Song Shu sat on the sofa in a hotel suite, not knowing what expression to make.
Sitting opposite her was Luan Qiaoqing. To be more precise, it should be said that she had cried until she had used up a whole pack of tissues and her nose was red, but she still had more tears to cry.
Song Shu felt guilty at first - after all, even though Luan Qiaoqing had been with her for several years, this was the first time he cried so pitifully in front of her, except for the time when he hugged her and cried "Mom" outside the community convenience store in the heavy rain.
However, after Song Shu sat there for half an hour and found that Luan Qiaoqing showed no signs of stopping during the whole process, Song Shu's face became blank and wooden.
Three quarters of an hour later, Song Shu felt a throbbing pain in his temple.
Luan Qiaoqing used up the last piece of paper, burped with a smell of alcohol, and looked up at Song Shu with red rabbit-like eyes.
"Are there any more papers?"
The guilt in Song Shu's heart had long been washed away by the flood of tears. He shook his head without any emotion: "No more."
"… "
Luan Qiao seemed to be choked after listening to it. She stared at Song Shu blankly, with a confused look in her eyes as if she doubted her own ears - she looked like a stupid fox.
After all, this was the naive and naive sister that Song Shu had raised, so she still felt a little bit reluctant. She opened her handbag, opened a pack of handkerchiefs, quickly took out most of them and threw them into the bag, then took out the remaining half and handed it to Luan Qiaoqing.
"These are the last few, use them sparingly."
"oh… "
The naive girl didn't doubt it. After taking it and looking at the pitiful amount of tissue left, she tried hard to hold back the tears that she had not yet shed, and just tried to clean up the miserable look on her face.
When her voice finally returned to its normal pitch, Luan Qiaoqing sobbed and said, "Really, is it really you?"
Song Shu: “…”
Song Shu held back and tried to speak in a gentle voice, "If it wasn't me, then why did you cry for an hour?"
“But I saw you take off the ventilator at that time…” Luan Qiaoqing said as tears began to gather in her eyes again, but she still held the “last” tissue in her hand and tried to hold it back. She looked at Song Shu with tears in her eyes, “How could it be… How could it be…”
Song Shu sighed softly, "It wasn't me who died in the hospital that year. It was someone else who was the same age as me."
The string of reason in Luan Qiaoqing's mind that was about to break after crying was connected at this moment, "Is it you... the original person in this identity now?"
"Well," Song Shu said, "Have you investigated me?"
Luan Qiaoqing's eyes and nose were red, and she nodded slowly, "When you first joined the company, I thought you were a corporate spy. Yes, you had plastic surgery on purpose to look like this."
Song Shu smiled, "But the background check didn't reveal any problems."
"Yes, their investigation is also more inclined to believe that 'Qin Qing' is a person who has completely existed. And, especially... especially when I met your parents last time, I had my doubts, but when I saw them, I felt that I was overthinking."
"… "
Song Shu lowered his eyes and smiled, with a complex feeling of regret in his heart.
There was silence for a few seconds, and Luan Qiaoqing finally asked the question she wanted to know most, "Why did you pretend to be someone else? That year in the hospital... was it a mistake or..."
"Of course it's not a mistake," Song Shu said seriously, "Do you really think that what happened back then was just an ordinary car accident?"
Luan Qiaoqing was stunned, "Brother found out that the drunk driver was deliberately taking revenge..."
"That layer is just a cover-up."
"Cover up?" Luan Qiaoqing stuttered, "Cover up what? Who wants to cover it up? Is there any other conspiracy behind this matter?"
Seeing Luan Qiaoqing almost stunned, Song Shu smiled bitterly, "I originally wanted to tell you about this matter after everything is settled. But after you started to doubt, probing or showing it would have an adverse effect on our plan of clearing our name and taking revenge, so I chose to tell you now."
"W-Wipe out the injustice?" Luan Qiaoqing was stunned for a few seconds, then shivered slowly. Her face turned pale at that moment, "You mean, she was wrongly accused in the incident with my aunt? Even...even you were implicated in the car accident because of this?"
