The Female CEO Falls in Love with Me

"Pfft! What do you mean by 'for love, for money'?"

When Li Yan said that, Jiang Lele sprang up defensively as if her tail had been stepped on. "He's my boss, the head of our department. When he asked me to copy the files, could I refuse? Do you think I wanted to come back in the middle of the night?"

"Explain in detail."

"That night, Director Chen called me and asked me to return and copy some document files. Since I participated in the project and knew which files were needed, I didn't doubt it much and came back."

"What about the keys?"

"That day, Chen Aiyuan was the last to leave. Usually, someone else is responsible for locking up, but he forgot to lock the door." Jiang Lele felt slightly defeated. Now that she thinks about it, it was clearly a deliberate trap.

"And then? The next morning, before work, you handed the files over to someone you didn't recognize?" Li Yan pressed on, it was a question he hadn't asked before, but now it was different.

"How did you know?" Jiang Lele's eyes widened. Although she was in a hurry then, she hadn't seen any colleagues nearby.

"Detectives always have a way to deduce things. Just tell me."

Jiang Lele rolled her eyes at him, clearly not believing he was any detective, probably a security guard saw it and told him. "Director Chen said he needed to discuss the project proposal with a client, and because he had to go early in the morning, he asked me to get the files the night before and give them to him in the morning. But in the morning, he didn't show up; instead, someone I didn't know came over. He said he was entrusted by Director Chen, and after I called to confirm, I gave it to him."

This made Li Yan a bit skeptical, "You said Chen Aiyuan went out that morning? But when I later called your phone and you told me to ask him, I called his office line, and he picked up, admitting that he asked you to fetch the files. Did I reach out to the wrong person?"

Having been there so long, of course, he knew who Chen Aiyuan was, although he had only seen him and hadn't interacted with him. That day, he called the planning department director's office, and he couldn't see who was on the other end.

Jiang Lele shook her head, "No, you didn't reach the wrong person; he was the one who intended to deceive me. I quickly saw him at the company that day, asked him about the matter, and he said it had been taken care of. We certainly couldn't question his competence, and I didn't think much of it. Now it seems he had prepared all these details. Everything I'm saying now, he has evidence to refute... You're right, I was just a scapegoat chosen by them..."

Faced with Jiang Lele's dejected smile, Li Yan didn't know how to comfort her. This wasn't a personal vendetta; she was merely a pawn they had chosen. If she was lucky, she'd just been used; if not, she'd take the fall. At this stage, her best outcome was getting fired, and at worst, she might end up entangled in a lawsuit.

"Hey! Li Yan, do you have any ideas?" Now for Jiang Lele, they were both on the same boat, suddenly facing such a situation, she didn't know how to handle it.

Li Yan laughed, "Don't be so nervous, just now, President Hai also called me in for questioning, and I said the same thing as you. Although Chen Aiyuan may falsely accuse the two of us of framing him, the company leadership isn't that clueless. If I, someone who's on the sidelines, had that much cunning and conspiratorial ability, I would have gained many benefits in the business department. Would I need to collude with you?"

"You're right... Hey! What's that supposed to mean? Like I'm not capable!"

"Whether it's President Zhang or Director Hai Fu, they're both sharp-eyed. You've worked a bit longer than I have and should understand this better."

Jiang Lele relaxed a bit, "Yeah, although Chen Aiyuan had it planned out well, for sure he can't fool President Zhang."

"But there's another thing, whether it's President Zhang or President Hai, they might not offend or give up on a planning department director for us two minor employees. After all, his value is greater than ours, even if he's disloyal. After such an incident, he will surely restrain himself, and President Zhang only needs to keep him in line for him to continue contributing to the company. And although we're scapegoats, we're insignificant ones. So the company won't waste time handing us over to the judicial system, at most just fire us."

The just-relaxed Jiang Lele, upon hearing the word 'fired,' got anxious again: "Fired? What do I do then? Where can I find such a good job in a short time?"

Li Yan laughed, "What are you afraid of? You still have some skills, and after being fired, you can find a similar job. At most, it's just rebuilding your credentials, and if you're lucky, you might end up in a better place. I can't do anything, and I'm not afraid."

Jiang Lele forced a smile, "You don't know... I used to buy a lot of branded stuff, maxed out my credit cards, and now all my salary goes to paying off debt. If I can find a job right away, it would be somewhat okay. But now I'm being kicked out, and as a scapegoat for someone who was disloyal... Oh my! What to do, what to do?"

Seeing her anxious expression, Li Yan remained relaxed.

"He he, you main culprit stay here, I am leaving first."

Seeing Li Yan really about to leave, Jiang Lele quickly held onto him: "What about me?"

"How would I know? Maybe you can apply to President Hai to be a whistleblower. Anyway, the situation hasn't been blown open yet; go back and see if anyone else is in a similar situation as you. Get everyone to jointly point him out."

Jiang Lele gave a helpless bitter smile. It's fine if you don't ask, but once you do, everyone will be suspicious. Guessing they'll be swept out, who would still help you?

