Chapter 15
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When Zhou Luming found Xu Yan, she was sitting comfortably on the sofa in a spacious, carpeted office, with a cup of coffee and a glass of water on the glass coffee table in front of her.
In the insurance company manager's office, a short, middle-aged man was answering the phone. He looked terrible. His head was half bald, but he couldn't bear to shave it. Instead, he covered the top of his head with the few remaining hairs on the sides, making him barely recognizable.
Zhou Luming remembered that he was looking for Manager Ma downstairs, and it seemed that this was very likely the person he was looking for.
Xu Yan looked Zhou Luming up and down without saying anything. After Zhou Luming went inside, he stood next to Xu Yan, waiting for Manager Ma to hang up the phone.
Manager Ma sounded very impatient, scolded the person on the phone, and then instructed his secretary outside to say that he was not available if she called again.
You could feel his anger even through the phone. After hanging up, Manager Ma cursed from afar, "Useless idiot! Why is he coming to me now to help outsiders? Am I inviting him to eat shit?!"
I don't even know who I'm cursing at.
Manager Ma turned around and was startled to see a stunningly beautiful woman suddenly appear before him. Her small, beady eyes gleamed with desire. She touched her hair and then extended her hand to Zhou Luming in greeting, "Hello, I'm Manager Ma from the insurance company. May I ask who you are?"
“She’s my assistant,” Xu Yan blurted out abruptly. “Don’t stand, sit down and take notes.”
Zhou Luming avoided Manager Ma's greasy hand, obediently sat down next to Xu Yan, took out a small notebook and a pen from his bag, and adopted a work attitude of taking notes.
Manager Ma awkwardly withdrew his hand, which had been hanging in the air. He was a little disappointed that he hadn't managed to get any favors from the beautiful woman. He rarely saw women of this caliber. Women that could be found with money were usually tainted by worldly noise, unlike the one in front of him, who clearly hadn't yet stepped into that worldly realm.
As for the other one—
Although she's good-looking, her background is extraordinary; she has powerful backers protecting her, and even the Zhou family's inheritance was entrusted to her for distribution, demonstrating her deep influence. Xu Yan herself is an academic, a returned overseas student, capable, young, and beautiful—someone he shouldn't mess with. Manager Ma knew his own limitations; he didn't dare utter a single romantic thought about Xu Yan.
But the beautiful assistant beside her kept drawing Manager Ma's attention. Her appearance, her tone of voice, and even the way she occasionally flipped her hair all made Manager Ma's heart flutter.
Xu Yan said calmly, "Let's get down to business. I don't have much time; there's still half an hour until eleven o'clock."
Manager Ma asked, "I'm sorry, I'll start explaining the situation right away, but do you have other things to do at 11:30? I can arrange a car to take you there."
"No need, please try to explain the situation concisely."
Manager Ma brought over a swivel chair and sat down in front of them. He rubbed his hands together and explained, “You’ve probably seen the situation downstairs. Because the declaration of death for the Singapore Airlines disappearance two years ago has expired, the court has declared the crew and passengers dead. After they were declared dead, the claims process began, and the inheritance and distribution of the estate will also commence at the same time. The claims are a matter between our insurance company and the airline, and the latter falls within your area of expertise, Ms. Xu.”
“I want to know why you asked me to come,” Xu Yan asked, raising his eyebrows. “In this case, the insurance company needs a lawyer, not an estate administrator.”
“We have a law firm that specializes in handling these matters. To be honest, the reason we asked you to handle this is because a high-ranking official specifically requested your involvement,” Manager Ma said with a chuckle. “This high-ranking official is a member of the Zhou family.”
Xu Yan's expression remained unchanged. "I understand. The major shareholder of Lejia Insurance Company is a subsidiary of the Zhou Group. I am entrusted with managing the estate, which of course includes Lejia Insurance. Before handing over the estate to its heirs, I have an obligation to preserve the value of the estate."
