Chapter 71: Could it be him?

Xia Xi returned home, ate dinner, gave a perfunctory kiss on the faces of the two little treasures, went back to her room, took a shower, and lay down to sleep.

Before going to bed, she didn't forget to set an alarm on her phone, in case she overslept the next morning.

Unfortunately, Xia Xi underestimated her own sleep quality; the next morning, when the alarm rang, she was still in deep sleep, the piercing "ding-ling-ling" noise couldn't wake her at all. She only vaguely heard some movement, thought she was dreaming, turned over, covered her ears, and continued sleeping.

Su Jinru didn't know the situation; seeing Xia Xi busy to the point of not touching the ground in recent days, she assumed she had finished her work and could now rest properly, so she didn't disturb her, watched the two children finish breakfast, and sent them to kindergarten.

Grandma was at home, put the breakfast into a thermal container, sat on the sofa, and read a book.

After more than an hour, Su Jinru finished sending off the children, bought that day's vegetables at the supermarket and came back, then asked the old lady holding a book and dozing: "Is Xi Xi still sleeping?"

Grandma lifted her tired eyes, closed the book and placed it on the sofa armrest, glanced toward Xia Xi's room: "I didn't see her come out; I guess she's still sleeping."

Su Jinru saw she looked a bit low in energy and said: "If you're tired, go lie on the bed; dozing off easily catches a chill."

Although the floor heating was on at home, the elderly have weak constitutions and can easily catch a cold if not careful.

Grandma waved her hand, smiling, and said: "Sleeping during the day makes it even harder to sleep at night."

The two were talking when a sudden scream burst from the room; Su Jinru jumped in fright, rushed over, and said repeatedly: "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Xia Xi jumped out of bed with disheveled hair, hooked the hair at both sides of her ears with her hands, bent over searching the floor for slippers: "It's past nine; Mom, Grandma, why didn't you wake me up? I didn't hear the alarm!"

"Tsk, I thought it was something serious, scared me to death." Su Jinru picked up the slippers from the other side of the bed and tossed them to her feet: "Yesterday I saw you so exhausted, I assumed you weren't going to work today."

Xia Xi shuffled into the bathroom in her slippers: "Today is Friday, a workday; how could I possibly not go to work? I have a pile of things on my desk."

Winning the draft competition was only the first step; many more matters awaited her handling. The design plan demonstrated yesterday was something she pulled together after pulling an all-nighter; some aspects hadn't been considered at the time, it looked complete but wouldn't stand up to scrutiny, and there were many places needing improvement and refinement.

In a rush, she finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, with no time for makeup; Xia Xi grabbed her bag, unplugged the phone charger and stuffed it in, then hurriedly threw out: "I'm leaving."

"Hey hey hey, you forgot to bring breakfast!" Grandma shouted after her back.

Xi Xi stood in the entryway changing shoes; Su Jinru went to the kitchen, took a freshness bag, put two buns and an ear of corn inside, and slipped it into her bag: "Anyway, you're late, don't rush while driving."

"Got it——"

Her words were cut off by the sound of the door closing.

After the person left, the house suddenly fell silent; Su Jinru picked up the mismatched slippers scattered on the floor and put them in the shoe cabinet: "This morning has been chaotic."

Grandma sighed: "I don't even know how she managed alone abroad those few years."

Su Jinru's bending body suddenly paused, she slowly closed the shoe cabinet door, and an indescribable sense of sorrow spread.

*When Xia Xi arrived at the company, it was already past ten; because she hadn't put on makeup, she wore a mask and a knitted cap, slightly covering her slightly pale cheeks.

Passing the open office area, colleagues looked over at her; seeing she couldn't avoid them, she stopped, gave an embarrassed smile, and said: "Um... I overslept."

Who would have thought they suddenly stopped their work, as if after training, and clapped enthusiastically, which left Xia Xi stunned.

"We all heard from Xiao Pei that Xia Gong, you turned the tide in the draft competition yesterday, helping our Broad and Elegant win a splendid comeback battle!"

"Yeah yeah, we only just found out that the design plan you initially prepared was actually stolen."

"It's a shame we weren't there; based on Xiao Pei's description of the scene, I can picture it from a hot-blooded manga! He said, at the very last moment before announcing the draft competition deadline, you suddenly pushed open the conference room doors and led the team members charging in!"

