Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

Zhou Ming's matter was handled faster than expected, and the scope was kept extremely small. The next day at noon, Researcher Shen sent a text message: "The relevant personnel involved have been dealt with, and no further information will flow to unauthorized personnel. The project team's internal confidentiality procedures have been upgraded, all data from the ore project has been retrieved and archived, and the encryption level has been increased. You don't need to worry about anyone using this as gossip." Lin Yanzhou read the text message but did not reply, and put his phone back in his pocket.

That afternoon, Researcher Shen sent another message, longer than the previous one: "The sample test yielded key data; both thermal stability and radiation resistance exceeded the upper limit of existing technical indicators. The institute has already submitted a complete report, and the key milestones of the lunar landing program may be advanced ahead of schedule. Professor Chen asked me to tell you that he will coordinate the subsequent results confirmation process; just keep that in mind."

After reading the message, Lin Yanzhou replied, "If there is any further leakage, I will cancel all future ore sources. This is the last time." He put his phone back in his pocket and stood by the window, watching the light of dawn breaking outside.

Three days later, he received the official notification to attend the meeting. The meeting was held in the main building of the Academy of Sciences. When he arrived, the vice president, Deputy Commander Gao, and Researcher Shen were already seated. On the table was a kraft paper bag, with a corner of its red hard cover peeking out.

The vice dean pushed the paper bag over: "The institute has completed all the procedures. This is the confirmation document." Lin Yanzhou opened the paper bag and took out a certificate with a red cover. His name and a line of text were printed on the inner page: "The samples provided for the material research phase of this project have key driving value and have been awarded the National Scientific Research Collaboration Lifetime Contribution Award." There were two official seals at the bottom, one from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the other with a fine dark line on the edge.

He closed the certificate and put it back in the paper bag: "If you need my cooperation in any future matters, please contact me at any time." The vice dean nodded: "The hospital's security mechanism has been updated to cover you and your cohabiting family. The specific arrangements will be coordinated with your daily schedule. In addition, on behalf of the country, we are awarding you 2000 million RMB. Of course, money is not very attractive to someone of your level; this is just our sincerity."

When Lin Yanzhou took the paper bag, he noticed an extra card in the bottom compartment. It felt thicker than a regular card, with a fine metal mesh embedded in the paper base along its edges. He closed the bag without looking at it immediately: "Thanks."

As he walked out of the academy's gate, sunlight was streaming in from above the eaves. He put the paper bag in the passenger seat, started the car, and drove out of the parking lot. Two minutes later, he noticed a dark gray sedan behind him, keeping a distance of about fifty meters, and changing lanes as he did.

He didn't make any further confirmation and continued driving along the planned route. The car followed him all the way to the traffic light at the entrance to the villa area, then slowed down and entered the side road, not following him. He drove into the garage, turned off the engine, and the dark gray sedan was no longer in his rearview mirror's field of vision. After the red light turned green at the intersection, it had made a U-turn and merged into the main traffic flow, and no longer appeared in any angle he could possibly scan.

In the afternoon, Lin Yanzhou sat in the living room flipping through an old magazine. The sunlight outside the window was turning from off-white to warm yellow. Xiaoya was preparing food in the kitchen, and Xiaozhou's bedroom door was closed.

He heard the sound of an engine approaching from a distance, an unusual rhythm for this time of day, a high-pitched sound, like a new car engine that hadn't been fully broken in. He turned to the side of the window and looked out through the gap in the curtains, seeing a red sedan slowly approaching along the road outside the villa area.

He recognized the license plate number: it was indeed the same number suffix that Qin Li's old car had retained after it was sold, but the body was newer and the color was brighter, as if it had just been replaced recently.

Before he could react further, the red sedan stopped about a hundred meters from the entrance to the villa area. There were no roadblocks or police tape ahead, but two men in dark jackets were already standing in front of the car, seemingly emerging from the shadows beside the roadside greenery; they had clearly been waiting there for some time.

One of them walked to the side of the driver's seat, bent down and knocked on the window. The window rolled down a crack, revealing half of Qin Li's face. Today she was wearing a bright red down jacket, the collar open, and a newly bought gold necklace around her neck. The chain was so thick it looked like a thin rope, hanging outside the collar and gleaming brightly in the sunlight.

She turned to look at the man in the jacket: "Who are you? Why are you stopping my car?" The man in the jacket didn't answer her question, but only said, "Temporary parking isn't allowed around here." Qin Li frowned, reached out and pushed the car door open a crack, trying to get out: "You damn security guards! I'm here to see someone. My ex-husband lives here. I'll just go in, take a look, and leave."

She got out of the car as she spoke, her newly bought high-heeled boots making short, sharp sounds on the pavement. Her gold necklace swayed slightly as she bent over, as if it hadn't fully adjusted to the new weight. She had barely taken a step when a second person in a jacket blocked her path between her and the villa entrance, standing unhurriedly in the middle. "Madam, please return to your car."

Qin Li's expression changed, and her voice rose slightly: "I'm here to see Lin Yanzhou! I'm his ex-wife! What right do you damn security guards have to stop me?" The man in the jacket didn't reply. The first man in the jacket had already pressed a button on the walkie-talkie, whispered a few words, and then looked up again, his tone calm but leaving no room for negotiation: "Visitors to this residential area need to register in advance. Anyone who hasn't registered is not allowed to enter. Please return to your car, otherwise we will contact a tow truck."

Qin Li stood there, her lips twitching as if trying to force a mocking smile, but the smile vanished before it could even take shape. "Did the vixen living with him inside report it? Then tell me yourself, did she report it or not?" Qin Li stood by the car door, yelling like a madwoman.

The man in the jacket had already moved to the side of the front of the car, while the other stood by the door. Neither of them made any unnecessary movements, but their positions perfectly blocked all her options. One of the men in the jacket spoke a few words into the walkie-talkie, his voice brief, as if confirming something. He didn't look at Qin Li, nor did he repeat what he had just said.

Qin Li looked at the tightly closed iron gate at the entrance of the villa area, then glanced at the two men in jackets standing by the roadside. She then slammed the car door shut and got back in, slamming the door shut with a "bang".

The first person in the jacket walked to the driver's side window: "We will arrange for the car to be towed. Please cooperate and get in the tow truck to return to the designated location before leaving on your own. Your vehicle will be returned within the specified time." Qin Li said something through the car window; her lip movements were unclear through the glass, but judging from the movement of her lips, it should have been a short reprimand.

She couldn't complete the U-turn because the dispatched tow truck had already docked within minutes. The man in the jacket didn't wait for her permission or speak to her again. One walked towards the tow bar, while the other stood to the side of the rear of the vehicle, positioned just enough to block its escape route.

The tires began to move slowly forward along the side road. Lin Yanzhou stood by the living room window, the gap in the curtains just wide enough for him to see the entire process of the red sedan being towed away. The red car was towed slowly across the intersection, turning right at the street corner ahead. The reflective strips on the side of the car flashed briefly as it turned, then disappeared, as if swallowed up by the buildings at the corner.

Xiaoya stood in the kitchen doorway: "Who is it?"

"You must be looking for someone, right? You've gone to the wrong place."

How could Qin Li know that Lin Yanzhou's security level had reached such a high point that entry was impossible without prior notification and permission? She was simply driving her new red car and wearing her new gold chain when she arrived at the wrong time at a boundary line requiring authorization, and was stopped and moved along with her car.

He turned around, walked back to the sofa, sat down, placed the paper bag he had just brought back from the Academy of Sciences on the edge of the coffee table, chuckled, and thought to himself: These people are quite efficient.