As Wynn and Linda were talking, a news platform suddenly aired a report about an AI-related academic conference.
It turned out that one of Andostan’s most prestigious and long-established conferences was about to take place.
A reporter was interviewing a senior member of the organizing committee. The official casually listed around eight names—and by coincidence, both Celeste and Matthias were among them.
From the tone of the interview, the invitations had already been sent, and they were now waiting for responses from the invitees.
The official also expressed strong anticipation about meeting Celeste, Matthias, and the others, hoping to engage in deeper exchanges and jointly advance the development of the AI industry.
The moment Linda saw the report, her expression darkened. She turned to Wynn and asked, “Wynn, did you get an invitation?”
Even though Linda didn’t fully understand the weight of the conference, the names mentioned were all world-class figures. It was obvious this wasn’t just any event.
After all, Wynn’s PhD advisor was one of them.
When Wynn saw the news, the flicker in her eyes was far more intense than anyone else’s—but she hid it well, and no one noticed.
At Linda’s question, she simply replied, “No.”
The Lockets and the Shaws didn’t think much of it, but Linda immediately grew indignant.
“Fine, Matthias is one thing—but how does Celeste get an invitation when you didn’t?” she snapped. “Out of all these people, do they seriously think she has real ability?”
Even if she did, there was no way she could surpass Wynn.
Linda let out a dismissive snort. “If you ask me, these so-called conferences and high-profile events just invite whoever’s famous. It’s all about hype. Honestly, most of the people attending probably don’t even have that much substance.”
Wynn and the others said nothing.
Meanwhile, once news broke that Celeste and Matthias had been invited to a world-class AI conference, both of them were quickly approached by the media during public appearances.
Since Celeste was currently unable to travel abroad, she responded modestly when asked. She said she was honored to receive the invitation—but added that she had been extremely busy lately and was unlikely to attend.
When Linda saw that report, she scoffed in anger. “Too busy? Please. She’s just afraid of being exposed.”
Lilian, Patricia, and the others chose not to comment.
That said, Celeste really had been thriving lately.
She had no idea how closely the Lockets and the Shaws were watching her—she was genuinely overwhelmed with work.
Her collaboration project with Quincy and the Fleming Group had officially launched.
So after finishing the interview, she immediately left with Kieran to meet Trevor and Quincy to discuss business.
Every time the three parties met, the focus stayed strictly on the collaboration. There was little to no conflict, and the partnership progressed smoothly.
Kieran had accompanied Celeste to several of these meetings. Each time, he found himself surprised.
Despite their past friction, Celeste and Trevor remained completely professional—polite, focused, and fully immersed in work.
He hadn’t expected that two people with a complicated history could draw such a clean line between business and personal matters.
