Chapter 41.2: You're Awesome Today
After lunch, she returned to the due diligence office and
waited a while longer before Ren Yan and his group returned. Yu Yue also joined
them.
They simply held a meeting in the due diligence office, a
meeting not quite a meeting. Yu Yue sat on the couch, and Chu Qianmiao poured
him a glass of water.
Ren Yan, feeling hot from walking all morning, took off his
suit jacket as soon as he entered the room, draping it over a chair. Then he
turned around, leaning against his desk, unbuttoning his sleeves as he said to
Chu Qianmiao, "Tell me about your findings."
After pouring Yu Yue the water, Chu Qianmiao turned around
at the sound of Ren Yan's voice and saw him, looking like the protagonist of a
shojo manga in springtime. He leaned against the edge of the table, his legs
looking ridiculously long beneath his black suit pants. He unbuttoned his
cuffs, then rolled them up, the watch face on his left wrist catching the
spring sunlight and dazzling him. Then he loosened his tie, not too much, just
enough to unbutton his collar for a bit of air. He then leaned his hands back
against the edge of the table, his elbows slightly bent, looking relaxed. He
looked up at Chu Qianmiao and asked, "What's wrong? What are you
daydreaming about?"
Chu Qianmiao scratched her head and smiled, then offered a
compliment: "Senior, you're so cool I almost forgot what I was going to
say!" Then she clapped her hands and said, "Oh, no, it's Mr.
Ren."
Qin Qianyu interjected, "Qianmiao, why are you being so
polite to my boss? Honestly, if I were our boss's junior, I'd call him Senior
and never Mr. Ren! It would show off my status!"
Yu Yue also joked, "That's right, Lawyer Chu, I'd say
you lawyers have so many rules. You know everything clearly!"
Chu Qianmiao: "..."
She glanced at Ren Yan, who raised the corner of his mouth,
looking nonchalant and half-smiled.
"………………"
You're not allowed to call me Senior during work hours. I
wonder which idiot made that rule!
Chu Qianmiao thought it looked like this morning's outing
had been quite fruitful; everyone seemed to be more relaxed.
Ren Yan spoke again, asking her to share her findings. She
cleared her throat and began her presentation.
"Mr. Ren, Mr. Yu, here's the thing: I went to the
R&D department this morning and spent a long time chatting with the
technical staff. I suspect the 'rat' might be Hu Yuelong."
Yu Yue's voice rose. "Hu Yuelong?" There was a
hint of surprise in his tone. "He's one of the most well-behaved people in
the R&D department. He's so well-behaved that I completely skipped over him
when I was trying to figure out who the 'rat' was. It's truly blinding!"
Chu Qianmiao saw that Ren Yan didn't express much emotion.
She figured he'd probably seen this kind of unexpected situation so often on
the project that he'd developed a knack for remaining calm and composed.
Ren Yan, neither expressing any emotion nor surprise, asked
Chu Qianmiao directly if there was anything wrong with Hu Yuelong that she had
just discovered.
Chu Qianmiao replied, "I was chatting with the
technicians about random things and the topic of children's homework came up.
Hu Yuelong mentioned that his son had recently transferred to another
elementary school and had an awful lot of homework. I casually asked which one,
and he casually mentioned a private school with quite expensive tuition."
"Then I started the conversation about the technicians'
wives' spending. When we got to Hu Yuelong, I realized his wife had been
staying home to take care of the kids since she gave birth and hadn't
worked."
"Then I sneezed, and Hu Yuelong handed me a tissue. He
stretched out his arm, and I saw a watch on his wrist. It looked quite
expensive. I was stunned!"
"After wiping my nose, Hu Yuelong kicked the trash can
towards me and told me to throw the tissue in. I looked down, and just as I was
about to throw the tissue in, I saw a pile of hazelnut shells. I was
alerted."
Qin Qianyu interrupted, "What's wrong with hazelnut
shells? Why did that alert you?"
