Chapter 2045: Negotiation

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

“Hello, Luoluo.”

“Where did you go? Are you alright? When are you coming down?”

The light on her face suddenly dimmed. Ye Qingqiu took a deep breath and said, “It’s fine. Wait for me for a while more. I’ll be down soon.”

“Hurry up then.”

“Okay.”

Ye Qingqiu hung up and placed her phone in her bag. Her palms were already covered in cold sweat.

“Miss Ye, it’s true that we’re fated, right?”

Qin Hao seemed very calm at this moment, as if he wasn’t the one who had appeared here.

Ye Qingqiu forced herself to calm down. She smiled and walked towards him slowly.

“Did Young Master Qin come to the wrong place?”

Qin Jianjia chuckled and said, “Of course not. It’s a rare weekend. Why is Miss Ye here at this time?”

Ye Qingqiu didn’t say anything. After a while, she asked, “You don’t seem to mind being caught by me.”

Qin Hao sat on the desk with his legs crossed, looking relaxed.

“Since Miss Ye didn’t expose me just now, does that mean we can discuss something?”

Ye Qingqiu fell silent for a moment before laughing.

“So you heard what I said to Li Tingshen at the entrance of the hospital that day?”

Qin Jianjia didn’t deny it. “It was purely a coincidence. I just wanted to send Xu’er out of the hospital that day.”

Ye Qingqiu walked towards him and the two of them seemed to be chatting.

“To be honest, our first impression of each other is terrible. I seem to have misunderstood you. I really couldn’t tell that Young Master Qin is a devoted man.”

Qin Hao smiled and took off his mask. “Miss Ye, I’m doing something bad after all, so can you give me your phone? If you secretly call someone up, I’ll be finished.”

Ye Qingqiu paused and took out her phone from her bag.

She accidentally pressed the unlock button on her phone and the screen lit up. She suddenly saw a USB flash drive that had been lying in her bag for a long time.

The moment Ye Qingqiu’s phone lit up, Qin Hao snatched her bag away.

She picked up her phone and looked at it. It seemed that there was really no call or anything else.

Then, he poured out everything in her bag worriedly. Other than simple makeup, tissues, bank cards, and other daily necessities, there was also a simple USB drive.

Taking out the USB drive, he raised his eyebrows and chuckled. “Can I assume that Miss Ye came here for the same reason as me?”

Ye Qingqiu curled her fingers and stared at the USB drive for a while before shaking her head. “I’m not sure.”

“Yes?”

Ye Qingqiu leaned against the desk and faced Qin Hao. She spoke slowly with a sarcastic tone.

“Everyone understands that the most important thing to the cold and indifferent Li Tingshen in this world is his mother and the Li Corporation that his father left for him. Everyone knows that I like him. However, even though we’re getting married, he has never said that he loves me. I don’t know when he will leave me, so I think that if I can hold the most important thing to him, he won’t leave me anytime.

“You should know very well that his mother likes Liang Xuer. Even now, she still wants to matchmake him and Liang Xuer. I can’t get my hands on his mother, so I can only have designs on the Li Corporation.”

“I’ve mentioned to him a few times that I want to put the Li Corporation under my name. He didn’t agree and said that if the software development results this time don’t work, the Li Corporation will suffer a loss and it will be easy for me to obtain the Li Corporation. Actually, the Li Corporation pales in comparison to the Ye Corporation. It doesn’t suffer a loss and I don’t care how valuable it is. I only want the Li Corporation.”

After Ye Qingqiu finished speaking, she smiled at Qin Jianjia.

“That’s why I’m not sure if Young Master Qin has the same goal as me. My goal is to completely destroy the procedures this time. The Li Corporation will face a huge loan problem next. Then, the Ye Corporation will help to return it and the Li Corporation will be under my name.”

If Young Master Qin still wants to use this software to find another path, it’s a pity that I can’t let you take it out. Destroying it is not the same as fulfilling your wish.

“But I think Young Master Qin has made so many preparations because he doesn’t have a backup plan. So there’s no need for you to use it to gain any benefits. Even if you take it out and continue to develop it yourself, Li Tingshen will find out sooner or later and won’t let you off easily. So destroying it should be the best choice, right?”

Qin Hao listened to her quietly. After some thought, he suddenly smiled.

“A woman who only has the brain of love is really terrifying. In order to keep a man, she can actually be so ruthless. Your analysis is indeed not bad. I’ve even kidnapped Gao Ming’s son. From the start, I didn’t leave any way out for myself. You’re thinking the same as me. Li Tingshen has destroyed the Qin Corporation, which is the most important to me. Then I’ll let him have a taste of losing the most important thing. The Li Corporation is my goal!”

