Chapter 2 — People Whose Achievements Are Stolen

He followed behind, two steps combined into one, his voice starting to get urgent.

"What do you want to do when you clean these things? Are you planning on quitting your job? Are you crazy? You've been working at this hospital for six years, can you just say go and leave?"

I don't turn around. The elevator door opened, I leaned over, put the cardboard box in the corner, and pressed the first floor button. His hand blocked the gap between the door.

"Nien Niem, I will discuss the matter with the institute again. Don't get excited."

“Discuss what?”

I raised my head to look at him.

"I submitted Ha Uyen Thanh's profile."

"The seal of the administrative office is yours to make."

“My signature is fake.”

“Who else do you want to discuss with?”

“Discuss it with yourself?”

His lips tightened. Finally let go of the elevator door. The moment the door closed, I saw him standing in the middle of the hallway, still holding two bags of cold bean milk in his hands. That scene only lasted two seconds. Then it was completely separated by an iron door. I moved the remaining cartons downstairs and put them in the trunk of the car. The cloth bag is placed in the passenger seat. But I didn't drive away. I sat in the car, lowered the seat, and stared at the gray felt on the ceiling. The phone rang three times. It's all called by Ly Phong. I didn't pick up the phone. The fourth time was no call. It's a WeChat message.

"Don't make trouble anymore. This afternoon the institute has a general meeting, and Principal Tien will officially announce the promotion. It's not appropriate if you don't come."

I stared at the three words "inappropriate" for a long time. He withdrew the application on my behalf, not finding it inappropriate. He forged my signature, he didn't find it inappropriate. He gave my portion to his junior, but he didn't find it inappropriate. All those things... He felt very normal. Yet I didn't come to the meeting... It became "inappropriate". I sat up in the chair, adjusted the rearview mirror, and looked at my face in the mirror. Light blue eye circles. Dry and cracked lips. Even the collar of the blouse had a streak of blue ink on it. I took a deep breath, started the car, and turned back to the research institute. Two thirty in the afternoon. The medium-sized meeting room on the second floor was filled with more than thirty people. Director Tien Duy Quoc sat at the head of the table, with an old enamel cup in front of him. He used the lid of the cup to tap steadily on the rim of the glass. The sparse hair on his head was combed extremely neatly, each strand trying to hide the obvious excessive baldness. Ly Phong sat to his right. He changed into another shirt, light blue, even the cuff buttons were neatly buttoned. It was as if the confrontation in the hallway this morning had never happened. Ha Uyen Thanh sat in the second row close to the window. She wore a light cream cardigan, her hair tied loosely at the nape of her neck, revealing a pair of pretty little pearl earrings. Her sitting posture is the most correct in the whole room. A pen in hand, a brand new notebook on her knee. When I walked in, she raised her head and looked at me. Then immediately bow down. The corners of the lips moved slightly. Like trying to suppress a smile. I found an empty seat in the last row and sat down. Director Tien Duy Quoc cleared his throat.

“Today I announce good news.”

"After the institute conducts a comprehensive assessment, the academic exchange slot at Berlin University of Technology this year will be received by comrade Ha Uyen Thanh."

Applause rang out. Not too enthusiastic. But at the right time. Ha Uyen Thanh stood up and bowed slightly.

“Thank you, Director Tien, and thank you for the support of everyone in the hospital.”

Her voice was gentle, just loud enough for the whole room to hear clearly, no more, no less.

"Special thanks to Mr. Ly Phong for guiding me in academics. Without him helping me orient my topic, I would not have been able to win this spot."

After speaking, she turned her head to look at Ly Phong. His eyes were filled with perfect respect and appreciation. Applause rang out again. Dao Vien, sitting on my right, leaned over and lowered his voice.

"After Tham Niem and Ha Uyen Thanh go abroad for advanced studies, your experimental groups can just assign a part to her team to take over. Vice Principal Ly said your health is not good lately, don't try too hard."

His hands were clasped behind his back, and when he spoke, his chin was slightly raised, as if he were transmitting a holy edict. I looked at him.

“I'm very healthy.”

“That's what you think.”

He forced his voice down.

"Vice Principal Ly will not harm you. It's a husband and wife, it's normal for him to think about you."

I won't say anything more. After the meeting, everyone dispersed one by one. There were people surrounding Ha Uyen Thanh to congratulate. Someone went to the tea room to pour water. I returned to my lab and discovered something else on the table. A note folded in half, stuck under the keyboard. Do not sign. Above is just one sentence:

"In the application for admission, there is a medical examination report, not your signature."

I turned the paper over. The back is plain white. I raised my head and looked out the door. Outside in the empty hallway, the fluorescent lights drew reflections on the tile floor into a cold white line. There's no one. The next morning, the institute held a small tea party in the first floor lobby to see off Ha Uyen Thanh. We say it's a fancy tea party, but it's actually just a long table with a few boxes of cakes and a few bottles of water. Ha Uyen Thanh cut the cake herself, used paper plates to divide each portion and then brought it to each table. Coming to me, she gently pushed the cake plate forward.

“Sister Tham Niem, this piece has a little more cream, try it.”

Her voice was a bit lighter than usual. I took the plate. She didn't leave right away. Just standing next to my desk, like he was waiting for me to say something more. But I don't say it. The corners of her lips pursed slightly then turned and returned to the long table. Chu Man sat opposite, using his middle finger to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, raising his eyebrows at me. Chu Man is a researcher in the same batch as me, working on optical membranes. She speaks very little. But his eyes are sharp as knives. She sees a lot of things, she just doesn't like to open her mouth. And once you open your mouth... You'll usually see blood. She said nothing. But that gesture of pushing the glasses, I understand.

“I see.”

The cake had not yet been eaten when someone walked in from the reception desk on the first floor. Is the Emir of the materials synthesis department. He looked around, saw me and came over.

“Sister Tham, I want to confirm something.”

"I just printed out the sample report sent for inspection last week. I discovered that the first author was written as Ms. Ha Uyen Thanh. But in the experimental operation book, the person who performed it was you. Is this correct?"

The whole dining table suddenly became quiet. Ha Uyen Thanh's hand holding the knife to cut the cake paused. But in less than a second, she continued Continue cutting more pieces as if nothing happened. I don't know when Ly Phong was standing next to the long table.

"Tieu Vuong, that batch of samples is the collective result of the entire research group. The order of authors is arranged according to the unified assignment of the research team."

“Tham Niem and Uyen Thanh both contributed, this is no problem.”