Chapter 394
Kevitt Smith’s so–called wish to have a deep conversation with him was really just a ploy to grasp the core technology of Infinite–CM.
As Stewart shook his hand, he replied smoothly, “Mr. Kevitt Smith, you flatter me. I must have read your papers on ‘Recurrent Neural Networks and Attention Mechanisms‘ a dozen times. They’ve been incredibly inspiring. It’s truly an honor to converse with you.”
Naturally, Kevitt Smith was eager to chat more with Stewart.
But the opening ceremony of the conference was about to begin.
Before they could exchange more than a few words, a staff member ushered them to their seats.
After the host of the conference gave their welcome speech, Kevitt Smith, Stewart, and other esteemed guests gradually took the stage for their keynote speeches.
Everyone was eager to make connections with Stewart and Kevitt Smith.
Once the first round of discussions ended, Stewart and Kevitt Smith found themselves surrounded by a throng of experts, scholars, and corporate representatives.
Charlene, Granger, Gaylord, and Dalton didn’t need to push forward to be near Stewart and Kevitt Smith. So, they stood at the edges, observing.
Thorne didn’t need to be in the thick of it either, but since he was with Vesta, he found himself at the center of
the crowd.
He unscrewed the cap of a water bottle and handed it to Vesta.
This simple act earned Vesta envious glances from the women nearby.
Those who were aware of Thorne and Vesta’s relationship couldn’t quite comprehend why someone of Thorne’s background and accomplishments chose Vesta as his girlfriend. Sure, she was attractive and well–educated, but her family’s status was relatively unimpressive.
However, now that they knew she was a student of Kevitt Smith, it all made sense.
Previously, due to Thorne, they treated Vesta with some courtesy. But upon learning of her connection to Kevitt Smith, their demeanor shifted to genuine warmth.
Whether it was the jealousy from the women or the newfound respect from the business executives, Vesta
noticed it all.
She accepted the water from Thorne, took a sip, smiled silently, and then glanced over at Charlene, Dalton, and the others watching from the outskirts.
Vesta being a doctoral student of Kevitt Smith indeed surprised Dalton.
His gaze was filled with admiration and wonder, impossible to hide.
Vesta, of course, noticed.
She wasn’t surprised by his reaction.
She looked at Charlene.
Charlene’s expression was calm, seemingly indifferent to the whole scenario. Internally, Vesta scoffed.
Was she truly indifferent, or just putting on a facade of nonchalance?
After all, Vesta was Kevitt Smith’s doctoral student, an achievement Charlene could only dream of reaching.
Charlene could only look up to her.
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Charlene caught the disdain in Vesta’s eyes.
Though unsure of her exact thoughts, Charlene could guess.
Finding it amusing, Charlene returned her gaze, cool and unfazed.
Vesta assumed she was just pretending to be strong.
She turned her attention to Granger and Gaylord but noticed Gaylord was focused on Charlene, seemingly oblivious to her presence.
However, Gaylord wasn’t someone who judged by appearances alone.
Having witnessed her brilliance, how could Gaylord possibly hold Charlene in higher regard?
Therefore, seeing Gaylord’s apparent interest in Charlene didn’t concern Vesta in the least.
As for Granger, he was staring in her direction, lost in thought.
Vesta smiled.
He knew she was impressive, but perhaps not to this extent?
Would he still favor Charlene?
Kevitt Smith indeed longed to engage with Stewart.
Unfortunately, neither Stewart nor the event organizers provided an opportunity.
During lunch, Stewart excused himself on the grounds of another engagement and left with Charlene and the others.
As Charlene and Stewart passed by Thorne and Vesta, Charlene kept her gaze forward. Thorne, absorbed in conversation, didn’t acknowledge her departure.
Kevitt Smith’s schedule wrapped up the day after the International Al Conference opened.
He was disappointed not to have a deeper dialogue with Stewart.
Yet, his disappointment was short–lived.
Before departing, he shared his excitement with Vesta, saying, “The latest issue of NMI has a submission of exceptional quality and innovative perspective. We reviewers were all pleasantly surprised. Once the journal is published, I hope to discuss it with the author.”
Besides being a renowned university professor, Kevitt Smith was also a reviewer for a top–tier Al journal.
As a reviewer for such a prestigious publication, revealing any details about a paper before its official release was prohibited, including personal opinions.
However, given his standing in the Al community, he wasn’t worried about anyone exposing his minor breach of secrecy.
Vesta, intrigued by Kevitt Smith’s high praise for the paper, couldn’t help but look forward to its publication.
Fortunately, the release of the latest NMI issue was just around the corner.
Moreover, she understood that Smith sharing this with her signified his high expectations.
She replied, “I understand, Professor. Once the journal is out, I’ll thoroughly read and study the paper.”
Kevitt Smith nodded, satisfied. “Good.”
After seeing Kevitt Smith off at the airport, Vesta caught a cab back home.
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