Xie Chengnan was far more composed than his partner. He began issuing orders: "First, issue a press release explaining why I went to the police station. Then, have the legal department draft a letter of intent to sue SIMON for the illegal theft of trade secrets, burglary, and defamation."
"Burglary?" Vice President Shen couldn't quite keep up with the rhythm.
Xie Chengnan leaned back against his chair, arms crossed. "While I was at the station this afternoon," he said coldly, "a group of people broke into my home and took my computer and King."
"Holy shit!" Shen Qinian bolted upright. "Did you call the police?! Why didn't Jason tell me?!"
Jason, who had been quietly tucked away in a corner, finally spoke up: [The police arrived after they had already left. Since no one was home, it was treated as a false alarm... QAQ]
Shen Qinian: "...You could have told me!"
Xie Chengnan spoke up on Jason's behalf. "There wasn't enough time. That group must have planned this well in advance; otherwise, they wouldn't have even made it past the community gates."
Frustrated, Shen Qinian kicked the table, only to hiss in pain as his toes throbbed. "So what do we do now?"
Xie Chengnan ignored him, closing his eyes like a monk in deep meditation, his thoughts inscrutable.
Left to his own devices, the Vice President paced the room irritably before suddenly stopping in his tracks. "I just thought of a major problem... If this lawsuit isn't settled quickly, what happens to the urgent order from Oushi Xianlin? We’ll have to pay a fortune in liquidated damages!"
Xie Chengnan’s eyes snapped open. "The penalty in that contract is high?"
"Yes," Shen Qinian said ruefully. "We didn't anticipate this kind of situation back then, so the liquidated damages were set at the maximum ratio."
Xie Chengnan said slowly, "The other side anticipated it."
"What?" Shen Qinian blinked.
"The pieces of the puzzle are connecting." Xie Chengnan began to analyze, tapping his fingers on the table. "First, it’s certain that someone secretly sent one of the medical robots we donated to SIMON for cloning during the government testing phase. Once the clone was successful, SIMON immediately applied for a third-party appraisal.
"Since SIMON dared to go public with the results, it means they followed legal procedures to have the Nancheng Municipal Government provide a medical robot as a sample for the appraisal.
"Our company is the donor. Logically, if something this significant happened, the municipal government should have notified us. Yet, we didn't hear a single whisper before the incident. That’s irrational.
"Therefore, this matter was intentionally suppressed. This person must hold a significant position—someone who can not only deploy those robots at will but also ensure everyone else remains silent."
"Do you have a suspect?" Shen Qinian’s brow furrowed into a deep 'V'.
Xie Chengnan shook his head. "No. The domestic government system is too foreign to me; I can't deduce the identity of the opponent. However, I contacted Professor Duan on my way back and asked him to reach out to the Mayor again. As long as the city allows us to check the data logs of those medical robots, we will definitely find the surveillance footage from that time."
The plan sounded simple, but Shen Qinian had a premonition that things wouldn't go so smoothly.
Xie Chengnan continued his analysis. "The second step was to sever our company's capital chain. They must have investigated our financial structure. Currently, the company only has you and me as partners with no third-party capital involved. So, they devised a strategy to drag down our cash flow using liquidated damages.
"Oushi Xianlin is the key to this link. Yao Duo's mission from the very beginning was to sign that urgent contract with the high penalty.
"As for Zhou Zhiliang, his task wasn't to steal secrets at all. His job was to make us *think* he was stealing secrets so that security would take him away. His accomplices then used a fabricated charge to keep me tied up at the police station, ensuring the burglary crew could complete their mission undisturbed.
"Vice President Jiang’s exposure served to provide a plausible reason for Yao Duo’s lack of interference. Since Jiang was supposedly sent by a subordinate to stir up trouble, Yao Duo naturally didn't need to protect him.
"As for why they insisted on entering the lab, I couldn't understand it at first, but now I’ve thought of a possibility. Yao Duo was likely there to confirm whether Freesia was in the lab.
"SIMON must have done their research. Jason, Freesia, and King have all appeared in livestreams. They likely used a process of elimination to lock onto Freesia. Once Yao Duo confirmed Freesia wasn't in the lab, SIMON assumed she was at home, which led to the burglary.
"As for why they took King, I suspect there was a mistake in the execution. SIMON didn't expect Jason and Freesia to be away. The burglary team probably only had a photo of Freesia. Since the three of them look quite similar, King—the only one left guarding the house—was naturally taken instead."
Shen Qinian listened, dumbfounded. "That’s one hell of a game... Compared to them, we’re just a small company. Is all this really necessary?"
"Perhaps it’s because Nan Yuan’s rise was so rapid that this former king has already smelled the scent of its own doom..." Xie Chengnan turned his gaze toward the world of shifting lights and shadows outside the floor-to-ceiling window. He asserted, "SIMON is finished."
The Vice President rubbed his chin. "Hearing it put that way actually feels pretty cool. Like we’re some kind of big shots."
"Please remove the word 'like'." Xie Chengnan withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes, his fingers interlaced over his knees as he lightly tapped his thumb. "We *are* big shots."
