Chapter Seventy-Nine: Isolation and Investigation? This enormous scapegoat is finally on my side!
Zhou Jiaqi was frozen in place by Lu Xingyao's words. He seemed to finally realize something, his face turning as white as if it had been painted with plaster. Seeing him like this, Luo Yan's last shred of hope shattered completely.
Goodness, she actually guessed right.
That bastard is plotting something big again!
Luo Yan cursed inwardly a few times, but then inexplicably calmed down. She glanced at the absent-minded Zhou Jiaqi, then looked at the cold-faced Lu Xingyao, and said in a deep voice, "Sister Xingyao, I'm going back now."
Lu Xingyao nodded knowingly, "Okay, leave this to me."
Luo Yan turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
Sitting in the back seat of the taxi, she watched the street scene rushing past the window, her mind racing.
When she first learned of Fei Yang's leak and Jiang Sui's disappearance, she was so anxious and flustered that she didn't have time to think things through. Now, however, it seems that things aren't as simple as they appear. The purpose of selling trade secrets is nothing more than money or power. If Jiang Sui really wanted that, wouldn't it have been better to just agree to Jiang Qiming's offer to return to Mingsheng and become the heir apparent? Why go through all this trouble to infiltrate Fei Yang and work there? Was it for Luo Muyang's adolescent delusions? Or for his love-struck tendencies?
The fact that he turned off his phone and went unreachable was probably intentional, designed to make certain people complacent and expose his true colors. So, is Sun Zhicheng essentially "confessing without being asked"? Now, all that's left is to find concrete evidence, right?
After figuring this out, Luo Yan sent Zeng Rong a message:
"Granny Rong, stay calm, Jiang Sui is alright, trust me."
After sending the message, I locked the screen and closed my eyes to rest.
The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror and remarked, "This girl has such a good attitude; she can still fall asleep even with the traffic jam turning into a parking lot."
Luo Yan didn't open her eyes, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
What else? Cry and scream and rush to Feiyang to stage a melodramatic "I don't believe it, I won't listen" scene? That's outdated, okay? What she needs to do now is to keep her emotions stable, go to work and back as usual, eat and drink as usual, so as not to cause trouble for Jiang Sui and Luo Muyang.
In the afternoon, Zhou Jiaqi returned, dejectedly huddled at his workstation, not daring to even lift his head towards Luo Yan, let alone offer any flattery.
Liu Su leaned closer and whispered, "Sister Yan, what happened to Comrade Zhou? Was he struck by lightning? He's been gone all afternoon, looks like he's lost his soul?"
Luo Yan was typing away on her keyboard, revising the bidding proposal for the second phase of the project, without even looking up: "Maybe he suddenly realized that his life was never worth it."
"ah?"
"It's nothing." Luo Yan pressed enter. "Su Su, could you send me the county tourism data you compiled? I'd like to use it as a reference."
"Right away." Liu Su slipped back to her seat.
Luo Yan glanced at Zhou Jiaqi, who was still staring blankly at the computer screen with his head drooping.
It's unclear what Lu Xingyao said to him, but it was obvious that he was quite stimulated.
There are all kinds of people these days.
It's not surprising that Zhou Jiaqi likes Lu Xingyao, but what's surprising is that his method is "to love her, so he steals her ex-boyfriend's current boyfriend".
I don't understand, and I can't respect.
Before leaving get off work, two unfamiliar faces suddenly appeared and went straight into Director Zheng's office next door. A moment later, Director Zheng's loud voice came from next door: "Luo Yan, Liu Su, come to my office."
Luo Yan and Liu Su exchanged a glance, then got up and went over.
Director Zheng sat behind his desk with an unusually serious expression, while the two strangers sat upright on the sofa drinking tea.
"We just received an anonymous report that Luo Yan from the Industry Division of the Culture and Tourism Bureau had a romantic relationship with Jiang Sui, the project manager of Feiyang Technology, the contractor, during the first phase of the smart tourism project. She also used her position to provide Feiyang with 'special treatment'. Now, the bidding for the second phase of the project is about to begin, and Feiyang is one of the important bidders. The report alleges that there is a transfer of benefits and nepotism involved."
Luo Yan was stunned for a few seconds. Bribery? Nepotism? What a huge slap in the face!
Using those two terms to describe an ordinary civil servant is ridiculous, isn't it?
But Director Zheng's expression and tone indicated that the nature of the matter was more serious than she had imagined.
"Director Zheng, all procedures for the Phase I project are compliant and legal, and every document is verifiable..."
“I know.” Director Zheng interrupted her helplessly. “The higher-ups are taking this very seriously. They have already initiated an internal review according to procedure. These two are comrades from the discipline inspection department. They’ve come to seal all the materials for the first phase of the project. Also, they’re taking you, me, and Liu Su, the three people who were directly involved, to be isolated for review.”
