Transmigrated into a Classic Dog-Blood Drama as the Scummy Alpha - Chapter 72

Ever since Shen Xian embarrassed Kang Hai in front of others, he had been harboring resentment. After learning more about her past actions, he looked down on her even more. In fact, he desperately wished he could take over the company himself. Now, with someone reaching out to him and even daring to meet in person, Kang Hai was already wavering.

“Alright, just send me the time and place,” he said.

“Great, see you then,” Lu Jianbai replied with a smile.

Many employees had witnessed the incident with Lin Qinghan’s parents causing a scene at the office the previous day. By now, rumors were spreading fast. Naturally, Xiao Yue had heard some of them and was debating whether to tell Shen Xian.

Seeing her hesitating, Shen Xian simply asked, “What is it? Is there something else you want to tell me?”

“President Shen, a lot of people at the company have been talking about what happened yesterday…”

As soon as she said that, Shen Xian understood what she meant. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Let’s organize a short meeting. Call all the department heads to the conference room.”

Twenty minutes later, Shen Xian was seated in the conference room addressing the managers. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried undeniable authority.

“Some of you may have heard about what happened yesterday. I’d like to clarify that it was a personal matter. I expect everyone to focus on their work and manage their teams accordingly. Let’s keep workplace gossip to a minimum—especially since what you see isn’t always the full truth. Now then, let’s move on to business. Let’s discuss the progress of our recent investments. Department Head Wang, why don’t you start?”

The department heads hadn’t expected the meeting to shift into a business review. They had assumed it was merely to reinforce company discipline and were caught off guard, nervously preparing to report.

Shen Xian listened attentively, and whenever she wasn’t satisfied with something, she waited until the person finished speaking before offering her suggestions. The meeting went on for over two hours. By the time it ended, the managers felt relieved and immediately went back to warn their subordinates to avoid gossip in the future—no one wanted to be dragged into a lengthy debrief again.

After the meeting, Shen Xian received a message in the parents’ group chat from her daughter’s kindergarten. It announced an upcoming parent-child activity day next week. Parents were expected not only to participate in games but also to prepare a performance.

Staring at her phone, Shen Xian felt overwhelmed. Was it this hard to be a kindergarten parent these days? They even needed performance skills! In her past life, she had only ever been focused on work—if she had any “talent,” it was probably just cooking.

She decided to ask Qinghan about it later. After work, she first went to pick up their daughter. Taintian was chatting excitedly with her best friend Li Mengmeng.

Seeing how reluctant the kids were to part, Shen Xian leaned over and said, “Tiantian, it’s time to go home. You can talk to your friend again tomorrow, okay?”

Mengmeng’s mom also took her daughter’s hand. “Come on, Mengmeng. Say goodbye to Tiantian.”

Mengmeng gave a sweet smile. “Bye, Tiantian. Bye, Auntie!”

Tiantian replied just as sweetly, “Bye, Mengmeng. Bye, Auntie!”

As Shen Xian strapped her daughter into the car seat, she asked, “What were you and Mengmeng talking about that made you so happy?”

“Teacher said next week we can play games with Mama and Mommy! And we can watch your performances too~” Tiantian chirped in her baby voice.

Shen Xian pinched her daughter’s cheek. “You’re this happy just to see us perform?”

“Mm-hmm!” Tiantian nodded eagerly, her little pigtails bouncing.

A dozen minutes later, Shen Xian arrived at Lin Qinghan’s workplace and got out of the car to meet her. Lin Qinghan had already spotted her and smiled, “You’re so punctual. Thanks for coming to pick me up.”

Shen Xian grinned and playfully bumped her shoulder. “So, how is Mrs. Shen planning to reward me?”

Lin Qinghan gave her a light push. “Stop it, we’re still outside.”

Shen Xian chuckled. “Alright then, we’ll talk about it after we put Tiantian to bed.”

Once they were back in the car, Shen Xian said, “Qinghan, Tiantian’s kindergarten is holding a parent-child event next week. They want us to prepare a performance.”

