The effect of Guo Fuâs confession in the conference room hit like a runaway freight train and just blew everyoneâs mind. They just sat in dead silence, in confusion, trying to process what had just been revealed. Who would have thought that Guo Fu, the head of the Finance Department, was in a sexual relationship with Xu Guansong? And by the looks of it, they had maintained this relationship for quite a while.
âThis is shocking!â
Luo Qi exclaimed, unable to contain her shock.
Zhang Dashan grinned and giving the man a thumbs-up, he chirped, âXu Guansong, you have a wife and children, yet you are still able to have an affair and keep a mistress. Wah, how âmanâ of you!â
Everyone knew that he was sarcastic. The companyâs key employees who had initially backed Xu Guansong now had only contempt for the vice president. If Xu Guansong was willing to have a secret affair in his workplace, and without his wife knowing, how much could the man be trusted?
Xu Guansong ignored Zhang Dashanâs quip, and instead, he pointed at Guo Fu and flew into a rage. He roared, âYou wh*re, how much money did you get from Xiao Luo! You are willing to defame me even by ruining your own reputation as a woman? Do you think that I wouldnât dare to send someone after you?â
He was in deep anguish and humiliation and was almost losing his mind. He couldnât stay calm any longer.
Guo Fu couldnât believe the man was still at his devious game, and she retorted icily, âDefame you? Xu Guansong, are you saying that all these photos are fake?â
âOf course they are fake, that man isnât me at all, you must have photoshopâd them.â Xu Guansong screamed hysterically, refusing to admit what he had done.
âPhotoshop? Fine, our colleagues from the IT department are here, let them look at the photos and see if they have been photoshopâd or not.â
Guo Fu tossed her phone to the senior-most computer engineer from IT to check the veracity of the images and whether they had been tampered with using any software. Xu Guansong had reacted rashly as he was in too deep and had nothing to lose. But the woman who had had her heart broken would have none of that.
âI can say with 100% confidence that these photos have not been tampered with.â
âYep, if an image had been photoshopâd, no matter how well it was doctored, it would leave tell-tale signs, such as chromatic aberration.â
âThe photos had only been altered by the enhancement effects built into the phone, but the people and the background in it are all real, and there is definitely no forgery here.â
The IT engineers refuted Xu Guansongâs claim that the images had been doctored after closely examining them. They were all employees with Advanced Computing Certificates, and they had the experience and knowledge to determine if the pictures were genuine. Everyone now turned to look at Xu Guansong, some stared stone-faced while others gave fleeting glances of revulsion.
âXu Guansong, what else do you have to say?â
Xiao Luo looked at him with a mocking smile forming at the corner of his lips.
Keeping a mistress was immoral and unacceptable in their society. Now that his actions had been brought to light, his reputation and the image he had cultivated over the years was gone in an instant. Xu Guansongâs expression now turned ugly, he gritted his teeth and glared furiously at Guo Fu. Then his composure returned, he suddenly laughed coldly, and said, âSo what if I have an affair with this woman, it was consensual, what does it prove? It just proves that sheâs a wh*re willing to be f*cked, thatâs all. What does the matter of embezzlement we are discussing today have to do with me? Nothing!â
Guo Fuâs tears streamed down her face, she couldnât believe what she was hearing. This was the man who had always referred to her as his sweetheart and promised to love her forever. Or rather, that she had foolishly been willing to believe it.
âDepartment Head Guo, can you tell us about this Wang Xueli,â Xiao Luo steered the topic back on the right track.
A worried expression formed on Xu Guansongâs face, but it soon passed as he didnât think that Guo Fu knew much about Wang Xueli other than her bank details. Even if she did know something, he would challenge them as mere speculation.
âWang Xueli is his paramour!â
As Guo Fu said so, the entire conference room was abuzz with chatter again. What was going on? Xu Guansong was keeping not only one, but two mistresses? Indeed, this was going overboard!
