Chapter 35
“A Bao was a dog President Gu got after she went abroad to study?” Hearing Auntie Qin say this, Qi Baizi was a bit surprised, her eyes filled with curiosity.
That was less than ten years ago, so the dog should still be around. Why had she never heard Gu Yuetong mention it?
Auntie Qin knew why she was asking, but since the conversation had already come this far, there was no need to be evasive. She went ahead and told her about how Wang Lin had taken A Bao.
The moment the name Wang Lin came up, Qi Baizi’s expression changed.
Seeing this, Auntie Qin immediately became cautious, feeling both worried about her anger and secretly pleased by her reaction.
“Well… A Bao is A Bao, and Wang Lin is Wang Lin. How can a beloved dog compare to an ex-girlfriend?” Auntie Qin leaned forward to comfort Qi Baizi. “It’s just that Wang Lin was the one who brought A Bao home back then. When they broke up, Yuetong had no reason to ask for him back, so she just let her take him.”
Qi Baizi hadn’t noticed the shift in her own emotions, but she realized she was extremely sensitive to the name Wang Lin. The moment she heard it, an inexplicable annoyance welled up inside her.
“So, A Bao was a dog President Gu raised with her ex-girlfriend. No wonder she’s been reluctant to change her profile picture after all this time.”
She practically repeated what Auntie Qin had said. Then, without giving Auntie Qin a chance to say more, she stood up and walked out of the study.
Auntie Qin was stunned and now a little panicked. She chased after her, asking, “Where are you going, Little Bai?”
Qi Baizi replied, “The washroom.”
In the washroom, after splashing her face with cold water, Qi Baizi quickly dried it with a tissue. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror and was startled by what she saw. Why did she look so fierce? What kind of expression was that?
Trying to relax her facial muscles, Qi Baizi forced a smile, but quickly gave up. The fake smile was too obvious. Forget it.
After doing her best to calm down, Qi Baizi walked out of the washroom.
In that time, Auntie Qin had already cut up a plate of fruit. She then asked Qi Baizi what she wanted for lunch, saying she would order something.
Qi Baizi had no appetite. “We can just make something ourselves. You don’t have to spend the money.”
“I’m too lazy to cook.” Hearing this, Auntie Qin plopped down on the sofa. “You’ve been home every day recently, and I’ve been cooking every day. I’m exhausted. Now that the difficult one is finally gone, you won’t even let me be lazy.”
She said it as if she were pouting, but after spending these past few days together, Qi Baizi knew Auntie Qin well enough to understand she was just trying to tease her and distract her.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Qi Baizi sat down beside her and said softly, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
“Then just now…”
“I’m just allergic to the name Wang Lin. And I feel it’s unfair to President Gu,” Qi Baizi said solemnly, turning to look at Auntie Qin. “You probably don’t know this, but Wang Lin has been borrowing money from President Gu, or rather, asking for money.”
Auntie Qin was stunned, her eyes widening instantly. “When did this happen?”
“When it happened isn’t important, but when I saw it, Wang Lin was already very practiced at it.” Qi Baizi let out a cold laugh. “It definitely wasn’t the first time.”
“She… how could she be like that…” Auntie Qin rubbed her fingers together and was about to look for her phone. “How are they still in contact? I have to ask Yuetong.”
“There’s no point in asking. It’s President Gu’s freedom to give her money or not,” Qi Baizi glanced at her. “Isn’t that right?”
Auntie Qin felt a strange sense of matchmaking failure. She was about to say something more when the screen of the phone Qi Baizi was holding suddenly lit up.
It was a call from Li Yi. When she answered, a tearful voice came from the receiver. “Little Bai, are you at the company?”
The background on Li Yi’s end was extremely quiet. Qi Baizi paused for a moment and said cautiously, “I’m on leave today.”
“Oh… then, then you…” Li Yi’s voice was interrupted for a moment, and a muffled whispering could be heard from the receiver. After what seemed like a long standoff, Li Yi said reluctantly, “Then let’s meet for lunch.”
Qi Baizi thought for a moment and agreed. “Where?”
“Anywhere…”
“Then I’ll wait for you at the convenience store downstairs from the company.”
“Ah… okay.”
After agreeing, Li Yi hung up the phone.
Seeing Qi Baizi looking like she was about to leave, Auntie Qin quickly stopped her. “Whose call was that?”
“…Li Yi. She asked me to lunch.”
A cold feeling spread through Qi Baizi’s heart, and her expression turned grim. Something must have happened on Li Yi’s end, otherwise she wouldn’t have made such a vague call.
Seeing this, Auntie Qin wanted to persuade her further, but Qi Baizi had already reached the entryway. She turned, her gaze dark and heavy as she looked at Auntie Qin, urging her to open the door.
“Forget it.” Auntie Qin knew that Qi Baizi had a stubborn and inflexible streak. If she was determined to go, she couldn’t be stopped. “I’ll go with you.”
Without waiting for Qi Baizi’s refusal, she immediately took out the key, opened the glass door, and the two of them left the Old Fortress, one after the other.
Auntie Qin led Qi Baizi to a red BMW, and they drove towards the Gu Corporation building together.
***
In the Gu Corporation building, inside the Chairman’s office, Gu Yuetong was leaning back on the sofa, one hand supporting her head, the other resting casually on her lower abdomen. Her legs were crossed, and she had an air of absentmindedness.
Gu Hezhu sat behind the desk to one side, while two elderly shareholders sat on the sofa opposite them. They seemed to be listening intently to Gu Hezhu, but they would occasionally glance at Gu Yuetong across from them.
