The Genius Behind the Empire

Right after I finished the final technical review meeting, I noticed my phone wouldn’t stop vibrating.

I glanced at the screen. It was the PhD group chat I hadn’t checked in ages, and everyone was tagging me like crazy.

“Ethan, today is our senior’s wedding day. How dare you make him wait? Who do you think you are?”

That was when I remembered. Today was Ryan’s wedding—the former leader of our PhD group.

“Sorry. Something came up recently, so I won’t be attending.” I typed the message calmly.

I wasn’t close to anyone in that group.