Studying at Western University starts with a knife-forging competition

Chapter 99

Matt stood in front of his desk, his phone pressed to his ear, listening to the dial tone coming from the receiver.

After ringing three times, the call was answered.

"dad."

Richard Wayne's voice sounded relatively close on the other end of the phone; the background was quiet, with no television or other voices: "Why are you calling at this hour?"

"There's something I need to tell you." Matt's voice was steadyer than usual, and he spoke more slowly. "It's not a personal matter, it's about my roommate Lin Yuan's forging brand."

"That Chinese kid? You mentioned him before."

"Yes. His name is Lin Yuan, the champion of the knife forging competition. We recently posted our first video on YouTube, and it's already over 500,000 views, and it's still rising." Matt paused, took a deep breath, and said, "The problem lies with someone else. A business school graduate student named Catherine, she previously threatened me with false sexual harassment allegations, and I gave her $22,000 to keep quiet."

But last week she approached Lin Yuan, demanding a 10% cut as a brand consultant, saying she'd help us with trademark registration and brand protection. Lin Yuan refused. She said if we didn't agree, she'd enter the game in her own way.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"How did she get involved?" Richard's voice remained unchanged, still in that unhurried tone.

"She mentioned trademark registration," Matt said. "Our brand name, LinyuanForge, isn't registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's database. She said she's completed the preliminary documents and will submit the application by next Friday if she hasn't received any interest in collaboration."

"What else did she say?"

"She said our business email wasn't protected at all; it was the free version of Gmail, and two-factor authentication wasn't even enabled. She said if she wanted to target us, she could just hack into our email and get our customer list and pricing strategy."

There was silence on the other end of the phone again. This time, the silence lasted longer than the last.

"Do you have any evidence?" Richard asked.

"Yes." Matt flipped open the stack of printed papers on the table. "All emails, transfer records, and chat screenshots, all organized chronologically. The things she threatened me with are in the chat logs; she typed them out herself. There were two transfers, one for ten thousand and the other for twelve thousand, both bank wire transfers with transaction numbers."

"Are you sure she doesn't have anything that could harm you?" Richard's tone hardened. "How clean are you yourself in this matter?"

Matt tightened his grip on his phone.

"It's not clean," he said. "I slept with her. The first time was after she threatened me, but a few times after that I initiated it. It's my fault."

"Does she have any written record of you contacting her?"

"Yes. I did message her in the chat history to ask her out. But there was nothing in those messages where I admitted to doing anything. Her accusations are false; I never laid a hand on her. Just because I contacted her doesn't mean what she said is true."

Richard hummed in agreement on the other end of the phone and didn't ask any further questions.

What was written in the remarks section of the transfer record?

Settlement. Nothing was written.

"In the chat screenshots, what was the timeline of the threatening things she said to you—before or after the money transfer?"

"Before, she sent those threatening messages first, and I transferred 10,000 yuan as the first payment. She sent a few more messages, and I transferred 12,000 yuan as the second payment."

A soft sigh came from the other end of the phone, but it was immediately stopped.

"You've spoken to her?" Richard asked.

"We made plans. This afternoon, at a bar off campus. She said she wanted 10% of the profits, and I said I wouldn't agree. She said if I didn't agree, she would get involved in her own way. Then she left."

"How many views does your video have now, the one about stitches?"

"Five hundred thousand, and it's still rising."

When was this channel created?

"About two weeks ago. The first video was posted less than a week ago."

"Five hundred thousand." Richard repeated the number, as if measuring it on a scale in his mind. "That Chinese kid—Lin Yuan, how old is he?"

"Twenty-one."

"Twenty-one years old, champion of the sword-forging competition, first video 500,000 views." Richard recounted these events one by one, pausing between each phrase. "You just said she was asking for a 10% cut?"

"right."

"Did she come back to us after you gave her 22,000?"

"Yes. She said the 22,000 was just hush money and wouldn't affect her dealings with us in a business manner."

There was a silence of about five seconds on the other end of the phone.

"What do you want me to do by making this call?" Richard asked.

"This matter is beyond my ability to handle privately, and I need legal support from the family," Matt said. "Some of what she said about trademark registration and email security is true. Our brand doesn't have any legal protection."

Even if she didn't act this time, someone else could have done it. But she's using this to threaten me, and she's after Lin Yuan's skills. I don't want this to affect him.

"You mean you're not just worried about yourself, but also about his brand?"

"Yes. If this brand is successful, its value will far outweigh my petty problems."

Richard didn't respond immediately on the other end of the phone. Matt heard his father shift his position, and the chair creaked slightly.

“I’ll fly over next week,” Richard said, his tone as casual as if it were a routine matter. “You don’t need to worry about this. But you owe me a favor, kid.”

Matt was taken aback. "You flew here?"

"The Chinese kid's cooking skills in your video are worth the plane ticket," Richard said. "Gather your evidence and email it to me. I'll look at it when I get to the office tomorrow."

"it is good."

"There's one more thing," Richard's voice was a little lower than before, "You just said you contacted her first. In those chat logs, is there any sentence that could be interpreted as you admitting to doing something?"

"No. All I said was 'I wanted to see you,' or 'Are you free tonight?' I never said anything like 'I'm sorry for what I did,' or 'I shouldn't have done that.'"

"That's fine," Richard said. "Go through the chat logs yourself before sending them, and mark any potentially problematic sentences. I don't need to win against her in court; I need to let her know she can't win."

"understood."

"That's settled then. I'll call you when I arrive."

"Thank you, Dad."

Richard didn't say "you're welcome" or "goodnight," and hung up the phone immediately.

Matt took the phone off his ear, stared at the words "Call Ended" on the screen for two seconds, then put the phone on the table, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

He pushed open the door and walked into the living room.