In the meeting room, a large screen projected the current season’s performance report.
A man in a suit with a slightly stiff expression held a laser pointer, detailing the case analysis.
Below were the upper management of Coral Reef Group, including the general manager, Huo Ai.
She clasped her hands together, her eyes fixed on the man on stage, with a faint smile on her lips, though no one knew what she was really feeling.
“Although domestic performance has declined by two percent, the foreign exchange part has just pulled up, so overall, this season’s revenue…” The man slightly bent over, reaching for the report on the table, but was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door.
Everyone was surprised and looked towards the frosted glass door, seeing a figure hesitating outside, unsure whether to open the door.
The atmosphere became awkward instantly.
Generally, large meetings were not to be interrupted by any trivial matters, and certainly, no one would intrude recklessly.
However, the unexpected event somewhat eased the originally oppressive atmosphere in the meeting room.
The senior managers craned their necks to look at the door, fearing it was an employee from their department causing trouble.
Even Huo Ai slightly furrowed her brows.
“Come in,” Huo Ai raised her voice, her hands still clasped, as if waiting to reprimand the person.
The frosted glass door slowly opened, and unexpectedly, it was Huo Ai’s direct secretary, Shirley.
“I’m really sorry to interrupt your meeting, but… a lot of reporters have gathered outside the main entrance, and it’s been a while.
I thought it necessary to report to you,” Shirley, with a model-like figure, suddenly lowered herself, her eyes sweeping over the senior managers present, seemingly very afraid yet having no choice but to interrupt.
Reporters? Huo Ai’s eyes flickered slightly, straightening up, “Let me see.” She noticed Shirley had brought a newspaper, so she reached out.
Shirley, hearing this, quickly handed over the newspaper.
Huo Ai didn’t even need to flip through it because the headline boldly stated, “Coral Reef Group Engaged in Illegal Transactions in Private!” Besides the text, there were also large photos published.
“Meeting postponed, dismissed,” Huo Ai folded the newspaper, stood up, and let all the senior managers return to their workstations.
Once in her office, Huo Ai slammed the newspaper onto the desk with a ‘bang.’ The spread-out page had a striking photo, although somewhat blurry, it was not difficult to see it was a woman with a group of men loading goods at the dock.
The woman looked very much like Huo Ai from behind.
As long as the surveillance footage and the ship’s docking records were reviewed, it wouldn’t be hard to trace the source and buyer of this batch of goods, which would also put Haijiao in a troublesome situation.
Thud! Thud! — Two loud knocks, and Huo Ai turned to see He Xuan walking in with a grim face, also holding a newspaper.
“Who did you offend?” He Xuan’s first question wasn’t to blame Huo Ai for negligence or to ask how the news leaked, but to express concern about who Haijiao had made an enemy of, to the point of being caught in such a scandal.
Moreover, the other party’s attitude was clear, determined to confront Haijiao head-on, even finding a newspaper to publish directly.
Huo Ai was also at a loss.
She stared at the surveillance screen, where many reporters were gathered at the main entrance, with Shirley and the security guards trying to disperse the crowd.
The scene wasn’t chaotic, but those holding cameras and video cameras refused to leave.
“I don’t know,” Huo Ai took a deep breath, her thoughts somewhat chaotic.
Although it was a local tabloid with little fame, such a photo leak was definitely not a good thing… “You don’t know?” He Xuan suddenly raised her voice, her eyebrows raised in a somewhat intimidating manner, “If you didn’t offend anyone, how could such a photo be published? And regardless of the angle or distance, it looks like malicious stalking! You think just saying you don’t know will convince me this is just a coincidence?” The relentless questioning made the room’s atmosphere even more tense.
Huo Ai, made dizzy by the surveillance footage, simply closed her eyes.
In the North District, Coral Reef Group’s influence encompassed major enterprises, and opposing Haijiao was equivalent to opposing the North District.
Which enterprise would dare to offend recklessly? However, she hadn’t received any threats or intimidation, and the private transactions with Wutang had gone smoothly.
Logically, there shouldn’t be any obstacles on the path she had paved.
