Chapter 94: Growing Fondness

Hearing Meng Xingzhe’s question, Yao Jia winked at him. “How I got involved with Tong Yumo is something we’ll have to save for later. Let’s continue discussing my assistant’s situation.”

Unknowingly, the two had been walking for quite a while. A few meters ahead was a street-side plaza with long benches.

Meng Xingzhe asked Yao Jia, “Are you tired?”

Yao Jia nodded. “A little.”

Meng Xingzhe took her hand and led her to the bench.

Just as Yao Jia was about to sit down, Meng Xingzhe pulled her back.

“?” Yao Jia looked at Meng Xingzhe, puzzled.

To her surprise, Meng Xingzhe took off his jacket, folded it, and placed it on the bench. “Now you can sit,” he said.

Yao Jia stared at him in a daze.

“It’s cold, and the bench is chilly,” Meng Xingzhe explained coolly.

In that moment, warmth spread through Yao Jia’s heart as if she were sitting by a fire.

But she bent down, picked up his jacket, shook it out, and draped it back over him. “Are you silly? You’ll catch a cold like this.”

Meng Xingzhe’s face showed a sweet mix of happiness and touched emotion from her concern.

“You could have just sat down first, warmed up the bench, then moved over so I could sit in the warm spot,” she suggested.

“…” Meng Xingzhe thought she had a point.

But why did it feel so unromantic?!

Nevertheless, he followed Yao Jia’s suggestion, warming a spot with his own body heat before moving aside to let Yao Jia sit in the warm place.

As soon as Yao Jia sat down, she felt the warmth.

“Wow, your butt is quite the heater!” she couldn’t help but praise.

Meng Xingzhe was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to accept such a peculiar compliment.

Once they were both seated, Meng Xingzhe prompted Yao Jia to continue.

“Your assistant got the contact info for the person making the refurbished machines. What happened next?”

Yao Jia said, “We tried calling the number that started with 188, but unfortunately, it was disconnected.”

Meng Xingzhe pondered. “The person must have canceled the number. There are two possibilities: either the machines caused trouble, and he’s avoiding buyers, or he realized the refurbished machine business isn’t viable and decided to quit.”

Yao Jia nodded. “That’s exactly what my dad said.”

Meng Xingzhe asked, “So this lead is a dead end?”

Yao Jia nodded again. “But another lead has surfaced.” She paused, teasingly. “Guess where this new lead came from?”

Without thinking, Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow and said, “Chen Luoxi.”

“…” Yao Jia was genuinely impressed by Meng Xingzhe. He guessed right again.

“You must be guessing randomly!” She was unwilling to accept that he could be so clever.

Meng Xingzhe’s confidence surged. “Do I need to guess randomly? With my intelligence, is there anything I can’t figure out? It’s obvious. You mentioned you and Chen Luoxi were acting together, so naturally, she would be involved.”

Yao Jia clapped slowly and expressionlessly.

After applauding, she said, “You’re right. The new lead developed from Chen Luoxi.”

“After I officially took a management position, I privately reviewed the company’s accounts with Chen Luoxi. It’s fortunate that during our time in the dorm, I helped her find her child, which made her see me as one of her own. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to infiltrate the finance department so easily.”

At this point, Yao Jia turned slightly and patted Meng Xingzhe’s shoulder with a smile. “See, this is the good karma from helping others!”

Meng Xingzhe held her hand, refusing to let go, and said, “Lesson learned.”

Yao Jia continued, “I reviewed the accounts and found that Qiu Lishi had an unusually high number of reimbursement claims, especially for meals. But Qiu Lishi has diabetes and needs to watch his diet, so he shouldn’t be eating out so often. I took those meal receipts to Chen Luoxi. Can you guess what happened?”

Yao Jia raised an eyebrow at Meng Xingzhe. She was getting hooked on this question-and-answer game with him, always wanting to challenge him with a question he couldn’t answer.

Meng Xingzhe thought for a moment and said, “Either someone else gave him the receipts, or he’s reimbursing for someone else.”

Yao Jia pursed her lips, feeling both unwilling and a bit happy.

