Chapter 25

With that statement, Gu Yuetong finally understood the purpose of Xu Li and Chen Hao’s little show.

They wanted to curry favor with her and gain benefits by complaining about Qi Baizi.

After all, everyone in the company knew she and Gu Hezhu didn’t get along. If they found an excuse to get rid of Qi Baizi, she would surely be grateful to the person who gave her the opportunity.

With Han Zhiyu gone, the director position was temporarily vacant, and ambitious people were getting restless. Even their attempts to pledge allegiance seemed so insincere.

Gu Yuetong scoffed, feeling that these people were all devious and ungrateful. Xu Li’s position as deputy director had also been secured through Han Zhiyu’s strong recommendation. Now that she was temporarily away, Xu Li couldn’t wait to replace her.

Then there were the rumors in the company. From the day she stepped into the group, Gu Yuetong had been watched by countless pairs of eyes. Her frequent changes of assistants, her disregard for the Administration Group specially organized for her by Gu Hezhu, and her usually taciturn personality—every single thing became fodder for gossip, embellished and spread around. It was possible that even the janitors in the parking garage knew the details of her confrontations with Gu Hezhu.

It seemed the general atmosphere at Gu Corporation, from top to bottom, was not very good.

Gu Yuetong’s entire fortune was tied to Gu Corporation. Sitting in this position, she had the intention to reorganize the company, but she was constantly suppressed by Gu Hezhu and those old board members. It was suffocating.

Seeing the subtle changes in Gu Yuetong’s expression while she remained silent, Xu Li knew she had said too much and fell dejectedly silent.

A minute later, Gu Yuetong slowly spoke, asking Xu Li, “How long have you been at Gu Corporation, using this method of stepping on others to climb up?”

Xu Li was at a loss for words, waving her hands in panic. “No… not at all, President Gu. I’m not that kind of person.”

“Qi Baizi is useless to you, so you can slander her as you please,” Gu Yuetong sneered. “Is that it?”

“I…”

“You said you saw Qi Baizi making a phone call. May I ask where you saw her?” Gu Yuetong feigned doubt. “Is there any proof?”

Xu Li still wanted to struggle. “It was in the break room. There are no cameras in the break room…”

“Is that so?” Gu Yuetong narrowed her eyes. Since Xu Li was incorrigible, she had no intention of holding back any longer.

Slightly moving her chair back, Gu Yuetong took out two phones from a drawer under the long conference table. One of them was Qi Baizi’s.

“Her phone has been with mine since before the meeting started. I don’t know where she went during the ten-minute break, but without a phone, how could she make a call to leak secrets?”

“Also, to be honest, I’ve been dissatisfied with this project from the very beginning. Your boyfriend should know this, right? If it weren’t for his second girlfriend, the project director, putting in a good word and assuring me that it could be pushed forward smoothly, the project would have been canceled long ago.”

“Oh, the project director is on leave today, but I’m sure you know her, right? If I remember correctly, you two were sitting together at the annual party last year.”

“So what if there was a leak? I could justifiably do what I wanted to do. What do you think?” Gu Yuetong became serious, emphasizing her words. “Deputy Director Xu.”

Xu Li’s expression could no longer be described as just surprised; it was more like horrified. She was afraid, and she was also suppressing anger. She didn’t fully believe what Gu Yuetong said, but she had to. After all, for Gu Yuetong to dare say such things, she must have evidence or know something… So, Chen Hao was actually cheating on her?

She was eager to go and verify it, but the conference room door was already crowded with people. The ten-minute break was about to end, and everyone was waiting for Gu Yuetong and Xu Li to finish their talk so the meeting could continue.

Gu Yuetong calmly observed her. She saw her clench her fists tightly, then deflate.

“That’s more like it,” Gu Yuetong said. “Be smart, stay calm.”

Xu Li glanced at her.

Gu Yuetong gave her a meaningful smile. “Let’s continue the meeting.”

The door opened, and Qi Baizi surged in with the crowd. She still stood behind Gu Yuetong, staring at the computer screen in front of her. When someone stood up to give a report, she would lean in closer to see more clearly.

However, she kept feeling a gaze fixed on her.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Qi Baizi turned her head slightly and met the eyes of Xu Li, who was sitting diagonally in front of her.

She couldn’t read anything from Xu Li’s expression and gaze, but Chen Hao, next to her, was staring intently at her… Qi Baizi instantly got a layer of goosebumps.

She lowered her gaze, refocusing her attention on the screen.

Beside her, Gu Yuetong suddenly started coughing, interrupting the report. The coughing was so severe that it made her cheeks and ears turn red.

Qi Baizi quickly handed her a teacup. Gu Yuetong covered her mouth with one hand and pushed the cup away with the other, her coughing showing no signs of stopping.

Noticing that her fingernails were turning purple, Qi Baizi sensed something was wrong. She immediately announced a pause in the meeting, then ran to open the windows in the conference room. Seeing that some people were lingering to watch the commotion, Qi Baizi’s face darkened, and she pointed at them and yelled, “Out!”

Everyone attending the meeting had more seniority than Qi Baizi. Naturally, some were disgruntled at being yelled at. One person, holding a folder, looked like he was about to rush over and argue, possibly even get physical, but a colleague quickly pulled him out.

Qi Baizi cleared the room, closed the door, and helped Gu Yuetong lean over the table. She then fumbled in the drawer for her phone to call for an ambulance. Just then, there was a knock on the door behind her. She turned to see it was Chen Hao.

Qi Baizi ignored him. The call had already connected. She explained the situation and their location to the operator, who said an ambulance was not far away and instructed Qi Baizi to ventilate the room and calm the patient’s emotions.

