Shi Pengpeng looked at Yan Jing’s reply and seriously considered whether to give him a fortune-telling session.
She felt that this guy had been acting quite abnormally lately.
Just as she was thinking, another message came in from the other side.
Yan Jing: [I don’t have to work overtime tonight. Want to grab dinner together?]
SPP: [No, I’m going to settle accounts with that Liu guy!]
Yan Jing: [Like how?]
SPP: [Haven’t figured it out yet. I’ll start by reasoning with him. Fist emoji.]
Yan Jing: [Then I’ll go with you.]
Shi Pengpeng: ?
He’s so eager.
SPP: [……No need, right?]
SPP: [Don’t worry, I won’t break any laws.]
SPP: [You might not believe it, but the first course in our major was Criminal Law. I’m all about staying legal. Sunglasses emoji.]
Yan Jing: [……………]
Yan Jing: [I’m not worried about you. I just want to tag along. Didn’t you say the rumors were about you and me?]
Yan Jing: [It’s only natural for the involved parties to attend the “trial.”]
Shi Pengpeng: “…..”
Didn’t he just say he wasn’t angry?
What a fickle man!
SPP: [Fine then.]
Shi Pengpeng had initially wanted to confront Liu Yuguang right away, but she and Liu had already blocked each other on WeChat.
When she called him, Liu hung up as soon as she brought up the rumors, leaving Shi Pengpeng fuming.
In the past, Shi Pengpeng had considered the internal dynamics of the company and her own busy workload, so she didn’t want to waste time on trivial matters and had always ignored Liu Yuguang.
But this time, Liu had crossed her bottom line, and the impact was significant.
She could no longer turn a blind eye.
She couldn’t find Liu at the company, so she asked around and learned that Liu probably knew he wouldn’t be staying at Fuxi much longer.
He hadn’t been coming to work recently, claiming to be on business trips, but he was likely busy with his own affairs.
This made it quite difficult to corner him.
Later, a female colleague who used to handle administrative tasks for the major clients department secretly told Shi Pengpeng that Liu Yuguang had been frequenting a bar lately and had even found a very beautiful girlfriend there.
This colleague had little standing in the department and was often exploited by Liu, sometimes even being called to work in the middle of the night.
She harbored a lot of resentment and vented endlessly about Liu, spilling all sorts of gossip about him.
She mentioned that once, when she went to deliver documents to Liu, she happened to see him with his girlfriend.
He was completely infatuated, and his girlfriend treated him like a dog.
It was a case of one thing subduing another.
Liu, usually a shrewd and stingy man, was utterly obedient to his girlfriend and spent money like water.
“He really has the nerve to expense all his bar bills to the company, making me fill them out as entertainment costs,” the colleague rolled her eyes.
“At first, I suspected his girlfriend might be a bar scammer, but after seeing her in person, I don’t think so.”
“Oh?” Shi Pengpeng was curious.
“Why?”
“You have no idea, his girlfriend is really stunning. Not just men, even I couldn’t take my eyes off her when I saw her. She looks like someone who knows how to handle herself.”
“Manipulating people,” the female colleague pondered for a moment before concluding, “I think, given her qualifications, if she wanted to make money, there’s no need for her to be a wine escort.”
“Really?” Shi Pengpeng expressed doubt, “But if she’s really capable, how could she be interested in someone like Liu Yuguang?”
“……” The female colleague was momentarily at a loss for words.
After some thought, she reluctantly said, “Well, Manager Liu is quite the charmer, and some people fall for that. Plus, he does have a bit of money.”
Shi Pengpeng smiled and didn’t argue further.
Instead, she asked the colleague to help find out where Liu Yuguang was going today.
Seeing that Liu Yuguang was about to be fired anyway, the colleague had no reservations and, under the pretext of delivering documents, found out that Liu Yuguang was indeed heading to that bar again tonight.
At the end of the workday, Shi Pengpeng packed up her things and went downstairs with two close colleagues.
Just as they stepped out of the building, they heard Yan Jing’s voice.
“Pengpeng, over here.”
Shi Pengpeng turned and saw Yan Jing’s car parked by the roadside.
He stood beside it, waving at her.
“Brother,” Shi Pengpeng was a bit surprised, “Didn’t I tell you I could just take a taxi there?”
“It’s on the way,” Yan Jing said nonchalantly, walking over and naturally taking the bag from her hand.
“Let’s go.”
The two colleagues looked curiously at the handsome young man.
One of them couldn’t resist her curiosity and whispered, “Pengpeng, is he your boyfriend?”
“No,” Shi Pengpeng waved her hand, then added after a moment’s thought, “He’s just Yan Jing.”
“?” The two colleagues were taken aback, realizing he was the rumored protagonist.
