Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

"Confidentiality agreements? Those are for outsiders. For core personnel like me, there's no need to sign one. Someone like you who runs construction sites will never understand the allure of power."

When Zhou Ming's words landed on the table, it was like a stone thrown into shallow water. The splash wasn't big, but the ripples spread out in circles along the table, then receded at the edge, gathering again into an arc on the tablecloth.

The girl in the floral dress was the first to chime in: "You even know about this kind of news? Zhou Ming, you're really ahead of the curve now. How many ordinary people would have the chance to get involved in a project of this caliber?"

The bespectacled man nodded and poured Zhou Ming another drink. The female classmate with chestnut-colored hair next to him also came over, holding a teacup, and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, "Zhou Ming, is your project team short-staffed? Even peripheral staff are fine. Keep an eye out for my husband."

Zhou Ming waved his hand, saying "We'll talk about it later," but the smile in his eyes had already spread to his cheekbones. He picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and put it down again, slowly tracing the rim with his fingertips: "But then again, these kinds of core projects aren't something just anyone can get involved in. The background checks on personnel are very strict; the political vetting alone takes several rounds."

His gaze kept lingering on Lin Xiaoya's figure as he spoke.

Lin Yanzhou sat next to Xiaoya and continued to eat quietly.

Zhou Ming's gaze naturally fell on him. He turned slightly to the side, holding his wine glass, and said in a casual tone, "Xiao Lin, when you were working on construction sites, did you ever come into contact with any research projects? People at our level might not be familiar to you." He smiled, put down his wine glass, and said, "But that's normal; different fields are like different worlds. What you do on construction sites really doesn't connect with the research circle."

Xiaoya paused for a moment while picking up food with her chopsticks, then resumed her normal pace. She didn't look up at Zhou Ming or say anything; she simply placed the piece of fish into her bowl and gently moved it with her chopsticks, as if adjusting the length and position of that movement to ensure it was within her control.

Lin Yanzhou finished the last bite of food in his bowl, put down his chopsticks, wiped his hands, and then activated his mind-reading ability to scan them. Zhou Ming was thinking, "Anyway, they don't know the specifics of the project. They'll believe whatever I say. I've overheard a few phone calls with my brother-in-law; knowing a few keywords is enough. Who in this circle has the ability to verify these details?"

The information he just shared about the project team and the ore came entirely from snippets of conversation his brother-in-law had made while on the phone in the car. His brother-in-law was an ordinary researcher, not the project leader, and not even a core member. Zhou Ming himself worked as a driver for the Chinese Academy of Sciences' logistics department, responsible for transporting staff between the academy campus and experimental sites; he was not an official member of any research team.

Lin Yanzhou withdrew his mind-reading ability and remained silent. He looked down, picked up his phone, typed a few words below the screen, and sent them to Researcher Shen: "There's a dinner party tonight. A guy named Zhou Ming is bringing up the mineral project. He said his brother-in-law is also involved." After the screen went dark, he flipped the phone face down and placed it on the edge of the table, making no attempt to conceal it.

The conversation on the table continued, and Zhou Ming brought up "the internal structure of the project team," "his brother-in-law's connections in the core group," and "a major achievement may be coming soon," and the people around him echoed his sentiments.

Just as Zhou Ming was about to pick up his second glass of wine, his phone rang. He glanced down at the screen, his smile still on his face, but he paused suddenly as he answered, his finger hovering over the answer button for a moment before pressing it. He casually pressed speakerphone, as if habitually demonstrating his brother-in-law's routine phone calls at the dinner table.

The voice on the other end of the phone was loud and fast, carrying a suppressed impatience: "Zhou Ming, where are you now?"

"Brother-in-law, oh, sister? I'm having dinner with some old friends..."

Did you talk about things at work during dinner tonight?

Zhou Ming's fingers paused on the table: "He only mentioned it briefly... without going into details..."

"The things you mentioned have already been reported. The institute just called to say that someone reported a leak of project information. Your brother-in-law has been called in for a talk, and all external contact records for the sub-project he was involved in need to be re-examined."

Zhou Ming's smile vanished completely. The hands-free call was on, and everyone on the table could hear the voice on the other end.

"Who did you tell? Did you offend some important person?"

"There were no important figures, just a few old classmates, no outsiders..."

"Do you know how long your brother-in-law was stuck on this project before he finally got his qualifications? Now the notice from above has come down: your brother-in-law has been suspended from his job pending investigation. Your own driver job has also been terminated!! You've ruined our whole family! Do you even know that?!"

The call ended. Zhou Ming was still holding the phone; even after the screen went dark, he didn't lower his hand, maintaining that grip as if waiting for a screen that would never light up again to give some feedback.

The female classmate in the floral dress put down her wine glass, the bottom of which made a soft sound as it tapped on the tablecloth. She looked down at the dishes in front of her, neither looking up nor speaking.

The man with glasses finally put the rib into the bowl, spilling a drop of broth, but he didn't wipe it away.

The female student with chestnut-colored hair turned her gaze to the teacup in front of her, as if recalculating the time it would take for the tea to cool down.

The table was quiet for a moment. Some people picked up their chopsticks again, while others lowered their heads to drink tea. The topic suddenly shifted from the project to trivial family matters, and the volume was deliberately lowered, as if a newly laid-out fabric was being used to cover up a trace that had not yet fully cooled down.

Zhou Ming sat in the main seat, his fingers still gripping his phone, now with its screen dark. His gaze was blank: Which important person did I offend? Why did I receive emergency measures from my workplace so quickly? Could this Xiao Lin be someone important? Impossible!

Just then, the phone rang again. It was the team leader. "Zhou Ming, you bastard, what the hell have you done! You got me fired because of me, but you're in even worse shape. You're going to jail!"

Three police cars suddenly arrived outside the restaurant, and several police officers, led by two men in plainclothes, entered a private room and presented their identification.

"Which of you is Zhou Ming?" the leader asked.

"I am...I...I haven't broken the law, have I?" Zhou Ming was clearly stuttering.

"We are from the National Security Bureau. You are suspected of leaking major state secrets, and you have been arrested. This is an arrest warrant." He then produced a red arrest warrant.

"I...I...I'm breaking the law just for bragging?" Zhou Ming trembled all over like a leaf.