Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

Hearing Chen Qi’s words, which hit with devastating force, Manager Zhao’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at him, momentarily doubting whether he had heard correctly.

“What did you say?” he asked, unable to believe it.

Chen Qi looked at him, wearing an innocently harmless smile, saying nothing.

“No, wait…” Manager Zhao briskly stepped out from behind his desk, his old face creased in astonishment as he looked at Chen Qi. “This…”

His lips moved several times, but he simply could not utter a complete sentence.

He was utterly bewildered!

So early in the morning—what had he done to deserve this?

What was happening here?

“Manager, just admit it,” Chen Qi shamelessly put on a look as if he was doing him a favor, “Stop pretending, aren’t you tired?”

Manager Zhao’s face crumpled, and after staring at Chen Qi for a few seconds, he asked, “Who told you?”

“Does anyone need to tell me? Even they noticed,” Chen Qi looked at him with disdain, casually gesturing toward the neighboring creative department.

“Is it really that obvious?” Manager Zhao found it hard to accept.

He thought he had been discreet enough!

Hearing this, which was almost an indirect admission, Chen Qi’s eyes lit up slightly.

So, it really was related to Xu Bunian.

“What did President Xu say to you?” he asked calmly.

Manager Zhao sat on the edge of his desk, a little frustrated, and instead of answering, he asked, “What’s your relationship with President Xu, anyway? What are you two up to?”

Chen Qi looked troubled. “If I said it has nothing to do with him, would you believe me?”

“What do you think?” Manager Zhao replied with a contemptuous expression.

No connection? No connection and he takes such care of you? Are you stupid, or am I?

Chen Qi chuckled helplessly, looking at him. “This… I really don’t know how to explain it to you. Just tell me what you know, and I promise not to tell President Xu.”

“Why don’t you just ask him directly?” Manager Zhao looked at him in annoyance. “You two big shots playing hide and seek, why make things difficult for a regular employee like me?”

“Did President Xu tell you not to say anything?” Chen Qi asked.

Manager Zhao glanced sideways at him, sneering, remaining silent.

He was fed up!

What a mess this all was!

“Fine, don’t tell me. I’ll ask President Xu myself.” Chen Qi turned to leave.

Although Manager Zhao hadn’t admitted anything directly, Chen Qi had already gotten the answer he wanted. He knew it was indeed Xu Bunian supporting him behind the scenes.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Just then, there came a knock at the door.

Manager Zhao quickly composed his expression and said coolly, “Come in.”

The office door opened, and Xu Bunian entered, holding a file.

Chen Qi was a little taken aback.

Manager Zhao, who had just put on a neutral expression, widened his eyes slightly, his gaze flickering between Chen Qi and Xu Bunian.

What kind of melodrama was this?

Could it be any more coincidental?

“This proposal…” Xu Bunian, who was looking down at the file, paused mid-sentence as he seemed to notice something. He looked up.

He, too, was momentarily stunned and discreetly cast a questioning glance at Manager Zhao.

His meaning was clear: What is Chen Qi doing here? Why is the atmosphere so strange?

Manager Zhao glanced at him, then at Chen Qi, and for a moment didn’t know what to say.

He couldn’t very well say that Chen Qi was here to interrogate him, could he?

But what he hadn’t anticipated was that at that moment, Chen Qi spoke.

“President Xu, Manager Zhao has already told me everything.”

“???” Manager Zhao inhaled sharply, staring at him in disbelief.

His expression seemed to say: Little brother, what’s going on?

What about your promise not to tell him?

You turn around and sell me out, right in front of me?

In that instant, Manager Zhao was truly stunned.

He’d seen people break the rules before, but never someone who lied so naturally!

What happened to basic trust between people?

Xu Bunian was also a little confused. His gaze darted back and forth between Manager Zhao and Chen Qi, his face showing bewilderment as he tried to figure out what was happening.

“What did he tell you?” he asked, curious.

“Stop! Stop right there! I didn’t say anything!” Manager Zhao, tormented beyond endurance, protested feebly, then turned and walked out. “Settle your own matters, I’m not getting involved!”

“Bang!”

He sensibly closed the door behind him.

Xu Bunian looked at Chen Qi, baffled. “What’s going on?”

Chen Qi looked at him, earnestly asking, “President Xu, why do you go out of your way to look after me?”

Xu Bunian was taken aback at first, then his face showed sudden understanding, shaking his head with a wry smile as he looked at Chen Qi. “You figured it out yourself?”

Chen Qi nodded.

Xu Bunian was silent for a few seconds, seemingly weighing how to explain.

Suddenly, Chen Qi said, “President Xu, please tell me the truth, or I’ll leave right now.”

Xu Bunian glanced at him, thought for a moment, then said, “Wait a moment, let me make a phone call first.”

Without waiting for Chen Qi to respond, he dialed a number right in front of him.

Ten seconds later, the call was answered.

“Chairman, he knows,” Xu Bunian said to the person on the other end.

He didn’t avoid Chen Qi, nor did he lower his voice.

Chen Qi was startled upon hearing this, looking at him in surprise.

Chairman?

How was this connected to the chairman?

“Alright, alright, I understand,” Xu Bunian said, finishing the call as Chen Qi stood there in a daze, waiting for an explanation.

Unexpectedly, Xu Bunian said nothing, merely smiled as he regarded Chen Qi.

“???” Chen Qi unconsciously widened his eyes, his expression growing ever more bewildered.

What did it mean that he wasn’t saying anything?

At that moment, his phone rang.

He took it out and saw an unfamiliar number.

Whether it was intuition or something else, he suddenly looked up at Xu Bunian.

Xu Bunian smiled and nodded, indicating he should answer.

Chen Qi slowly withdrew his gaze, uncertain and suspicious, and pressed the answer button. “Hello?”

“Chen Qi?” The voice on the other end was deep and masculine.

“Yes.”

“Let’s meet. Let Xu Bunian bring you over.”

Chen Qi was silent for two seconds, then cautiously glanced at the screen to confirm the number wasn’t in his contacts before asking carefully, “Who are you?”

“My name is Shen Mouwen,” the caller paused, then added, “A friend of your father’s.”