Lin Qian stroked Lin Zirui’s little head and smiled.
She looked up at Yin Moran. "Mr. Yin, thank you again for your assistance. We’ll be leaving now."
She understood her son’s thoughts, and indeed, she did not want to have too much contact with Yin Moran.
It was better to maintain a distance.
"Wait."
Yin Moran stopped Lin Qian, who was about to leave.
"Lin Qian, my proposal last night, you..."
"Cough, Mr. Yin, thank you for saving my life. I... I will repay you in the future. Excuse us, we must be going now."
Lin Qian felt embarrassed to speak plainly in front of the two children, especially for fear of hurting Candy’s feelings, so she simply shook her head, speaking vaguely, and quickly left with Lin Zirui.
But she believed that Yin Moran was a clever man; a hint should be enough for him to understand.
Yin Moran did not get the answer he anticipated, and his expression suddenly darkened.
Was the woman clearly rejecting his proposal?
She didn’t want to be Candy’s mommy?
"Daddy, mommy said she would repay your lifesaving grace, so hurry and make her promise herself to you."
Candy watched Lin Qian and her son leave, a discontented look on her face.
"She’s not your mommy, stop thinking about it."
Yin Moran picked up his daughter and, with a stern face, got into the car.
"No, I want a mommy."
Candy furrowed her little brow, disapprovingly looking at Yin Moran. "Daddy, I don’t like Mrs. Qiao, do you? Do you want her to be my mommy?"
"No, Daddy has told you, she’s not fit to be your mommy."
"Then you should keep your distance from her, so mommy and brother don’t misunderstand your relationship with her."
Yin Moran’s dark eyes narrowed slightly as he contemplated his daughter’s words.
Lin Qian and her son misunderstood his relationship with Qiao Xiya?
Was it because of this morning’s news?
Then, should he find an opportunity to clarify things with Lin Qian?
"Daddy, you have to help mommy find the person who framed her."
Candy sat by his side, her large eyes twirling. "Only if you help mommy find the person who framed her will she feel more favorably towards you."
Yin Moran: "..."
He, the reigning patriarch of the Yin Family, since when did he need to win a woman’s favor?
With his charm, shouldn’t it be that she would agree eagerly at his first request?
However...
"Han Chen, help me look into this matter for Lin Qian."
"Of course, Mr. Yin."
...
Lijing Garden.
Lin Qian crouched down and hugged the little one who had been sullen all the way home. "Baby, what’s wrong? Are you starving?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Zirui pouted and shook his head.
His bright eyes looked up at Lin Qian. "Mommy, I’m sorry, I’m too weak; I couldn’t protect you."
He truly wished he could grow stronger quickly, so he could protect mommy.
"Silly baby, why say such things? You’re already so awesome, mommy’s hero! Mommy was framed, and I need my baby to help me find out the truth."
Her son moved her deeply.
At such a young age, he ought to have been protected by her, yet he was blaming himself.
She felt like crying.
"Okay, I’ll find out the truth for mommy right away."
Lin Zirui’s little face was set in determination as he nodded vigorously.
With light, swift steps, he ran into his bedroom and switched on the computer.
Lin Qian followed him inside and watched her son’s fair little hands clacking away at the keyboard. Soon, a video appeared on the screen.
With narrowed eyes, Lin Qian made a startling discovery—it was the surveillance footage from the MXL store.
His son had hacked into the store’s surveillance system.
"Mommy, was it this woman who framed you?"
Lin Zirui’s little face was set in a cool expression as he pointed to the screen and asked.
The footage was of Lin Qian providing service to that woman outside the dressing room.
Lin Qian nodded, "Baby, zoom in on the video and see if she has a necklace around her neck."
"Okay."
Lin Zirui’s little hands worked the keyboard, enlarging the video, "Mommy, I don’t see a necklace on her neck."
"Is that so? Rewind the video and check if she was wearing a necklace when she entered."
"Yes."
Mother and son watched the screen intently, starting from when the woman entered, and they discovered that she indeed had come in wearing a necklace.
When had it gone missing?
Lin Qian continued to watch and noted that Shen Bing had been with her the entire time, and after passing through a blind spot in the surveillance, by the time she was about to enter the dressing room to change her clothes, the necklace was gone from her neck.
From this, it can be deduced that the necklace either fell off elsewhere in the store, or it was taken by Shen Bing.
And Shen Bing had deliberately induced the store manager to order a search of her locker.
It was clear that the necklace hadn’t fallen somewhere else, but had been taken by her and placed into her own locker.
Lin Qian sneered internally; it seemed this was Shen Bing’s revenge against her.
Just because she had taken her position, did she want to use this to drive her out?
"Mommy, this woman seems very suspicious."
Lin Zirui pointed at Shen Bing, informing Lin Qian.
"Okay, mommy knows, thank you, baby."
She had already seen the footage of Shen Bing entering the dressing room. Before this, no one else had entered the dressing room.
It was definitely Shen Bing who had framed her.
But what role did that customer with the surname Liu play in all this?
Lin Qian let out a sigh, had her son copy the video for her, and then went to the kitchen to make dinner.
She couldn’t be unjustly accused; she had to go to the store tomorrow to prove her innocence.
Meanwhile, at the Yin Family’s villa.
In the study, Yin Moran was on the phone with Han Chen.
"Mr. Yin, I’ve sent the store video to your email. Please check it."
Han Chen was reporting the results of his investigation, "The whole incident seems to involve Miss Lin’s colleague, Shen Bing, colluding with the customer Liu Zihan to slander Miss Lin."
"Why would they want to frame Lin Qian?"
Having just returned to the country, Lin Qian had already managed to offend someone, her social skills must be really poor.
Yin Moran curled his lips slightly as he continued to listen to the report.
"It’s likely because Shen Bing resented Miss Lin for being parachuted in to the MXL store, taking her position as the manager, thus harboring a grudge and intentionally framing her. And the customer Liu Zihan..."
Han Chen paused as if hesitating to continue.
"Speak."
It seems this Liu Zihan was no simple character.
"I’ve checked, and Liu Zihan used to be an obscure web celebrity. However, a couple of days ago, she suddenly landed a role as the third female lead, and it was Miss Qiao who helped her secure this opportunity."
He was Yin Moran’s senior assistant; such minor cases could be clarified in minutes.
He just hadn’t expected that the person behind the framing of Lin Qian might have been orchestrated by Qiao Xiya.
And the president’s attitude towards Qiao Xiya...
That was why he hesitated a moment ago, whether he should make everything clear.
If it was just a coincidence, then he would be at fault.
After listening to Han Chen’s report, Yin Moran’s dark eyes narrowed slightly.
"Han Chen, do you suspect that behind Liu Zihan’s framing of Lin Qian, it was Ya who instigated it?"
"Mr. Yin, I am only reporting the results of my investigation as is. However, Miss Qiao did go to Miss Lin’s place of work to shop yesterday."
He did not dare to jump to conclusions.
All would end up being decided by their boss.
"I understand."
After hanging up the phone, Yin Moran’s gaze was deep.
He would find the person involved and ask for clarification.