Chapter 234 Exceptional Professor! The Comeback Battle Begins!

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Exceptional Professor! The Comeback Battle Begins!

Philip Preston’s words rang with absolute finality, violently tearing open an uncrossable chasm between Stella and Sophie.

Stella’s head snapped toward Sophie, her breath catching in her throat.

She wondered, "An exceptional appointment? Sophie is that mysterious newly appointed professor everyone’s been talking about?! I thought she only got in because of Chairman Hayes..."

"The new professor is Sophie?" Finn Lockwood asked in utter disbelief, hurrying over to join them.

Rumors of this exceptional appointment had been circulating in their circles for a while. Finn’s grandfather had even mentioned wanting to meet the esteemed academic. And now they were telling him it was *Sophie*?

A heavy, stunned silence fell over the group. The revelation was like a bomb, entirely shattering their preconceived notions.

Julian Sterling’s brow twitched. He stared at Sophie with a cool, unreadable gaze, his eyes dark and profound. Sophie noticed his scrutiny but didn’t look his way.

Director Preston, however, caught Julian staring. He let out a cold snort. "Don’t make a habit of mistaking a pebble for a pearl. Of course, a true gem doesn’t need validation from any of you, but perhaps you all need to significantly improve your own judgment."

With that, he turned to Sophie. "Let’s go grab food. If we’re late, the braised pork will be all gone."

Sophie couldn’t help but smile. "Alright."

The large group bustled away.

It felt as if someone had torn Stella’s throat open. She couldn’t utter a single syllable, let alone advocate for herself. Was Director Preston implying that she couldn’t compare to... Sophie?

Failing to become his student threw her into an absolute panic. She had suffered too many setbacks lately; she simply couldn’t afford another misstep. Desperate, she looked at Julian. To her horror, she found him gazing deeply at Sophie’s retreating figure.

Stella’s face paled even further as an unspeakable resentment bubbled up inside her. Stepping forward, she asked, "Julian? What are you looking at?"

Julian finally lowered his head, meeting her red, pitiful eyes. "No one."

Stella forced herself to believe he was just glancing at Sophie out of confusion. Biting her lip, she pleaded, "What do I do now? Will your grandmother and the others be even more disappointed in me?"

After all, she had practically sworn an oath to the Sterling family that she would succeed. Now, not only had she failed, but she had lost in the most humiliating way possible. Rejected in public. Witnessed by Sophie. And to top it off, Sophie turned out to be the unparalleled new professor!

She thought, "How on earth did Sophie get that position? I just don’t understand!"

While Stella had been entirely rejected as a student, Sophie was already standing on equal footing with Director Preston. The sheer disparity sent a chill down her spine. The unknown terrified her, and an overwhelming wave of indignation made it nearly impossible to think straight.

She wondered, "What other trump cards is she hiding?! How exactly did she secure that professorship?!" The mystery of it all left her practically crawling out of her skin.

"Julian, did Sophie never mention this to you?" Finn finally snapped out of his daze, his tone a mix of complex emotions and rising anger. If Sophie had deliberately kept this from them, wasn’t she just making fools out of them?

Julian lowered his gaze, concealing the fleeting flicker in his eyes. "No."

Finn immediately checked Kingsford University’s official channels, but the reasoning behind Sophie’s exceptional appointment still hadn’t been publicized. It was agonizingly frustrating. He had previously even thought about finding a way to meet this exceptional professor and introduce them to his grandfather, hoping it would put the old man in a good enough mood to lift his suspension and restore his position.

But the professor was Sophie. Would she ever do him such a favor? It was highly unlikely. The realization made Finn’s face darken.

Stella didn’t know if Sophie had intentionally toyed with her, but her own predicament was now crystal clear. She could no longer use this mentorship to regain the Sterling family’s favor. Nor did she have the necessary backing to intimidate Charles Sterling, who would be released soon. Things were going to be very difficult.

She gently grabbed Julian’s sleeve. "Julian, I don’t want to bow out in defeat like this. I know what Director Preston said, but I genuinely don’t believe Sophie didn’t interfere..."

