Chapter 617

Breaking the deadlock seemed like an impossible puzzle. Hattie and Garrett were both at their wits' end.

"Let's just lay it out straight," Garrett suggested. "Your mom seems to have a heart of steel. Getting all worked up like this and still no heart attack in sight."

Hattie just gave him a look. "Garrett, are you doing this on purpose? That's my mom we're talking about, and then there's Josie. It's like choosing between being hit by a frying pan or a rolling pin. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here," she sighed heavily.

Garrett pulled her into a comforting embrace, whispering soothing words, "Let's just take it one step at a time. Your mom's not going to storm into Westwood anytime soon."

Taking it one step at a time was their only option now.

On the first day of orientation at the University of Melbourne, Mr. Marquez, accompanied by a few faculty leaders, came over for an inspection.

Mr. Marquez, observing the young students, remarked, "The younger generation really is outdoing us, aren't they? Lucky for us, the national valedictorian chose our school."

One of the teachers informed him, "Principal, the valedictorian is in that group up ahead."

Piqued, Mr. Marquez wanted to take a closer look.

As they approached, Mr. Marquez's expression began to change. He squinted at a familiar face, rubbed his eyes, squinted again, then rubbed his eyes once more.

As they got closer, he hastily sent a message: "Big shot, you at Kyoto University?" No response came.

Mr. Marquez alternated between staring at his phone and the girl in the training formation. The resemblance was uncanny.

"The girl right there, in the first row on the right, that's Josefina, this year's national final exam champion," the teacher pointed out.

Josefina? But that name didn't quite fit. Wasn't the big shot named Yu Meng? Yet, the girl named Josefina bore a striking resemblance to Yu Meng!

Not wanting to cause a scene with so many students around, Mr. Marquez held back his questions.

Noticing Mr. Marquez's silence, the teachers exchanged glances, equally puzzled.

Mr. Marquez, breaking the silence with a laugh, boasted, "Snatching the national final exam champion for the University of Melbourne speaks volumes of our institution's prestige!"

The teachers agreed, praising Mr. Marquez's leadership.

Leaving the scene with his colleagues, Mr. Marquez couldn't shake off his confusion about the whole situation.

...

Back in his office, Mr. Marquez couldn't help but dial up Professor Wang from the medical faculty.

"Professor Wang, how old is the big shot Yu Meng this year?"

"Why do you ask, Mr. Marquez? If I remember correctly, isn't she a professor at Northern College? Given that, she should be in her thirties by now."

"Why not in her forties?" Mr. Marquez probed further.

"Mr. Marquez, you've forgotten, she's a prodigy. Given her achievements, she'd be in her thirties."

Mr. Marquez pondered, still convinced his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Yu Meng, a professor at Northern

College, was known for her elusive nature, teaching medical faculty

professors via online classes

without ever showing herface and

altering her voice each time.

Mr. Marquez had caught a glimpse of Yu Meng once at a conference, and since

then, he had etched Josefina's face in his memory.

It seemed Professor Wang had never seen the big shot in person, unlike Mr.

Marquez, who had even messaged her during his mother's illness.

"Mr. Marquez, why the sudden

interest? Did you meet the big shot?" Professor Wang's excitement was palpable, almost as if he wished he could teleport over instantly.

"How could I have met Yu Meng? I was just curious about her age. Keep up with

your experiments, Johns. I've got to go."