Preston gestured toward the young woman beside him. "This is my PhD student, Niall Crystal."
Among the small group of students Preston had brought to the event, Niall was the only one from Ophelia, which immediately made her stand out to the local attendees.
Once her identity as Preston's student became known, a wave of whispers rippled through the crowd.
"She's Professor Campbell's doctoral student? That's absolutely incredible!"
"And look at her—gorgeous too. Some people really do have it all, don't they?"
"Wait until you hear this—she's also dating Cullen Dennis."
"You've got to be kidding! That's it, I'm officially giving up on comparing myself to others!"
In mere moments, Niall found herself transformed from just another attendee to one of the central figures at the event, drawing both admiration and jealousy from the younger crowd.
As word of her connection to both Preston and Cullen spread like wildfire, someone who had just finished exchanging pleasantries with Preston turned to Cullen with a teasing smile.
"Mr. Dennis, seems like you've struck gold in every aspect of life, haven't you?"
Cullen responded with a modest smile, about to answer when Preston, newly informed of Cullen's identity, gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder.
"Not too shabby!" Preston exclaimed, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Though I've heard you two have been together for two years now. What's the holdup with marriage? Don't tell me you haven't fully won over my student's heart yet? If that's the case, you'd better step up your game—you have my full support!"
His comment drew hearty laughter from many in the crowd who understood the good-natured ribbing.
But not everyone found the joke amusing.
Veronica and Dario remained stone-faced, as did Marco. And Maverick, who had just arrived at the venue, found himself completely unable to join in the merriment.
The moment Maverick entered, his eyes were immediately drawn to Preston standing prominently beside Niall. After a quick briefing from one of his assistants about Preston's identity—a legendary figure in AI research for over a decade and Niall's doctoral advisor—Maverick couldn't help but take the man's words with painful seriousness.
Hearing Preston urge Cullen toward marriage sent a sharp pang through Maverick's chest. There was no way he could force a smile at that.
Veronica and Dario had noticed Maverick's arrival but made no move to welcome him. Maverick, for his part, had grown increasingly disenchanted with Dario. Still, business obligations compelled him to approach and offer a greeting.
But unlike previous encounters—where he would eagerly attempt to engage despite being repeatedly rebuffed—his tone now carried an unmistakable chill.
Dario didn't bother with pretenses either. With a dry, humorless chuckle, he said, "Mr. Harris, if greeting me feels like such a chore, don't force yourself. Outside of our professional obligations, feel free to treat me as a complete stranger."
Maverick abandoned any remaining facade of cordiality. "As you wish, Mr. Reid," he replied coldly, before throwing an equally frigid glance in Veronica's direction.
Dario caught the look and nearly laughed from pure frustration.
Just then, Preston's attention shifted to Dario.
Dario had been gaining significant international recognition lately—in fact, he was one of the primary reasons for Preston's visit to Ophelia.
As a giant from the previous generation of AI pioneers, Preston had made this trip specifically to meet the rising star of the current generation—Dario Reid.
Approaching without ceremony, Preston extended his hand warmly. "Mr. Reid, it's a pleasure. I've been following your team's latest project with great interest and have been hoping for a chance to have an in-depth discussion with you."
DataPulse's newest innovation, Vespera, had recently shattered the longstanding monopoly Bella had maintained in the AI sector—effectively leapfrogging the competition and delivering a significant blow to Bella's technological dominance.
The breakthrough had given countless foreign engineers and researchers sleepless nights. And paradoxically, the more they struggled to catch up, the more desperately they wanted to understand how Dario had achieved this technological leap.
It wasn't just Preston but numerous top international engineers who were eager to meet Dario and exchange ideas with him. The problem was, until now, they'd never had the opportunity.
And Preston was determined not to let this chance slip away.