Chapter 31: The Truth Comes to Light

'Is this the same arrogant Gao Yi who forced me to attend his banquet?'

'Is this the same unscrupulous Gao Yi who was even going to poison my food and drink?'

The Gao Yi before her was nothing but a pathetic wretch, wagging his tail and begging for mercy.

But Jiang Hong was not the least bit satisfied. He kicked him again. "Is that all?"

Gao Yi convulsed violently, then continued, "The Sheng Baiqin Garden project... it doesn't actually have any quality issues. I... I coveted President Li's beauty. I was blinded by lust, so I insisted there were problems!"

The moment these words were spoken, the color drained from Lu Yi's face.

'This isn't what we agreed on! Weren't Jiang Hong and Gao Yi supposed to be here to condemn them? Why are they just apologizing over and over?'

Li Xue said, "But all the projects under the Group have had quality issues exposed, and our collections are already in serious trouble."

Gao Yi sobbed, "That was all my doing, out of spite! I tampered with things! Those projects can go on sale anytime. You just need to get an approval document from President Jiang's Group!"

Li Xue's heart felt like it was on a rollercoaster. She'd been at the gates of hell, only to be yanked back to reality.

She was truly stunned. This whole mess had caused such a commotion, prompting Lu Yi to try and oust her in public, and it turned out the entire thing was just Gao Yi's scheme.

'But weren't you so capable? Last night, you had Grandpa and Dad rushing to the company overnight to take charge. How are you so spineless now?'

'It can't be that Jiang Hong had a crisis of conscience and dragged you here to apologize, can it?'

Li Xue knew these people too well. Without some powerful force intervening, how could they possibly bow their heads?

'But who could it be?'

A confused light flickered in Li Xue's stunning eyes.

Lu Yi's face was flushed crimson, radiating fury.

He had failed to take down Li Xue, and now the truth about the projects was already out.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had just slipped through his fingers.

Li Xue pondered it for a moment but couldn't make any sense of it, so she decided to stop thinking about it.

"President Jiang, since you're here, please come up and have a seat. The Li Group's smooth development would be impossible without your care."

Jiang Hong seized the opportunity. "As it happens, I am a bit tired. In that case, it would be rude to refuse!"

What he cared about wasn't Li Xue's gratitude, but Mu Lin, who was standing idly among a group of mid-level managers.

'How can Mu Lin, who receives special care from Lin Tian, hold such a lowly position in the Li Group?'

'Li Xue really doesn't know how to use people! Should I give her a hint?' Jiang Hong wondered. 'If I do, a lot of things will be easier to handle later on.'

But after a moment's thought, he didn't dare. Mu Lin had been at the Li Group for so long; if he wanted to gain status, he would have risen through the ranks long ago. Even with all her skill, Li Xue probably wouldn't have been able to stop him.

Instead of doing that, he was just an ordinary deputy leader in the special projects team. This meant he had his own reasons.

'If I rashly interfere with Mu Lin's plans, he probably won't be happy.'

Jiang Hong remembered Gao Yi on the floor. "President Li, what do you want to do with Gao Yi?"

Li Xue glanced at the battered Gao Yi, who looked like a sack of broken rags. 'He's already been hurt this badly,' she thought. 'Pursuing it further would make me look petty.'

"Forget it. I'm sure he's suffered enough!"

Jiang Hong glared at Gao Yi, signaling for him to get lost—to leave Nanjiang Province within the day and disappear from his world forever.

Xue Yang walked out of the elevator. He'd been sulking for a while, but feeling that things had come to this, he decided to see Li Xue off on her way out, as a final show of loyalty as an employee.

But then he saw Li Xue and Jiang Hong walking toward him. Li Xue was glowing, looking radiant and full of life. There was no trace of her earlier miserable state.

Meanwhile, Lu Yi, standing not far away, looked absolutely terrible, as if he had lost something of critical importance.

'What's going on?'

He quickly stepped aside, pulled over a mid-level manager he was friendly with, and asked in a low voice:

"What's the situation? Did something good happen?"

"Let me tell you, those inspection reports were all Gao Yi's doing! Our quality approvals are all top-notch! The funding problem is solved!!"

Huh? Xue Yang's jaw dropped. The situation had turned around much faster than he could have ever expected.

Those words Mu Lin had told him before coming downstairs had actually come true. 'He can't predict the future, so how was he so accurate?'

