Studying at Western University starts with a knife-forging competition

Chapter 95

"I watched your performance at the knife-making competition," Catherine continued, her tone carrying just the right amount of admiration. "The champion, right? To beat those American craftsmen who have been making knives for over ten years, that's impressive. And how old are you? Twenty-one?"

'

"Twenty-one," Lin Yuan said.

"Twenty-one years old, champion of a knife-forging competition, and your first video on YouTube got tens of thousands of views." She repeated this information as if organizing a file. "I'm a graduate student in art marketing at business school. After watching your videos, I kept thinking about how far your craftsmanship and this brand could go if they had a professional marketing team to manage them."

Lin Yuan did not respond.

Catherine took a business card from her coat pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Lin Yuan with her finger. The business card was simply designed, with a white background and black lettering, containing only her name, phone number, and email address, without any title.

“I’m not here to sell,” she said, withdrawing her hand and picking up her coffee cup again. “I just feel there’s a significant gap between your skills and current business operations. Your roommate Matt is a good guy, but he’s not a professional brand manager. You don’t need an assistant to send you emails; you need someone who can connect you with high-end clients, do brand planning, and write business plans.”

Lin Yuan did not reach for the business card.

"You have a pretty high opinion of Matt," he said calmly.

Catherine's expression remained unchanged. "He is indeed a good person. I'm not saying he's bad. But there's only so much he can do. Your current business email is the free version of Gmail, your Instagram account is managed solely by Matt, and there's no content planning between posts—you just post whatever comes to mind. These details are detrimental from a professional management perspective."

Lin Yuan looked into her eyes. Catherine's gaze didn't waver, nor did it deliberately meet his aggressive gaze; she simply maintained that smiling curve.

"I know you," Lin Yuan said.

Catherine's smile faded slightly, but not completely. "Of course, we met at Matt's dorm."

"Not just that time." Lin Yuan placed the paper cup on the table and leaned back slightly. "You published an article in the campus media criticizing the male-dominated technical culture of the engineering college. You wrote it."

Catherine's smile faltered for a moment, then returned to normal. "You read my article?"

"Someone forwarded it to me," Lin Yuan said.

He didn't say who "other person" was, but Catherine should have guessed. Matt forwarded it to him. At the time, Matt said, "It's this girl; stay away from her in the future."

"I don't entirely agree with the views expressed in that article now." Catherine picked up her latte and took a sip, using the action to buy herself two seconds to process the situation. "I was younger then, and my views were more extreme. My studies in business school have given me a more mature understanding of the market."

Lin Yuan didn't press the matter further. He didn't take the business card, nor did he say anything like "I'll think about it some more." He simply stood up, slung his backpack over one shoulder, and picked up the half-finished iced Americano.

"I have to go," he said.

Catherine stood up as well. "Take the business card; you might need it later."

Lin Yuan glanced at the white business card with black lettering on the table, but didn't reach for it. "Thank you for the coffee."

He turned and walked toward the door. The bell on the door rang again.

Catherine stood by the table, watching his figure disappear through the glass door. Her fingers slowly tightened on the coffee cup for a moment, then relaxed. She sat back down, picked up the business card that hadn't been taken from the table, and put it back in her pocket.

When Lin Yuan walked out of the coffee shop, it was already getting dark outside. The streetlights were not yet on, but the lights from the shops across the street were on, shining through their windows onto the sidewalk.

Instead of going straight back to his dorm, he stood by the roadside for a while, finished his iced Americano, and then threw the empty glass into the trash can.

He took out his phone and sent Matt a message: "Where are you?"

Matt replied quickly: "Library, just returned some books. What's up?"

"I'm at the school gate. Come out, I need to talk to you."

"Ten minutes."

Lin Yuan put his phone back in his pocket and walked along the sidewalk toward the school gate. After walking for about five minutes, he sat down on a bench by the roadside to wait.

Matt walked over from the direction of the library, still holding a book he hadn't put back on the shelf. He sat down next to Lin Yuan and frowned slightly when he saw Lin Yuan's expression.

"What's wrong?"

I ran into Catherine at the coffee shop earlier.

Matt's expression changed. It wasn't surprise, but a wariness that came from having a sore spot touched.

"What did she say to you?"

"She said she appreciated my videos. She said your operations weren't professional enough. She gave me a business card and wanted me to hire her for brand operations." Lin Yuan turned to look at Matt. "You told me about her in the dorm. You said she threatened you with false accusations, and you had to go along with her. Later you said you'd settled it with a sum of money."

Matt nodded without saying a word.

"So what does she mean by coming to see me today?" Lin Yuan asked. "Was the money you gave her not enough? Or did she change her mind?"

"I don't know," Matt said in a low voice. He glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, then continued, "I gave her $20,000. She said the money would buy her silence and that she wouldn't bother me again. That was two months ago. I thought it was all over."

"It seems this isn't over yet," Lin Yuan said. "Her coming to see me today wasn't a coincidence. She knows where my workshop is, she knows I posted videos, and she knows I've been taking orders recently. She did her homework."

Matt was silent for a few seconds, then took a deep breath. "It's my fault. I didn't handle this well. I should have told my family; I thought 20,000 yuan would solve it."

"There's no point in saying all this now." Lin Yuan stood up and pulled his backpack strap up a bit. "She's just testing the waters right now. She hasn't threatened you, hasn't mentioned money, hasn't made any demands. But her coming here is a signal in itself—she's telling you that she's still watching you, and that she knows how to find me."

Matt stood up too. "What do you think she's trying to do?"

"I don't know. But whatever she's planning, you have to be prepared." Lin Yuan looked at Matt. "You know best what's going on between you and her. Make sure you have backups of all the evidence, and don't hide anything from your dad. This isn't just about you; she's after our workshop and brand."

Matt gripped the book tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The two walked along the sidewalk towards their dormitory. The streetlights were already on, casting an orange glow on the sidewalk. Matt remained silent, and Lin Yuan didn't ask any more questions.

Matt paused when he reached the dormitory building.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Lin Yuan glanced at him. "Go inside first. This isn't your fault. Make the call first, then we'll talk about the rest."

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