Shen Qinian wiped his face. "I’m not used to you being like this all of a sudden."
Xie Chengnan chuckled. "Stop pacing around. Sit down and rest for a bit."
"No." Shen Qinian braced his hands on the conference table. "You have to tell me what exactly we’re going to do."
"Wait," Xie Chengnan said, offering only a single word.
Just as he spoke, Professor Duan called. As soon as Xie Chengnan picked up, he heard the professor’s guilt-ridden voice: "Professor Xie, the Mayor didn't agree..."
Xie Chengnan had already anticipated this possibility. Instead, he comforted him: "It’s alright. I have other plans. You don't need to worry about me."
The conference room door was suddenly pushed open. Xie Chengnan saw someone who was supposed to be thousands of miles away walking toward him, still carrying the chill of the outside air.
Jiang Yuan’s expression was cold and solemn, his gaze steady. He pointed to the orderly team of people behind him and said, "My PR team, publicity team, and legal team are all at your disposal."
Nan Yuan Technology was, after all, a new company with limited staff and experience. The heads of the three departments were currently overwhelmed, so seeing reinforcements was a godsend. The two groups quickly merged, and the chaos in the conference room finally began to settle.
"A-Yuan?" Xie Chengnan only had time to say his name before he was pulled into a fierce embrace.
The conference room went silent for a moment before the noise resumed. Everyone silently looked away, swallowing this serving of "dog food."
"Why are you back so suddenly?" Xie Chengnan asked in a low voice, circling his arms around the other man.
Jiang Yuan kept his head buried and didn't speak.
Zhang Siyi, who followed behind, explained, "We were still at Elder Dou’s place. As soon as my brother heard you were in trouble, he didn't even sign the contract. He borrowed a private jet and a flight path to rush back immediately."
Xie Chengnan’s gaze softened. He explained softly, "I’m fine. It was just a misunderstanding. I’m having the publicity team write the official statement now."
Jiang Yuan finally composed himself. When he lifted his head, Xie Chengnan noticed his young lover’s eyes were slightly red, lacking any of the imposing aura of "General Manager Jiang" from moments ago.
"I was wrong." Xie Chengnan pressed a kiss to the top of his head, blaming himself. "If I had told you earlier, I wouldn't have let you worry for nothing."
Having calmed his emotions, Jiang Yuan stepped out of the embrace and tilted his chin up. "Explain everything clearly."
President Xie obediently explained the situation from beginning to end, concluding with, "Don't worry, I have a way."
Jiang Yuan’s expression didn't improve at all. He took out his phone and dialed a number. "Vice President Wang, a group of people walked into my house in the Xi Yuan Community this afternoon and cut the power to the surveillance. I expect an explanation. If you can't provide one, you can resign."
After hanging up, Jiang Yuan beckoned to a subordinate. "Go check the financial status of Oushi Xianlin. See if there’s any shadow of SIMON behind them."
The subordinate nodded and hurried off to work.
Xie Chengnan raised an eyebrow. "?"
Jiang Yuan said calmly, "I’m helping you check if they can actually afford the liquidated damages."
Xie Chengnan let out a low laugh. "Did you never consider that I might lose?"
"Will you?" Jiang Yuan countered.
"No." Xie Chengnan dropped a light kiss on his forehead. "With you here, I will never lose."
At 11:30 PM, Nan Yuan Technology’s two statements stirred up another storm on Weibo. Simultaneously, a third post consisting of only three words sparked heated discussion: *See you tomorrow.*
Xie Chengnan and Jiang Yuan both reposted these three messages and then went silent. Leaving the online clamor behind, Xie Chengnan was in the lounge, lightly patting Jiang Yuan’s back to coax him to sleep.
"What exactly is your plan?" Jiang Yuan was still preoccupied with tomorrow’s events, feeling no sleepiness at all.
Xie Chengnan asked, "Can't sleep?"
"Mm." Young Master Jiang curled his lip. "Hurry up and satisfy my burning curiosity."
President Xie’s hand, however, began to slip under the other's clothes. "If you can't sleep, why don't you first satisfy the boyfriend who stayed in an empty room alone last night?"
Jiang Yuan nearly rolled his eyes. He slapped the mischievous hand away, saying with mock disdain, "How do you have room in your head for this at a tense time like this?"
Xie Chengnan raised an eyebrow. "Do you know what the most uncertain thing I’ve ever done in my life is?"
"What is it?" Jiang Yuan’s curiosity was piqued, his eyes shining as he looked at him.
Meeting those eyes that seemed to hold an entire starry sky, Xie Chengnan’s voice unconsciously turned tender. "The most uncertain thing I’ve ever done in my life was waiting for you to fall in love with me. So you see, since I even succeeded at something so uncertain, is there anything else left to fear?"
Jiang Yuan blushed. He reached out two fingers to pinch President Xie’s sweet-talking mouth and retorted, "Then waiting for you to fall in love with me is the most certain thing I’ve ever done in my life."
Xie Chengnan let out a muffled laugh, his chest vibrating, his eyes filled with the gentlest light.
***
