Investigate her

Raindrops hit the French windows rapidly, and soon it turned into a downpour.

"Everyone is different." Zuo Xiao said in his arms, "Just like Zhou Zhihui and you, you are so different. I never thought of you as a replacement for him."

"Really? Then what's the difference between him and me?" Luffy added with a smile, "Besides looks and figure. Yes, and IQ."

"You two are completely different people. You're different in every way, and it's impossible to describe it in a few words... To put it simply, he's like a koala, and you're like a fox. Koalas and foxes are both cute, but how can you compare them?"

Luffy laughed at her, "Of course they can be compared. Foxes are more handsome than koalas, they're more intelligent, and their elegance never gets old... but foxes don't really like being called cute. Sexy is more like that."

"Okay, okay, you're elegant, sexy, and what else? Oh, smart, handsome..." Zuo Xiao turned 90 degrees, raised his hand and pinched his nose, and said with a smile, "You're a big fox with a long nose and a peacock tail!"

Luffy smiled broadly, grabbed her hand, and took two bites.

The two of them played around for a while, and Luffy held her in his arms again, holding her tightly, and said, "The fox will never leave, so, can there be no tigers, lions, or elephants in the future?"

Zuo Xiao listened to the sound of rain and felt the dampness emanating from Luffy. She paused and said, "Can I not think about the future for now? Right now, I just want to live every day to the fullest."

"Yeah." Luffy responded vaguely. After a long while, he suddenly said:

"Are you with me out of sympathy?"

Zuo Xiao was secretly shocked. Indeed, it was on the night Luffy confided his secrets that she finally softened her heart and accepted him as her boyfriend. However, that was only possible if she truly accepted him and enjoyed being with him. Besides, who says sympathy isn't love?

But this is too complicated and can easily hurt men's fragile self-esteem.

She smiled and said, "If it's out of sympathy, then I should find a virgin."

"An old virgin?" Luffy sneered, "Like Zhuang Yu'an?"

Zuo Xiao found these words jarring. As Zhuang Yu'an's former nemesis, she could certainly describe him as an "old virgin," but Luffy was different. Describing his longtime friend like this behind his back inevitably sounded sarcastic, even revealing a certain level of malice.

"He's not enough to make me sympathize with him." Zuo Xiao's voice turned cold. "Don't you think so? He doesn't need a woman. He can be very fulfilled inside."

"That's a very high compliment." Luffy said with a half-smile, "It seems you are well taken care of."

Zuo Xiao understood his hidden meaning and felt that he was mean and stingy. He curled his lips and sneered, "Yes, I live comfortably in their house and eat well."

Hearing Luffy's breath hitch, Zuo Xiao guessed that his expression must be very ugly at the moment, and he felt much better.

She never tolerates others' sarcasm, not to mention that Luffy's words and deeds were questioning her indecision.

"Don't you want to hear the truth?" She smiled faintly. "The truth is: I think no one can predict the future, so don't be overconfident or over-promise. But since I've chosen you, I will treat you wholeheartedly. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. I have no obligation to explain or promise."

Then she took his hand away: "I'm going to sleep."

A moment later, she was in the air. Luffy picked her up and ran towards the bedroom.

He put her on the bed and held her in his arms: "Sorry, I'm too worried about gains and losses and become petty. I think it may be because our relationship has just started and so many things have happened recently... Give me some time to adjust my mentality, okay?

"It's okay, just talk it out." Zuo Xiao said, "I'm not good at giving emotional value, please understand that. Also, I'm not someone who would easily betray my lover or friends, I hope you can trust me."

"Okay." Luffy kissed her forehead, "Go to sleep."

The next morning, Luffy took her to a private hospital. The doctor said Zuo Xiao's right foot had recovered well and had developed a rehabilitation training plan to start next week.

The next two days passed peacefully. During the day, she worked from home, played guitar, and slept when she felt tired. In the morning, her aunt came to clean the house and cook a few simple dishes. In the evening, the chef came to cook, and then Luffy returned, and the two of them had dinner together.

The phone call that disrupted the peaceful life came at two o'clock in the afternoon.

