Chapter 33: Hidden Agendas

Luo Yin, however, did not look pleased. "Xiao Feng, I heard the police came to ask about Niu Yinzhu today?"

Feng Yi, having offered warmth only to be met with a cold shoulder, let go of his hand in annoyance. "We only see each other on Wednesdays. Can we not talk about work?"

"Is Niu Yinzhu's business just work? If it's not handled well, I won't be able to protect you!" Luo Yin spoke without a hint of courtesy. Listening from the next room, Qi Fei finally understood where Feng Yi's impolite demeanor came from.

"Boss, do you suspect her disappearance was caused by me? Even if I were bold, I wouldn't dare touch someone from the Group. I still have that much sense of propriety!"

"If you had propriety, you wouldn't have arranged to meet Pan Ting. Let me tell you, you must terminate this project with Pan Ting immediately!" Luo Yin's tone was rigid, showing not a shred of a lover's affection.

Feng Yi, who would explode at the slightest provocation in front of her subordinates, was utterly servile before Luo Yin. She immediately replied, "Alright, I'll handle it tomorrow."

"You, you're not young anymore, yet you're still so reckless!" Luo Yin continued to lecture her, though his tone softened slightly. "As for this Pan Ting, I don't think he's necessarily reliable."

"Are you talking about the hotel video from last time?"

"He was the one who paid. We both went there ourselves. Apart from this Pan, no one knew. How did that video end up in the hands of that old hag at my house?"

"But Pan has been working with us for so many years, and we gave him such a huge project. He couldn't control his own lower half, and I was the one who cleaned up that mess for him. I have so much dirt on him, there's no reason for him to offend us, right?"

"Hmph, Xiao Feng, in the business world, no one is truly trustworthy. Niu Yinzhu looked so obedient, didn't she also keep an ace up her sleeve? If I hadn't had Director Cheng dismantle her computer, wouldn't our business have been exposed?"

Qi Fei heard this clearly in the next room, and a question that had been lingering in his mind was instantly solved: why had they dismantled Niu Yinzhu's computer but left the paper documents on the desk completely untouched? Because what Luo Yin wanted to destroy was the hotel video, which couldn't be printed out.

The so-called "commercial secret" was nothing more than a secret between him and Feng Yi in bed.

"Boss, let's not talk about work. I changed to a different hotel today..." Feng Yi's hand had already wound around Luo Yin's neck, she said coquettishly.

"Changed? Wasn't it already settled? Just go to the one we usually frequent. I want that old hag to know she can't do anything to me!" Luo Yin spoke with righteous indignation. Qi Fei finally understood who Feng Yi had learned her overbearing attitude from; truly, two of a kind in the same bed.

The atmosphere turned suggestive, and Luo Yin's previously serious demeanor became lecherous. "That Pan Ting is really something, too. Niu Yinzhu looks like a sow; how could he bring himself to do it?"

"You men, aren't you all the same once the lights are off?" Feng Yi said, becoming increasingly wanton.

Recalling the conversation between Feng Yi and Pan Ting earlier, it seemed Niu Yinzhu had been assaulted by Pan Ting. Qi Fei felt a chill in his heart. "A sow"—was that how Luo Yin evaluated the "young talent" he touted?

"The people who came today were criminal police. I think there's a high probability Niu Yinzhu is dead. Dead is better." Feng Yi said coldly.

"Better my foot. Let's just hope it doesn't end up on the internet later." Luo Yin laughed and scolded. The two of them, sticky and clinging to each other, walked out of the private room.

Qi Fei and Zhong Kui followed them out, watching as Luo Yin and Feng Yi shamelessly got into a car headed for a hotel. As the red taillights disappeared at the intersection, Qi Fei angrily threw his mask onto the ground. "This so-called Nancheng Investment has been turned into a foul mess by these two!"

"What should make you even angrier is that, by the sound of it, they really don't know why Niu Yinzhu disappeared." Zhong Kui had seen through Qi Fei early on. "It seems someone else cleaned up this troublesome person for them, and the shady dealings of the project disappeared along with her."

"Aren't you a spirit medium? Can't you sense where Niu Yinzhu is?" Qi Fei said, venting his frustration.

Zhong Kui wasn't in a hurry. She said slowly, "I've already received an order. It seems Niu Yinzhu found her way to me herself."

"Hm? She's not dead?"

"No, there's a high probability she is."

"Heh, speak plainly. Don't waste each other's time."

"Guess why Feng Ma became so anxious the moment I told her her daughter had a hurdle recently? Actually, Feng Yi hasn't been in good health lately; she often experiences hallucinations. Feng Ma felt that since my divination was accurate, she should let me come out and perform a ritual. I seized on this point, knowing she would definitely pay whatever price I asked."

Qi Fei was quite dismissive. "Is it possible that you told her there would be a hurdle, and it was just a psychological effect on her part?"

Zhong Kui raised an eyebrow, casting an approving look at him, though she denied it verbally. "That's a harsh thing to say. Do I look like such a devious person?"

"Heh, that's hard to say." Qi Fei deliberately sized Zhong Kui up.

"My line of work is a classic case of 'if you do no evil, you won't fear a knock at the door in the middle of the night.' At the very least, I not only got the money but also Feng Yi's secret."

"Related to Niu Yinzhu?"

"What else?" Zhong Kui glanced at Qi Fei and said, "Do you think I'm so bored I'd tell you someone else's secrets? Feng Yi, this person, can't be said to have absolutely no merits. Apart from having to leave work on time on Wednesdays, she works like a maniac, often staying late into the night. That's also why everyone finds her unbearable. The reason she says her health hasn't been good lately is that several times, while leaving work late, she passed near Niu Yinzhu's office and saw the lights on and a figure inside. She said the shadow she saw was Niu Yinzhu's, because Niu Yinzhu is short and fat, and her figure is very easy to recognize."

"Hm? Isn't that you playing god and ghost to scare her?" Qi Fei recalled Zhong Kui's various "misdeeds" and said immediately.

Zhong Kui said dismissively, "Is such a low-level tactic something a Great Immortal of my caliber would use? You did get one thing right, though—playing god and ghost—because I can be almost certain that Feng Yi's mental state is fine; it's unlikely she's having hallucinations. However, because she was scared a few times, one thing Feng Yi said to me is very thought-provoking. She said, 'What does she have to feel aggrieved about?'" Zhong Kui mimicked Feng Yi's sharp, uncomfortable tone, adding the signature eye-rolling gesture, which looked surprisingly vivid and even a bit cute.

"Aggrieved?" Qi Fei immediately thought, "Is Feng Yi referring to Pan Ting assaulting Niu Yinzhu?"

"Niu Yinzhu is said to have barely dated anyone. To be defiled by Pan Ting—even if Feng Yi's values are skewed, she wouldn't say there was 'no problem' with that. If there were no problem, she wouldn't have said she helped Pan Ting settle it. Unless, this matter has another side to it, right?" Zhong Kui finished and pursed her lips at Qi Fei.

Qi Fei nodded repeatedly as he listened. "It looks like we still need to take a turn around their foul-smelling company."