"OK."

Qiao Zhen hung up the phone and then drove to Gu's Company.

Because of Gu Xijue's words, Qiao Zhen arrived at Gu Xijue's office without any obstacles.

"Zhenzhen, is there something you need from me?"

Gu Xijue smiled at Qiao Zhen, but his face showed no surprise, as if he already knew Qiao Zhen's purpose.

Qiao Zhen pursed her lips, looked at Gu Xijue, and asked with a burning gaze, "I want to ask, does that scandal have anything to do with you?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Xijue laughed and said, "Zhenzhen, why do you say that?"

Looking at Gu Xijue's still gentle face, Qiao Zhen felt a slight pang in her heart. She took a deep breath and slowly said, "Gu Xijue, since I asked this question, it proves that I must know something. If you really consider me a friend, please don't lie to me."

Qiao Zhen usually doesn't show such a serious expression to Gu Xijue. Seeing that she seemed genuinely angry, Gu Xijue also put away his smile and said seriously.

"That's right, I did do it, but don't get angry yet. I had my reasons for doing it."

What's your reason?

At this point, Qiao Zhen still had a sliver of trust in Gu Xijue, so she decided to patiently listen to his explanation.

"Everything I did was for you."

As he spoke, Gu Xijue walked to Qiao Zhen's side, put his hands on her shoulders, and said to her very sincerely.

“In order to secure the Hope Primary School project, I had to first cause the Lu Group's stock price to drop so that I could take advantage of the situation and win the project. That's why I used this method to hurt you, and I'm truly sorry. But I think you'll understand me after hearing about this.”

Listening to Gu Xijue's long explanation, Qiao Zhen just frowned and lowered her head to ponder.

Gu Xijue's words made some sense, but why did they sound so awkward to Qiao Zhen?

Seeing that Qiao Zhen's expression was still not good, Gu Xijue thought she was angry, so he said anxiously.

"Zhenzhen, have you forgotten how I treated you before? I was sincere towards you, how could I intentionally do something to hurt you?"

"Besides, I know Lu Zheng's personality very well. If something happened to you, he would definitely do everything in his power to remove the trending topic. See, you haven't suffered any harm at all, have you?"

Listening to Gu Xijue's words, Qiao Zhen couldn't help but think of the scene where Lu Zheng was in a frantic state trying to remove the trending topic from his own profile.

"Don't lie to me. Removing the trending topic was something Lu Zheng did for me, not something you did."

Qiao Zhen abruptly released Gu Xijue's hand and glared at him.

Gu Xijue seemed surprised by Qiao Zhen's reaction, his movements faltering for a moment before he said in a trembling voice, "Zhenzhen... do you really think I did this on purpose?"

"I can't tell whether you did it on purpose, but I do know that I was hurt by what you did."

Qiao Zhen shook his head at Gu Xijue. He also wanted to believe that Gu Xijue had acted unintentionally, but this matter had indeed hurt her.

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Xijue knelt down on the ground with a "bang" and looked up at Qiao Zhen.

"Zhenzhen, I admit I acted rashly in this matter, but my intention was for your own good. Can you please stop being angry? I'll apologize to you, okay?"

What are you doing?!

Seeing him kneel down, Qiao Zhen cried out anxiously and hurriedly reached out to help him up.

But Gu Xijue was determined to kneel, and no matter how hard Qiao Zhen tried, she couldn't pull him up. Seeing this, Qiao Zhen sighed helplessly and said, "Fine, Gu Xijue, I believe you didn't do it on purpose. Get up now."

Hearing this, Gu Xijue stood up from the ground, then grabbed Qiao Zhen's hand with a look of surprise and delight: "Really, Zhenzhen? You really promised me?"

"Um."

Qiao Zhen looked into Gu Xijue's eyes and noticed that his eyes were red, obviously from crying. She couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted: "But if you encounter something like this again in the future, you'd better discuss it with me first. We'll definitely have a better solution."

"Hmm." Gu Xijue nodded, then seemed to have thought of something: "I managed to secure the Hope Primary School project for you while things were in chaos."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhen couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Really?"

"Of course it's true," Gu Xijue said with a smile.

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen couldn't help but feel excited and immediately nodded. Then she heard Gu Xijue say, "Well, now that I've got the project, why don't you take advantage of these next few days to resign from Lu's Group? I can afford the same salary he offers."

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen hesitated slightly: "Wouldn't it be a bit... to resign now?"

“Zhenzhen.” Gu Xijue grasped Qiao Zhen’s shoulder, his expression sincere.

"Don't forget how much effort we put into getting this project. If you had been a few days late, this project couldn't have just sat idle and unattended. I'm not the only one in the company with a say. Who gets the project in the end isn't something I can decide."

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen could only put aside her slight hesitation for the time being and nodded reluctantly.

"Okay, I'll go back and hand over the task to them, but it will take some time. Try to stall for as long as you can."

After the two reached an agreement, Qiao Zhen bid farewell to Gu Xijue, stepped on the gas, and drove back to the Lu Group.

As soon as she stepped into the company, she noticed that everyone around her seemed to be looking at her, and she couldn't help but frown in confusion.

"Sister Qiao Zhen!"

Just then, Song Shiyi ran over anxiously from a short distance away and said to Qiao Zhen in a worried tone.

"The Hope Primary School project has fallen through, and now, I don't know who leaked the company's important secrets to the boss, but now everyone knows about it."

"What secrets did I leak? I didn't do that!"

Qiao Zhen frowned in confusion. Although she really wanted to give the Hope Primary School project to Gu Xijue, she would never do such a dishonorable thing.

"I don't know the specifics, but you should go and take a look. Anyway, President Lu's temper isn't very good right now."

As soon as Song Shiyi finished speaking, a sound of something falling came from upstairs, startling the surrounding employees who shrank back and quickly got back to work.

Qiao Zhen could only nod, walking towards Lu Zheng's office while pondering who could possibly frame her.

As Qiao Zhen reached the door, he heard voices rising from the office: "I don't care what the evidence is, but I know Qiao Zhen couldn't possibly have done something like this. The murderer must be someone else. Go and investigate again!"

Hearing Lu Zheng's angry voice, Qiao Zhen couldn't help but feel a little moved.

Lu Zheng stood behind her without hesitation.

Thinking of this, Qiao Zhen felt a warm current flow through her heart, but then she remembered that Gu Xijue had taken over the Hope Primary School project, and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

No matter what, Gu Xijue did steal Lu Zheng's company's project, and if word got out, it certainly wouldn't be a very legitimate thing to do.