Zuo Xiao was about to take a nap. Luffy used an unfamiliar number, and at first she thought it was an advertisement.

"Listen." A familiar voice came from the receiver, but the content caught her off guard. "You will soon receive a compliance investigation notice. Someone has reported that you and Mao Jiadong have violated regulations in the official website construction project. Be prepared."

Zuo Xiao's mind went blank. Luffy continued, "Don't panic, just deal with it normally. I'm here, and nothing will happen to you."

The phone was suddenly hung up, indicating how urgent and hasty his reminder was.

Zuo Xiao repeatedly recalled the events of the official website construction project, and a vague idea emerged in her mind. She considered searching online, but was worried about leaving behind any damaging evidence, so she gave up.

She waited anxiously until around 3:00 a.m., when another unfamiliar call came in. The caller claimed to be from the company's compliance department and asked her to check her email, but offered no further information.

Zuo Xiao opened her mailbox and saw an email marked "Compliance Investigation Interview", asking her to cooperate with the investigation of the company's official website renewal project and to have an interview at the company at 10 am tomorrow.

Late at night, Luffy finally came back.

Only then did Zuo Xiao realize that a small oversight he had made in the company's official website renovation project a few months ago had planted a huge hidden danger.

It was May, and she had just joined the company. The official website rebuild required design and technical development support, so she recommended Han Zhaoqing, a senior colleague, to Mao Jiadong. To meet deadlines and save time, and given the small contract value, Mao Jiadong decided not to go through the normal bidding process. Instead, he signed the contract and made the payment in the name of another existing supplier.

The project has long been completed, the official website has been successfully launched, and Han Zhaoqing has received the final payment. However, unexpectedly, on Tuesday of this week, someone reported the incident to the Compliance Department. This "righteous man" not only exposed Zuo Xiao and Mao Jiadong's illegal operations, but also directly accused Zuo Xiao of being in a romantic relationship with the company's co-founder Lu Fei, suspecting Lu Fei of covering up for the situation.

After receiving the report, the company immediately established a special investigation team and officially launched an internal investigation. Not only Zuo Xiao, Mao Jiadong, and Han Zhaoqing, but also Luffy, as a related person, was asked to cooperate with the investigation.

"Is it serious?" Zuo Xiao's face turned pale. "The contract value of this project is less than 100,000 yuan. I recommended you because of your experience, speed, and high cost-effectiveness. I had no selfish motives, and I didn't take any money from him."

"I believe you." Luffy rubbed her shoulders and said, "Actually, this could have just been a matter of my saying something, but it just happened to coincide with an unusual period... The company submitted its IPO prospectus in June, and now is a sensitive period for listing, so they will pay more attention to such matters than usual. You have to be mentally prepared, there may be a tough battle tomorrow."

"Hmm." Zuo Xiao felt his lips dry and his voice hoarse. "I want to know, besides violating the procurement process and supplier management system, are there any more serious problems with what Director Mao and I did?"

Luffy's eyes were tangled: "Don't think too much for now."

"It's okay, just tell me." Zuo Xiao said resolutely, "So I can prepare for the worst."

Luffy hesitated for a moment and said, "The company is currently investigating whether this constitutes embezzlement, commercial bribery, or fraud. However, you didn't take any kickbacks, and the project amount is not high, so it shouldn't be a case of that."

Zuo Xiao frowned. "If she's found guilty, will she go to jail?" No, no, just like Luffy said, she's innocent, and the project isn't worth much, so...

When she was in a state of confusion, Luffy hugged her in his arms.

"Just tell the truth at tomorrow's appointment. Don't worry, I'm here." He stroked her hair and soothed her softly.

Zuo Xiao frowned for a long time before asking again, "Will it have any impact on the company? For example, will it affect its listing?"

Luffy was silent for a moment, then said, "It's hard to say at this point. After evaluation by the lawyers and the sponsor team, this incident has exposed flaws in the company's internal controls and management. Furthermore, due to your relationship with me, there may be issues with concealing related-party transactions... The best way to handle this is for the company to proactively disclose the information to regulators and make remedial measures. The specific extent of the impact on the listing is still being assessed by all parties. But I believe the worst-case scenario would be a postponement of the listing."

