The entire private room fell silent the moment James spoke.

All eyes turned to him, filled with confusion.

"Dr. Nan is coming today?"

"Is that for real?"

James felt a surge of secret satisfaction.

It was like a legendary master was right before them, yet no one had a clue.

He was just about to explain…

Evelyn Ross shot him a brief, cool glance.

Though she said nothing, James immediately understood.

Dr. Nan had always kept her identity hidden. She clearly didn't want it exposed.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

Everyone here was in the new energy sector. If they knew she was Dr. Nan, Evelyn would never have a moment's peace again.

He cleared his throat and put on a stern face. "Dr. Nan's whereabouts are none of your business to inquire about. To be honest, I only met her in person today myself!"

The guys burst into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, we're not worthy…"

"Dr. Nan is at the top of the industry now. Our company tried to collaborate, but CEO Klein didn't even give us a chance."

"Your CEO is way too shrewd…"

The topic quickly shifted. Everyone started complaining about their bosses and workplace struggles.

Someone grumbled, "Interns are treated like they're not even human! Buying coffee, printing documents, doing all the grunt work every single day!"

"Same here, but I don't baby them!"

"Haha, college students are shaking up the workplace!"

…

More classmates trickled in and joined the conversation.

Evelyn stayed low-key and quiet, gradually fading into the background. She preferred it that way.

A while later, as almost everyone had arrived, Julian Evans and Isabella Ashcroft made their grand, final entrance.

The moment they appeared at the doorway, classmates rose to their feet.

"Julian is here!"

"Thanks to Julian, we get to eat at such a fancy hotel!"

"I was almost too intimidated to walk in when I arrived. How much must this cost?"

"This hotel is owned by the Vance family. It probably doesn't cost Julian anything, right?"

…

They crowded around Julian, ushering him to the seat of honor.

Julian looked at his old classmates, his mind drifting back to their university days. The gloom in his eyes lessened slightly.

Isabella, the perfect accessory, clung to his arm and sat beside him.

Julian scanned the room. "What's everyone talking about?"

"Just work stuff. It's been two months since graduation. Those who got jobs are working, those who went for master's degrees got in…"

Julian seized the moment. "If anyone needs help with their careers, I'll do what I can."

Someone nearby laughed. "Forget it. The Vance Group only hires postgraduates and PhDs. Us undergraduates would just embarrass you if we got in!"

"Haha, no way we're joining the grind at Vance Group. We can't handle that pressure!"

Amid the laughter, Sophia Watson's eyes gleamed with a sudden idea. "Speaking of which, there really is someone among us who hasn't found a job yet. Julian, do you remember Evelyn Ross? Want to help her out?"

Sophia wasn't particularly close to Isabella.

She said this purely to annoy Evelyn.

In university, Julian had pursued Evelyn for four whole years! From freshman year until graduation, the whole school knew about it.

Yet, at the graduation ceremony, he proposed to Isabella.

Sophia thought bringing this up would humiliate Evelyn.

But her words made Julian and Isabella freeze.

Get Evelyn a job at the Vance Group?

Never mind that Dr. Nan didn't need a job. Isabella's main goal right now was to kick Evelyn out of the Vance household. How could she let her get involved with the family again?

Isabella lowered her eyes and stayed silent.

Julian clenched his fists, his gaze darkening as he looked at Evelyn.

James had heard enough. "Sophia, what's your problem? Always targeting Evelyn? Everyone knows about her history with Julian. Is it fun to bring it up on purpose?"

James laid it bare. Everyone at the table looked at Sophia with disapproval.

Her earlier pretense of caring about a classmate was completely exposed as a direct attack on Evelyn.

Scolded by James, shame and anger flooded Sophia. She glared at him furiously. "I just thought Evelyn is the one struggling the most among us. I wanted Julian to help her out for old times' sake, since she's too proud to ask herself! What's wrong with that?"

Few believed her, but someone tried to smooth things over. "Alright, alright, that's enough. James, you're being too sensitive."

Sophia's eyes reddened with feigned hurt. She looked at Evelyn, who remained completely detached, and sneered. "Exactly, James. Why are you making such a fuss? People might think you and Evelyn are an item!"

James was startled and immediately cried out, "How could I be worthy of her! Don't talk nonsense!"

This stung Sophia.

She liked James, but he said he wasn't worthy of Evelyn? That implied she was inferior to Evelyn!

Sophia instantly sneered. "Why wouldn't you be worthy? I heard Evelyn's guaranteed postgraduate spot was revoked. She's not in grad school, hasn't found a job. She worked part-time all through college and still doesn't have a proper job. What good is just a pretty face? No wonder Julian didn't choose her! Look at Isabella. She was accepted as a postgraduate student under Dr. Nan! James, don't think working for Dr. Nan makes you superior. Isabella is Dr. Nan's postgraduate student. Has she shown off? Has she acted proud?"

Isabella clenched her fists, wishing she could shut Sophia up!

After it came out that Evelyn was Dr. Nan, her own postgraduate status naturally vanished.

Being reminded of this in public was utterly humiliating!

She was about to change the subject when James looked at Evelyn in surprise. "Dr. Nan, you accepted Isabella as your postgraduate student?!"