Chapter 287

"These are their internship assessment forms. Please hand them to the supervising professor. If any are lost, it will be your fault."

Josie glanced at Hadley and understood what was going on.

She certainly wouldn't reach for the assessment form. Instead, she turned to Adeline.

She said, "Adeline, Ms. Rogers has sent over the assessment form and asked you all to go and get your official employee badges."

A look of delight appeared on Adeline’s face as she had already walked over. "Thank you, Ms. Rogers. I will come right away."

Hadley cast a cold glance at the group. If Jeremy had not urged her, she would never have issued their official work badges so quickly.

She thought, ‘These people won’t be around for long. They’ll all be dismissed in the end.

"There is no need to waste my time by going through one more procedure. I am certain they won’t come up with anything worthwhile."

She had not intended to say anything further and was already turning to leave, but upon seeing Josie beaming with joy, she felt a sense of discomfort.

She thought, ‘Why is this girl so happy?‘

She turned back and smiled at Josie.

She said, "You may not be aware yet, but Aiden and his team have discovered a new research method and are about to apply for a patent.

"Had you remained with their team, you might have shared in this honor. Unfortunately, you now have no connection to them whatsoever.

"Clinging to such an obscure major, and you still don’t even know what you might get out of it.

"What a waste of resources! Coming to the institute every day just to mooch a meal, as if you’ve never eaten before…"

She wore an expression of disdain, shaking her head as she walked away.

"This woman…" Adeline was quite upset.

Josie tugged at her and said, "She kindly reminded us. We should thank her."

She raised her voice slightly and said, "The meals at this research institute are quite delicious, and I enjoy them very much. I will come again tomorrow.

"Ms. Rogers, please convey my congratulations to Aiden and his team, and I hope their patent application will be successful."

Hadley stumbled, nearly falling even though the ground was even.

She thought, "That damned girl. Does she really think I am being kind to her? She doesn’t even realize the sarcasm in what was said to her.

"She freeloads meals every day, and instead of feeling ashamed, she actually thinks it’s something to be proud of?

‘She is a foolish and petty country girl, not presentable in the least.

‘I am so pissed!‘

As soon as Hadley left, Adeline pulled Josie back into the office.

She asked, "What does she mean by ‘patent‘? Could it be that Professor Lawson’s research has already achieved success and yielded tangible results?"

Upon hearing Adeline’s words, Joseph and the others also approached. "Could it be that we were still a step too late? Did they manage to get ahead of us?"

Josie signaled to everyone not to be anxious. She said, "Don’t overestimate others and underestimate yourselves. Hadley was just making a casual remark.

"The outcome is still uncertain. No one can say who will win or lose until the paper is published.

"When I first arrived, I also heard David talking with Gavin about promoting a research method.

"They said they needed to go to the director to apply for a patent.

"However, I don’t think their so-called research methods are necessarily better than those used by Joseph. Joseph, what do you think?"

Joseph looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Although our research methodology currently appears flawless, after all, that team is led by Professor Lawson.

"I do not wish to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. However, I hope everyone will keep in mind that he is a leading professor in one of the country’s most sought-after fields.

"His students are not to be underestimated.

"He is personally leading the research team, so even if they achieve results before we do, it wouldn’t be surprising.

"At present, the only thing we can do is to write our current papers well and approach every step of our research with diligence."

Josie thought, ‘Joseph sure sucks at comforting people.’

He successfully dampened everyone’s spirits, completely dispelling the joy that had previously arisen from the success of the research.