From the very first day Ji Jingchuan returned to the Ji family, Rong Yu knew this was a child who would only bury things in his heart.
She asked, "Did you have a fight with Tang Jin?"
Ji Jingchuan smiled and said, "No."
He wasn't someone who showed his emotions easily, and Tang Jin's temperament was also quite steady. How could they possibly argue?
"Young people, you should take the initiative to communicate about things, don't keep them bottled up inside," Rong Yu said. "Although I don't understand dating, I think you could take the initiative to go find her."
Ji Jingchuan nodded. "Okay."
He had Ji Zhouye accompany Rong Yu home.
He drove his own car towards Tang's Jewelry Company.
He knew Tang Jin was a workaholic; at this hour, she was definitely still working overtime at the office. While waiting at a red light on the way, he even booked a table at a Western restaurant.
When he drove up to the company entrance and had just parked, he saw Tang Jin standing at the main entrance with a man.
Ji Jingchuan's hand loosened from the car door handle, and he sat there quietly.
He sat there for about ten minutes, and the two of them talked for about ten minutes. The man used body language from time to time. At a glance, the relationship between them clearly went beyond the scope of mere friends.
He pursed his lips.
Unable to control himself, he picked up his phone, rolled down the window, and took a photo.
He had never been a paragon of virtue. Being well-behaved, sensible, obedient... these were merely his survival disguises.
The dark side within him was sometimes beyond even his own control.
The photo captured the man's face clearly.
Ji Jingchuan had spent the entire winter break working on the top floor of the Ji Group headquarters and had gotten to know many secretaries and assistants. He thought for a moment and sent the photo to the Chairman's secretary, Secretary Jiang: "Could I trouble Secretary Jiang to help find out what relationship this person has with the Tang family's Third Young Lady?"
Five minutes later, Secretary Jiang sent over several pages of information.
Ji Jingchuan only noticed one sentence: "...was once Tang Jin's boyfriend."
He deleted the messages and drove away.
At the entrance of Tang's, Tang Jin's face was icy cold. "...So it was you who logged into my account and fabricated the evidence. I must have been blind before, actually finding a boyfriend in the trash!"
"There's only one way to clear your name, and that's to get back together with me." The man reached out and stroked her hair. "That kid from the Ji family grew up in the countryside. How could he possibly be worthy of you, Jin Jin? I was wrong before. I'll change, I promise I'll treat you well from now on, I'll never let you suffer any grievance again..."
Before he could finish his sentence,
Tang Jin raised her hand and delivered a resounding slap across his face. "Back when we were dating, you openly cheated. I let it go lightly then, but that doesn't mean I'm someone without a temper!"
Before the man could react, she backhanded him with another slap. "A good ex should be as quiet as if they were dead, not colluding with Tang Jiaquan to scheme against me. I've noted this debt, and I'll settle it with you slowly later!"
She cast a look of disgust at the man, then quickly got into her car in her high heels.
She had twenty minutes left. If she couldn't prove her innocence, she would be expelled from Tang's and lose everything.
For the past two or three days, she had barely slept, opening her eyes only to audit accounts.
Fortunately, she had figured it out.
She drove to the headquarters building of Tang's, went up to the top floor at the fastest speed, and knocked on the door of the CEO's office.
"Grandfather." Tang Jin walked to the desk and handed over a piece of evidence. "The accounts at Tang's Jewelry do indeed have problems, but this particular issue started going bad eight years ago..."
Tang Youyi's expression was grave.
A week ago, the head of the headquarters finance department reported a major discrepancy in the finances of the jewelry company. He had ordered a comprehensive investigation.
This matter was assigned to Tang Jiaquan to handle. In the end, it was found that Tang Jin had remotely accessed the jewelry company's financial database... causing the account issues. Tang Jin became the prime suspect.
Naturally, he didn't believe Tang Jin would do such a thing.
But all the evidence pointed to Tang Jin.
He had given Tang Jin three days.
"And I've only been at the jewelry company for half a year. This blame should not fall on me no matter what." Tang Jin's voice was clear. "I checked the annual news about the Tang family from that year. That year, cousin Jiaquan had some issues in his personal life. There was news saying cousin Jiaquan bought a fifty-million property for a model... I suggest Grandfather arrange for someone to thoroughly investigate where that money came from."
"And also—" She paused and produced another piece of evidence. "I also found out that cousin Jiaquan has been inappropriately close with several of Tang's clients in private, accepting antiques worth tens of millions from them. May I assume that cousin Jiaquan is accepting bribes by exploiting his position?"
After reading the documents, Tang Youyi was instantly overcome with fury, his lips trembling.
Tang Jiaquan was his first grandson, the child he had invested great effort in nurturing, and also the child he had once placed the highest hopes in.
To seize power, he had actually framed his own cousin.
"Grandfather, please calm your anger." Tang Jin brought over a cup of tea. "These are just things I found. There might be discrepancies with the facts. Grandfather can arrange for someone to investigate further, so as not to wrong cousin Jiaquan."
Tang Youyi looked at her with appreciation. Even with ironclad evidence, she wasn't rushing to condemn her opponent. Such steadiness was indeed sufficient for an heir. He nodded. "You've worked hard these past three days. Rest for a couple of days before returning to work."
Tang Jin nodded and withdrew.
Once outside, she let out a deep sigh of relief. She had won this tough battle.
As soon as she stepped into the elevator, she took out her phone, found Chuan's name, and dialed.
Ji Jingchuan's car had just reached the main gate of Furong Manor. A servant was opening the iron gate to let the car in, but the car stopped halfway through.
The person in the driver's seat was holding his phone, motionless.
Ji Jingchuan looked at the name flashing on the screen, his lips pressed tightly together. Only when the phone stopped vibrating did he relax his taut lips and call back.
His voice was very flat. "I'm busy. Is there something?"
"Busy with homework?" Tang Jin's lighthearted voice came through. "Why don't you just bring your homework over? After dinner, I'll keep you company while you do it. I've sent you the address. Come quickly."
Ji Jingchuan very much wanted to say he didn't have time.
But... he thought about it. Forget it, he'd still go.
So he turned the car around and drove out.
The car stopped in front of a hot pot restaurant. Tang Jin was sitting by the window, waving at him with a bright, beaming smile.
He walked in. Before he could even speak, Tang Jin couldn't wait to say, "Chuan, you know what? I pulled off something big these past couple of days. You know my eldest cousin, Tang Jiaquan, right? He actually tried to set me up. Luckily, I minored in accounting in college. Not only did I prove my innocence, I also found evidence of him embezzling company funds and taking bribes... I barely slept these past two days, didn't have time to contact you. I'm really sorry. Let's have some hot pot first. Later, I need to go back and sleep for a full day and night..."
Ji Jingchuan was momentarily stunned.
So she hadn't been intentionally ignoring him. She had been caught up in trouble.
And the moment the trouble was resolved, she came to find him first.
Joy gradually filled his heart.
Simultaneously, it also bred a great deal of guilt.