However…
“What I mean is I’m not sure yet,” after five minutes, Huo Ai looked up to meet He Xuan’s gaze, “This is just a small tabloid, and the report materials and photos might have been obtained from paparazzi.
I think it’s just some guy trying to be clever to make a name for himself.”
At the moment, she couldn’t give He Xuan a satisfactory answer, nor could she clarify the issue herself.
He Xuan, frowning, was about to speak when Huo Ai suddenly called the switchboard, asking her newly hired partner to come to the office immediately.
“Maggie, contact the newspaper’s person in charge.
I want to meet with them,” Huo Ai’s new partner was a high-achieving student who had recently returned from abroad, with excellent academic credentials and a clean background, without any bad records.
With her status, she should have been heavily utilized at Haijiao, but so far, Huo Ai had only let her handle simple paperwork, so the woman was completely unaware of the commercial activities Haijiao conducted in secret.
“Yes, I’ll go right away,” Maggie, wearing the same brand suit as Huo Ai, looked like a brand ambassador when standing together.
After Maggie left, He Xuan sighed slightly.
Knowing Huo Ai, she wouldn’t make a move until she was absolutely sure of the situation.
Although the handling was rather slow, it was a relatively safe approach.
Therefore, before leaving, He Xuan only urged Huo Ai to quickly suppress the report, to which Huo Ai didn’t respond, only nodding to see her off.
Before the door closed, she spoke softly, “There won’t be a next time.”
…
In the office, the female employees gathered in the break room to gossip, and today’s topic was none other than the morning’s incident.
“Is it true? Does our company really do such business?” A woman with big wavy hair bit into a cookie, her exaggerated expression making the other employees laugh.
She held a newspaper, which was snatched away by another woman the next second.
“Look, could the person in the photo be Manager Huo? Or is it just someone who looks like her? After all, it’s just a back view.” The blurry photo showed a long-haired woman, but the dim dock didn’t reveal much.
“Oh my! If this is true, won’t we lose our jobs? Such a big deal, the company will definitely shut down!” A plump woman blocked the door, frowning as if deeply troubled.
Dong Enyu had planned to make herself a cup of flower tea, but was blocked by so many women.
She listened to their idle chatter from her seat, her lips curling slightly.
Let them speculate; this kind of unstable atmosphere would continue to expand, eventually plunging the entire company into a slump, losing momentum externally.
In this way, both Wutang and the legitimate business side would be affected.
“Miss Dong,” a voice called from behind, and Dong Enyu turned to see a stack of documents handed to her, “Please take this to the Information Department.
It needs to be submitted by three in the afternoon.” The person was the head of the administration team, also the head of this office, and her face looked a bit unpleasant, probably having heard the gossip in the break room.
“No problem,” the woman took the documents and left the office, heading towards the Information Department.
Dong Enyu walked lightly, clutching the documents as she crossed the corridor.
Unexpectedly, she ran into Huo Ai and Maggie at a corner.
They had just come out of the elevator, with Maggie holding a phone, flustered and saying something, while Huo Ai remained calm, her long black hair flowing gracefully as she walked.
However, the usual smile on her lips was completely gone, replaced by an unapproachable seriousness.
“The other party said they would come in thirty minutes,” Maggie reported to Huo Ai after putting away her phone.
But the woman stopped in her tracks the moment she saw Dong Enyu.
“Manager Huo?” Maggie was stunned, stopping as well.
She saw Huo Ai staring expressionlessly at the end of the corridor, following her gaze…
There was nothing there.
At the T-junction, only a painting hung on the wall.
“Excuse me…” Maggie blinked, about to ask if Huo Ai was feeling unwell, but the woman resumed walking.
A brief second.
A subtle four-eye contact…
As Dong Enyu walked away, she curved her lips into a faint, barely noticeable smile.
After work, the woman didn’t return directly to the Employee Dormitory but hailed a taxi to the city center.
She got off at a church belonging to a community building.
At this time, the church was empty, so after greeting the building manager, Dong Enyu went straight into the auditorium.
