Chapter 1577 Li Daitao is stiff

In fact, if Fu Qinxia was a little more rational, or had a clearer self-awareness, or if she consulted with a few more people, she would have realized that something was wrong.

Ten or even nine points are wrong.

Apart from anything else, how could an ordinary, unknown postdoc receive such a job invitation that was almost tailor-made for him?

You know, although many people in the Institute of Chemistry received emails seeking to recruit people, the specific contents were different.

Furthermore, the life difficulties she is facing now may not even be known to her relatives, parents, and even classmates with whom she has a general relationship. How could the University of California, separated by the Pacific Ocean, know so clearly?

There is obviously something fishy going on behind the scenes.

But Fu Qinxia herself had something to hide, so she would definitely not discuss this matter in a public manner.

Lin Han, the only person who talked about this matter, objectively added fuel to the fire.

So at this point, she has basically lost her ability to judge...

Fu Qinxia deliberately chose an Internet cafe far away from the Institute of Chemistry.

In the online world, physical distance is not the point.

There is no difference between the school gate and the other end of the city.

But doing so can at least give her some sense of security.

In a corner filled with smoke and the clacking of keyboards, Fu Qinxia booked a small private room and closed the door tightly.

Her heart was pounding and her fingers were a little cold.

Almost instinctively, I turned on the computer, opened the browser, logged into my email... and then opened the email again.

I typed a carefully worded reply to an official Berkeley contact email address.

He expressed his gratitude and yearning for Professor Hudson and Berkeley, and asked about the specific requirements and application process for this teaching position, as well as whether there was any possibility of further communication.

The moment she clicked send, she felt her fingertips tingling.

……

At the same time, in a place that Fu Qinxia could no longer see

Lin Han was sitting in front of her computer, checking the browser history.

For people living under the same roof, it is extremely easy to figure out the power-on password of a computer.

"Incognito browsing is a good feature, but unfortunately there are so few people who can use it..."

While she was muttering to herself, she opened Fu Qinxia's email and search engine.

Sure enough, I saw the dense search records related to Berkeley and William Hudson in the past two days.

Think again about how the other person looked almost distraught when he left just now.

A smile appeared on Lin Han's lips——

In fact, it was just as Academician Zhang Tao worried at the beginning.

Those bulk emails aren't really poaching.

Instead, they were covering up the hidden troops that were deployed earlier.

The reason why the email Fu Qinxia received was so targeted was precisely because of the character portrait that Lin Han had previously given.

Originally, the latter had prepared a series of rhetoric, intending to pick one from several key targets and lure him into the trap step by step.

As a result, the effect of this email was so good that it saved her a lot of trouble.

But Lin Han did not act rashly. Instead, he turned off the computer again and restored everything to its original state.

There are still several months until the end of spring, so it is far from the right time to take action.

……

The next day, Fu Qinxia still didn't dare to log into her email in the laboratory or dormitory, but went directly to the Internet cafe where she was yesterday.

Sure enough, a new email was lying quietly inside.

From: David Miller

Topic: RE: Inquiry regarding Faculty Position - Follow up from Prof. Hudson

It was not Professor Hudson himself, but a man who called himself David Miller, whose title was Professor Hudson's special research assistant.

The email was official, acknowledging receipt of her inquiry and thanking her for her interest in Berkeley.

Miller said that Professor Hudson had been busy recently and entrusted him to conduct initial communication.

He also attached a link to his personal homepage at Berkeley and a scanned copy of his official Berkeley employment certificate.

The core content of the email is: Professor Hudson hopes to arrange a brief online video call to gain a deeper understanding of Fu Qinxia's research interests, teaching philosophy and future career plans.

"This is just an informal preliminary exchange aimed at enhancing mutual understanding."

Miller emphasized at the end of the email.

Fu Qinxia stared at the email and her heart beat faster again.

At first glance...it seems reasonable.

She convinced herself again: there should be no risk as they were just talking about research interests and career ideas without going into specific project details.