The correct answer was among his options. He was right again. She was unwilling to admit he was so smart, yet happy that the person she liked was this clever.

Yao Jia thought, people are indeed contradictory creatures.

“Alright, you hit the mark again. I took those receipts to Chen Luoxi, and she told me that the meal receipts weren’t from Qiu Lishi himself. Initially, she didn’t know either. At first, Qiu Lishi would personally bring a bunch of meal receipts for reimbursement before the deadline. But later, his reimbursement method evolved.

“He would occasionally call the finance department, asking them to send someone—usually Chen Luoxi—to settle the bill at a certain restaurant or hotel, claiming he had dined there the day before and needed an invoice. These establishments had long-term agreements with Kunyu Electric, allowing short-term credit for executives.

“Eventually, the hotel and restaurant front desks would directly call Chen Luoxi, asking her to settle the bill and issue an invoice.

“Chen Luoxi told me that when she first went to settle the bills, she genuinely believed it was Qiu Lishi dining there. But after chatting with the front desk staff, she learned that someone else was dining there. That person would initially use Qiu Lishi’s name, but later, they became familiar enough to simply write down Chen Luoxi’s name and phone number on a piece of paper, telling the front desk: ‘Have this person come to settle the bill, issue the invoice, and use Qiu Lishi’s account for reimbursement.'”

Yao Jia said this as she withdrew her hand from Meng Xingzhe’s palm, took out her phone from her pocket, found a photo, and handed the phone to Meng Xingzhe. “Look, this is the note left by the person dining.”

The photo showed the name “Chen Luoxi” and a string of numbers. Coincidentally, Chen Luoxi’s phone number also started with 188.

Meng Xingzhe glanced at it and immediately asked Yao Jia to find the previous photo.

Yao Jia glared at him. “Did you already spot something again?!”

She retrieved the earlier photo with “Longyou Tianxia Electric Co., 188****.”

Meng Xingzhe compared the two.

“This is clearly the same handwriting, especially the digits of the 188 numbers. They’re identical!” He looked up at Yao Jia. “The note from Longyou Tianxia was the contact for the refurbished machine maker; the note from Chen Luoxi was written by the person dining under Qiu Lishi’s name. Judging by the handwriting, it’s obviously the same person!”

After a pause, he said, “So Qiu Lishi colluding with others to harm Kunyu Electric and deal in refurbished machines is now confirmed!”

Yao Jia nodded, then pouted slightly. “Telling you things feels less fun! You can guess everything!”

Meng Xingzhe proudly lifted his chin and said, “But I still can’t guess how this relates to Tong Yumo. Does that make it more fun for you?”

Yao Jia’s eyes sparkled with laughter. “It does!”

After laughing, she said, “I asked Chen Luoxi if she ever inquired about the person who always had her settle the bills—what they looked like, whether they were male or female, their age. Chen Luoxi said she really disliked that person for always bothering her, so she did ask the hotel and restaurant front desks about them.”

“Chen Luoxi said the person is male, around fifty years old.” Pausing, Yao Jia looked at Meng Xingzhe and continued, “The hotel receptionist told Chen Luoxi that they heard someone dining with him call him Boss Tong and Brother Xing.”

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow, “Tong? As in Tong Yumo’s ‘Tong’? If it’s that Tong, then this really connects back to Tong Yumo.”

Meng Xingzhe speculated whether this Boss Tong or Brother Xing might be a relative of Tong Yumo, or perhaps even her father.

Yao Jia said, “I suspected the same. Do you remember? Tong Yumo once told you she had a strong backing in the company, an unusual one. I was wondering then who her backing could be. If this Boss Tong is indeed her father, and Boss Tong has ties with Qiu Lishi, then Tong Yumo’s backing would be Qiu Lishi. That’s quite an unusual backing—this makes sense.”

After a pause, she added, “Also, do you remember? When the phone rescue happened, it was me who did it, but when someone came to thank us, Li Wangli picked Tong Yumo instead. If the person involved hadn’t been able to distinguish between my voice and Tong Yumo’s, the credit would have gone to her. We now know that Li Wangli is one of Qiu Lishi’s people. If he knew from the start that Tong Yumo got into the Customer Service Department through Qiu Lishi’s connections, then it makes sense why he did that.”

