Studying at Western University starts with a knife-forging competition

Chapter 103

As evening fell, Emily stood in front of Matt and Lin Yuan and played the recording on her phone.

The side aisle door was locked; only the three of them were there. The church was quiet, the hum of the air conditioner echoing in the empty space.

The recording was less than a minute long, but its contents completely changed Matt's expression.

"That Chinese idiot doesn't understand the rules of the game in America at all. Once I register the trademark, he'll either work for me or get the hell out of here. Matt? Does he think he can get away with this just because he has money? I don't want tens of thousands of dollars; I want that brand for ten years, at least half a million a year."

Catherine's voice was clear and calm, with a confident and determined tone.

After the recording finished playing, the side hall was silent for a full five seconds.

Matt spoke first, his voice laced with suppressed anger: "That's enough. That's enough to sue her. Extortion, trademark squatting, and this recording—the things she said herself—that's enough to give her a run for her money." He gripped his phone, his knuckles white. "I'm going to find a lawyer right now."

He stood up, the chair leg scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

"Matt." Emily's voice wasn't loud, but it was steady.

Matt stopped and turned to look at her.

Emily put her phone in her pocket, stood up, and walked over to Matt. Her expression wasn't as gentle as it had been with Leah; instead, it was a deeper, more worried seriousness.

"And then?" Emily asked. "You sue her, and she takes it to court. What will Leah do then?"

Matt paused for a moment.

“Leah gave me the recordings,” Emily said. “She recorded these things behind Catherine’s back and secretly gave me a copy. If this goes to court, the first person Catherine’s lawyer will subpoena is Leah.”

By then, Leah's identity, her relationship with Catherine, and why she recorded those audios will all be brought to light in court. Do you think Catherine will let her off the hook?

Matt opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

"When Leah gave me the recording today, her hands were shaking," Emily's voice lowered. "She's not someone who wants to be a hero. She's just an ordinary girl who doesn't know how to say no to her friends. If she gets involved in a lawsuit because of us, and is talked about by the whole school, do you think she can handle it?"

The side hall fell silent again.

Lin Yuan stood up from his chair and walked to Matt's side. He didn't look at Matt, but instead looked out the window at the darkening sky.

"Emily is right," Lin Yuan said. "If we sue now, we might win. But Leah will pay the price. She helped us; we can't use her as a shield."

Matt slowly loosened his grip on his phone. He leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, and let out a long breath.

"Then what should we do?" His voice was a little hoarse. "Just let her register the trademark? Let her take half a million from us every year?"

"Nobody said she'd get away with it." Lin Yuan turned around. "But your father will arrive on Wednesday. He's been in the private equity business his whole life; what hasn't he seen? Rather than us rushing in and confronting him head-on, it's better to wait for him to arrive and let him assess the safest course of action."

He has access to far more resources and legal means than we do now.

Emily nodded. "Two days. Just two more days. We already have this recording; she can't escape. But we must use this recording to prevent Leah from becoming the price."

Matt remained silent for a long time.

He looked down at his phone screen. The screen was dark, and the fluorescent light tube on the ceiling was reflected in the black glass as a crooked white line.

"Two days," he repeated the number.

"Two days," Lin Yuan said. "Your father will arrive on Wednesday afternoon. You need to endure these two days to protect Leah and to prevent things from getting worse."

Matt closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

"Okay." He opened his eyes, put his phone back in his pocket, and said, "Wait. Wait until Wednesday."

Emily walked up to him and gently patted his arm. "You did the right thing. Leah will thank you."

Matt gave a wry smile. "As long as she doesn't hate me."

When the three of them walked out of the church, it was already completely dark.

Emily walked to her car, opened the door, and glanced back at Lin Yuan.

"See you tomorrow."

Lin Yuan and Matt got into the car and drove out of the parking lot. The car was quiet; Matt didn't play any music, and the low hum of the tires rolling over the road filled the space.

"You just said in church to wait two days," Matt began. "Aren't you afraid she'll actually submit the application in those two days?"

Lin Yuan leaned back on the headrest, looking at the road ahead illuminated by car headlights.

"She said by next Friday. We still have time." He paused. "Besides, what she really wants isn't the trademark. What she wants is your response. She'll wait for you to back down first before she submits the application."

This is her plan—to make you agree to her conditions out of fear, rather than actually going through legal proceedings. That's why she won't submit it in advance.

Matt thought for a moment and nodded.

I hope you're right.

The car turned onto the road leading to the school. The streetlights were brighter, and the alternation of light and shadow was faster than before.

Lin Yuan closed his eyes.

Wednesday afternoon. Two more days.

At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, a black SUV was parked next to the fence on the private tarmac at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.

Matt stood beside the car, hands in his pockets, eyes fixed on the track. Emily sat in the passenger seat, the window rolled down halfway, the wind blowing through her hair.

A Bombardier business jet flew in from the south, its landing gear down, a wisp of smoke rising as the tires touched the runway. After taxiing less than two hundred meters, the plane turned into the private parking area.

As the gangway was lowered, Richard Wayne appeared at the cabin door. He was followed by a young assistant carrying two suitcases.

He was in his early fifties, wearing a dark gray suit without a tie, and the top button of his shirt was undone, making him look like he had just left a meeting. He held his phone in one hand and gripped the handrail of the gangway with the other as he strode down.

Matt went to meet him. Richard switched his phone to his left hand, extended his right hand to shake Matt's, and then pulled him over to pat him on the back. The pressure wasn't strong, but Matt could feel the hands tighten slightly.

"dad."

"Hmm." Richard released his grip, turned to look at Emily in the car, and his lips twitched slightly. "You're here too."

Emily got out of the car and hugged her father. The assistant put the suitcase in the trunk and then left the airport on his own; a good assistant knows when to disappear.