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Chapter 688: Chapter 691: Worthy of Her
Yang Chen sighed, "I overthought it. The real traitor isn't a person, but the copier in Wu Yue's office used for copying documents."
"The copier?" Lin Ruoxi frowned. "You think Wu Yue made extra copies? That's impossible. I was there watching her copy many of the documents."
Yang Chen explained, "You might not be aware of this because it's not your field, but most modern copiers have built-in hard drives. Every time something is copied, a large number of files are stored on the hard drive. Anyone with basic computer skills can connect the hard drive to a computer and retrieve the documents within minutes. Leaking information through copiers is common in espionage, so important departments make sure to destroy copier hard drives to prevent such incidents. Do you understand now?"
Lin Ruoxi's pretty face was full of surprise. She had never heard of such technology, having studied business and not technical fields.
After a moment of thought, Lin Ruoxi said, "Even if the copier's hard drive can store all the documents, the copier is in Wu Yue's office. She stays late, just like me, and no one can easily access our offices. The doors are to outsiders, so how?"
"That's why Li Minghe didn't chase after the many beautiful women in the company but acted like a lovesick puppy chasing after Wu Yue. He knew that gaining Wu Yue's trust was the only way to get into her office and tamper with the copier without raising suspicion, possibly even getting her to lend him the key under the pretext of checking some documents," Yang Chen said, clicking his tongue in admiration. "I have to admire his patience and planning. From the moment he joined the company, everything he did was to perfectly execute this plan. Every step he took misled us while allowing him to complete his task without leaving a trace."
A trace of sadness passed through Lin Ruoxi's eyes. "Wu Yue genuinely liked Li Minghe."
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Yang Chen looked at her silently, remembering how Lin Ruoxi had asked him to keep Wu Yue and Li Minghe's relationship a secret. For this only female assistant and her schoolmate, Lin Ruoxi never openly showed concern, but deep down, she might have hoped that Li Minghe truly loved Wu Yue.
Yang Chen said softly, "There's nothing that can be done about it. Do you remember when I once came to your office looking for you and found Wu Yue and Li Minghe there? They told me you were out shopping at Yuzhong Building."
Lin Ruoxi nodded, "I remember you came to find me that day."
"I now realize Li Minghe went to your office to confirm if you used your office copier for the documents. Once he confirmed that your office didn't have a copier, he was certain the documents he needed were in the copier in Wu Yue's office. From the beginning, his actions were flawless."
Lin Ruoxi closed her eyes, feeling a bit saddened by this revelation. After a while, she asked, "So it was Li Minghe who poisoned me too?"
"The coffee you drank contained some chronic toxins. If I'm not mistaken, Li Minghe learned about your daily coffee consumption from Wu Yue and secretly replaced it with the same brand laced with toxins. Based on the measurements, he timed it so that you would fall ill during Yu Lei's most critical moment, leaving you no chance to recover," Yang Chen said seriously. "If I'm correct, he intended for you to completely collapse during the crisis, giving you no opportunity to fight back."
Lin Ruoxi bit her lip and asked hopefully, "So Wu Yue didn't know about this, right?"
Yang Chen nodded, "It seems that way for now. But regardless of whether she knew, I can't allow her to stay by your side anymore. You need to replace her with someone absolutely trustworthy. This is non-negotiable."
"You can't just decide that. Even if Wu Yue can't stay, why should I listen to you about choosing an assistant?" Lin Ruoxi retorted, slightly annoyed.
Yang Chen said firmly, "Say what you want, but the assistant must be someone I approve of. If not, I'll throw them out of your office window. While we can break down this theft, Li Minghe's brilliance lies in that we have no concrete evidence. Just knowing that copier hard drives can store data isn't proof he stole anything. So, after I drop you off at the company, I'll get a lawyer to bail Mingyu out. Given the new suspect, her involvement will be largely dismissed."
Lin Ruoxi pouted, "Fine. I'll handle the company's matters, and you go rescue your Mingyu." She then turned her head to look out the window, ignoring Yang Chen.
Yang Chen rolled his eyes. It seemed she had fully recovered, even enough to make sarcastic remarks.
Meanwhile, in the vice president's office at Yu Lei International, a secretary excitedly pushed open the door, "Vice President Li! Good news!"
Li Minghe, looking through some documents, frowned in annoyance, "Why so excited? Don't you know we need to stay calm amid the chaos?"
The secretary grinned, "Yes, but I just received news that President Lin has recovered and will soon return to attend the press conference. Everyone's thrilled, so I wanted to report it to you!"
A shadow of confusion and frustration flashed in Li Minghe's eyes, but he smiled brightly, "That's great news. You get back to work. I need to meet some important people and might need their assistance. Report any urgent matters to Manager Wang."
The secretary quickly agreed and happily ran back to work.
Li Minghe gritted his teeth, grabbed his coat, hastily picked up his belongings, and left the office to take the elevator down.
On the way to the parking lot, his phone rang. Seeing the number, he felt a wave of irritation but answered as calmly as possible, "What's so urgent?"
"Playing dumb, are we?" the voice on the other end sneered. "Didn't you say Lin Ruoxi would be down for at least ten days, maybe even develop cancer? How come she's returning to the company after just a few hours?"
"Calm down. I don't know what happened either. She must have gotten lucky. I really did my best," Li Minghe said helplessly.
"Hmph, considering everything else is progressing smoothly, I'll let this matter slide. Even if Lin Ruoxi returns to Yu Lei International, it's too late. The company's plans for the second half of the year and those proposals have been exposed, losing competitive edge. Even with Lin Ruoxi's wealth, she can only maintain the existing assets. Recovering won't be easy."
"Yes, yes, you are wise and far-sighted. Bringing down Lin Ruoxi is just a matter of time," Li Minghe flattered quickly.
The person on the other end laughed coldly, "Don't put on that act. You'll get your share. Don't go anywhere else now; head to the place I arranged for you."
Li Minghe, hearing this, expressed his gratitude, "Thank you for your generosity. I'll go right away!"
Hanging up the phone, Li Minghe's face showed a mixture of excitement and ruthlessness as he walked briskly toward his car. At that moment, a thin, pale figure in a black suit appeared in front of him, blocking his way.
Li Minghe paused, a complex expression crossing his face, before smiling, "So it's you, Yue'er. President Lin is coming back soon. Why are you here?"
Wu Yue's eyes were red, tears glistening as she looked at Li Minghe with pain, forcing a smile, "Tell me it's not you. Tell me you didn't do all this, right?"
Li Minghe's smile slowly faded. After a moment of contemplation, he sneered, "Since you already have the answer in your heart, do I need to say it? What, do you want to stop me from leaving? Even if Yang Chen finds something, he has no evidence. What can you do to me?" free𝑤ebnovel.com
Wu Yue took a deep breath, trying to hold back her tears, her shoulders trembling, "I should have known. A man like you would never truly love a woman like me. But I held onto the fantasy that you weren't superficial. I thought if I treated you well, you would genuinely care for me. So no matter what you said, I chose to believe you were innocent and had no ulterior motives."
Li Minghe's eyebrows twitched slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.
"Li Minghe," Wu Yue's eyes reddened, her thin neck tensed, "whether you were instructed by a competitor or acted on your own, I could accept your actions as business competition. I could forgive you for that. But how could you use me and hurt the person I respect the most, President Lin?"
Li Minghe's facial muscles twitched a few times, and he sneered, "Say what you will. Let me tell you, if it weren't for needing to do bigger things in the future, I'd want to stab Lin Ruoxi myself! Giving her chronic poison is the least she deserves."