In the incubator program's office, a man sat behind his desk.
Several students stood before him, applications in hand.
He scratched his head, flipping through the stack of papers.
"Why is everyone suddenly so interested in starting a delivery business?" he muttered. "There are so many applications about it. Even from seniors."
The students exchanged glances.
One of them stepped forward.
"It's probably because of those guys," he said.
"Those guys?" The man looked up.
"That's right." The student nodded. "There are four freshmen who have started a fairly successful delivery business in the freshman dorms. They've been operating throughout Golden Week."
The man held his chin in thought.
"Hmm. I haven't seen any such business documents come through here," he murmured.
Another student spoke up. "It's probably because they haven't registered through the incubator program."
The man's eyes narrowed slightly.
So that's why so many people want to take advantage of the situation - register before the freshmen do.
His expression turned serious.
"That being said, running a business without going through the incubator..." He leaned forward. "Who are these freshmen?"
The students listed off the names.
"Chen Ming. Li Jun. Zhang Wei. And Lin Feng."
The man paused.
"Wait, what was that last one again?"
"Umm... Lin Feng?"
I've heard that name before.
He frowned, searching his memory.
Then it clicked.
His face hardened.
"You may go," he said abruptly. "We can discuss this later."
The students looked at each other, confused by the sudden dismissal.
"But sir, the applications…"
"Later."
They bowed and left the office.
...
Once the door closed, the man rose from his chair.
He walked to a filing cabinet in the corner and began rummaging through the drawers. Papers shuffled. Folders were pushed aside.
Finally, he found what he was looking for - a thick file labeled 2020 Freshmen.
He pulled it out and carried it back to his desk.
He flipped through the pages rapidly, scanning name after name, photo after photo.
Until he stopped.
"Found you."
He stared at the passport photo attached to the profile.
Lin Feng.
"It really is you," he thought.
It was all beginning to make sense now.
He had never heard of Liu Mei having any relatives. And they didn't even share the same surname.
It seemed the "brother" who had appeared that night was just her student.
Well played. Well played indeed.
His grip tightened on the file and an ugly expression twisted his features.
…
Lin Feng stepped out of the seal engraving shop, a small bag in hand.
The process had been straightforward - he had submitted his business license, selected the seal designs, and paid the fee. Now he just had to wait.
This one shouldn't take long, he thought as he walked. If things go well, I should get them by tomorrow since it's a workday.
After that, he just needed to register a business bank account and that would be it.
He hoped it really worked out as planned - and quickly. He needed those to finalize his contracts with both Tianji Capital and Xunfeng Delivery as soon as possible.
...
Lin Feng reached the dormitory building and made his way upstairs.
He pushed open the door.
The three roommates sat together inside, the atmosphere looking a little heavy.
"What's up?" Lin Feng asked, stepping inside. "Did something happen?"
Chen Ming looked up, his usual enthusiasm nowhere to be found.
"Look at this," he said, handing Lin Feng a paper.
Lin Feng took it and began reading.
His eyes widened.
It seemed things had progressed faster than he had expected.
The incubator program had officially requested them to cease operations.
"What do we do now?" Chen Ming asked, his voice tight. "We've put in too much work. Can we really just give up?"
"Does the incubator program even have the authority to do that?" Zhang Wei asked.
Lin Feng sat down with a sigh.
"Technically... they do."
He set the paper on the desk.
"Businesses run through the incubator program can be seen as registered through the program itself. The program bears any liability." He paused. "Running a business on your own is risky for the university - it could cause problems that don't have anyone to take account for. So for that reason, they can indeed terminate our operations."
This isn't something that's usually enforced though, Lin Feng thought.
He nodded slowly to himself.
It seemed he had been found out.
He sighed and turned to the others.
"However, this doesn't apply to a government-registered business," he explained. "A registered company has someone to take account for anything that happens. We wouldn't fall under their jurisdiction."
Li Jun frowned. "But we haven't completed our registration yet. So we'll have to close up."
His expression darkened.
"If we do, we'll lose all our momentum. Our competition will quickly take our place and overtake us."
Lin Feng nodded.
Then he stood up.
"Well, don't worry about it."
He looked at each of them.
"I'll find a solution for this."
...
Lin Feng walked out of the dorm and closed the door behind him.
He stood in the hallway for a moment, his expression unreadable.
Then he pulled out his phone and made a call.
It rang twice before connecting.
"Hello?" A female voice answered from the other end.
"Remember that thing I talked to you about?" he asked.
A pause.
"Is it time?"
"Yeah." He exhaled quietly. "I'm kind of in a pinch right now."
She remained silent for a second before responding.
"Okay. I'll take care of it."
"Alright. Thank you. Talk to you later."
He ended the call and lowered the phone.
This should give us about fourteen days, he thought.
That was assuming the incubator head had acted alone and hadn't run this through anyone else. Considering how unreasonable and sudden this decision had been, he was probably targeting them out of personal interest.
Which meant he likely hadn't involved anyone else.
Lin Feng's eyes narrowed.
Let's see how this plays out.
...
Later that evening.
Wang Zhenguo arrived at his apartment after a long day.
He reached into his pocket for his keys and was going to unlock the door.
But before he could…he noticed something.
A white envelope had been slipped underneath.
He frowned and bent down to pick it up.
He tore it open and unfolded the document inside.
His eyes immediately caught the bold letters at the top:
TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
His heart skipped a beat.
He began reading, his hands trembling slightly as he scanned the contents:
THIS IS A COURT ORDER. VIOLATION MAY RESULT IN ARREST.
FINDINGS
Based upon the Petition for a Temporary Restraining Order filed by the Petitioner on October 9th, 2020, and the supporting evidence presented, including:
Medical records indicating suspected drugging and loss of consciousness;
Petitioner's sworn declaration;
Alleged conduct occurring within the workplace;
the Court finds that immediate and irreparable harm may occur if this Order is not issued.
ORDERS TO RESPONDENT
Effective immediately upon service of this Order, Wang Zhenguo is ORDERED as follows:
1. NO CONTACT
You shall not contact, harass, threaten, or communicate with Ms. Liu Mei, directly or indirectly.
This includes in-person contact, telephone calls, text messages, emails, social media, or communication through third parties.
2. STAY-AWAY
You shall remain at least 100 yards away from:
Ms. Liu Mei
Her residence
Her place of employment
Any location you know or reasonably should know she is present
3. WORKPLACE RESTRICTIONS
You shall not enter any campus facility or workplace location where the Petitioner is reasonably expected to be present.
Wang Zhenguo's face went pale.
His hands were shaking now.
At that moment, his phone rang.
He fumbled to answer it, nearly dropping the device.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Wang Zhenguo?" It was a woman's voice. It sounded calm and professional.
"Y-Yes?"
"This is the Human Resources department of Zhejiang Business University. We are calling to inform you that you have been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, pending an internal investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct."
His breath caught in his throat.
"During this period, you are not permitted to enter campus grounds or contact any university staff or students. You will receive further instructions via official correspondence. Do you have any questions?"
The phone slipped from his fingers.
It clattered against the floor.
Wang Zhenguo's legs gave out beneath him.
He fell to his knees in the hallway, the restraining order still clutched in his trembling hand.
"It's over..."