Joseph went upstairs and started cooking. This was the first meal he cooked for himself in three years. In the Cooper family, he had been merely serving others for the past three years. Although Fiona didn't treat him as a husband, Joseph believed he had done everything a man should do, and even more than what an average man would do.
Soon, half an hour passed, but Alice hadn't returned yet. Joseph took out his phone, thinking of giving Alice a call, but realized he didn't have her phone number. He had been busy with his own matters all day and even forgot to ask for Alice's number.
Considering that Alice only went to buy some things in the neighborhood, he thought there shouldn't be any issues. Moreover, when he entered this neighborhood, he didn't notice any potential dangers. Perhaps for some special reason, Joseph was very sensitive to danger, though he himself didn't know why. Maybe he knew the reason before but had forgotten it now.
Just as Joseph was busy, he heard the sound of someone coming back outside, which must be Alice returning.
"Joseph, I'm back," Alice's voice came from outside after a moment, just as expected.
"What did you buy?" Joseph asked while busy in the kitchen.
"I'll give it to you in a moment," Alice replied, walking towards the kitchen. When Joseph asked, her pretty face blushed slightly, and she instinctively hid the things in her hands behind her back. Joseph noticed this subtle movement but didn't inquire further.
"Joseph, what delicious food are you making?" Alice poked her little head into the kitchen and asked with anticipation.
"I can't make anything particularly delicious. Just cooking something casually," Joseph smiled and said nonchalantly.
"I remember you like cheese steak the most, right?"
"Joseph, you've forgotten everything, but you still remember what I like to eat!" Hearing these words, Alice's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"I also find it strange. I can't recall some things, but some memories are very vivid," Joseph smiled helplessly.
"Joseph, you're truly wonderful. That woman from the Cooper family must be so blind to have missed out on you," Alice felt a bit regretful, yet also a sense of fortune.
"What do you mean by 'missed out'? We're just not suitable for each other. I prefer someone with more warmth and human touch," Joseph shook his head and chuckled.
"Hehe, I'm very warm. If Joseph doesn't believe it, you can feel it for yourself," Alice giggled, feeling happy in her heart. From what Joseph said, it seemed he liked girls like her more.
"Huh? How do I feel it?" Joseph asked instinctively.
"How would I know? It depends on how you want to feel it. Joseph can do whatever you want," Alice blushed at Joseph's question, suddenly thinking of some embarrassing things.
"Ah! No more talking. I still have some things to do. I need to call my grandpa," Alice left as if escaping, realizing the conversation was getting out of her control.
"Alice, can you give me your phone number? I don't have it yet," Joseph raised his voice.
"Okay, wait a moment. I'll change my clothes first," Alice's voice came from afar.
After a while, Alice walked into the kitchen again. This time, she had changed into casual clothes - a pair of light shorts, revealing her snow-white long legs, and a small, exquisite sleepwear top that perfectly showcased her stunning figure.
"Joseph, give me your phone. I'll input my number for you," Alice came to Joseph's side.
"I can't free my hands now. The phone is in my left pocket. Can you take it out yourself?" Joseph said while busily cooking.
"Okay." Hearing this, Alice reached into Joseph's left pocket. As a result, the two were very close. Joseph could smell the delicate fragrance of the young girl on Alice, while Alice could feel the manly aura from Joseph. Alice kept her hand inside for a long time without taking it out.
"Ahem, did you get it?" Joseph felt something was off.
"Joseph, aren't we too intimate? Is it a bit inappropriate for me to do this?" Alice suddenly asked.
Hearing this, Joseph was dumbfounded. Was this girl a bit foolish... or was she doing it on purpose?
"But your hand is already inside and has been there for a long time."
Girls nowadays are so mischievous, bold, and proactive.
"Oh, sorry. I got it, hehe." After fumbling around for a while, Alice finally took out Joseph's phone with satisfaction.
"Joseph, why are you still using this kind of phone?" Alice was a bit surprised after taking out the phone. Joseph's phone was too old and worn out - a Nokia from more than ten years ago.