Their eyes darted between Shi Pengpeng and Yan Jing, their curiosity evident.
Shi Pengpeng could roughly guess what they were thinking and said openly, “It’s not like what Liu Yuguang said, but we are indeed good friends.”
“Oh, I see,” the colleagues nodded in understanding.
The one who had spoken earlier added, “I get it, being open is friendship, being cautious is love. You two look completely innocent; it couldn’t be what Manager Liu said. Tomorrow at work, I’ll definitely clear things up for you.”
Yan Jing suddenly snorted coldly, his face darkening, “You’re too eager, aren’t you?”
“Not at all,” the colleague, praised by the big boss, felt a bit embarrassed and said modestly, “It’s just a small favor.”
Yan Jing: “….”
Following the information provided by the female colleague, Shi Pengpeng and Yan Jing arrived at a bar in the city center.
This bar was very famous locally, having been open for over a decade and even renovated once.
It was quite large, with a huge open dance floor and many booths and private rooms.
Even though it was just after work hours, the bar was already quite crowded.
Yan Jing surveyed the scene and said, “Looks like it won’t be easy to find him.”
“Yeah,” Shi Pengpeng also felt it might be troublesome, but she quickly came up with an idea, “Let’s ask at the bar.”
The colleague had mentioned that Liu Yuguang was a regular at this bar, so he should know the bartender.
They went to the bar, ordered a couple of drinks, and then inquired with the bartender.
The bartender indeed knew Liu Yuguang but didn’t answer immediately, instead asking cautiously, “What do you need him for?”
“I’m his assistant,” Shi Pengpeng said with a sweet smile.
“I’m here to deliver some documents for him.”
“Oh, you should have said so earlier,” the bartender replied, clearly not surprised.
It seemed Liu Yuguang had sent people to the bar before, so he didn’t question it further, though he did give Yan Jing a curious glance. “And he is…?”
“He’s my boyfriend,” Shi Pengpeng answered without missing a beat, her script ready.
“He’s a bit possessive. When he heard I was coming to a bar, he insisted on tagging along.”
“Ah, got it,” the bartender chuckled, as if this was a common occurrence.
He didn’t press further and shifted the conversation back to Liu Yuguang.
“Brother Liu is usually personally attended to by our boss. I’m not sure when he’ll arrive. If you’re not in a hurry, you can wait here.”
“That works,” Shi Pengpeng replied, her smile unwavering.
She turned to Yan Jing and asked, “Should we order something to eat?”
Yan Jing slowly looked at her and said, “Is this how you usually introduce me?”
Oops, caught again.
Shi Pengpeng stifled a laugh and patted his shoulder seriously and said: “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”
Before he could react, she quickly stood up and said, “I’ll be right back I need to use the restroom.”
Yan Jing: “…”
The bartender handed him a drink.
“Relax, man. This is a decent place. No need to keep such a tight watch.”
“Ha, I don’t care,” Yan Jing replied with his usual aloofness.
He took a sip of his drink and suddenly asked, “Do you think we look like a good match?”
The bartender: “???”
Dude, are you really that indifferent?
When Shi Pengpeng returned from the restroom, she noticed a hidden corridor in the corner that seemed to lead to the office area.
Remembering the bartender’s words, she immediately changed direction and headed that way.
Liu Yuguang wasn’t some big shot, yet the bar owner personally entertained him every time.
It was likely that he wasn’t just here to drink but to discuss something important.
If that was the case, he might not just be in the bar but possibly in the office area.
At the end of the corridor was a lavishly decorated reception room.
As Shi Pengpeng approached the door, she heard Liu Yuguang’s voice coming from inside.
In the reception room, Liu Yuguang was enthusiastically pitching his business plan to the bar owner, Lin Qing.
Ever since the bribery scandal at Cat’s Paw came to light, Liu Yuguang’s position at Fuxi had become increasingly precarious.
Knowing that Tan Wei wanted to push him out, he had already started planning his exit.
He had never been satisfied with Tan Wei, believing he could do what she did.
He had registered a new company outside, ready to compete with Fuxi.
Unlike Fuxi, however, Liu Yuguang disdained low-margin local specialty products and focused solely on high-profit items like alcohol.
Leveraging his connections over the years, he had already secured several alcohol distribution rights and was now working on expanding his sales channels.
Lin Qing wasn’t just a bar owner; he also ran several event planning companies and had connections with influential figures.
Winning him over would be a significant boost for Liu Yuguang’s new venture.
To achieve this, Liu Yuguang had been frequenting the bar almost daily this month, spending a fortune on drinks.
Although some of it was reimbursed as entertainment expenses by Fuxi, he had still shelled out a considerable amount of his own money, and it was starting to hurt.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a complete loss.
