Chapter 44 Do you really think he's innocent...?
Who is it? Are you trying to hide? Where are you hiding?
Ying Shixue's nerves were on edge. Every part of the study was exposed, leaving almost nowhere to hide.
The footsteps outside the room grew closer. Ying Shixue gripped the glass bottle tightly in her hand, opened the bottom cabinet door, and was about to hide inside when a voice suddenly called out, "Aunt Feng?"
“Hey,” came the voice of a middle-aged woman: “Second Young Master.”
Outside the corridor, Xi Bojian casually walked up to Feng Qiuxia, one hand in his pocket, and stopped in front of her.
Feng Qiuxia wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing: "Second Young Master, today is the regular cleaning day. I thought I'd sweep it up while the old man is downstairs, so it will be clean when he comes up to use it."
"Hmm," Xi Bojian said casually, "It seems someone downstairs accidentally knocked over a plate. We have guests coming. Go help clean it up first, and you can come back later."
While waiting for a reply, those few seconds seemed to stretch on endlessly. Separated by a wall, Ying Shixue huddled in the bookcase, her heart pounding, her blood rushing and surging, to the point that her eardrums were pounding like drums.
It felt like an eternity. "Oh," Aunt Feng replied, "I'll be right there."
The maid's footsteps faded into the distance. Xi Bojian watched her figure disappear at the top of the stairs, then slowly turned around and looked back at the imposing study door. After a long while, a cryptic smile appeared in his eyes.
-
It was almost fifteen minutes later when Ying Shixue and Xi Bojian returned to the dining room side by side.
Yao Hong was clearly a bit tipsy. When he saw her return, his eyes lit up, and he leaned over to put his arm around her shoulder, but Ying Shixue subtly dodged him.
"Why did it take so long?" Yao Hong muttered.
Whether Yao Hong asked the question intentionally or unintentionally, it changed the meaning of many things.
In fact, it wasn't just when he stepped back onto the dinner table and returned to the public eye, but ever since he entered the Xi family mansion, this persistent, lurking, sinister gaze had never left him.
Ying Shixue slowly exhaled, seemingly casually nudging Xi Bojian: "It's my first time here, so I'm not very familiar with the area. It took me a long time just to find my way. I ran into Bojian on my way back, and we chatted for a bit, which took up a little time."
At the head of the table, Xi Zongbo seemed completely unconcerned about the conversation taking place, maintaining his usual smiling and amiable demeanor, with his snake-head cane standing beside his chair.
At his age, he needs to be careful about what he eats and drinks, and besides, no one dares to force him to drink. The servant standing to the side took the wine bottle and carefully added a small amount to his glass, whispering, "Sir, this is the third small glass."
Xi Zongbo waved his hand: "It's alright! It's rare to have young friends gathered here today, so this old man will indulge himself and have some fun!"
Ying Shixue stepped forward at the opportune moment, filled her wine cup to the brim, and raised it high: "Elder Xi, I am grateful for your care these days. I would like to offer you a toast!" After saying this, she tilted her head back and drank it all in one gulp.
Xi Zongbo laughed heartily: "Why are you being so polite? With such a big project underway, both of our companies will be on a higher level in the future. Let's not talk like that!"
As the meal progressed, the older folks couldn't stay up all night, and after Xi Zongbo left, only a few younger people remained at the table.
Ying Shixue sat at the table, gently supporting her forehead with one hand.
The room was warm, and he was only wearing a silk shirt underneath, with two buttons undone at the collar, revealing a small patch of skin that was dazzlingly white under the light.
He looked genuinely drunk, as if he was completely exhausted. But then again, he had just drunk a mix of white and red liquor at the table. Yao Hong looked at the man's slender wrist, which was exposed as his shirt sleeve slipped down due to the way he propped himself up on his elbow.
In recent years, Old Master Xi has been staying behind the scenes, and no matter how big the commotion is at the front, he has never paid much attention to it... Although the first collaboration between the Song and Xi families after decades is indeed worthy of attention, it is unprecedented for him to invite the other party's person in charge to his home for a private visit only two or three months after the project was launched.
They say they value him... but at the dinner table just now, they kept pouring him all sorts of alcohol without stopping him. Was this a visit to build a relationship, or were they deliberately trying to mess with him?
But Ying Shixue was unaware of all this. The small glass bottle was pressed tightly against his side, hidden away by him, and seemed to be burning him as if it were warm.
He stumbled back to the bedroom of the house he had recently bought in Liancheng. Almost as soon as he entered, before he even got to the bed, he collapsed onto the floor.
The floor was cold in the autumn night. His lips and hands trembled. He had never been so out of control as he pulled at his clothes and clutched the small glass bottle tightly.
I did it... I really did it...
For so many years, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep at night, meticulously planning and calculating countless nights, even pushing away the person I loved most again and again.
The alcohol had clouded his mind, and he was so weak that he didn't even notice himself lying on the floor.
He held that small, cold bottle. "If I hand it in, if I hand in all the evidence I've collected, I can..."
Ying Shixue struggled to breathe, tears welling in her eyes.
