Zhao Yisen stared at the lucky cat in front of him and said “hmm.”
Over these past few days, Qian Zheng and Lu Ming had both tried to find him several times, but he had rejected them all, citing poor health.
With Lu Ming, it was purely out of embarrassment.
With Qian Zheng, he hadn’t yet decided how to handle him.
Gu Jia’s warning from earlier had been correct, or rather, Zhao Yisen had subconsciously chosen to believe what he said.
Qian Zheng had hidden the truth from him; the amount that subordinate had embezzled was likely much more than thirty million.
And someone who didn’t tell the truth could not stay here.
Zhao Yisen raised his hand and flicked the paw of the lucky cat.
“Dang—”
Jiang Mingze’s left eyelid twitched; he felt a familiar coldness from that action.
“If this keeps dragging on, the villa complex project will go completely down the drain. I knew that guy wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything…”
“Boss Qian, you can’t say it like that—”
At that moment, Qian Zheng’s angry voice came from the hallway, mixed with Lu Ming’s attempts at persuasion.
Seeing Assistant Jiang when they pushed open the door, both of them were stunned for a moment.
A look of surprise flashed across Lu Ming’s face, but he immediately averted his gaze, maintaining a neutral expression.
“Gu Jia’s assistant…?”
Having said that, Qian Zheng turned his gaze to Zhao Yisen, who sat before him with a healthy complexion and not a hint of sickness.
Realizing he had been tricked, Qian Zheng clutched his wisdom tooth, which had been swollen for three or four days. Ignoring Jiang Mingze’s presence, he yelled in a fit of rage: “The villa project has run into such a huge issue, and you are still sitting here playing around?”
Relying on his status as an elder, he righteously accused Zhao Yisen of dereliction of duty, as if he had completely forgotten that it was his own mistake that had led to the current consequences.
Jiang Mingze turned to look at Zhao Yisen. The expression on the young man’s beautiful face, however, remained unchanged.
“Don’t be so anxious, Boss Qian. Your tooth seems to look even worse.”
Zhao Yisen was not angry; his tone held a teasing quality.
“…”
Jiang Mingze sighed silently in his heart. If it were according to President Gu’s temper, this man surnamed Qian would have been dragged out by now.
“Hmph!”
Qian Zheng flicked his sleeves and stood in front of the desk, seemingly waiting for Zhao Yisen to give him an explanation.
Zhao Yisen spread his hands. “Besides, I’ve already thought of a solution.”
“…What?”
Qian Zheng looked at him skeptically.
The next moment, however, he saw Zhao Yisen take out his phone, revealing an innocent and sweet smile.
“Call the police.”
When there is a loss of public property, naturally, one should seek help from the police.
“You… you’re crazy?”
Qian Zheng took two steps forward, slapping both hands on the desk, his speech suddenly becoming very clear out of anxiety.
Once the police were called, the fact that Shanhe Real Estate’s cash flow was about to break would immediately be exposed. The company’s stock price would inevitably fall, and before the cash flow broke, they would go bankrupt first.
Having been yelled at by Qian Zheng several times in a row, even the good-natured Zhao Yisen was getting a bit unhappy.
He knocked on the desk.
Soon, a tall, muscular man in a black tank top flashed from outside the door, wearing sunglasses, and pulled open the glass door.
“President Yi.”
After greeting Zhao Yisen, the head of the security team also an old acquaintance of Zhao Yisen looked viciously at the people inside the room especially Qian Zheng, who was swollen like a pig’s head, suppressing his arrogance instantly.
Under physical deterrence, Qian Zheng dared not act arrogant anymore. Although his face still wore a look of indignation, in his heart, he began to feel fear.
He had indeed hidden the truth from Zhao Yisen, namely the amount of funds taken. Once the police were called, they would surely get to the bottom of the details. Not only would he fail to shirk his own responsibilities, but they would also become even greater.
…What should I do?
Glancing at Qian Zheng’s no-longer-composed face, Zhao Yisen continued with the words he had just been interrupted.
“And Boss Qian, as far as I know, your subordinate surnamed Jin not only took the raw material funds but also took the late-stage reserve fund for the entire project.”
“…That’s impossible!?”
Hearing this, Qian Zheng was startled, but on the surface, he had to put on an expression of great shock.
How did Yisen find out!
Lu Ming turned his head toward Qian Zheng, evidently not having expected this either.
“But you claimed to have been kept in the dark all along.”
Zhao Yisen’s gaze fell precisely on him.
“I… I was unaware of it to begin with.”
Qian Zheng simply steeled himself and continued to quibble.
