“Whether it concerns patents or any other matters, I still need to consult him first,” the director said.

He took out his phone and called Joseph.

The director leaned back and said, “Then let’s wait for Joseph to arrive before we discuss this matter. Jeremy, take a look at this.”

The director handed the application documents from David’s group to Jeremy.

Jeremy glanced at it and then handed it to Josie.

He said, “You should take a look as well. I heard from Joseph that he was able to come up with that approach because you reminded him. I suppose you are quite familiar with this.”

As soon as Josie saw their application form, she couldn’t help but want to laugh.

She thought, ‘David surely never changes. I have originally thought that, now that Joseph and Gavin have parted ways, Gavin would no longer be able to appropriate Joseph’s research methods. When David mentioned applying for a patent, I was concerned, thinking that this time Gavin and his team had come up with a research method on their own, without any reminder from Joseph. In the end, it is clear that the research method they intend to patent is still Joseph’s original concept. No wonder, after reading the paper, they remark that the two research methods are similar. Naturally, there is only a resemblance. It cannot be completely identical, because the research methods we have employed were upgraded and revised by Joseph according to our new equipment. We used a more advanced and rigorous set of research methodology. In other words, the research methodology that David and his team obtained is merely the preliminary version that Joseph first drafted. Amusingly, even the methodology overview remains completely unchanged, word for word!’

Josie smiled, looked up at Jeremy, and saw him shake his head slightly at her. “Let’s wait until Joseph arrives, then we’ll talk,” he said.

Fortunately, Joseph did not keep them waiting long. After only a few minutes, he arrived in a hurry, covered in sweat.

“Apologies for my tardiness,” Joseph said while nodding to Jeremy, “I was late because I had to collect a package!”

“At a time like this, you’re still going to pick up your package? Do you even realize how many of us are waiting for you?” Audrey reproached impatiently.

Joseph laughed heartily. “Mrs. Kinberg is right. I should not have kept everyone waiting. However, I had no choice but to collect this package, because…”

He opened the courier bag in front of everyone.

Josie thought, ‘Is it what I think it is? That’s awesome!’

A look of delight appeared on Josie’s face as her gaze remained fixed on his hands opening the package.

Everyone saw a line that read: [Utility Model Patent Certificate]

Josie laughed out loud, rather uncharitably.

After all, she was young and lacked maturity and steadiness, which caused her to lose control of her emotions in a moment of excitement.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed!” Josie pressed her lips together and turned away, only to see Jeremy’s shoulders trembling slightly.

He was clearly struggling to suppress his laughter as well.

Nevertheless, he managed to hold back and did not embarrass David and the others on the spot.

No one was more pleased than the director. Now, he no longer needed to remain neutral or try to please both sides.

The outcome had been decided, and he would not have to take the blame, nor did he need to determine who the patent should belong to.

Audrey had the strongest reaction. She was almost springing directly from her chair.

Given her advanced age, it was indeed quite challenging for her.

“When did you all apply for the patent?” Audrey snatched the patent certificate and flipped through it repeatedly.

She said, “It must be fake. Even at the fastest, it takes three months to obtain this certificate. It also requires back-and-forth verification and the submission of various supporting documents. Where did you find the time to prepare all this?”

Josie pursed her lips and said, “As soon as you discover a research method, you immediately apply for a patent. As if we couldn’t do the same! Besides, our papers are already written. Do you really think we don’t have enough supporting materials? Whether it is verification documents or various supporting materials, ours are authentic and complete. If you don’t believe this, you can check the original records with the certificate-issuing authority. By the way, I should emphasize that before we applied for the patent, we ran several rounds of validation experiments. Thanks to our research equipment, we did it efficiently and rapidly. It was a real game-changer.”

She was determined to anger them.

Josie lifted her chin, turned, and exchanged a cheerful high-five with Joseph.

As she turned around, she made sure to snatch back the patent certificate.