Yao Jia concluded, “So it seems highly likely that Tong Yumo and Boss Tong are either relatives or father and daughter. Because of Boss Tong’s relationship with Qiu Lishi, Qiu Lishi arranged for her to join Kunyu Electric.”

After hearing this analysis, Meng Xingzhe looked at Yao Jia, remained silent for two seconds, then nodded and said, “Indeed, this supports the connection between Tong Yumo and Boss Tong, and also with Qiu Lishi.” He hesitated for a moment, then couldn’t help but add, “But actually, you could just check with the Human Resources Department for Tong Yumo’s employment records to confirm if Boss Tong is her father…”

Before he could finish, Yao Jia started hitting him playfully, “Who told you to think of that! Who told you to be so loose-lipped! Who told you to have a mouth!”

Meng Xingzhe laughed and didn’t dodge. Those little punches were just for show.

Yao Jia laughed as she hit him, “Alright, I believe your IQ is 250 now!”

Then she said, “I did go to the Human Resources Department later and asked Lu Fangfei to help me check Tong Yumo’s employment records. It turns out her father’s name is listed as Tong Dexing.”

“Boss Tong, the ‘Tong’ matches; Brother Xing, and the ‘Xing’ in Dexing also matches. So it seems this person is indeed Tong Yumo’s father,” Meng Xingzhe clapped lightly.

Having confirmed that Tong Yumo’s father has connections with Qiu Lishi, and that these two are the main people involved in the refurbished machines, Meng Xingzhe asked Yao Jia, “At this point, you could just report to the police and have them take these two in for investigation. Why are you still putting on a show for Tong Yumo? Aren’t you worried she’ll go home and tell her father?”

Yao Jia sighed, “Actually, this was a request from Lu Fangfei. When I asked her to check Tong Yumo’s employment records, she realized the refurbished machine issue might be related to Tong Yumo. She confided in me, saying that from her interactions, she could tell Tong Yumo isn’t a bad girl, and that she has difficulties we can’t understand. Lu Fangfei said she feels that Tong Yumo, like her, is quite pitiable.”

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow.

Yao Jia continued, “Lu Fangfei pleaded with me, reminding me how she has been unconditionally helping me from the shadows since I took office, and asked me to give Tong Yumo a chance, not to cut her off completely. She said maybe the refurbished machine issue isn’t related to her.”

Yao Jia sighed, “I thought about it. Without Lu Fangfei acting like an undercover agent in the Human Resources Department, I wouldn’t have uncovered all the tricks Qiu Lishi has been up to. I owe her this favor.”

“Coincidentally, Xiao Tiantian wanted to have hot pot today, so before we finished work, I went to communicate with Chen Luoxi. I also mentioned it to Xiao Tiantian while we were washing vegetables in the kitchen. Then, during dinner, Chen Luoxi brought up the dangers of refurbished machines and talked about how immoral this way of making money is. We hoped to awaken Tong Yumo’s conscience with these discussions.”

Meng Xingzhe immediately said, “So when you were talking about this over hot pot, you were focusing on conscience!”

Yao Jia smiled and nodded.

“You see, when Xiao Tiantian mentioned the possibility of the refurbished machines causing fatalities, Tong Yumo became very nervous. She even asked if the people making them would have to pay with their lives.”

Meng Xingzhe slowly nodded.

Then he frowned slightly and asked, “But what’s the purpose of this probing?”

Yao Jia explained, “We want to awaken Tong Yumo’s conscience, to make her see the dangers of the refurbished machines, and then have her tell us how many machines her father and Qiu Lishi have manufactured and sold, and where they went.”

Yao Jia took a breath, “Those old machines are unreliable after prolonged use. What if they catch fire or explode? Not knowing how many refurbished machines were sold or where they ended up, I feel like there’s a ticking time bomb around me every day, and it’s very unsettling!

