Chapter 192

Vincent Macmillan's chopsticks lifted a piece of scallion oil chicken, its golden skin glistening with oil. The tender meat melted in his mouth, its savory juices bursting on his tongue. "This tastes absolutely authentic!" he couldn't help exclaiming. "It's been ages since I've had scallion oil chicken this good."

Oliver Lancelot followed suit, nodding as he chewed. "It really is excellent. Camille, would you like to try some?"

"No." Evelyn Langley pushed her bowl away coldly. "I'm watching my weight."

Oliver awkwardly retracted his chopsticks and stuffed the chicken into his own mouth. "Then after you finish dieting, we can come here just the two of us—"

"Who said I'd go anywhere alone with you?" Evelyn rolled her eyes.

Natalie Blanchet glanced at Adrian Klein, who was quietly eating across the table, and casually asked, "Evelyn, how old are you? If you're starting grad school this September, you must be around twenty-two or twenty-three?"

"Twenty-six," Evelyn replied without looking up.

The table fell silent for a beat.

Oliver stole a glance at Adrian, but his expression remained unreadable as he continued eating with measured grace.

Camille Valrose smirked. "Twenty-six and just now getting into grad school? How many times did you take the exam?"

Oliver kicked her under the table, earning a sharp glare in return.

"Once." Evelyn set down her chopsticks. "The entrance exams weren't difficult."

Camille scoffed. "If it were that easy, why didn't you apply right after undergrad? Don't tell me it took you years to finally get in."

"I turned down a combined bachelor-master-doctoral program." Evelyn's voice was calm. "Now I regret it, so I'm reapplying."

Camille looked like she'd heard the most ridiculous joke. "Harvard doesn't offer combined programs outside of medicine! That's exactly why I went abroad for grad school!"

"Just because you didn't know about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Evelyn said flatly.

"Professor Macmillan," Camille turned to Vincent, "does Harvard offer any combined bachelor-to-PhD programs besides medicine?"

Vincent wiped his brow. "Well... not to my knowledge."

"See?" Camille lifted her chin triumphantly.

Evelyn gently set down her teacup. "I said combined bachelor-master-doctoral program, not just master-to-PhD."

Vincent's eyes widened suddenly.

Camille sneered. "What's the difference? Your lies just keep getting bigger!"