The subsequent communication process went very smoothly, and we even set the meeting time for that afternoon.

As requested by the other party, she logged into a temporarily registered Zoom account and entered the meeting link provided by Miller.

After a brief connection tone, the screen lights up.

A typical young Western male face with a sunny smile appears in the picture.

Her short golden hair is neatly styled, and her blue eyes looking across the screen appear sincere and friendly.

"Hi, Dr. Fu! I'm David Miller! Nice to finally meet you in person!"

The English with a California accent came through the somewhat cheap headphones, clear and enthusiastic.

The other party introduced himself and Professor Hudson again, and enthusiastically described Berkeley's excellent academic environment, the charming scenery of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the unique advantages of this teaching position - focusing on cultivating students and enjoying the pure pleasure of teaching and educating.

"The professor really appreciates your solid foundation in the synthesis of complex nanostructures. He believes that this is exactly the skill we need in future course construction."

Miller's tone was full of affirmation:

“Frankly speaking, students who can enter Berkeley are never short of geniuses and brilliant ideas. On the contrary, their basic abilities are far less reliable than those of the previous generation. Professors often complain about this and believe that students should not neglect theoretical learning…”

"..."

This sentence seemed ordinary, but it miraculously touched somewhere deep in Fu Qinxia's heart.

That was something she hadn't felt for many years and was about to forget...

Feeling of being needed.

For a graduate student, undergraduate grades are a stepping stone.

Once you knock on the door, basically no one will care anymore.

But that is what Fu Qinxia can show off the most.

The content of the first call was indeed very "clean".

Miller asked about the general direction of her doctoral research, the public areas of her postdoctoral research at the Institute of Chemistry, her understanding of teaching, and whether she had experience in designing courses.

Fu Qinxia responded carefully, and her answers were all within the scope of published or publicly available information.

In fact, Miller's questions were professional and moderate and did not touch on any sensitive points at all.

About half of the time was spent talking about Fu Qinxia's experience as a teaching assistant.

At the end of the call, Miller smiled and said, "Dr. Fu, it was a pleasure to talk to you. You have clear ideas, fluent expressions, and..." He paused, his smile deepened, "I must say, you are more attractive than I thought."

This sentence can actually be understood in many ways, but with the other party's fairly good modeling skills, Fu Qinxia was successfully guided in a slightly ambiguous direction.

It was like a breeze that blew away the last bit of tension in her heart.

The vigilance was quietly lowered by the professional and friendly atmosphere and this little personal charm offensive.

In the following months, this "medium frequency" contact became a secret expectation and burden in Fu Qinxia's life.

On average, Miller would send an email or initiate a video call once every two or three weeks.

The topic gradually deepened, but still cleverly remained within the framework of "academic interests" and "career development".

He will share some of Berkeley's ongoing, non-core teaching reform projects and ask Fu Qinxia for her opinions.

We will also "ask" some broad technical questions such as "common challenges in the characterization of complex nanostructures".

Occasionally, he would casually ask: "What's the team atmosphere like at the Institute of Chemistry? Is the cooperation close?"

Or, "I heard that you are very active in a certain material direction recently?"

Fu Qinxia's answer was still cautious, but unknowingly, in order to demonstrate her value and sincerity in cooperation, the boundaries of the information she shared began to become somewhat blurred.

Some interim observations that have not yet been published but are believed to not involve core secrets, the experience of using certain common equipment in the laboratory, and even small non-technical difficulties encountered in the team's daily work...all of them were used by her as topics of conversation to bring them closer, and were revealed bit by bit under Miller's gentle guidance and just the right resonance.

Miller always maintained a professional, friendly and even slightly admiring attitude, which made Fu Qinxia indulge in the feeling of being valued and listened to despite her uneasiness.

But what she didn't know was that these seemingly fragmented pieces were being patiently pieced together like a puzzle by professional intelligence analysts on the other side of the ocean to provide the outline and environmental information of the core project.

And waiting to cooperate with Lin Han to launch the final and most fatal attack.