Iris and Grandpa Lu both stayed at the campus. He had a house in one of the residential districts which was mostly occupied by instructors. He sent soone to pick up her luggage from his mansion in Zürich and sent it to her dorm.
The unit she was assigned to was more like an apartnt suite. It had a bedroom, a living room, a bathroom, a study room and a kitchenette.
What pleased Iris the most was that it also had a computer room already equipped with three high-performance computers. Of course the computers couldn’t compare to her own back at the penthouse, but she knew that the academy had more advanced computers in the Computer Departnt available for her to use.
She hadn’t t with any of the other students yet, probably busy with their own studies. However, Giulia Moretti assured her that Professor Dupont would be throwing a welcoming dinner for her and Grandpa Lu soon. She would have a chance to et her fellow students then.
In the anti, Iris began imrsing herself in her own studies. She t with Professor Kalisha Schwarz and Professor Hisakawa Akio.
Besides her language studies, she also visited the Computer Departnt. They were inford that the hacker Drakon would be coming. When the current departnt head saw her, he teared up.
Iris also blinked her eyes rapidly, trying hard not to cry. He was one of her previous instructors as Evelina.
"Oh, forgive . I thought that you’re one of my forr students. For so reason, you give off the sa vibes," he said, wiping his eyes with his sleeves. "But that’s impossible. You’re clearly a different person. And besides, she’s...she’s not with us anymore."
"Are you talking about Fantom? Or should I say Evelina?" she asked in a soft voice.
His eyes widened. "You know her?"
She nodded. "She’s...she’s my master. She taught everything about computers before she...passed away."
"Oh! So that’s why your style, Drakon’s style, is so eerily similar to Fantom’s. I see."
It seed that Professor Dupont didn’t inform others about Iris’ claim of being Evelina’s student.
"So you’re the student of my student. I was a little disappointed when I heard that Drakon didn’t enroll in our Computer Departnt, but now that I know that you’re Evelina’s student, I’m not surprised. She had been a key force in advancing the developnt of our departnt to what it is now. She had long surpassed and her other computer instructors in just two years since her enrollnt." He sighed, shaking his head. "It’s unfortunate to lose such a genius among genius like her."
A lump caught in her throat. She took a few deep breaths to control her emotions.
After that, she began coming to the Computer Departnt regularly.
In just a couple of days, she reinforced the campus’ computer security system. They were still using the old system she developed as Evelina in the past, albeit they made several improvents on it. However, she developed a newer, sleeker and more secure version. It was also more aggressive against attackers.
The departnt head and the other instructors verified the security of her version. In the end, Professor Dupont approved it and it beca the academy’s new security system.
When they finished installing it, the departnt head teared up again.
"Ah, I must be getting old," he said, giving a sheepish laugh as he wiped his tears. "You just remind of Evelina so much. I’m sure that she’s proud of you as her student. I wish she’s here with us to see your achievents."
’I’m here. I can see everything,’ she replied inside, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
Finally, it was the night of the welcoming dinner. All the students, instructors and alumni gathered at the main castle’s dining hall. The walls, windows, ceiling and the floor were ugly as always but the elegant furniture and decorations made up for the architecture’s ugliness.
Grandpa Lu chatted with his fellow alumni, their loud conversations and boisterous laughter livening up the atmosphere.
Iris also finally t her fellow students. All of them were older and enrolled years before her. Thus, they were her seniors. But if she was still Evelina, they would be her juniors instead.
At the mont, there were eight current students staying at the campus in addition to Iris.
The first one was Logann Wiztein, an attractive man. He was a brilliant student specializing in genetic engineering. His research involved evolution and bloodlines. His work was very controversial. The academy kept a close watch on him so he wouldn’t go too far when it ca to morals and ethics in the science community.
Second was AJ Zheneres, an economist. She was a small and bubbly woman, but her gaze was sharp. Although she was still technically a student, she already started working for the academy. Her instructors swore that she had a frighteningly accurate intuition, bordering on psychic, when it ca to predicting market trends. This innate talent was so valuable that the academy didn’t think twice to recruit her. It was rumoured that the academy’s business profits tripled because of her.
Third was Amanpio Kileksky, an inventor. He was an attractive guy in a nerdy way. He was charming but sotis would speak utter nonsense. His inventions were also a mixed bag. So of them were simply useless. But his best inventions were so ingenious that he already received world recognition, possessing several patents under his na. He could invent anything from the simplest daily tools to the most complicated chanisms used by space agencies.
Another inventor was Florence O’Sevan, a pretty woman. Unlike Amanpio who invented random things, her inventions focused on environntal sustainability. So besides being an inventor, she was also a sustainability specialist. She was one of the students who rarely stayed in the campus. She preferred travelling to different places around the world with her instructor, mostly helping poor villages to live more comfortable lives with her inventions without relying too much on wasteful technology.
Fifth was the gorgeous Ashandra Knightson. While Iris’ beauty was ethereal, Ashandra’s beauty was almost demonic. She looked like a vampire goddess. Despite her dangerous beauty that could destroy nations, she was actually very nice, sweet and quite shy. She was an artist, specializing in paintings but she also liked making sculptures and fashion designing. Her works always sold well in auctions.
The sixth was Trumann Seekerton, an aerospace engineer. All the major space agencies already tried recruiting him but he declined. He preferred exploiting the academy’s generous resources to fund his forward-thinking ideas, instead of being restricted by the budget limitations of space agencies. His ambition was to establish the academy’s own private space agency.
Next was the lovely Theresa Blipsburg, a biodical engineer. Together with her instructors, they already developed innovative state-of-the-art dical instrunts that were gradually becoming available in so of the best hospitals in the world. She also minored in chemical engineering with focus on synthesizing new dications. Her research was still in the early stages but if she succeeded, she would save a lot of lives.
Last was the serious Michael Exlorsson. He was a taciturn man who had an intimidating gaze. His hands were large and calloused, but those hands created marvels of advanced technology. He was a chatronics engineer. Of course, he specialized in robotics and automation, but his ingenious designs were already making waves in the automotive, manufacturing, and even the dical industries.
Iris had never t other Cross Academy students in person before as Evelina because her small army of entourage didn’t allow her. That was why she was excited and curious eting other students in this lifeti.
Comparing herself to their nurous achievents, she realized that she still had a long way to go. These people were, without a doubt, geniuses.
Although their fields of expertise were different from each other, they were still able to find interesting topics of conversation, especially the ladies. They all spoke in English because only Iris could speak German among them.
Amanpio sidled close to her. "Hey. Can I get your number? I also want to invite you for lunch or sothing. I know a good restaurant near the mall. And...do you have a boyfriend?"
Iris gave him a polite smile. "I can give you my e-mail address. If the others are willing to join us, we can have lunch together. And yes, I do have a boyfriend."
"Oh dang. Tsk. Oh well. I tried. By the way, you’re my type." He winked at her, only leaving her side when she gave him her e-mail address.
She didn’t really think much about it. He didn’t look serious. Besides, they were fellow students. Forging close connections with anyone from Cross Academy was always a good idea.
After dinner, the group dispersed. The males returned to their own respective research while the ladies made a promise to et the next day for a girls day out. They planned to watch a movie, go shopping and eat dinner together.
’I’m so glad I decided to stay here at the campus,’ she thought. ’But I miss Liwei. I wonder if he’s alright and taking care of Ice Cream and Popcorn. I miss them so much.’
Her heart longed for him...for ho. But she must regain her inner balance first before returning to him.
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