Song Shu was silent for a few seconds and nodded slowly.
Luan Qiaoqing seemed to be shocked by the news. She sat on the sofa with a grim face for a long time without coming to her senses. At a certain moment, her eyes finally focused again, but tears were already flowing out again.
Luan Qiaoqing turned around and tightly grasped Song Shu's hand. She gritted her teeth and trembled a little: "Who is it? Who did it?"
Song Shu was silent for a while and then shook his head. "Qiaoqiao, I can't tell you who they are specifically. I can only tell you that some of them were very close to you. Some of them are not far from you even now."
"… "
Luan Qiaoqing was stunned for a few seconds, and her voice suddenly became louder.
"Why can't you tell me? If my aunt was wrongly accused, then the real murderer is the one who almost ruined my life! And I... I also want to do something for you..."
Song Shu sighed, "Because you will show it, Qiaoqiao, you will let them know. And once they find out, including you, me, and all the others who are secretly trying to uncover the truth of this matter, will fall into greater danger. They are a group of beasts who have completely lost their humanity. They have long been blinded by their own interests. In order to protect their own interests, they don't even care about human lives. Do you want to put all of us in danger because of this?"
Luan Qiaoqing was stunned on the sofa. It took her a long time to come back to her senses. She lowered her head and shook her head.
“I know…I know.”
As soon as he finished speaking, tears fell on the back of his clenched hands.
Song Shu sighed silently again.
She took out a tissue from her handbag, stood up and walked to the sofa on Luan Qiaoqing's side and sat down. Song Shu took the tissue and reached out to wipe the tears from Luan Qiaoqing's face.
"But I can promise you, Qiaoqiao, this matter won't be delayed for too long... Soon, very soon, at most a year, at least three months to six months, we have found all the big fish hiding underneath. When the last link of the plan is completed, we will close the net and catch them all in one fell swoop - at that time, I will tell you everything, okay?"
Luan Qiaoqing tried to hold back her tears while sobbing, "Okay... Then what should I do next?"
"Don't do anything."
Luan Qiaoqing looked up at Song Shu with tearful eyes.
Song Shu repeated, "Don't do anything. Just act like you knew nothing before. In the company, in life, when you are alone - you don't have to check or understand anything. Just pretend that you still know nothing about what happened back then and my identity."
As soon as Song Shu finished speaking, Luan Qiaoqing shook her head vigorously, "I can't do it! I treated you so badly before - now that I know how can I still say those things to you!"
Song Shu was silent for a moment, then smiled, "Then just pretend you don't know me. Didn't you do that a while ago? Treat me like air, don't contact me privately, and don't have any communication with me in the company."
"But… "
"Just hold on for another year." Song Shu interrupted Luan Qiaoqing, his tone gradually becoming firm, "Our plan cannot afford to fail. So no matter whether you can do it or not, you have to force yourself to do it - this is the most you can do for me or for what happened back then."
"… "
After a long time, Luan Qiaoqing finally nodded slowly.
After that, the two of them calmed down. At Luan Qiaoqing's request, Song Shu told her a lot of things and experiences when he lived as "Qin Qing" over the years. During the process, Luan Qiaoqing cried and laughed, and the redness around her eyes never faded.
Late at night, their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Song Shu glanced at the time in surprise.
It was already past two in the morning, and no one should be knocking on the door at this time.
The most likely person is Qin Lou, but before they left the hotel they had already agreed to confront Luan Qiaoqing tonight after Chu Xiangbin revealed his true colors, so knowing that the situation tonight is special, they probably wouldn't choose to show up at this time.
Song Shu got up from the sofa and said, "I'll go take a look."
Luan Qiaoqing nodded with red eyes.
After Song Shu went over, he opened the locked door a crack.
With the help of the light from the corridor, she could clearly see the man standing outside the door—it was Chu Xiangbin.
Song Shu breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still alert. She smiled at the visitor and said, "Minister Chu, what brings you here so late?"
