Chapter 22 The light is bright, but she is the victim.
Zhang Minglang clearly hadn't said those heartfelt words in a serious manner. Coming to his senses, he felt more embarrassed than regretful.
This state persisted with him. He would unconsciously tap the steering wheel while driving, struggle to find the right key when entering a room, and stare blankly at the ceiling while lying in bed; this strange feeling had not completely dissipated.
This was the first time Tang Yi had ever opened up to anyone other than Xu Xiaoxiao.
She splashed cold water on her face, the icy water dripping down her chin into the sink, making her a little more awake, but her mind was still a jumbled mess.
She tried hard to recall why she had made that choice tonight.
Ultimately, she attributed the motivation behind all the actions to the atmosphere.
In the deserted, silent place, two young people, equally exhausted from work, are bathed in the faint light from the incandescent bulb outside the window...
It's probably at times like these that people are most likely to lose their minds and say things they would never normally say.
Tang Yi thought of the last words Zhang Minglang had said.
"In my heart, you are strong, brave, and powerful. You may be tired or vulnerable at times, but you are still a very strong secretary, and that is beyond doubt."
She lay in bed, hugging the corner of the blanket and closing her eyes, unaware of the slight upturn of her lips.
The next morning, the moment Tang Yi put on her suit jacket and name tag, she reverted to her usual role as a meticulous secretary.
When they met with Zhang Minglang, the two tacitly avoided mentioning the heart-to-heart talk from the previous night. They both knew that the next two days were crucial for the survival of the "Zero Hour" project.
The morale and hard work of the entire company are in their hands.
Not long after Zhang Minglang sat down in his office, Assistant Zhou opened the door and handed him newly discovered evidence. However, this time was somewhat different.
"Mr. Zhang, this is what the investigation team found. They want to include this in the chain of evidence. The legal department will review it and make a decision for you."
Zhang Minglang frowned as he took the book and flipped through a few pages.
Inside are a series of records from a third-party forensic investigation into Liu Zhang's public mobile phone, which involved a read-only backup. The records show that Vice President Zhao and Secretary Liu had been in contact two or three years ago.
"Two or three years ago?" Zhang Minglang stroked the paper.
"yes."
"We'll hold off for now and talk about it after the talks."
After everything was prepared and the investigation team successfully submitted its application for approval, formal notices of interviews were issued to Liu Zhang and Zhao Linrui.
The meeting was scheduled for 2:30 p.m., with the company's legal counsel presiding. Tang Yi and Zhou, the special assistants, were to go to Liu Zhang's office to take notes, while Zhang Minglang personally listened to Zhao Linrui's meeting.
Liu Zhang was not a strong-willed person. He was terrified when the notice of interview came down, and he no longer had the chance to discuss it with Zhao Linrui.
Faced with a series of irrefutable pieces of evidence, he stammered and confessed everything.
From the initial conspiracy two or three years ago, to how Zhao Linrui gradually obtained core secrets during the patent design process, and through what secret methods he leaked the information to the other company, ultimately leading to this outcome.
However, Zhao Linrui remained skeptical that Zhang Minglang could uncover his meticulously planned scheme so quickly. Therefore, no matter how the investigators questioned him, he stubbornly denied everything. The company's legal department had no choice but to compile all the evidence and hand it over to the public security authorities along with Zhang Minglang's account.
Everything came to an end that afternoon. However, Zhang Minglang stopped the legal department from issuing an immediate statement and instead decided to announce the fact at the Dingsheng press conference.
The next day, Tang Yi kept a close eye on Dingsheng's press conference schedule. At 11:00 a.m., when the other party had announced the official start, she arranged for her legal department to post a statement on the official Weibo account and commissioned a professional lawyer to formally file an infringement lawsuit against Dingsheng Group.
"My God, everyone, look at the official Weibo account!"
Tang Jiaxin picked up her phone and exclaimed in surprise.
Since Dingsheng published its patented design, Junmao has been so disheartened after discovering that the other party had stolen its trade secrets that they have been unable to work properly for a whole week.
When Liu Zhang arrived at work in the afternoon, he was inexplicably summoned for a talk. Everyone knew the facts, but no one knew the reason.
Only now, when the company's official website issued a solemn statement announcing that employees Zhao Linrui and Liu Zhang had colluded with each other to steal company secrets and had been suspended from their duties pending investigation, did they truly understand what General Manager Zhang and Secretary Tang had been busy with all week.
No one in the secretariat, including all departments throughout the company, believed that this newly arrived General Manager Zhang had managed to complete the preliminary collection of evidence for such a major leak of confidential information in just one week.
Does this mean that our project can still apply for patents normally, and all our efforts haven't been in vain?
Tang Jiaxin broke the silence first, saying with delight.
Tang Yi smiled as she watched her colleagues celebrating joyfully around her, then collapsed into her chair, feeling utterly exhausted, and let out a long sigh.
It's finally over, everything.
Finally, I can have a peaceful vacation.
"Oh, another statement?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Yi felt a pang of anxiety and quickly logged into the official Weibo account to check.
It refers to the dismissal and disciplinary action taken by the company against its employees.
She zoomed in to examine it with suspicion.
"Spreading false information? What's this about?"
Could it be...?
The male colleague who said this glanced at the president's office and then gestured towards Tang Yi, who was still stunned.
Tang Yi didn't have time to say anything more. She stood up from her chair, walked quickly to the door of the CEO's office, and didn't forget to knock.
The man in the seat seemed to have anticipated her arrival, and was now looking up at her intently.
