“Brother-in-law, how about this? Since my sister doesn’t want you anymore, why don’t I marry you instead?” Heidi suddenly suggested, her eyes twinkling with a spark of mischief.“What nonsense are you talking about? You’re only eighteen! Stop messing around. Your parents would kill you,” Joseph was so startled by her words that he nearly choked on his food.“I’m serious, brother-in-law. That way, we’d be family again. And I could listen to your nagging for the rest of my life. Of course, if you don’t want to live with my sister and my parents, we can move out and live on our own. They’re pretty annoying anyway,” Heidi said earnestly, her face full of sincerity.Joseph looked at her, then reached out and gave her a gentle but firm tap on the head.“Ow! What was that for?” Heidi exclaimed, rubbing her head.“To knock some sense into you. Stop thinking such crazy thoughts,” Joseph said casually.“I’m not joking, brother-in-law. You know that Grandpa was the one who arranged your marriage
It wasn’t until Joseph had completely disappeared from view that Heidi finally turned her attention back to the mess on the table, quickly tidying everything up. Once she was done, she grabbed her belongings and headed off to class.At around two o’clock, Joseph found himself knocking on Geoffrey Harris’s office door.“Who’s there?” came Harris’s voice from inside.“It’s me, Joseph,” he responded.“Ah, Mr. Wilson! I thought you might come later, but here you are, bright and early,” Harris said warmly as he opened the door and welcomed Joseph inside.“I didn’t have much else to do, so I came early. I hope I’m not interrupting your time off?” Joseph replied with a smile.“Not at all. Come in, have some water.” Harris handed Joseph a glass before continuing, “It’s work hours now, so you’re not interrupting anything. Give me just a moment, I’ll call Brady and have him join us.”Harris poured Joseph some water, then returned to his desk to make the call. Joseph took a seat and sipped from
“Mr. Wilson, I’ll take you to handle the rest of your onboarding paperwork,” Brady said after glancing through the contract.“Alright, but give me a few minutes. I need to use the restroom first,” Joseph said, standing up.“Of course, Mr. Wilson. I’ll wait for you here,” Brady replied, adjusting his black-rimmed glasses.Joseph nodded and left the room.After Joseph left, Brady looked once more at his signature on the contract. “This handwriting... I’ve seen it somewhere before.”“That wouldn’t surprise me,” Harris said, taking a sip of water. “Maybe you saw it earlier today. Think back—you might remember where.”“Earlier today?” Brady frowned, deep in thought. He pondered for a while before a flash of realization crossed his face.“I’ve got it! The notice board by the west gate, in the Mathematics Department. This morning, someone posted a manuscript there—a new proof for Stokes’ Theorem. It’s caused quite a stir in the department. Everyone’s been speculating about who wrote it.”“So
29 Garden Road was home to a small pharmacy. Despite its modest storefront, the pharmacy’s primary business wasn’t retail. Behind it lay one of the largest storage warehouses for medicinal herbs and semi-processed medicines in Nova City, owned by the Cooper family.Though the prescription Joseph had given her didn’t contain any rare or expensive herbs, it did list a large number of ingredients. Given the variety, Heidi had decided to come to this particular pharmacy to fill the prescription.However, as she approached the entrance, she noticed a “Closed” sign hanging on the door.“Excuse me, miss, all our pharmacists are unavailable today. If you need medication or herbs, you might want to try another pharmacy or come back another day,” called a young man’s voice from inside the shop as Heidi pushed the door open, ignoring the sign.“Is that so? Funny, I didn’t hear anything about 29 Garden Road being closed when I checked with my family,” Heidi said, her eyes scanning the room.The y
“Because the ratios were lost, I can’t be sure whether the measurements on this prescription are correct,” Mr. Barrett explained, clearly intrigued.“Well, my doctor friend gave it to me, so I’m sure it’s trustworthy, right?” Heidi blinked, a bit uncertain.“I can tell from reading this prescription that the person who wrote it really cares about you. He must be someone you trust deeply, someone very close to you,” Old Mr. Barrett said, smiling as he glanced at the paper again.“Huh? How can you tell that?” Heidi asked, her curiosity piqued.“This prescription will brew into a slightly bitter decoction, but not unbearably so. However, the person who wrote it added a large number of auxiliary ingredients to improve the taste.”“Following this prescription, the medicine will taste sweet, with a pleasant fragrance. Not only will it regulate your body, but it will also aid digestion and soothe the stomach.”“Whoever wrote this clearly knows your palate well. I’m guessing you can’t stand b
“I wonder which lucky man will end up with someone as wealthy, beautiful, and kind as Miss Heidi,” the shop assistant said with a wistful sigh.“Well, it certainly won’t be you, so you can stop dreaming,” Mr. Barrett teased, unable to resist a good-natured jab. “Didn’t you see how she looked just now? It was written all over her face that her heart belongs to someone already.”The shop assistant sighed dramatically. “Ah, Mr. Barrett, you should get back to your work. I’ll manage here by myself,” he said, his tone filled with a playful sense of defeat.Chuckling, Mr. Barrett shook his head and headed back to the storage area, leaving the young assistant to his daydreams at the front desk.Meanwhile, after nearly two hours of paperwork and running around, Joseph and Brady Rogers had finally completed Joseph’s onboarding process. With only a few minutes left before 4:30, they were now on their way to the conference room.“That was close, Mr. Wilson. We almost didn’t finish everything bef
“Mr. Wilson, over here, please. This is Professor Patricia Roberts, one of our deputy heads,” Brady said, guiding Joseph to the front and introducing him.“Professor Roberts, this is Mr. Joseph Wilson, our newest faculty member,” Brady continued.Professor Roberts was an elderly woman in her sixties or seventies, slightly plump but dressed elegantly. She had a warm and approachable demeanor, and when she saw Joseph, she stood up and extended her hand.“Mr. Wilson, it’s a pleasure. The principal has already told me about you. You’re quite impressive for someone so young—you might be the youngest professor in the history of our university. Welcome,” she said with a kind smile.“Thank you, Professor Roberts. It’s an honor to meet you,” Joseph replied with a polite smile, shaking her hand.“You’ve already met Professor Abel Jimenez,” Brady added, introducing the other deputy head.“Welcome again, young man,” Jimenez said warmly as he stood up and gave Joseph a firm handshake, grinning fro
“Dr. Martin, why don’t you introduce yourself?” Myers said, his energy palpable as he spoke.Charles Martin rose from his seat, briefly glancing in Joseph’s direction before addressing the room.“Hello, everyone. I’m Charles Martin. It’s an honor to be here, and I look forward to working with all of you,” Martin said, his tone polite and composed.As he finished speaking, applause broke out—but only from one side of the room. Joseph instinctively started to clap but quickly noticed that no one around him was joining in. The applause was coming exclusively from the Modern Medicine faculty. His side—the Traditional Chinese Medicine faculty—remained silent.Feeling awkward, Joseph stopped clapping and glanced around, his expression puzzled.“Mr. Wilson, a little tip—this side of the room is for the Traditional Chinese Medicine faculty, while the other side is for the Modern Medicine folks. We don’t usually get involved in their affairs, and they wouldn’t appreciate our applause anyway,”