Chapter 1 The Beginning
The first was an old photograph. The background of the photo was the main gate of the small courtyard where Yu He had lived with her adoptive parents in the old Qin family residence. In the yard stood a row of men in black uniforms, wearing sunglasses, and several other men entering the house. Their uniform sleeves were all embroidered with the Azure Dragon emblem of Xing Que.
"This is a photo I took with my phone when Xing Que sent people to search your courtyard back then," Qin Yonghao said, tapping on the photo with his finger as proof of his words.
Yu He looked at the photo, a myriad of suspicions churning within her, but her exquisite face remained as cold and clear as ever.
The other was a draft agreement for the acquisition of Mengmengda Co., Ltd. At the top of the contract was another new photo, showing Ye Jianming shaking hands with the CEO of Mengmengda, taken at a tea house in the capital.
Qin Yonghao said nothing about this photo, but Yu He understood his intention.
The Ye family's company's main business was in e-commerce. During the 618 online sales event, a pre-sale skincare product had orders exceeding its inventory. Ye Jianming's last trip to the capital was to discuss with the CEO of Mengmengda about continuing production to fulfill customer orders.
Qin Yonghao presenting this photo and contract now was essentially telling her that whether the Ye family's cooperation with Mengmengda would proceed smoothly depended on her attitude.
"You can take the contract back and consider it carefully. You're welcome to come to the Qin Corporation headquarters to find me anytime."
Yonghao handed the contract Yu He had pushed back to her again, reminding her, "Qin Corporation has time to wait for you to consider, but I don't know how long the pre-sale customers of Ye's can wait."
Once those hundreds of thousands of pre-sale customers simultaneously initiated a rights protection process, Ye's would once again face a public relations crisis regarding its credibility.
Yu He lowered her thick, long eyelashes, concealing her eyes. From Qin Yonghao's perspective, he thought she was intimidated, a flicker of malevolence crossing his eyes.
But in reality, Yu He was doing her best to conceal her inner excitement.
The case of her adoptive father had been classified by the Qin family, and she could only try to obtain internal information from within the Qin family. Therefore, from the moment Qin Xinhui first approached her, she had been planning.
The Qin family were all shrewd individuals, suspicious by nature. Coupled with her sensitive identity, if she had agreed too quickly, it would have aroused their suspicions.
So, she had to refuse multiple times, making them anxious, and then pretend to reluctantly or under duress agree, making them feel they had the initiative and could do whatever they pleased, thereby lowering their guard.
"Fourth Master Qin, you have good methods," Yu He said deliberately.
Then, she picked up the cooperation contract and scanned it with a glance. The contract stipulated her employment as the new generation chip research and development technical director for Qin Corporation. Within five years, she was to develop an exclusive chip for Qin Corporation. Her salary, on top of the previous amount from Qin Xinhui, was increased by one hundred million, totaling 3.1 billion plus a 2% profit share.
It also included standard industry clauses such as original development and confidentiality agreements, clearly defining the scope of her authority.
Yu He looked at the stringent contract and felt a desire to laugh.
XS Group was only planning to invest over eight years in developing new chips, but Qin Yonghao demanded that within five years, she develop a new chip for Qin Corporation that would surpass XS Group and be on the market.
However, Yu He still picked up a fountain pen from the desktop pen holder and signed her name on the乙方 (Party B) line.
This was because she had not seen any mention of consequences for failure in the contract.
Seeing this, a foxy smile spread across Qin Yonghao's lips. "Miss Yu, you are direct."
"If not for Fourth Master Qin's eager delivery of warmth, I wouldn't be able to be so direct. After all, before this, I was still considering the conditions offered by XS Group. Of course, they are not as financially powerful as Qin Corporation," Yu He replied.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yonghao felt a surge of satisfaction. It was the pleasure of finally poaching someone from XS Group, coupled with a sense of self-admiration and pride in his own abilities.
"Rest assured, as long as you work diligently for the Qin family, the Qin family will not mistreat you," he said.
After a brief exchange of veiled pleasantries, Qin Yonghao completed the signing and stamping of the contract. Yu He took one copy of the contract and both photos from the table.
As soon as Yu He left, Qin Xinhui entered.
He had just seen Yu He leaving with the contract and knew his father had signed her. He was filled with shame and anger.
Every time he saw Yu He, he was reminded of how foolish he had been, how he had humiliated her while excessively praising Wuya, even harboring a delusional infatuation for Wuya at the time.
He felt that Yu He must have been roaring with laughter in her heart. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable and ashamed he became. He could not accept having been so embarrassed in front of Yu He.
After all, in the past, it was always he who bullied Yu He.
"Contact Mengmengda and tell them to continue their cooperation with the Ye family," Qin Yonghao instructed as Qin Xinhui entered.
Qin Xinhui's brows furrowed, and his tone was somewhat impetuous. "Dad, are we really cooperating with her like this? What if she steals the corporation's information?"
"How was I taught? You must be patient; you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb," Qin Yonghao said, glancing at him.
"But..."
Qin Yonghao interrupted him, "There are no 'buts.' I'm even worried that she might not do anything to Qin Corporation. Otherwise, it would be difficult to frame her and crush her."
Qin Xinhui instantly understood his meaning. Yes, by signing Yu He to Qin Corporation, she was like a fish on a chopping block, waiting to be slaughtered.
Thinking this, the shame and anger in his heart significantly subsided.
-
It was already evening when Yu He left Qin Yonghao's residence.
A servant from Qin Yonghao's separate courtyard called the security guards at the gate to pick Yu He up. Yu He raised her hand to stop them, saying it was not necessary, as she saw Qin Xinyao peeking at her from behind the landscaping rockery not far away.
"I know the way; I can walk out myself," Yu He said, then walked towards the main gate.
As she reached the ancient corridor adorned with red lanterns, looking at the carved images on the corridor, Yu He remembered her adoptive mother, Shu Yun'er. This place held too many childhood memories for her.
She stopped and sat down on a bench in the corridor.
At this hour, the servants were all in the separate courtyards serving the evening meal to their respective masters. There were not many people around here.
However, Yu He still heard faint sounds from the bushes behind her. She glanced back and saw a white figure behind the bushes.
A smile touched her lips. She got up and continued forward, and the sounds behind her quietly followed.
Yu He gradually quickened her pace, and the movement behind her also quickened to keep up.
At the end of the corridor was an artificial lake. Yu He exited the corridor and, instead of taking the main pebble-paved path, turned towards another smaller path.
Qin Xinyao, who had been following her through the bushes, immediately stopped. If he continued, without any trees for cover, he would be discovered.
He deliberately waited for a moment, and when he could no longer see Yu He ahead, he quickly ran behind the bushes on the other side. To his surprise, Yu He, who should have been in front of him, had vanished.
He waited for a while longer, but Yu He did not reappear. Assuming she had left, he emerged from the bushes to look for her.
"Brother Xinyao, is there something you need from me?" At this moment, a clear and pleasant voice came from behind him.