After listening to Tian Hongtao’s explanation, Zheng Jingzhi tapped the table with his hand and said, "You can’t judge a book by its cover, nor the sea by a single dip of the ladle."
"I think I should personally go and ask him. If he really is a talent, then we must assign him important responsibilities!"
Tian Hongtao responded, "Teacher, you just summoned him, and he didn’t admit anything!"
"Call him again, but he might continue to play dumb."
Zheng Jingzhi stood up, paced a few steps in the office, and said with some puzzlement, "Clearly, this person is very capable. Why would he hide his abilities? Could it be that he has some unspeakable difficulties?"
"Hongtao, here’s what you do. Take two people and keep an eye on him to see what he does next."
"I suspect that when no one is using the computer lab, he’ll sneak in to do something."
"Yes! Catch him red-handed!"
Tian Hongtao agreed and immediately went to make arrangements.
That evening, after all the classes in the computer lab were finished, Zhang Zhipeng began to clean up.
After finishing the cleaning, he didn’t leave right away.
He planned to improve the Kingsoft document software on the computer, adding more functions.
At the very least, he wanted to incorporate a spreadsheet feature.
Of course, adding something like PPT was out of the question because the computer's storage was too limited.
The software nowadays was very compact, and the programs were very small. After all, if they were too large, the computer wouldn’t be able to run them or even install them.
The hardware was truly in desperate need of an upgrade.
Humming a tune, Zhang Zhipeng walked over and closed the door to the computer lab.
In the hallway, someone walked by, chatting about the opening ceremony of the 11th Asian Games that evening.
Everyone was rushing to get home for dinner and to catch the opening ceremony.
Zhang Zhipeng thought to himself, "Finally, some peace and quiet."
He figured no one would come to disturb him now.
He walked to the back of the computer lab, sat down in front of a computer, and turned it on.
Zhang Zhipeng then began busying himself with modifying the Kingsoft document software.
He was, of course, thoroughly familiar with this software.
Making modifications was second nature to him.
However, completing this modification in a short time was quite challenging.
He needed to make adjustments to the entire framework of the software.
What he didn’t know was that someone was already watching him.
Tian Hongtao, along with two others, had been hiding in a lab on the same floor of the experimental building, spying on him.
They were peeking through the door, closely observing Zhang Zhipeng’s every move.
They saw Zhang Zhipeng humming a tune as he closed the door to the computer lab, but he didn’t lock it.
Fang Qingping, who was standing on the other side of Tian Hongtao, felt a surge of excitement.
He now felt as if he were playing a game of catching a spy.
It was actually quite thrilling.
"Dr. Tian, it seems that it really was Zhang Zhipeng who made those two small software programs," Fang Qingping said.
Tian Hongtao replied, "Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. Maybe there’s a master behind him."
Fang Qingping asked, "So when do we make our move?"
After thinking for a moment, Tian Hongtao said, "Let’s wait a little longer and see if any bigger fish show up."
So the three of them continued to wait.
They waited and waited, over half an hour passed, and there was no further activity in the computer lab.
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No one else showed up.
Fang Qingping, eager to act, said, "Dr. Tian, I think it’s time to move."
"Otherwise, we won’t catch him red-handed."
Tian Hongtao also felt that they couldn’t wait any longer.
Just as they were about to open the door and rush out of the lab, they heard the sound of someone walking upstairs.
The heels struck the stairs with a clear sound.
"The big fish has finally appeared!" Tian Hongtao said with a smile.
Fang Qingping gave a thumbs up and said, "Dr. Tian, you’re truly wise! I knew it, how could Zhang Zhipeng be a programming expert?"
The person coming upstairs appeared in Tian Hongtao's line of sight.
It was a woman.
This woman was tall and attractive.
"Huh?!" Fang Qingping was a bit surprised.
"Do you know her?" Tian Hongtao asked.
Fang Qingping replied, "She's a teacher from the Foreign Languages Department, named Zhang Zhilin. She's even teaching me right now!"
