Substitute Wife, Genius CEO novel Chapter 135

Just wait until she officially became Harrison's disciple. She'd see if Summer could still laugh then.

Lily cast a helpless, pitiful look at Xavier. She dreamed of joining Harrison's inner circle, yet she had hit a brick wall on their very first meeting.

There was no denying she was genuinely panicking inside.

Xavier offered her a comforting look. "It's fine. We'll find another opportunity later."

Meanwhile, Harrison received a message from Jude: [Beautifully done, old man! Round of applause!]

Harrison had no idea what he meant: [What kind of crazy pill did you swallow today?]

Jude: [Look behind you.]

Harrison turned around with his phone in hand, immediately spotting his rebellious student, Summer, followed closely by rebellious student number two, Jude.

That head of blonde hair was an instant eyesore. Harrison scowled.

Summer smiled and waved, offering a sweet, obedient greeting.

Harrison let out an exasperated scoff and ruthlessly turned his head back around.

Julian just happened to be walking by and caught the entire exchange.

Julian scoffed, his tone dripping with mockery. "Do you have zero self-awareness? Even someone as exceptional as Lily has to be tested by Mr. Banks first. How does someone like you even have the nerve to approach him? A toad lusting after a swan. Pure delusion."

Jude actually laughed out loud at that. He arched an eyebrow and asked Summer, "Summer, did you hear a dog barking just now?"

Summer smiled and nodded. "I did. It was awfully loud."

Jude clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I really don't know what's wrong with this event. When they sent out the invites, they clearly didn't bother screening anybody. They just let in every piece of trash, rabid dog, idiot, and moron they could find."

"Who the hell are you calling a dog?" Julian demanded, his face and neck flushing bright red with rage.

Jude leaned back, slouching casually against his chair. He shot Julian a half-smile. "Did I say your name? Did I point you out? Awfully self-aware of you to just volunteer for the role. Or maybe you actually are one?"

The conference officially began, and the staff urged everyone to take their assigned seats.

Julian shot Summer a vicious glare before storming off to the front.

Jude casually flipped Julian the bird to his retreating back and muttered, "Dumbass!"

He then pulled out his phone, the screen lighting up with a barrage of rapid-fire texts from Harrison: [What is going on with Summer? Why is she hanging around with you?]

The morning flew by in a flash, and the organizers laid out a catered working lunch.

The VIPs sitting in the front row were naturally ushered into a private dining room.

Seizing the opportunity, Xavier brought up Lily to Harrison once again.

Since there was still work in the afternoon, no one drank alcohol during lunch. Xavier took the initiative to refill Harrison's tea, pouring on the charm perfectly.

"Mr. Banks, Lily is an outstanding graduate of Empire State University. She's spent the last few years deeply entrenched in the AI sector abroad, but her heart has always been tied to our country. Her only wish was to return after completing her studies to serve the nation. She has an immense amount of admiration and deep respect for senior researchers like yourself."

Xavier didn't bluntly ask Harrison to take Lily on as a student right out of the gate.

Instead, he started by closing the distance through their shared university connection, highlighted Lily's hard work, and then elevated her sense of patriotism to win Harrison's favor.

First impressions were crucial.

He had to leave a good impression before pushing the mentorship angle.

Lily immediately nodded in agreement, adopting a look of pure reverence as she raised her teacup in a toast to Harrison.

"Mr. Banks, I only applied to Empire State University because of you. I started competing in national youth coding and robotics building tournaments back in middle school, and by high school, I was already studying college curriculums. I've read every single book, paper, and journal you've ever written. They've been a tremendous help to me. I truly, deeply respect you."