“Is that so?”
“It’s quite a coincidence; I received a few tip-off letters the other day,” the next moment, Zhao Yisen suddenly pulled several envelopes from the drawer, clutching them between his fingertips. “They say that you and this subordinate surnamed Jin reached a private agreement, attempting to split the stolen money.”
This time, even Jiang Mingze, standing on the side, was stunned.
…And tip-off letters?
A humming sound came to his ears. Qian Zheng’s face turned pale; the persistent pain in his wisdom tooth continued to ravage his sanity and psychological defenses.
Zhao Yisen’s expression was heavy as he raised his hand and flicked the envelopes in his hand. “What they said is truly absurd, so I must clear your name, Boss Qian.”
The large office was so quiet one could hear a pin drop on the floor.
“So.”
Zhao Yisen looked up at Jiang Mingze.
“Assistant Jiang, help me report—”
“Wait a minute!”
Standing in the room, Qian Zheng only felt it difficult to breathe, cold sweat breaking out on his back. When he came this morning, he never imagined he would be forced into such a corner by Zhao Yisen.
He had indeed hidden the truth, attempting to muddy the waters and divert attention, but the “splitting the loot” nonsense that Zhao Yisen had just mentioned was absolutely preposterous!
“…”
Jiang Mingze complied and stopped.
Zhao Yisen rested his chin on his hand, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Qian Zheng, who was covered in sweat.
The following thought echoed simultaneously in both their minds: However, just because it didn’t happen this time doesn’t mean it didn’t happen before, and it certainly doesn’t mean that there weren’t other non-compliant actions besides this matter.
Once the investigation turned its focus to him, Qian Zheng would not be able to get away easily. Realizing this, he became like a doll that had lost its air outside a mall, and the arrogance on his body was suddenly doused.
“I… I did hide a little bit of the truth.”
Qian Zheng lowered his head, stammering, finally pouring out everything he knew.
Jiang Mingze put away his phone, skillfully pulled out a voice recorder, and his look toward Zhao Yisen changed slightly.
Young Master Yi… is truly astonishing.
According to Qian Zheng, his subordinate was named Jin Chang; he was calm and honest, and had worked at the most prestigious accounting firm in the city. Before things were exposed, even Qian Zheng hadn’t expected this man to be capable of such things.
…
After listening to Qian Zheng’s confession, Zhao Yisen didn’t feel a sense of “victory”—instead, his mood became even heavier.
Qian Zheng’s eyes were blank and his expression numb; it looked like he had told the truth.
Jin Chang did not lack money. Running off with the funds at this juncture was clearly meant to create trouble for Zhao Yisen, who had just taken over the company.
Sighing, Zhao Yisen felt a headache.
How many enemies did the original owner have?
“Okay, then I understand.”
He waved for Jiang Mingze to show the guest out.
“President Yi, then I—”
Qian Zheng clutched his wisdom tooth and stole a cowardly look at Zhao Yisen, no longer the arrogant person he had been before.
He finally knew that this Young Master of the Yi family was someone he could not afford to provoke.
“Boss Qian, go back and get some rest,” Zhao Yisen smiled. “I will contact you again when needed.”
Qian Zheng tucked his tail and left in a dispirited manner.
Lu Ming, who had been standing to the side without saying a word, finally spoke.
“Little Yi…”
The strength Zhao Yisen had shown today made him feel both familiar and strange. He felt his brain was a mess, unable to sort out the emotions in his heart.
On the other side, encountering Lu Ming’s complex gaze, Zhao Yisen suddenly remembered some bad memories.
Before Lu Ming could say anything, he interrupted him.
Covering his eyes with his right hand, Zhao Yisen muttered to himself: “You don’t remember anything, you don’t remember anything, you don’t remember anything…”
Lu Ming: “…”
…
Deep in the night.
The phone screen on the table emitted a faint blue light.
“Tip-off letters?”
A deep male voice came from the other end of the phone, his tone filled with chill.
“Yes.”
Jiang Mingze felt a bit dry in his throat: “After everyone left the office, I specially went to ask Young Master Yi.”
“I only saw Young Master Yi smile… wickedly.”
“He opened the envelope and shook it outward—”
“It was empty inside.”
“It was empty inside.”
Hearing Gu Jia’s unidentifiable cold laugh, Jiang Mingze instantly fell silent.
After a long moment, the man’s low voice sounded again: “And then?”
Assistant Jiang said cautiously: “Young Master Yi said this is a new tactic he’s been studying over the past two days.”
“Jiang Taigong fishing, a feint.”