Water and Fire~Chapter 123.2: Unlocking the Secret 1

 

Chapter 123.2: Unlocking the Secret 1

That afternoon, she sorted through the recordings and debated whether to leave work early. She was genuinely afraid that Qiao Zhixin might become desperate and do something to her, so she decided to just go home before daybreak.

But before she could make a decision, Wang Jun called again.

His lowered voice held an unusual emotion, sounding intense and tense. "Qian Miao, just now, Qiao Zhixin was taken away, along with his computer, his hard drive, all the documents in his office, and all the relevant project information he'd worked on." After a pause, he told Chu Qian Miao, "The network he used for his private activities has been reported. No one can protect him anymore."

After hanging up the phone, Chu Qian Miao breathed a sigh of relief.

When everything was finally settled, she suddenly felt unreal.

She no longer had to worry about her safety; Qiao Zhixin was already in jail.

Based on what he had done, each one of them was enough to get him into trouble. He would face not only the revocation of his lawyer's license, but also several cumulative criminal penalties. She would later submit the recording of today's call and formally file a lawsuit against him for the s*xual harassment and attempted s*xual harassment he had committed.

She thought that at this moment, the pain and humiliation Qiao Zhixin had inflicted on her could finally be completely put behind her.

After get off work that afternoon, Ren Yan returned to the company to take care of some matters. When he returned, Chu Qianmiao was working overtime with the project team in the conference room, reviewing application documents.

As they were about to enter the business and technical department, the conference room door knocked twice.

Chu Qianmiao turned and saw that it was Ren Yan who had opened the door.

He nodded to the others in the room as a gesture of greeting, then said to Chu Qianmiao, "Come to my office."

Chu Qianmiao let the project members review their materials while she went to Ren Yan's office.

As soon as she sat down, Ren Yan said, "I have limited time and need to leave soon, so I interrupted you and called you here temporarily."

Chu Qianmiao nodded. She looked at Ren Yan. He seemed the same as before, calm and aloof, handsome and restrained. But he also seemed different. He looked haggard, and an inexplicable weariness lingered in his eyes and eyebrows.

Come to think of it, both work and family matters had recently come to haunt him.

Chu Qianmiao suddenly felt a pang of sadness for him.

Amidst this sadness, she heard Ren Yan ask, "Why didn't you discuss reporting Qiao Zhixin with me beforehand?"

When he learned today that Qiao Zhixin had been taken away, there was a sharp knife hidden in his briefcase. Qiao Zhixin later confessed that he intended to use it on a female lawyer who had ruined his life.

He was shaking uncontrollably.

He hurried back to the office just to make sure she was okay.

Chu Qianmiao was stunned by Ren Yan's bluntness, because he already knew everything.

"It's all over. It's all over." Her tone and demeanor were calm, hoping to ease his nervousness.

But he suddenly became angry at her indifference. "Do you know that handling things this way is dangerous? Do you know that if Qiao Zhixin hadn't been taken away in time, you might have been..."

He couldn't continue, but he glared at Chu Qianmiao angrily.

She had never seen him so viscerally angry before. Normally, she would have been happy that he was experiencing such intense emotional fluctuations. But now, she was also a little angry.

"Do I have to tell you everything?" She opened her mouth, realizing she had said this in anger. She told herself to shut up. Don't say anything when you're angry. You'll regret it. But her mouth wouldn't listen; it kept moving on its own. "What about you? Are there things you should tell me but haven't? You have so many secrets. When are you going to tell me why you only live with me in the apartment, even though you have a family, and can't bring me home? When are you going to tell me why your grandmother forbade you from dating me? When are you going to tell me why you said you didn't remember me, but you remember how I dealt with the naughty kids? Do you really not remember me? Will you tell me the answers to these questions? When are you going to tell me?"

When Chu Qianmiao finished asking these questions on her own, she realized how much resentment she had been harboring. These resentments couldn't be exposed to the light of day. Once exposed, the grievances would surge forth, flooding the room and making it impossible to remain strong.

It was almost 6:30 pm. Outside the window, the sun had set, and the sky was gray. The lights were off in the office, and the room darkened even faster than outside. Chu Qianmiao and Ren Yan sat in a gloom even darker than outside, staring at each other. A hint of sadness seemed to linger in both of their eyes. After a long moment, Ren Yan spoke first. "I'm afraid if I tell you something now, you won't be able to bear it. I'm afraid you'll leave me." His voice trailed off. "But if I don't say anything and you feel so wronged and hurt, I'll find time as soon as possible, wait until my grandmother's condition stabilizes, and then I'll tell you everything."

Chu Qianmiao wasn't sure if her and Ren Yan parted ways on bad terms. However, since their conversation two nights ago, they hadn't met, called, or video chatted again, only sending each other a goodnight message before bed each night.

Chu Qianmiao was mired in an unprecedented melancholy, a melancholy that made everything she did blandly unsatisfying. Even her ambitious career couldn't offset this melancholy and unhappiness.

