She turned on the lights inside, pulled up a chair, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the brightly lit, colorful city.
This was her own company, the registration procedures were underway, and the renovation was half-done.
She had it all planned out. Relying on the foundation she had built at Huangfu Group over the years, she would start her own company. Even if she didn't become the heir to Huangfu Group, her own company would one day grow into a multinational corporation.
This was a plan she couldn't abandon.
She still couldn't decide what to do now.
Who had leaked their project proposal to Ao Xiang Group? The number of people who had access to this proposal was very limited.
It was her father, his assistant, then herself and Song Jiaping.
Could it be that her father, in order to make her marry Yao Feili, deliberately had someone leak the project proposal to Ao Xiang Group?
But based on her understanding of her father, Huangfu Sisong, he wouldn't do such a thing.
Her father had long regarded Ao Xiang Group as the competitor he needed to guard against the most. Even if he wanted her to marry Yao Feili, he wouldn't let their rival gain an advantage.
Besides, her father had made a bet with her. Why would he leak his own group's secrets for a project?
Her father's assistants shouldn't have done it either. The two assistants had been with her father for decades; they were like uncles to her and would never do something like this.
That left only Song Jiaping.
What benefit would Song Jiaping gain from doing this? Or rather, how much benefit did Ao Xiang Group offer him?
She couldn't help but laugh at herself. She had defended Song Jiaping so much in front of her father, only for him to sell her out in return.
She picked up her phone and asked someone to check if there had been any large deposits into Song Jiaping's bank account recently. Then, she stared at her phone and dialed Song Jiaping's number.
"Miss, is there something wrong? I'm already home, not working overtime at the company," Song Jiaping's tone was casual.
Mengqi smiled and said, "I didn't ask you to work overtime. I'll send you an address. Come over quickly, I just want someone to talk to."
"But I need to rest," Song Jiaping suggested. "You should find a boyfriend and stop dragging me into things. Otherwise, we might end up on the gossip headlines together again."
"Are you coming or not? If you don't, I'll jump from this twenty-fourth floor," Mengqi said and hung up.
"Hello, hello..." Song Jiaping thought this young lady was truly boring.
Then, a message with a location appeared on his phone. He opened it; it was an address sent by Mengqi.
Mengqi sat down on the chair and suddenly burst into laughter. She, who had always been calm and steady, was now threatening someone with jumping off a building like a brainless girl for the first time.
At this moment, the person she had asked to check Song Jiaping's bank account replied, saying there had been no large financial transactions in any of Song Jiaping's bank accounts recently.
This made Mengqi even more confused. Why would Song Jiaping leak the project proposal to their rival, Huangfu Group, if not for money?
Did he actually hate her?
But where had she offended him so much to incur such hatred?
Her head ached, and she couldn't figure out the reason or what Song Jiaping was thinking.
She checked the time and calculated that if Song Jiaping rushed over from his residence, he should be arriving soon.
To gamble on whether Song Jiaping would worry about her safety, she stood up, opened the upper part of the floor-to-ceiling window, and stood on the chair, letting the wind outside blow her hair and clothes, like standing at a height for bungee jumping, at the moment before leaping.
...
Song Jiaping looked at the location on his phone, wondering if she was joking or being serious.
After a moment of hesitation, he quickly changed his clothes and took a taxi to the address she had sent.
When he pushed open the door to the company on the twenty-fourth floor, he saw Mengqi standing on a chair, about to jump.
His heart skipped a beat. He didn't dare to shout, but slowly walked towards her and said softly, "Miss Qi, what is troubling you so much? Come down, don't do anything foolish."
Mengqi didn't respond. She just glanced at the time on her watch. It seemed he cared about her.
Song Jiaping couldn't afford to think too much. Saving her was the priority. He had already reached the chair. With swift movements, he grabbed her feet and pulled her down, then quickly closed the window.
As soon as Mengqi's feet touched the ground, she started laughing. "What are you afraid of? Afraid I'll die, and you won't be able to see any more valuable project proposals?"
Song Jiaping was startled but maintained a calm expression. "What do you mean? Is it fun to joke with your life like this?"
"It's not exactly a joke. I was in a bad mood, so I stood by the chair and looked at the scenery outside for a while. I feel much better now."
Song Jiaping asked, "What did you want me to come here for?"
Mengqi pointed to the materials placed in the office and said, "What do you think of the office space in this company? Is the layout grand?"
"The location is very spacious, not bad," Song Jiaping replied casually, wondering if she knew what he had done.
But he had been very careful when sending emails to Ao Xiang, using a foreign email address that he would delete immediately after sending. There were no traces left on the company computer.
Mengqi said proudly, "This is the company I plan to use to start my own business. My father doesn't approve of me in the group, so I can prove myself."
"You are very capable, and you will definitely achieve your dreams," Song Jiaping genuinely respected career-oriented women like Mengqi.
Mengqi smiled and looked at him. "Am I capable? To prevent my dream from becoming a bubble, I still have to sacrifice my dignity and marry someone I don't like. How ridiculous."
"You're going to marry Mr. Yao?" Song Jiaping immediately thought of Yao Feili.
If Mengqi married Yao Feili, then the project he had revealed to Ao Xiang Group would still be obtained by Huangfu Group, and everything he had done would be in vain.
"Don't you want me to marry Yao Feili?" Mengqi saw a hint of annoyance in his eyes and suddenly wished he would say something against it.
Song Jiaping quickly regained his composure and said, "No, who you marry is your freedom. It's just that last time you said you had no feelings for Mr. Yao and were even angry with your father about it. Why the sudden change?"
"Because I can't finalize that project with Yao Feili," Mengqi stared intently at him. "If I can't finalize it with my own abilities, then I can only rely on marriage."
Song Jiaping avoided her gaze and said, "One project not being finalized shouldn't lead to sacrificing your marriage..."
"Perhaps other projects don't matter, but this project, my father and I agreed, must be finalized. If I can't do it with my own strength, then it has to be through marriage with Yao Feili," Mengqi said, then turned away from him and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.
She already had an answer in her heart: Song Jiaping was the one who leaked the project proposal to Ao Xiang Group.
Regardless of whether he admitted it verbally, his micro-expressions had revealed everything.
But Song Jiaping's actions weren't intended to harm her.
Judging by Song Jiaping's reaction, he should be completely unaware of the stakes involved.
His target wasn't her. Therefore, his target must be her father, or the entire Ao Xiang Group.