Chapter 42 – The Past
Lin Yan immediately accepted the friend request, feeling both surprised and a little flattered.
Why would President Lu’s mother want to add me? he wondered.
Sigh… that’s really hard to guess.
Basic politeness was a must. The moment he accepted, he quickly sent a message:
Lin Yan Yan Yan Yan~: [Hello, Madam Lu.]
A moment later, a reply came.
Ding Yue~: [Hi, Xiao Yan. Just call me Auntie.]
While Lin Yan was still thinking about how to reply, another message popped up.
Ding Yue~: [My kitten still hasn’t come home. Could you help me keep an eye out for it?]
Ding Yue~: [Lu Heng brought it to the office for a few days, but then it disappeared and never came back.]
Thinking back, Lin Yan realized that when he had gone to President Lu’s place before, he hadn’t seen any cat, nor any trace of one.
So when President Lu said he kept a cat… he meant he was raising it at the office?
If it was lost near the company, that would be hard to find — and it had already been a while. There was no guarantee it was still around.
Still, since Auntie had asked, Lin Yan would definitely keep an eye out.
But without a photo, how was he supposed to know what the kitten looked like?
Just then, a photo of the kitten was sent over. Lin Yan opened it and saw only a side profile: round, bulging eyes, chubby cheeks, and silvery-gray fur. It really did look a lot like Meiqiu.
But then again, it might just look similar.
Just like the cat from the café that had once been mistaken for Meiqiu.
Lin Yan Yan Yan Yan~: [Got it, Auntie.]
Lin Yan looked up. The lights in the director’s office were already off.
That person had left.
Although Zhao Ming had made them work nonstop over the years and constantly messed up their projects, they had still worked together for so long. Seeing him leave so suddenly stirred complicated feelings.
In a big company like this, the tides of time always sweep some people away, while fresh blood flows in. Over and over again.
Some people smile. Others sigh.
Who knew how long Lin Yan himself would last in this position?
When he got home, completely exhausted, Lin Yan hugged Meiqiu, who had been waiting by the door.
“Meiqiu, what do you think would happen if a kitten just like you were wandering around outside?”
Meiqiu frowned thoughtfully, then started stepping on Lin Yan’s chest with one paw, over and over.
He loved Lin Yan’s embrace. Whenever he lay in his arms, he would fall asleep in no time.
After kneading for a while, Meiqiu tucked his head against Lin Yan’s chest, listening to the steady, powerful heartbeat beneath him.
Lin Yan lowered his head and lightly kissed the little cat.
Then he switched into full chatter mode.
“Meiqiu, our director got fired today. That’s pretty miserable, don’t you think? What is he supposed to do at his age?”
He’s actually worried about him. Lin Yan, you’re way too kind.
Ah… another reason to like him added to the list.
“He has a child, and parents to support,” Lin Yan murmured. “Now he suddenly has no income. That must be terrifying, right?”
Meiqiu slapped Lin Yan’s chin with his paw.
Don’t worry about others. Worry about yourself.
“Hey… what if I reach his age someday?” Lin Yan paused. “I might have a family too. Maybe even a child.”
Meiqiu immediately delivered another kick—this time straight to Lin Yan’s face.
“Hiss—” Lin Yan winced. “Why did you hit me? Did I say something wrong?”
The other paw came down on his face again. Lin Yan quickly grabbed Meiqiu’s little foot and changed his words.
“Okay, okay. Maybe not a child… but probably a family.”
Meiqiu stopped struggling.
Apparently, this version was acceptable. He no longer tried to smack Lin Yan.
Lin Yan chuckled. “Alright, alright. I only have you as my child, okay?”
Meiqiu stared at him with big, round eyes.
“Having you as my kid is more than enough.” After saying that, Lin Yan released his grip and firmly planted a kiss beside Meiqiu’s mouth.
Meiqiu was waiting for him to continue, but Lin Yan didn’t. Instead, he got up to do his before-bed routine.
Water rushed loudly in the bathroom. Meiqiu waited outside the door.
Why didn’t you praise me?
The exhaustion of the day finally faded, and Lin Yan climbed into bed holding the kitten, ready to start his nightly complaints.
But tonight, Lin Yan fell asleep quickly. His eyelids began to droop, and soon Meiqiu lifted his head.
He fell asleep already? Is he really that tired?
Wasn’t he supposed to hold me and talk for a long time?
Meiqiu first placed one paw over Lin Yan’s eye. No reaction.
Then he called in the other paw for backup, prying Lin Yan’s eyelids open a crack—which immediately closed again.
Meiqiu tried harder and finally managed to pry them open.
Through his half-closed eyes, Lin Yan saw a little cat using soft, pink paws to mess with his face.
Too tired to deal with it, Lin Yan pulled the kitten tightly into his arms and mumbled drowsily,
“Meiqiu… stop messing around.”