Chu Xiangbin seemed to be stunned when he saw that it was Song Shu. He took a half step back, raised his eyes to confirm the house number, and then lowered his head, "You are in... Luan Qiaoqing's room?"
"Yes. Minister Luan wanted to talk to me about something tonight, so I haven't returned to my room yet."
After Song Shu finished speaking, he saw a sudden reaction from Chu Xiangbin: "Did I disturb you?"
“Nothing like that.”
Song Shu kept smiling, but felt a little emotional in his heart: Qin Lou was right, Chu Xiangbin definitely had a heart of a fox underneath the appearance of a Tyrannosaurus Rex; if Qiaoqiao really stayed with him, there would be a high probability that she would be eaten up to the point of nothing being left.
After hesitating, Chu Xiangbin picked up the bag in his hand and handed it to Song Shu.
"This is something I bought nearby to sober you up and nourish your stomach. Let her drink some."
"Okay, I'll tell Minister Luan." Song Shu took over.
Chu Xiangbin nodded, "I won't bother you anymore." He turned and walked out.
"… "
Song Shu looked at the thing in his hand with complicated eyes for a few seconds, closed the door and locked it again, then turned around and walked inside with the bag.
Luan Qiaoqing came out at this time, and asked Song Shu with a red face: "Who is coming here at this time?"
"Minister Chu."
"Chu Xiangbin?" Luan Qiaoqing wrinkled her nose. "Why is he here at this time?"
"I'm going to give you something to sober you up." Song Shu handed the bag to Luan Qiaoqing, "You've been crying and making a fuss all night, so it's time to take care of your stomach."
"oh… "
Luan Qiaoqing reached out to take it and lowered her head.
She cried so hard before that it was hard to tell from her face whether she was shy or not.
Song Shu observed for a few seconds but couldn't come to a conclusion. He shook his head and was too lazy to think about it anymore.
"Go back."
"… oh."
Not long after Chu Xiangbin heard the door closing behind him, he felt his cell phone vibrate.
He stopped, picked it up and took a look.
The caller ID made him frown slightly.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Chu Xiangbin picked up the phone and walked towards the elevator.
A laughing male voice came from the phone: "Xiao Chu, you're still awake? I thought you were asleep. Is it early morning where you are now?"
Chu Xiangbin glanced at the time on his phone. He stopped at the entrance of the elevator and half leaned against the wall. "Yeah, it's a little after two in the morning."
"Eh? Sorry for coming so early."
"It's okay. Tell me what you want to say."
"It's nothing, actually. I just got to work and remembered that you guys should be at the E Country Hotel, so I called you to ask - it is indeed you, Qin Lou, Qin Qing, and the head of the HR department who are on this business trip, right?"
"Um."
"Do you spend a lot of time together? Did Qin Lou avoid you and stay alone with Qin Qing?"
Chu Xiangbin's eyes flickered, "No. We checked into the hotel after landing today, and went out to a nightclub together to play all night. We just came back."
"Night, nightclub?" The man's voice on the other side seemed to choke.
Chu Xiangbin raised the corners of his mouth silently, with a mocking smile in his eyes, "Yeah."
"Oh... Oh, just relax, that's fine."
"Besides this, do you have anything else to ask?"
"Since you two are still together in private, do you have many doubts about Qin Qing's identity, especially Qin Lou's attitude towards her?"
"… "
"Why aren't you talking?"
"I'm recalling." Chu Xiangbin lowered his head. "According to my observation, I can't find any obvious doubts at the moment. We need to continue to verify whether she is the person you are worried about."
"I see... What about that?"
"Which one?"
"Hey, Xiao Chu, stop joking now - didn't I specifically remind you to pay more attention to Vio's recent rumor about Qinlou wanting to reopen the derivatives market? Is it true or not?"
"Ah, that." Chu Xiangbin had no expression, but his tone sounded quite sincere, and the voice and the picture were particularly ironic. "I have checked that matter before. Several departments under Jerry Qiao have been unusually active recently, and they are indeed preparing to do something big. I heard that they have set up a special elite team, and even Qin Lou will give advice to this team - striving to come up with a powerful financial derivative product in a short period of time."