Gu Yuetong pretended not to notice their gazes, occasionally glancing at her phone screen.
It was noon. She wondered if Qi Baizi and Auntie Qin had eaten yet.
Gu Hezhu chattered on endlessly. The words went in one of Gu Yuetong’s ears and out the other, her thoughts drifting. Suddenly, Gu Hezhu called her name. She turned her head and saw a cold smile on Gu Hezhu’s face.
“Were you listening to what I said, President Gu?”
“Of course, Chairman.” Gu Yuetong met her gaze. “But I don’t agree.”
Gu Hezhu’s expression changed slightly, her smile fading as she lowered her eyes. The two shareholders opposite her were also stunned. After all of Gu Hezhu’s analysis, had Gu Yuetong not heard a word?
Feeling their gazes on her, Gu Yuetong stood up, picked up two documents from beside her, and handed them over. She then opened the backup on her phone and began to read.
The two shareholders flipped through the documents, their expressions growing uglier as they listened to Gu Yuetong’s voice.
After reading two of the clauses, Gu Yuetong smiled and said, “Did you two—no, all three of you—hear that? In the termination conditions I approved, there is a compensation of three times the contract amount for the terminated party. Before coming up for the meeting, I also checked with the Director of the Finance Department. The payment for the compensation was sent out two hours after my approval.”
“I shouldn’t be concerned about the initial destination of the compensation, and I don’t need to care whose hands it passed through. But in the end, this money never reached the accounts of those factories. So, where is the money?”
“Now that the Legal Department has received the summons, may I ask what confidence you all have in winning this lawsuit?”
One of the shareholders grew restless. After glancing at Gu Hezhu’s face, she stood up and said to Gu Yuetong, “Yuetong, you lack experience. You don’t understand the intricacies of these things…”
“What intricacies?” Gu Yuetong suddenly remembered what Qi Baizi had said before and put on a similarly innocent expression. “President Peng, if you spell it out, I can learn.”
“You…” The person addressed as President Peng clenched her fists, the slightly white hair at her temples trembling. The other person pressed her down and took over the conversation. “Yuetong, your mother knows about some of these things, so I won’t be direct. These are the long-standing rules of the Gu Corporation… Oh, as for the lawsuit you mentioned, it’s not without a chance of winning.”
Gu Yuetong was curious. “What chance?”
“Well…” The person coughed and said, “Actually, the version you approved… doesn’t count. The people carrying it out and the factories received a different version. That’s the one that counts.”
President Peng chimed in, “Of course, this isn’t your fault, Yuetong. You can pretend you don’t know anything about it. It has nothing to do with you whether the lawsuit is won or lost! Just leave this to us adults to handle. You don’t need to…”
“But I already know now,” Gu Yuetong interrupted, her eyes narrowing.
President Peng was taken aback. She glanced at Gu Hezhu and sullenly shut her mouth.
Gu Yuetong didn’t give Gu Hezhu the chance to strike first. She snatched the documents from the two shareholders and threw them in front of Gu Hezhu. “The signature on this is mine, and I approved the termination application. Yet the whereabouts of this money are unknown. I’d like to see who else can take the fall for this besides me.”
“Are you trying to go to jail?” Gu Hezhu sneered. “I’m afraid you’re not qualified.”
Gu Yuetong wasn’t stupid. She certainly didn’t plan on going to jail. Besides, all her bank accounts, both domestic and international, were clean. It would take some serious maneuvering to send her to prison.
But her signature was indeed on the document, which gave her a motive to “not take the fall” and the right to conduct an investigation.
“You want to investigate? Are you crazy!” The moment President Peng heard Gu Yuetong say she wanted a detailed investigation, she was dumbfounded. “Chairman, how can we let something like this blow up? Which company doesn’t have situations like this? If it gets out, it will affect our entire enterprise!”
Gu Hezhu’s gaze was sharp as she stared at Gu Yuetong, silently agreeing with President Peng’s words.
But Gu Yuetong had no intention of getting entangled with them any longer. Whether she told them or not, those with ill intentions who were working against her had to be eliminated. No matter who was behind them, Gu Yuetong had long made up her mind: she would truly seize power in the Gu Corporation.
Just like seizing control of her own life.
***
In the convenience store, Qi Baizi saw a red-eyed Li Yi, along with the two bodyguards who always followed Gu Hezhu.
Auntie Qin recognized them and sensed something was wrong. She grabbed Qi Baizi and tried to pull her out of the store, but Qi Baizi broke free. She unwrapped a pack of tissues and handed it to Li Yi. “She wanted you to call me here. What’s her purpose?”
Li Yi was sobbing uncontrollably. Between apologies, she said brokenly, “The person leading the lawsuit against the Gu Corporation this time is Zheng Xiaoxiao’s mother. She thinks Zheng Xiaoxiao’s mother dared to do this because we were colluding with her from the inside… She found out that we were classmates with Zheng Xiaoxiao. I’m sorry, Little Bai, I was just so scared… I didn’t mean to trick you!”
“That’s enough.” Qi Baizi comforted her. “You call that acting a trick? It’s obvious I willingly took the bait.”
No wonder President Gu had told her not to show her face at the company today. It seemed President Gu had guessed it all along. She had even guessed that Gu Hezhu would definitely find out about her relationship with Zheng Xiaoxiao and then make things difficult for her out of spite.
She just hadn’t expected Gu Hezhu to investigate Li Yi as well.
“How is President Gu? Have you seen her?”
“No… but I heard that she seemed to have a falling out with the Chairman and two shareholders over the lawsuit. After she came out of the Chairman’s office, she’s been calling people in for questioning…”