Chapter 81 The Birth of a Drama Queen: Starting with Being Forced to Add Scenes
Three days after New Year's Day, Yu'an was hit by a heavy, refreshing snowfall.
As Luo Yan stared at the snowdrifts outside the window, deep enough to bury a person, the first thought that crossed her mind was: Could Qin Ying's wedding still take place? As a bridesmaid, she would probably have to set a record for attending a wedding banquet in the style of Shi Tiesheng's literature, where she went directly from quarantine to the banquet.
Just as I was lost in thought, there was a knock on the door.
Luo Yan glanced at the time on the TV; it wasn't time to deliver the food yet.
When the door opened, two discipline inspection officers came in, their expressions much more relaxed than a few days ago.
"Comrade Luo Yan, the investigation is over. After verification, all procedures of the first phase of the smart tourism project were compliant, and no evidence was found that you used your position to provide special treatment to Feiyang Technology. The allegations are untrue."
One of them handed her the phone back, saying, "Please sign here, and you can take the phone back."
Luo Yan signed the form with trembling hands and took the phone. Her CPU seemed to have not yet had time to process this sudden good news, just like when she was told seventeen days ago that she would be quarantined for investigation. It was just as unexpected.
Another person added, "You can all go home today. The company has approved two days off. After you've rested, go back to your original posts and continue working."
"Oh... okay, thank you."
Luo Yan agreed, but her mind seemed frozen by the heavy snow, turning a beat slower than usual.
So... he's innocent? It's like a joke.
Seventeen days of isolation, and she's just dismissed with a "false"? What about the cracks in the ceiling, the fox head she drew on the window, and her strange longing for Zhao Hongmei's culinary disasters? Can't she get reimbursed for her emotional distress from the whistleblower?
As I stepped out of the guesthouse, a cold wind swirled with snowflakes and pelted me.
Luo Yan shrank her neck and pulled her down jacket hood up tightly.
When I turned on my phone, the screen froze for a few seconds due to the barrage of unread messages and missed calls.
Work group chat, greetings from friends, Qin Ying's phone call... Scrolling quickly, finally stopping at a name.
Jiang Sui's WeChat chat box was completely empty; the last message she sent before he went missing was still the one complaining about Zhou Jiaqi.
Luo Yan tried dialing the number.
"Hello, the number you dialed is currently switched off..."
Still turning it off.
Disappointment is like the chill in this icy world, seeping into every crevice of your bones.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Luo Yan nervously opened the door to her home, only to be immediately stunned.
The room was bright and clean, the floor was so shiny it could reflect a mirror, and even Jiang Xiaosui's litter box was as clean as if it were brand new.
While she was still in a daze, she heard a noise behind her. When she turned around, she saw Xu Jingfei carrying a package in and clicking her tongue when she saw her.
"You're out? The food from the government must be awful, right? You've lost so much weight, people would think you'd gone off somewhere to diet!"
Luo Yan looked at the box of cat food in Xu Jingfei's hand, and then at the several carefully tended green plants on the balcony.
"Ms. Xu? Have you been feeding my cats all this time?"
"Otherwise what? Who knows when you'll let it out? Jiang Sui has disappeared somewhere! By the time you come back, it'll be dried up!"
Xu Jingfei put the cat food on the ground and took off her snow-covered coat. "Also, I really couldn't stand your doghouse, so I tidied it up a bit. Otherwise, I wouldn't know where to sit!"
Luo Yan opened her mouth, the word "thank you" rolled around on her tongue a few times, but she swallowed it back in the end.
That's too mushy; it doesn't fit their communication style.
"Business is bad? You still have time to come here and act like a snail lady?"
Xu Jingfei rolled her eyes at her disdainfully, "You smell awful, it's stinking up my clothes."
Luo Yan lowered her head and sniffed herself. "Is there something wrong with your nose?"
Xu Jingfei impatiently picked up the mop and shoved it into her hand.
"Don't slack off now that you're back, get to work!" With that, she huffed and puffed as she carried the large bag of cat food to the balcony, muttering to herself, "That idiot Luo Muyang always has a long face around me. Yesterday, he drank two ounces of horse pee and started yelling that he was going to rescue you. Ha, does he think he owns the disciplinary inspection commission?"
Watching Xu Jingfei's busy figure, a small, soft spot quietly crumbled in Luo Yan's heart.
Two days later, Luo Yan returned to work at the Culture and Tourism Bureau.
The moment Liu Su stepped into the office, she lunged at Yan Jie: "Sister Yan! I've missed you so much!"
Director Zheng poked his head out of his office and coughed, "We've been away for over ten days, and we've fallen behind in a lot of work. We need to adjust the second phase bidding plan as soon as possible according to Deputy Director Zhang's suggestions."
"Where's Zhou Jiaqi?" Luo Yan glanced at the empty workstation.
Liu Su immediately lowered her voice: "He was also investigated. I heard they asked him a lot about Ming Sheng."
Just then, Zhou Jiaqi came in. When he saw Luo Yan, his eyes darted away for a moment, but he still walked over.
"Sister Luo, you're back?"
"Hmm." Luo Yan nodded, her attitude indifferent.
Zhou Jiaqi pursed his lips, his voice low and filled with guilt: "Sister Luo, I'm sorry, I was too foolish and caused trouble for you and President Jiang."
Luo Yan remembered what Lu Xingyao had said and didn't respond to the conversation.
