Double evil in the business district

"Assistant Sun, President Shen is talking to Manager Liu..." Before Assistant Sun finished speaking, the office door opened and Manager Liu walked out with a gloomy face. When he passed by Xiao Yue, he snorted heavily.

Xiao Yue's heart sank. Could something have gone wrong with the collaboration again? She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.

Assistant Sun saw this and quickly said, "Ms. Xiao, please come in first."

When Xiao Yue walked into the office, Shen Ting was sitting behind his desk, holding the proposal she had submitted yesterday. He looked up and saw Xiao Yue's slightly pale face and bloodshot eyes, and frowned slightly.

"Miss Xiao, what are you doing..."

Xiao Yue handed him the document in her hand, "Mr. Shen, this is the implementation details I rushed out overnight, please take a look."

Shen Ting took the document and said nothing, just flipping through it carefully. The office was silent, with only the sound of flipping papers. Xiao Yue stood nervously by, her heart beating like a drum.

Time passed minute by minute, seemingly longer than ever. Finally, Shen Ting put down the document, raised his head, and cast a deep gaze on Xiao Yue. "Ms. Xiao, this detailed plan is very well done and very thoughtful."

Hearing this, Xiao Yue's heart finally settled down. She breathed a long sigh of relief and a faint smile appeared on her face.

Shen Ting continued, "Based on these details, I declare that the cooperation between Shen's and Xiao's has officially reached a preliminary agreement."

"Thank you, Mr. Shen, thank you!" Xiao Yue said excitedly, all her fatigue disappeared at this moment.

Shen Ting stood up and walked to the French window. Looking out at the bustling city, he said calmly, "Although Xiao's is not a large company, I'm impressed by Miss Xiao's work attitude and ability. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation in the future."

"Sure, sure." Xiao Yue responded quickly.

Shen Ting turned around and looked at Xiao Yue, a subtle glint of admiration flashing in his eyes. "Next, Assistant Sun will discuss the specific details of the cooperation with you."

"Okay, Mr. Shen."

Leaving the Shen Group building, Xiao Yue felt light and airy, as if in a dream. She looked up at the sky, the bright sunshine shone warmly on her face. She took a deep breath, feeling the joy of victory.

Back at the company, Xiao Yue immediately threw herself into the next task. She carefully studied the specific details of the cooperative project and read through each document carefully, fearing that she would miss any important information.

However, when she saw a document about the allocation of project funds, she found something unusual: the proportions of some of the data in the document seemed a bit unbalanced and did not match what she had previously understood.

Xiao Yue frowned, feeling a little uneasy...

She picked up the phone, "Assistant Sun, I want to confirm..."

Xiao Yue returned to the company, and the office was filled with joy. Xiao's successful cooperation with Shen's was a great opportunity for a small company like them to make a big leap forward.

Colleagues congratulated Xiao Yue, praising her abilities and dedication. Bottles of celebratory champagne popped, the bubbles bubbling and illuminating everyone's excited faces.

Xiao Yue also felt this hard-earned joy, but a lingering sense of unease lingered within her. The data on the fund allocation document was like a small pebble, stirring ripples in the tranquil lake of her heart.

After the celebration, Xiao Yue returned to his desk and carefully read the document again. The document showed that Shen's initial investment proportion was significantly higher than the normal market conditions, and the risk Xiao had to bear was relatively large.

This seemed to contradict the principle of "sharing risks and benefits" that Shen Ting had promised. Xiao Yue's heartbeat began to quicken. She tried to remain calm, thinking perhaps she was just overthinking things.

She picked up the phone and dialed Assistant Sun's number. "Assistant Sun, hello, this is Xiao Yue. I'd like to confirm something regarding the allocation of funds for our collaborative project." Xiao Yue tried to sound natural.

"Hello, Miss Xiao. Is there anything I can help you with?" Assistant Sun's voice was as polite as ever.