For the past two days, she had been leading the project team, working with accountants and lawyers to review the application materials.

She had personally handled everything from contracting to construction for the Jieheng Group. Now, with the final step of the application, she was determined to stay focused and take this final step.

Two days later, during lunch break, Wang Jun chatted with her.

Wang Jun told her, "I went back to the office yesterday, and He Wei asked if I knew a vice president of Yingji Capital named Tan. He said that before Qiao Zhixin was taken away, he was discussing a project with this vice president of Yingji Capital. He felt that although Qiao Zhixin failed, it was a pity that the project failed too. It would be great if he or I could contact this vice president and resurrect the project." After a pause, he asked Chu Qianmiao, "I think someone mentioned it. Qianmiao, you have a friend at Yingji Capital, right? Could your friend introduce you to this vice president, Tan?"

Chu Qianmiao's thoughts were still lingering on the first half of Wang Jun's sentence. "Lawyer Wang, who did you say was in talks with Qiao Zhixin?"

Wang Jun said, "A vice president of Yingji Capital named Tan. He's said to be quite young. What's wrong, Qianmiao? Why do you look so grim?"

Chu Qianmiao forced a smile. "Nothing." After a pause, she continued, "Lawyer Wang, I'm going to be out for a moment."

Chu Qianmiao was shocked the moment she heard Tan Shen and Qiao Zhixin discussing a partnership.

She didn't know why Tan Shen would act this way. Had he forgotten what she'd experienced that night at Qiao Zhixin's? Had he forgotten how he'd fought against Qiao Zhixin for her? She truly didn't understand the world of men and their values. Things they'd once defended with fists could be so easily written off for the sake of profit.

And to protect Ren Yan and him, and to avoid being accused of assault by Qiao Zhixin, she'd waited two years before taking action. Had all this become a joke in the face of men's interests?

She returned to the office, thought it over, and finally couldn't help herself. She called Tan Shen and asked, "Why are you collaborating on a project with Qiao Zhixin? I thought you thought he was a scumbag."

Tan Shen, on the other end of the line, was stunned. "Qianmiao, what's wrong with me collaborating on a project with him?"

Chu Qianmiao choked. After choking for a moment, she asked Tan Shen, "Don't you remember what he did to me?"

Tan Shen's voice suddenly dropped. "What did he do to you?"

Chu Qianmiao's mind was in turmoil, unable to understand why he had forgotten so completely about that night.

She found the recording of the phone call between Qiao Zhixin and her before he was taken away on her computer and played it for Tan Shen.

After listening to the recording, Tan Shen flew into a rage, "I'm going to f*cking destroy him!"

Chu Qianmiao yelled at him, "Calm down," then told him, "Don't you know he's been taken away for investigation?"

Tan Shen was stunned again. "He was taken away for investigation. Because of a family matter lately, I've been spending time with my family and haven't paid attention to these things outside."

Chu Qianmiao suppressed her bewilderment and said to Tan Shen, "I don't know how far you've progressed in your cooperation with Qiao Zhixin, or when you started discussing it, but you'd better do some self-reflection. If there are any issues, address them immediately. If there are no issues, draw a clear line and don't let you get involved."

Tan Shen thanked her and then apologized, "Qianmiao, I didn't know Qiao Zhixin had treated you this way. If I had known, I would never have given this scumbag any chance."

"What kind of cooperation opportunities are there?"

Chu Qianmiao's mind was swirling, and he said, "You should check yourself quickly." "She hung up the phone.

After hanging up, Chu Qianmiao felt something was amiss.

Tan Shen said he didn't know she'd been bullied by Qiao Zhixin. But when he called her that night, he'd clearly said he'd beaten Qiao Zhixin for treating her like that.

She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and then recalled the night Qiao Zhixin attempted rape.

That night, she ran from the law firm and bumped into Ren Yan.

She later returned home.

She later received a call from Tan Shen.

He told her, "I beat him up! How dare he do that to you? I'll beat him to death!"

Then he vomited.

Afterward, he told her, "I asked him if he'd harassed her again, and he cursed me. I'll beat him to death!"

She thought the "he" Tan Shen was referring to must be Qiao Zhixin. Tan Shen had come to find her, discovered Qiao Zhixin had bullied her, and had beaten him.

The next day, Ren Yan came to see her. She saw injuries on his face. She knew he had also fought with Qiao Zhixin, and the injuries were likely inflicted by Qiao Zhixin.

When Qiao Zhixin later called her to scold her, he'd said, "It feels good to have them stand up for you, right?" Wasn't that referring to Ren Yan and Tan Shen?

But why did Tan Shen seem to have forgotten what happened that night?

The more Chu Qianmiao thought about it, the more she felt she'd hit a dead end. The process and the outcome didn't match up at all. Something seemed to be wrong.

She pondered over it, and suddenly it occurred to her that something might offer some answers to her questions.

The surveillance video from the dark corner of the hallway that night.