The night before, Adam was still on the call with Kenji.

He had not said the full thing yet.

Kenji was waiting on the other side, and the silence between them was heavier than usual. Adam looked at the chips on the table once, then looked away from them.

This was not about chips.

This was not about orders.

This was about Adam himself.

"Kenji," Adam said, "there is a boy named Adam. You have to sponsor him."

Kenji did not answer at once.

"Sponsor him?" he asked.

"Yes."

"For what?"

"For college."

Adam gave him the details of the college. He did not say the name like it was important to him. He said it as if it was only an address and a file that needed to be handled.

Kenji became even more quiet.

He had expected something related to delivery or customers. Sponsoring a student was different.

"Mr. Will," Kenji said slowly, "this is for a student?"

"Yes."

"Adam," Kenji repeated.

"Yes."

Adam did not tell him that Adam had been suspended.

He did not tell him about the cheating case. He did not tell him that the student was himself.

He only said what Kenji needed to hear.

"This has to be done quickly," Adam said. "Today if possible. Tomorrow at the last."

Kenji still sounded uncertain. "I will try."

"Do more than try."

The call ended after that.

Kenji slowly lowered the phone and looked at Senju.

Kiri was called in a few minutes later.

Kenji told both of them what Will had said.

"He wants us to sponsor a student named Adam," Kenji said. "The work has to be done today."

Senju folded her arms.

"Will said this himself?"

"Yes."

"Then we have to do it," she said. "And from the way you are saying it, this sounds personal."

Kiri looked from Senju to Kenji.

"If this is Will’s personal work," Kiri said, "then we put everything into it."

Kenji nodded.

None of them knew the real problem.

To them, Adam was only a student Will had named. They did not know he had been pushed out of college. They did not know that his return had to happen before John could use his father any further.

Kenji placed the college details on the table.

"We need to decide what we can offer them," he said.

The three of them talked quickly. Aster Core did not have old prestige. It had sudden market attention. Orders had started coming in. Companies that had ignored them were now calling first. That gave them weight.

Before long, they left for the college.

It was still open when they reached.

At first, the staff did not take them too seriously. Once they introduced themselves as representatives of Aster Core and said they wanted to discuss sponsorship, the tone changed.

The college arranged a meeting.

Kenji sat with Senju and Kiri across from the board members. The dean was also there, sitting with a careful smile.

Kenji began.

"We are here on behalf of Aster Core," he said. "We want to sponsor one of your students. His name is Adam."

The reaction was not what Kenji expected.

The dean’s smile froze for a moment.

One board member looked at another.

Then the dean spoke carefully.

"Adam is under suspension."

Kenji looked at him.

Senju also became still.

Kiri’s eyes moved once toward Kenji.

Will had not told them this.

"Suspension?" Kenji asked.

"A cheating case," one of the board members said. "Our college is very strict in these matters. We cannot ignore discipline only because an outside company asks us to."

Kenji did not speak for a second.

Senju was also surprised. This one piece changed the whole shape of the request. Will had sent them to sponsor a student who was not even active in the college.

Kiri recovered first.

"I understand," Kiri said.

The board member looked ready to continue. Kiri did not let the moment slip.

"Students make mistakes," Kiri said. "Some do it out of foolishness. Some do it because of pressure. I am not here to argue about what happened."

The dean watched him.

Kiri continued, "In fact, that is one reason we came to you. Your college has a reputation for being strict. You protect your values. Aster Core respects that."

The words softened the room.

Kiri then moved to the real offer.

"We want to sponsor Adam," he said. "In return, we are also willing to open internship and job-application opportunities for other students from your college."

Some faces changed at the table.

One board member opened his mouth, perhaps to refuse.

Kiri spoke before he could.

"And Aster Core is also willing to invest in your college directly. Donation, development support, lab assistance, whatever form works best for your system."

The word donation changed the room more than the company name did.

The board members looked at one another.

The dean leaned back slightly.

"What kind of donation are you thinking about, Mr. Kiri?" he asked.

Kiri smiled.

"Not a one-time amount," he said. "We are willing to discuss support over four or five years."

This time, the silence was different.

The board members were no longer looking at Adam’s file like a problem. They were looking at it like a door.

The dean’s smile returned, warmer than before.

"Aster Core is a respected company," he said. "You are willing to support our college and our students. In that case, we can also review Adam’s matter properly."

Kenji waited.

The dean looked at the others, then back at them.

"Adam was suspended temporarily," he said. "If everything is in order, the suspension can be lifted when you require it."

Kiri glanced at Kenji and smiled.

The deal was done.

Later, Kenji sent the message.

The sponsorship arrangement was accepted. Adam’s suspension had been cancelled. He could come from tomorrow.

Adam read the message in the apartment.

For a moment, he only stared at the screen.

Then he let out a slow breath.

He had not told Kenji the truth because he had felt embarrassed. He could face dangerous people and throw money into companies. Telling Kenji that he had been suspended from college because of a cheating case still felt ugly.

Now part of his real identity had moved closer to Aster Core.

If someone among them started looking too closely, they might connect Adam to Will one day.

It would not be simple if Adam stayed careful.