Xia Xi: "……"

And yet she charged in, she's not going to war.

Gao Ge came out of the office holding a stack of materials needing photocopying; hearing everyone discussing the draft competition, not to mention them, she herself had experienced one and still found it unbelievable upon recollection. Seeing Gao Ge, everyone feared being caught and lectured, so they stopped talking and got back to work.

Passing by Xia Xi, Gao Ge stopped her steps.

Colleagues pretended to be busy, but actually pricked up their ears; these two have been on bad terms for a long time, especially Gao Ge, who seeks any opportunity to jab a few sentences at Xia Xi—Xia Xi being late this morning conveniently gave Gao Ge an excuse to make a big deal out of it…

However, things turned out contrary to their expectations; Gao Ge glanced at Xia Xi, whose face was almost completely covered, and said: "I thought you'd stay home resting for a day, then go straight to the evening party—why did you come to the company?"

The colleagues present: "?"

What day is it today? Engineer Gao's attitude has done a complete turnaround, and her tone of voice actually sounds a bit gentle.

"There's still work to be done, where would I find time to rest?" Xia Xi said, "After you finish photocopying, have the other team members go to the conference room for a bit; I have something I need to clarify."

Gao Ge cooperated: "Okay."

The colleagues stared wide-eyed, like copper bells, not understanding what had happened; the two individuals who were like needles against wheat awns suddenly became so harmonious.

Xia Xi returned to the office, put down her bag, took off her cap and mask, slumped into her chair, and while nibbling breakfast, recalled that yesterday in the car Lu Mingji had asked her whether there was a way to ferret out the mole.

To find that person, one must start with the team members.

Even if it's not them, it would be someone related to them.

After a quarter of an hour, Xia Xi took nothing with her except her phone, headed to the conference room, and outside the door met Jiang Tian; she nodded, counting it as a greeting.

Jiang Tian looked at her face with the skin bare, lost himself for a moment, and said: "Congratulations."

Xia Xi's gaze swept over his face, she pursed her lips and smiled in response, said nothing, pushed open the conference room door with one hand and went in. The team members had already gathered, waiting inside.

Jiang Tian stood where he was, still savoring the faint smile on Xia Xi's lips.

She usually appears at the office wearing light makeup that isn't heavy or gaudy; her fine features make even a touch of powder look stunning. Today she showed up with a bare face, not even having drawn her eyebrows, and despite her complexion being a bit off, she still catches the eye.

Some people are just naturally beautiful.

In the conference room, Xia Xi casually took a seat, placed her phone on the table, and said: "We've worked together for so long; I have something to say straight out, no beating around the bush. The past couple days we were busy with the draft competition, some matters we hadn't had time to investigate; the fact that the design plan was stolen couldn't just be glossed over so easily. Yesterday Manager Lu also brought this up. The plan had remained confidential before the draft competition, only we few had copies, and I think you all know that."

Upon saying that, those present looked at each other; the camaraderie forged through shared hardship showed signs of breaking apart, mutual suspicion arose, and they suspected the people around them of being the company's traitor.

Some, fearful of being suspected, were the first to declare: "It's not me; I could never do something like that."

"Nor is it me; I don't even know anyone from Present Cypress."

"Even less likely me; after working this hard, how could I just hand over the fruits of my labor to someone else?"

Xia Xi tapped her fingers on the table, waited for them to quiet down a bit, and said: "I'm not saying this to suggest that someone among you is the mole; I mean, please think back carefully—before or during the draft competition, did you come into contact with anyone else?"

After her prompting, someone suddenly thought of something and exclaimed: "Holy shit, could it be him?"

Everyone turned as one toward the speaker—it was Pei Yichuan, whom everyone usually calls Xiao Pei.

"Who are you talking about?" Xia Xi asked.

Pei Yichuan, under the gaze of several pairs of eyes, swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling the pressure—what if he got it wrong and wronged someone? He shook his head while saying: "Maybe I'm mistaken; it definitely isn't, it definitely isn't."

Gao Ge grew anxious, shoved him, and demanded: "Just who is it? Speak clearly!"

(End of chapter)