Chapter 324: Gossip Time

"Another Tian Mi has come along, and she's even worse; Nancheng Investment is now effectively her family's private enterprise. This Dong Ziwu is her godson. He used to just handle internal affairs and had zero investment experience, but with one word from Tian Mi, he transformed overnight into the head of the most important department, the Computing Power Investment Department." Lao Qian waved his hand suddenly as he said this. "Enough, I'm getting old, and these things have nothing to do with me. This isn't stuff I should be saying; Officer Qi, I hope you won't record this as testimony."

Qi Fei felt a measure of sorrow. In such a massive investment group, everyone was scrambling for fame and profit, and only this old workhorse, Lao Qian, was genuinely concerned about the group's survival. He asked politely, "Don't worry, I understand your predicament. Thank you for the information you've provided; it seems we need to go have a chat with Tian Mi."

The process of meeting Tian Mi was no more convenient than it had been with Feng Yi; one look at the female secretary's sallow complexion was enough to know that life wasn't very comfortable there.

Tian Mi, inside the office, looked older than Feng Yi had, though she kept her figure well—one could even say she was gaunt. She wore a standard professional suit and had sharp eyes; even with an incident like Dong Ziwu's occurring in the group, one couldn't see much distress on her face.

"How is your investigation into Ziwu's matter coming along?" Tian Mi took the initiative, as if it were Qi Fei who should be reporting to her.

She spoke with a slight Nancheng accent, which inexplicably made it feel like she was flaunting her status as a local. If she could exert such pressure while speaking to police, one could imagine her attitude toward her subordinates.

"We are here today to investigate the case of Dong Ziwu. You are in charge of human resources at Nancheng Investment, so we hope you will cooperate with the investigation and provide valuable leads." Qi Fei didn't stand on ceremony either, his tone unconsciously becoming official.

Tian Mi was strange; she was impolite herself and seemed unable to perceive the other party's dissatisfaction, yet she gave no clear answer to Qi Fei's question: "Ziwu is a good boy. I can't imagine who would be so vicious as to want to hurt him."

Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu exchanged glances; the man others called a "player" had become a "good boy" in Tian Mi's eyes.

"I heard he is your godson?" Qi Fei asked deliberately.

A flash of dissatisfaction crossed Tian Mi's eyes, then she said expressionlessly, "I know the people below are making up nonsense. Ziwu's promotion was entirely compliant with regulations; you are free to check. Regardless of his relationship with me, he is qualified to be the head of this department." As she spoke, the assertiveness of a Vice President was written all over her face.

"My meaning is that you should be quite familiar with Dong Ziwu. Based on your understanding, for what reason would he go to Bu Er Jing?" Qi Fei just watched Tian Mi with the eyes of someone watching a show, as if her rebuttal just now were nothing more than an overreaction that betrayed her own guilt.

Tian Mi also sensed the awkward atmosphere in the air. Her thin, sharp lips drooped as she said, "I am very busy. How could I possibly know about the things in Ziwu's private life? Every old Nancheng resident is familiar with Bu Er Jing, but as for why Ziwu suddenly went there, I have no idea."

As she spoke, she rolled her eyes in a way that was not particularly subtle.

"I heard Ziwu was a 'parachute' hire at Nancheng Investment. Is there anyone in the group who is dissatisfied?" Qi Fei continued to ask.

Tian Mi's brows furrowed into a 'chuan' shape, and she said irritably, "Hmph, what do they have to be dissatisfied about?" However, her tone this time was not as firm as when she had argued earlier. Reluctantly, she said, "We have indeed received whistleblower letters here, but this is how society is now; there is a lot of resentment. If it weren't Ziwu being promoted, if it were someone else, they would be reported too. It's no big deal."

Qi Fei realized that Tian Mi always liked to add her own interpretation to events; such people were essentially insecure. He ignored Tian Mi's assessment and asked, focusing only on the facts: "Then do you know who reported Dong Ziwu?"

Tian Mi sneered, "Although it was anonymous, I guessed it a long time ago. It must be Jiang Hao; he is jealous of Ziwu."

"Who is Jiang Hao?"

"Heh, he's just an employee in the Computing Power Investment Department. If there has to be a suspect, it's this person. You can go ask him."

At the Computing Power Investment Department, Qi Fei found Jiang Hao. He was a man of similar age to Dong Ziwu, and they even looked somewhat similar, though in terms of temperament, Jiang Hao looked more refreshed and less mercenary.

"You're here for the Dong Ziwu matter, right?" Jiang Hao took the initiative as soon as they arrived, with no intention of avoiding them.

"Yes, Dong Ziwu's promotion was reported, and some suspect you are the whistleblower," Qi Fei said.

Jiang Hao gave a helpless smile upon hearing this: "That must have been said by Vice President Tian, right? She has no evidence."

"This matter now involves the death of Dong Ziwu, so we hope you will tell us honestly: were you the one who reported him?" Qi Fei said.

"If I say it wasn't me, will you believe it?" Jiang Hao said with resentment. "Did Vice President Tian tell you her reason for suspecting me? I've already repeated this to her over and over; it's truly speechless."

"It seems you have something to say."

"I'm tired of saying it," Jiang Hao sighed. "This is the last time I'll explain. Vice President Tian suspects me just because she heard I am Li Shuangshuang's ex-boyfriend? She really treats Dong Ziwu like her own son and genuinely treats me like Dong's romantic rival. It's too ridiculous. Li Shuangshuang and I broke up a long time ago; who she is with is none of my business. I'm not that bored to go after this Dong Ziwu. It's them themselves... *sigh*, never mind. I'm a victim too, okay? If you want to know, ask someone else; I can't bring myself to say it. Anyway, I never reported Dong Ziwu, and his death has absolutely nothing to do with me. If you don't believe me, I can take a lie detector test; if I'm lying, I'll stay single for the rest of my life."

Wu Shanqiu laughed after hearing this: "We are just conducting a normal investigation; you don't need to make such a dire oath~"

Sure enough, no matter the time, the enthusiasm of onlookers to gossip is always high. Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu took a turn around Nancheng Investment and understood the matter between Dong Ziwu and Li Shuangshuang thoroughly.

"After Li Shuangshuang's belly started to show, she just wouldn't say whose child it was. We were even guessing; many people thought it was Jiang Hao's. No one expected it to be Dong Ziwu's."

"Dong Ziwu had been building a persona as a single, wealthy young gentleman to the outside world. We were wondering what his background was, but later we found out—pfft, it turns out he was just taking advantage of his parents sucking up to Vice President Tian. By the way, they say this Li Shuangshuang was introduced to Dong Ziwu by Vice President Tian because she thought she was pretty."

"I heard it was Dong who wouldn't let Li Shuangshuang make the relationship public..."

The more Wu Shanqiu heard, the more she frowned, and she couldn't help but ask: "Since they met through an arranged introduction, what is there that can't be made public?"