Manager Ma smiled ingratiatingly, "Miss Xu is smart; she understands immediately."
Zhou Luming, who had been scribbling in his notebook, paused upon hearing this. Good heavens! So this huge insurance company was actually owned by the Zhou family? And this was a company he was about to inherit?
Zhou Luming couldn't help but feel sorry for the scene he had just witnessed downstairs where a group of people had "raped" him. The carpet was dirty and needed to be replaced, and it seemed that several cups had been broken. He hoped that the tables and chairs weren't damaged, otherwise it would cost money...
The mindset of being the host is completely different from that of being a passerby. Zhou Luming quickly switched between these two roles and deeply understood what it means to be a rich person.
Only a small group of people knew the contents of Grandpa Zhou's will, and few knew that she had to work as Xu Yan's assistant and gain his approval in order to inherit the entire estate. Therefore, Manager Ma from the insurance company in front of her only regarded her as an ordinary assistant.
"They bought insurance, so you should follow the claims process. Why won't you pay?" Xu Yan steered the conversation back on track, not wanting to waste any more time.
Manager Ma said with difficulty, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but there are some things that haven't been investigated clearly, so I can't just give away such a large sum of money so easily."
"How much can the airline compensate? Why didn't they claim from the airline, but came directly to the insurance company?" Zhou Luming interjected at this moment.
Manager Ma glanced at Zhou Luming, smiled, and said, "Singapore Airlines has just declared bankruptcy. Their only hope is our Lejia Insurance."
"What leads do you have?" Xu Yan asked.
Manager Ma stood up, walked back to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out a stack of documents, saying, "These are copies of our insurance company's terms and conditions, as well as the insurance information of the Singapore Airlines passengers at the time. You can take them back to review. This plane is still missing without a trace. When it was declared missing two years ago, theoretically, the plane had run out of fuel and was very likely to have crashed into the sea. As for the reason for the plane's sudden disappearance, it could be either a natural accident or a deliberate hijacking—"
Xu Yan took the thick stack of materials and quickly browsed through them.
All Zhou Luming could hear was the rustling sound of pages turning. She couldn't help but look at Xu Yan, wondering if she could read through all those densely packed words.
Xu Yan's expression was unusually focused, her deep light brown eyes were moving, she scanned a page almost every second, and finally her gaze settled on the name of an insured.
“Chen Xiaowei, a flight attendant for Singapore Airlines, there’s something wrong with her.” Xu Yan’s gaze was fixed on the small photo in her file.
Zhou Luming stepped forward, blocking Xu Yan's path, "What's wrong with her?"
Long, soft hair fell down, brushing against the back of Xu Yan's hand, tickling her and causing her hand to tremble slightly. Her gaze naturally fell on Zhou Luming's slender neck; her earlobes were small and delicate, with a faint mole on them.
Xu Yan was silent for a moment. She recalled the photos of Zhou Luming's back. There seemed to be one where she could see the almost invisible black spot on her earlobe. At the time, she thought it was just dirt on the photo or the lens, but now she realized that it was an inconspicuous little mark belonging to Zhou Luming.
Zhou Luming didn't receive a reply from Xu Yan. He turned around suspiciously, only to meet Xu Yan's gaze. Originally, there was no emotion in Xu Yan's eyes; she was merely identifying the small mole. But the moment she met Zhou Luming's gaze, it was as if she had stumbled into the cosmos, falling into an unknown and strange realm she had never felt before, and a strange feeling welled up within her.
Even looking at her up close, Zhou Luming's skin was flawless. She wasn't wearing heavy makeup, but rather a light and refreshing look, yet her exceptional beauty still occasionally amazed onlookers.
Zhou Luming was perhaps an expert at observing expressions; even on Xu Yan's usually icy face, he could catch a fleeting glimpse of her heart fluttering. He raised an eyebrow slightly and said ambiguously, "The way you're looking at me, it's like you want to devour me."
