Chapter 1580 Guilty conscience leads to stubbornness

After returning to Beijing, Li Ye first went back to his unit to report to Ma Zhaoxian on the relevant situation of the prototype vehicle test.

While pouring water for Li Ye, Ma Zhaoxian asked with concern, "I heard you did something heroic again in Chuncheng? And you even helped the police solve a major case?"

Li Ye asked in surprise, "Eh, you already knew about this?"

Ma Zhaoxian smiled slightly and said in a low voice, "Shang Bin told me that you are a courageous and bold young man, and also said that the people from Chuncheng Public Security Bureau have become sworn brothers with you. So you should be awarded a suitable award this year."

Li Ye chuckled and said, "You became sworn brothers with me? How come I didn't know? And why would he be so kind as to give me an award?"

Ma Zhaoxian said, "Yes! I'm wondering about that too! After he came back the day before yesterday, I wanted to ask him about the situation in Chuncheng, but he said that you were in charge of the testing, and he was only responsible for supervision. Then he talked about a lot of things concerning you."

"Tell me about my story. Hmm, this is getting interesting."

Li Ye realized that Shang Bin was trying to "patch up" the mess he and Zhuo Minglan had made!

These days, having a mistress is no longer as shameful as it was in the 1980s; in fact, some TV dramas have even featured similar storylines.

Some people treat flaunting their mistresses in public as a way to show off. As long as it doesn't get reported to the relevant authorities, it won't cause much of a stir; it'll just be the gossip of old ladies on the street.

However, Shang Bin's identity left a record with the police, which made things a bit more complicated.

Faced with this situation, Shang Bin would inevitably have to find an excuse for himself, such as "we are just ordinary friends, and there was only one room available at the time," but such a defense would sound like a blatant attempt to cover up his true intentions.

The excuse of "being framed by a villain" is more convincing.

How did the police manage to find me so accurately during my secret trip with my girlfriend? Who has a special relationship with the police?

The answer is Li Ye.

Currently, only Li Ye, Dong Shan, and Geng Yunping know the inside story. If further scandals involving Shang Bin begin to circulate within the group, these three will be inextricably linked to him.

Geng Yunping is Shang Bin's assistant, and their fates are intertwined. Dong Shan and Shang Bin haven't fallen out yet, so Li Ye is the most suspicious.

Everyone knows that Li Ye and Shang Bin are at odds. If that day ever comes, Shang Bin will definitely say that Li Ye is "retaliating" against him. Praising Li Ye now for helping the Chuncheng Public Security Bureau solve the case is actually laying the groundwork for his future defense.

[It was Li Ye who used his newly acquainted sworn brother to frame me!]

Seeing that Li Ye seemed lost in thought, Ma Zhaoxian asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong, Li Ye? Is there a problem?"

Li Ye shook his head: "No, I thought Shang Bin had been busy traveling and sightseeing these days. I didn't expect him to be so concerned about my affairs. Hehehe."

"Heh~"

Ma Zhaoxian smiled and then got down to business: "By the way, how long will it take for the comparative testing of the new car to finally end?"

Li Ye took a sip of tea and explained, "It's hard to say. Two of Dong Shan's three cars broke down, so the comparative test was suspended. We'll decide whether to continue after we analyze the specific causes of the accidents."

Ma Zhaoxian paused for a moment, then said, "You mean to say that it's possible it's already over?"

Li Ye smiled and shook his head: "It's not that simple. Dong Shan has raised various reasons for protesting, such as the quality of the parts and the fact that the cargo was overloaded. It will definitely drag on for a while, but the technical advantages of the branch factory are beyond doubt."

"Oh, that's good."

Ma Zhaoxian seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, revealing a relaxed smile.

"That's good?"

Li Ye blinked and asked with a smile, "I reckon Dong Shan will come to you crying soon, so don't be like that."

“His crying and pleading are useless; times have changed.”

Ma Zhaoxian said calmly, "While you were in Chuncheng, the higher-ups summoned us from the units in Beijing for a meeting, indicating that there will be new changes in the future."

Although the specific changes were not explicitly stated, it served as a reminder that we must firmly hold onto the group's core assets, and keep them firmly in the hands of the capital.

If the technical solution from Factory One wins, then we'll stick to the old approach and firmly grasp the production capacity in the southwest.

"Oh, I see."

Li Ye immediately recalled what Teacher Ke and Wen Qingsheng had told him a few months ago: the ownership of many state-owned enterprises would be re-allocated.

With the complete decentralization of state-owned enterprises to local governments, the newly merged Jingnan Group, separated by two locations, may be split up again. However, it seems that Beijing wants to keep the southwest region under its control and then swallow Jingnan Group whole.

But this would probably make Dong Shan even more irritable.

...

Li Ye chatted with Ma Zhaoxian for almost half an hour before leaving his office. Coincidentally, he ran into Zhuo Minglan.

Zhuo Minglan must have come out of Shang Bin's office. After bumping into Li Ye, she subconsciously wanted to lower her head, but then she raised her head high, almost looking down at him with her chin down.

The two passed each other without exchanging a word, but Li Ye's keen hearing caught the sound of Zhuo Minglan exhaling behind him.

So she was holding her breath just now!

Li Ye couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

The more someone feels guilty, the more defiant they appear on the surface.

Li Ye couldn't help but recall a scene from the ancient classic novel "Jing Ping Mei".

It is said that when Ximen Qing was having friendly interactions with his wives and concubines and got carried away, he would often involuntarily utter some vulgar words, such as "Changji" (a vulgar term for a male prostitute) and "Yinfu" (a vulgar term for a woman with a vulgar accent).

The officials' wives and concubines all knew his faults, so they didn't get angry when they were scolded. They just treated it as a few jokes and laughed it off.

But Li Jiao'er was the only one who couldn't stand such words; she would throw a tantrum every time she was scolded. Ximen Qing was puzzled and asked Wu Yueniang what was going on.

As a result, Wu Yueniang told Ximen Daguanren, "The sisters have never been prostitutes, so they just listened and knew it was a joke. Only Li Jiao'er is a former prostitute who has reformed, so naturally she can't stand such ridicule."

Therefore, the more Zhuo Minglan engaged in "knowingly becoming a mistress," the more sensitive she became to this kind of clandestine relationship.

Li Ye only turned his face to hers, but she probably thought he was mocking her or even trying to expose her.

This is similar to how Shang Bin, after returning, hurriedly began to lay the groundwork for Li Ye's actions. Even though Li Ye had not yet revealed his thoughts, he developed "persecution complex".

It was clearly because of Li Ye's relationship with Pang Zhongxian that he and Zhuo Minglan were able to be released smoothly, but she turned around and suspected that it was Li Ye who did it.

"Tch, there's nothing wrong in the world, it's just that mediocre people make trouble for themselves. That's just petty thinking."

Li Ye smiled lightly and walked away with light steps.

(End of this chapter)