"You still have a shred of conscience," Gu Jiangyan, though still expressionless, relaxed his imposing demeanor. He stroked the young girl's chin, his tone softening, "Does it hurt badly?"
Qi Sui Bai stood behind the little ancestor with a dark expression. Despite his displeasure, he could only suppress his anger since the little ancestor hadn't spoken, fixing Gu Jiangyan with a hostile gaze.
Jian Sheng's black pearl-like eyes were clouded with a mist of tears. She nodded vigorously, "It hurts a lot! It felt like my bones were about to be crushed."
The tears pooling in her eyes teetered on the verge of falling as she nodded.
Gu Jiangyan massaged her chin and continued, "Will you still be so stubborn in the future?"
Jian Sheng nodded firmly again, her voice resolute, "Yes!"
"Pfft—" Qin Wen couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Gu Jiangyan's expression darkened, "Is it that funny?"
Qin Wen struggled to stifle his laughter, "Boss, I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you. I just remembered something amusing."
It wasn't just Qin Wen; even Zhong Ziping, who was usually silent and seemed unapproachable, wore a smile.
Seeing this, he realized the situation might have a twist. The boss had likely misunderstood the lady mentioned by Assistant Qin, and the true culprit was already suspected. He also relaxed, unable to resist taking a closer look at the boss's legendary daughter.
Putting aside his preconceptions, he had to admit the little one was truly interesting. It was the first time he had seen someone completely control the boss.
"As expected, you're a little troublemaker, always causing me trouble. I must have owed you in a past life," Gu Jiangyan muttered, then casually picked up the young girl.
The entire matter was full of suspicion. Gu Jiangyan's certainty that Jian Junruo was responsible was solely based on the clues pointing to her, and given Gu Jiangyan's rigid impression of Jian Junruo's many past offenses, he naturally believed Jian Junruo was the main problem. Despite his lingering doubts due to Jian Junruo's inexplicable animosity, with Tang Xiaoxiao now among the suspects, the investigation would naturally be easier with the new lead.
Zhong Ziping finally found a chair and began a thorough examination of the files and programs on the computer.
Shortly, he discovered an anomaly, "Boss, the files on the computer show the last viewed time as the day before yesterday and yesterday, but the actual insertion time was an hour ago. The same applies to other programs, software, and surveillance videos. Here are the file transfer records after I restored them; tracking them shows the source is from abroad."
Gu Jiangyan said, "An hour ago, I was on the way to send Jian Junruo to the hospital. She indeed has an alibi."
"Then, could it have been someone else?"
"Why wouldn't others use their own computers?"
Facing the boss's scrutinizing gaze, Zhong Ziping calmly adjusted his glasses. As a subordinate, it was his duty to proactively voice what might be unsuitable for the boss to say.
"Meaning... the lady is very likely also a victim," Zhong Ziping concluded, finally casting a probing gaze at the young girl held by Gu Jiangyan. "I'm just very curious, was the mastermind's main objective to steal information or to frame the lady? And how did the lady offend the other party?"
"Could it be... a romantic rival? Stealing information while also framing the lady?" Zhong Ziping mused, resting his chin on his hand and guessing wildly.
Upon hearing the words "romantic rival," Gu Jiangyan's mind subconsciously conjured an image of a graceful figure, the origin of all this misfortune. In an instant, Gu Jiangyan dismissed this possibility. She was developing abroad; no matter how suspicious he was, he wouldn't suspect her.
"Has Tang Xiaoxiao's specific background been investigated?"
Tang Xiaoxiao.
It seemed all her troubles began when that little girl joined the company.
She had calculated Gu Jiangyan's meeting schedule, but because Qin Wen had brought that girl to the CEO's office, he became suspicious of her. The girl's words in the restroom yesterday still echoed in her ears, like a devil's whisper, leaving her perpetually uneasy. If it weren't for the girl's extreme youth, she would have suspected that her exposure today was entirely orchestrated by that little brat.