Lu Yi's threats had become a joke. There was no need to call a board meeting, and certainly no need to report anything to the board.

Li Xue's position was once again as stable as Mount Tai; in fact, it had been strengthened by this turn of events.

Lu Yi and his cronies had all shown their true colors after this attack. From now on, Li Xue would be especially wary of them, and it would be much harder for them to cause trouble in the future.

Lu Yi followed behind Li Xue with a grim expression. This attack had failed, which meant he would have to lie low again and gather his strength for the next assault.

He firmly believed that the position of President would sooner or later be his.

Jiang Hong glanced at Lu Yi. This was the man who had been the most aggressive just now, acting for all the world like the next president. He was surely despised by Li Xue now.

'Making fun of him would be the safest bet.'

Jiang Hong feigned ignorance. "President Li, look at my memory. Who was this, again? He looks a bit familiar, but I've forgotten his name."

But Li Xue answered very seriously, "Oh, him? That's Lu Yi, the CFO of our Li Group. He's managed the Group's finances for many years, and his contributions have not been small."

The more seriously she introduced him, the more Lu Yi couldn't stand it. He was a grown man, yet his magnanimity was less than that of a woman.

Jiang Hong feigned a sudden realization. "Oh, I see! His contributions weren't small, you say? Then why was he utterly helpless the moment the funds were frozen, even pushing the Li Family to the brink of bankruptcy? What a 'not-small contribution' indeed!"

Lu Yi's expression grew even uglier, his face contorted in a vicious snarl. He looked like he wanted to eat Li Xue alive.

At this moment, he was like a scorching sun; even his closest mid-level managers hurried to get away from him.

"President Lu, I've got to get back to work!" the HR Director, Sun He, said before turning and leaving.

His other few confidants did the same, abandoning Lu Yi.

They had failed to seize today's golden opportunity; there was probably no hope for the future.

Lu Yi stormed into his office like a madman, locked the door, and began smashing things with all his might.

In the reception room, Li Xue and Jiang Hong each enjoyed a cup of fragrant tea, chatting amicably.

Jiang Hong, intending to leave a good impression on Li Xue, spoke about many things he would never have revealed to outsiders before.

From the approval process and its shady, behind-the-scenes operations to the future direction of the city's development.

Li Xue was stunned speechless as she listened. These were things that no one would ever tell her.

She secretly committed this favor to memory. To her, this information was exceptionally important.

Jiang Hong checked the time. 'It wouldn't be good to stay any longer,' he thought, and so he stood up to take his leave from Li Xue.

After seeing Jiang Hong out, Li Xue immediately called Li Yinhe. "Dad! Those dozen or so safety incidents have all been canceled! It was a false alarm from the very beginning!"

Li Yinhe replied, "I just received the cancellation documents. All in all, it's a good thing that everything is fine. But, daughter, there's something I don't understand, and it's been bothering me."

'My father is a capable and powerful figure in the business world,' Li Xue thought. 'Everyone knows his strength when it comes to business. How could there be something that even he can't figure out?'

"Tell me. I'm not sure I'll understand it either, though."

"Did you give him money?"

Li Xue said, "No."

"Did you slip him cigarettes?"

"No, I didn't."

"Then did he make any improper demands of you?"

Li Xue jumped up as if she'd been electrocuted. "Dad, what are you talking about? Are you teasing me? Of course Jiang Hong didn't say anything like that!"

Li Yinhe let out a long breath.

"Daughter, why on earth would President Jiang step up for us? Did he really not ask for anything at all? When did those bloodsuckers ever change their nature?"

Li Xue opened her mouth, but was speechless. She couldn't say a word.

After a long pause, she managed to say, "He said he couldn't stand what Gao Yi was doing and decided to uphold justice, even against his own subordinate, and come forward to explain the situation."

Li Yinhe said, "Do you believe that? If he were so righteous, how could he have nurtured a scoundrel like Gao Yi?"

Li Xue paused for a long time before sighing deeply. "I don't believe it either. I talked with him for a long time, trying to get something out of him, but he always changed the subject."

Li Yinhe couldn't figure it out either, so he stopped his wild speculation so as not to upset his daughter.

"Well then, let's leave it at that. From now on, you should try to keep your distance from Jiang Hong and his crowd. When someone fawns on you for no reason, they have ulterior motives. They must be after something big!"