Qi Baizi did as she was told and unbuttoned the collar of Gu Yuetong’s shirt to ease her breathlessness. Chen Hao, outside the door, knocked again and waved at her through the glass, holding a bottle of medicine.

Qi Baizi was taken aback. She looked down at the nearly unconscious Gu Yuetong, then at Chen Hao. Without time to think, she let him in.

“President Gu is having an asthma attack. I happened to have some medicine at my desk, so I brought it over,” Chen Hao said. Without waiting for Qi Baizi’s approval, he immediately tried to grab Gu Yuetong to spray the medicine. Qi Baizi promptly pushed him away, snatched the medicine, and glanced at it. It was Ventolin.

The bottle said it could be used to relieve bronchospasms caused by asthma. Gu Yuetong had stopped coughing. A classmate of Qi Baizi’s in elementary school had asthma and often had attacks during class. She knew Gu Yuetong was currently struggling to breathe. Thinking it was a desperate situation, she decided to take a chance. She pulled off the cap and sprayed it towards Gu Yuetong’s mouth and nose.

After two sprays, before she could see if Gu Yuetong was improving, Chen Hao suddenly pushed Qi Baizi away.

Caught completely off guard, Qi Baizi almost fell to the ground. When she regained her senses, she saw Chen Hao trying to support Gu Yuetong’s shoulder. A surge of anger flared up in her. After steadying herself, she suddenly delivered a flying kick. Chen Hao, completely unprepared, slammed into the solid wall behind him and fell to the ground, groaning endlessly.

This was the scene that greeted the paramedics when they arrived. Qi Baizi didn’t waste words; she and one of the medical staff helped Gu Yuetong up and took her to the ambulance via the dedicated elevator.

Seeing them go downstairs, Chen Hao wanted to follow but was stopped by another paramedic. “Who are you? I thought you couldn’t stand up. Turns out you’re fine?”

“I’m President Gu’s subordinate. I’m concerned about her…”

“Someone’s already with her. Don’t cause trouble.” The paramedic sized him up. “There’s no room in the ambulance. If you also need to go to the hospital, I can call another one for you?”

Chen Hao’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, and he instantly collapsed to the ground, resuming his previous state. The paramedic was dumbfounded. Fortunately, Xu Li suddenly pushed through the crowd of onlookers at the door, pulling Chen Hao up while apologizing to the paramedic.

“Making trouble.” Seeing Chen Hao get up again without any issues, the paramedic couldn’t help but roll his eyes, picked up his first-aid kit, and went downstairs.

Xu Li looked at Chen Hao helplessly. Behind them, there was no lack of discussion. “Is this Chen Hao trying to claim credit?”

“He brought President Gu the medicine, so that should already count as a contribution, right?”

“Did the medicine work?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s that simple.”

“Speaking of which, he got knocked down by a woman. He’s so weak…”

Chen Hao felt a little embarrassed hearing this. He flushed and slammed the door shut, then questioned Xu Li, “What are you doing? Such a great opportunity!”

Xu Li’s face was cold. “Is this an opportunity? Why does it look more like a man-made disaster to me?”

Chen Hao froze, his expression changing. “Lili, don’t talk nonsense.”

“What did I say? Don’t have a guilty conscience.” Xu Li glanced at him, not wanting to get entangled any further, and turned to leave.

***

The asthma medicine provided by Chen Hao did work. Gu Yuetong had already stabilized in the ambulance, lying peacefully on the bed with steady breathing, though she had not yet regained consciousness.

From her attack, to Chen Hao’s meddling, to helping her onto the ambulance, the whole process had left Qi Baizi drenched in a cold sweat. Her pure white shirt underneath was soaked through, but fortunately, her jacket covered it. To outsiders, she appeared calm, but only she knew how thoroughly frightened she had been.

“Don’t worry, she’s just been deprived of oxygen for too long. Her brain needs time to recover.” The nurse in the ambulance noticed Qi Baizi’s lingering concern and comforted her. “We often get cases like this. You handled it well.”

Qi Baizi looked up slightly at her words.

The nurse smiled. “You were able to notice her abnormality right away, disperse the crowd, and open the window for ventilation. Before we arrived, you even found asthma medicine for her. Everything you did was saving her life.”

“Really?” Qi Baizi calmed down a bit and turned to look at the sleeping Gu Yuetong.

Perhaps this was the meaning of her being by her side. To be able to provide necessary help at the first moment, instead of just being a little assistant who only did odd jobs, had no value, and could be replaced at any time.

But speaking of asthma, Qi Baizi didn’t remember this being in Gu Yuetong’s file.

Could it be her first attack?

Qi Baizi opened her phone and once again carefully read the information the outsourcing company had sent her. There was no doubt; it wasn’t there. Gu Yuetong herself had never mentioned it.

Never mind. Qi Baizi stopped dwelling on it. She just needed to ensure she could take good care of her in the future. Since the bottle of medicine Chen Hao gave was effective, she would ask the doctor about it later. If possible, she would buy a few bottles to keep on hand.

Gu Corporation was located in a bustling area of Jingzhou City, with many famous doctors and hospitals nearby. The ambulance took them to the nearest one.

Gu Yuetong was wheeled into the emergency room for oxygen, while Qi Baizi stayed outside to pay the fees.

While queuing, a man’s voice suddenly came from behind her. “Where’s President Gu?”

It was Chen Hao. How did he follow them to the hospital?

Qi Baizi stared at him with an ashen face. “What do you want?”

Chen Hao gave a lazy smile, then said coldly, “None of your damn business.”