Once everything settles down, I'll go back to where I belong. Maybe I can buy a few more plush toys. Hmm... my brother's room is too monotonous in color. It's not good for him to rest in such an environment. I wonder if he'll look at the little plush toys that clash with the overall decor with an awkward expression, yet still allow them to exist.
The edging on the handrail of the spiral staircase in the house was worn when he last saw it. He should remember to remind Uncle Liang to get a new one when he goes back, since they will be living there for a long time.
Summer and autumn went by so fast, and winter is almost here. The carpet will probably be put back up again. When I go back, we can go to and from get off work together, and I can shove my freezing hands into my brother's and let him warm them up...
His brows, which had been furrowed for a long time, finally relaxed. He lay on the ground, his lips slightly pursed with a shy yet pleasant smile. After nearly half a year of intense tension, he drifted into a deep sleep.
-
"What did you say?!" Ying Shixue stared in astonishment at the news playing continuously on the screen in front of her.
As he moved, the documents and pens on the desk were swept away and fell to the ground with a clatter. President Ying had never been so out of control since he arrived. Fang Zhi almost dared not look at his expression at this moment. In fact, he was completely stunned at the same time.
"According to reports, SK Group is suspected of participating in organizing illegal experiments and selling counterfeit drugs through smuggling. Its latest product, the Jiaxing Chip 3.0, developed in cooperation with the National Research Institute, is suspected of leaking core chip technology overseas for profit, raising suspicions of commercial espionage, technology patent protection violations, and illegally disclosing core federal technology secrets. Incomplete statistics indicate its illicit profits have reached tens of figures..."
"SK's current CEO, Song Qi, has been taken away by the Control Yuan for investigation. All of SK's economic activities have been suspended, and relevant departments are following up on the investigation..."
At the entrance of the once-glorious landmark SK Tower, countless flashbulbs gathered, and reporters swarmed forward like hyenas smelling carrion, their long lenses and microphones clicking in unison. Enforcement officers from the Supreme Supervisory Yuan stood in two rows with serious expressions, and several police cars were already parked on the outermost side.
The morning news anchor was spitting as he spoke, his voice so loud it was almost fainting: "SK's stock has already plummeted eightfold! Countless shareholders have gone bankrupt overnight, losing everything. Experts predict it will continue... It's falling again! Falling again!!"
As the early winter sun pierced through the clouds and cast its white light into the room through the window, the warm light made Ying Shixue feel cold all over.
A few seconds later, he grabbed his car keys from the drawer and stormed out.
Fang Zhi, who remained behind, shouted anxiously, "General Manager Ying! General Manager Ying, where are you going?! You're not wearing any clothes and it's cold outside!!"
The Shengan headquarters is only a 20-minute drive away, but the morning rush hour is still going on, and the traffic is congested and the noise is deafening.
Ying Shixue slammed his fist on the steering wheel, and blood quickly seeped from his joint.
The receptionist downstairs at Sheng'an Building saw him rush in and quickly stopped him: "Who are you? Who are you looking for? Do you have an appointment? You can't come in without an appointment... Hey, hey!"
Ying Shixue turned to leave, but the receptionist wouldn't let him in no matter what, and even started calling security. Just before the argument started, someone stopped her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that it should be a senior executive of Sheng'an. Without thinking about who he was or why, Ying Shixue stepped over and pressed the button for the direct elevator.
The elevator soared over the thirtieth floor and opened with a ding. Ying Shixue followed the route she had taken countless times to find the correct office door, pushed it open violently, and punched Xi Bojian hard in the face.
There were two other people standing in the office besides Xi Bojian, presumably reporting something. They were stunned when they saw this, and were about to rush up to question him when Xi Bojian made a stop gesture with one hand first.
That punch was no joke; blood immediately seeped from Xi Bojian's mouth, probably because his teeth hit the soft flesh inside his mouth.
He maintained the stop gesture with one hand, and with the other hand bent into a fist, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his thumb: "You guys go out first."
The two executives seemed to want to say something, but after hesitating for a moment, they left, leaving only the two of them in the huge office once again.
He didn't speak, but turned around and poured himself a cup of tea. The tea flowed from the teapot spout with a crisp sound, like water falling from a height.
"Why did you come in such a hurry? Have a drink first..." "What do you mean?" Ying Shixue interrupted him coldly.
Xi Bojian smiled slightly: "Don't be like that..." "What do you mean?" Ying Shixue asked again.
He recalled, "When we first started working together, the agreement was that you would help me secure a position and market share within Sheng'an, and I would help you obtain the evidence. And that's exactly what happened..."
“Okay,” Xi Bojian looked at him and shrugged. “You want to ask why SK is being blamed when it was all done by Xi Zongbo?”
Ying Shixue's ten fingers were unnaturally spread out. If you looked closely, you could see that his fingertips were actually trembling slightly, and his joints were white due to excessive force.
Xi Bojian straightened up, naturally looking down at the slender, thin, young, and beautiful youth before him, who resembled a flower or a bird. A deep, pure malice and a barely perceptible pity suddenly surfaced in his eyes:
"Do you really think that the Song family of Fancheng is completely innocent in this matter?"
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