Dawn of Life

Lin Yue and Su Ling returned to the elevator lobby of Zhengshi Trading Company. The figure from before had disappeared. They took the elevator back into the company's main building. Su Ling walked ahead with an air of nonchalance, saying to the receptionist, "We forgot something. We need to go to that meeting room to get it."

The receptionist remembered Ms. Wang's instructions to her half an hour earlier, and quickly followed Su Ling and Lin Yue, trying to stop them from going any further inside, saying, "Please sit on the sofa by the door, I'll go get it for you."

Su Ling didn't stop walking, and casually replied, "It's okay, you're busy, we'll get it ourselves."

Just then, a male voice came through: "Where's the receptionist? I need a mouse."

The receptionist stopped and looked towards the sound. Then she turned back and saw Lin Yue and Su Ling were almost at the conference room. She sighed and went back to her desk, thinking it wasn't a big deal since they were just grabbing something and leaving.

Su Ling and Lin Yue stopped in front of an office. The office was a glass partition with blinds drawn, and the people inside could be clearly seen through the glass. The figure downstairs just now was Qin Lan.

As if sensing something, Qin Lan, who had been staring at the computer, suddenly looked over and met Lin Yue's gaze. Lin Yue felt the surroundings suddenly quiet down, as if she could hear her own heartbeat.

Qin Lan was taken aback at first, then walked out of her workstation after a few seconds, opened the glass door, and let them in. She poured them two glasses of water and asked in a calm tone, "What are you doing here?"

Su Ling and Lin Yue exchanged a glance and quickly replied, "We were just passing by. Seeing that we're in the same industry, we wanted to come in and talk to the business manager about potential collaborations."

Qin Lan scanned Su Ling and Lin Yue's faces, quickly seeing through Su Ling's obvious excuse, and finally fixed her gaze on Lin Yue. Lin Yue happened to be looking at her as well, so she said, "Boss, what are you doing here? Last time I heard you say you were setting up a human resources consulting company?"

Qin Lan nodded and said, "Yes, the company was in the preparatory stage and was doing trial operations. This company was the first order I received."

Su Ling's eyes lit up, and she was about to ask something else when Lin Yue stopped her with a look. The three of them chatted casually for a while, and then Lin Yue and Su Ling went back to the company.

From the moment Lin Yue confirmed it was Qin Lan, she became even more certain that this was Liu Zheng's company. All the clues and her strong intuition told her so. She stopped Su Ling from asking because she knew that not only would she not get any information, but it would also make the atmosphere between the three of them more awkward. As long as they could follow in and confirm Qin Lan's identity, their goal for today would be achieved, and now they needed to think of other ways.

Back at the company, Lin Yue retrieved the files of Qin Lan, Shi Potian, and Liu Zheng. Their employment records were very complete, likely compiled during the company's due diligence for financing.

Lin Yue held her breath, carefully examining each form; it was her last hope. When she turned to Liu Zheng's employment registration form, she suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. Her eyes were fixed on the emergency contact person section, and a familiar name caught her eye—Wang Mei, the legal representative of Zhengshi Trading on Qichacha, and also Liu Zheng's wife.

Lin Yue quickly took out her phone and photographed the file. She then took a screenshot of the shareholder section of Zhengshi Trading on Qichacha (a Chinese business information platform), and entered the keywords "Wang Mei" and "Zhengshi Trading" into the webpage, taking screenshots of information including phone numbers. The names and phone numbers matched perfectly; this was evidence that Liu Zheng had used his wife's name to establish a separate business and transfer clients.

After doing all this, Lin Yue stared blankly at the computer. Before this, she had desperately tried to find evidence, but now, holding the evidence, she felt it was a little too hot to handle.

She knew that if she handed these over to Shengxing, he would quickly remove Liu Zheng from the company through the board of directors, and the merger and acquisition project would be completed smoothly. However, she felt uneasy, not knowing whether it was because of her friendship with Qin Lan or because she was worried about the new situation the company was about to enter.

Just as she was lost in thought, someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind. She instinctively pressed the screen of her Apple computer down slightly, then turned around and saw Su Ling. Su Ling mysteriously pulled her into the conference room and casually locked the door behind her.

