Part One, Chapter Eleven
The next day, Willson still didn't come to work or call me. I couldn't maintain the same composure as yesterday, but I still managed to restrain myself from calling him first—I was afraid calling him would inconvenience him. I had naturally placed myself in a dark, hidden corner; it seems I do have some potential to be a competent mistress. I tried calling Yin Tianyu, but the voicemail said he wasn't in the country.
The afternoon was the busiest time when the phone on my desk rang loudly. I picked it up and heard Joyes's icy voice pierce my ears: "RUBY, come over here right now." I locked the files and then walked towards the administration department. Pushing open the door, I was surprised to see five people sitting behind the desk. Joyes was sitting on the far left, and the rest were all men, none of whom I recognized.
"Sit down." Joyes gestured with her chin to a chair directly opposite them, offering no introduction whatsoever. As soon as I sat down, I felt an invisible pressure coming from across the room, making me so uncomfortable that I didn't know what to do with my hands and feet.
“Ms. Li,” a middle-aged man with slightly receding hair, sitting in the center, finally broke the suffocating silence, “may I ask what your position is in the company?”
"Assistant General Manager." I took a deep breath. I felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat, though I had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.
"Under normal procedures, is it possible for a third person, besides you and the general manager, to handle or see confidential documents of the company with a rating of three stars or higher?"
"No one in the company could possibly see this except for me and the general manager, because I handle all the printing, copying, and mailing myself."
"Could you explain to us why Shengyu Company, as the competitor in bidding project A7126, actually obtained our bid for the four-star aircraft density before we even submitted our bid?"
His voice wasn't loud, it was even quite gentle, but to my ears it sounded like a series of thunderclaps! Impossible, I was extremely careful when handling these documents, even when I went to the restroom I would put the screensaver on before leaving.
I honestly replied, "I can't explain it."
"Okay, can you explain why there was an extra 200,000 yuan in your bank account on the day Shengyu Company won the bid?"
"Buzz!" My head suddenly felt heavy. What was the date of the bidding? I tried to remember, but I couldn't recall anything. I couldn't even remember what day it was today!
"That day was August 14th, Miss Li shouldn't have no recollection of it, right?" The other person seemed to read my mind. August 14th, my mind suddenly cleared up, two hundred thousand was right, that was the payment for the batch of slippers I was distributing.
"That was my own private business funds."
"Private business funds? But these private business funds were transferred from the account of Shengda, a subsidiary of Shengyu Company."
I felt as if I had fallen into an ice cave, my whole body chilled to the bone, because even I couldn't believe that such a terrifying coincidence could exist in this world. My mouth mechanically opened and closed, saying, "Whether you believe it or not, I didn't do it."
I don't know how I was led out, and I couldn't see the astonishment and contempt in the eyes of my former colleagues. The only thing that echoed in my world was Joyce's last few words: "Because the general manager personally intervened with the head office, we have decided not to file a criminal lawsuit against you for the time being. Please pack your personal belongings and leave our company's legal business scope within ten minutes. We also hope that our lenient treatment will make you realize your mistakes and respect yourself!"
Why? Why did he plead with the company not to pursue the matter against me? Did he even think I would do such a thing? To sell the company's interests and his trust for a mere 200,000? In the end, is everything between us only worth this kind of lenient treatment as charity? I was so angry that I was trembling uncontrollably.
Standing in front of my desk, I opened a drawer and my fingers suddenly touched a cool box. It was the box of chocolates he had given me. My heart skipped a beat, and the numb feeling that had been there for so long suddenly came to a head. I then noticed two tall security guards standing behind me, watching me intently as I tidied my desk. They were impatiently glancing at their watches, implying that I only had ten minutes. Everyone else stood far away, as if I had suddenly contracted leprosy and would infect them.
I can't leave! At least not like this as I walk out of this company! Otherwise, I'll never be able to hold my head high again! Just like the resolute decision I made more than ten years ago when I decided to become a rich man, I made this decision: I turned around and slowly said, word by word, to the two security guards: "Tell Ms. Joyce from HR that I've decided to call the police on this matter. The company won't hold me accountable; I'll hold myself accountable!"
Walking out of the detention cell, I felt like I was in another world. From the very first day I started working after graduation, I knew that everything comes at a price. This time, the price I paid for my decision was my first night in jail, and I knew that this was just the beginning.
The September sun in Guangzhou was scorching and blinding. Stepping out of the procuratorate, squinting, I saw Xia Mengmeng standing far away under a large banyan tree, fanning herself vigorously with a stack of documents, yet her forehead glistening with sweat made her look as if she'd been pulled from water. I bit my lip, suppressing the tears that suddenly welled up, before walking towards her.
"Why would you protect me? Staying inside would mean free room and board, saving you a lot of money." I pretended to be carefree.