"As long as it can make calls, it's fine," Joseph smiled wryly.
"How can that be? With a phone like this, you can't even use F******k. We have many phones at home. I'll change one for you," Alice looked at the decade-old Nokia in her hand and shook her head.
"It's fine as long as it works," Joseph said the same thing.
"No, I'm going. I'll change it for you. Don't worry, I'll help you." With that, Alice left and returned to her room, starting to tinker with Joseph's phone. She first removed the SIM card and then began fiddling with various things.
Meanwhile, Joseph was busy cooking in the kitchen. It was around 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening.
In Nova City, at the Greenfield Villa, due to Fiona continuously securing big projects for the family in recent years, the development of the Cooper family could even be described as advancing by leaps and bounds. Fiona's status in the Cooper family had also risen with the tide.
Two years ago, Fiona and her family moved into a villa in Greenfield Villa. At this moment, a BMW X5 stopped in front of the villa. Fiona Cooper got out of the car in a hurry, wearing high heels, and walked into the villa.
"Dad? Mom? What happened? Our relationship with Morgan Group has always been very good. Why did they suddenly stop our project?" Fiona asked anxiously as soon as she entered.
At this time, Maria Long and Stephen Cooper were sitting at opposite ends of the table, lost in thought. There were dishes on the table that were about to get cold, but they had no appetite.
"Fiona, you're back!" Maria Long only reacted when she saw Fiona coming in.
"Fiona, we don't know the specific reason. Your grandmother said there's no use being anxious. Morgan Group isn't answering calls or responding to messages. You need to go there in person tomorrow to find out. After all, you've been the one leading the projects with Morgan Group," Stephen Cooper said in a dispirited tone.
Hearing this, Fiona looked at the time. It was past 7 o'clock.
"They're not answering calls or replying to messages, probably because they're off work already. I can only go there tomorrow," Fiona sat down and sighed softly.
"Fiona, you don't need to worry too much. Our cooperation with Morgan Group has always been pleasant, and you have a good relationship with them. You can definitely solve the problem by talking face-to-face tomorrow. Hasn't Morgan Group been on good terms with us all these years?" Maria Long served Fiona a bowl of soup and comforted her.
"Your mom is right. Let's eat first. At 10 o'clock tonight, your grandmother wants us all to go over for a meeting. This matter can't be delayed. We'll discuss then and see how to handle these issues," Stephen Cooper also comforted, but Fiona still had no appetite.
"Brother-in-law, Dad, Mom, Sis, I'm back. What's up with brother-in-law? He's not answering calls or replying to messages, making me take a taxi back by myself," at this moment, a pleasant voice came from outside. It was Heidi returning. Heidi walked in impetuously.

Latest Chapter
Chapter 467
As he entered, every pair of eyes in the room turned to him. The silence that followed made Joseph freeze for a moment."Good afternoon, everyone," he greeted awkwardly. "I thought this was just a casual dinner with Old Mr. Ortiz. I didn’t expect all of you to be here."Laughter and replies came from every direction:"We were always planning to be here.""We didn’t tell you so we wouldn’t scare you off.""It was also for confidentiality—couldn’t make it too public.""Don’t be nervous, Professor Wilson. We’re not bad people.""Exactly. We’re the good kind of old folks—no hidden agendas here.""Yeah, just friendly faces.""…"The chorus of voices responded one after another."Please, Professor Wilson, have a seat. This one—this is the seat of honor," Gerald Ortiz said, guiding him toward the most prominent spot.Joseph hesitated. "I really shouldn't… All of you are my seniors. It feels inappropriate for me to sit there.""This kid hasn’t changed a bit—still so polite and reserved.""Al
Chapter 466
That afternoon, both Joseph and Alice had only one class at two o’clock and were done before four.After class, Joseph went straight to the parking lot to wait for Alice. Since he had dinner plans with the investigation team, he didn’t stay behind to answer the students’ questions.When he arrived, Alice hadn’t come down yet, so he got into the car to wait.A few minutes later, Alice arrived—along with Mason Alvarez, who got in with her and sat in the back seat."Let’s go home, Joseph!" Alice chirped sweetly."Professor Alvarez, do you need a ride back to your place?" Joseph asked."My place? No way—we’re going to your place," Mason said cheerfully. "It’s the weekend tomorrow, and I’m sleeping over with your little sweetheart tonight.""Besides, she says you’ve been super busy the past few days. I’m here to help take care of her. Aren’t I just the best?"She wrapped an arm around Alice’s waist, eliciting a playful grimace of protest."Is she taking care of you, or are you taking care