Lowering her voice, she said, "I have a very good client who just let it slip that Liu Zheng approached her under the guise of being the vice president of Dasheng to discuss cooperation, but ultimately steered the deal toward Zhengshi Trading. I suspect Qin Lan told Liu Zheng about our visit to her company, and now he's eager to use his vice president status to divert clients. So we need to tell Shengxing about this as soon as possible."

As she spoke, Su Ling waved her phone in front of Lin Yue and continued, "I just recorded a conversation."

Lin Yue nodded and said, "There's no other way now."

Soon, Lin Yue handed over the evidence she had gathered over the past few days to Sheng Xing. Sheng Xing remained calm, as if everything was within his expectations and he had made thorough preparations, just waiting for the final opportune moment.

Shengxing, through its board of directors, dismissed Liu Zheng from his position as vice president on the grounds that he violated the company's non-compete agreement and harmed the company's interests, and at the same time unconditionally repurchased the shares he held.

On an ordinary afternoon, Sheng Xing sat in the main seat of his office, while Liu Zheng sat opposite him.

Sheng Xing, legs crossed, leaned back in his chair, a mocking smile playing on his lips, and said leisurely, "Old Liu, starting a business these days isn't like it was back in our day. The economy is down, capital is scarce, and it's very difficult to raise funds by relying on the internet-enabled approach anymore. But considering we've worked together for so many years, if you ever have any difficulties in the future, you can come back to Dasheng. I can easily arrange a manager position for you, Dangdang."

Liu Zheng laughed heartily: "Old Sheng, we all understand the principle that things in the world, after a long period of unity, will inevitably divide, and after a long period of division, will inevitably unite. I dare not say anything else, but it is not yet time to discuss who wins and who loses. There is still a long way to go, and we will wait and see."

Shengxing and Liu Zheng had worked together for eight years, fighting side by side for the same goal, only to part ways due to differing ideals. They knew each other too well, each other's strengths and weaknesses, vulnerabilities and unresolved issues. The future was uncertain, but at this moment, both of them wore expressions of determination and unwavering commitment.

Soon, Liu Zheng signed his name on documents such as the equity transfer agreement and the resignation agreement.

A weight was finally lifted from Lin Yue's heart. As soon as she got home from get off work, she heard Xiao Yu and Liu Cuiying's voices coming from inside the house, and Lin Yue's heart tightened reflexively.

They immediately pressed their fingerprints to open the door, and the three people at the dinner table turned to look at Lin Yue almost simultaneously. Xiao Yu's cheerful voice rang out first: "Mom, you got off work so early today!"

Liu Cuiying put down her chopsticks, stood up, and said, "You're back just in time. I'll get you some rice."

Lin Yue sat down at the dining table, glanced at Liu Cuiying's back with a puzzled look, and turned to ask Xiao Yu in a low voice, "What were you talking about with Grandma just now? I heard your voices as soon as I got to the door."

Just then, Liu Cuiying finished serving the rice and sat down, saying, "Xiaoyu wanted to eat cola chicken wings, so I cooked six tonight, but he insisted that your dad and I each eat two."

While munching on a chicken wing, Xiaoyu pouted and said matter-of-factly, "There are six, so it's definitely three of us who should share them, one or two at a time. Mom said food tastes better when shared."

Lin Haifeng affectionately patted Xiaoyu's head, while Liu Cuiying shook her head and said, "It's too greasy, I don't like it."

Xiao Yu looked up at Liu Cuiying with a puzzled expression, then glanced at Lin Yue, and mumbled through his mouth full of meat, "Grandma is lying. You just don't want to eat it all. Mom said that, and you always said the same thing to her before, but we don't lack food now, so you don't have to give it all to me."

After she finished speaking, Lin Haifeng, Liu Cuiying, and Lin Yue were all stunned. Liu Cuiying originally wanted to say, "We were poor when we were young, and we owed your mother too much. Now I always want to make it up to her through you." She moved her lips but didn't say anything. Then she buried her head in the rice in her bowl.

The next morning, as soon as Lin Yue arrived at the company, she sensed an unusual atmosphere.