That’s why I don’t plan to use this stupid program to earn more money. I’m afraid I’ll lose my life to earn money. It’s good to let it be completely destroyed. But…”

Qin Jianjia paused and looked at her with a faint smile. “Aren’t you worried that if Li Tingshen finds out that this is your doing, he won’t dump you?”

Ye Qingqiu’s heart tightened. “You dare to come in so openly today. Aren’t you afraid that the surveillance cameras will find you?”

Qin Jianjia sneered. “Gao Ming is in my hands. Isn’t it easy for me to get him to use his ability to tamper with the surveillance cameras?”

Ye Qingqiu nodded. “That’s right. Without the surveillance cameras, I can’t find out who it is. He has no reason to suspect me.”

Qin Hao stared at her and smiled sarcastically. “So let’s go in together?”

Ye Qingqiu stood up and walked towards the office.

Qin Hao followed behind and opened the office door with another access card.

Then, he sat in his office chair and turned on his computer. He entered the password that the high-level employee had given him. It was completely correct.

Then, he took out his USB from his pocket and was about to insert it when Ye Qingqiu suddenly spoke.

“Young Master Qin.”

Qin Hao paused and looked up at her. “Why? Are you regretting it?”

Ye Qingqiu smiled and said, “If I want to destroy it, I’ll destroy it completely. I know a little about programming. Take this ordinary USB drive and move these documents. I think any engineer here has the ability to retrieve the missing documents. What’s the point of doing this?”

Qin Jianjia’s expression changed drastically. So Gao Ming had a backup plan?

He had almost been tricked.

“Then what should we do?”

“Destroy that computer.”

Qin Jianjia was puzzled. “Smash?”

Ye Qingqiu chuckled and said, “It seems like Young Master Qin doesn’t know much about computers. The hard and soft disks are still there. It’s easier for them to retrieve the files than to directly copy them.”

Qin Hao panicked. “What should we do?!”

Ye Qingqiu pointed at the USB flash drive beside her.

Qin Hao took it out of her bag.

“There’s a virus in that USB drive. I specially got someone to prepare it for me today. Once it’s inserted into the computer, the virus inside will automatically shatter everything inside, including the computer’s calculation data. The data will be destroyed and the computer will be scrapped.”

It sounded like a fantasy to Qin Jianjia, but it wasn’t impossible.

“Why should I believe you?”

“Do you have any other way? We’re already standing here. If I lie to you, will you let me go?”

Qin Jianjia thought for a long time before gritting her teeth and choosing to believe Ye Qingqiu.

“Oh right, return the USB drive to me after this. I spent a lot of money to buy it. Perhaps I can use it to take revenge on others in the future?”

“If everything on this computer is as clear as you say, I have no use for it.”

Ye Qingqiu raised an eyebrow and fell silent.

Qin Miao took a deep breath and inserted the USB drive into the interface.

The computer screen suddenly changed and a white code flashed behind the black screen.

After about two minutes, the image stopped. Five seconds later, the computer screen suddenly went black.

The main computer stopped running, and even the light on the computer screen went dark.

Indeed…

Ye Qingqiu’s tense heart suddenly relaxed. She thought that there was a flaw in Xu Wenxuan’s program and that it wouldn’t achieve the effect she had mentioned. It seemed like there shouldn’t be a problem.

Qin Hao also took a deep breath. Unwilling to give up, he pressed the switch. There was no reaction, and so was the display.

She hadn’t lied to him.

She heaved a sigh of relief and looked up at Ye Qingqiu.

He could easily see the smile on her lips.

He chuckled softly. Only now did he fully believe that love could indeed drive people crazy.

Women couldn’t be more ruthless.

Ye Qingqiu lowered her gaze and met his gaze. She raised her eyebrows and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing. I just feel that Li Tingshen is indeed capable to force the princess of Ping Cheng to such an extent.”

Ye Qingqiu walked over and tried the computer switch. After confirming that it didn’t light up again, she bent down to remove the USB drive.

“It’s not a big deal to me. No matter what, the Li Corporation can’t compare to the Ye Corporation’s shares. At most, I’ll give him some shares as compensation.”

“Hehehe, Miss Ye is indeed generous.”

He smiled and stood up. “Since the matter is settled, the rest is up to Miss Ye alone. Take care of yourself. I’ll get going first. Oh, I’ll take your phone first. When I’m out of the Li Corporation safely, I’ll place it by the fountain downstairs. Remember to get it.”

Ye Qingqiu remained silent.

Five minutes after Qin Jianjia went downstairs, she left the engineering department.

