Chapter 171 The Deal
Shi Qingman stared at him in astonishment for a moment, as if she finally understood what he meant by "disappointment" just now.
"I didn't let him go."
She finished speaking hastily, took a deep breath, and then said, "Yes, I wanted to persuade him to turn himself in, but I haven't been able to contact him since last night, so I came here."
“I am also a member of the Shi family, and I know what is right and wrong. No matter how much I love him, I cannot protect him without any principles or bottom line and put my own company in dire straits.”
Seeing her resolute yet pained eyes red and her voice choked with sobs, Shi Yuanxing fell silent.
After a moment, he asked her, "He can't escape Jiangcheng anytime soon. Do you know where he might be hiding?"
After all, she was the person closest to him, and to a certain extent, she knew quite a bit about his situation.
Shi Qingman wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, quickly regained her composure, and pondered for a moment, "Besides the Qiao family's old house, I only know of three other properties under his name. I'll send you the addresses."
Shi Yuanxing nodded, without saying anything more, only saying, "Dad already knows, let's go home first."
Shi Mansion.
The atmosphere in Shi Hongzhen's study was quiet and oppressive.
The brother and sister stood silently in front of the desk.
"I never imagined I'd raise such an ungrateful child!"
Shi Hongzhen was furious. "Smuggling, lining his own pockets, and now he even dares to steal the company's confidential documents! What is he trying to do? Ha!"
He slammed his hand on the table, then looked up at Shi Qingman, who had been keeping her head down. "He's the man you spend every day with, and you didn't even notice his wolfish ambitions?"
Shi Qingman hadn't slept a wink since last night, and her head was still buzzing. Hearing her father's accusations, she felt even more like a sinner against the Shi family. Her fiancé had done such a thing to her family, and she had been completely unaware. She felt that she was unforgivable.
"I'm sorry, Dad, it's my fault." Her voice choked with emotion.
"Now is not the time to assign blame; what I want is to retrieve the data." Shi Hongzhen slammed his fist on the table.
“He stole the original research manuscript. If he maliciously leaks the data, the damage to the Shi family will be incalculable.”
Shi Yuanxing said, "As long as he is still in Jiangcheng, we will definitely be able to find him."
*
Qin Shuzhi waited all night for Shi Yuanxing to return, but he didn't. She sent him a message and found out that Qiao Wenbo had actually stolen the company's research and development materials.
After returning to school and finishing her first class, she couldn't help but ask him about the situation on WeChat again.
Shi Yuanxing always replied to her messages instantly, but this time, she waited anxiously until the class bell rang, but he still didn't reply.
Qin Shuzhi could sense the seriousness of this matter from this.
She didn't see Shi Yuanxing's reply until after the second class.
But he simply told her in a lighthearted tone that everything was fine and that she should focus on her work and not worry about things at home.
Around noon.
Shi Mansion.
Shi Hongzhen received a call from an unknown number.
Upon seeing the call, he had a premonition, and sure enough, as soon as he answered, a voice on the other end said, "Uncle Shi."
Shi Hongzhen suppressed his anger and snorted coldly, "I can't bear the weight of that rebuke."
Qiao Wenbo paused for a moment, his hoarse voice sounding much more weathered, "I had no choice."
"Forced to do it?"
Shi Hongzhen's voice was a mix of anger and disappointment. "Qiao Wenbo, I've always treated you well, always considering you family. But what have you done? You've repaid kindness with enmity, doing this to the Shi family."
“I never intended for things to escalate to this point,” Qiao Wenbo said emotionally. “It was Shi Yuanxing who went too far; he was the one who wanted to ruin me. I only took the research data to protect myself.”
They committed illegal and immoral acts, yet they still blamed others for their mistakes.
Since things had come to this point, Shi Hongzhen didn't want to waste any more time arguing with him about these useless things.
"Speak, what do you want?"
He made that call simply to use the research data as a talking point.
