Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed novel Chapter 870

Scales's eyes sharpened.

"Ah, who cares!" Mamie waved a hand dismissively. "Why overthink it? If the university really wants something, they'll come to us. We'll find out then, right? No point in guessing."

"You're right," Roseanne agreed. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Nothing to be afraid of."

"Exactly! We just published another paper in Nature Biotechnology! Shouldn't we be celebrating something so awesome?"

"We should."

Mamie then looked at Scales, who also nodded.

"Great! Let's go out for a big meal tonight to celebrate! There's a new Thai place that just opened on Maple Road. I saw it on Instagram; the reviews are amazing. I was dying to try it even when I was back home!"

The Mamie-brand food finder was officially online.

Since their lab was on the outskirts, she always called any trip into the city proper "going into town."

Scales's mouth twitched. "Can't we celebrate some other way?"

"We could get steak," Mamie offered.

"..."

"Or Italian? I'm fine with anything, really!"

"..."

In the end, the three of them went to the Thai restaurant.

By the time they finished, it was already eight o'clock.

The night was dark, illuminated by the bright city lights.

"By the way, I haven't seen Carlson around, have you?" Mamie suddenly remembered looking back at the lab area before they left and noticing that Carlson's workstation was completely clean.

"I haven't seen him at all since the semester started," Scales said. "Roseanne, have you?"

"Roseanne! I think something's wrong!"

Roseanne looked up, confused. "What is it?"

"I... I just went looking for Arkle to ask about Carlson, and it turns out he hasn't come back to campus either! I thought that was odd, so I went and asked another third-year, and confirmed Carlson is also still gone! You're the one who taught me: if something seems too coincidental, it probably isn't a coincidence."

Roseanne frowned. "So, to be clear, neither Arkle nor Carlson has returned to campus?!"

"Right!"

"If it were just Carlson, I'd say coming back a few days late is normal for him. But Arkle... that diligent coward would never dare pull a stunt like this."

After all, the university was very strict with first-year grad students. If he were caught, the consequences would be severe—anything from a formal reprimand to expulsion.

Arkle had fought so hard to transfer to Ms. Payne's supervision and escape the nightmare of working with Edna. He cherished the opportunity.

Plus, Ms. Payne had created a customized research plan just for him...