Meiqiu sighed.
You still haven’t praised me today. I even helped you deal with a big bad guy.
Why didn’t you praise me?
His tiny head was full of this grievance, but Lin Yan’s embrace was too warm and comfortable.
Before long, Meiqiu fell asleep— still thinking, I’ll wait until the day you finally praise me.
Early the next morning, Lin Yan was awakened by the sound of Meiqiu’s paws racing around the room.
He opened his eyes to see the little one chasing the fuzzy ball he had bought for him.
Meiqiu would sprint a few steps, stop and paw at it, then take off again— eventually collapsing onto the floor to wrestle the ball to the death.
Lin Yan smiled indulgently.
Meiqiu was really too cute.
When Lin Yan sat up, Meiqiu immediately straightened as well, sticking his butt in the air and licking the fur at the base of his thigh.
Lin Yan was about to walk over and scoop the little Meiqiu up for a good rua, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a data cable hanging off the sideboard. Feeling puzzled, he was just about to go take a closer look.
Suddenly, Meiqiu leaped straight up as if startled.
The movement startled Lin Yan too, completely pulling his attention away.
“What’s wrong, Meiqiu?” He picked the cat up. “Did I step on your tail?”
He completely forgot what he had been about to do. After confirming Meiqiu was fine, he tidied up a bit and headed off to work.
Meiqiu let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Thankfully, Lin Yan had been distracted and forgotten about it. Meiqiu glanced back at the camera cable he had secretly pulled out, still hanging in the same spot, and finally relaxed.
…
When Lin Yan arrived at the office, breakfast was on his desk again.
This time it was a cup of hot milk coffee and a box of tiger-skin cake rolls.
The neighboring desk was empty, so Lin Yan returned everything to its rightful owner.
“Hey, are you guys going for breakfast?” Lin Yan called out.
“Yeah,” Chen Xin turned around. “Wanna come with us, Brother Yan?”
“I’ll join you.”
With that, he left.
At the doorway, Gu Han watched Lin Yan walk toward him, slowly getting closer and closer. In the brief moment when they brushed past each other, even the lingering scent on Lin Yan’s body didn’t have time to remain before it drifted farther away.
Like two lines that briefly intersect before moving endlessly apart.
One never looked back.
The other could not calm his heart for a long time.
…
“President Lu, Professor Tian replied. He’s free at noon today,” He Lingchen reported.
“Good.” Lu Heng responded. Lowering his head, he noticed a bit of dust on his clothes and brushed it off lightly.
The area under Lin Yan’s bed should probably be cleaned by the robot vacuum. He took out his phone and remotely activated it, then decided that was too troublesome and simply set it on a schedule to clean under the bed every two days.
“Should we have Professor Tian come here, or—?”
“I’ll go over,” Lu Heng said as he began gathering his things to visit Tian Yu.
It was still a bit of a drive to the university. If he left now, he could make it in time for lunch.
He had arranged to meet Professor Tian at noon. He had no time in the evening and couldn’t organize a dinner gathering, so lunchtime was the only option.
Some things had to be clarified.
Although he already had a general idea, hearing it directly from someone who had personally experienced the events would be more accurate.
Only by knowing the full details could he decide what to do next.
The driver dropped Lu Heng off at the restaurant. The place He Lingchen had booked was right next to the university, making it convenient for Professor Tian.
Lu Heng entered the private room. No one had arrived yet.
He took off his suit jacket and hung it on the rack by the door, then walked to the center seat and waited.
He had always held Professor Tian in great respect, and coming in person this time also made his stance very clear.
The door was pushed open, and a kind-looking middle-aged man walked in. His eyes were half-squinted as he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled with deep wrinkles as he looked toward Lu Heng.
“Ah, sorry to keep you waiting.”
The man entered the private room and took off his coat.
Lu Heng stepped forward and pulled out a chair for Professor Tian.
“Not at all. I just arrived as well.”
“Ah, thank you, thank you.” After sitting down, Tian Yu got straight to the point. “May I ask why President Lu made this trip personally?”
They were both seasoned professionals. In the workplace, you could tell at a glance whether someone had business with you, so there was no need for pleasantries.
Tian Yu knew that he no longer had any major projects that required cooperation with Future Technology. If Lu Heng had come to him, it was almost certainly about his two former students.
Perhaps feeling a little uneasy, he had not expected Lu Heng to come so quickly. That could only mean Lu Heng already knew about what had happened back then.
And since that incident involved professional integrity, it was only a matter of time before Lu Heng sought him out.
But Lu Heng did not answer directly.
“Let’s eat first.”
As he spoke, he rotated the dishes and placed the nourishing chicken soup in front of Professor Tian, then personally ladled a bowl for him.