"It's like this. I noticed in the document that Shen's initial investment ratio seemed a bit high. How was this data calculated? Can you provide some specific evidence?" Xiao Yue asked.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, and Assistant Sun's voice was slightly hesitant. "Well... I'm not very clear on this side either. The specific calculation method is handled by the Finance Department. If Miss Xiao has any questions, I can transfer you to the Finance Department."

"No, thank you." Xiao Yue hung up the phone, but her doubts, far from being dispelled, only deepened. Assistant Sun's ambiguous answer made her feel that the situation was even more suspicious. If it was just a normal investment ratio, Assistant Sun, as Shen Ting's assistant, would definitely not be aware of it.

Xiao Yue decided to investigate further on her own. She began looking through the information she had collected about the Shen Group and various documents related to the cooperative project. She carefully examined each document, not missing a single detail. As time passed, the office became silent, with only the rustling of papers as the only sound.

Outside the window, night gradually fell and the lights came on. Xiao Yue rubbed her sore eyes and stretched. Just as she was about to get up and rest, she accidentally came across an internal assessment report of the Shen Group.

The report was tucked away at the bottom of a pile of documents, seemingly intentionally omitted. Xiao Yue curiously flipped open the report, quickly scanning the text.

Suddenly, a comment written in red handwriting caught her attention. The comment was hidden on the back of a form and could be easily overlooked if not carefully examined.

Xiao Yue's heart sank suddenly. She held her breath, leaned closer to the light, and carefully read the handwriting on the annotation...

"Start Plan B..."

"Launch Plan B..." These few short words exploded in Xiao Yue's mind like a thunderclap.

What was Plan B? Why was Plan B mentioned in this internal assessment report? And why was this report tucked away at the bottom of a pile of documents, as if deliberately hidden? A series of questions flooded Xiao Yue's mind, leaving her feeling uneasy.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She carefully read the entire report again, trying to find more information about "Plan B." However, apart from the red handwritten annotation, there was no mention of "Plan B" in the report.

Xiao Yue's heartbeat quickened as she realized that this seemingly ordinary collaboration project might be hiding a greater conspiracy. Could it be that Shen had deliberately set a trap to lure Xiao into it? The thought sent a chill down Xiao Yue's spine.

She stood up and paced back and forth in her office, her mind racing. The scent of celebratory champagne still hung in the air, a stark contrast to her current nervousness. The excited smiles of her colleagues flashed through her mind. If there were truly problems with this project, Xiao's company would face enormous risks, potentially even bankruptcy.

Xiao Yue clutched the report tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the strain. She couldn't just sit there and wait for death; she had to get to the bottom of this. But what should she do? Go directly to Shen Ting and confront him? What if it was just a misunderstanding? Wouldn't that offend the Shen family and ruin the partnership? However, if she did nothing and fell into a trap, the consequences would be disastrous.

Xiao Yue fidgeted in her office, the minutes ticking by as the sky outside the window darkened completely. The office was empty, and she was the only one still racking her brains.

Suddenly, she thought of someone - Assistant Sun. Although Assistant Sun's answer on the phone before was ambiguous, he was Shen Ting's assistant, and perhaps he knew something.

Xiao Yue picked up the phone and dialed Assistant Sun's number again.

After the phone rang a few times, Assistant Sun answered the call.

"Hello, Assistant Sun, I'm Xiao Yue. I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I have a question for you."

"Hello, Miss Xiao. Is there anything I can help you with?" Assistant Sun's voice sounded a little tired.

"It's like this. When I was sorting through documents just now, I found an internal assessment report of the Shen Group, which mentioned a 'Plan B'. Do you know what this is?" Xiao Yue tried his best to make his tone sound calm, without any questioning.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment, and then Assistant Sun's hesitant voice came: "Plan B... this... I..."

At this moment, a sudden clamor broke out on the line, as if someone was talking to Assistant Sun. Then, Assistant Sun's voice rang out again, but her tone became a little nervous. "Ms. Xiao, I'm busy right now and can't answer the phone. I'll explain Plan B to you later." With that, Assistant Sun hurriedly hung up.

