Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Jealousy
Chloe Sinclair’s eyes blinked in confusion. She froze for a rare moment before a sweet smile bloomed on her face, but what she said next nearly gave Howard Thorne a heart attack.
"Professor Thorne, I’m sorry, but right now, I want to focus on Physics."
’I’ll definitely get into math later, but for now, I just want to focus on Physics.’
Howard Thorne’s eyes filled with disappointment. He glanced at Mr. Sutton, a flicker of jealousy crossing his face.
’That old man Sutton is a physicist, which means he has a better chance?’
Sure enough, the moment Mr. Sutton heard Chloe Sinclair was more interested in Physics, he completely forgot what she had said on the show earlier. He chuckled slyly. "In that case, come to my lab! I can help you submit your paper on the three-dimensional quantum Hall effect to an international journal. We’ll definitely win you an award."
Chloe Sinclair shook her head. "Next, I want to focus on preparing for the college entrance exams. I don’t have any plans to join a lab for now."
’I’m going to establish my own lab, start my own company, and manage my own intellectual property.’
Mr. Sutton had no idea Chloe Sinclair’s ambitions were so grand. Although he was a little disappointed by her words, he also felt relieved.
After all, knowing that Chloe Sinclair loved Physics meant that a new star was about to rise in their field.
Thinking this, Mr. Sutton shot a smug look at Howard Thorne.
The look seemed to say, ’Hmph, how are you going to compete with me now!’
In the final round of the Genius Challenge, Chloe Sinclair won the championship without a doubt.
The moment the host made the announcement, the crew members and the four mentors in attendance broke into thunderous applause.
Chloe Sinclair looked around, and her eyes suddenly grew hot.
[BEEP—]
[Congratulations, Host, for winning first place in the Genius Challenge. Reputation Value +1000]
[Total Reputation Value: 1000]
With her first-place victory in the challenge, Eight began to issue its rewards.
It seemed to sense Chloe Sinclair’s inner feelings. Eight asked, [Master, you seem very happy right now?]
"Yes."
A faint smile touched Chloe Sinclair’s lips. As she watched everyone cheer and celebrate for her, an unprecedented feeling washed over her. There was a tightness in her chest, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
Chloe Sinclair took a deep breath. Her voice, as clear as still water, drew everyone’s attention.
Holding the microphone, Chloe Sinclair said, "I’m very happy. I want to thank my family for their support, and I want to thank all of you as well."
Although her acceptance speech was very formal, everyone could feel the sincerity in her words.
After the show ended, one of the staff members waved at Chloe Sinclair. Because she was so far away, she had to cup her hands and shout, "Chloe Sinclair, you’re my idol from now on! Please post more often in the future, okay?"
Chloe Sinclair heard the voice and turned around to see a young woman in her twenties standing at the farthest end of the stands. Her eyes were shining, and at that moment, they were fixed entirely on her.
For some reason, Chloe Sinclair was deeply moved.
She looked back for a long time. Finally, as the staff was leading her offstage, she waved to the girl and shouted back, "I will!"
The girl in the stands froze, the smile on her face stiffening for a moment. But she quickly recovered, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears.
And as it happened, a crew member captured this exact moment on camera.
Meanwhile, Chloe Sinclair had just returned to the backstage dressing room to remove her makeup when, to her surprise, Director Warren walked in with a dark expression on his face.
At first, Chloe Sinclair thought the director was looking for her and was about to stand up, but then she saw him walk straight over to Linda Warren.
Linda Warren had just finished removing her makeup, though she hadn’t taken off her false eyelashes yet.
She was still pulling off her false lashes when Director Warren stopped in front of her.
"Linda Warren, I’m asking you, what’s this about the post you made?"
Linda Warren tilted her head up slightly but didn’t spare Director Warren a glance. She continued to leisurely pull off her other false eyelash in the mirror, then began wiping her face with a makeup remover pad.
Just as Director Warren was about to lose his temper, Linda Warren finally spoke. "Wasn’t I just telling the truth?"
Hearing this, Director Warren laughed in exasperation. "Linda Warren, don’t push your luck. I tolerated it when you were parachuted into the host position, but this time, your post was full of veiled accusations. All the staff here saw what happened."
"Oh?" Linda Warren finished removing her makeup and admired her reflection in the mirror with great satisfaction. She leaned back lazily in her chair, her face full of disdain. "Can you afford to offend my backers?"
Sure enough, Director Warren’s expression stiffened.
Linda Warren let out a laugh, a sound filled with mockery.
Then, she strutted away from the set, her high heels going CLACK-CLACK-CLACK as she left.
Chloe Sinclair, who had finished removing her makeup on the side, listened for a while before it dawned on her that she was, once again, the protagonist of this drama.
Just as she was pondering this, Director Warren walked over, his face ashen.
But when Director Warren saw the look of partial understanding in Chloe Sinclair’s eyes, his anger immediately softened.
*Sigh...*
’This kid is so good, so why do all these troublemakers keep coming after her?’
"Who are Linda Warren’s backers?"
Chloe Sinclair wasn’t actually bothered by the online comments.
’After all, she’d gotten used to it in her past life.’
’The hate she was getting in this life wasn’t even a tenth of what she used to endure.’
’To her, these comments were like a light drizzle, not even worth paying attention to.’
’She was, however, a little curious about Linda Warren’s backers.’
’After all, when it came to wealth and power, if she, Chloe Sinclair, didn’t claim the top spot, almost no one else would dare to claim second.’
Seeing the look on Director Warren’s face, Chloe Sinclair knew Linda Warren’s backers must be powerful.
"Linda Warren’s backer is... the Shaw Group."
"Pfft!"
Chloe Sinclair had just taken a sip of coffee, and upon hearing "Shaw Group," she subconsciously couldn’t believe it.
But just then, her phone on the vanity let out a DING. It was a message from Jasper Shaw.
Chloe Sinclair’s eyes went cold, looking for all the world like a wife who had just caught her husband cheating.
The message was a simple note from Jasper Shaw congratulating her on winning first place in the Genius Challenge, and that was it. Nothing more.
Her already bad mood soured even further.
So, she mumbled an apology to Director Warren and opened WeChat to ask:
Invincible Chloe Sinclair: [Do you know Linda Warren?]
At that moment, Jasper Shaw was waiting with great anticipation for Chloe Sinclair’s reply, but a long time passed with no response.
’The director just told me that the taping was finished, though.’
Just as he was wondering about this, Chloe Sinclair’s message finally came through.
But when he saw her message, a series of question marks might as well have appeared over his head.
He typed a reply with difficulty, using just his index finger.
X: [Who?]
Invincible Chloe Sinclair: [Linda Warren. Today she said her backer is the Shaw Group.]
’How many Shaw Groups could there be in all of Zenthia?’
Chloe Sinclair grumbled to herself.
But a sour feeling grew in her heart.
’Could it be that because of my rebirth, someone else got to Jasper Shaw first?’
Chloe Sinclair didn’t dare to think about it. When Jasper Shaw didn’t reply for a long time, her panic intensified.
In reality, Jasper Shaw had simply spent all that time trying to figure out who this Linda Warren was. Left with no other choice, he called Ian Winters into his office.
At first, Ian Winters was also baffled when asked.
But then, he suddenly remembered something. "Boss, I know who Linda Warren is!"