After a moment of silence, the voice on the other side became noticeably nervous, "So how's their progress?"
"I haven't joined the team, so it's hard for me to know the specific situation." Chu Xiangbin paused, "However, it is true that many companies have begun to inquire about this product through various channels... Some of them seem to be your old customers who have found a breakthrough from me."
"… Pah, these bastards who only see profit." The man on the other side cursed, then quickly thought of something and said with a smile, "You have worked hard to get so much information. Don't worry, Xiao Chu, when you return to the company, we will definitely give you the highest treatment!"
"… "
Chu Xiangbin pulled the corner of his mouth lazily and said nothing.
There was silence on the phone for a few seconds. The person on the other end seemed a little embarrassed and softened his voice. "Xiao Chu, since you have already found out all this, why don't you see if you can..."
Chu Xiangbin paused and frowned slightly, "You want me to steal that product?"
"Hey! Why are you saying it so harshly? In this industry, everyone needs to make progress together. If there is anything good, we must keep up with the times and learn from others. Of course, in the end, we will definitely make our own products, but learning ideas or new concepts is also a good thing..."
Chu Xiangbin's face became darker and darker. After a few seconds, he sneered, "What if I don't want to?"
There was a moment of silence on the other side, and when he spoke again, his voice was still laughing, but the emotion in his laughter had turned cold.
"Xiao Chu, you are a smart person, don't do things you don't understand. You have sacrificed so much for the company now, everyone remembers your kindness, and you will be a great contributor to the company when you return. And you are also connected to the company, so you still have to think about some things clearly. If things get ugly, it's no small matter that you are doing business espionage at Vio. If it gets out, not to mention Vio's attitude of getting rid of you as soon as possible, even other companies in the industry or even other industries will dare not hire you again!"
After Chu Xiangbin heard this, he slowly sighed, "Are you threatening me?"
"Hey, what are you talking about, Xiao Chu? I'm just trying to make this clear to you. I know you're young and talented, and sometimes you're inevitably impetuous and can't see clearly some problems. Aren't I just helping you see those problems clearly and reminding you so that you don't get yourself into trouble in the future?"
"Then I should thank you."
"Thank you, no thanks. What's our relationship, right? I am your senior. Wasn't it me who introduced you to this industry?"
"… "
Chu Xiangbin's silence this time was particularly long.
Then he said, "Okay, I'll try my best - but I can't guarantee the results."
"Hey! Xiao Chu, I hope you can figure it out. If you have any difficulties, just tell me and I will definitely help you solve them!"
"Um."
"In that case, I won't disturb your rest. It's getting late, you should go to bed quickly, okay?"
"good."
"… "
After a few seconds, the call on the phone ended.
Chu Xiangbin lowered his head and looked at the phone in his hand. There was no expression on his face, but the emotions in his eyes were fluctuating violently, but they could not be clearly seen in the dark backlight.
After standing alone for an unknown amount of time, he slowly stood up and turned his head as if to take the elevator. However, as soon as he turned around, Chu Xiangbin stopped dead in his tracks.
After a few seconds of silence, Chu Xiangbin looked at the man standing in the dark in the elevator and frowned slightly.
"You followed me?"
"… Tsk." The man in the darkness laughed mockingly, crossed his arms lazily, and slowly walked out of the shadows. "Minister Chu, you think too much. I came downstairs to find my assistant, and you happened to be on the phone at the elevator door, so I was stuck here."
As the words were spoken, the person who walked out from the darkness and stood in the light was none other than Qin Lou.
Chu Xiangbin's brows relaxed slightly. "So, I wrongly blamed Mr. Qin. Sorry."
After saying that, Chu Xiangbin seemed to turn around and prepare to enter the elevator.
Qin Lou smiled dumbly, "You trust me quite a lot?"
Chu Xiangbin paused and said, "In a sense, Mr. Qin and I are quite similar."
"for example?"
"For example, there is a bit of arrogance in people's bones. There are some lies they don't want to tell, and some things they don't want to do."
