“Absolutely, it was Dong Enyu!” He Xuan’s roar echoed in the office.
Faced with the overly calm Huo Ai, He Xuan was practically jumping with rage.
“Huo Ai! Did you hear me? All this trouble was caused by your former partner, that woman Dong Enyu!” The woman, over fifty, was terrifying when agitated.
Her presence and aura were almost suffocating, especially for the inexperienced newcomer, Maggie, whose face scrunched up like a bun and eyes reddened, looking quite aggrieved.
“That’s not the point…” Huo Ai, a bit annoyed by the shouting, rubbed her temples and said calmly.
Seeing her indifferent attitude, He Xuan pointed angrily at her nose and said, “That’s not the point? Are you saying Haijiao shouldn’t be in this business? Should Haijiao wash its hands of it? You took on this line, and now you want to back out, is that it?” She glared, her eyes wide with excitement.
“Let me tell you what the point is! Catch Dong Enyu, teach her a lesson! Then throw her out to take the blame! Any false accusation or frame-up will do, just don’t let the fire reach me.
I’ll give you any connections you need! Just get her…”
“Do you have evidence?” Huo Ai interrupted loudly, her eyes momentarily sharp.
“Hmph,” He Xuan wasn’t intimidated by Huo Ai.
The woman snorted coldly and said, “Maggie, go get the documents for Huo Ai to see.” Maggie immediately ran out of the office and returned within a minute, a stack of data in her hands, which He Xuan snatched and slammed onto the table.
“Evidence? I had Maggie bring you ‘evidence’ the day before yesterday, and you acted like it was nothing!” The heavy paper documents, though their contents were unknown, made Huo Ai tremble slightly when they hit the table.
The slightly open pages showed some photos, clearly comparing surveillance footage with newspaper photo locations.
With a bit of deduction, the culprit could be found.
Simple scientific proof, yet it was a fact Huo Ai was reluctant to face…
“You don’t know what kind of person that woman is.
You didn’t trust her when she was your partner, and now that Dong Enyu has caused such a big mess, you’re protecting her?” He Xuan spoke with increasing helplessness.
She might be angry at Dong Enyu for framing Haijiao, but she was also frustrated with Huo Ai’s lack of action.
“If it were the old you, you would have caught the culprit for questioning within an hour of the newspaper’s publication.
But what’s going on now? I’ve had the evidence compared, the facts are right in front of you, and you’re ignoring them?”
From roaring to lecturing, He Xuan’s expression softened considerably, but it only made Huo Ai feel heavier.
“Now is Haijiao’s crisis.
You joined the company at a young age.
Do you really want to throw away years of hard work for a woman of unknown origin?” He Xuan truly didn’t understand.
She could see Huo Ai but couldn’t fathom her thoughts.
Persuasion alone couldn’t sway the woman before her.
She knew Huo Ai kept her heart deeply hidden, and even she might not be able to make her open up…
What expression lay beneath that mask?
“You’ve changed, Huo Ai, really changed.” Changed to become even more inscrutable.
“What is Mrs. He talking about?” A soft, hoarse voice came out as Huo Ai put on a smile again, as if nothing had happened.
“I’m still me.
It seems the pressure from the reports these days has worn you out.
Maggie, take Mrs. He back to the hotel to rest.” With a slight wave of her hand, Huo Ai turned her chair to face the curtains.
Seeing this, He Xuan knew it was useless to say more.
She left the office with Maggie, just as Shirley passed by.
Shirley nodded quickly to Mrs. He and then walked to the desk.
“Manager, do you have any instructions?” Shirley was almost speechless, frightened by the strange atmosphere upon entering.
Huo Ai, with her back to her, inexplicably made her uneasy.
“Burn those things on the table.” Throwing them away wasn’t enough; she wanted Shirley to completely burn the evidence.
Shirley was puzzled.
When she saw what the documents on the table were, her face turned pale.
At this point, rumors were rampant within Haijiao.
This data was authorized by He Xuan, and all the higher-ups had already reviewed it.
As Huo Ai’s direct secretary, she naturally knew the truth.
Although Haijiao’s shady dealings shocked her, what surprised her more was…
“Why does the manager trust Miss Dong so much, yet still demote her?” Shirley picked up the papers, filled with countless doubts.
Dong Enyu’s betrayal of Haijiao was known to all.
Even if she hadn’t personally confirmed it, the evidence was clear…
But what puzzled her was Huo Ai.
If she was so protective of Dong Enyu, why did she want to drive her away?
“Do you also think it was Dong Enyu?” Huo Ai’s tone was calm, neither cold nor warm.
Shirley blinked.
She didn’t know much about Dong Enyu…
“I’d like to say Miss Dong wouldn’t betray the manager, but all the data analysis points to her as the culprit.” The facts were right there, and trying to argue was futile unless one closed their eyes, like Huo Ai, ignoring everything.
“True,” Huo Ai chuckled a few times, but the laughter sounded quite helpless.
“I’m afraid no one but Dong Enyu would have the guts to go against me.” Whether it was praise or criticism, Huo Ai squinted her eyes, her fingers interlocked, suppressing the tremors from within.
