Preston's agenda was transparent—he wanted access to the core technology behind Vespera.

Dario firmly shook his hand, responding with practiced ease. "Professor Campbell, I'm truly flattered. I've studied your papers on recurrent neural networks and attention mechanisms extensively—reading them at least ten times. They've been an incredible source of inspiration for my work. It's a genuine privilege to speak with you."

Though Preston was eager to extend their conversation, the conference's opening ceremony was about to commence. Before they could delve deeper, staff members approached to escort them to their designated seats.

Following introductory remarks from the organizers, Preston, Dario, and other distinguished guests began delivering their keynote presentations. The audience was visibly excited, each person hoping to establish connections with these influential figures in artificial intelligence.

As the first round of talks concluded, both men found themselves immediately encircled by corporate representatives and academic colleagues eager for interaction.

Veronica, Marco, Lester, and Maverick maintained their distance, observing the scene from the periphery rather than joining the crowd surrounding the speakers. Cullen, however, had no personal need to approach the center either, but his accompaniment of Niall naturally placed him in the spotlight.

After opening a water bottle, Cullen passed it to Niall. This simple gesture triggered another wave of admiring glances from women nearby. Many experts and entrepreneurs who knew of Cullen and Niall's relationship had previously questioned his choice. Despite his impressive family background and professional accomplishments, he had chosen someone with modest origins.

Now, learning of her connection to Professor Campbell, everything seemed logical. Previously, people had been courteous to Niall solely out of respect for Cullen. The revelation of her being Preston's student transformed their attitudes into genuine enthusiasm.

Niall noticed everything—the envious looks from women, the newfound respect from business elites. Taking a small sip of water, she smiled silently before glancing toward those standing at the periphery—Veronica, Maverick, and the others.

The revelation about her being Preston's student had clearly stunned Maverick. His expression betrayed unmistakable amazement and admiration, which Niall observed without surprise.

Her gaze shifted to Veronica, whose expression remained calm and indifferent, as if she were completely unaffected by the proceedings.

Niall internally scoffed. Was Veronica truly unperturbed, or merely pretending indifference? After all, Niall had achieved a status as Preston's student—a position Veronica could never reach. She would forever be looking up at Niall.

Veronica caught the subtle disdain in Niall's glance. While she couldn't read Niall's mind precisely, her intentions were easily guessed. Finding the situation amusing, Veronica returned a cold, dismissive look.

Niall interpreted this as forced composure. She shifted her attention from Veronica to Marco and Lester, only to discover Lester's gaze fixed on Veronica, as though she were the only person in the room—he hadn't even noticed Niall's presence.

This didn't concern Niall, however. Lester wasn't someone who judged people superficially. Having witnessed her capabilities firsthand, she remained confident that he wouldn't genuinely fall for someone like Veronica.

Marco, meanwhile, was looking in Niall's direction with visible astonishment. She smiled to herself, knowing he had always recognized her abilities but likely hadn't realized the extent of her accomplishments. She wondered if he would still be interested in Veronica now.

Despite Preston's genuine desire for substantive discussion with Dario, neither Dario nor the event organizers accommodated his wish. During lunch, Dario excused himself, citing another engagement, and departed with Veronica and their colleagues.

As Dario and Veronica passed Cullen and Niall, Veronica maintained her forward gaze. Cullen, similarly, didn't spare them a glance, remaining absorbed in his conversation.

Preston's Ophelia visit officially concluded on the conference's second day. Although initially disappointed at missing the opportunity for deeper discussions with Dario, his disappointment proved short-lived.

Just before departing Ophelia, he told Niall excitedly, "The latest issue of Altair received an exceptional submission—truly innovative perspective with remarkable quality. Every reviewer was thoroughly impressed. Once published, I'd love to discuss it in-depth with the author."

Beyond his professorial role, Preston served as a reviewer for one of AI's premier academic journals. Reviewer protocol strictly prohibited discussing unpublished manuscripts or sharing personal assessments before official publication. However, given his standing in the field, he doubted anyone would report his minor confidentiality breach.

Niall, intrigued by his enthusiasm, felt curious anticipation for the journal's release. Fortunately, the new Altair issue was scheduled for imminent publication.

Understanding that Preston wouldn't have mentioned this without holding high expectations for her, she replied, "I understand completely, Professor. Once published, I'll study that paper extensively."

Preston nodded approvingly. "Good."

After seeing him off at the airport, Niall finally returned home, her mind racing with possibilities.