"Quarantine?" Luo Yan was stunned. "Where do I quarantine? How long will it take?"
One of them said, "There is a designated guesthouse. During the investigation, your mobile phones will be handed in and you cannot contact the outside world. The specific time will depend on the progress of the investigation. Once we have the results, we will notify your unit first and then you personally."
Luo Yan's mind was buzzing; she seemed not to have reacted yet.
Liu Su, however, was quite easygoing. After a moment of silence, she accepted the fact and patted Luo Yan's shoulder to comfort her: "It's okay, Sister Yan. The higher-ups received the report and they'll definitely have to do something. Let's just treat it as a few days of seclusion and training, and then we'll make a triumphant return!"
Luo Yan looked at her with a wistful expression. This silly girl was just happily chasing after her idol when she was inexplicably dragged into this mess.
Liu Su thought she hadn't comforted him enough, so she continued, "Hey, just think of it as a holiday to rest and catch up on all the sleep you haven't had before!"
Luo Yan: "..."
Is this the key point?
That evening, the three were taken to an old guesthouse on the outskirts of the city.
Each person has a single room; the conditions are basic, but they are clean enough.
Before handing over her phone, Luo Yan glanced at the screen one last time, still as quiet as a chicken.
The days of being isolated and investigated were more difficult than I had imagined.
It's not physical, but psychological. Every day, besides receiving fixed-time inquiries, I stay in my room. There's no internet, no phone, and even the newspapers are three days old. The old TV has a blurry picture, and the few channels that I would never normally even glance at have become my only pastime.
In a daze, it felt like I had traveled back to the 1970s or 80s.
The questions were tedious, repeating the same things over and over: When did you meet Jiang Sui? Specifically, what were you doing at a certain point in the first phase of the project? Who handled this document? Did you notice anything wrong with the process? Did you communicate with your superiors in a timely manner?
Luo Yan's answer was watertight; she had kept records of all her work, and the timeline was even clearer than her graduation thesis outline.
But when I can't sleep at night, those thoughts that I deliberately suppressed still come out.
Where is Jiang Sui? Is he safe? Will the leak really affect him? Who is the whistleblower? Zhou Jiaqi? Sun Zhicheng? Wu Yuzhou? Or... Jiang Qiming?
How come we never noticed before that they had so many "enemies" around them? And none of them are easy to deal with. How much of a chance does Jiang Sui have in a 1v4 situation?
When she couldn't stay in bed any longer, she would simply get up and jog slowly back and forth in the room.
I wonder which floor Director Zheng and Liu Su are on, and how they are doing now.
Zheng Chu has an elderly relative who is hospitalized, and Liu Su is looking forward to the concert tickets that are about to go on sale, but now they are both forced to stay here with her.
I really feel bad for them.
Luo Yan stopped jogging, rubbed her frozen hands, walked to the window, looked at the city lights in the distance, and felt a deep sadness in her heart.
At this rate, she might have to spend New Year's Day here, and she'll probably have to stand Qin Ying up at her wedding too, without even being able to apologize.
The weather is getting colder and colder, and it seems like it's holding back a heavy snowfall.
The old guesthouse had no electric blankets and only provided three bottles of hot water a day. At night, Luo Yan huddled under a thick but not very warm blanket and still couldn't feel any warmth.
At times like these, Luo Yan longed for Jiang Sui's embrace even more; his body was always warm, and it only took a moment to dispel the coldness from her body.
You bastard, you better be really up to something big, or you're dead meat when I get out!
No, the scheme might have been orchestrated by Jiang Sui, but for it to appear perfect, Luo Muyang's cooperation was absolutely necessary...
Forget it, I don't want to think about it too much. I should take care of myself first.
Liu Su is right. The workplace is just like the fan circle. There will always be rivals who want to sabotage and smear you. No matter how much you think about it, it's useless. Lying down and waiting for the reversal is the only way to win.
Although the girl is broad-minded, her words are always rough but her reasoning is sound.
I just...miss him a little.
It's not just a little, it's a strong desire.
Ugh! What a terrible joke!
What if... he really messes up this time?
If the leak is confirmed, he will be fired by Fei Yang and may even face legal consequences, while she will be disciplined for "related relationship," losing her secure job. The two of them will become fellow sufferers on Yu An's job-seeking blacklist...
"No, no!" Luo Yan shook her head violently, trying to shake off these unlucky thoughts.
That's Jiang Sui, the famous male fox spirit. Do you think he'd suffer a loss?
But... this endless questioning, this seemingly never-ending isolation, every quiet and cold night, everything is so despairing.
Prisons have time for outdoor exercise, but here the door is only opened three times a day when food is delivered, and each time it's only open for five seconds.
This endless cycle of worry, anxiety, and self-comfort was driving her crazy.
You bastard, where are you? Do you know your house has been burgled?
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