She found Luo Luo and Ye Ze in the parking lot.

Luo Luo ran over hurriedly. “Qingqiu, why did you take so long? Where did you go?”

Ye Qingqiu’s energy was almost exhausted from the confrontation with Qin Jianjia. She shook her head with an ugly expression and said, “It’s nothing. Where are you staying tonight? I’ll get Brother Ye Ze to send you.”

Seeing that there was something wrong with her expression and that she might not have the patience to answer her no matter how much she asked, Luo Luo shook her head.

“No need. I’ve booked a hotel nearby. I’ll take a taxi there myself. You don’t look too good. Go home and rest early.”

Ye Qingqiu nodded. “Be careful on the way.”

Luo Luo agreed and pushed her into the car.

The moment she got into the car, Ye Qingqiu leaned back and closed her eyes.

“Miss, what happened?”

Ye Qingqiu took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. “Didn’t you see anyone else coming out of the building?”

“No.” Ye Ze’s voice suddenly tensed up. “You met someone else in the company?”

“Qin Hao.”

The car suddenly swayed and stopped by the roadside.

Ye Ze immediately turned to look at her with a frown. “Are you alright?”

Ye Qingqiu shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Ye Ze heaved a sigh of relief.

Then, she started the car again. “Why is he going to the Li Corporation?”

“No one wants to destroy Li Tingshen more than him. He went to steal that software program.”

Ye Ze paused slightly. “So now that you’re back safely, did he succeed?”

“Not really… Ah, right.”

She suddenly stood up and took out her phone to call Xu Wenxuan.

Before ten o’clock, Xu Wenxuan picked up the call quickly. He seemed surprised and uncertain.

“Qingqiu?”

“Xu Wenxuan.” Ye Qingqiu quickly asked, “Has the cracking program for the USB drive you gave me last time been released?”

“The cracking program… This matter has been put on hold for a long time. Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

Ye Qingqiu bit her lips. This answer made her panic and her voice sounded like she was crying.

“I used it accidentally today. There are important documents inside. Why did I shelve them? Can’t I make them?”

Xu Wenxuan could clearly feel her anxiety and panic through the phone. The person who was lying on the bed and preparing to sleep on her phone jumped up.

“No, I was delayed by something. Don’t worry, I… I’ll contact Senior now to ask about the situation.”

Ye Qingqiu gripped the phone tightly as tears welled up in her eyes. “Don’t hang up. You have to listen to him too.”

“Okay, wait.”

Xu Wenxuan took his phone and called the senior.

Speaking of the cracking program, “I encountered some problems that were a little difficult to resolve. Later on, because of other projects, I shelved it. What’s wrong?”

Xu Wenxuan was also a little anxious because of Ye Qingqiu’s current situation. He hurriedly said, “The USB drive has been used and we need to recover the documents inside urgently. Senior, can we study it and hurry up to produce it?”

“Is it urgent?”

Xu Wenxuan nodded and said, “It’s best if we start tonight.”

The other party was silent for a while before agreeing.

Ye Qingqiu relaxed slightly and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “Are you going to school? I’m going too.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Ye Qingqiu bit her lips and sent a message to Li Tingshen—I might have to stay with Luoluo for a while more tonight. Don’t wait for me, sleep first.

Then, she sent him a coquettish emoticon before turning off her phone.

“Brother Ye Ze, let’s go to school.”

Ye Ze pursed his lips. “Missy, you can’t help even if you go. Why don’t you go home and rest?”

“I can’t sleep even if I go home. I don’t know how to tell him… I was the one who caused the trouble. What’s important now is to find the thing. Let’s go to school. Turn off your phone too. Don’t let Li Tingshen find you.”

“… Yes.”

Not long after Ye Qingqiu arrived at school, Xu Wenxuan and the senior arrived one after another.

Seeing Ye Qingqiu standing there with red eyes, the two of them didn’t know what to do. They could only seize the time to sit in front of the computer and study countermeasures.

Ye Qingqiu stood behind them and listened to their conversation.

Xu Wenxuan had never seen Ye Qingqiu with red eyes, let alone a proud girl like her.

“Actually, you don’t have to stay here. You can’t help with such matters. Why don’t you go home and take a shower…”

Ye Qingqiu shook her head and grabbed his arm tightly. “No, Xu Wenxuan… You have to decode it. Otherwise, I really don’t know what to do…”

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again.

Xu Wenxuan felt bad and guilty. “Don’t worry, there will be a solution. I was the one who gave you the USB drive back then. I’m also responsible for this. Alright, if you’re not going home, go sit by the side. It’s best if you rest first.”