"The listing has been postponed..." Zuo Xiao said worriedly, his eyes dim. "I know some companies' IPOs have been postponed, and then postponed until they were terminated."

Luffy smiled carelessly, "At worst, we can just not go public. The company has no cash flow issues anyway, so even if we can't go public, we won't fail."

Zuo Xiao paused, then muttered, "Wouldn't that mean all the money we spent on the IPO is lost? And what about those executives and employees who are waiting for the company to go public and redeem their options? And what about the investors? How are we going to explain this?"

Luffy was stunned, and after a while he said: "Someone deliberately caused trouble, it's not your fault, don't let yourself bear so much."

"I know you're trying to comfort me and lighten my burden." Zuo Xiao broke free from his embrace and looked at him stubbornly. "But in fact, you and I both know that the whole thing was caused by my mistake. I won't evade my responsibility, but..."

A hint of self-mockery flashed in her eyes. "If the worst comes to the worst, I don't think I can make up for it. Selling me wouldn't make up for it much."

"Please don't do this, okay?" Luffy's eyes were full of heartache, "I feel uncomfortable when you do this..." He hugged her again and kissed her hair.

"I promise, the probability of a failed IPO is extremely low, practically zero. Stop overthinking and forcing yourself with bad assumptions from now on, okay?"

The sports car drove into the underground parking lot and parked in the designated parking space. Luffy got out, walked around to the passenger side and opened the door.

Zuo Xiao was helped out of the car by him, and he took over the crutch and said, "You go up first." Luffy laughed and said, "You're avoiding suspicion now, don't you think it makes you look guilty?"

The two of them walked into the office side by side, attracting everyone's attention.

Luffy walked her to the door of the interview room. CFO Feng Tiancheng was there too. He looked at the two of them with a gloomy look, his brow furrowed into a chuan-shaped wrinkle. Luffy remained calm, rubbing Zuo Xiao's shoulder and saying gently, "Don't be afraid. I'll wait for you outside."

Zuo Xiao walked in alone.

This conference room is less than 20 square meters, its walls covered in light gray soundproofing. A camera with a bracket sits in the corner. A black conference table sits in the center, with three people seated on one side: two men and one woman. The room is so quiet that you can only hear the rustle of air from the central air conditioning vents.

In the middle of the three people, the gentle man with glasses spoke first:

"Ms. Zuo, please take a seat. I am Chen Youjie, the company's compliance director, and I'm the head of this investigation team."

"…We have obtained preliminary relevant evidence. The content of today's conversation is extremely important and sensitive…"

He then explained the interview process, Zuo Xiao's rights and obligations, and the subject of the investigation, then asked her to present the facts in detail. Once she finished, he pressed her, questioning her in detail, even asking about the exact time Zuo Xiao and Luffy began their relationship and whether she had discussed the project procurement with him. Although Zuo Xiao had been prepared, the interrogation was still nerve-wracking, and her head ached.

By the time she finished the interview and walked out of the meeting room, nearly two hours had passed.

Luffy came up to support her. Seeing her pale face, he stroked her hair with heartache and said, "I'll take you home."

"No thanks." Zuo Xiao's voice was hoarse. "I want to be alone."

She returned to Luffy's house alone.

Her aunt prepared dinner, but she couldn't eat, so she let her go. Groggy, she lay down on the bed, searching on her phone for similar situations and the impact they would have on a company's IPO process. Soon she fell asleep.

I woke up in a sweat. I couldn't remember most of the dream, but there was one fragment that left an indelible impression in my mind:

Under a gloomy sky, she was surrounded by a group of people. The Zhuang brothers and sisters stood in front of her, staring at her expressionlessly. She felt sad and ashamed, almost breathless, and wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

In the evening, Luffy came back and sat next to her on the sofa. He held her hand and said, "It's not a big problem. There is no evidence of fraud or embezzlement. The investigation team may call you over for another talk next week."

"Okay." Zuo Xiao paused and said, "I want to move back."

Luffy's expression changed: "Why?"