Tang Yi moved her lips, but only managed to utter one sentence: "That punishment..."
“I won’t forget what I promised you.” Zhang Minglang clearly knew what she was talking about. He interrupted her as if it were his due, raising his chin as if to take credit for her.
Tang Yi didn't know what to say anymore.
Those who deeply hurt her are now reaping the consequences, and those who spread rumors are also receiving their due punishment.
She had no idea how Zhang Minglang had managed to keep her in the dark during those previous hectic workdays, squeezing out time to arrange for people to collect evidence from all over the place, and finally decisively issuing a statement to cut off the source of the rumors about them.
Years ago, the fairness she desperately sought seemed to have found its answer in him.
Tang Yi's heart was already surging like a tidal wave. The punishment of the rumor-monger was just the beginning. What she was truly grateful for was that the justice she had been seeking had finally been fulfilled in another way today.
Even if the truth about what happened back then is still unclear, doesn't Zhang Minglang's attitude towards this matter suggest that she might tentatively place some hope in him?
She hadn't felt this emotional in a long time, and her eyes stung with tears. Afraid of embarrassing herself, she burst into tears on the spot, forgetting even to thank him. Without saying a word, she turned to leave.
"Hey, you..."
Zhang Minglang was startled by her unusual emotions. As he got up to chase after her, she grabbed the doorknob and turned around, her eyes red and her voice trembling slightly.
"Mr. Zhang, I am very, very grateful for everything you have done for me. Now I need to calm down and process my emotions, and I hope you won't follow me."
After saying this, Tang Yi pretended nothing had happened, lowered her head, walked out of the president's office, and pressed the elevator button to go up to the top floor.
The last time she came here was several years ago after she was almost assaulted by Zhao Linrui.
After so many years, she finally had the courage to face that tragic night again.
It was on the eve of the signing of a project contract. The entire project was led by former President Lin, and Zhao Linrui, as the vice president, was in charge of several sub-projects.
As the chief secretary, Tang Yi was naturally involved in numerous contract drafting and document integration tasks.
She still vividly remembers that it was pouring rain outside that day. Her colleagues all left work one after another, but she chose to stay at the company and wait for the rain to stop because she was worried about driving safety.
She remembered that she was wearing a new suit that she had bought with Xu Xiaoxiao a few days earlier. It was the first day she wore it, and she was very happy about it all day.
Liu Zhang, who had already left work, called him, saying that there was a problem with Vice President Zhao's project contract. Since he had already left work, he had no choice but to ask her to take another look at the contract and reprint a copy to send to the vice president's office.
This kind of thing happened to Liu Zhang quite often. Since she had nothing else to do while waiting for the rain to stop, she simply agreed.
Just as Tang Yi stepped out of the elevator, the company's power went out due to a thunderstorm, and the elevator stopped working as well.
She secretly rejoiced that she was truly lucky and hadn't been trapped in the elevator.
She had no choice but to find the vice president's office in the dark, where there was only a faint light. Feeling somewhat wary, she took out her phone, fiddled with it for a moment, put it in her coat pocket, and then knocked on the door.
There was no response from inside the room.
She frowned suspiciously, but still gently pressed the doorknob and peeked into the room: "Mr. Zhao? I've come to deliver the contract."
Seeing that no one was in the room, she was puzzled and was about to take out her phone to ask Liu Zhang when the office door was suddenly flung open, and Zhao Linrui's face appeared inside.
Tang Yi trembled with fright, a chill ran through her, and even her fingers felt icy cold. She turned and prepared to run away.
However, he had already pounced on her, covering her mouth and nose tightly and dragging her into the office.
In the struggle, she knocked over his fish tank, and the glass shattered instantly. Several small red fish thrashed about on the ground, as powerless as she was struggling desperately.
This became her nightmare for the entire following year.
She cried for help with all her might, and just when she was about to give up, the cleaning lady outside the door heard the commotion and knocked on the door to rescue her.
What happened next was nothing out of the ordinary.
She was gagged and forced to take a break by General Manager Lin and Chairman Zhang on the grounds of damaging the company's reputation. The cleaning lady was also fired. However, the real perpetrators went unpunished and continued to sit firmly in the position of vice president.
Sometimes Tang Yi often wonders, what exactly is fairness?
Even though people loudly advocate for workplace fairness, there always seem to be all sorts of rules and regulations that make people willingly confine themselves to these constraints and choose to keep quiet.
Before that, whenever Tang Yi saw various social news, she would always think, why not report it?
But when it actually happened to her, she seemed to have become the kind of person she had once questioned.
Cowardice, withdrawal, fear.
Moral blackmail from superiors, threats from perpetrators, rumors spread by perpetrators, and curses from close relatives.
But clearly, she was the victim.
"Girl, girl."
A voice with an accent rang out from outside the top-floor door.
Tang Yi turned her head weakly. A strange, wrinkled face cautiously peeked out from behind the door.
"Girl, let me tell you, nothing is insurmountable! Take good care of yourself. You're so beautiful, you earn money, and you have people who love you!"
The cleaning lady in her uniform pushed open the iron gate, smiled, and waved to her: "Don't cry, come on, come on."
Tang Yi could no longer hold back.
As dusk fell, she rushed towards her, stretched out her arms and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face.
At the corner of the stairs on the first floor, Zhang Minglang saw the cleaning lady and Tang Yi hugging each other, and he finally felt relieved.
He leaned quietly against the wall, listening to her aggrieved cries echoing in the empty stairwell, and didn't leave for a very long time.
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