Chu Qianmiao pointed at him with both hands. "Thanks,
Brother Qin, for adding to the suspense. Here's the thing: do you remember what
food Di Chong brought me when he came to ask me questions? I shared it with you
after you came back!"
Qin Qianyu slapped his thigh. "Hazelnuts!"
"Oh, right!" Chu Qianmiao said. "I saw a bag
of hazelnuts in the wastebasket. I couldn't quite make out the origin of the
hazelnuts on the label. I pretended to throw a ball of paper in there and
missed it, so I dropped it outside. Then I squatted down to pick it up and read
the words on the bag." Chu Qianmiao paused, then said, "The
hazelnuts' origin is written on the bag: Di Chong's hometown. They're his
family's specialty."
Yu Yue exclaimed, "Holy crap!"
Chu Qianmiao continued, "After I stood up, I wanted to
double-check Hu Yuelong's watch, so I specifically asked him what time it was.
I even leaned over and pretended to check the time, examining it closely. After
checking, I confirmed it was very new, likely new. It's the same brand you're
wearing right now, Senior. It must be worth hundreds of thousands!" She
didn't realize she'd gotten used to calling him "Senior" and didn't
change back to "Mr. Ren" for a long time.
Ren Yan looked at Chu Qianmiao, as if he knew everything,
and said, "Isn't that over yet? What else did you do?"
Chu Qianmiao wondered if Ren Yan was the reincarnation of a
roundworm spirit. How could he even guess what she'd done next?
"Yes!" She nodded and said, "After leaving
R&D, I went straight to the Finance Department to check if the technicians
had received any large bonuses or income recently. The response from Finance
was no."
After a pause, Chu Qianmiao continued, "So, in general,
Hu Yuelong's family is average, and his wife is a stay-at-home housewife with
no income. But he recently transferred his son to a private school and bought a
new watch worth hundreds of thousands of yuan. Combined with the hazelnut
shells in his wastebasket, I'm making a bold assumption: Di Chong left Hanhai
and joined Gelaner Home Textiles. Gelaner then had Di Chong contact Hu Yuelong
and bribed him, possibly with both money and watches, and of course, with the
hazelnuts, a specialty of Di Chong's hometown, which he was good at winning
over. Then, Hu Yuelong helped Di Chong and Gelaner steal the upgraded patented
technology from Hanhai, and Gelaner then retaliated by accusing Hanhai of
plagiarism."
After she finished speaking, no one in the office spoke.
Chu Qianmiao couldn't help but panic.
"Senior, isn't my speculation too subjective?"
Ren Yan raised the corner of his mouth and turned to Yu Yue:
"Mr. Yu, what do you think?"
Yu Yue came to his senses and slapped the armrest of the
sofa. "I don't think it's subjective at all! I think it makes perfect
sense! Damn it, I'll make arrangements right now, and then we'll try to trick
that idiot Hu Yuelong!" With that, Yu Yue stormed out the door.
At this moment, Qin Qianyu also came to his senses. He
exclaimed to Chu Qianmiao, "Oh my god, Qianmiao, you were outstanding
today! You were so actionable and analytical, so logical and reasoned. I'm even
thinking of introducing you to someone great again!"
Chu Qianmiao scratched her head, smiling expectantly:
"I'm not a kid anymore, so I'll trouble you, Brother Qin!"
Ren Yan dismissed Qin Qianyu for the time being. The pretext
was:
"Xiao Qin, go make me some tea. I'm thirsty."
Then Ren Yan looked at Chu Qianmiao. He looked at her the
same way she had looked at him before, as if the other person's face was rich
and worth a look.
Chu Qianmiao felt a little flustered by the stare. She waved
her hand and asked, "Senior, what's wrong? Is there something
wrong..."
Ren Yan raised one corner of his mouth and smiled at her.
This time, there was no teasing in his smile, only laughter:
"Nothing." After a pause, he said, "You were great today. You
finished your boast."
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