Chapter 465
"Even if two researchers reach similar conclusions, would the wording in the paper be exactly the same?""Do you take all of us for fools with this nonsense?"Unable to bear it any longer, Lincoln Myers exploded. The truth was right there on the screen, and yet Martin continued to shamelessly argue."Professor Martin, if you’re still unconvinced, we can continue the confrontation," Joseph said calmly."You just said it couldn’t be such a coincidence. Let me assure you—it wasn’t a coincidence at all.""My papers and research are highly valued—ask the academic black market. Paper brokers stole my work and sold it under the table. They quickly discovered mine were the most lucrative, the most sought after.""Of course, buyers like you never see the original authors. The names are scrubbed clean before the papers are sold.""But I do admire your discerning taste, Professor Martin. Out of all the papers you could’ve chosen, you picked so many of mine.""Clearly, you hold my academic work i
Chapter 464
Everyone held their breath, waiting patiently. But the progress bar stalled stubbornly at 99%, frozen in place."Ahem, please bear with me a moment. It's an official site, after all—just a bit... antique," Geoffrey Harris said with slight embarrassment.“No worries. If it loaded too fast, we’d start doubting its authenticity,” Joseph replied with a faint smile.But just as Joseph finished speaking, the website crashed entirely.Geoffrey Harris looked mortified, forced to reload the page. This time, however, the process went surprisingly smoothly.In mere moments, the site redirected to the search results page, and to everyone's astonishment, it returned an overwhelming number of results under Joseph’s name.The sheer volume left the room in stunned silence. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of academic papers under the name “Joseph”—an almost absurd quantity.At the top of the search page was Joseph’s personal profile. But the photo attached was of a much younger Joseph, complete with a little
Chapter 463
In the academic world, nothing is more contemptible than fraud.“Professor Wilson, you're just making baseless accusations. I’ve checked the national thesis database, and none of the red-marked sections you’ve highlighted appear as duplicates,” Lincoln Myers interjected, his tone stern.“I didn't just check the national thesis database—I also searched online. There was no trace of duplication,” he added, defending Charles Martin.“Professor Wilson, I know you and Professor Martin have personal grievances, but this is academia. You can’t sling mud just because of a grudge. And to make matters worse, are you trying to glorify yourself while defaming others?”“Professor Wilson, do you have concrete evidence?” Leonard Sanchez asked quietly, clearly unsettled.“You're making a serious accusation. You need to back it up,” Geoffrey Harris added, looking intently at Joseph.Seated beside him, Mason Alvarez nudged Joseph lightly with his elbow.“Professor Wilson, are you absolutely sure?
Chapter 462
"Professor Wilson, plagiarism checks typically apply only to theses. Martin’s doctoral dissertation passed all standard reviews.""What we're discussing here are his published academic papers—particularly those he authored while abroad.""And in academia, this isn’t uncommon. Modern science, after all, is built upon the shoulders of giants," Lincoln Myers replied, defending his position."Fair enough," Joseph said, smiling again—but to Myers, there was something unsettling about that smile."So, Director Myers, your conclusion is that Professor Martin’s work constitutes excessive citation, but nothing more?" Geoffrey Harris asked, turning to him."Correct. After thorough review with Deputy Director Malcolm Gray, we found no fundamental violations in Professor Martin’s papers," Myers affirmed."Alright, what about your findings, old Sanchez?" Geoffrey Harris looked toward Leonard Sanchez."My side of the review was similar to Director Myers'. I didn’t go as in-depth, but I didn’t
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