Chapter 233 What Gives You the Right to Question Sophie Winslow?

Chapter 233: Chapter 233: What Gives You the Right to Question Sophie Winslow?

Finn Lockwood hadn’t quite processed it at first. "What do you mean? Did she really go in with you?"

Stella Sutton grew suddenly agitated, the end of her sentence trembling. "Sophie Winslow is a professor! A professor at Kingsford University!"

Finn’s expression froze, his usual flippant demeanor instantly vanishing. Julian Sterling paused imperceptibly, his deep, dark gaze falling on the building not too far away.

"This isn’t a funny joke. What kind of place is Kingsford University? How old is Sophie? Even setting aside her age, what kind of ability or incredible achievements does she have to hold such a position?" Finn Lockwood felt like the world had turned completely surreal.

Stella’s expression was dark. She didn’t want to accept it either. In fact, she found it utterly absurd! But the reality was...

"What’s wrong?" Evan York had just finished running an errand. He had come to Kingsford University to meet with a university official and decided to drop by since he was in the area. Seeing the ugly expressions on Stella and Finn’s faces, he asked the question, assuming that Stella’s failure was the only possible explanation.

Finn immediately asked, "Sophie is a professor here at Kingsford. Did you know that?"

Evan stopped in his tracks, frowning at him. "What?"

"You find it unbelievable too, don’t you?" Finn said. "Stella says Sophie is an interviewing professor."

Stella’s head was throbbing. "Yes, she really is. She even targeted me quite a bit today. It’s frustrating that I couldn’t be treated objectively at such a crucial moment."

Evan’s mind reeled, completely caught off guard by this revelation.

Stella suddenly looked over. "Mr. York, do you know any inside information? I can only think of one possibility now."

Julian also glanced over casually, waiting for her to continue.

Stella clenched her fists tightly. "Is it because Sophie saved Chairman Hayes in front of Kingsford’s leadership a while back? Since it was a major merit, was this a special exception—a reward from the higher-ups?"

She refused to acknowledge that Sophie had any real talent. At best, the woman was just good at swooping in to take advantage of situations. Even this honor she received was something she had snatched right out of Stella’s hands that day—pretending it was an emergency to show off in public. Not only had Sophie managed to show her face in front of the leaders, but she had also earned Chairman Hayes’s eternal gratitude for saving her life. A great medical scientist like Chairman Hayes was highly valued by the state, an absolute national treasure. This was the only possible explanation.

Hearing her say this, Finn recalled the minor details they had mentioned before. "Doesn’t that mean Sophie stole the position that originally belonged to you? If she hadn’t deliberately chased you away that day, you would be the professor today!"

Stella’s expression grew even colder at those words. If Sophie hadn’t stolen her thunder back then, perhaps she wouldn’t even need to apply for her Ph.D. now. Pursing her lips, she replied, "I wasn’t thinking that far ahead at the time. I just wanted Chairman Hayes to be okay. I didn’t have time to calculate what benefits I could get out of it."

Evan remained silent, lost in thought. Although his grandmother was indeed a great figure of this era, wasn’t it a bit... far-fetched to become a professor at Kingsford University just by saving her?

"If Sophie is a professor, Kingsford University will make a public announcement, and the reason will be clear at a glance," Julian, who had been acting aloof the entire time, said unhurriedly. His tone didn’t even fluctuate. It was hard to tell if he simply wasn’t surprised by Sophie becoming a professor, or if he just completely disregarded her and didn’t care about anything involving her. His remark cut straight to the point and put an end to all their speculations.

Seeing that Julian was completely unmoved and didn’t care at all whether Sophie had achieved success or fame, Stella’s tense heart relaxed a little. It was true. Kingsford University would make a public announcement. Even though Sophie had schemingly stolen the credit, a professor who obtained the title solely based on a life-saving favor—without any real power or actual responsibilities—would never be able to command respect.

Julian stood up. "Let’s go to the restaurant first."

His attitude brought a lot of warmth back to Stella’s heart. "Sophie might be an unexpected variable, but my score won’t be low," she said. "I’m ninety percent sure." For the past two years, Kingsford University had been very quick to publish their public lists. If Sophie wanted to trip her up, it would be entirely in vain!