She thought, "Now that Sophie has power, wouldn’t she use it to take revenge? Of course she would!"

Julian turned, lowering his eyes as he lost himself in thought. "I’ll think of another way. Leave it to me."

Deeply moved, Stella nodded and said softly, "Thank you. You’re the only one I can rely on."

They got into the car. Julian cast one last, dark look toward the Kingsford University campus before pulling the door shut.

***

The identity of the newly appointed associate professor was officially announced. The news quickly rippled through the entire industry.

Helios and Longview suddenly buzzed with unprecedented activity. The phones rang off the hook, and visitors flooded their lobbies until they were packed like marketplaces. Within a mere two days, dozens more of Sophie’s tumor surgery robots were sold. Her new title acted as the most organic, authoritative advertisement possible.

Countless partners began extending olive branches to Longview. Massive collaboration deals were finalized daily, doubling their revenue in under a week. It was as if Longview had never been touched by the previous patent scandal; even their stock prices soared.

Peter Preston was also incredibly busy. Although the public wasn’t explicitly told that Sophie was the chief developer behind the tumor surgery robot, the product was still a massive hit.

"Everyone knows the weight a title like ’youngest associate professor’ carries," Peter told her. "They’re guessing you might enter politics in the future, so collaborating with us is just a stepping stone to build a good relationship with you."

Industry insiders weren’t fools. A twenty-seven-year-old associate professor at a top-tier institution like Kingsford University was bound to make waves both domestically and abroad. Sophie was indeed the center of attention. Her phone rang incessantly. Eventually, she simply stopped answering. So many people whose names she had long forgotten were reaching out, and she had neither the time nor the energy for empty small talk.

Amid the chaos, Sophie noticed an incoming call from the Sterling family estate. She stared at it quietly for a few seconds. Then, she muted her phone, leaving the call unanswered.

Meanwhile, Julian had just stepped out of Sterling Corp. As he reached his car, he saw a call from Madam Sterling on his phone.

He paused and swiped to answer. Madam Sterling’s tone was laced with irritation. "Did you know about Sophie’s appointment beforehand?"

"What do you think?" Julian retorted.

Madam Sterling choked on her words. It made sense; their relationship was so strained, why would they share everything with each other? If Julian had known, would they have divorced? Would the Sterling family have so easily agreed to let Sophie go?

"I called Sophie, but she didn’t answer. Is she throwing a tantrum with me?"

Julian chuckled softly. "You’ve been so good to her, why would she throw a tantrum?"

His words stopped the old woman dead in her tracks, kindling a sudden flare of unprovoked anger. She couldn’t tell if Julian meant she had genuinely treated Sophie well, or if he was being sarcastic. But right now, none of that mattered.

"Since this is such momentous news, bring Sophie home tomorrow. The family will host a grand banquet to celebrate her success."

"In the Sterling family’s name?" Julian asked mildly.

"How else? Isn’t the Sterling family her home? Does Sophie have any other home?"

Julian nonchalantly lowered his eyes, his long fingers leisurely spinning the lighter in his hand. He neither agreed nor refused.

Madam Sterling continued, "Besides, Tristan Thorne is still lying in a hospital bed. The only reason the Thorne family hasn’t gone after her—now that she’s severed ties with us and has no backing—is because you’re covering for her, isn’t it? Because the Sterling family is covering for her?"

Julian’s eyes grew unreadable.

After hanging up, Julian got into the car. Stella was sitting in the back seat, her complexion looking exceptionally ghastly in the dim light.

She had heard everything. Madam Sterling had defected. Her situation with Sophie had completely reversed. Even though Julian hadn’t explicitly agreed to bring Sophie back for a lavish Sterling family banquet, the matter was practically set in stone.

Julian turned his head, asking mildly, "What’s wrong?"

Stella shook her head stiffly. "Nothing."

She lowered her head again, turbulent emotions surging in her eyes. She couldn’t just sit around and wait to be ruined—