The next morning, frost glazed the rooftops like a thin sheet of glass. Lin Wei walked to the bureau with his notebooks held tightly under his arm, wrapped in a cloth Liu Fang had quietly pressed into his hands before dawn.
"Keep them clean," she'd whispered."Don't let them see you worry."
He didn't tell her how difficult that would be.
Every step toward the bureau felt heavier, as if the notebooks grew weight with each block. By the time he crossed the courtyard of the Construction Design Bureau, his palms were damp despite the cold.
Zhou Feng was waiting near the entrance, leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed.
"You actually brought them," he said quietly, eyes scanning the bundle. "You're braver than I thought."
Lin Wei forced a smile.
"Or more foolish."
"Usually the same thing here," Zhou Feng replied.
He walked beside Lin Wei in silence. Just before they reached the evaluation wing, Zhou Feng stopped.
"One more thing."He met Lin Wei's eyes."Whatever happens in that room—don't let them corner you. Speak clearly. Don't downplay your effort."
Lin Wei blinked.
"You're… giving me advice?"
Zhou Feng smirked.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not helping you. I just don't want to beat an opponent who was tripped instead of running."
Despite the tension pressing on him, Lin Wei almost laughed.
Almost.
Entering the Lion's Den
The Committee Evaluation Room was filled before he even arrived.
Director Li.Master Yu.Senior designers.Political officers.Two clerks taking notes as if this were a court-martial.
A long table divided the room, and the committee sat behind it like judges.
Lin Wei stood alone in front.
Director Li nodded. "You brought your notebooks."
"Yes, Director."
"Please place them on the table."
Lin Wei stepped forward and laid the bundle down. The room quieted as the cloth fell away, revealing:
Over a dozen worn notebooksfilled to bursting with diagrams, calculations, sketches, and emergency reconstruction models.
Master Yu raised an eyebrow—not in suspicion, but in surprise.
"These are… full."
One of the political officers flipped through the closest notebook.
"This handwriting—"He frowned."—is consistent. The style doesn't change. No copying from elsewhere."
Another leaned over.
"These notes go deep. Very deep. Did you… actually write all of this?"
"Yes," Lin Wei answered simply.
Director Li tapped a page.
"This diagram," he said. "It's a flawed old model from our archives. But here—"He pointed."You corrected the stress lines."
"Yes."
"Without being taught?"
"Yes."
A murmur rippled through the room.
The political officer closed the notebook sharply.
"This level of self-study," he said, "is abnormal."
Lin Wei remained calm.
"I don't think so, Comrade. Many people work hard. Hard work produces results."
The officer snorted.
"Hard work doesn't produce instinct to predict collapses."
Silence.
The committee watched Lin Wei like hawks waiting for a mistake.
Director Li spoke next.
"Lin Wei. Are you hiding anything about your background?"
"No, Director."
"Any private tutoring? Outside assistance? Foreign materials?"
"No."
"Any relationship with senior staff that might explain preferential treatment?"
Lin Wei blinked.
"No."
Master Yu muttered, "Bold of you to say, considering you're Han's apprentice."
Lin Wei straightened.
"Professor Han has not helped me on the job. I learn alone. At night. After hours."
The political officer laughed mockingly.
"Impossible. These notebooks show clarity of thought beyond your age. Beyond your training. You expect us to believe you just… worked hard?"
Lin Wei inhaled slowly.
"Yes."
They stared at him.
The Turning Point
Director Li opened one of the later notebooks and flipped through several pages with growing interest.
"This section…"He pointed."These emergency reinforcement notes were written before yesterday's collapse."
Master Yu leaned in.
"So he didn't improvise yesterday," he murmured. "He had studied the scenario in advance."
A different senior engineer nodded.
"And here—soil pressure calculations from three nights ago. They match the trench's real conditions."
"That's… true," another whispered.
The political officer's face tightened.
"You're all missing the point! Talent like this is unmonitored, unstudied, and uncontrolled. He has no formal accreditation! No political training! He rose too quickly!"
Master Yu rolled his eyes.
"He rose because he's competent."
The political officer slammed his hand down.
"Competent people can be dangerous! Too much talent at the bottom creates unrest at the top!"
Lin Wei's blood went cold.
This wasn't about engineering.It wasn't about notes.It was about fear.
Fear of someone rising too quickly.Fear of someone who didn't fit the expected mold.
Director Li spoke sharply:
"This is a technical bureau, not a political theater."
The political officer glared.
"And yet talent without oversight is a threat to stability."
He pointed at Lin Wei.
"This boy's abilities need explanation."
Lin Wei met his gaze without flinching.
"I work harder than others. That's all."
A few committee members nodded in approval.
The political officer sneered.
"Then prove it."
"How?"
"Draft something."
The room stiffened.
Director Li frowned.
"What kind of draft?"
"A beam reconstruction diagram," the officer said."A difficult one. One that our own apprentices take months to learn. Let's see if he can 'study' his way through that."
Master Yu scoffed.
"This test is ridiculous."
But Lin Wei stepped forward.
"I'll do it."
He needed this.
To survive.To prove himself.To silence the shadows circling him.
The officer pushed parchment toward him.
"Draft."
Zhou Feng stood quietly outside the door, watching.
Liu Yan stood in the corridor, smirking.
And Lin Wei picked up the pencil—
The system pulsed.
[Task Detected: Demonstrate Ability][Perfect Performance Recommended][Reward Pending]
Lin Wei exhaled.
He began to draw.
Ten Minutes Later
The room was so quiet that every scratch of the pencil echoed.
Then Lin Wei raised his hand.
"Finished."
Director Li took the sheet.
His eyes widened.
Not in disapproval.Not in skepticism.
In awe.
Master Yu leaned over—
His mouth fell open.
"Impossible…"
The diagram wasn't just correct.It was elegant.Precise.Flowing like a master's hand.
The political officer snatched the sheet.
His face drained of color.
Lin Wei stood straight.
"I told you," he said softly."I work hard."
Director Li set the sheet down carefully.
"Evaluation complete."
He looked directly at the political officer.
"There is no fault in talent. Only in those who fear it."
Zhou Feng breathed out a sigh of relief outside the door.
And Liu Yan's smile vanished.
Leaving the Room
As Lin Wei stepped out, Zhou Feng approached.
"You passed."
Lin Wei nodded weakly. "Somehow."
"No," Zhou Feng corrected. "Not somehow. You earned it."
He glanced back at the committee room.
"But be careful. Today you silenced them. Tomorrow, they'll try something else."
Lin Wei swallowed.
"I know."
Zhou Feng hesitated—
Then clapped him on the shoulder.
"Still… good work."
It was the closest thing to praise he'd ever give.
But as Lin Wei walked down the hall—
He noticed someone watching him from the far corner.
Not Liu Yan.Not a colleague.
Someone unfamiliar.In a long coat.Wearing gloves.
The same description the boy gave.
The man turned away the moment Lin Wei looked at him.
A chill crawled down Lin Wei's spine.
Someone was still pulling strings.
Someone wanted him exposed.
And now…that someone was watching him more closely than ever.