Double evil in the business district

Secretary Zhao's sharp eyes swept across the publication in Xiao Yue's hand, and then fell on her hand holding the phone. His tone was cold: "Why are you not sleeping in the middle of the night and sneaking around here?"

Xiao Yue's heart tightened, and he tried to remain calm: "Secretary Zhao, I...I'm looking for some information."

"Information?" Secretary Zhao sneered, stepped forward and snatched the publication from Xiao Yue's hand. "Looking for this outdated information in the middle of the night? What's your purpose?"

Xiao Yue took a deep breath and tried to suppress the panic in his heart: "I am preparing for the project of 'Splendid Jiangnan' and need some reference materials."

Secretary Zhao's gaze fell on Xiao Yue's face like a knife, as if he wanted to see through her. "You are a newcomer to the company, how can you be involved in the 'Splendid Jiangnan' project? Who gave you the right?"

"Yes... Mr. Shen asked me to assist." Xiao Yue's voice trembled slightly.

Secretary Zhao was visibly stunned for a moment, and then a subtle hint of viciousness flashed across her face, but she quickly concealed it and threw the publication back to Xiao Yue: "Even if President Shen asked you to assist, you should have looked for information during working hours, not sneaking around in the middle of the night! Someone who didn't know would think you were doing something shameful!"

Xiao Yue took the publication, lowered her head, and dared not speak. Secretary Zhao snorted coldly and turned to leave the reference room.

Xiao Yue, having escaped a disaster, broke out in a cold sweat. She knew Secretary Zhao had always disliked her and had been targeting her. This time, she feared things wouldn't be so easy to get over. She had to speed up and finish the plan as soon as possible.

The next day, Xiao Yue arrived at the company with dark circles under her eyes. To find out more about the "Jinxiu Jiangnan" project, she decided to ask colleagues in other departments for clues. However, when she went to the marketing department and asked Sister Zhang about the situation, she was met with a cold reception.

"Xiao Yue, why are you asking these questions? Do you want to poach people from our marketing department?" Sister Zhang said sarcastically, and her colleagues around her also gave her strange looks.

Xiao Yue quickly explained: "Sister Zhang, you misunderstood. I just want to know some historical background about the 'Splendid Jiangnan' project..."

"Historical background? As a low-level employee, why do you need to know these things? Just do your own thing!" Sister Zhang interrupted her mercilessly.

Xiao Yue reluctantly left the marketing department, and the situation in other departments was similar. Sister Zhang seemed to have premeditated this and had spread rumors in advance, causing her to be treated coldly in other departments as well.

Back at the office, Manager Li assigned her a tedious statistical task, leaving her with no time to continue searching for information. Xiao Yue could only use her lunch break and after-get off work hours to continue sorting through the existing data and looking for new leads through other channels.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day before the deadline. Xiao Yue's plan was almost complete, but it still lacked some key data support. She frantically worked at her computer, leaving only the clacking of keyboards and clicking of mice in the office.

Suddenly, colleague Wang walked over to her desk and asked with feigned concern, "Xiao Yue, how's your plan going? I heard the competition is fierce this time, with several departments vying for this project."

He paused, then lowered his voice and said, "I heard that the marketing department is almost ready, and their plan is said to be very complete..."

Xiao Yue's fingers stopped on the keyboard, and a feeling of uneasiness welled up in his heart.

Wang's tone was filled with a hint of gloating. He glanced at Xiao Yue's computer screen casually and continued, "I heard that Sister Zhang put a lot of thought into this project. She even worked overtime on weekends to catch up, and she even consulted several industry experts..."

Xiao Yue's heart sank. She knew that Wang and Sister Zhang had a close relationship, and these words were clearly intended to disrupt her morale. She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "Thank you for the reminder. I will do my best to do my job well."

Seeing that she wasn't angry, Wang shrugged and walked away. Xiao Yue looked at his back, feeling even more uneasy. She knew she couldn't let these rumors affect her and had to focus on completing the plan.

At this moment, Secretary Zhao suddenly appeared beside her desk with a false smile on his face. "Xiao Yue, I see you've been very busy with the 'Splendid Jiangnan' project lately. Have you encountered any difficulties?"

Xiao Yue was stunned for a moment and looked at her warily: "No, thank you Secretary Zhao for your concern."

Secretary Zhao smiled and handed her a document. "I have some information about the 'Splendid Jiangnan' project. It might be helpful to you."

Xiao Yue hesitated for a moment, but finally took the document. She flipped through it and found some market research data and competitive analysis reports, which looked very valuable.

She said to Secretary Zhao gratefully, "Thank you, Secretary Zhao. This information is very helpful to me."

Secretary Zhao patted her shoulder and said meaningfully, "Work hard and try to win this project." After that, he turned and left.

Xiao Yue looked at the information in her hands, a glimmer of hope ignited in her heart. With this data as support, her plan would be more complete. She immediately got to work, integrating this data into her own plan.

However, when she compared this data with the information she had previously collected, she discovered some obvious discrepancies. Some of the data was inconsistent, and some was completely inconsistent with the actual situation. Only then did she realize that the information Secretary Zhao had given her was completely wrong!

Xiao Yue's mind was in a turmoil. She didn't know why Secretary Zhao had done this. Was he deliberately framing her, or did he have another motive? She didn't have time to dwell on this now. She had to find the correct information quickly, otherwise all her efforts would be wasted.

She frantically searched through the documents she had collected, trying to find some clue. The office was silent, with only the sound of her rapid breathing and the shuffling of papers. As time passed, her heart grew heavier.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on a notebook on the corner of the table. It was a notebook she had used to record bits of information and thoughts, a notebook she had long forgotten. She picked up the notebook and flipped through it casually. Suddenly, a line of words caught her eye, making her stop abruptly.