Qiao Wenbo didn't beat around the bush, "Five hundred million, and I'll return the R&D documents to you."
"I'll give you 500 million, sure."
Shi Hongzhen's eyes darkened. "But how do I know that once you've taken the money, you won't actually return the documents intact?"
“You can have someone confirm the items before transferring the money,” Qiao Wenbo said.
“Uncle Shi, as I said, I only took this to protect myself. Once I get the money, I will leave Jiangcheng immediately and never come back, nor will I ever do anything to harm the Shi family again.”
"But I also have conditions."
Shi Hongzhen's eyes narrowed slightly. "What?"
Qiao Wenbo said, "We can't tell Shi Yuanxing and Manman about the deal. Also, only Qin Shuzhi can come to do the deal. I'll decide the time and place."
Shi Hongzhen frowned. "Why do we need to send a letter?"
“Because she is the least threatening. I don’t trust anyone else you send,” Qiao Wenbo said. “After all, I also have to ensure my own safety.”
Shi Hongzhen remained silent for a long time before replying, "Okay, I promise you."
Qiao Wenbo said, "Uncle Shi, please don't do anything underhanded. I'm all alone, and I'm not afraid of a fight to the death."
Hearing his threat, Shi Hongzhen's face darkened. "You'd better not try anything funny."
*
Qin Shuzhi received a call from Shi Hongzhen around 1:00 PM and returned to the Shi residence.
In the study, when she saw Shi Hongzhen's solemn expression, she felt both puzzled and tense.
"Dad, did you call me back because of something?"
She was being told to go home at a time like this, yet she was also told not to tell Shi Yuanxing. She really couldn't guess what Shi Hongzhen wanted from her.
Shi Hongzhen looked at her intently for a moment, "Shuzhi, you yourself have said that you are a member of the Shi family. So if the Shi family needs you to do something now, are you willing to go?"
Qin Shuzhi's long eyelashes trembled slightly. Although she didn't know what it was about, she nodded without hesitation and with a firm expression, "I'm willing."
"good."
Shi Hongzhen nodded with satisfaction before continuing, "You should know about Qiao Wenbo stealing confidential company documents, right?"
"I know, Yuanxing told me."
Qin Shuzhi asked, "So Dad, what do you need me to do?"
"Qiao Wenbo contacted me. He wants 500 million yuan to return the original research manuscript, and he specifically asked you to make the deal."
Qin Shuzhi looked bewildered and confused. "Why does he want me to go?"
"Because you are the least threatening member of the Shi family to him."
I see.
"Dad, I'm fine with going, but for something this important, shouldn't we inform Yuanxing first?"
Shi Hongzhen said, "If he finds out, do you think he'll allow you to go?"
Whenever it involves her, Yuanxing loses his temper. If he finds out, and if he acts rashly, Qiao Wenbo is very likely to act desperately and do something detrimental to the group.
Shi Hongzhen didn't want to complicate matters if they could be resolved with money.
Five hundred million was nothing to him; he gave it to them. What he wanted was to ensure the safety of the research and development data.
Upon hearing his words, Qin Shuzhi was also stunned.
Indeed, if Shi Yuanxing knew that she was being asked to make a deal, he definitely wouldn't agree.
“You can’t tell Yuanxing about this,” Shi Hongzhen said, his tone softening. “Don’t worry, I’ll send bodyguards to protect you.”
Qin Shuzhi snapped out of her daze and quickly said, "Thank you, Dad."
Shi Hongzhen suddenly thought of something and asked her, "Do you usually have bodyguards assigned to you for your journeys?"
Qin Shuzhi: "...There is one."
Shi Hongzhen thought for a moment, "We'll get everyone out of there first."
To avoid alerting the other side of the journey to anything unusual.
"OK."
Qin Shuzhi agreed, then asked, "When will the transaction take place?"
"At four o'clock, he will inform you of the location at that time."
Shi Hongzhen said, "Go back to school as usual. When it's time, I'll have someone come and pick you up."
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