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墨書 Inktalez
The distant roar of car engines echoed through the night. I turned and dashed into an alley, the rain blurring my vision. Yet at that moment, I felt more awake than ever.
Sometimes, betrayal illuminates the truth more than lies do.
I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Li Ling:
"I want to know more details about the Preliminary Review Meeting."
She replied instantly:
"Same time tomorrow, different place. This time, really don’t let anyone know."
I stared at my phone, a cold smile creeping onto my lips.
At three in the morning, I lay on the bed in my rented room, unable to sleep.
The screen of my phone lit up and dimmed repeatedly, filled with missed calls and apology texts from Senior Zhang. I didn’t respond to any of them. However, Li Ling’s message was one I had read countless times:
"Tomorrow at three in the afternoon, eighth floor of the library. Bring all the evidence."
I dug out my USB drive and plugged it into my computer. This was the only complete piece of evidence left—when I returned last night, I discovered that all the files on the Laboratory computer had been wiped clean.
With a sudden "ding," a message popped up on my computer screen. I nearly jumped out of bed—it was an email from Professor Zhou.
The subject was simple: "A Letter to Yuwei."
"Yuwei:
As if seeing you in person. Regarding recent events, I did not handle things properly. You are a good student, and I admire your persistence. Please come to my office tomorrow at ten o'clock. We can discuss everything thoroughly.
—Zhou Shi"
I scoffed and was about to delete it when I suddenly noticed an inconspicuous attachment at the bottom of the email: a PDF document.
Opening it, I gasped—a review of a paper I had written during my undergraduate studies, marked with numerous signs of plagiarism.
The phone rang at just the right moment. Professor Zhou's voice remained gentle as ever:
"Did you see the email? I assume you wouldn't want those details from your undergraduate years to come to light, would you?"
I clenched my phone tightly. "What do you mean?"
"It's simple. Tomorrow at ten in the morning, bring the USB drive to my office. We'll sit down and have a good talk."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No, I'm giving you a chance." He paused, "Zhang Ming is looking out for you too. Do you really think you can take me down with this evidence?"
I hung up and slumped in my chair. The early autumn night was a bit chilly, but my back was drenched in cold sweat.
"Ding dong," another message came in. This time it was Senior Zhang:
"I heard Professor Zhou is looking for you? Don't act impulsively; let's meet and talk."
Deleted.
Another message:
"I'm sorry, I know I'm a jerk. But this time I genuinely want to help you."
Before I could delete it, Li Ling's call came through:
"Did Professor Zhou contact you?"
"How did you know?"
"His usual tactics." She scoffed, "He threatened me like that back in the day. But this time it's different; we need to catch him off guard."
I pulled up the schedule for the Preliminary Review Meeting. "Are you sure the information is accurate?"
"Absolutely accurate." She lowered her voice, "At the Preliminary Review Meeting, Professor Zhou will definitely use fabricated data. We will expose him right then..."
"Wait," I interrupted her, "Why 'we'?"
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. "Don't you trust me?"
I forced a smile. "Right now, I don't even trust myself."
"Alright, I'll come clean." She took a deep breath. "I've been working at a tech media outlet recently. If I can get direct evidence of Professor Zhou's fraud..."
"I see." I laughed sarcastically. "So you're in it for the scoop too?"
"Isn't that what you want?" she retorted. "Would you rather report yourself, fight alone, and end up like me, kicked out of the academic circle?"
I had no response.
"Let's meet tomorrow to discuss this in detail." She hung up after finishing her sentence.
Putting down my phone, I gazed out at the moon. There had been too many twists in this day; I could no longer tell who was telling the truth and who was acting.
At four in the morning, I made my decision.
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