Chapter 105 Getting More and More Exaggerated
Doris's dislike for Camilla was so obvious, she didn't even try to hide it.
Nobody thought Doris would be such a pain, and things got real awkward, real fast.
Darren shot a quick look their way, took a deep breath, and jumped in to fix the vibe. "Doris, I've already crunched the numbers on your experiment. The earliest we'll see results is tomorrow morning. It's rare for everyone to have free time, so why not chill and grab a bite together?"
"Plus, everyone knows how swamped Sebastian usually is. He's treating us today; you can't say no to that, right?"
Doris hesitated, but when Darren mentioned Sebastian, she bit her lip and glanced up. Sebastian looked as cool as ever, his shirt perfect, and damn, he was hot.
Finally, Doris gave in. "Alright, I don't want to ruin everyone's fun."
Darren let out a sigh of relief, though he felt a bit bummed.
He thought, 'Doris is tough to please; only Sebastian can sway her.'
They changed into casual clothes and headed to the restaurant.
The place was booked in advance, a private spot with a spicy menu, top-rated on all the apps.
Betty loved spicy food and was stoked about the choice.
Darren, always the social butterfly, treated Camilla like a sister, warmly inviting her. "Camilla, order whatever you want, don't be shy. Sebastian's footing the bill, so go wild."
Betty grinned, half-joking, "Usually, you can't trust half of what Darren says, but today he's on point."
Darren shot back, "Betty, can't you give me a break? That was good, but keep it to yourself next time." He played it up, and the mood instantly lightened.
Camilla liked Darren and couldn't help but smile.
Only Doris stayed quiet, her pretty face cold, as if lost in thought.
Darren quickly handed the menu to Doris. "Hey, remember how you're all about that sensitive stomach and light eats? This dish isn't spicy, how about this? I also got your favorite creamy stew; it's killer here, you gotta try it."
"Just leave me alone." Doris frowned but didn't refuse.
Darren seemed used to her attitude and didn't mind, closing the menu with a grin and keeping the convo going.
Camilla took a sip of her drink, not sweet but sour, just how she liked it.
Betty, sitting next to her, leaned in and whispered, "Darren's been after Doris for years, it's pretty obvious, right?"
Camilla wasn't into gossip, but since Betty brought it up, she nodded. "Yeah, I noticed."
"Our lab hasn't had any good news in a while. I wonder if those two will ever get together. By the way, Camilla, got a boyfriend?" Betty sighed, and somehow the topic shifted to Camilla.
Betty's voice was just loud enough, and Sebastian, sitting nearby, easily caught their conversation.
"Nope," Camilla replied.
Betty was kinda shocked that someone as gorgeous as Camilla was still single.
She loved a bit of gossip, but who didn't? Still, she wasn't about to dig into Camilla's personal life. Seeing Camilla wasn't in the mood to share more, she switched topics.
Soon, the food started rolling in.
Everyone dug in. Darren and Doris were bickering as usual.
The lively vibe made Betty feel good. She looked at Camilla, curious. "Camilla, I never asked, how old are you? If you're starting grad school in September, you gotta be around 22 or 23, right?"
Betty asked casually, not really thinking much of it.
Camilla answered just as casually, "Nah, I'm 26."
But the others couldn't help but react a bit.
They thought, '26 and just starting grad school?'
Darren glanced at Sebastian, who stayed chill, eating his food like he already knew.
Doris raised an eyebrow, showing her first smile since sitting down. "26 and just starting grad school? How many times did you take the exam?"
Darren swiftly nudged her under the table, signaling, "Hey, let's play nice. This is someone Sebastian vouches for."
But Doris just shot him a cold glare, meaning, "Shut up, mind your own business!"
Camilla calmly replied, "I took it once. The initial and final exams weren't too tough."
"Really?" Doris thought she was being stubborn and retorted, "If it was so easy, why didn't you take it right after undergrad? Why now? Who knows how many times you took it?"
Camilla said, "After college, I gave up my chance for a combined master's and PhD program for personal reasons. Now I regret it, so I decided to go back to school. Is there a problem with that?"
"You are getting ridiculous! I didn't know Harmony College offered combined master's and PhD programs outside of medical fields."
Doris had chosen to study abroad for her master's because she couldn't get into a combined program at Harmony College. In fact, Harmony College didn't offer such programs outside of medical fields.
She thought, 'Now, someone suddenly claims she had a chance for a combined program at Harmony College but gave it up? What a load of nonsense!'
Camilla said, "Just because you don't know, doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
Doris laughed out loud, thinking, 'At this point, she still wouldn't admit it? Stubborn!'
She turned to Hector and asked, "Hector, you work at Harmony College. Do you know of any combined master's and PhD programs outside of medical fields?"
Hector pondered for a moment. "As far as I know, and this is just my knowledge, combined programs are mostly in medical fields. Other fields probably don't have them."
"See?" Doris raised an eyebrow, looking at Camilla.
Compared to Doris's obvious glee, Camilla stayed calm. "It's not a combined master's and PhD program; it's a combined bachelor's, master's, and PhD program."
Hector was taken aback.
Doris scoffed, "What's the difference? Now it's a combined bachelor's, master's, and PhD program? How exaggerated can you get?"
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