Josie clearly understood her responsibilities. If Joseph could be considered the technical expert she brought on board, then only the Reedshaw family possessed the resources and capital to rival Aiden. Additionally, neither Jaden nor the Monroe family lacked financial strength.
Natalie’s achievements in her previous encounters were largely due to the Monroe family’s financial support. Therefore, Josie firmly stated that she would never allow Sean to abandon the Reedshaw family under any circumstances.
Josie wasn’t one for scheming, so she focused on mastering the Reedshaw family’s medical techniques. In her spare time, she would ask Delilah for guidance, determined to keep her promise and help advance the Reedshaw Group.
In the blink of an eye, another month had passed, and the day to announce the results of the school competition was finally here. Over the past month, shortlisted entries were displayed on campus, providing students from each college the opportunity to participate in the voting.
Josie’s team was also featured on the voting leaderboard, with a respectable number of votes, thanks to the Central Research Institution’s launch of a new research project focused on combined treatment using cytology and acupuncture.
The project was led by Jeremy, with participants including Anthony from pharmacology, Delilah from acupuncture, and interns Claire, Joseph, and Sean. Josie’s internship application was still pending, mainly because she had not yet passed the required acupuncture exams and had not yet obtained the required cytology certificates. Provided there were no unexpected issues, she would qualify for official team membership in the second semester of her senior year.
During their previous meeting at the institute, Jeremy did not mention this research topic; instead, Audrey introduced a project focused on cellular surgery treatment. Josie recalled that this project started shortly after the school competition ended.
The main reason was that Aiden’s team won the Grand Prize in the school competition. However, this time Aiden and his team had created a new innovative project for the competition, since the idea that previously won the Grand Prize had already been given to Joseph.
Unless something unexpected happened, Joseph was likely to win the Grand Prize in that school competition. Josie wondered, “If Joseph wins an award, will Audrey reach out to him?” She shuddered unintentionally, her footsteps hesitating as she approached the auditorium.
“What’s wrong?” Adeline gently squeezed Josie’s hand. “Why are you trembling? Are you cold? I can give you my hand warmer.”
As Adeline reached for the hand warmer, Josie stopped her and said, “Adeline, I’m not cold. Please go inside—look for Professor Reedshaw.”
Josie didn’t have time to enter the auditorium, so she turned and hurried towards the teachers’ building. Delilah was surprised. “Why are you here?” she asked. “Weren’t you supposed to attend the award ceremony? Are you worried you won’t win and came seeking comfort from me?”
Josie took a few steady breaths and slightly shook her head. “No, I just have something I’d like to discuss with you.” She walked in, closed the office door, and spoke in a quieter voice. “Earlier, Joseph told me he went to the Central Research Institution for an internship because he wants to pursue his own research project.
“Since their innovative project is very likely to win an award, I’m concerned that, when the time comes, researchers from the institute will reach out to him to collaborate on new research initiatives.”
Delilah furrowed her brows. “Are you worried he might withdraw from our research and stop participating?”
“No.” Josie shook her head. “Joseph promised he wouldn’t quit, but the institute allows researchers to join more than one experiment. I once heard Aiden mention that there are power struggles at the center. Since Professor Wilcourt is so focused on his work, I’m worried another professor might recruit Joseph.
“And the situation? Are they referring to their current innovation project? Once the project is officially filed, Joseph will inevitably prioritize it, both in terms of his time and attention.” Although her words were phrased diplomatically, Delilah still understood.