Chapter 143 I will protect the company and our families.
It was late at night.
In his daze, Qin Shuzhi instinctively leaned towards the other side of the bed, but his outstretched hand found nothing.
Um?
She groggily opened her eyes and found the seat next to her empty.
Mr. Shi is not here.
She reached for her phone on the bedside table and glanced at it; it was already past 1 a.m.
Around 10 o'clock, Shi Yuanxing said he still had work to do and told her to go to sleep first. Is he still in the study right now?
Although Shi Yuanxing didn't say anything, Qin Shuzhi could still sense that his mood had changed since he left the hospital.
At the time, Qin Shuzhi thought he was just hiding it from the family because his sister was pregnant. But now that he wasn't coming home to sleep late at night, she felt something was wrong.
She instantly lost her sleepiness, got up, put on her coat, and walked out of the bedroom. Sure enough, she saw that Shi Yuanxing's study was still lit.
She walked over, gently pushed open the study door, and saw Shi Yuanxing sitting at his desk, deep in thought, with a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers and several cigarette butts in the ashtray beside him.
Before even stepping inside, one could smell a faint scent of tobacco, and Qin Shuzhi froze by the door.
Shi Yuanxing noticed the commotion and looked up towards the door.
"Zhizhi?"
He paused, quickly stubbed out his cigarette, then got up and walked towards her, asking softly, "Didn't I tell you to go to sleep first? Why are you up?"
Qin Shuzhi looked at his tired eyes and asked, "And you, why aren't you back to sleep so late?"
Shi Yuanxing smiled, took her hand and walked towards the bedroom, "Let's go back now."
After returning to the bedroom, Shi Yuanxing first went to the bathroom to wash up, and only dared to get into bed and hug her after making sure there was no lingering smell of smoke on his body.
"It's late, go to sleep."
He held her in his arms and gently stroked her back.
But Qin Shuzhi wasn't sleepy at all. She rested her head on his chest and asked softly, "Are you worried about your sister?"
He's never been a heavy smoker, so the fact that he's smoked so many tonight means he must be having something on his mind.
She looked up at him in the soft, warm light of the wall lamp. "Can you tell me about it?"
Sometimes, talking about things can make you feel better.
Looking into her eyes, which were full of care and tenderness, Shi Yuanxing felt a warmth in his heart and softly replied, "Mm."
“I’m worried that Qiao Wenbo will use her pregnancy to pressure her into marriage.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Shuzhi propped her head up slightly and looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Forced marriage? From what you're saying, you don't want them to get married?"
Shi Yuanxing's eyes darkened, and after a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice, "Qiao Wenbo is not a good match for her."
"?"
Qin Shuzhi was quite surprised and sat up. "But, I think Qiao Wenbo is quite gentle and considerate to my sister. Isn't that a good match?"
Looking at his wife's innocent eyes, Shi Yuanxing also sat up straight. "Some people are very good at pretending."
Qin Shuzhi gasped, her eyes widening. "You mean... Qiao Wenbo isn't as kind as he seems?"
Shi Yuanxing looked at her and asked, "Do you know what he's done?"
Qin Shuzhi hurriedly asked, "What?"
Shi Yuanxing's eyes were cold and fierce. "Taking advantage of his position in the group, he secretly smuggled high-end electronic products from the company to foreign countries. He also embezzled public funds under the pretext of expanding business and made money off the company."
Qin Shuzhi looked shocked. "Wh-what?"
Smuggling, embezzlement?
"This is a crime! Why didn't you call the police?"
Shi Yuanxing lowered his gaze, "He is extremely careful and meticulous in his actions, and it is still very difficult to obtain evidence of his crimes."
On the night Qiao Wenbo first met Qin Shuzhi in China, a batch of smuggled goods entered the underground market of Thailand. He secretly intercepted them, but Qiao Wenbo was so cautious that he did not collect any important evidence.
Qin Shuzhi was utterly shocked.
What kind of mess is this?
The Shi family treated Qiao Wenbo like family, so his actions... aren't they just betraying them?
What's the difference between this and a beast in human clothing?
"Didn't Dad and my sister notice what he was doing?"
“He has always been a humble future son-in-law in front of my father, and as for my sister, it goes without saying.”
Shi Yuanxing smiled helplessly, “In her heart, Qiao Wenbo is much closer and more important than me, her younger brother. At the company, she has been secretly pushing Qiao Wenbo to a higher position, personally bolstering his wings to do evil.”
Qin Shuzhi was both angry and anxious, "Then why didn't you tell them?"
"Without concrete evidence, if I rashly say it, Qiao Wenbo will not only not admit it, but will also turn around and accuse me of spreading rumors to seize power. My sister already has a prejudice against me, so she will definitely choose to believe him."
In fact, he had subtly pointed out Qiao Wenbo's suspicious aspects at work to remind her, but Shi Qingman always felt that he was deliberately targeting Qiao Wenbo. Not only did she not listen, but she also protected Qiao Wenbo like a mother hen protecting her own.
“If I just tell Dad, it would be tantamount to stabbing her in the back,” Shi Yuanxing said.
"In this way, not only will she be betrayed by her fiancé, but she will also feel abandoned by her family, which will probably be an even bigger blow to her."
Moreover, she has worked diligently and made countless efforts over the years to become the best future heir in her father's eyes and to gain his approval. If this matter causes her image in her father's eyes to plummet, she will probably break down.
Shi Yuanxing remained silent for two reasons: first, he didn't want to alert the enemy, and second, he wanted to minimize the harm this matter would cause to Shi Qingman.
His original plan was to secretly collect evidence of Qiao Wenbo's crimes and then hand it over to Shi Qingman so that she could see the truth and bring Qiao Wenbo to justice herself.
In this way, she could also make a statement to their father, proving that everything Qiao Wenbo did had nothing to do with her.
But since his return to the group, Qiao Wenbo has become more vigilant and wary, keeping his tail hidden even tighter, and has not made any further moves.
Therefore, Shi Yuanxing deliberately brought forward Shengrui's plan to expand eastward, with the aim of luring Qiao Wenbo into the game and drawing him out.
But now, before the situation has even been resolved, Shi Qingman has unexpectedly become pregnant.
If they get married now, Qiao Wenbo will have an extra talisman and an additional layer of identity that is inseparable from the Shi family and the Shi Group.
With things having developed to this point, Shi Yuanxing could no longer simply consider Shi Qingman's feelings; it also concerned the group's interests and reputation.
"So what do we do now?"
At this moment, Qin Shuzhi was worried.
Shi Yuanxing looked at her furrowed brows, raised his hand and gently stroked her brow with his thumb, and smiled reassuringly, "There will be a way."
He didn't want to talk to her about these things before because he didn't want her to be bothered by him.
"Don't worry, I will protect the company and our families."
Upon hearing this, Qin Shuzhi asked, "So, you never actually intended to compete with your sister for the company, right?"
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