...

Li Yan returned to the business department, and Wen Qianyi was still there. She asked what happened. After listening, she pondered for a moment, "Don't worry, this won't implicate you. Whether it's about Chen Aiyuan or that Jiang Lele, you can say you didn't know, that you were just faithfully recording because the security team didn't delete the records. If Chen Aiyuan wants to deny it, just tell him someone responded in his office, and let him investigate."

"Hmm, what you said makes sense."

Li Yan understood that Wen Qianyi was looking out for him. He also knew that the final result might be dealing with Jiang Lele and then Chen Aiyuan finding a way to make him leave without directly confronting him. This was to avoid angering him into doing anything that could further harm the company's interests. As the director of the planning department, he had considerable knowledge of certain company affairs.

"I have things to do outside. You might still have to cooperate with the administration department for questioning, so you don't need to come with me." Wen Qianyi had already needed to leave, but she stayed because she was worried about what might happen at the administration department, waiting until he came back before leaving.

After Wen Qianyi left, Li Yan searched for a number, a number he had barely used.

Duan Haibo, on the surface, seemed just like an ordinary worker in the city, but in reality, he was a mercenary retired at the peak of his career. It wasn't an early retirement or fatigue with the mercenary life, but for a woman, now his wife Lv Jiajing. For his beloved woman, he left the mercenary world to become an ordinary person.

This was arranged by Yu Mocheng a year and a half ago, asking Li Yan to help look out for him. Li Yan introduced him to a job, but not long after, Duan Haibo's enemies somehow found him. Though fearless, he had a wife now, and he couldn't let her find out nor could he easily reveal his exceptional skills to her.

At that time, Li Yan helped him deal with those enemies, including getting Yu Mocheng to symbolically spend some money to have Queen arrange people and eliminate those enemies, eradicating future troubles.

Honestly, Li Yan wasn't very close to Duan Haibo at that time. He was just helping because Yu Mocheng asked. But helping to clear those enemies was because Li Yan thought of himself. He had just started his vacation half a year prior, and he wondered if he, too, would have enemies come looking for him after retirement.

Therefore, even though Duan Haibo was immensely grateful to him, respecting and appreciating him no less than Yu Mocheng, Li Yan didn't expect any reciprocation. Today, however, he needed a small favor.

"Xiao Duan, it's me. Long time no see, got any free time? Let's grab lunch!"

This was the first time Li Yan actively called him, and Duan Haibo was very excited, agreeing readily.

...

At noon, Li Yan drove to their meeting spot, a regular little restaurant. Duan Haibo and another girl were already inside, waving to him.

"Li Ge!"

"Xiao Duan, Xiao Lv." Li Yan greeted them with a smile. He had introduced Duan Haibo's wife, Lv Jiajing, to her job back then and had known her since. At that time, she was his girlfriend, and they soon married.

The three of them chatted idly. Duan Haibo was still in the job Li Yan had found for him. His work as a mercenary had left him with decent savings, so he had no financial concerns. It was for his wife, and he wasn't suited for many jobs; hence, he stayed. In Lv Jiajing's eyes, he was more settled compared to his previous business travels. Li Yan, meanwhile, had switched jobs multiple times. His current stint of over half a year at Paradise Group was already his longest one thus far.

Lv Jiajing, understandingly, finished her meal first and excused herself to work, giving the men a chance for a private talk.

What kind of person was Li Yan? Duan Haibo knew at least something about him. He, of course, wasn't afraid, but after the life-saving help, he felt gratitude and respect. People like Li Yan, hidden among the urban life, were undoubtedly very low-key. Without serious matters, they generally didn't keep in touch. So, once Lv Jiajing left, he directly asked, "Li Ge, is there something you need me to do?"

This was a modest little eatery, not suitable for business or romantic discussions. However, for certain personal matters, it was convenient for quick communication. While having spicy boiled fish fillet and drinking cheap beer, Li Yan, while toasting with him, quietly said, "You know, solving problems with people is my forte, but in some aspects, you might be better. Is interrogating someone your specialty?"

"Of course! Leave it to me!"

For Li Yan, since it was not convenient to deal with Chen Aiyuan through formal channels, he resorted to his unconventional methods. Pests are never alone; sometimes you have to kill one to warn a hundred. (The kindergarten is on holiday, and today I bought train tickets for my wife and child to visit their grandma's place for summer vacation, only to find the tickets sold out 10 days in advance. Having promised to take them to Little Meisha and Ocean World during the summer, I must fulfill it. I'm in the west of Shenzhen, Little Meisha is in the east, it takes 4 to 5 hours to travel. So, I plan to go on Thursday and return on Friday. These days, I won't miss updates, but I can't do much; please bear with me. Once the kid goes back, updates will speed up, and there will be a big release to repay everyone! I beg for your continued monthly pass support for the old rascal, help 'Mixed' fight for the top six urban spots, I beg you brothers. Many thanks!)(To be continued, for more updates, please log on to www.qidian.com, support the author, support legitimate reading!)