Studying at Western University starts with a knife-forging competition

Chapter 106

“Yes,” Richard didn’t deny it, “but that’s as a service provider. You go to their party with a knife, they’ll say it’s a good knife,” and then turn to someone else to talk about how big a fish they caught in which lake yesterday. You’re always standing there listening, not sitting down and talking.”

He walked back and stood in front of Lin Yuan.

"Forging is your foundation, your livelihood. But if you want to go from being a knife maker to someone who collects knives and is willing to sit down and have a drink with you, you need another calling card. Fishing can be a calling card, golf can, horse racing, sailing, cigars—anything will do. But you can't be without one. Because in this country, those without a calling card are always outsiders."

Lin Yuan remained silent for a few seconds.

"You just said that boat is the key," he said. "After the key opens the door, what's inside?"

Richard looked at him, his gaze holding something new—not admiration, but more like confirmation.

"Those inside the door are people who are willing to spend $50,000 on a knife, then hang it in their study and tell everyone it was made by that young Chinese man." They are not collectors; they are preachers.

When you get someone to buy your knife, they're just a customer. But when you get someone to endorse your knife, they're a distributor. And a distributor brings in ten or twenty customers like them.

He stepped back and patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder.

"So this boat isn't charity. It's me investing in you—investing in a young person who has the potential to enter that circle."

""

Lin Yuan put his hands in his pockets and nodded.

“Come to Boston with Matt this summer,” Richard said. “I’ll introduce you to some friends. They’re all knife collectors—real collectors, not just antique dealers. You’ll like them.”

"Thank you," Lin Yuan said.

"You're welcome. Just make sure the sword is well-made."

Richard turned around, took two steps toward the workshop entrance, then stopped and glanced at the divine leather sewing needle on the wall.

"Oh, right," he said without turning around, "you don't need to worry about Catherine's matter. I'll handle it."

Then he pushed open the door and went out.

Matt glanced at Lin Yuan and followed him.

Lin Yuan stood in front of the worktable, his hands in his pockets. The bass specimen on the wall hung quietly under the fluorescent light, its glassy eyes reflecting a cold light.

He turned around, walked back to the worktable, picked up the gloves he had just put down, and continued to work on the sanding belt.

I still have work to do this afternoon.

The legal team arrived on Thursday morning.

There were three people in total. A middle-aged partner with white hair, accompanied by two young lawyers, rented a conference room in a hotel.

Richard didn't go in person; he had Matt send them the workshop's address and related information in a package.

"Starting today, this matter is officially in the process," Richard told Matt on the phone. "You don't need to do anything. Go to the workshop when you're supposed to, shoot videos when you're supposed to. I'll call you when I need you."

When Matt relayed this to Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan was giving the California customer's hunting knife a final sharpening.

He simply nodded after listening, without stopping his work.

The legal team didn't come to the workshop. They didn't need to.

The three had a clear division of labor—one was responsible for accessing public records, one for organizing the timeline and chain of evidence, and one for contacting potential witnesses. They started by examining Catherine's social media posts, one by one.

They were very efficient. By Thursday afternoon, they had compiled all of Catherine's public records from the past three years:

Every photo and caption on Instagram, every Facebook check-in, every internship experience on LinkedIn, every article she published in campus media, every group photo at feminist events —

This even included the anonymous evaluation she left in the professor evaluation system—after cross-referencing the IP address, it was confirmed to be her account.

Individually, these pieces of information are not very meaningful, but when put together, they form a complete timeline.

Catherine began to frequently contact the professor who was later forced to resign during the second semester of her sophomore year.

The timeline shows that she took two of his courses that semester and began posting about "campus gender discrimination" on feminist social media. Two months later, she filed a formal complaint with the department.

The professor resigned less than three weeks after she filed the charges.

"The pattern is very clear." The lead lawyer, Harris, was in his fifties with completely white temples and liked to tap the table with his index finger when he spoke. "She used the same person for less than three months—from approaching to filing charges to the target leaving the company. We now have enough evidence to apply to any federal court to obtain her electronic devices."

Meanwhile, another thread was also progressing. One of Harris's associate lawyers contacted the professor who had been forced to resign. The professor, now teaching at a community college in North Carolina, remained silent for a long time when he received the call.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"All you need to do is state the facts," the lawyer said. "We won't ask you to do anything beyond what's required of your statement."

The professor was silent for a moment, then said, "I need to think about it."

The lawyer didn't press him. After hanging up, he wrote a line in his notes: Hesitant, but not refusal. Needs follow-up.

On Thursday night, Emily sent Lin Yuan a message: "Lia said she has something else. More important than the recording."

.

Lin Yuan was looking at the registration form for a fishing competition in his dormitory when he saw this message. He picked up his phone and dialed the number immediately.

"What is it?"

"The video." Emily's voice was low, as if she were in an environment where speaking loudly was inappropriate. "Catherine saved it herself. It's a conversation between Matt and her, but it's been edited out, only keeping the part where Matt says 'I'm sorry,' 'I shouldn't have done that,' cutting out the context. Catherine originally planned to post this video online if Matt didn't give her money."

Lin Yuan's fingers stopped on the table.

"What about the original version?"

"It's still on Catherine's phone. Leah knows the password."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Would Leah be willing to give it up?"

"She said she would," Emily said, "but she was afraid. She was afraid that Catherine would find out and retaliate against her. I've already told her about your father's terms: transfer, recommendation letters, scholarship. She cried when she heard that."

Where is she now?

"She's in the dorm. Catherine's not here tonight; she's at an off-campus event and won't be back until midnight. Now's the perfect time."

"Go find her," Lin Yuan said. "After you get it, don't send it to me, give it directly to your father. This thing will be recorded in court whenever it's in someone's phone. Let a lawyer handle it."

"I know," Emily said and hung up the phone.