âWh*re, what bullsh*t are you saying here. If you dare to sprout more nonsense, I will send someone after you.â Xu Guansong was reeling from the revelation, and he glared angrily at her.
âXu Guansong, shut up for now, can you?â Xiao Luo said tersely, giving him a stare.
âThis wh*re is sprouting bullsh*t, she is defaming me, how can Iâ¦â
âI told you to shut up!â
Xiao Luo shouted firmly, and this time he emanated a powerful aura, causing everyone in the conference room to sit up.
Xu Guansong felt a shiver run down his spine, and even his soul briefly left him. He broke out in cold sweat, slumped back into his chair, and looked wide-eyed at Xiao Luo in fear.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Having killed so many times, Xiao Luo had long since developed an ominous and intimidating aura. An ordinary person like Xu Guansong could never resist such a force.
âDepartment Head Guo, please continue,â Xiao Luo motioned for Guo Fu to continue speaking.
Guo Fu nodded and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, as she recovered from the shock. She went on to explain, âXu Guansong doesnât understand how a woman feels. I loved him very much, and I would thoroughly investigate any woman around him. Yes, that Wang Xueli is the paramour of Xu Guansong. To keep her happy, he even bought her a sea-view house at South Lake Bay.â
âThe purchase of the sea-view house was the exact reason why a small shortfall appeared in Xu Guansongâs cash flow. To fill the gap, he convinced me to alter the financial report.â
That accounted for it!
Now that the truth had finally been brought to light, everyone openly gave Xu Guansong a look of revulsion and disgust. As if keeping mistresses wasnât enough, he even had the audacity to talk Guo Fu into commit fraud so that he could siphon out money and use it to please his second mistress. This man did not have a soul!
âThen do you have any evidence that Wang Xueli is Xu Guansongâs paramour?â Xiao Luo asked Guo Fu.
âYes.â
Guo Fu nodded and pointed at Xu Guansongâs handphone, which he had placed on the table. âWang Xueliâs Wechat username is her English name âShirley,â and they have been sending many suggestive messages. Even though he deletes the chat history regularly, I believe that our colleagues from the IT department can definitely recover them. Furthermore, Wang Xueliâs contact is also saved in his phone contacts, so all we need to do is to call her to find out the truth.â
Xiao Luo looked at Xu Guansong and said in a cold, threatening tone, âXu Guansong, do you still want to continue with the act?â
Xu Guansongâs face had turned white as a sheet, and he was trembling. In a state of great distress, he slid from his chair and then knelt on the floor. He covered his face with his hands in humiliation and hung his head low. Sobbing, he admitted to his wrongdoings, struggling with the right words to say, âPresident Xiao, I-I⦠am guiltyâ¦â
It was a sorry sight, seeing a grown man cry like a child.
Xiao Luo smiled with contempt, then turned his gaze towards Xu Guansongâs trusted followers.
They appeared like mice hiding in the dark and suddenly exposed to bright sunlight. They looked self-conscious, panicky, and lost, none daring to look Xiao Luo in the eye.
â¦
It didnât take long before the police arrived, and they took Xu Guansong away.
As for Guo Fu, Xiao Luo didnât pursue her case as promised, but Luoâs Workshop could not retain her as an employee.
All of Xu Guansongâs trusted followers were fired that very day. The key employees of Luoâs Workshop had once again witnessed just how decisive Xiao Luo could be. As they got back to the meeting agenda, they presented the plans for the next ten years, which conclusively determined the nationwide rollout of their outlets.
The first phase of their expansion plan was Xiahai!
Xiahai was a city located at the border between the southern and northern regions of the country. Its central location made it easy to reach and was favorable to economic growth. The city was prosperous, with excellent infrastructure, and was conducive for business. To develop branches of Luoâs Workshop nationwide, it made good commercial sense to build their hub in Xiahai. Interestingly, Xiahai was where the NSA was headquartered, and the city where Xiao Luoâs alma mater, Xisheng Aeronautical University, was located. Xiao Luo had lived there for four years and was very familiar with the area.