Shirley couldn’t hear the lingering pain in Huo Ai’s words.
She tilted her head, looking at Huo Ai’s turned chair back.
“But Shirley…” Her fingers tightly clasped, ultimately unable to suppress her trembling body.
“I can’t admit it.
Knowing it’s her, I can’t admit it.
So many tests and trials, putting her in crisis, she endured them all, didn’t leave, even risked her life for my trust, didn’t run, didn’t hide, she… endured it all…”
By the end, it had become Huo Ai muttering to herself.
“If such a Dong Enyu wants to retaliate against me, I can understand.” If she openly accused her of cruelty, Huo Ai might not feel so bad.
The reason she struggled with the facts was simply because Dong Enyu was too calm.
She let the press continuously report Haijiao’s scandals, yet seemed detached…
Under the calm surface, what kind of whirlpool would stir?
…
On the other side, Dong Enyu watched as Shirley took the data out of the office.
She hadn’t heard Huo Ai’s muttering, only saw her turn away, then remain motionless.
Dong Enyu removed her headphones, slowly closed the screen, feeling a bit complicated.
She knew He Xuan wanted to catch her, but Huo Ai was stopping it.
Why stop it? With what kind of feelings was she stopping it?
Dong Enyu pursed her lips, the answer making her a bit anxious.
She didn’t want to know the answer, yet vaguely understood why Huo Ai didn’t expose her…
Even Huo Ai’s decision to demote her made Dong Enyu uncomfortable, not because she lost the opportunity to negotiate with Wutang, but because it felt like Luo Ye giving her an address and key, that kind of… alternative protection?
“Don’t be silly.” Dong Enyu brushed away the stray hair on her forehead, grabbed her phone, and dialed a number.
When the other side picked up, the woman immediately said, “Start broadcasting a segment of the video from tomorrow.”
Yuan Fangzhong was bewildered by the order.
Once he realized, his expression turned quite serious.
Dong Enyu was actually asking him to release the evidence video to the media?
“That’s too reckless!” The man shouted sternly, feeling Dong Enyu was courting disaster.
“Senior! Since the incident, Coral Reef Group has been severely damaged.
I don’t need to remind you of that, but businesses related to Haijiao are also starting to collapse, stocks are plummeting, and many small companies are being rejected by their clients… The North District is a mess.”
He didn’t understand Dong Enyu’s actions.
Initially, he thought the woman just wanted to vent, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case…
“Sorry, senior, if it’s just a lesson, I think this level is enough.” Yuan Fangzhong couldn’t see Dong Enyu’s expression, but he felt the woman’s face must be ashen because he was stopping her from taking revenge, feeling like a little monk advising a demoness to lay down her butcher’s knife…
“This level?” Dong Enyu lay on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, just like she had done many times lying in a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling after waking up.
“Do you think this level can hurt Haijiao? You’re wrong.
Its roots run deep.
Unless you uproot it, it will spread again with the slightest breeze.”
It’s even more resilient than weeds.
Yuan Fangzhong sighed quietly.
“Over-punishing won’t benefit you either, senior.
Director Chen instructed that if the situation develops to threaten your life, I have the authority to forcibly terminate the mission.” It wasn’t a threat, more of a gentle reminder.
Dong Enyu lowered her eyes, turned to look at the TV, “You don’t need to worry.
I’ll gauge the extent needed.
Just start broadcasting the video segment to the media tomorrow, that’s all.” Yuan Fangzhong was indeed a very gentle man.
He would also feel sorry for Dong Enyu’s actions, though intimidating the woman yielded no results, he still tried to persuade her earnestly.
“By the way, senior, there’s some good news to share,” Yuan Fangzhong coughed a few times as he heard Dong Enyu bring the topic back, “The GPS from the phone you provided was spot on.
In the past few days, the bureau has cracked a total of twelve Wutang transactions, arresting twenty teenagers in the act.
Although they’re just small-time thugs, the results are quite good.”
Hearing this, Dong Enyu slightly curled her lips, smiling faintly, “Of course, with Haijiao in trouble these days, Wutang can’t move their goods either.
Following this phone’s location, you’ll definitely have endless achievements.” That locator came from Luo Ye.
She was doing business for Wutang, so naturally, following her would catch them all.
Even if they only caught small fry, once the small fry were gone…
The Dragon King would have to show up, right?
“Dragon King?” Dong Enyu closed her eyes.
For some reason, the image that flashed in her mind wasn’t Di Wei, but… Zhao Han.
“What?” Yuan Fangzhong couldn’t hear what Dong Enyu had just said and asked in confusion.
Dong Enyu shook her head, laughing at her vivid imagination.
She sat up and said, “I don’t have much time.
Get me the data I asked you to find as soon as possible.
Wutang probably won’t make any moves, so don’t allocate too much police force there.
Just keep the media reporting on Haijiao.
Next, deploy the police force to the councilor who contacted the Police Station.”
“You mean yesterday afternoon…”
“If you don’t want him on the front page of a murder case, do as I say.”
Now, it’s her turn to set the trap.
