The message was brief, just a few words: "Martin, be careful." She wasn't sure if Ning Nanxue would believe it, nor was she sure if it was considered a betrayal of Fu Chen. She only knew that she had to leave herself a way out.
Jiang Tingchen's office. The technical director placed a report on his desk.
"Boss Jiang, this thing is quite tricky. Trying to trace it back to its source is extremely difficult. However, when we decoded the intercepted data, we came across some encrypted instructions pointing to a deeply hidden folder on Fu Chen's personal computer."
Jiang Tingchen opened the report and his eyes fell on the financial transaction records of those anonymous overseas accounts. The amounts were huge and the timing was sensitive.
He tapped the table with his fingertips. "Fu Chen is bolder than I expected. All these things must be backed up and encrypted at the highest level. Both within the company and at Ning's, all anti-theft measures must be taken to the highest level."
"clear."
After the people left, Jiang Tingchen picked up the phone and called Ning Nanxue: "Nanxue, we've found some new things with Fu Chen. The water is deeper than we thought." He briefly explained the funding matter.
Ning Nanxue was silent for a few seconds: "He's courting trouble. Does he really think he can manipulate Martin?"
"He will soon know who this fire will burn." Jiang Tingchen's tone was not heavy, but it carried a sense of oppression.
The atmosphere in Fu Chen's mansion was also not very good. An insider had just passed on a message that someone from the Ning family was contacting some of Martin's old connections in Europe.
"Jiang Tingchen!" The pen in Fu Chen's hand was broken with a "snap".
He still remembered Jiang Tingchen's expression a few days ago that said "we can talk about cooperation", but now he thinks it was all calculation!
Jiang Tingchen wants to kick him away and swallow the new energy meat by himself, and even wants to take Martin's entire plate?
How can this be possible!
The fragile intention of cooperation between him and Jiang Tingchen was now completely gone, leaving only a blatant struggle.
Fu family villa.
Xu Zhiru had been feeling uneasy for the past few days. The words Xu Zhao had said the other day had pierced her heart like a thorn.
She secretly sent an anonymous message to Ning Nanxue, but received no response, which made her feel even more uncertain.
She remembered that Xu Zhao went upstairs that day and said he wanted to take a look at his old room, but she always felt something was wrong.
Fu Chen’s study... Could Xu Zhao have done something in there?
Fu Chen was not at home, so Xu Zhiru slipped to the door of the study, but found it was locked.
She hesitated for a moment, remembering where Xu Zhao had hidden his spare key, and reached out to touch the door frame. It felt cold, metallic.
Her heart skipped a beat; it really was there.
Entering the study, she looked around.
Under the desk, in an inconspicuous corner, was a small black USB drive stuck to it. The kind Xu Zhao often used.
Her heartbeat quickened as she removed the USB drive, ran back to her room, and plugged it into her computer.
Encrypted file. Xu Zhiru frowned and tried a few of Xu Zhao's usual birthdays and anniversaries. The third one, the folder popped open.
The contents inside made her hands and feet cold.
A plan clearly outlined how Martin would use Fu's overseas new energy projects to transfer and launder large sums of money. The amount was so large, and the methods were so covert, that if it were exposed, Fu's company would be finished, and Fu Chen would be implicated as well.
The other party has a strong identity and background. Xu Zhao himself might have been unable to escape, so he came up with this method to warn her.
She held the USB drive, her hands shaking. She had originally thought Martin was just trying to use Fu's shell to develop new energy, but who would have thought there was such a deadly conspiracy behind it.
When Fu Chen came back in the evening, Xu Zhiru was waiting for him in the living room with a pale face.
"Fu Chen, I have something very important to tell you." Her voice was tense as she handed over the USB drive. "Take a look at this."
Fu Chen took it and plugged it into his computer. As the content unfolded bit by bit, his expression gradually grew colder, and the air in the entire living room also cooled down.
Xu Zhiru looked at him nervously: "I found it in the study today, left by Xu Zhao. Fu Chen, Martin wants to use our Fu family..."
Fu Chen raised his head suddenly, his eyes slashing at him like knives.
"Left by Xu Zhao? When did he enter my study? How did you find out?" The voice was so cold that there was no trace of humanity.
"He came a few days ago, and I only realized something was wrong later." Xu Zhiru was frightened by his gaze. "That's not the point, Fu Chen, look carefully, Martin is trying to drag the Fu family into this! We can't just wait like this!"
Fu Chen pulled the corner of his mouth, but it wasn't a smile. "I think you and your good brother have colluded and are putting on a show for me? Or have you already talked to Ning Nanxue and are using this to negotiate terms with me?"
Xu Zhiru felt as if someone had poured a basin of ice water over her head, and looked at Fu Chen: "You...how could you think of me like this? I'm wholeheartedly for you and the Fu family, and you actually say this to me?" Tears welled up in her eyes.
"For me?" Fu Chen's tone was stinging. "If Martin's plan is really like this, how can you, Xu Zhiru, escape responsibility? Xu Zhao is your biological brother, he's Martin's man, how could you not get any information at all? Now that you're bringing this up, are you afraid of being exposed and want to clear yourself in advance, or are you trying to curry favor with Ning Nanxue and pave the way for yourself?"
Fu Chen's words were more hurtful than the last.
All her uneasiness, fear, and desire to save the situation became a conspiracy in his eyes.
"Fu Chen, you are not a human being!" Xu Zhiru finally shouted, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'm not a human?" Fu Chen's eyes became even colder. "I think you have bad intentions!"
The quarrel was particularly harsh in the empty living room. Xu Zhiru's heart gradually turned cold, and finally only emptiness remained.
She looked at the man in front of her and felt strange and scary.
At this moment, she finally understood what Ning Nanxue felt back then.
She wiped her face, grabbed her coat and bag on the sofa, and rushed out of the villa.
The night wind hurts my face.
Xu Zhiru walked aimlessly on the street, trembling with grievance and fear. Where could she go? Several names flashed through her mind, and finally she stopped at Ning Nanxue.
Although the two of them had different positions, the anonymous text message she received was the only tiny glimmer of hope she could think of.
Trembling, she dialed Ning Nanxue's number, the number she had written down when she sent a message last time.
The call was connected, and Ning Nanxue's voice was calm: "Who is this?"
"Ning Nanxue, it's me, Xu Zhiru." Xu Zhiru's voice was trembling with tears, "Can I stay at your place for one night?"
Ning Nanxue held the phone, her eyebrows twitching slightly, and without asking any more questions, she said, "I'll send you the address."
Ning Nanxue's apartment. Xu Zhiru, still shaking with a cup of hot water in her hands, spoke incoherently about the USB flash drive incident, her quarrel with Fu Chen, and her own worries.
She no longer had any of her usual arrogance, like a quail drenched in rain.
Ning Nanxue listened quietly without interrupting.
Not long after, Jiang Tingchen also arrived.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com