During this period at the bar, Liu Yuguang had managed to land himself a very beautiful girlfriend.
His girlfriend was quite famous at the bar for her stunning looks and eloquence, and many had been infatuated with her, pursuing her relentlessly.
No one expected that Liu Yuguang would be the one to win her over, earning him the envy of many.
After getting a girlfriend, Liu Yuguang’s career also started to go smoothly.
Perhaps it was the joy of good fortune that lifted his spirits, or maybe it was the influence of his girlfriend, but he became even more articulate and finally managed to charm Lin Qing into agreeing to sign a long-term cooperation contract with him.
But Liu Yuguang still felt it wasn’t enough.
He wanted to push further and get Lin Qing to double the cooperation amount.
So tonight, he arranged another dinner with Lin Qing.
After a hearty meal and drinks, they returned to the bar, where Liu Yuguang planned to open a few more bottles to get Lin Qing drunk.
Liu Yuguang’s speech was highly persuasive, and Lin Qing was indeed convinced, almost ready to nod in agreement.
But just then, someone knocked on the reception room door.
Liu Yuguang’s speech was interrupted, and he frowned, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Manager Liu,” Shi Pengpeng pushed the door open and said, “Finally found you.”
Liu Yuguang’s expression changed, “What are you doing here?”
“Of course, to reason with you,” Shi Pengpeng smiled kindly, “You’ve been spreading so many rumors about me outside, causing me a lot of trouble. I hope you can issue a formal clarification and apologize to me.”
Liu Yuguang thought to himself that this was bad.
Lin Qing was sitting right there, and he couldn’t let Shi Pengpeng continue to speak freely.
If things went south, today’s cooperation could fall apart.
He immediately put on a friendly face and said, “Pengpeng, you must be mistaken. How could I be that kind of person? Look, this isn’t a convenient place, let’s go outside and talk.”
As he spoke, he reached out to grab Shi Pengpeng’s hand, intending to forcibly remove her from the room.
But before he could even touch her clothes, his vision blurred.
Shi Pengpeng swiftly dodged, grabbed his wrist, and with a twist, she pinned his arm behind his back, kicking the back of his knee in the process, “Keep your hands to yourself!”
Liu Yuguang heard the “crack” of his joint and cried out in pain.
Hearing Shi Pengpeng’s words, he thought to himself:
Who’s the one being handsy here?!
Lin Qing, who was sitting nearby and had no idea what was going on, was initially just watching suspiciously.
Seeing this, he quickly intervened, “Miss, please speak calmly, don’t resort to violence here.”
“Am I not speaking calmly?” Shi Pengpeng asked, puzzled, “Are we not being harmonious now?”
Lin Qing looked at Shi Pengpeng, then at Liu Yuguang, who was helplessly pinned down by her, and found himself at a loss for words.
“Shi Pengpeng, don’t go too far!” Liu Yuguang, being pressed to the ground, felt he had lost all face and couldn’t bother to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor anymore, “You say I spread rumors about you, do you have any proof?”
Shi Pengpeng’s voice turned cold, “You deny it?”
“Haha, why should I admit to something that’s baseless?” Liu Yuguang argued confidently, “Besides, everyone in the company knows about your private relationship with that Yan guy. How do you know it wasn’t someone else who said it? If you have the guts, bring out the evidence.”
He had done this kind of thing more than once or twice and knew that rumors were hard to trace back to their source.
As long as he stubbornly denied it, he figured Shi Pengpeng couldn’t do much about it.
Sure enough, Shi Pengpeng looked troubled, “It is indeed a bit tricky.”
Liu Yuguang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a hint of pride, “Good that you know. If you’re smart, you’ll leave now…”
Shi Pengpeng continued, “You’ve done so many wicked things. Aren’t you afraid of having nightmares at night?”
Liu Yuguang replied shamelessly, “If you do nothing wrong during the day, you won’t fear ghosts knocking at your door at night.”
“Good to hear.”
Shi Pengpeng nodded, and the canvas bag on her shoulder suddenly fell to the ground.
A small coal ball tied with a red string rolled out of the bag with a “clatter”-it was the nightmare spirit she had collected at the comic convention.
Due to the rush, she hadn’t had time to send it back to school, and she was afraid it might escape if left at home, so she had been carrying it with her.
“Oops, it fell,” Shi Pengpeng said with a look of surprise.
In her haste, she even kicked it, causing the small coal ball to roll right in front of Liu Yuguang.
The red string loosened slightly.
The coal ball let out a “squeak” and said, “You just said you wouldn’t have nightmares?”
Liu Yuguang was stunned. “What are you?”
The coal ball squeaked, “Your nightmare is here.”
Liu Yuguang: “???”
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