Lin Qinghan was a bit surprised but soon turned to Shen Xian with a teasing smile. “So what are you planning to perform?”

Shen Xian kept her eyes on the road and shook her head. “I don’t know how to do any of that stuff. You’re better at it—how about you sing something?”

Lin Qinghan chuckled softly and looked at Shen Xian from the side. “You want me to perform? That depends on how well you behave. If I’m happy, maybe I’ll agree to prepare something.”

Shen Xian smiled gently, as if suddenly reminded of something. “Alright then, I’ll make sure to impress you. I promise you’ll be very satisfied.” She even raised her eyebrows at Lin Qinghan through the rearview mirror.

Lin Qinghan blushed visibly at that.

Meanwhile, Tiantian, still confused by the adult conversation, wondered: What exactly was Mommy supposed to do to “perform well”? She was still puzzling over it by the time they got home.

Around 7 p.m., Lu Jianbai arrived early at the restaurant he had arranged to meet Kang Hai. This time, having learned his lesson from the lunch with Liu Wenwen and Zhao Qing, he hadn’t eaten much during the day. His condition had worsened, and he was considering new treatment options. For now, he had no choice but to wear adult diapers and avoid eating out when possible.

After waiting about ten minutes, Kang Hai arrived. Seeing Lu Jianbai looking polished and well-dressed, some of Kang Hai’s doubts eased. He extended his hand and said, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lu. I’m Kang Hai.”

Lu Jianbai quickly stood to shake his hand. “Great to meet you, Mr. Kang. Please, have a seat. Since you agreed to meet, I’ll get straight to the point. My family’s business is in some trouble. But if this short video project succeeds, I can offer you 20% of the shares. The contract is ready—just waiting for your signature.”

Kang Hai glanced through the contract. Everything seemed legitimate, but he hesitated. These kinds of things involved sensitive trade secrets. If he got caught, he could be in serious trouble.

Sensing his hesitation, Lu Jianbai leaned in, coaxing, “You’re the project team leader, right? It shouldn’t be hard for you to get your hands on the core materials and concepts. Once you do, you can jump ship and come work with us.”

Kang Hai didn’t mention that while he understood the concept, the core tech was compartmentalized—split among several engineers. No one person had the full picture. Besides, Zhao Xiaoyan had been planted to monitor everything, which made it even harder for him to access sensitive material.

But he could steal it. He was the team manager. If he wanted to extract data, he had ways. And if there were shares and profits to be had, why bother grinding away every day?

“Alright. I won’t be able to get everything from the tech department, but I’ll get as much as I can,” Kang Hai finally said.

Lu Jianbai beamed. “Excellent! Let me toast to that—here’s to our successful partnership.”

Flattered by the repeated “Manager Kang” titles, Kang Hai clinked glasses with him. “Cheers, Mr. Lu. Here’s to a smooth cooperation.”

Later that night, Kang Hai returned to the office—an unusual move—and started transferring everything he had access to onto a USB drive. As he worked nervously, the door opened. Zhao Xiaoyan entered with a few engineers. They had come back to finish some reports after dinner, as Shen Xian had requested updates from the team.

Zhao Xiaoyan, who had been instructed to keep an eye on Kang Hai, raised an eyebrow. “Still here, Manager Kang?”

“Yeah, just tying up some loose ends. Don’t mind me,” he replied smoothly.

Zhao Xiaoyan gave him a few more glances before returning to her desk. Around 9 p.m., she stood and noticed Kang Hai still hard at work. Relieved, she said, “I’m done. Heading home. You guys should wrap up too.”

One engineer followed her out. Another, Wang Jianhui, said, “I’ll stay a bit longer with the team manager. Maybe we can grab late-night snacks afterward.”

“Sure,” Kang Hai replied with a grin. “Half an hour, tops. Any longer and I’ll be out of steam. Zhao, you go ahead.”

