The programmer and his woman

"Xiao Wang, why haven't you gone home yet?" I was immersed in my work when the boss's voice suddenly broke the silence. I looked out the window and was surprised to find that the sky was as dark as ink. The whole city was shrouded in darkness, and the lights in the company building seemed particularly bright. Unconsciously, I became the only person who was still busy in this space.

I cleaned up my desk, turned off my computer, and prepared to end this long day. My boss came over and looked at me with concern, "Go home, don't work too hard. It's good for young people to be motivated, but health is the capital of revolution. Where do you live? I'll give you a ride. It's a good thing that we haven't talked for a long time, so we can have a good chat in the car."

I couldn't refuse such a kind offer, so I had to agree. I got into the boss's car, which was warm and comfortable, in stark contrast to the cold outside. I fastened my seat belt and watched the street scene outside the window slowly recede into the night.

The car fell into a dead silence. I looked out the window at the street scene that was receding quickly. The questions in my heart were as difficult to calm down as the speeding car. I finally asked the question that had been suppressed in my heart. My voice seemed a little dry: "Boss, Mr. Lin from the insurance company, how did you...how did you know him?" This question was like a huge rock pressing on my heart. I longed for a clear answer.

The boss obviously didn't expect me to suddenly bring up this topic. He frowned slightly, his eyes wandering on the road ahead, as if he was recalling his first meeting with Mr. Lin. After a moment, he slowly spoke: "This matter... is indeed a bit unusual. I remember that at that time, the company was looking for new partners to expand its business scope. An old customer took the initiative to introduce Mr. Lin to me, saying that he has rich experience and extensive connections in the insurance industry and is a trustworthy person. After we met, we had a good conversation and found that we did have many common visions and cooperation space. But... now looking back, it all seems to have happened too smoothly."

The boss sighed deeply, his voice filled with unspeakable helplessness: "The PICC project suddenly encountered serious problems, which put us in an extremely difficult situation. We urgently needed to find a reliable new partner to fill the gap, but just when we were in a state of panic, the Taibao project took over so smoothly. It was really too coincidental, as if everything was carefully planned and arranged in advance."

I frowned and stared at the boss's face, my heart full of doubts and worries. Finally, I couldn't help but ask: "Boss, what if this is not just a coincidence? Have you ever thought about the mystery or conspiracy that may be hidden in it?" When the boss heard what I said, a look of astonishment instantly appeared on his face. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and was silent for a long time before slowly responding: "Xiao Wang, do you think... they did this on purpose?"

I nodded and told my boss about my meeting with Manager Sun today: "Today I accidentally saw Manager Sun who used to work in our company. He is now working for General Manager Lin. This makes me think that maybe they had some kind of connection before, or even some kind of plan."

After hearing this, the boss's face became serious. He slammed on the brakes and pulled the car over. He turned around, looked me straight in the eye, and asked, "Xiao Wang, have you found anything? Or do you have any evidence?"

I shook my head and said frankly, "There is no solid evidence, it's just my guess. But I think we should re-examine our cooperation with Mr. Lin. If they are really using us to complete their projects, then aren't we just helping them?"

After hearing this, the boss's face became solemn, and his brows knitted tightly together, as if he was thinking about something important. His fingers tapped the steering wheel lightly, making a rhythmic sound, as if he was weighing the pros and cons. Time passed by, and the air was filled with a tense atmosphere. Finally, after a long and short wait, the boss slowly said: "This matter is indeed a bit strange. We and the other party are originally in a cooperative relationship. Our company is responsible for providing key technical support, while they focus on public relations work with the insurance company. If they want to leave us aside, it means that they need to develop the entire system module by themselves. Isn't this a loss? After all, the human, material and financial resources required to redevelop the system are quite huge. From this point of view, they should not easily give up cooperation with us." After saying these words, the boss's eyes were still full of doubts, but at the same time revealed a hint of determination.

"What if they already have the source code of our system?" I asked worriedly, frowning, with deep worry and uneasiness in my eyes. I tried to convey my inner worries to the seemingly calm boss in front of me through my words.

When the boss heard what I said, his calm face suddenly turned gloomy. His face suddenly changed, his eyes widened, and he stared at me intently, as if he couldn't believe what I said. At that moment, time seemed to freeze, and the whole car was filled with a tense and oppressive atmosphere.

"Impossible!" the boss muttered to himself, his voice trembling slightly. He shook his head and kept repeating this sentence, as if he wanted to use this method to dispel the fear and doubt in his heart. "How could they get our source code so easily? This is absolutely impossible!" His tone was firm, but there was a trace of panic in his eyes that was difficult to conceal.

I took a deep breath, tried to keep myself calm, and tried to calm my boss down. "Boss, please calm down. We must find out the root cause of the problem. Think about it carefully. Besides you and the core team, who else can access the company's source code?"

The boss frowned and fell into deep thought. After a while, he slowly said, "Well... it should be only the developers, project managers, and... oh, yes, and the company's network administrator. They have access to all servers, including the server where the source code is stored, and the backup of the source code is also stored there."

