Four in the afternoon.
Chu Yiran walked into Sun Wanqing’s office with her notebook in hand.
Sun Wanqing had changed into a black suit jacket today, with a small brooch pinned at the collar. Her makeup was slightly heavier than usual.
It was clear she had put effort into her appearance today, but the exhaustion in her eyes was impossible to hide.
“Sit.”
Chu Yiran sat down, flipped her notebook to the page with the report outline, and slid it onto the desk.
Sun Wanqing didn’t look at it immediately. Instead, she asked a question first.
“Was it Wang Yan who notified you about President Shen calling you in for a report?”
“Yes.”
“When were you notified?”
“At the end of the workday yesterday.”
Sun Wanqing’s fingertip tapped lightly on the desk.
“As the Deputy Director of the Administrative Department, President Shen should have informed me first if he wanted to understand the audit situation, so I could arrange for someone to report.”
“Bypassing me directly and calling in a specialist who’s been with the company for less than two weeks—this isn’t quite the usual procedure from the higher-ups.”
Her words were spoken calmly, but Chu Yiran understood the underlying meaning.
Sun Wanqing wasn’t questioning her; she was questioning Shen Yu’s approach.
Or, to be more precise, she was probing whether Shen Yu had intentionally bypassed her.
“Perhaps it’s because I’m the one directly liaising with the external audit team, and President Shen thought it would be more convenient to ask me.”
Chu Yiran chose her words carefully. “The content of the report was all about routine audit progress and didn’t involve any evaluations or conclusions.”
Sun Wanqing finally shifted her gaze to the notebook.
She read through each item one by one, pausing when she reached the last one.
“You mentioned Hengyuan Trading to President Shen?”
Chu Yiran nodded.
“What exactly did you say?”
“I said the external audit team requested supplementary historical cooperation evaluation records for Hengyuan Trading, which I couldn’t find in the archives. I’ve already confirmed the filing status with you via email.”
Sun Wanqing’s fingers released the notebook.
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
Sun Wanqing stared at her for several seconds, as if gauging the truthfulness of her words.
The office fell silent for a moment.
Then Sun Wanqing spoke again, her voice slightly lower than before.
“The cooperation evaluation records for Hengyuan Trading have been supplemented. They’ll be filed before the end of the workday today.”
Chu Yiran didn’t ask when she had supplemented them or why it was only now.
“Understood, President Sun. I’ll submit them to the external audit team as soon as I receive them.”
Sun Wanqing’s fingers unconsciously rubbed back and forth on the desk a couple of times. Then, she did something that surprised Chu Yiran a little.
She sighed.
It wasn’t the perfunctory sigh of a superior giving orders to a subordinate, but a genuine, weary sigh.
“Chu Yiran, do you know how difficult it is to sit in the position of Deputy Director of the Administrative Department?”
Chu Yiran didn’t respond.
“Above me, there’s a president who demands perfection in everything. Below me, there are employees who resign within three months. And in between, there are messy webs of interests.”
Sun Wanqing’s voice remained calm as she spoke, her tone even tinged with a hint of self-mockery.
“I’ve worked at Shen Corporation for eight years, starting as an administrative specialist and working my way up to Deputy Director.”
“In eight years, there hasn’t been a single major incident, and not a single important event has been delayed.”
“But everyone has their weaknesses.”
After saying this, she pushed the notebook back to Chu Yiran.
“You may leave.”
Chu Yiran picked up her notebook and stood up.
As she reached the door, she hesitated for a second, then turned back and said:
“President Sun, if the external audit team asks about the evaluation records, I will explain truthfully based on the actual data in the files.”
“Nothing more, nothing less.”
Sun Wanqing looked at her but did not respond.
Chu Yiran opened the door and walked out.
After returning to her workstation, she sat for a long time before touching the keyboard.
Sun Wanqing’s earlier words were less of an explanation and more of a boundary-setting.
She had positioned herself as someone with hidden difficulties, hinting that Chu Yiran should not dig deeper.
But at the same time, she had tacitly acknowledged that there were indeed issues with Hengyuan Trading.
The added evaluation records were newly created—Chu Yiran was almost certain of this.
A quarterly evaluation that should have been completed months ago, now hastily filed retroactively—no matter how perfectly done, the inconsistencies in the timeline could not be concealed.
Who was Chen Zhi from the external audit team? A senior partner, a seasoned auditor. She would not miss such a flaw.
Chu Yiran rubbed her temples, mentally giving herself a dose of clarity.
Whatever Sun Wanqing’s hidden difficulties were, they were not her concern.
She only needed to do her job well—no helping, no causing trouble, no taking sides.
At six o’clock, she left work on time.
As she walked out of the building, her phone rang. It was Song Qingwan.
“Are you free tomorrow? Let’s have a meal.”
Looking at this message, a small yellow warning light lit up in Chu Yiran’s mind.
When was the last time Song Qingwan had actively invited her to a meal?
She scrolled through their chat history—four months ago.
Usually, it was Chu Yiran who took the initiative to ask if she wanted to meet up.
Now that Song Qingwan was inviting her instead, there was only one possibility: after their last conversation, Song Qingwan had not been convinced by her explanation but had grown even more suspicious.
This meal was not for catching up—it was a probe.
After some thought, Chu Yiran replied: “Sure, you pick the place.”
Refusing would only make Song Qingwan more suspicious.
Better to accept the invitation proactively, prepare her responses in advance, and block all possible questions.
Song Qingwan replied instantly with an address.
The Western restaurant at Peninsula Hotel in Hecheng—the per-person cost was enough for her to eat instant noodles for a month.
Chu Yiran sighed, adjusted the strap of her canvas bag, and headed toward the subway station.
Back at her apartment that evening, she opened her laptop and began preparing for the next day’s meeting.
First, the issue of identity.
She had told Song Qingwan that she worked in administration at an import-export trading company called Hengfeng Commerce.
The company name was something she had made up on the spot, but Song Qingwan might check.
Chu Yiran searched online and found that there actually was a company called Hengfeng Commerce in Hecheng, specializing in small-scale import-export trade. It was small in scale, with little online information—perfect as a cover.
But what if Song Qingwan called directly to verify?
Frowning, Chu Yiran thought for a long time and decided to add an extra layer of security to her story.
She could say she was not a formal employee but had been placed there through a third-party labor dispatch service, so her name might not appear on the company’s front desk roster.
Although this explanation was rough, it was enough to handle general questioning.
Next, her appearance.
When the original host was with Song Qingwan, her clothes and accessories were never shabby.
If she suddenly appeared impoverished, Song Qingwan would definitely notice.
Chu Yiran rummaged through the wardrobe and found a semi-new dress that the original owner had bought before. It was plain-colored, not too flashy but not cheap-looking either.
Finally, mindset.
She wrote three reminders for herself in her notes: First, remain natural and poised throughout, without appearing guilty or evasive.
Second, steer the conversation toward Song Qingwan’s own affairs as much as possible to minimize the time spent being questioned.
Third, absolutely avoid mentioning anything related to the Shen Group.
After preparing these, she glanced at the time on her phone.
Eleven o’clock.
S’s chat window had been quiet all day, with no new messages.
She turned off the light and lay down on the bed.
Before closing her eyes, Sun Wanqing’s words from the afternoon flashed through her mind.
“But everyone has a weakness.”
Chu Yiran turned over and pulled the blanket over her head.
She had a weakness too.
Fourteen million was her biggest weakness.