Tian Hongtao mumbled to himself, "Zhang Zhilin, Zhang Zhipeng?"
"Could she be Zhang Zhipeng's sister?"
"A foreign language teacher, but could she really be a hidden programming expert?"
The woman coming from outside was indeed Zhang Zhilin. She was here today at her mother's request, to see what exactly her brother was doing at work.
He stayed at the office until very late every day.
Returning home by 9 PM was considered early.
Sometimes, he didn't come home at all.
When asked, he would say he was on duty, working on something at the office.
As a computer administrator, was he really that busy?
Zhang Zhilin arrived at the small office next to the computer room and knocked on the door, but there was no response.
She tried turning the doorknob to see if it would open.
The light was on inside, and her brother's bag was still on the desk.
But she didn't see anyone.
Could he have gone to the bathroom?
She waited in the small office for a while.
A few minutes passed, and Zhang Zhipeng still hadn't returned.
She began to feel a bit impatient.
Zhang Zhilin walked out and headed straight for the bathroom.
Outside the men's restroom, she called out, "Zhipeng?!"
"Zhipeng, are you in there?"
But there was no one in the restroom either.
Zhang Zhilin's eyebrows furrowed.
Had he just set up a scene and then gone off to mess around with his bad friends?
She shook her head angrily: Her brother really was hopeless.
Zhang Zhilin walked back to the entrance of the computer room and looked through the transparent glass in the door. She saw that the light was on inside.
She could also hear the sound of typing on a keyboard.
Zhang Zhilin thought to herself: Could Zhipeng be in the computer room playing games?
Maybe he got addicted to a game on the computer and started playing whenever he had the chance.
Once he started playing, he would lose track of time.
From the lab diagonally opposite, Tian Hongtao watched Zhang Zhilin pacing back and forth, seemingly searching for Zhang Zhipeng.
He gently shook his head: It seemed this woman wasn't the "big fish" behind Zhang Zhipeng after all.
"Dr. Tian, I don't think she is," Fang Qingping said softly.
"It’s obvious she's just here to find Zhang Zhipeng."
Tian Hongtao replied, "I think it's time for us to take action."
Fang Qingping hesitated, "But Zhang Zhilin is my teacher. I feel a bit awkward about this."
Tian Hongtao tapped Fang Qingping on the head with his finger and said irritably, "What's there to feel awkward about? We're just trying to find that mysterious programming expert. We're not actually catching a thief."
As the two spoke, Zhang Zhilin, now visibly angry, turned the doorknob to the computer room and went inside.
As soon as she opened the door, Zhang Zhipeng noticed.
He quickly looked up and saw that it was his sister who had entered.
There was still a look of anger on Zhang Zhilin's face.
Was she here to hold him accountable?
"Sis, why are you here?" Zhang Zhipeng asked, unfazed, as he didn't think he was doing anything wrong.
"What do you do here every day that keeps you so late?" Zhang Zhilin asked as she walked over to Zhang Zhipeng's side.
She saw the screen full of code and was momentarily stunned.
Zhang Zhipeng smiled and said, "I'm just teaching myself programming. Sometimes I get so into it that I lose track of time."
"I've explained this to Mom and Dad."
Zhang Zhilin was a bit skeptical: "You? Learning programming?"
"Were you just playing a game earlier and then switched to another program when you saw me come in?"
"Zhipeng! You're not a kid anymore. You should understand how to behave!"
"Didn't you say you wanted to take the self-study exam? You should be focusing more on the exam materials!"
Zhang Zhipeng smiled and said, "I've looked at a few sets of self-study exam papers. They're too easy, so there's no need to study too hard."
Zhang Zhilin shook her head, disappointed, "Stop bragging!"
"I know your level."
"You barely studied in high school and just coasted through! You scored less than 100 points total on the college entrance exams..."
As she was speaking, the door to the computer room was pushed open from the outside.
Tian Hongtao and two others walked in.
Zhang Zhilin was taken aback, thinking these people were security inspectors from the Aircraft Engineering Department.