Chapter 156 Are they even this cunning when poaching talent?

Three days later, the "insider" who had fraudulently obtained evidence in the detention center was exposed.

Fortunately, he left himself an escape route and did not destroy the evidence he had taken.

The forensic team successfully extracted half a fingerprint that did not belong to Ji Ying from an inconspicuous spot on the sneakers.

Meanwhile, another team entered the walk-in closet of Platinum Bay to collect evidence, and found several fingerprints on the inside of the wardrobe door.

Upon comparison, one of the fingerprints perfectly matched the half fingerprint on the sneaker.

Subsequently, Liang Yizhi further requested that the dust composition on the soles of the sneakers be tested and compared with all the shoe prints in Zhang Cheng's rented house.

The results showed that, apart from the complete shoe print found next to the bloodstains after Zhang Cheng's death, which came from the sneakers, no other traces matching the shoe print were detected in other areas.

This means that the suspicion that someone brought the shoes into the house, deliberately stained them with blood and left shoe prints to frame Ji Ying is increasing, while the suspicion that she herself committed the crime has significantly decreased.

Upon receiving the news, Gu Yi was severely reprimanded. His backer berated him for being an idiot, putting the cart before the horse, and said he would no longer be involved in the matter.

Although Wen Lingxue had not yet been found for fingerprint comparison, Ji Ying was officially cleared of suspicion and released a week later.

During her hospital stay, her stomach has recovered to a fairly good extent.

On the day of her discharge, Xiao Xia specially prepared a bottle of "lucky water" and sprayed it around Ji Ying several times.

Ji Ying rubbed her nose and couldn't help but ask, "What is this? It smells a bit strange."

Xiao Xia explained with a smile, "It's water made by steeping pomelo leaves, willow branches, and peach petals to help you get rid of bad luck and bring you some good fortune in love!"

Ji Ying laughed and said, "It can ward off bad luck. As for romantic opportunities, you can have them, since you're still single."

Xiao Xia's face immediately turned serious, "If there weren't a cooling-off period, you would have already..."

Before she could even utter the words "single dog," she caught sight of Gu Yanchen standing next to the Maybach, and her words abruptly stopped.

Ji Ying turned around following her gaze, the smile on her face gradually fading.

"I'll wait for you in the parking lot."

After saying this in a low voice, Xiao Xia quickly slipped away from the side.

Gu Yanchen felt a pang of heartache seeing the woman, who had finally gained some weight, become even thinner again.

He had just stepped forward, and before he could even speak, Ji Ying took a step back, her voice cold and indifferent.

"I feel like I'd get my hands dirty if I even hit you now."

These words were like a knife piercing Gu Yanchen's heart.

He paused for a few moments before saying, "I'm sorry, I wasn't there when you needed me."

Ji Ying shook her head. "It's not about whether you're here or not. You have the right to choose the person you love. Whoever you love or whoever you indulge is none of my business. But you can't give her the opportunity to hurt me."

Bitterness spread through Gu Yanchen's heart.

"I didn't indulge Wen Lingxue, and I didn't... I didn't..."

Ji Ying looked at his hesitant expression and a mocking smile appeared on her face.

"Nothing? You haven't been keeping her on the side without telling me? Or haven't you consistently prioritized her over me?"

"I……"

Gu Yanchen felt as if something was choking him, his words stuck in his chest, causing him a dull ache.

Seeing his speechless expression, Ji Ying's mockery deepened.

"Gu Yanchen, if you hadn't used me as a shield for yourselves, I wouldn't have been dragged into all this trouble. Now that I don't love you anymore, they still won't let me go. I'm only alive because of luck. If you have any conscience at all, you should stay away from me."

Pain surged like waves, each one deeper than the last, washing over Gu Yanchen's chest.

He experienced the agony of being slowly tortured by the one he loved.

That was also the pain she had endured.

So that's how much it hurt; it hurt so much I could hardly breathe.

However, Ji Ying's gaze towards him was devoid of warmth, as if his pain had nothing to do with her.

She turned and walked away, leaving him with only a faint remark as she passed him, "Remember to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau in a few days to get the divorce certificate."

As they approached the parking lot, Ji Ying spotted the black Hongqi car amidst the densely packed vehicles.

Although I couldn't see inside the car, I could almost feel a calm and familiar gaze upon me.

She paused, about to turn around and walk over, when two cars suddenly stopped in front of her.

Liang Jian and Liang Yanchuan got out of the car almost simultaneously.

They came directly from the company after the meeting.