Xiao Yue held her phone, listening to the busy tone, feeling even more uneasy. Assistant Sun's reaction only confirmed her suspicions—there were indeed problems with this project, and "Plan B" was definitely not a good idea.

She returned to her desk and carefully compared the internal assessment report and the cooperation agreement. Suddenly, she discovered an even more shocking detail...

There seemed to be a little... blood on the corner of the agreement. Xiao Yue stood up suddenly, picked up the agreement, and leaned close to the light, carefully examining the dark red mark.

"This..." Xiao Yue felt dizzy, her stomach churning. Blood? On the cooperation agreement? What on earth was going on? Could it be... She didn't dare to think any further. Fear, like an invisible hand, tightly gripped her throat, making it almost impossible to breathe.

She slumped down in a chair, trying to calm herself down. Now was not the time to panic, she needed to clear her mind and find a solution.

She picked up the agreement again and carefully examined the bloodstain. It was small, and if she hadn't looked closely, it would have been easily missed. The bloodstain had dried, a dark red color, as if... as if it had been wiped by something.

Xiao Yue's heart beat faster. She remembered Assistant Sun's hesitation on the phone, the internal assessment report hidden at the bottom of the document, and the red handwriting on it: "Launch Plan B." Everything pointed to a terrifying possibility: this cooperative project was a trap!

She took a deep breath and tried to keep herself calm. Now, she had to find more evidence to confirm her guess.

She stood up, locked the agreement in a drawer, then turned off the office lights and left the company. The night was dark, and the streetlights stretched her figure out into the distance. Xiao Yue's heart was filled with unease and anxiety. She didn't know what would happen next, nor did she know how to respond.

The next morning, Xiao Yue bravely arrived at the company. His colleagues were excitedly discussing their partnership with Shen's, completely unaware of the potential crisis. Manager Liu was even more elated, boasting about Xiao Yue's abilities to everyone he met, as if the previous challenges and doubts had never occurred.

Xiao Yue suppressed her inner uneasiness and pretended to be nonchalant while chatting with her colleagues. But she knew that she could not delay any longer and had to find out the truth as soon as possible.

Xiao Yue realized that although a preliminary cooperation had been reached, the real challenge had just begun. If her suspicions were correct, then Shen's true intentions were more than just cooperation. Behind this agreement, there might be a greater conspiracy.

She thought of Shen Ting's deep eyes and his meaningful smile, and a chill rose in her heart. Could it be that he had orchestrated all this? Was he really approaching the Xiao family for the sake of cooperation?

Xiao Yue decided to start with the financial data and investigate the flow of funds for this project. She thought of the company's old accountant, Accountant Chen, who handled all the company's financial accounts and might be able to find some clues from him.

She came to Accountant Chen's office and knocked on the door. "Hello, Accountant Chen, I'm Xiao Yue."

"Xiao Yue, is there anything wrong?" Accountant Chen raised his head and pushed his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"I'd like to check the accounts of the recent cooperation project with Shen's, is that okay?" Xiao Yue tried to make his tone sound natural.

Accountant Chen's expression changed slightly, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes. "Accounts? It's not convenient right now. The account books are being audited."

"Audit? But..." Xiao Yue wanted to ask more, but Accountant Chen interrupted her.

"Okay, okay, I know you are serious and responsible in your work, but it is really inconvenient now. I will notify you after the audit is over." Accountant Chen waved his hand impatiently, signaling Xiao Yue to leave.

Xiao Yue looked at Accountant Chen's gleaming eyes and became even more certain that something was wrong. She turned and left Accountant Chen's office, thinking silently: It seems that finding out the truth is not that easy.

"Accountant Chen," Xiao Yue stopped and looked back at Accountant Chen, "I need to see those account books as soon as possible. This is related to..."