Xu Yan felt Manager Ma's gaze coming towards her, and she quickly leaned back to avoid Zhou Luming. Zhou Luming smiled and sat back down in his seat, as if the daze just now was only Xu Yan's own absent-mindedness.
Xu Yan had just uttered a single word when he felt his voice was a little dry, so he took a sip of water.
"Ahem—" Zhou Luming coughed lightly, "That's my cup, yours is a coffee cup."
Xu Yan felt her cheeks suddenly burning. After calming down a bit, Xu Yan heard herself say, "Chen Xiaowei increased the type and amount of insurance. If I'm not mistaken, she only took out additional insurance for this flight."
Manager Ma nodded in satisfaction, "That's right, exactly." He took out a few more sheets of paper from the drawer and handed them to Xu Yan. This was a small obstacle he had set up specifically to test Xu Yan. It would probably take an ordinary person more than twenty minutes to read through all this information, but Xu Yan only took four minutes and found the key.
"Besides Chen Xiaowei, were there any other passengers or crew members who purchased such high-value insurance?" Xu Yan asked, placing the documents in his hand on the coffee table. "If you already have any leads, don't waste my time; just tell me what you've found."
Manager Ma was intimidated by the imposing aura emanating from her sharp eyes. Having been in this position for so long, he had seen all sorts of people. Xu Yan was young, but she possessed a mature air about her. Manager Ma felt that it was the majesty of a superior looking down on those who were subservient at her feet.
"Besides her, the captain, the first officer, and another flight attendant also purchased such insurance."
Xu Yan pondered for a moment, "The goodwill of an insurance company is an intangible asset. You can't keep the people downstairs waiting for too long. Their business should be processed normally."
"But—but—"
"How long does this kind of claims process usually take?" Xu Yan stood up and walked towards the door.
"It usually takes at least 3 months."
"Give me a month, and I will give you an answer, but for now you need to process their claim." Xu Yan left these words before leaving the office.
Chapter 16, Section 16 - Revision
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Before leaving, Xu Yan asked Manager Ma for two insurance company work IDs and tossed them to Zhou Luming, saying, "Print out two one-inch photos and get someone from the insurance company to stamp them."
Zhou Luming raised his eyebrows. "I don't have a single-inch photo."
"Shot live."
“I don’t have your picture either.” Zhou Luming took out his phone and said to Xu Yan, “Come on—lean against the wall, smile, cheese.”
Xu Yan actually stood obediently in front of the white wall, but he did so in a rigid and expressionless manner.
Zhou Luming pressed the shutter button, looked at her phone screen, and chuckled. She thought Xu Yan was adorable no matter what she did, even when she had a serious face. After taking the photo, she asked the receptionist at the office entrance to print out two copies, and the documents were successfully stamped and made. She understood Xu Yan's intention, of course; since an investigation was to be conducted, using the identity of an investigator from an insurance company would be more convenient.
Xu Yan stepped into the elevator, stood in the corner, and raised her chin slightly to look at Zhou Luming, who was still outside, with a playful expression. "Are you going to take the next elevator?"
Zhou Luming quickly followed, and the two entered the elevator together.
Xu Yan, with her hands in her pockets, glanced at Zhou Luming's coat pocket and said, "I saw it."
"What did you see?" Zhou Luming's voice sounded a little guilty.
Xu Yan turned to face Zhou Luming, stretched out her hand and slowly said, "Give me the extra photo." Her expression was very serious, as if she would forcibly take the photo from Zhou Luming if he didn't honestly hand it over.
Zhou Luming couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to hand over the extra passport photo of Xu Yan. "Stingy."
"And give me your phone too," Xu Yan said in a commanding tone.
"Okay, I'll delete it myself." Zhou Luming pulled up the photo in front of Xu Yan, clicked delete, then emptied the recycle bin and showed the final result to Xu Yan.
Xu Yan was finally satisfied.
“Your ID photo just now was quite nice; you could actually keep it,” Zhou Luming muttered.
Why are you keeping my photo?