Finn finally snapped out of his shock, feeling that the idea of Sophie being a professor was indeed absurd. There was probably some underlying reason they didn’t know about, but there was no way it was truly a legitimate appointment. They didn’t need to take it too seriously. "We’ll wait for Kingsford’s response regarding Sophie," he said. "For now, let’s just celebrate you successfully finishing today."

Evan, however, inexplicably glanced back. His grandmother had never mentioned this. Was Sophie really appointed for that reason? He felt the possibility was slim.

Meanwhile, Sophie was in a meeting regarding the professor interviews to collectively discuss and finalize the scores. The grading process was quite efficient. After glancing at the finalized public list, she couldn’t help but look over at Philip Preston, who was wearing glasses and reading a paper.

Philip met her gaze. "Why are you looking at me? Is the result surprising?"

Sophie, of course, wasn’t surprised. Out of Philip’s three available slots, not a single one was given to Stella Sutton. Stella had been eliminated.

The results were already published. Stella’s group likely knew about it by now. Just as Sophie had expected, when she and Philip were heading to the cafeteria, they ran head-on into the group who had just rushed over.

Stella’s face was ashen. They had been having a get-together today; since Finn had been demoted and had no tasks assigned to him, he had simply thrown a party to celebrate for her. Halfway through, they learned that the list was out, and she had excitedly gone to check it. However, she hadn’t seen her name. She couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t been accepted! But she refused to accept this for no good reason! She needed a clear explanation. She just hadn’t expected to run into Sophie again.

Normally, it wouldn’t have been easy for them to come and go freely at Kingsford University, but with Julian’s recognizable face, they had gotten in without a hitch. As they approached, Julian cast a sidelong glance at Sophie, who was standing beside Philip.

"Director Preston, can I speak with you?" Stella took a deep breath to calm herself.

Philip looked over and stopped walking. "Sure, go ahead."

"Why wasn’t I chosen?" Stella didn’t shy away from casting a pointed look at Sophie before asking, "Was there an error in the grading? I don’t believe my score shouldn’t have met the standard. In short... did someone perhaps give me an extremely low score?"

Sophie’s brow twitched slightly, immediately understanding what the other woman was implying.

Philip understood as well. Pushing up his glasses, he asked, "Are you suggesting there was foul play?"

Stella pursed her lips, lifting her chin. "I just hope that even if I lose, I lose knowing exactly why."

"Then I will give you an answer," Philip said with a smile, pronouncing each word clearly. "Because I never considered accepting you in the first place. From what angle are you questioning this? Am I completely lacking in judgment for not taking you? Or are all the professors at Kingsford University unfair?"

Stella froze in disbelief. Behind her, even Finn felt a chill run down his spine at those words. It seemed far too... blunt.

Philip didn’t care what they were thinking. "Of my three spots, aside from one that I had reserved for my student early on, the other two were chosen strictly based on comprehensive evaluations. You didn’t even pass that hurdle, so on what grounds are you questioning why you weren’t accepted?

"Miss Sutton, I hope you can understand the principle that there is always someone better out there. Admit that your skills are inferior to others instead of aggressively demanding an explanation. Kingsford University is full of geniuses; where do you think you rank among them? If you had been able to get a recommendation or pass the national entrance exam for your master’s degree at Kingsford back then, would you have needed to study abroad and then come back to apply using your overseas credentials as leverage?"

Stella’s face went deathly pale. Philip was far too sharp. He had directly exposed the truth: that she had only studied abroad because she couldn’t get into Kingsford’s master’s program in the first place. He had also laid bare the fact that he didn’t think much of her at all, and that she truly hadn’t been able to come out on top.

There were so many people around them, with quite a few passing students stopping to look. Some seemed to be whispering amongst themselves, their gazes filled with mockery. A suffocating sense of shame almost drowned her.

Clenching her fists tightly, Stella suddenly turned her attention to Sophie, who hadn’t participated in the conversation at all. "Then what about Sophie? Is her professorship something that can convince the masses?"

With the topic abruptly shifting onto her, Sophie blinked. They were drawing the fire to her now?

Julian also cast a careless glance at Sophie.

Philip’s smile only widened. "You couldn’t even beat the candidates in your own group. How dare you question Sophie, the first specially appointed professor here in over a decade?"