted the beef, and she took the rest home. Then, she snapped a picture and sent it to Lionel. His reply came quickly.

Lionel: “Did you give it to Paul?”

Miranda: “I did, okay! Dad, aren’t you being too nice to him?”

He didn’t even tell her to keep more for herself.

Too lazy to type, Lionel sent a voice message. “Of course! When it comes to brothers and friends, one must be generous and share the good stuff!”

“Paul should really hear this,” Miranda thought. She truly hadn’t said anything wrong, so why did he get mad and corner her like that?

Her mind played back what happened a moment ago, when Paul pushed her into the corner, leaning in. His presence was truly overwhelming. At that moment, his scent and breath enveloped her completely.

Miranda blushed despite herself. Her heart began to race uncontrollably.

She recalled how, in high school, some boys used to do the same. They would deliberately get close, leaning in too much, and she couldn’t help but blush every time.

Before she met Hansel, she always struggled with such proximity to men, finding it awkward and uncomfortable. She thought that after experiencing love and a breakup, she’d outgrown this issue.

Unexpectedly, it seemed like she was reverting to how she was back then–the problem had resurfaced!

She chalked up her reactions to old habits acting up again, not giving it too much thought.

That afternoon, Miranda invited Madison and Sebastian over to her place.

“Let’s discuss the lab situation and brainstorm a bit,” she said.

“Sure,” Sebastian replied.

“On my way!” Madison said.

They both arrived quickly, Madison still wearing her fluffy slippers and Sebastian dressed casually in home clothes. Clearly, they had both rushed over from their respective places.

“Miranda, did you think of a solution?” Madison asked eagerly as soon as she entered.

Sebastian looked at her expectantly as well.

Miranda handed each of them a drink and then sat across from them, her expression serious and her gaze sharp.

“First of all, waiting months to follow the official procedures is unrealistic. We can wait, but the project can’t afford delays, and the experiments certainly can’t.

“Secondly, even if we could wait, there’s no guarantee we’d get the lab back. By the time we do, new problems might pop up.

“As for Dr. Jefferson’s previous offer for us to use his lab, I’ve thought it through. Setting aside the issue of borrowing a lab outside our field, the equipment doesn’t match, and managing relationships would take up too much energy.

“After two days, we might decide we don’t want to stay and have to move all the instruments back, which is just too much hassle.

“Finally, and most importantly, borrowing a lab is not a long-term solution. It’s clear now that someone is out to sabotage us. They’re in the shadows, and we’re out in the open. If we don’t address the root cause, there will only be more trouble in the future…”

Madison had been full of hope, but the more she listened, the dimmer that hope became. Eventually, she slumped onto the sofa, her posture embodying despair.

Sebastian frowned. “Isn’t there any other way?”

Miranda was about to respond when Madison suddenly broke down. “This damn institution! It’s so corrupt! We’ve been wronged so badly, and the college just turns a blind eye, pretending nothing’s happening!

“Why should we tolerate this? Just because we wanted to borrow the college’s lab, we have to put up with this nonsense? Then forget it! It’s just some crummy lab. My dad has plenty!”