"Come on, you think you're so clever? Your food and lodging costs have already been factored into this insurance premium, damn it, it's more expensive than hospitalization." Xia Mengmeng's grumbling finally made my tightly wound nerves relax.
How much is the premium?
"I knew all you cared about was money! You didn't even ask how long I'd been waiting for you here," Xia Mengmeng said, heartbroken, then rattled off a number that nearly made me stumble!
"Why is it so expensive? Where do you get so much money? You're not going to do that..." I looked her up and down suspiciously. It's not surprising that I thought that way. Xia Mengmeng and I are the two extremes. She usually earns two but spends three. She never saves any money. Her bank savings account has never exceeded three digits. I know that.
"Screw you, every night I'm still just seducing mosquitoes with the same pose I use to seduce men."
"Where did this money come from?"
"I rushed over after I heard you got yourself here, but when I found out the insurance premium was so high, I had to go back and think of a solution. It wasn't until last night that I finally contacted the only wealthy person I knew who might be able to borrow money, 'Yin Xiaokai.' That's why he hired the lawyer."
"I'll pay him back when I get back." At this moment, everything related to Willson is a bloody shock to me, let alone Yin Tianyu, who is such a good friend of his. It feels to me as if the money was not borrowed by Yin Tianyu but taken out of Willson's wallet.
"How are you going to pay me back? All your bank accounts are frozen." Xia Mengmeng's effortless words immediately shut me up. Yes, what's the point of talking about innocence and self-respect when you don't even have money? I'm not a smart person, but at least I understand things.
"Let's go, let's have a big meal first, and we can think about the rest later."
"I'm out of money, you can have this meal."
Xia Mengmeng confidently patted her chest, saying she wouldn't have any problem eating abalone. I discovered that when you're broke, it's not too hard to be a bit of a rogue with one or two friends. Of course, it's best if you're only broke occasionally, otherwise you'll end up with nothing but a rogue and no friends.
I had just sat down at the restaurant when Xia Mengmeng's phone rang. I was busy looking at the menu and ignored her. Anyway, she kept saying "la" and "yeah" to me, but it was probably just her flirting with some widowed old man again.
Before long, Yin Tianyu walked in with a neatly dressed young man.
Sigh, I actually knew from the start that we would meet, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. I tried for a long time but couldn't manage a decent grateful smile, so I could only sigh resignedly and prepare how to answer his "why"—I'm sure he already knew about Willson's "lenient" decision to exempt me from prosecution.
Who knew that the first thing he said after sitting down was to introduce the young man as a lawyer surnamed Tang, then he pulled out a few receipts from his casual pants, waved them at me, and said, "These are the insurance premiums and lawyer fees I advanced for you. Remember to pay me back as soon as the case is over."
"But I have no money left." The thought of my hard-earned savings made my heart ache unbearably.
"Who said you have no money? After the lawsuit is over and the money in your account is unfrozen, what are you going to do if you don't pay me back?"
"You knew I would win? Aren't you afraid that I really did it?" My eyes suddenly lit up as I stared intently at Yin Tianyu.
Yin Tianyu stared at me without backing down and said, "I know you can't do something like this—with your intelligence and courage, you can't handle such a difficult case, even though you're crazy about money."
Although I could tell he was teasing me again, after more than thirty hours of facing a mountain of undeniable facts that even I myself was starting to doubt whether I had really done it, hearing someone say that he believed me made me want to hug him and cry my heart out.
I hurriedly lowered my head, grabbed the teacup, and gulped down the tea to avoid being noticed.
Yin Tianyu leaned closer with a smug look on his face and said, "How about it? Aren't you moved? Don't you feel like offering yourself in return?"
"Pfft!" My old habit flared up again, and I spat out the tea I was holding in my mouth. Quick as a flash, Yin Tianyu leaned back nimbly to the side, narrowly dodging the attack. But still not entirely at ease, he glanced at himself, dusted off his snow-white T-shirt, and said, "Thank goodness, it's not dirty. This was a gift from my girlfriend in Singapore."
This guy actually has quite the stage presence—I couldn't help but secretly applaud him, wiping the tea from my lips with the back of my hand. Looking up, I saw Xia Mengmeng looking at me with a greedy expression, as if she wanted to devour Yin Tianyu whole. Only Attorney Tang behaved very politely, seemingly ignoring our group of clowns, and even spread out his documents to say to me: "Ms. Li, if you want to win this case, you must trust me completely and cooperate with me. So I hope you can be frank with the following questions." Seeing me nod, he continued: "Currently, the prosecutor's office has already filed the case, and as the defendant, winning the presiding judge's favor is a very important part. According to my information, Ms. Li, you have been doing volunteer work at Shouyuan Nursing Home for many years, is that right?"
"yes."