daoxingyoustudent

At ten o'clock in the morning, the Horticulture Department meeting room was filled with a suppressed restlessness.

The heating was turned on too high, and the smell mixed with the woolen sweater and the thin winter sun shining through the window gave me a psychedelic feeling.

The faculty had almost all arrived, and the seats were packed. Some had half-opened academic journals spread out on their laps, while others were looking down at their upcoming train tickets—normally, by this time, the wheels of their suitcases would be softly clicking in the hallway.

The air grew even gloomier when Department Head Wang Huadong walked in, carrying a purple clay cup. He placed the meeting minutes book on the green velvet-covered table with a soft, soft "pa" sound.

"Yesterday afternoon, the college held an emergency meeting of all mid-level cadres. Um. There's something important to convey to everyone. And it's not just us today, uh, other departments are also having meetings. I'm calling everyone together just to discuss one thing." He opened the cup lid, and white steam curled upward. "Safety."

These two words made several people who were replying to WeChat messages stop.

Safety?

"Winter vacation isn't a vacuum. We need to pay attention to safety in all areas. Not just personal and family safety, but also national security." Wang Huadong's voice was low, but clear as chalk on a blackboard. "I'm not trying to exaggerate; something bad has indeed happened. Recently, an incident occurred at a sister university—a teacher enthusiastically introduced a blind date to a researcher, who turned out to be a point of infiltration for foreign forces. As a result, the Ministry of State Security followed the clues and nabbed that group of spies. Fortunately, the discovery was made in time, preventing significant damage to the country."

There was a faint gasp from below, and someone unconsciously adjusted their sitting position.

Someone was whispering.

"I don't think you're talking about another school, right? You're talking about our school, right? Didn't the police come the day before yesterday?"

"Yeah, it sounds like something that happened the day before yesterday... Could this really be something that happened in our school?"

"That day, just before leaving get off work, I saw people from the Ministry of Public Security and many other leaders going to our department's conference room. Later, I saw Teacher Liang being called into the conference room."

"And Teacher Wang Yunxia, ​​I think she was called too. Hey, why aren't they here?"

"Teacher Wang is here. Look, in the corner across the street."

"She's looking this way. Did she hear us talking about her?"

"I can't hear you. It's so far away."

Fang Chen looked over and met Wang Yunxia's gaze. She lowered her head guiltily.

The people around were still talking excitedly.

"Teacher Yang is really not here. Has she been arrested?"

"..."

The discussion grew louder and louder, and the department head, Wang Huadong, had to stop. He frowned, knocked on the table with a sullen face, and said in a louder voice:

"Quiet, stop talking! Don't you have any sense of organization and discipline? I'm having a big meeting here, and you're having a small one down there! Do you act like a teacher? How do you usually manage your students? You can't even do it yourself!"

A cell phone rang at an inopportune time, and the owner hurriedly turned it off.

The secretary nearby quickly tried to smooth things over: "Hey, it's mainly because our teachers are, well, too smart. You can't hide anything from them, and they're pretty close. But, they see through it but don't say it out loud. Director Wang said that, firstly because it's the unified statement required by the college, and secondly because he doesn't want to scare everyone. Anyway, it's for everyone's good. It's best not to spread this matter. It's not a good thing for universities to be infiltrated and fawn over foreigners. We have to save the reputation of our department. Everyone, stop talking. Just listen carefully to what Director Wang has to say."

Wang Huadong's expression also softened, and he said helplessly:

"Since everyone has guessed it, I won't hide it from you. It's indeed the incident from the day before yesterday. Teacher Liang was eager to act as a matchmaker and introduce someone to a girlfriend. What happened? The girlfriend's family background was questionable. And the man is a key figure in a national key project, conducting research on a top-secret project. This has attracted the attention of relevant national authorities, who immediately launched an investigation to nip this foreign conspiracy in the bud. Therefore, every citizen should raise their awareness of national security. This is our responsibility and obligation."

The following people started to whisper:

"Hey, who is this man?"

"That must be a young male teacher. Is there anyone else in our department who is young and unmarried?"

"Don't be ridiculous! What kind of national-level project can our department possibly have?"

"Yeah, who could that be?"

"........."

Wang Huadong glanced over, and the room suddenly became quiet. After a pause, Director Wang glanced at the whole room, gave Fang Chen a meaningful look, and then continued:

"This man is from another institution. Of course, our school is much lower-level than theirs, and we don't have such high-level researchers. Well, it doesn't seem like there's going to be any intelligence leaks. But! We are a university after all. Perhaps someone is watching us. Besides, everyone has social connections. In fact, the teachers here may not be outstanding researchers or cutting-edge scientists, but outstanding researchers and scientists may be among your relatives. If someone were to target such a person, they might use you as a weak point for further infiltration and breakthrough! I'm not trying to scare you. As you all know, the current international situation has hostile forces keeping their eyes on us. So, everyone should be more cautious. I'm not here to discuss specific cases today, but we must learn from them."

He suddenly raised his voice, "Also, everyone here, who doesn't have a few unpublished papers on their computer? Who doesn't have a work group chat on their phone? Foreign intelligence agencies are targeting these seemingly non-confidential pieces of information! Don't take it lightly!"

He unscrewed the thermos and took a sip of tea, then scanned the room again: "I emphasize three points of discipline."

"First, academic exchanges must adhere to the bottom line. Participating in international video conferences must be reported beforehand. If the other party has 'academic collaborators' with overseas backgrounds, they will be subject to review according to procedures."

"Second, we must draw a clear line in private interactions." He glanced at several young teachers. "In certain special circumstances, friendships and marriages are not personal matters; we must consider our political responsibilities. We must be wary of any 'chance' encounters or 'accidental' connections."

"Third, be sure to set up a defense when using the internet." He tapped his fingers on the desk. "Home Wi-Fi must have a complex password, and transferring work files via WeChat is strictly prohibited. Last semester, a teacher even posted the class schedule in the group chat—isn't the class schedule important? If they can figure out your movements, they can create a 'chance encounter'!"

The conference room was so quiet that the hum of the air conditioner could be heard. An elderly professor folded and then unfolded his reading glasses. A young teacher twirled his pen impatiently.

"Some may think this is an exaggeration," Wang Huadong said, his tone suddenly softening. "But today's Chinese scholars are destined to face a more complex environment. Your casual photo of a snowy campus scene might become material for analyzing architectural layouts; your joke complaining about the cafeteria might be edited into negative publicity..."

He closed his notebook. "The meeting is adjourned. I wish you all—" he paused, "a safe and peaceful winter vacation."

There was no applause.

People packed up their things in silence. As they filed out, a flock of pigeons happened to fly past the window, and everyone was unconsciously thinking: How many invisible lines of defense are needed to protect a seemingly peaceful and ordinary winter vacation?