"Your review is over? How did it go?"
“It’s over.” Zhou Jiaqi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “I did meet with Chairman Jiang, but it was just a private meeting. I didn’t leak any information about the second phase of the project. The disciplinary investigation confirmed this, so they didn’t hold me accountable and just gave me a warning…” He hesitated for a moment and continued, “Although Chairman Jiang is autocratic, he has principles. I personally believe that he didn’t have any malicious intent to compete with Feiyang.”
Luo Yan looked up at him: "Why do you say that?"
“I feel… he cares a lot about President Jiang, and he just wants President Jiang to return to Mingsheng, but maybe… he’s not finding the right way.” Zhou Jiaqi sighed. “President Jiang may not know about Feiyang’s leak this time.”
Luo Yan's heart skipped a beat; this coincided with her guess.
After get off work, she didn't go home. Instead, she took a taxi to Mingsheng Group and told the receptionist her name, saying she wanted to see Chairman Jiang Qiming. The receptionist politely refused, saying, "I'm sorry, Ms. Luo, you can't see the chairman without an appointment."
"I have something very important to do, please make an exception," Luo Yan said patiently.
At this moment, the elevator doors opened, and Jiang Qiming led a group of people out. When he saw Luo Yan, he paused slightly.
"Chairman Jiang!" Luo Yan mustered her courage and stepped forward. "Can I talk to you?"
Jiang Qiming sized her up for a few seconds, said to the people around him, "You guys go first," and then turned to Luo Yan: "Ten minutes."
In a corner booth at the coffee shop next door, Jiang Qiming ordered a black coffee but didn't touch it.
"Where is Jiang Sui?" he asked bluntly.
Luo Yan put down her soda water: "I want to know too."
Jiang Qiming sneered: "Even you don't know? He's certainly kept it well hidden."
“Chairman Jiang,” Luo Yan looked at him, “the software data that Mingsheng presented in the bidding for the Linzhou project highly overlapped with the database independently developed by Feiyang. Were you really unaware of this beforehand?”
Jiang Qiming picked up his coffee cup, his eyes sharp: "You're interrogating me?"
"I was trying to prevent anyone from being misunderstood."
Luo Yan met his gaze. "Zhou Jiaqi said you didn't mean any malicious competition against Feiyang. I also think that with your current status and position in the industry, there's no need for you to resort to such underhanded tactics. I guess someone took it upon themselves to try and curry favor with you, but their attempt backfired."
Jiang Qiming raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You do believe me."
"I trust my own judgment." Luo Yan smiled as well.
After a long silence, Jiang Qiming asked, seemingly unrelatedly, "Has Jiang Sui ever mentioned his mother to you?"
Luo Yan nodded: "He mentioned it, but he didn't say much."
“She’s beautiful, very gentle…” Jiang Qiming’s gaze drifted to the window, his tone unusually softened. “Jiang Sui looks like her, but his personality is like mine—stubborn and stubborn, once he’s made up his mind, nothing can change it. As for me… I can make any business decision decisively, but I’ve never been able to get over his mother’s situation, and I haven’t been able to treat Jiang Sui well…”
He turned back to look at Luo Yan: "Miss Luo, what I can tell you is that if Mingsheng is to win, it will be a fair and square victory."
Luo Yan felt slightly relieved: "So, you were unaware of the leak?"
Jiang Qiming did not answer. He put down his cup, and his gaze softened for once when he looked at her. "You reminded me today that it's time for Mingsheng to clean house."
After saying that, he stood up, took a few steps toward the door, then stopped without turning back.
"If Jiang Sui comes back, have him give me a call."
Luo Yan watched Jiang Qiming's back as he got into the car on the street. Suddenly, she felt that this domineering and dictatorial chairman was not so hateful after all. The tenderness in his eyes when he mentioned his deceased wife and the awkward but deeply caring words he gave when he mentioned his son did not seem fake.
After leaving Mingsheng, Luo Yan sat in the taxi on her way home and took out her phone to send a message to Jiang Sui.
-I've met your dad. The leak was probably done by someone else in Mingsheng. Your dad was unaware of it. When are you coming back?
After sending the message, she watched the screen slowly dim and gave a self-deprecating laugh before dialing Luo Muyang's number.
"Yanyan, you're out? Why didn't you say so sooner! Dad will treat you to a big meal to nourish yourself!"
"Let's talk about the big meal later. I'm asking you, was Fei Yang's 'leak' a scheme you and Jiang Sui orchestrated together?"
"..."
There was an eerie silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds.
Luo Muyang stammered, "This... involves trade secrets..."
"Okay, I understand."
Luo Yan was too lazy to listen to his excuses and hung up the phone directly.
Her gaze pierced through the fogged car window, where a few snowflakes were falling again. She suddenly smiled helplessly, her breath quickly dissipating in the cold air.
The two men closest to her conspired to put on such a grand show, one disappearing and the other feigning innocence, working together seamlessly without saying a single word to her.
Are you worried that her acting skills are too poor and will give her away? Are you concerned that she has too little tolerance for criticism and is not qualified to participate in script discussions? Is she only fit to be an audience member who can't predict the plot?
In the dead of night, heavy snow was falling.
Inside the villa, Jiang Sui looked at the message Luo Yan had sent on her phone, her fingertips tracing the cute cat avatar.
"Almost there, wait for me."
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