After she left, Wang Jianhui stayed at his computer but soon wanted to use the restroom. “Team manager, heading to the bathroom—wanna come?”

“Nah, you go ahead. Big man like you afraid of the dark?” Kang Hai teased. “No need to shut down your computer, it’s just the two of us. You don’t think I’m going to steal from you, do you?”

Wang thought for a moment. Given Kang Hai’s role, it didn’t seem suspicious. Besides, this data meant little to someone without coding knowledge.

“Of course not. Just keep an eye on things for a sec.” With that, he ran off.

As soon as he left, Kang Hai quickly plugged his USB into Wang’s computer and began transferring files, nervously glancing toward the hallway the entire time. Ten minutes later, it was done. He exhaled deeply and returned to his seat.

At the same time, Shen Xian was reading a bedtime story to Tiantian when the system’s alert suddenly rang in her mind.

“Host, Kang Hai is currently stealing project data in the office.”

“Any visual proof?” she asked mentally.

“Yes,” the system replied, sending her a hidden surveillance video to her phone. Normally, there were no cameras in offices, which made Kang Hai so brazen.

Shen Xian got up immediately and contacted Shang Yunbo and Xiao Yue. Lin Qinghan looked at her, puzzled.

Shen Xian gave a soft smile. “Something came up at work. Just need to handle it quickly.”

Lin Qinghan looked worried, but Shen Xian reassured her, “It’s nothing serious. I’ll be done soon.”

She called Shang Yunbo first, sent him the video, and asked him to contact the police. Then she had Xiao Yue contact the legal team.

Since this was a commercial crime and they had video evidence, the police arrived quickly. Shang Yunbo and Xiao Yue also rushed to the office to assist with the investigation.

Kang Hai and Wang Jianhui were stunned when the police entered. Though panicked, Kang Hai tried to feign ignorance. “Officers, we didn’t call the police. What’s going on?”

“You’ve been reported for stealing company data. Hand over the USB drive and come with us,” one officer said coldly.

Kang Hai backed away. “What USB? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then we’ll proceed with law enforcement.” They restrained him and found the USB in his pocket.

“That’s just my personal flash drive for photos—nothing else!” Kang Hai insisted.

“We’ll see. You can explain at the station.”

Wang Jianhui was shocked. “Team Manager? You actually copied my files?”

Kang Hai shouted, “No! I didn’t! Who’s spreading lies?!”

The police turned to Wang. “Given the sensitive nature of your work, and the fact that you left your workstation unlocked, we need to investigate whether you were an accomplice.”

“No! It wasn’t me! I only went to the restroom and trusted him because he’s the team manager!” Wang cried.

“We’ll determine the facts during questioning,” the officer said as they led them both away.

Seeing Shang Yunbo and Xiao Yue arrive, Wang quickly said, “It wasn’t me, Assistant Xiao! It was Team Manager Kang!”

Xiao Yue looked at both of them. “Save it for the station. Officers, have you secured the USB? It contains important trade secrets.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be treated as evidence and won’t be leaked,” the officer replied. He also reminded them, “You two will need to give statements at the station tonight. Full investigation continues tomorrow. In the meantime, shut down the computers. In your line of work, what’s on the computer is worth more than the machine itself.”

“Thank you, officer,” Xiao Yue said gratefully.

Shang Yunbo powered everything down, and the two of them left. Even the security guard at the building was rattled by the commotion. Shang Yunbo offered a few comforting words before he and Xiao Yue headed to the police station.

In the car, Xiao Yue updated Shen Xian with the latest developments. Shen Xian, appreciative of their hard work, said, “Thank you both. I’ll make sure your bonuses are handled this month.”

Xiao Yue smiled. “Thanks, President Shen. Overtime is fine—as long as the boss doesn’t exploit us.”

Honestly, Xiao Yue respected her boss. Shen Xian was capable and never stingy with her employees. She turned to Shang Yunbo with a grin. “President Shen said the bonuses are coming.”

“Fantastic. She really knows how to motivate us,” Shang Yunbo laughed.