Tian Yu was a little impatient. This was an old habit of his—when something was already an open secret, not saying it outright made him restless and irritable.
Unable to wait for Lu Heng’s response, he asked bluntly, “Tell me, did those two students of mine cause you trouble?”
“Not at all. Professor Tian’s students are all outstanding,” Lu Heng replied slowly. “Especially Lin Yan. His professional foundation is extremely solid.”
Hearing his student praised, Tian Yu beamed. “Indeed. Xiao Lin is my most accomplished disciple.”
“Exactly,” Lu Heng agreed. “Such an excellent student not continuing his studies under Professor Tian but instead coming to work at our company—honestly, that’s quite a waste of talent.”
At those words, Tian Yu immediately understood.
Since they were both old foxes, there was no need to pretend to be innocent lambs.
“So,” he said directly, “you’re here because of Lin Yan and Gu Han, aren’t you?”
Lu Heng didn’t deny it.
“You could say that. When it comes to hiring, I have to be careful with background checks. For a company like ours, one wrong move could seriously damage everything.”
“He promised me he wouldn’t do it again.”
The “he” could only be referring to Gu Han. Lu Heng raised an eyebrow slightly, appearing casual but listening very carefully.
“You already know what happened back then, don’t you?” Tian Yu continued. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have come asking me.”
“I know some of it,” Lu Heng said, still placing food onto Tian Yu’s plate, signaling him to eat while talking.
“What exactly do you want to hear from me?”
Lu Heng set down his chopsticks, his expression calm.
“Professor Tian, I’ll be frank. Back then, Lin Yan was clearly the victim. Why didn’t you help him?”
At this, Tian Yu let out a long sigh, full of helplessness—as if he were thinking: So someone finally asked.
Although everyone involved seemed to think the matter had already passed, Tian Yu still felt uneasy. He always believed that his decision back then had been flawed, yet there had been no better solution.
“Back then, Lin Yan didn’t have enough evidence to prove that the work was his,” Tian Yu said. “Because the two of them were extremely close—so close they were together every single day.”
Hearing this, Lu Heng swallowed deeply. He could easily imagine that situation.
It’s all in the past, he told himself.
“They ate together, lived together, discussed their research every day,” Tian Yu continued with a sigh. “So when similarities appeared in their projects, there was no way to avoid it—and no way to verify who was responsible. They were both my students, and they both reached the finals that same year. I couldn’t favor one over the other.”
After saying that, he sighed again. The past weighed heavily on his heart, like a stone. Every time he recalled it, uneasiness resurfaced.
He always felt that he had turned Lin Yan—from such a cheerful young man—into someone who walked on eggshells in everything he did.
“So I could only have Lin Yan change his project and eventually receive the bronze award,” Tian Yu continued. “Later, the direct PhD admission was given to Gu Han, since Gu Han’s results were stronger than Lin Yan’s.”
Direct PhD admissions were selected through multiple open and transparent evaluations, based on academic achievements. So Gu Han receiving the position was not surprising.
“After that, I asked Lin Yan to take my PhD exam the following year, but he declined. It was as if he had lost faith in me as well.” Tian Yu shook his head. “And then something happened in Xiao Lin’s family. His mother passed away. Going straight to work after graduation became his only option.”
The upheavals of life and the loss of family struck at the same time. Lin Yan must have been utterly hopeless back then, with no one behind him.
So he quietly accepted everything on his own.
“You clearly knew it was Gu Han’s fault,” Lu Heng asked, “so why didn’t you help Lin Yan?”
There was real resentment in his heart. The one who had done nothing wrong had lost so badly.
Tian Yu looked at Lu Heng and smiled helplessly. “President Lu, I thought you would understand my decision.”
After a moment of reflection, Tian Yu seemed to finally accept what he had done.
“If it had been exposed that the project was plagiarized, our research group would have been banned from competitions for three years. So many students were waiting to graduate.”
He paused before continuing, “And the doctoral admissions had already been finalized. If they were revoked at that time, I would’ve lost my right to recruit students the following year. I had originally planned to give that spot to Lin Yan.”
In that instant, Lu Heng understood Tian Yu’s choice.
Those in positions of authority had too many things to consider every day. If one acted only on impulse without weighing the consequences, the burden they themselves would bear would be even greater.
It was the same as managing a company—so many people depended on their salaries to survive. If sacrificing just one person could protect everyone else, Lu Heng knew he would likely make the same choice.
Everything was for the greater good.
Lu Heng remained silent.
Tian Yu cautiously asked, “President Lu… will you fire Gu Han?”
“No.”
The anxiety hanging over Tian Yu’s heart finally settled, and he resumed eating.
Then he heard the man beside him say, with unmistakable resolve:
“I will make sure Lin Yan wins back what he deserves—fair and square.”