The scribbled handwriting on the page was the name of a database Manager Li had mentioned. She vaguely remembered Manager Li saying it contained a wealth of important historical data that might be helpful for the "Splendid Jiangnan" project. However, Manager Li later denied her access to the database, citing confidentiality.

Xiao Yue clutched her notebook tightly, a look of determination flashing in her eyes. She remembered the documents that Manager Li had confiscated...

She stood up suddenly and walked quickly to the door...

"I'm going to see Manager Li." Xiao Yue walked out of the office and trotted to Manager Li's office door. She took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Come in." Manager Li's voice came from inside.

Xiao Yue pushed the door open and walked straight to Manager Li's desk. He said firmly, "Manager Li, I need the information about the 'Jinxiu Jiangnan' project that you confiscated earlier."

Manager Li raised his head, adjusted his glasses, and looked at her with displeasure: "Haven't I told you many times? That information is company confidential and cannot be leaked."

"But that information is crucial to my plan!" Xiao Yue argued, "Without that information, my plan will be incomplete!"

"Nonsense!" Manager Li slammed the table and shouted angrily, "When did it become your turn as a mere employee to dictate company matters? Just do your job well and stay out of other people's business!"

Xiao Yue bit her lip, suppressing the grievance and anger in her heart, and continued, "Manager Li, I know you are doing this for the good of the company, but this information is really important to me. Please..."

"That's enough!" Manager Li interrupted her impatiently. "I've made it very clear. I can't give you that information! If you keep pestering me, don't blame me for being rude!"

"You...what do you mean?" Xiao Yue's heart sank suddenly, and an ominous premonition came to his mind.

"Isn't what I mean clear enough?" Manager Li sneered, "If you don't want to do this anymore, get out!"

Xiao Yue was stunned, as if struck by lightning. She had never expected Manager Li to say such a thing. She knew that Manager Li had always favored Sister Zhang and had always been difficult for her, but she had never imagined that Manager Li would actually threaten her with dismissal just to help Sister Zhang.

Despair, like cold water, instantly drowned her. Was she really going to give up? Was she really going to watch Sister Zhang snatch away her opportunity?

No, she is not reconciled!

She has put in so much effort, she absolutely cannot give up like this!

Xiao Yue took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She knew that now was not the time to confront Manager Li head-on. She had to find another way.

She turned and left Manager Li's office, returning to her seat. She flipped through her notebook, trying to find a glimmer of hope.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on a line of words on the notebook: Archives, third floor, room 302.

It was a piece of information she had stumbled upon earlier, but she hadn't paid much attention to it at the time. Now that she thought about it, she wondered if that archive room held the information she needed.

A glimmer of hope ignited in Xiao Yue's heart. She decided to give it a try!

During her lunch break, she sneaked to the archives room on the third floor. She found room 302 and knocked gently on the door.

No one responded.

Xiao Yue tried to turn the doorknob, but the door was not locked!

She gently opened the door and walked in.

The room was filled with dusty old filing cabinets, and the air was filled with a musty smell. Xiao Yue covered her nose and began to search through the filing cabinets in the dim light.

Time passed minute by minute, Xiao Yue searched through all the file cabinets, but still couldn't find the information she needed.

Just when she was about to despair, her eyes suddenly fell on an inconspicuous old filing cabinet in the corner.

She walked over and opened the drawer of the filing cabinet, but it was empty.

Just when she was about to give up, she suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a secret compartment at the bottom of the filing cabinet...

Xiao Yue squatted down and carefully opened the secret compartment. A musty smell hit his nose. Inside was a thin, dusty document bag, with the words "Jinxiu Jiangnan Project Information" faintly visible.

Xiao Yue's heart was shocked, and she opened the file bag with trembling hands. Inside were several yellowed papers, which were the project information she had been looking for!

She quickly flipped through the information. Although it was only partial, it was all about the core data and analysis of the "Jinxiu Jiangnan" project, which was exactly the part that Manager Li had been hiding and unwilling to give her.

Xiao Yue was ecstatic, as if she had found an oasis in the desert. This was crucial for her to perfect her plan.

Time was running out, and Xiao Yue didn't have time to think carefully. She quickly stuffed the information into her bag and hurriedly left the archives. Back in the office, she was like a chicken with blood, and devoted herself to the work of perfecting the plan.

The clacking of keyboards and clicking of mice echoed incessantly as Xiao Yue stared intently at the computer screen, her mind racing with ideas. She incorporated the information she found into her plan, gradually filling in the gaps, and the entire proposal became more complete and convincing.

However, just as Xiao Yue was concentrating on her work, the piercing sound of high heels hitting the ground rang in her ears, followed by Sister Zhang's deliberately raised voice: "Hey, colleague Wang, look at this information, it's really wonderful! I stayed up all night to put it together!"

"Sister Zhang is so amazing. I heard that this 'Splendid Jiangnan' project is very important. If we can get this project, it will be a great achievement!" Colleague Wang's voice was full of flattery.

"Of course. Don't you see who I am? I've worked in this company for so many years. I've seen all kinds of storms." Sister Zhang's voice was full of pride and showing off.

Xiao Yue's fingers tightened around the mouse slightly. She knew Sister Zhang was deliberately making noise to distract her. But she told herself not to be fooled. At such a critical moment, she needed to remain calm and not lose her composure.

She took a deep breath, forced herself to ignore the distractions around her, and continued to devote herself to her work...