Halfway through his words, the boss suddenly seemed to think of something important, and his face became very solemn. He sat up straight, as if he had received an electric shock, and said with his eyes wide open, his voice trembling slightly: "Oh no! The network administrator suddenly resigned a few days ago, and it happened to be the days when the project had problems! Is this just a coincidence? Or is there some kind of connection?"

I frowned, and a strong and ominous premonition emerged in my heart. This premonition was like a surging wave, constantly hitting my mental defenses. "Who exactly is this network administrator?" I thought to myself.

At this moment, the boss picked up the phone without hesitation and dialed the number of Director Wang of the Human Resources Department. During the call, the boss' tone clearly revealed a hint of urgency: "Old Wang, I have something to ask you. Who hired the network administrator who just resigned from the company a few days ago?"

After a moment, Director Wang responded clearly from the other end of the line: "Oh, you're asking about the network administrator. He was introduced by the project manager Xiao Sun. What's the matter, boss? Is there any problem?"

When the boss heard this, his face became more serious than before. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down his inner turmoil, but his furrowed brows and clenched teeth still exposed his true emotions. Despite this, he still tried his best to keep his voice calm: "Okay, I understand the situation." After saying this, the boss was about to hang up the phone, but after hesitating for a moment, he suddenly remembered something and added: "By the way, Lao Wang, try to contact the network administrator. If he answers the phone, tell him that the company forgot to pay him a sum of money, and ask him to come to the company as soon as possible to collect it."

Director Wang on the other end of the phone was obviously very surprised by the boss's request, and asked in confusion: "Ah? Did you forget to give him some money?" His tone was full of puzzlement and confusion, as if he had not expected the boss to make such an arrangement at all.

"Don't ask anymore. Just tell him like this." The boss hung up the phone in a hurry and immediately turned to me and said, "Xiao Wang, it seems that your previous analysis is indeed possible. I have just confirmed with the Human Resources Department that there is indeed some kind of connection between this network administrator and the project manager Xiao Sun. According to this situation, our company's source code is very likely to have been leaked through this network administrator."

Hearing this, I asked anxiously, "Boss, what should we do next? Should we call the police directly?"

The boss was silent for a moment, then shook his head gently and replied, "We can't act rashly at the moment, because we don't have any substantial evidence at the moment. Everything is just our guess."

I clenched my fists and said unwillingly, "Can we sue them for copyright infringement?" However, the boss shook his head again and said, "That's not feasible either. After all, our software has not yet been patented or copyrighted. If we choose to sue them, we will lack the corresponding legal basis to support it."

The car started again, and neither of us spoke. The air seemed to freeze, and the whole car was filled with a suffocating and dull atmosphere. At this moment, a sharp brake sound broke the silence - the car stopped.

I looked out the window and found that we had arrived at our destination. The boss turned around and looked at me. His eyes were deep and complex, and seemed to hide many unspeakable emotions. After a long while, the boss slowly said, "Xiao Wang, thank you very much for what you said to me today. To be honest, I always thought I was good at judging people, but I didn't expect that I was still blinded by appearances. It's rare for you to have such a keen insight. I need time to think about this matter. You can go home first, don't worry too much."

I slowly opened the door and got out of the car. When my feet touched the ground, I felt an inexplicable heaviness and loss. I stared at the car he was driving as it went away, and I felt mixed emotions...

In the past few days, the atmosphere within the company seemed to be shrouded in a delicate and tense atmosphere. Rumors from the human resources department spread like wildfire, sweeping the entire company like a whirlwind. Rumor has it that the company's capital chain has experienced significant fluctuations, which is undoubtedly a huge hidden danger for a company that is developing steadily.

In order to appease the employees' anxiety, the chairman of the mysterious group company who had not been seen for a long time finally showed up. He came to our company in person, stood on the solemn podium, and conveyed a firm message to all employees with his firm eyes and loud voice: the company is about to usher in a new round of capital injection, which will provide solid guarantee for the company's stable operation and future development.

This news was like a spring breeze, which comforted the employees who were originally shrouded in uncertainty. However, the company immediately announced a shocking decision - to abandon all existing industry projects and focus on the communications field. This was undoubtedly an earth-shaking change and a transformation of unprecedented scale.

Perhaps it was because the chairman encountered some setbacks in his past attempts at cross-industry, which made him realize the limitations of lacking deep industry connections; or perhaps he saw the huge potential and bright prospects for the future of the communications field, so he made such a decision.

Regardless of the reason, this decision is undoubtedly a huge challenge for those of us who have worked in this industry for a long time. However, we also know that only by keeping up with the pace of the times can we remain invincible in the fiercely competitive market. Therefore, despite being full of reluctance and confusion in our hearts, we still chose to face it bravely and accept this reality.

During this process, although the staff changes in my department were not big, we still felt the pressure and challenges brought by the transformation. For those engineers who were originally engaged in industry data backend services, they faced a more thorough change. Many of them needed to adjust their positions and start working in the new communication service backend. This is a brand new field that requires them to constantly learn, adapt and grow. Of course, some employees may not be able to adapt to this change, and they may face the choice of changing positions or leaving.