Chapter 48: Ominous Shadows

Qin Yun’s face turned instantly pale as she thought of President Huang’s recent inappropriate behavior towards her, leading her to threaten to report him to the factory leaders.

However, President Huang scoffed at her, pointing out that without solid evidence, the leaders wouldn’t care to intervene.

Furthermore, as an unmarried man and a widow, his pursuit seemed normal to the outside, and who would bother to meddle in such matters?

Moreover, it wouldn’t sound good if this issue came out—there’s a saying that a widow’s door invites trouble—and her colleagues might even think she was the one seducing President Huang.

If the matter were to escalate, according to the company’s unwritten rules, President Huang would definitely not be transferred; instead, Qin Yun might risk being fired.

His persuasive arguments prevented Qin Yun from deciding to file the report.

Who would have thought that she had recently made a mistake in the accounts, and the factory leadership had almost dismissed her?

Qin Yun suspected that Huang Zifeng was behind the sabotage, although she had no evidence.

Ironically, Huang Zifeng spoke favorably of her in front of the factory leaders, which resulted in her receiving a probationary punishment but allowed her to stay.

Was this evening’s incident his way of forcing her hand?

Du Qiu noticed Qin Yun’s expression and asked, “Did you think of something?”

“Oh, no…” Qin Yun hastily denied.

She had not spoken of this matter to anyone, not even daring to tell her sister-in-law Zhang Mingliu, as she knew that with her temperament as a journalist, the matter would be exposed immediately.

But she had no actual evidence, and if President Huang were to counterattack the accusations, it could even implicate her sister-in-law.

When her husband was alive, no one dared to bully her, but now that she had become a widow, all sorts of uninvited troubles arose.

Du Qiu, observing Qin Yun’s expression, felt that the matter was not as simple as it seemed and that Qin Yun had some concerns.

“Sister Qin, can you talk to me about this President Huang? I met him a while ago, and he seems quite wealthy, wanting to open a KTV.”

Qin Yun was taken aback and hesitantly said, “Oh, I don’t know much about his situation. He seems to have studied abroad and started as the factory director’s assistant before becoming the chief financial officer.

His reputation varies; some say he’s good at financial management and investment, revitalizing many of the factory’s assets and earning a lot of money, which is why he was appointed as CFO.

Others suggest he has connections above, came to the shipyard to embellish his resume, and might consider getting a civil servant position and enter the bureaucratic system in the future.”

“Oh, so he’s quite a significant figure in your factory, then.”

When the car arrived at the neighborhood, Du Qiu asked the driver to wait and escorted Qin Yun downstairs, intending to say goodbye.

“Xiao Du, I…” Qin Yun called out to Du Qiu, hesitating to speak further.

“Sister Qin, just say it. I’ll definitely help if I can.”

“Has your company hired a finance manager yet? I… could I apply for the position?” Finally, Qin Yun made up her mind.

Du Qiu’s company had been without a suitable candidate for finance manager, currently only having one accountant and another cashier, and it was fortunate that the accounts were not too complex at this point.

But finance management involves more than just tracking transactions.

Fortunately, in her spare time, Qin Yun had helped manage some accounting and tax issues for Du Qiu’s company.

Although Du Qiu’s company was not as large as the shipyard, at least she wouldn’t have to deal with Huang Zifeng’s underhanded tactics; an accidental misstep could lead to regret.

Therefore, Qin Yun approached Du Qiu with her request.

Du Qiu replied with surprise, “If you’re willing to come work with us, Sister Qin, I’d be truly delighted. You can start anytime!”

“Don’t just consider Mingliu’s sake!” Qin Yun remarked and added, “However, I do have a senior accountant certificate, and I have enough experience…”

“I’m hiring you for your abilities, Sister Qin! I’m looking forward to you joining us!”

“Okay, then I’ll resign on Monday. By the way, is Mingliu home? Wouldn’t you like to come up for a visit?” Now that she had a new job lined up, Qin Yun felt much more relaxed.

Du Qiu quickly waved his hands, “No need. Sister Qin, Mingliu and I are just ordinary friends now…”

“Oh, I won’t interfere with your matters then. I’m going up now.”

Watching Qin Yun go upstairs, Du Qiu also left.

Back home, Du Qiu took a shower to wash off the smell of alcohol.

Sitting in front of the computer, he was about to digitalize and refine the sketches he had a sudden inspiration to draw during dinner.

That’s when his phone rang.

“Hey, Brother Su, did you figure it out?” Du Qiu saw that it was Su Jianming calling and immediately picked up.

“I think ‘Wolf’s Kiss’ might have sent someone again,” Su Jianming spoke in a somber tone.

“Hmm? Was this incident caused by ‘Wolf’s Kiss’?” Du Qiu instantly became vigilant.

In the past while, he had been preoccupied with his research and hadn’t paid much mind to ‘Wolf’s Kiss’.

Originally, when the alarm went off that evening, he thought it signaled a real situation, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Initially, he suspected it had to do with that Huang Zifeng, but now it suddenly shifted to ‘Wolf’s Kiss’?

Su Jianming explained, “We still need further evidence, but those three women were definitely hired. They’re all extras, and the job was brokered by the woman leading them, named Song Yao. She said she met a man online.

The man claimed his wife, Qin Yun, was having an affair and wanted revenge, so he paid them to stage a drama to embarrass Qin Yun and then he would swoop in to resolve the situation.”

Du Qiu was puzzled, “But the guy never showed up, could he be deceiving them? Also, they steadfastly claimed they had the wrong person at the time.”

“That was part of the script the man gave them, saying if anything went wrong, they should insist they had the wrong person, and they could apologize to get out of it.”

“Could that man be ‘Wolf’s Kiss’? Since when did mercenaries start engaging in such tactics?” Du Qiu was confused.

“That’s why I’m not sure, but my gut tells me it might be.”

“Brother Su, can’t you make things less complicated?” Du Qiu complained and then added, “Do you think it could be Huang Zifeng who hired Song Yao and the others? He’s harboring ill intentions towards Sister Qin, perhaps trying to concoct an affair to tarnish her reputation.”

“Do you have evidence?” Su Jianming directly countered.

“If I had evidence, I would’ve had you arrest him by now,” Du Qiu said irritably.

“Xiao Qiu, your alarm device is quite good, eh? How about equipping each member of the second brigade with one?”

Du Qiu chuckled and said, “Brother Su, you police still need to call 110?”

“Of course we won’t send the alerts to 110. You could customize it to broadcast the information to every phone in the second brigade. This way, if one person is in trouble, everyone can provide timely support,” Su Jianming explained.

“Isn’t that just location sharing with a fixed information transmission? Your phones can do that; why bother with an alarm device?”

“It’s for double insurance. What if, in certain situations, we have to hand over our phones?”

“Are you planning to give these devices to undercover officers? No way. If phones are confiscated, electronic watches might be as well, and they might even be blocked from signals.”

“Then… nevermind.” Su Jianming realized he was being simplistic. “Let’s leave tonight’s matter as it is. I’ll arrange for Xiaotong to discreetly watch over Qin Yun and see if we uncover anything.”

“Alright, thanks for your efforts.”

After hanging up, Du Qiu was left wondering if ‘Wolf’s Kiss’ had changed its modus operandi from that of a mere mercenary group.

As the saying goes, there are plenty of thieves, but no one can be vigilant against them every day.