Qin Lou raised his eyebrows and turned sideways. "…Are you explaining to me what I just heard? Or are you telling me that you won't touch the product that the financial derivatives team of Vio is preparing to launch?"
"I'm just stating a fact. I don't care what extra understanding Mr. Qin wants to make."
"You just revealed yourself to your boss as a corporate spy - you're so cool."
"..." Chu Xiangbin turned back to look at Qin Lou, his smile turned cold, "Boss Qin didn't know about this today, right?"
Qin Lou nodded lazily, "It's indeed not."
"We have been in tacit agreement for so long, why did President Qin have to expose it now?" Chu Xiangbin's eyes flashed, "Do you want me to hand in my resignation tomorrow, or are you going to sue me for industrial espionage? It's a pity that I haven't caused any substantial loss to your company yet, so the latter may be difficult to accomplish."
"Minister Chu is overthinking. I just want to talk to you about cooperation."
"Cooperation?" Chu Xiangbin laughed. "I don't think I have the capital to cooperate with President Qin."
“… Of course.”
At this point, the smile on Qin Lou's face faded.
"I need Minister Chu to do me a small favor. As compensation, the door of VIO will always be open to Minister Chu, and no one will know about things like commercial espionage."
Chu Xiangbin's eyes were slightly cold, "What help?"
Qin Lou raised his chin and gestured to the phone in Chu Xiangbin's hand, "Don't they want you to join the team? I want to invite Minister Chu to join the team."
"!"
Chu Xiangbin's pupils shrank.
After a few seconds, he suddenly showed a look of realization and shock.
Then he laughed, "Surprisingly, that product, and the event that provoked the CFO and all his departments to affect the company's restructuring - was actually a trap set by President Qin?"
Qin Lou shrugged and said nothing.
Chu Xiangbin gritted his teeth and said, "Just to punish Qin Rui, doesn't President Qin think that the price of losing your entire company is too high?"
"… "
Qin Lou stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled: "I agree with what Minister Chu said just now."
"Which one?"
"You said we are a bit similar, we both have a kind of pride in our bones." Qin Lou slowly stopped laughing, his eyebrows and eyes were cold, "I won't lose."
“…” Chu Xiangbin frowned.
Qin Lou smiled again, "Now, the bet has been started, and both sides have made their move - Minister Chu can choose which side to stand on."
After saying that, Qin Lou turned around without any reluctance, and seemed to be about to leave without saying another word of advice.
Chu Xiangbin's temples throbbed. "Boss Qin, aren't you afraid that if you tell me the truth, I will inform Qin Rui?"
Qin Lou turned his back to him, stopped when he heard the words, and smiled: "Since I said it, of course I'm not afraid."
"… "
"I believe that after dealing with Qinrui for so long, Minister Chu knows one thing better than me - Qinrui is a company with a business philosophy of using any means to achieve its goals, even at the expense of humanity, and how they only care about profits and look down on everything else... Minister Chu must have a deep understanding of this."
Chu Xiangbin lowered his eyes slightly, "You are right. If this is really a product you made, and it claims huge benefits, not only will they not believe me, they may even label me as a dissident - but where do you get the confidence to think that I must choose a side in this gamble?"
Qin Lou looked back and asked, "Minister Chu doesn't want to run for either party?"
Chu Xiangbin sneered, "I've long been tired of these things and have long wanted to quit. So even if you threaten me with corporate espionage, I have nothing to fear."
Qin Lou suddenly laughed, "Minister Chu, don't misunderstand me. I'm different from them. I don't like threatening people the most. I prefer to offer tempting conditions."
"..." Chu Xiangbin's eyebrows slowly frowned, "What conditions?"
Qin Lou deliberately made a thoughtful expression and then snapped his fingers.
He lowered his head slightly, with a crazy smile.
"How is Luan Qiaoqing?"
The author has something to say: Luan Qiaoqing: Next, I will perform the role of "being sold but still counting money for others" with my strength (x)
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2019-12-30 11:19:16~2019-12-31 11:21:30~
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