The two rows of wooden pews were quite classical, and at the front of the auditorium was a solemn and sacred Jesus cross, brewing a holy atmosphere that seemed to cleanse sins of past lives.
After entering, Dong Enyu took a deep breath, exhaling to calm her mind significantly.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t there to confess.
“Over here, senior,” a man in a gray coat waved to Dong Enyu from the right pew.
He had a crew cut, giving a clean and tidy impression, and his smile was particularly inviting.
He was a promising young police officer and the woman’s designated undercover contact, Yuan Fangzhong.
Dong Enyu nodded slightly at him, acknowledging the greeting.
“Tomorrow they’ll release another piece of news, as you instructed,” Yuan Fangzhong moved aside to let Dong Enyu sit, “I suppose you know, right? This afternoon, Haijiao contacted the newspaper’s person in charge, and after a private meeting, they parted on bad terms. Just now, Director Xu called me, saying Haijiao wanted to offer two million to keep it quiet.”
Two million, huh… Dong Enyu raised an eyebrow, feeling no ripples in her heart as she looked at the Jesus cross.
“But Director Xu refused, and Haijiao… no, I should say Huo Ai, was quite furious,” Yuan Fangzhong scratched his head, seemingly feeling he was bullying the other party, but Dong Enyu shrugged at his words.
Perhaps the police didn’t understand Huo Ai, but Dong Enyu had thoroughly grasped her background.
Moreover, with the police’s involvement, the information became clearer, allowing her to remain detached and observe the traces of the past.
Maybe it was bloody, but it wasn’t in vain.
“Let her jump if she wants to.
A mere two million to cover up the truth? She probably didn’t take this matter seriously.
Otherwise, how could she not find out that the local newspaper’s person in charge had connections with the police?” Because she didn’t take it seriously, she just wanted to throw money at it.
Dong Enyu slowly closed her eyes, smiling, “It’s okay, let the slow simmer continue.
The news doesn’t need to be much, just one piece a day, and she’ll eventually care.”
Yuan Fangzhong thought Dong Enyu would be dissatisfied with the situation not being big enough, but unexpectedly, the woman just smiled it off, leaving him momentarily speechless.
When Dong Enyu opened her eyes, she saw a large bag beside Yuan Fangzhong, containing something unknown.
“Besides this, do you have any ‘surprises’ for me?” She pointed to the bag, prompting Yuan Fangzhong to give her some good news.
“Oh! Yes!” The man reached for the bag, pulling out a thick stack of reports to hand to Dong Enyu, “The Internal Affairs Bureau helped investigate, and part of the results are out.
Although the gun number is old, this serial number has a record, so it was quickly filtered out.”
The paper rustled as Dong Enyu lowered her eyes to read the densely packed text data.
“Detailed case information will take some time to review.
I think it might be available this month…”
“If it’s an official report, forget it,” Dong Enyu interrupted Yuan Fangzhong’s official statement, “These are enough.
I just wanted some confirmation.” Since the key was in hand, why not open the door? Dong Enyu weighed the heft of the data in her hand, feeling it was quite substantial.
“Next, just follow my instructions and let the newspaper continue reporting Haijiao’s scandal, gradually increasing the number of photos each day.”
“Increasing photos?” Yuan Fangzhong suddenly frowned, straightening up with a serious expression, “Sorry, senior, I have to say something.
Those photos were taken from surveillance footage, and although you didn’t appear in them, from the position and angle, it’s not hard to identify the photographer.
This will only put you in danger.”
Those who knew Haijiao’s inside story were few and far between.
Although possessing the photos equated to having substantial evidence, it would only increase the risk to Dong Enyu’s identity.
How could she not know? Dong Enyu shook her head and looked up at the cross in the center of the Church.
“It’s really something I’m not used to,” the woman squinted her eyes, her vision becoming a bit blurry, “the feeling of being cared for…”
So what if it’s dangerous? Hasn’t she been through life and death to get here? It’s just a few more photos, what’s there to fear? Rather than saying she’s putting herself in a deadly situation, it’s more like…
“Don’t worry, just do as I say.” She still wanted to gamble with fate.