In his haste to get ahead of Liang Jian, Liang Yanchuan was so anxious that he put his suit on backwards without even realizing it.

He carried a large bouquet of sunflowers and walked a few steps to Ji Ying, his tone cheerful, "Finally made it! Here, I wish you can stay away from places like this from now on and always live towards the sun."

Before Ji Ying could even take the flowers, Liang Jian put one hand on Liang Yanchuan's shoulder and pulled him away.

Then, he stood in front of her, slowly took out a thin red envelope from the inside pocket of his suit, and said calmly, "Sending flowers is so old-fashioned. These days, it's all about practicality when giving gifts."

The red envelope was thin, but it contained a check.

Liang Yanchuan retorted unhappily, "You're the old-fashioned one! This is called a sense of ritual, don't you understand? Materialistic men like you who only know how to throw money around are the truly 'poor' people."

After saying that, he added, "Spiritual poverty."

Liang Jian frowned. "It's impossible to explain to someone like you who wears his suit inside out."

Liang Yanchuan then realized he was wearing his clothes inside out. Before he could feel embarrassed, he was about to retort when Xiao Xia rushed over and grabbed Ji Ying.

"There's an emergency at the company! Come with me right now!"

Before the two brothers could react, Ji Ying had already been pulled into the car.

Liang Jian looked at Liang Yanchuan with displeasure, "You're not being pressured to get married, so why are you always trying to take it from me?"

Liang Yanchuan raised an eyebrow. "I'm doing this to prevent yet another innocent woman from falling into a 'Liang Jian-style marriage trap'."

Liang Jian glanced at him for two seconds, then turned and went back to his car with a deep look in his eyes.

Gu Yanchen saw this scene from afar and returned to his car with a stern face.

Chen Yuan whispered, "These past two days, the police have been trying to contact Wen Lingxue to come to the police station to compare fingerprints. I've already settled her in Qimeng Residence."

"Drive." Gu Yanchen's voice was cold.

Meanwhile, inside the Hongqi car, Xue Qin glanced at the rearview mirror and said with feigned displeasure, "Are young people these days so ruthless even when poaching employees? Uncle hasn't even left yet, and these two nephews are already rushing over with hoes."

Liang Yizhi ignored his words and took out his phone to send a message.

Just as Ji Ying was being pulled into the car, her phone rang.

It was a text message from Liang Yizhi.

"Six o'clock, Langgan Pavilion, Imperial Swallow Hall."

Ji Ying put away her phone and didn't reply.

Because Xiao Xia had already started chattering away.

“I should have told you about Xueqiong Titanium Energy earlier, but these days you've only been able to see Liang Yanchuan. They have strong market resources, and their joint venture subsidiary has a large profit margin. Today, General Manager Tang from the Dahua region is here in person to finalize the agreement. You are the largest shareholder, so you must be present.”

Ji Ying flipped through the other party's information, "Have you thoroughly investigated this company?"

Xiao Xia paused for a moment, "I had my friends overseas check it out. There are no bad transaction records, the background is very clean, and they are very powerful."

Ji Ying picked at her nails. "Qing Sui hasn't even started yet. There are many companies in China that are better than us. Why did she choose us?"

Xiao Xia fell silent after hearing her words.

Ji Ying, mindful of her feelings, quickly said, "I'm not against cooperating with them, I mean we should investigate thoroughly first before signing an agreement."

Xiao Xia nodded, "Actually, that's what I was thinking too. Let's talk to her today."

Mr. Tang from Xueqiong Titanium Energy is professional and capable, and communication between the two parties is smooth.

Her detailed analysis dispelled Ji Ying's concerns, and the details of the cooperation were quickly finalized.

After seeing her off, Ji Ying checked the time; it was 6:30.

Surprisingly, Liang Yizhi did not call to urge him.

Ji Ying rushed to Langgan Pavilion without even having time to go home and change her clothes.

The first time she arranged to meet Liang Yizhi, she was a full hour late.

Ji Ying's heart was already in turmoil.

Liang Yizhi was drinking tea when a waitress dressed as a palace maid lifted the beaded curtain for her.

Ji Ying didn't notice the 5-centimeter drop of the platform beneath her feet.

He tripped on it and fell forward with a scream.

In a moment of desperation, she braced herself against the edge of the tea table with both hands.

The tea table was too light and shook violently.

Liang Yizhi pressed down on the tea table with one hand, thus stabilizing both her and the table.

"sorry."

Ji Ying looked up and immediately met the man's deep gaze, which seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words, just inches away...