Chapter 3 — People Whose Achievements Are Stolen

Tieu Vuong looked at me and then at Ly Phong, scratching his head.

“But on the operation book, only Ms. Tham signed her name…”

“Experiment diary and thesis signing are two different things.”

Ly Phong's voice was still calm as before. But his eyes were heavy.

"In the future, when sending for inspection, just follow the correct process, no need to verify each person."

Tieu Vuong nodded, took the report and left. The party table quickly became bustling again. It's like nothing happened just now. I bowed my head and looked at the square-cut piece of cake on the paper plate. Can't even swallow a single bite. Ha Uyen Thanh used my experimental data. Put her name on it. As for Ly Phong... He deliberately appeared to end the matter on the spot. Meaning from start to finish… He knows it all. The tea party was almost over when Dao Vien walked over holding a paper cup and stood behind me. His voice is neither loud nor soft. Just loud enough for five or six people around to hear.

"Tham Niem, Deputy Director Ly told me before. Lately you are nursing your body, preparing to give birth. Don't work too hard on experiments right now, your health is more important."

I put down the paper plate.

“Who said I was about to give birth?”

Dao Vien was stunned for a moment then immediately replied:

“Vice Principal Ly said it.”

His expression was filled with obviousness.

"When he reported to Principal Tien, he also mentioned this. He said that she proactively gave up her place to study so she could rest assured that she can take care of the pregnancy. The whole hospital already knows."

I turned my head to look at Ly Phong. He stood next to Ha Uyen Thanh. At the same time, he was looking at me. On his face was an expression I was all too familiar with. A kind of gentle warning.

“Don't cause trouble here.”

My hand was placed on the table, my fingertips pushed the edge of the paper plate neatly by an inch, making it absolutely parallel to the edge of the table.

“I have never proactively given up any spots.”

My voice is not loud.

“Never prepared to be pregnant.”

The smile on Dao Vien's face stiffened. Ha Uyen Thanh put down the cake knife and leaned towards me. His voice was so soft it sounded like a mosquito buzzing.

“Sister Tham Niem, when Mr. Ly Phong told me, I was very touched.”

"He said that you were willing to sacrifice your career for the sake of your family. I will definitely try to study as much as possible in Germany and bring back more knowledge on your behalf."

Her tone was sweet enough. Not at all fake. It's the kind of sweetness that is extremely precisely calculated, making everyone present feel that she is understanding, grateful, and honest. A woman publicly denied the story of raising a child, denied giving up her school spot... Under that set of lines, she immediately turned into someone who did not know how to appreciate her husband's suffering. I stood up, took the paper plate, walked to the trash can next to the door and threw it in. As he walked out of the lobby, a soft voice rang out from behind.

"Tham Niem is really too arrogant. Ly Phong takes care of her so thoughtfully but still doesn't know enough."

I don't turn around. Walking up the stairs, I suddenly saw a crumpled piece of paper in the paper basket next to the fire cabinet. Not ordinary paper. In the corner of the paper is printed a very small red symbol. But I realized. That is the specialized mark of the health examination system of the provincial health sector. I squatted down, picked up the paper and opened it. It was torn in half. But combined, the content can still be read. Is a photocopy of the report physical examination. In the full name section, clearly write two words:

“Tham Niem.”

My hand stopped. Examination date recorded three months ago. But three months ago I had never had a medical check-up. In the diagnostic conclusion, print a bold black line. I read every word. Fingertips start to get cold.

“Diagnostic conclusion: Early pregnancy, about six weeks.”

I'm not anemic. The reason he reported to the hospital... It wasn't originally anemia. He faked a pregnancy certificate. I reassembled the entire torn piece of paper, used my phone to take pictures of both sides and saved them in a separate folder. Then crumpled it up again, put it back in the trash, got up and went upstairs. My mind is doing two things at the same time. The first thing is to digest what you just saw. He forged a prenatal examination report in my name. Taking that fake report to the administrative office, saying that I "for personal health reasons should proactively give up my promotion position". Administrative office news. Because it has the mark of the medical system on it. I don't know if that seal is real or fake. But I know... Every word on that paper is fake. The second thing... Is to remember that anonymous note.

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

The person who wrote that note… Knew the existence of this report. I returned to the lab, locked the door, and turned on the computer. In the mailbox there are more than thirty new emails. It's all academic announcements and daily internal news. I scroll down one by one. Stop when you get to the second page. There is an email marked "read". But I've never seen it. Sending time was two and a half months ago. The sender was an address I was unfamiliar with, but the email suffix belonged to the official system of the National Academy of Sciences. The email subject is a series of codes and four words:

“Thu Quang Plan.”

I clicked open the mail. The content has only three paragraphs. First paragraph:

"Notice to researcher Tham Niem of Huaqing Materials Research Institute. After being appraised by the Thu Quang Plan preparation council, her research project 'Self-healing mechanism and structural application direction of new generation functional coating materials' has passed the first national level selection round. Now we officially invite you to join the core team of Thu Quang Plan."

Second paragraph:

“Please send a response confirmation within fifteen business days of receipt of this notification.”

Third paragraph:

"This invitation is confidential and cannot be made public. Specific tasks will be contacted by academician Co Hoai An's team."

Co Hoai An. I have seen this name no less than a hundred times in scientific articles. He is the leader of the domestic functional materials field. Also a current academician of the National Academy. Sent two and a half months ago. I have never seen that email. Because when it was in my inbox, it was in “read” status. Someone opened the letter for me. Then he kept quiet and hid it. I scroll down to the response thread section. Below the invitation email to participate in the "Thu Quang Plan" there is a response letter. Written content:

"Thank you to the Thu Quang Plan preparation committee for sending the invitation. After discussing with researcher Tham Niem, due to recent health reasons, we have personally arranged family, she is temporarily unable to participate in work related to the Thu Quang Plan. If there are further arrangements, please contact the administrative office of Huaqing Materials Research Institute.”

Below is my signature. But that's not what I wrote. Address to send feedback... Is a public computer in the vice president's office. I leaned back in my chair, staring at that signature line for two minutes. Turns out he didn't just rob me of a place to practice abroad. He blocked national project invitations. Forged my rejection letter. Also used a fake pregnancy test paper to block all avenues so I could be prosecuted. The trip to Germany is just an appetizer.

"Thu Quang Plan" is the main dish.