Chapter 622 Be Your Teacher
The convention officially began, and Catherine sat on the left of Marshall, with a representative from Ellinos Academy sitting on his right.
This university ranked far above Styre University in the world. Unfortunately, their research and development in this experimental project were far behind that of Styre University’s laboratory. The Ellinos Academy representatives were very dissatisfied with this.
Seeing Marshall bringing a student here, the representative of Ellinos Academy, Atticus Sterling, sarcastically remarked, “It looks like Styre University’s research has made breakthrough progress, huh?”
This sudden remark attracted everyone’s attention. No one knew what was going on with Atticus. Curiously, someone asked him, “Mr. Sterling, have you received some secret information?”
Atticus sneered. “No, but it’s just obvious, isn’t it? Look, Professor Hartley is bringing his student to this convention, allowing a freshman to communicate with us. If there hadn’t been significant achievements, how could he do this?”
His implication was that Marshall looked down on them by sending a student to communicate to talk with them. This statement made everyone’s expression turn sour. All eyes shifted back and forth between Marshall and Atticus.
Marshall looked embarrassed, not knowing how to explain. He struggled to say, “Please, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean that. The reason I brought Catherine here is because I believe in her outstanding abilities. She has great insight into the experimental project and is much more capable than I am.”
Atticus coldly scrutinized Marshall and said, “Professor Hartley, why bother? You don’t have to belittle yourself like this, do you? If you’re less capable than her, why don’t you let her be your teacher? I heard she’s just a freshman!”
Marshall’s face became extremely embarrassed, not knowing how to explain himself.
Catherine snapped out of her daze and looked at Atticus. His heart skipped a beat when her cold and indifferent gaze swept over him. He didn’t expect a young girl to have such an intimidating look in her eyes. He was stunned for a moment before slowly regaining his composure.
“You’re Professor Hartley’s student, right? Do you have a problem with what I said?” Atticus asked.
Catherine coldly stared at him. “You’re absolutely right.”
Seemingly surprised by Catherine’s response, Atticus then smiled triumphantly and looked at Marshall with a smug expression. “Professor Hartley, your student seems to agree with my statement. Why don’t you tell us how your project has progressed and why you seem to look down on us?”
Marshall’s face darkened in an instant. He didn’t know what Catherine was thinking. He always knew that Catherine wasn’t that kind of person, but what did she mean by this?
Before Marshall could figure it out, he heard Catherine coldly say to Atticus, ” You’re right. Not only can I be Professor Hartley’s teacher, but I can also be yours.” She then raised her eyebrows and looked at Atticus mockingly. “Come on, be my student, and maybe I’ll kindly teach you something.”
Atticus’s face immediately darkened, and he slammed his hand on the table, angrily shouting at Catherine, “How dare you? Who do you think you are to speak to me like that? Don’t underestimate Ellinos Academy.”
Catherine looked at him disdainfully and said loudly, “So what if I look down on you?”
She didn’t understand why such a small fry dared to speak so arrogantly in front of her. Maybe she had been so friendly recently that these people, who didn’t know their place, began to act arrogantly.
The atmosphere became tense, and everyone watched the battle between Styre University and Ellinos Academy with great interest.
Suddenly, a burst of laughter caught everyone’s attention.
Seeing others look at him, Patrick raised his hand and said, “Sorry, I just couldn’t help it. Please continue.”
Seeing that it was Patrick who laughed, Atticus immediately said to him, ” Professor Phillips, you’re laughing because Styre University has become too arrogant, right?”
Patrick had a higher status in the field than Marshall. Among the people present, his research results were the most impressive. In the academic world, it was all about the results. Whoever had the most impressive achievement had the final say.
Patrick didn’t want to get involved in the first place, but since Atticus had mentioned him, he had to say something.
“Mr. Sterling, in this field, abilities speak louder than words. If you really want me to say something, then I will tell you something. In this field, Catherine is my teacher as well.”
Atticus widened his eyes in disbelief as he looked at Patrick.
“Professor Phillips, are you sure you’re not joking?”
Patrick looked at him seriously and said, “Mr. Sterling, you know I never joke around.”
Everyone present was shocked. First, Marshall said that Catherine was even more talented than him, and now Patrick said that Catherine was his teacher. If Marshall was biased toward his student, what about Patrick? Why would he do that?
Facing the curious looks of everyone, Patrick decided to pass the difficult question to Catherine. “Miss Swann, why don’t you tell us about your research results? Since this is a convention, we might as well learn from you!”
Catherine stood up with the microphone in her hand. The people sitting in front of her were all big shots in the field. Standing in front of them, she remained calm and composed. She casually held the microphone and explained the more straightforward parts of her research results.
At first, the big shots in front of her were just listening out of curiosity. But as they listened, they became increasingly serious.
When Atticus noticed that the professors sitting next to him had all started taking notes, he looked increasingly embarrassed. At this moment, they did look like a bunch of students.
Catherine didn’t like to talk much, and her speech was concise, even at a convention like this. Yet, her words were all essential. After speaking for five minutes, she stopped and said, That’s all I have to say.”.
As she finished speaking, many people were still immersed in it. Someone proactively suggested, “It’s over? Please continue, Miss Swann. We want to hear more.”
One person stared at Catherine for a long time and exclaimed, “Miss Swann, have I seen you before? Weren’t you at the Mistel Institute of Technology for an academic exchange five years ago?”
Catherine nodded slightly, admitting it.
The Mistel Institute of Technology was the top-ranked school in the field globally. Other universities weren’t its match. Yet now, a professor at this university said that Catherine had been to the Mistel Institute of Technology for an academic exchange five years ago. But how old was she five years ago?
Once again, everyone looked at Catherine in disbelief, wondering who this extraordinary person was. Now, they finally understood why Patrick had seen her as his teacher. It made sense.
When Catherine’s identity was confirmed, Atticus realized how naive he had been. He now felt like a clown standing in the middle of everyone, extremely embarrassed.
