After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

Sun Heming.

Chen Ping stared at the three words for five seconds, then closed the application materials and locked them in the drawer.

Instead of immediately investigating Sun Heming, he first opened the talent database of the provincial industrial fund and entered the keywords: AetherX, legal affairs, returning to China.

The database ran for twenty seconds and then a record popped up.

He Siyuan, 36 years old, holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He worked in the legal department of AetherX for three years before returning to China in 2021. He is currently a partner at an intellectual property law firm in Hangzhou. He has served as a due diligence consultant twice for provincial industrial funds.

Chen Ping dialed Zheng Xian's encrypted line.

"Help me schedule an appointment with He Siyuan, a partner at Hangzhou Ruiheng Law Firm. Tell him that the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology has an IP licensing project they'd like him to evaluate, and the sooner the better."

The next afternoon, in the meeting room of Ruiheng Law Firm in Hangzhou.

When He Siyuan pushed open the door, a button was missing from his suit sleeve, and he carried two documents in his hand, walking with a brisk pace. He was a typical Silicon Valley returnee, used to keeping time down to the minute.

"Director Chen, a rare guest."

Chen Ping didn't beat around the bush and sent over a desensitized summary of the patent dispute.

"Take a look at this case."

He Siyuan turned two pages, but his fingers stopped when he turned to the third page.

"A PCT application with a GAA structure? Northern District of California federal court?"

He looked up, and his eyes behind his glasses rolled halfway around.

"This is AetherX suing someone."

"You can tell?"

"I can recognize their legal department's tactics with my eyes closed. First, they use the job invention clause to lay the groundwork, then they use meeting minutes as evidence, and finally they use postponement as a weapon to drag the other party out. Kevin Liu has been doing this for nine years, and it's always the same three tricks."

He Siyuan closed the file and leaned back in his chair.

"But there's a loophole in this case."

Chen Ping placed his hand on the edge of the table without moving, waiting for him to continue.

"AetherX's internal technical review meetings have a rule that all discussed technical solutions must be summarized in writing within 48 hours of the meeting and filed by the legal department. If the content of the meeting minutes does not have a corresponding written summary, its evidentiary value in court is almost zero."

He Siyuan tapped the document cover twice with his index finger.

"Whenever Kevin Liu takes on a case like this, he's betting that the opposing party isn't familiar with the internal procedures. If the defendant's lawyer doesn't know to retrieve the archived records of the written summary, they'll never get any evidence to refute it."

Chen Ping noted this information down in his memo and stood up.

Thanks.

He Siyuan didn't press for details about who he was handling the case for. Anyone who has worked with AetherX knows that some things shouldn't be asked.

At 9 p.m. that night, Chen Ping arranged to meet Su Qingwan at the coffee shop downstairs from her apartment building.

When Su Qing arrived late, there were only two customers left in the coffee shop, and half of the bar lights were off.

Chen Ping pushed a USB drive across the table.

"There's a document inside, a list of intellectual property lawsuits filed by AetherX against former Chinese engineers over the past three years. The case numbers, parties involved, lawsuit results, and settlement amounts have all been anonymized, so you can't trace the source to me."

Su Qingwan picked up the USB drive, flipped through it, and plugged it into her laptop.

When the file opened, she scrolled through three screens before finally reaching the bottom.

"All seven cases involved people of Chinese descent."

"The highest compensation was $1.2 million. The lowest was $300,000. The litigation strategy in each case was almost exactly the same: first, sue under the employment invention clause, and then delay indefinitely."

Su Qingwan closed her laptop and rested her hands on the edge of the keyboard.

"What direction do you want me to write about?"

"The facts themselves are the direction. You have access to overseas media outlets, so this piece will be published in English and on international platforms. There's no need for emotional appeals or a stance; you just need to present the data."

Su Qingwan pulled out the USB drive and held it in her palm.

"It should be ready within three days. An editor at Reuters' Asia-Pacific bureau owes me a favor."

Chen Ping nodded, got up and left.

Two days later, an in-depth report titled "Pattern of Suppression: How a US Chip Giant Targets Chinese-American Engineers" appeared on Reuters' technology channel. Written under the pseudonym Su Qingwan, it was detailed, restrained in its wording, and contained no definitive judgments.

Within twelve hours of its publication, the article had been retweeted over 8,000 times on Twitter. The Silicon Valley Chinese engineering community was abuzz, with three former employees who had previously settled with AetherX posting comments under their real names, providing further details.

AetherX's public relations department was caught off guard.

But before the public outcry had subsided, Chen Ping played his third card.

On the morning of the third day, the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.

Chen Pingfang, in his capacity as director, issued a "Notice on Strengthening the Security Review of Key Industrial Supply Chains," which included a special evaluation list of cooperative projects among semiconductor companies in the province. The joint R&D agreement between Hanxin Microelectronics and AetherX was prominently listed first.

That afternoon, Xu Dongyang, chairman of Hanxin Microelectronics, received a call from the Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, asking him to bring all the original copies of the cooperation agreements to the department for a "supply chain security compliance assessment".

When Xu Dongyang arrived, his forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat. The entire assessment process took less than forty minutes, and all the questions asked were within the scope of technical compliance, without crossing any lines.

But when the event ended, Chen Pingfang came out of his office and "coincidentally" bumped into Xu Dongyang in the corridor.

"Mr. Xu, AetherX has some unresolved legal disputes lately, and things aren't looking too good. As their partner, could you please pass on a message to them—resolve what needs to be resolved as soon as possible, and don't let small matters affect the bigger picture?"

Xu Dongyang's Adam's apple bobbed, and he nodded repeatedly.

After leaving the Department of Industry and Information Technology building, Xu Dongyang got into his car and, before starting the engine, made a phone call.

"Deputy Director Tang, the Department of Industry and Information Technology summoned us for a meeting today..."

Chen Ping stood by the window on the third-floor corridor, watching Xu Dongyang's car linger in the parking lot below.

Deputy Director Tang.

Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Science and Technology.

It wasn't Sun Heming himself who came forward, but rather his subordinates. This connection was deeper than anticipated.

Chen Ping withdrew his gaze and temporarily suppressed the name.

Six days later, a message from Gu Weizhen popped up on Signal.

AetherX has withdrawn its lawsuit.

The message was followed by the following: Their lawyers informed Kirkland today that they are willing to drop their objections to the PCT application without conditions. The settlement agreement will be signed tomorrow.

Chen Ping replied with two words: Congratulations.

Gu Weizhen's second message arrived three minutes later.

"Director Chen, you have passed the test."

Another ten seconds passed.

"But I have a second piece of bad news."

Chen Ping's thumb hovered above the screen, remaining motionless.

"Last week I applied for a passport renewal, which was rejected. The FBI initiated a departure security review based on my past involvement in several classified projects. My passport has been temporarily confiscated, and I cannot leave the United States until the review is completed."

Chen Ping placed his phone on the table and stared at the line of text for a long time.

The backlight of the screen reflected on his face, creating a play of light and shadow.