“Yes, we could report to the police and obtain this information through their investigation, but what if Tong Dexing and Qiu Lishi don’t fully disclose the number of refurbished machines they’ve produced and sold to downplay their crimes? The longer it takes, the more unsafe it is for those using the refurbished machines, as they remain in potential danger!

“So I thought, if we can awaken Tong Yumo’s conscience and have her find a way to tell us the details, it wouldn’t be a bad thing, and it would also repay Lu Fangfei for asking me to give Tong Yumo a chance.” Yao Jia paused and added, “Even if we can’t awaken Tong Yumo, it’s not a big deal. As you said, we can report it to the police. The investigation might just take longer.” Yao Jia sighed.

Meng Xingzhe thought for a moment and asked, “Are you expecting Tong Yumo to betray her family for justice? Is that even possible?”

Yao Jia looked at Meng Xingzhe and asked, “Think about it, why is Tong Yumo so hostile towards Lu Fangfei’s mother?”

Meng Xingzhe replied, “Because that old lady favors sons over daughters and exploits her daughter to support her son?”

Yao Jia asked again, “Why do you think Tong Yumo is so agitated about this?”

Meng Xingzhe nodded, “Yes, she’s as agitated as if she personally experienced it.” After saying this, he paused, looking at Yao Jia, “Could it be…”

Yao Jia nodded at him, “Yes, Tong Yumo’s employment records show that besides her parents, she also has a younger brother. Her brother’s name is Tong Junlong.”

She paused and said, “Tong Yumo must have grown up in a terrible, male-dominated environment. Do you remember what she said when we were having hot pot? She said that if she didn’t act weak, pitiful, or obedient, she wouldn’t receive any care or attention. Think about how she usually behaves—playing the weak, the obedient, the innocent. But why did she turn out this way? I later realized it must be because of her male-preferential family environment. She probably had to rely on these tactics to snatch a bit of care and attention from her parents away from her brother. But her mistake was taking those tactics from her family into society, using them on her colleagues, which made her seem overly dramatic and peculiar.

“And then there’s how she’s willing to spend money on herself but is stingy with others. I used to be really annoyed and looked down on her for this. But when I think about her family environment, I suddenly feel sorry for her. She must have grown up with all the good things going to her brother, and maybe she only got the leftovers. So after she started earning money, she would desperately treat herself well, because if she didn’t, no one else would.”

Yao Jia’s eyes were slightly red as she spoke.

“She really is a pitiful person. When I mistakenly thought my parents were biased, I felt awful. In her family, where the preference for males over females is so blatant, it can’t just be a misunderstanding. Imagine how hurt she must be.”

Meng Xingzhe gently patted her back, offering comfort. “Don’t cry. It’s so cold, your face will get chapped if you cry.”

Yao Jia smiled at him. “Don’t worry, I’m not that easy to make cry.”

After smiling, she continued, “Look, Tong Yumo grew up in such a distressing family environment. To expect her to awaken her conscience and realize that selling refurbished machines is harmful to both customers and her father—what if one explodes and causes casualties? What if her father has to pay with his life for it?

“After weighing all this, it’s uncertain whether she’d be willing to report her father and tell me how many refurbished machines he sold and where they went. But really, reporting him would be helping him atone and preventing him from facing a potential death sentence. It’s actually helping him. If she can understand this, I think she might come to me. Besides, you’ve seen it too; she’s changed a lot recently. I think Lu Fangfei is guiding her to learn how to be a more normal, good person.”

With that, Yao Jia clapped her hands and smiled at Meng Xingzhe. “Alright, that’s the whole story. Do you have any other questions?”

Meng Xingzhe shook his head, indicating he had none. Then he looked at Yao Jia without blinking.

The rebellious girl who always loved to argue was completely gone. Now, he saw a mature, decisive, independent woman.

She handled all these issues by herself.

During the time they hadn’t been in contact, she had done so much on her own. His heart swelled with pride, thinking, his little girl had grown up. She was truly amazing.

He pulled her close, kissed her forehead, and with a soft, slightly troubled voice, said, “Yao Xiaojia, what am I going to do? I’m falling more and more in love with you!”