Online Love, Based on the Real Object - Chapter 47

In the end, that plate of meat was packed into a lunch box.

Before heading out, they changed their shoes at the entrance. After putting on her shoes, Qi Ning stood up and watched Chu Yunjing’s movements. She waited for her to slowly straighten up as well.

After a moment of thought, Qi Ning took a step forward and suddenly hugged her before she could react.

Reaching out to pat her head, Qi Ning said, “Even if the situation is unclear right now, you should try to stay positive. The carriage will find its way through the mountain when it reaches it.”

Chu Yunjing nodded. Surprisingly, she did not bicker with her, nor did she swat her hand away.

This caught Qi Ning off guard. It seemed the pressure of the past few days had truly been too much.

Manager Liu had already sent a message reporting the incident at the dormitory earlier that morning. By the time Chu Yunjing arrived at the company, everyone was already waiting in her office. Aside from the manager, He Hao and a young man from the technical department were present.

The moment she sat down, He Hao slammed the table. “I knew it was that grandson! He clearly had a guilty conscience and wanted to run! Damn it!”

In contrast, Chu Yunjing appeared much calmer. She glanced at the technician who was busy working on a computer and asked, “Are you ready?”

“Ready,” the technician said, turning the screen toward her. “Please take a look, President Chu.”

The screen showed surveillance footage from the factory’s raw materials workshop. A person could clearly be seen entering the camera’s range and then leaving. Soon after, something moved in the bottom right corner of the video; it was clearly a person’s arm.

The time stamp showed 12:30 PM, which was the lunch break when the workers in the raw materials room were off duty.

When the temporary worker was brought into the office, he was still cursing. “On what grounds are you detaining me? Let me go immediately or I will sue you!”

He Hao’s temper flared upon hearing this, and he moved to beat the man, but Manager Liu luckily stopped him in time.

Chu Yunjing signaled him with her eyes to stay calm. She rose from her executive chair, walked over to the temporary worker, and suddenly let out a faint, knowing smile.

“Sue us for what? We haven’t imprisoned you, kidnapped you, or assaulted you. Tell me, what exactly are you going to sue us for?” As she spoke, a cold light flashed in her eyes.

“…” The temporary worker was a man in his thirties with little education. Questioned by Chu Yunjing and meeting her gaze, he was instantly terrified into silence.

“On the contrary,” Chu Yunjing sat back in her chair, staring at him with a dark, sinister gaze. “Wang Daba, putting heavy metals into the factory’s raw materials constitutes the crime of poisoning. If I send you to the Public Security Bureau, you are looking at a minimum of three years.”

Wang Daba panicked instantly, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He never imagined it would be this serious.

However, he quickly calmed himself. Even if they knew he did it, as long as there was no evidence, sending him to the police would be useless! Even an illiterate like him knew that everything depended on evidence these days. He had studied the positions of the cameras and knew he couldn’t have been caught.

Regaining his confidence, he said, “On what grounds do you say it was me? I don’t know anything!”

Chu Yunjing said nothing, merely raising an eyebrow with a cold sneer.

Manager Liu couldn’t help but give him a shove, shouting fiercely, “We caught you red-handed and you are still making excuses!”

The computer screen displayed the footage Chu Yunjing had just seen. Seeing himself on the monitor, Wang Daba broke into a cold sweat. Although the person in the video wore a dust cap and a mask, making it hard to see their face, he knew it was him.

The guiltier he felt, the louder his voice became. Wang Daba shouted, “What is the meaning of showing me this? That person isn’t me!”

“We didn’t say it was you, so why are you so defensive?” He Hao scoffed at him.

“…” Wang Daba fell silent.

Chu Yunjing twirled a pen in her hand, resting her chin on her other hand with a seemingly careless attitude. “Wang Daba, I am very curious why someone responsible for packaging would be in the raw materials room.”

“I told you that wasn’t me! You have no evidence and are just slandering me!” Wang Daba exploded again.

Since his face wasn’t caught, he felt safe. He remembered that day clearly; he was certain he hadn’t been filmed. As for that exposed hand, it must have been an accidental slip.

“Are you sure?” Chu Yunjing’s expression hardened as she said in a deep voice, “If you confess now, the punishment can be lightened. Once the evidence comes out, it will be too late.”

Seeing her cold face, Wang Daba felt even more uneasy. He gritted his teeth and said, “I said I didn’t do it! Do you think you can throw mud at me with just this surveillance? Are you just looking for a scapegoat to take the fall for you?”

“Very well,” Chu Yunjing sighed as if helpless.

The technician switched to another screen. This was a similar overhead view, but it wasn’t from inside the raw materials room; it was the camera at the entrance.

A person walked into the shot wearing a cleanroom suit and a hat, but the mask was hanging loosely under his chin, exposing most of his face. He stopped at the door, looked around to ensure no one was there, and then looked up at the ceiling as if confirming the location of the camera.

Soon, he pulled his mask up, covering his face tightly. He opened the door to the raw materials room, walked in, and disappeared from the footage.

The technician paused the video at the moment the person looked up at the camera. That face was unmistakably clear.