"In memory of the days I worked for you," Zhou Luming replied casually. Xu Yan's insurance work ID was still in her pocket, with her photo on it. She wouldn't even know if he secretly left another one later.
After completing her mission and obtaining the Zhou family's inheritance, she will leave and become enemies with Xu Yan. She has a habit of keeping an item from each mission as a memento, and this time the memento is tentatively set as a single-inch photo of Xu Yan.
The two were quiet in the elevator. Zhou Luming noticed that Xu Yan's lips were tightly pursed, and she seemed a little nervous. Suddenly, he felt playful and jumped next to her, giving her a "Hey!" He just wanted to see Xu Yan panic, thinking it would be cute. However, Xu Yan instinctively grabbed Zhou Luming's arm and gripped it tightly. In that instant, Zhou Luming saw terror in her eyes, and the color drained from her face, turning her pale with fright.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you would be so scared," Zhou Luming apologized.
Xu Yan regained his senses, silently released her, and lowered his eyelids, no longer bothering to look at the culprit.
The elevator continued its descent, not going directly to the underground parking garage, but stopping on a floor below. The elevator doors opened, and a young man entered, rubbing his forehead. Seeing two other people inside, he apologized and then discreetly stood in the corner on the other side.
When Zhou Luming saw him, he asked, "Are you bleeding?"
The young man was the insurance company employee I had just met on the street. The once noisy floor was now empty except for him. Tables and chairs were overturned, and there were many broken eggs, sewage, and tissues on the floor, making it look very messy.
"Yeah, I got hit by something by accident, but it's nothing, thanks for your concern." The young man recognized Zhou Luming, and his eyes lit up. But there was another young woman in the elevator, though compared to the beautiful and enthusiastic woman in front of him, that woman exuded a cold aura.
"Hello, I'm Wang Chenchen, an insurance broker from Lejia Insurance. You can call me Xiao Wang." Wang Chenchen said, "I just saw you coming downstairs. Are you Manager Ma's clients?"
Manager Ma's office is not open to ordinary customers. It is only open to high-end clients of the insurance company or Manager Ma's guests. Ordinary customers can usually only conduct business in the lobby on the first floor. However, due to the great impact of the Singapore Airlines incident, a meeting room was specially set up upstairs to discuss the Singapore Airlines claims case in order to avoid affecting normal business.
Today, Wang Chenchen received the family members of the victims in the Singapore Airlines case upstairs. Judging from the scene Zhou Luming witnessed and his current disheveled appearance, the situation is probably not optimistic.
Zhou Luming greeted them with a smile, saying, "Hi, hello, my name is Xiao Lu, and this is Ms. Xu Yan. We are here to conduct an insurance investigation into the Singapore Airlines case."
Wang Chenchen breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's how it is. Manager Ma asked me to receive those family members, but now it's turned into this mess, making a fool of myself in front of you."
Xu Yan suddenly asked him, "Were you the employee who sold four high-value insurance policies?"
Wang Chenchen was surprised for a moment, then said, "It's...it's me."
Xu Yan said, "Come with us to visit the family members."
The elevator arrived at their destination. Wang Chenchen was still a little dazed. Zhou Luming turned to him and said, "Ms. Xu is in charge of this investigation, and we all have to listen to her. Don't worry about Manager Ma. I'll call him and temporarily reassign you. It won't count as absenteeism."
Wang Chenchen followed the two of them in a daze.
Zhou Luming glanced at the back of Xu Yan's head as he walked briskly ahead. Xu Yan had brought Wang Chenchen along for no apparent reason, probably because he had discovered something in the documents just now. Since Wang Chenchen was the one who sold these four insurance policies, bringing him along would make it easier to question him on the way.
As far as they knew, none of the four people's family members had come to the insurance company today, so they had to visit them in person.
Zhou Luming was in charge of driving, Xu Yan sat in the passenger seat, and Wang Chenchen sat awkwardly and reservedly in the back seat, not daring to lean back.