He spoke with such passion that he unconsciously grabbed Chen Ningsheng by the collar with both hands and glared at him fiercely.

Chen Ningsheng shifted his gaze from the person in front of him to Bai Hao on the bed.

His gaze remained averted, and upon hearing these words, he seemed to flinch.

"Wang Ming, let him go." He finally raised his head and looked at the two of them.

He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes.

"I'm sleepy, you can all leave."

Wang Ming released Chen Ningsheng and led a group of students out, leaving the once lively room suddenly deserted.

Bai Hao had already gone back to bed, his back to them, refusing to communicate.

Chen Ningsheng glanced at him thoughtfully with his dark eyes, then left.

In the corridor, Assistant Wang followed behind Chen Ningsheng, watching his tall, unassuming back as he suddenly heard him say, "Go and find out this person's information for me, down to the smallest detail, and be quick."

His heart skipped a beat, his pupils narrowed, and he nodded. "I'll take care of it right away, Mr. Chen."

Xu Xinchen paced anxiously around the room, waiting for him for a long time. Her eyes opened and closed, and she was dozing off, but she tried her best to stay awake.

Finally, just as she was about to drift off to sleep, footsteps came from the doorway.

She opened her eyes and saw Chen Ningsheng walk in, change his shoes, his face tense, and a low-pressure atmosphere surrounding him.

Her heart skipped a beat, but when he looked up and saw her coming out to greet him in her pajamas, a look of surprise flashed across his eyes, and the oppressive atmosphere around him instantly dissipated. He forced a smile and asked, "Aren't you going to sleep yet?"

She couldn't stand to see him like this.

Even though I was heartbroken, I still had to force a smile in front of her.

"How's the situation going? What about that shipment? Has it been retrieved? Has anything gone wrong?"

She anxiously bombarded her with several questions.

Chen Ningsheng changed his shoes, walked to her side, touched the top of her head, and smiled, "You go to sleep first, don't worry about these things, I'll handle it."

Xu Xinchen frowned involuntarily as she watched him enter the room.

She entered the room and saw Chen Ningsheng standing in front of the dressing mirror, loosening his tie. She stood behind him, their eyes meeting in the mirror, and without hesitation, she asked the question that had been lingering in her mind, "Are you blaming me?"

He looked into her clear eyes in the mirror and smiled faintly. "No, don't overthink it. Go to sleep."

"Then you're blaming me." She bit her lip, wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, and pressed her slender waist against his back.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have given you the contract," she murmured, her voice soft and gentle, like a deer's, making one's heart melt. "It's all my fault. I trusted Gu Yan too much. I thought he wouldn't be so despicable."

She clung to his back, not daring to look directly at his expression, yet her voice was already tinged with deep regret.

"You can punish me however you want."

“I don’t blame you.” His deep voice slowly flowed into her ears. “I’m not blaming you.”

Her arms tightened, and somehow she found herself in front of him, pulled into his embrace, and pressed her head against his chest, his warm breath on her head. "I told you, you're the person I trust most, but..."

He released her, his dark eyes meeting her bright ones, and said in a deep voice, "Don't mention his name in front of me."

。

Even before going to bed, Xu Xinchen still didn't know how the matter had been handled. No matter how she tried to probe, Chen Ningsheng seemed to have his mouth sealed, refusing to reveal a single word and always dodging the question with a few words.

It seems he's determined not to let her get involved in this matter.

The next day, before dawn, with the warmth already gone from her side, Xu Xinchen opened her eyes after Chen Ningsheng gently closed the door. She stared blankly at the wall, her eyes filled with an unyielding sorrow.

Unable to sleep, she got up and made breakfast. She ate the tasteless breakfast alone, but lost her appetite after a few bites.

Stepping out of the house, the air was fresh after the rain last night, the roadside was lush and green, and birds were chirping merrily in the branches.

She went to the newsstand, bought the latest morning paper, and as soon as she opened it, her brows furrowed more and more.

On the front page of the newspaper, the bright black headlines read: "Changyu Testing Equipment Explosion Injures Two, Company's Benchmark Title Undeserved."

She quickly scanned a few lines of the report, her face turning grim.

As soon as she entered the company, she encountered Gu Yan and his group. She stormed up to Gu Yan, who, seeing the expression on her face, understood and dismissed his assistant, leading her to his office.

As soon as she entered, she couldn't help but blurt out the question that had been on her mind: "Did you plan this accident?"

Gu Yan poured himself a glass of water, his expression shifting from leisurely to puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"Stop pretending." She walked to his side, staring intently at him. "I trusted you all this time. I was blind and misjudged you."

Her eyes were wounded.

Gu Yan lowered his head, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "How did you know I framed him?"

"His failure to conduct quality inspections was his fault; I only provided the goods, so it's entirely his responsibility," he stated calmly and objectively.

"But it was you who provided the quality inspection certificate, and the test results show that it passed."

“That’s right, I provided the quality inspection certificate, but quality inspection is a sampling inspection,” he said calmly, looking at her with a straight face. “How can I guarantee that a batch of goods won’t have a few defective products?”

Xu Xinchen looked at him, who was so eloquent, and sneered inwardly, "But if you didn't frame him, why hasn't Xinke been launched on the market yet? You clearly knew that this product was problematic."

"The fact that Xinke hasn't been launched into the market yet is a strategic deployment. We want to see how effective Changyu's marketing is first. You know, I'm never the first to try something new."

He calmly and flawlessly answered her question.

But Xu Xinchen wasn't buying it. "You're talking nonsense!"

The suspicion in her eyes was unmistakable, not less so than when she had questioned him when she first came in.

It was as if no matter what he said, she wouldn't believe him.

"You're talking nonsense, I'm resigning." She refused to say another word to him, refused to look at him, turned her head away, and said coldly.

A crack appeared in Gu Yan's impeccable expression. "Have you thought this through? Just for this one thing? For him?"

"His tone shifted, filled with deep disappointment, "Lu Minshi, I've always had high hopes for you. I thought you were a professional who could separate work and personal matters and wouldn't let personal feelings get to you. I never expected that you'd hold such a grudge against the company over something so trivial, just because of your boyfriend. I misjudged you."

“You’re wrong. It’s not because of him.” She tilted her head back, her eyes defiant. She said, each word distinct, “It’s because I can’t work for a despicable person like you.”

She clearly saw his pupils contract, but his smile widened.

Chen Ningsheng leaned closer to her and lowered his head. "Despicable person?" he repeated, then grabbed both of her hands with one hand, making her unable to move.

He stopped her struggle, staring intently at her with unfathomable eyes, "I'll show you what a real despicable person is."

As he spoke, he pounced on her.

Fortunately, Xu Xinchen was prepared. Taking advantage of his complete focus on her, she nimbly dodged and quickly kicked him in the groin with one foot.

Gu Yan's expression instantly twisted, his face contorted in pain, and the pressure on his hands unconsciously loosened.

She slipped out quickly.

Looking at Gu Yan's furious face, her anger burst forth. "Gu Yan, you really are a despicable person who would force a woman."

Gu Yan slumped to the ground, and his complexion only recovered after a short rest.

He stared intently at her, his eyes filled with unfathomable emotions. He was utterly dejected, his body slumped like a defeated rooster.

After a long pause, she lowered her head and said coldly, "Go away, and never appear in front of me again."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinchen turned and left without a second thought, not even glancing at him as she passed by.

The door slammed shut, and the room was eerily quiet. It took Gu Yan a long time to slowly stand up from the floor. He walked to his desk, where documents were scattered about.

He neatly arranged the documents and put them back in their places, staring at them for a long time before finally throwing them into the trash can.