"Manager Liu, why haven't you left yet?"
When Xiang Zuo saw Liu Shishi walking out of the room, his face turned ashen.
Why was Liu Shishi still in the company at this hour?
Just now, Xiang Zuo had met Liu Shishi's secretary in the lobby.
He had even asked the secretary if Liu Shishi had gone home and if she needed a ride.
The secretary had told Xiang Zuo that Liu Shishi's boyfriend had come to pick her up.
Even so, to ensure no one else was left in the company, Xiang Zuo had specifically gone to the farthest conference room to make a call.
But he could never have guessed that Liu Shishi would be in a small room within the conference room.
Seeing the expression on Liu Shishi's face as she emerged from the small room, Xiang Zuo knew without asking that she had heard everything.
"Manager Liu, why would you do this? I trusted you so much, I thought you genuinely wanted to build a company that everyone would admire, along with me and everyone else."
Liu Shishi's face was filled with disappointment.
Honestly, she had truly believed in Xiang Zuo back then, even considering him a close confidant.
But she never expected him to have ulterior motives from the moment he joined the company.
"Manager Liu, I'm sorry, I... I actually had my reasons."
Looking at Liu Shishi, Xiang Zuo lowered his head in shame.
Seeing this, Liu Shishi sighed, "Xiang Zuo! At this point, do you think I would still believe anything you say?"
Liu Shishi had heard Xiang Zuo's words clearly from the small room earlier.
The person who sent him to the company, some Manager Lei, had given Xiang Zuo a large sum of money.
Although Liu Shishi had never believed in the existence of corporate spies, now that she had encountered one, she had to admit that she had almost suffered a significant loss because of it.
Fortunately, she had left her phone in the small room of the conference room, which allowed her to discover the spy within the company and prevent a major loss.
However, this incident also served as a wake-up call for Liu Shishi, reminding her that such people might still exist within the company.
Therefore, the matter of the formula must be classified as top secret, and no one other than herself should have access to it.
As Liu Shishi's mind raced with a series of thoughts regarding Xiang Zuo, Xiang Zuo spoke again.
"Manager Liu, I know that no matter what I say now, you won't believe me. But when I joined the company, I genuinely wanted to work hard with everyone to develop the company further. Unfortunately... unfortunately, I..."
By the end of his sentence, Xiang Zuo's voice became choked with emotion, and he could no longer continue.
Liu Shishi shook her head. "I don't want to see you here tomorrow. Take care of yourself."
With that, she was the first to walk out of the conference room.
Upon returning to her office, Liu Shishi felt a sense of loss.
Her initial intention was simple: to find a group of like-minded individuals who were passionate about their work and build the company together. However, in reality, it seemed to be far more complicated than that.
Ring, ring.
Ring, ring.
Liu Shishi's phone on the desk began to ring.
Her mind was in a state of turmoil, and even though she heard the phone ring, she couldn't bring herself to answer it.
But the phone on the desk seemed to be deliberately persistent, ringing non-stop.
Liu Shishi immediately reached for her phone, intending to turn it off and get some peace.
However, when she inadvertently saw that the caller ID was Du Fei, Liu Shishi quickly tapped to answer.
"Hello, Shishi, are you okay?"
"I've been trying to call you, but your phone was unreachable. Then it was turned off. I'm on my way to your company right now, wait for me there."
Du Fei's concerned voice came through the phone's speaker.
Hearing Du Fei's voice, Liu Shishi's mood instantly improved.
"I was in a meeting just now, so I had my phone on silent. Then it probably ran out of battery. Okay, I'll wait for you at the company. The rain is heavy right now, drive carefully."
Hearing Du Fei say he was on his way to the company, Liu Shishi urged him to drive slowly.
Before the incident with Xiang Zuo, Liu Shishi had actually planned to call Du Fei and ask him to pick her up.
But unexpectedly, Du Fei was already close to her company.
It was just that she had missed his call earlier. Fortunately, she hadn't left the company yet.
After speaking with Du Fei, Liu Shishi felt much better.
She then sat up straighter and began to attend to the company's documents.
Indeed, Xiang Zuo's betrayal had troubled her greatly, making her feel that her trust had been betrayed.
But after speaking with Du Fei, Liu Shishi's mood had somewhat improved.
No matter what happened, time continued to move forward, and Liu Shishi felt that she should not dwell on past unhappiness.
The most important thing she needed to do was to develop the company better and deliver a heavy blow to the person behind the scenes who wanted to steal the company's secret formula.
Liu Shishi quickly got into her work. Time ticked by.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the office door.
Liu Shishi stretched her arms in a stretching motion and then said, "Come in."
Du Fei pushed the office door open and entered.
"Huh? Are those soup dumplings and Huainan beef soup?"
Liu Shishi's delicate nose twitched slightly, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.
Du Fei lifted the bag in his hand and placed it on Liu Shishi's desk.
"Not bad, your little nose is quite sharp to guess what I bought so quickly."
Soup dumplings and Huainan beef soup were both things Liu Shishi loved to eat.
Du Fei had originally planned to pick up Liu Shishi to have dinner at home. However, as he was driving, he passed a soup dumpling shop and saw that it hadn't closed despite the heavy rain. So he pulled over, got out, and bought two orders.
Seeing Liu Shishi's happy expression now, Du Fei felt that his decision was the right one.
"Of course, I'm a foodie, after all."
Liu Shishi happily reached for the bag, wanting to open it.
To her surprise, Du Fei playfully slapped her hand away.
Liu Shishi looked at Du Fei with confusion, not understanding why he wouldn't let her open the bag.
"Did you wash your hands? And you want to eat already? Go wash your hands properly and then come back to eat," Du Fei said with a smile.
Oh, she was so absent-minded, forgetting to wash her hands, and Du Fei had to remind her.
Liu Shishi stood up and walked towards the small adjoining room within the office.
Although the room was small, it was well-equipped with areas for sleeping, showering, and changing clothes.
After washing her hands and drying them, when Liu Shishi returned to her desk, Du Fei had already helped her plate the soup dumplings and opened the Huainan beef soup, placing them nearby.
"Eat while it's hot."
"Thank you, Du Fei."
Liu Shishi looked at the steaming soup dumplings and beef soup in front of her, looked up at Du Fei, and thanked him sincerely.
However, Du Fei pretended to be angry and said, "With the relationship we have, do we still need to say thank you? If you do that again, I'll get angry."
Ha.
Liu Shishi knew that Du Fei was saying that deliberately. She smiled and then began to eat.
Liu Shishi's way of eating was quite elegant. She would take a small bite with her pearly white teeth and then chew slowly.
Every movement was a pleasure to watch. Du Fei sat opposite Liu Shishi, quietly observing her.
When Liu Shishi finished eating, Du Fei stopped her from clearing the table. He quickly and efficiently packed away the empty boxes and other trash on the desk.