“Wait a minute,” Jiang Fuyue suddenly spoke up, “Who told you that Lou lost the bid for the Pengshan Theater project?”
“Everyone’s talking about it!”
“Didn’t the official announcement say that a new real estate company, Henghui, won the bid?”
Both men turned to look at Jiang Fuyue, their eyes filled with suspicion. What did her question mean?
“Everyone’s talking about it? Who exactly is ‘everyone’?” Jiang Fuyue raised her eyes and locked her gaze on Yi Hansheng.
“Uh, Fang Ye, Li Hongkai…” These two were also loyal subordinates of Lou Mingyue back then.
Jiang Fuyue curled her lips into a smile. “Fang Ye works for Lou Mingxin, and as for Li Hongkai, he resigned the moment you two left.”
“How… how could this happen?” Yi Hansheng’s face showed shock, hard to believe.
Jiang Fuyue shifted her gaze to Ling Qingzhou.
Ling Qingzhou had an ominous feeling, and sure enough—
“You said the new real estate company Henghui did indeed win the bid, but did anyone tell you that Henghui is actually controlled by Lou’s?”
In other words, they had assumed that the project that was ‘lost’ had just gone in a circle and ended up back with Lou’s!
There was no “competition from the other side,” and there was no “failed bid.”
All these years, he and Yi Hansheng had been like fools, attacking each other and harboring suspicions. In the end, they had fought in vain?
They didn’t even know who their real enemy was?
Ling Qingzhou was stunned, “How could this be?!”
Yi Hansheng had calmed down. “Let’s sort this out. Back then, I saw you using a USB drive to copy files from the main computer, and you saw me meeting with the other project manager in the parking lot. Could it be that we were both set up?”
Ling Qingzhou replied seriously, “I swear, I definitely didn’t copy any bidding documents. It was just the company’s financial report!”
Yi Hansheng seized on the key point, “Why would you suddenly think of copying the financial report?”
“It was Fang Ye who asked me to—”
He stopped abruptly.
Ling Qingzhou finally understood!
“Fang Ye did it on purpose?!” The company’s financial report was such a large file, copying it would take a lot of time.
The longer it took, the more likely it was that Yi Hansheng would catch him in the act.
That’s why Fang Ye didn’t want him to copy any other files but the financial report!
Yi Hansheng scoffed, “You’re only realizing this now? Your eyesight and intelligence are pretty average, a sixty at best!”
Ling Qingzhou’s tone was cold: “I’ve already explained myself clearly. What about you? How do you explain your meeting with the other project manager? You said you didn’t drive those days, but I saw your car parked in your usual parking spot at the garage!”
“You saw my car? Sorry, my car was at the 4S shop for maintenance and I didn’t even drive it back. If you’re curious, you can still find the receipts and records from that time,” Yi Hansheng responded without a hint of guilt, his demeanor and expression not betraying any sign of lying.
Ling Qingzhou frowned deeply, clearly still skeptical of Yi Hansheng’s words.
Jiang Fuyue timely reminded, “Was this 4S shop one you picked at random?”
“No, someone recommended it to me,” Yi Hansheng answered.
“Who recommended it?”
“Xiang Ping from the HR department.”
Jiang Fuyue’s expression softened in realization: “No wonder…”
“No wonder what?!”
Jiang Fuyue glanced at him, her tone sympathetic: “Xiang Ping is Fang Ye’s mistress. Their relationship only became public the year I ran into trouble.”
Fang Ye again!
Yi Hansheng suddenly slapped his thigh: “…I’ve been set up!”
Ling Qingzhou mocked him in the same tone he had used earlier: “Looks like your eyesight and intelligence aren’t so great after all.”
Yi Hansheng: “…”
At this point, the misunderstanding from years ago was finally cleared up. The real culprit was neither Ling Qingzhou nor Yi Hansheng, but the person who was closest to them and easily overlooked!
But…
“Why would Fang Ye do this?”
“Do you even need to ask? Once the Pengshan Theater project ended, you and I would’ve been given real power, either staying in Lou’s to hold important positions or sent to subsidiaries to gain experience, at least at the vice president level. Fang Ye could only pick from the remaining options, but if we were out of the picture, he’d move up two spots.”
Jiang Fuyue added, “Besides that, cutting you two off means cutting off my left and right arms. This whole thing might not have been without Lou Mingxin’s involvement.”
Otherwise, the arrangements wouldn’t have been so meticulous, with every detail considered, even Yi Hansheng’s car and Ling Qingzhou’s USB drive.
The two men exchanged glances. After twenty years of rivalry, they were used to arguing and bickering, but now, in the sudden silence, it felt uncomfortable.
Jiang Fuyue could sense the awkwardness between them. A relationship that had been strained for decades couldn’t be easily mended. “If you had come to me back then and explained everything face-to-face like you’re doing now, Fang Ye’s scheme might not have worked.”
But perhaps Fang Ye had calculated their personalities and tempers, which was why he dared to set such a trap.
Yi Hansheng and Ling Qingzhou had both resigned, which caught her off guard. Plus, during that time, Lou’s family had been full of troubles, leaving her exhausted.
By the time she figured out what was going on and tried to contact them again, they had already left the capital, their whereabouts unknown.
“D*mn! Fang Ye that b*stard, I’m going to kill him!” Yi Hansheng gritted his teeth.
Ling Qingzhou’s eyes also burned with anger.
Jiang Fuyue crossed her arms and looked at the two men: “Now you have the chance. Do you want to take it?”
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