Before Shen Mianyin got into the car, the look of desolation and disappointment in her eyes as she shook her head and scoffed at him replayed endlessly in Gu Luoan’s mind.
His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, unconsciously applying more pressure.
He clearly wanted to talk things through with Shen Mianyin, wanted to treat her well, so why couldn’t he control himself every time he faced her?
Shen Mianyin called Lin Jinshen, and to her surprise, he picked up the phone quickly.
Shen Mianyin was slightly surprised. "There should be a time difference on your side, right? How come you picked up the phone so quickly?"
"I just landed at the Beijing airport," Lin Jinshen replied, as he pulled his suitcase off the baggage conveyor belt. "Your call came at the perfect time. If it had been any earlier, I wouldn't have been able to answer."
"But, what's going on?" he asked. "Unless it's something major, you wouldn't have called me at this time, considering the time difference."
"Mr. Lin, do you want to kick Zhang Qiyuan and Zhou Jicai out of the company?" Shen Mianyin asked.
From her first meeting at Jincheng, she had noticed the tension between Zhang Qiyuan and Lin Jinshen, clearly indicating that they belonged to a different faction.
Zhang Qiyuan didn't even try to hide his ambition to replace Lin Jinshen and take the top position, while Zhou Jicai was firmly tied to Zhang Qiyuan's side.
Lin Jinshen was not surprised by Shen Mianyin's sharpness. He spoke candidly, "I do want to. They're from Gao Dong's faction, and they've always been trying to take control of the company."
"However, since they haven't made any major mistakes, I haven't been able to find the right opportunity," Lin Jinshen admitted.
"Well, it's good that you want to," Shen Mianyin replied, "I actually have a perfect opportunity for you." She added, "I'll send you an audio file shortly. When you have time, listen to it. It would be best if you could listen to it tonight and decide what to do by tomorrow. The longer you wait, the less effective it will be."
When Shen Mianyin brought it up, Lin Jinshen immediately knew that she must have found some solid evidence.
He smiled and said, "If this matter really works out, I owe you a big thank-you. I also have to thank Wanran for letting me know in time, pushing me to bring you into the company."
Shen Mianyin smiled, replying, "Let's handle the matter first, and then you can thank me."
After hanging up the phone, Shen Mianyin sent the audio file to Lin Jinshen.
The recording on her phone had started as soon as she left the company.
Knowing that tonight could likely turn against her, Shen Mianyin wasn’t foolish enough to go in unprepared.
To her surprise, she had indeed managed to capture something. This kind of workplace harassment, if exposed, would force both Zhang Qiyuan and Zhou Jicai out of the company.
Even if Zhang Qiyuan can be protected, Zhou Jicai cannot.
Right after sending the message, Director Shen received a call from Gao Zhoulei.
She glanced at the time—7:40 PM.
It wasn’t yet the agreed-upon time of 8 o’clock, but Gao Zhoulei had called early.
Director Shen answered the call, but before she could speak, Gao Zhoulei hurriedly said, “Director Shen, how are things on your end?”
"Not bad," Shen Mianyin replied. "Why did you call early?"
"Director Shen, it turns out the whole company already knows—except for the two of us. The video of you being harassed by that fat guy at Yun Jing Restaurant last night has gone viral online," Gao Zhoulei said anxiously.
"And to make it worse, the video was maliciously edited. It only shows the part where he had his arm around you, leaving out everything that happened afterward."
"Now the entire internet is spreading rumors about you... saying you’re using yourself as leverage to secure business deals," Gao Zhoulei said.
"I just went to the company cafeteria to grab something to eat and ran into a colleague I get along with. He was the one who sent it to me. Apparently, everyone else has been keeping it from the two of us."
"No wonder," Shen Mianyin sneered coldly.
This explained why Zhang Qiyuan and Zhou Jicai had suddenly insisted on bringing her to the dinner meeting.
General Manager Fang had come across the video, and Zhang Qiyuan and Zhou Jicai, knowing full well that General Manager Fang was no better, had gone along with it, letting him harass her. Zhou Jicai had even intended to record the scene on the spot to solidify the claim that she used herself to secure business deals.
"What do you mean by 'no wonder'?" Gao Zhoulei asked curiously.
"It's nothing," Director Shen replied with a faint smile. Fortunately, she had the complete video in her possession. "I have a plan for this. Don’t worry."
Hearing her say that, Gao Zhoulei felt reassured.
No sooner had she hung up the call with Gao Zhoulei than Lin Jinshen's call came through.
He must have just finished listening to the recording she had sent earlier.
As soon as Director Shen answered the call, she heard Lin Jinshen anxiously ask, "Mianyin, are you okay?"
Director Shen chuckled.
Even Lin Jinshen’s first reaction was to ask if she was okay.
But Gu Luo’an? His first instinct was to blame her for using underhanded methods to close deals.
How ironic.
"I'm fine, just that I ended up offending General Manager Fang from Zhilan," Director Shen said. "You should have been able to tell from the recording."
"Still, it can be considered that we now have leverage over them," Director Shen said. "I don’t know much about Lin Yunan, the president of Zhilan. You’ve worked with Zhilan for so long—what kind of person is he?"
"At least on the surface, he seems like someone who wouldn’t tolerate someone like General Manager Fang in the company," Lin Jinshen replied. "But whether he truly doesn’t know about Fang’s behavior or is just turning a blind eye, I can’t say."
"Would you mind if I sent this recording to Lin Yunan?" Lin Jinshen asked.
“I don’t mind,” Shen Mianyin said. “The reason I’m asking is to see if, when we send it to him, he will actually take action against General Manager Fang. If he already knows what kind of person Fang is and still keeps him around, then sending it to him won’t make a difference.”
“I’ll handle this,” Lin Jinshen said. “Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine,” Shen Mianyin replied, a faint smile on her lips. “I don’t have time to dwell on my emotions right now—there are other matters I need to take care of.”
Lin Jinshen, who had just gotten off the plane, wasn't aware of the video of Shen Mianyin circulating online, so he asked, "What’s going on?"
"Well, since you need to be informed, I'll send you both the clip and the full version of the video," Director Shen replied. "Tomorrow, it’s likely that Zhang Qiyuan and Zhou Jicai will seize the opportunity to make a move."
It would be better to prepare Lin Jinshen in advance.
"It seems a lot has happened at the company while I’ve been away," Lin Jinshen said, his expression darkening.
Shen Mianyin smiled, and after hanging up the phone, she sent Lin Jinshen the link to the maliciously edited video circulating online.
Then, she sent him a full version of the surveillance footage.
"The one I sent below is the full version," Director Shen typed in WeChat to Lin Jinshen. "The one above is the maliciously edited one, which falsely accuses me of using myself to secure business deals."
Shen Mianyin was fully aware of who had posted the video online.
Except for Su Yiqing, no one else would have done such a thing.
The video circulating online wasn’t from the restaurant's surveillance cameras; it was shot from a third-party perspective using a mobile phone.
The angle of the video conveniently captured the spot where Su Yiqing had been hiding.
Although Su Yiqing was hiding in a blind spot of the surveillance, the footage in Shen Mianyin’s possession still clearly showed the direction in which Su Yiqing had run.
The ride-hailing car was stopped at the entrance of Lijing Garden by security. Shen Mianyin rolled down the window and greeted the security guard, who then allowed the car to pass.
Gu Luo'an stood by, watching as the car that Shen Mianyin had called drove into Lijing Garden
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