Chapter 157

Chapter 157: Is There Or Not?

In Director Liu’s office, after reading the materials that Li Man Zhi had brought, he already had an answer in his heart.

“I will report this to President Qiu myself later. Do not worry. You are one of us at Yayu Group. After I talk it over with President Qiu, we will definitely give you a result you can accept.”

Overjoyed, Li Man Zhi said: “Thank you, Director Liu.”

“You are welcome. I also do not want to keep a useless, sneaky hypocrite like that under my hand,” he said.

Li Man Zhi’s eyes turned slightly. She remembered what Du An Rao had said yesterday, that Director Liu had gone through something similar in the past and hated people like Lai Yi Wen.

Now it seemed that really was true.

The two of them were still talking when a hurried knock sounded on the office door.

“Come in,” Director Liu said.

“Director Liu, please come quickly. Something has happened in the design department.” A female employee in formal clothes rushed in, face full of anxiety.

“What happened?” he asked.

“It seems… it seems someone from the design department stole an expensive piece of jewelry from the company. They were caught red-handed. Things are already getting loud over there.”

“What?!” Director Liu was shocked. He did not care about anything else and walked out quickly.

Knowing that the show had started, Li Man Zhi, the person involved, hurried after him too. If she did not go back fast, they might stuff a crime on her and not even let her explain.

When the two of them reached the design department, not only were all the design staff there, but many people from other departments had also crowded in to watch.

As soon as the bootlickers around Lai Yi Wen saw Li Man Zhi show up, they shouted loudly, afraid others would not hear them.

“She’s here, she’s here, the thief is here!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Who are you calling a thief?” Li Man Zhi walked closer and saw that her workstation had been completely rummaged through. Her drawers had all been opened, and at the very bottom of the last one, she could see a sparkling gemstone necklace and some scattered earrings and rings.

“The stolen goods were found at whoever’s seat. That person is the thief, obviously,” one of them said.

“That is right. If you are not a thief, then why are finished company jewelry pieces in your drawer?”

“I knew some people’s families were not that well-off, yet they always had money to buy name brands and jewelry. Turns out it all came from stealing. And this is just what we found. Who knows how much she stole before? We cannot let this go. We need to report it to the board of directors and make her return every piece of jewelry she stole!”

The onlookers did not know the truth. Hearing their words, they all started pointing and whispering about Li Man Zhi.

A sharp light flashed in Li Man Zhi’s eyes. Now that she knew who was backing Lai Yi Wen, she understood their plan at once. They wanted Lai Yi Wen’s uncle to step out and nail her to the pillar of shame, then completely ban her from the industry.

What a vicious mind. What a poisonous plan. If she had not been lucky enough to meet An An, she really would have been bullied to death by this pack of petty villains today.

Director Liu was a veteran of the company and had seen a lot. Plus, Li Man Zhi was someone the general manager had named for him to protect. Even if he did not know about her character, just this connection alone meant she was not someone who would be stupid enough to steal jewelry from inside the company.

More importantly, the timing of this whole thing was way too neat. Li Man Zhi had worked at the company for three or four years without any problems.

Today was the first time she had given him the materials that proved someone had copied her designs in the past. Right after that, this kind of incident happened. It was hard not to suspect that someone had planned this just to shut her up.

“Why are you yelling like that? Before the matter is clear, who taught you to wag your tongues and decide someone’s guilt?” Director Liu said coldly.

“We already have a witness and the stolen goods, Director Liu, and you still say nothing is clear. Are you trying to openly cover for some people?” someone shot back.

The appearance of Lai Yi Wen only made Director Liu more certain of his guess.

But standing behind her right then was her pillar of support, her uncle-in-law, Chairman Qiu. Even if Director Liu was unhappy, he could only put up with it for now.

“I only think that without solid proof, we should not jump to conclusions too early, in case we wrong a good person,” Director Liu said.

“A good person?” Chairman Qiu snorted. “A thief has mixed into the company, and you are still protecting so-called good people? Liu Qi Feng, it seems you do not want to be director anymore. Step down early and let someone more capable take over. That way we can at least save some face. Otherwise, just one charge of neglecting your duty will be enough to give you a hard time and ruin your reputation!”

“Who has such a big mouth that they dare threaten Director Liu like this? I want to see who thinks they can so easily make our company’s director ‘have a hard time’ and ‘lose his reputation,’” a cool voice cut in.

“President… General Manager?” Lai Yi Wen had never expected Qiu Ji Chen to show up at this moment. The pride on her face instantly froze.

Chairman Qiu’s face changed even faster. He stared at Qiu Ji Chen in shock: “Ji… Ji Chen, what are you doing here?”

Compared to their panic, Li Man Zhi’s eyes lit up. She knew he was most likely here for the matter between her and Lai Yi Wen. Which meant…

She glanced quietly at the newly installed camera in the corner not far away. The corners of her lips curved, and her heart calmed down.

Qiu Ji Chen really had come because of Li Man Zhi. After talking with Du An Rao yesterday, he had not only had people install a camera near her seat as fast as possible, he had also sent someone to keep an eye on the design department.

As soon as something happened, he got the news and rushed down from upstairs.

“I should be the one asking you, Third Uncle. It is rare to see you at the company. Is there some major issue?” he asked politely.

Just a moment ago, Chairman Qiu had been domineering in front of Director Liu. Now, standing in front of Qiu Ji Chen, it was as if he had shrunk a few inches. Forcing a smile, he said: “I just happened to come inspect the company. I heard something was going on here, so I came to take a look.”

After he finished, he shot a look at Lai Yi Wen. She understood at once and stepped forward to complain: “President Qiu, a thief appeared in our department. She stole the company’s jewelry.”

Qiu Ji Chen raised his brows and pretended not to know: “Oh? Is that so?”

“It is true! Look, we already have a witness and the stolen goods. There is no way she can deny it.”

“Witnesses? Stolen goods? Which witnesses? What stolen goods?” he asked.

“This… the jewelry was found at the bottom of her drawer. That is the stolen goods. As for witnesses, they all saw it.” Lai Yi Wen pointed, and everyone’s eyes fell on the three bootlickers beside her.

“You are the witnesses? You saw her stealing with your own eyes?” Qiu Ji Chen asked.

The three of them had never expected to face the big boss himself. The speeches they had prepared in their heads suddenly jammed.

“We… we…”

They hesitated and stammered, while also stealing nervous glances at Lai Yi Wen, as if afraid others would not see they were on the same side.

These idiots made even Qiu Ji Chen laugh in anger. He shouted: “What do you mean ‘we’? Either you did or you did not. Is there proof or not?”