Wang Daba froze on the spot, his mind going blank. He remembered looking up to confirm the cameras. On the way to the room, there was one camera he had avoided, but he was sure there wasn’t one at the door. He had specifically checked before entering.

He never expected to be filmed. His mind turned into a mess of confusion. He couldn’t remember exactly how he entered that day, why his mask wasn’t on properly, or why there was a camera at the door.

“Did you think the entrance to such an important workshop wouldn’t have a camera? It was just a pinhole camera, specifically to catch people like you.”

“The camera caught you so clearly, let’s see you try to lie now!” Manager Liu barked, grabbing Wang Daba’s arm to lead him out. “Come with me to the police station!”

“No, no, no!” Wang Daba recoiled, desperately grabbing the corner of the desk and wailing, “Please let me go! I didn’t know the consequences would be this serious!”

“I thought the stuff inside was just flavoring!”

Manager Liu and the others exchanged looks, and his grip loosened slightly.

“Who told you it was flavoring?”

“…” Wang Daba suddenly went silent.

“Our company lost nearly ten million this time. Not only will you go to jail, but you will also have to compensate for the losses.” Chu Yunjing paused. “Ten million. I will make your entire family pay until you are bankrupt, and it still won’t be enough.”

“Your wife is pregnant and due soon, right? Is it worth protecting the mastermind and leaving your child unable to afford milk or school? Do you think it is worth it?”

Wang Daba gritted his teeth and said, “I don’t know who he is!” Seeing Manager Liu about to move again, he quickly added, “I really don’t know who he is!”

“A while ago, when I got off at the train station, someone asked me if I wanted a job. He told me to come work here!”

“Keep talking.”

“After I worked here for a while, he told me to add something to the raw materials. He said he would give me twenty thousand yuan when it was done. He said it was flavoring and promised there would be no side effects!”

“It’s true! If I had known it was this serious, I would never have done it!”

“What evidence do you have to prove you were acting on orders rather than poisoning us out of malice?”

“I have the chat logs!” Wang Daba immediately pulled out his phone and showed the WeChat records. “There is also a record of him transferring five thousand yuan to me. Truly, I am not lying!”

“What about the phone number?”

“I don’t know!” Wang Daba said. “Every time he called me, it was from a public phone or through WeChat!”

Chu Yunjing looked at him. “Are you sure everything you said is completely true?”

“Yes, yes! If there is a single lie, may heaven strike me down! Boss, I’ve told you everything, please let me go. I just got married. If it weren’t for the baby coming, I wouldn’t have done this for money.” Wang Daba spoke through tears and snot.

“Fine.” Chu Yunjing leaned back in her chair. “I have some good news for you.”

Wang Daba was stunned. “What… what good news?”

“The surveillance footage was synthesized.”

“However,” Chu Yunjing smiled at him, “just now, you have already made a full confession of your crimes.”

“Ah, you… you set me up!” Wang Daba looked shocked. “I… I…”

Chu Yunjing waved her hand. “Take him to the police station.”

“When I get to the station, I won’t admit it! You forced this confession out of me! I… I…” Wang Daba continued to shout, but He Hao slapped him. “Stop your damn screaming! We’ve got it all on video. Did you really think people would trust a guy like you? We’ll see who the police believe once we get there.”

After the men left, the office returned to a quiet stillness.

Chu Yunjing let out a long breath. The culprit was caught, but she didn’t know if the punishment from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce could be withdrawn. There was still no news from Shu Mingyao, but that was to be expected; it wouldn’t happen that quickly.

At lunchtime, Xu Lu, who had grown used to heating her own meal alongside her boss’s lately, heated both lunches today.

“President Chu, the food is ready. Come eat.” Xu Lu placed the heated lunch boxes on the table, set out the chopsticks, and opened the lids.

“Yes, thank you.”

Chu Yunjing was quite hungry and didn’t delay, setting down her pen to eat. Having solved a major problem, even the poorly presented lunch looked pleasant to her eyes.

Before today, Xu Lu had felt envious every time she heated the boss’s food because it always looked delicious. But today, the blackened food left her speechless. To her, it looked completely unappetizing.

This didn’t seem right.

“Um… President Chu.” Xu Lu stayed behind, hesitating before saying, “Your lunch today…”

She was wondering how to politely suggest ordering takeout. She figured the boss must have been so preoccupied with work that she had a rare failure in the kitchen.

“Hmm?” Chu Yunjing looked up. “Qi Ning made it.”

“Oh… so she doesn’t know how to cook.” Xu Lu couldn’t help but let her thoughts slip out. Realizing her mistake, she immediately covered her mouth.

However, she saw Chu Yunjing stare at the lunch box and smile for no apparent reason. “Does it look very unappetizing?”

Xu Lu wasn’t sure if she should say yes or not.

Chu Yunjing didn’t seem to need an answer, adding shortly after, “Even if it is like this…”

She paused, looking thoughtful. “Her warmth is very precious.”

“…”

Xu Lu didn’t know what to say. She only felt that she had never seen her boss smile so tenderly before.

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