Ye Qingqiu was completely at a loss. She couldn’t help even if she wanted to, so Xu Wenxuan pulled her to a seat.

*

When Li Tingshen received Ye Qingqiu’s message, he had just driven out of the house.

From Gao Ming’s tone when he answered the call yesterday, she had thought that something was amiss. After she was done with work today, she got Xiao Chu to investigate and indeed, she found something.

Gao Ming’s family was not at home.

After asking all the residents and relatives around Gao Ming’s family, there was no news. In the end, they started investigating again.

Then, they found out that Gao Ming’s son, who had just started elementary school, had gone missing. Mrs. Gao was also taken away on the way to fetch her son from school. After that, Gao Ming received news and threatened him to fetch his wife alone.

She had never returned home since then.

It had been an entire day since yesterday afternoon.

It wasn’t until just now that Xiao Chu confirmed the location of Gao Ming’s family. They had already received them and were rushing to the company.

Seeing Ye Qingqiu’s message, he didn’t urge her to go back since she was with Luoluo and Ye Ze was protecting her.

*

She was in a sorry state when she saw Gao Ming in the company.

Seeing Li Tingshen, Gao Ming fell to the ground and cried.

“CEO Li, CEO Li, I’m sorry. I really have no choice. He threatened me with my son’s life…”

Li Tingshen’s handsome face darkened.

“Who threatened you with your son’s life?”

“It’s the young master of the Qin family, Qin Hao. He’s a lunatic…”

If Li Tingshen’s expression was considered indifferent just now, at this moment, he stood up from his chair. The coldness in his eyes froze the air in the office.

“So why did he look for you?”

“He wants… to snatch my company’s access card and the office’s access card. And… and my computer password and our software program’s storage route…”

Xiao Chu felt her scalp tingle.

If not for the fact that CEO Li felt that he had targeted the Qin family for no reason, attacked the Qin family, and crippled Qin Hao’s life, he wouldn’t have felt sorry for the Qin family. He wouldn’t have thrown him into the police station to fend for himself after he injured Miss Ye again.

She knew that Qin Hao hated CEO Li, but she didn’t expect him to do such an extreme thing.

“But CEO Li, Qin Hao doesn’t seem to know much about computers. If he just deleted the file or copied it, I still have a way to get it back.”

When Li Tingshen heard this, he didn’t feel relieved. Instead, his face darkened.

“You know when he’ll be here?”

Gao Ming was stunned. “He left after taking what was on me. Isn’t it tonight?”

Li Tingshen looked at Xiao Chu.

Xiao Chu hurriedly turned around and walked out of the office. Li Tingshen thought for a while before following her.

Gao Ming scrambled to wipe the tears off his face and chased after her.

*

In Gao Ming’s office on the twelfth floor.

Xiao Chu bent down and stood in front of Gao Ming’s computer. She tried a few times but to no avail.

Gao Ming tried to open it nervously.

He hurriedly tried to operate the other computer, but within a few minutes, the blood drained from his face.

“What’s wrong?!” Xiao Chu asked anxiously when she saw Gao Ming’s expression.

Gao Ming’s pale lips trembled. “CEO… CEO Li… that computer… all the data has been… cleared…”

Li Tingshen’s pupils constricted and the coldness between his brows slowly spread. His cold voice almost shattered the solid snow mountain.

“What do you mean by that?”

Gao Ming was so frightened that he almost fainted. “… It’s… it’s that all the basic data supporting the computer has been cleared. Without this data, this computer is completely useless. It’s… just a piece of trash…”

Xiao Chu closed his eyes in despair.

Oh no.

After preparing for nearly two years and spending so much money, only a pile of waste was left.

This pile of waste was probably the most expensive waste in the world.

Li Tingshen’s hands hung by his sides as he clenched his fists tightly.

“I thought he didn’t understand computers?”

“I don’t know… I’m not sure either… Back then, I only saw him install a USB drive. He even specially asked me if I could copy it into the USB drive… But the current situation is obviously the work of a computer expert…”

Gao Ming paused and glanced at Li Tingshen’s gloomy face. He quickly retracted his gaze and lowered his head.

“CEO Li… I think there should be someone helping him. Otherwise, with his knowledge of computers, he wouldn’t have emptied all the data on a computer so easily.”

Xiao Chu immediately turned around. “I’ll go check the surveillance cameras.”

Li Tingshen didn’t say a word. So what if he got the surveillance footage?

She couldn’t find what had completely disappeared.

At this moment, Gao Ming said fearfully, “The surveillance cameras are useless… He made me… erase the surveillance records…”