She had made up her mind and was acting on it.
"Hey, I've arrived at the hotel. Gotta go. Bye."
She hung up the phone in a hurry, not even giving the other person a chance to say good night.
It was as if the other person was a fearsome monster.
Thousands of kilometers away, Qi Shifeng sat with his hand on his knee, spinning his black - screened phone.
He could almost picture her panicked face as she hung up the phone in a flurry, like a startled fawn.
He smiled faintly and said to Jiang Li in front of him, "Try to compress all the work into the next two days. It'd be best if we can go back in three days."
Jiang Li was confused but didn't dare to disobey. He said with a bit of hesitation, "Okay, I'll check the schedule."
Their original plan was to be on a business trip for a week. It seemed impossible to compress it into three days.
"Cancel all the social activities."
Qi Shifeng didn't make things too difficult for him.
He came here not to meet clients but to inspect the branch company.
In the past two years, the performance of this branch had been abysmal, and it was reported that they had falsified accounts to deceive the higher - ups.
The person in charge of the branch was a veteran of the company, and other branches were waiting to see how the head office would handle this.
So Qi Shifeng made a last - minute decision to come and inspect in person, catching the other side off guard.
Since getting on the plane, he had been looking at various reports of the branch and project documents from the past two years.
The more he read, the tighter his brows frowned. Only when he was on the phone with Xu Tingyu did his brows relax for a while.
Now that the call was over, he resumed his serious expression.
After checking the detailed schedule, Jiang Li gave a definite reply before entering the hotel.
It was impossible to compress it into three days, but they could finish it within four days.
Qi Shifeng didn't say much. He just stood in front of the French window and glanced at the dark sky outside.
Jiang Li swiped his tablet and hesitated for a while before speaking.
"I just got the latest news. General Manager Li has contacted the old master. It seems he's pleading for mercy, but we don't know the specific content yet."
Qi Shifeng sneered, "Does he still have the nerve to plead?"
Although General Manager Li had been with the company since its establishment, he had never achieved any real results.
But he had a special identity—he was the son of the old master's cousin.
He was also a relative of the Qi family, and Qi Shifeng even had to call him uncle.
Originally, it would have been a decent end for him to retire from the company.
But a few years ago, he suddenly had an affair with a subordinate.
The subordinate's husband came to the head - office building, waving banners and threatening to hurt himself with a knife.
This incident made the news in the capital and was quite embarrassing.
Later, the old master intervened and asked him to go to the branch to develop.
This was a generous solution, as he was given the position of general manager at the branch.
Unexpectedly, he lorded it over at the branch, deceived the higher - ups and oppressed the subordinates, making a mess of the branch.
Originally, this matter was easy to solve. They just needed to issue a dismissal order and send someone else to take over.
But the old master never believed that the man was so unworthy and had publicly spoken up for him.
So if this matter wasn't handled well, it would definitely have a bad impact.
"What should we do now? Will he have destroyed all the evidence before we get there?"
Jiang Li was a bit worried.
"If he's really that bold, then we don't have to show him any mercy. We can just send him to jail."
Qi Shifeng turned around, his expression cold.
He believed that the man didn't have the guts to do so.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have pleaded with the old master.
He definitely wouldn't dare to destroy everything, but he might have mixed in some false evidence.
Then they would have to distinguish the authenticity of the materials he presented.
"Stop worrying about things that haven't happened yet. Go back and rest early. We'll go to the company early tomorrow."
Qi Shifeng rubbed his temples and told Jiang Li to go back and rest.
Jiang Li responded and left the room, then returned to his own room.
After entering, he stood under the lamp and suddenly murmured to himself, "The boss has become so much more considerate lately."
He even told him to go back and rest early. He would never have said such a thing before.
Thinking of the phone call in the car, Jiang Li felt he had figured it out—Miss Xu must be the true love of the boss.
He just wondered when the two of them would reconcile.
On the other side, Xu Tingyu had a good sleep and then continued her dance - training life.
It wasn't until she saw the news of Yan Zhou's return to China going viral.
She immediately called Shu Shu, "Find out which hospital Yan Zhou has been admitted to after returning to China, and prepare some gifts."
Since he had returned to China, this was the best time to clear up the misunderstanding.
Moreover, it was only right and proper for her to go and visit him.
Shu Shu obviously also knew about Yan Zhou's return and understood what Xu Tingyu meant.
"I'll go and handle it right away."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Tingyu looked at her phone again.
Yan Zhou was pushed off the plane in a wheelchair. He was wrapped up tightly, even wearing sunglasses.
Obviously, he didn't want his sickly appearance to be photographed.
The airport was filled with media taking pictures and fans coming to show their concern.
Many fans shed tears on the spot, saying that Yan Zhou had really suffered this time.
As Xu Tingyu looked, she felt something was wrong with the pictures.
It was just the beginning of autumn in the capital, and the weather wasn't cold. But Yan Zhou was wearing a thick coat.
He was wrapped in the coat, and it was hard to tell his figure.
But as his dance teacher, she knew his body well. After looking at the pictures a few more times, she felt that the person in the picture wasn't Yan Zhou.
He always held his back straight, not hunched forward like this.
But she didn't jump to conclusions. After all, the management company had no reason to arrange a stand - in at the airport.
If this was exposed, it would definitely arouse more dissatisfaction from the fans.
So she just thought she was mistaken. It was normal for him to have changed a bit since he was sick.
She didn't know that the person in the wheelchair wasn't Yan Zhou at all. It was a person the company had found who looked very similar to him.
It wasn't that the management company wanted to do this, but Yan Zhou couldn't even sit in a wheelchair.
The blood clot in his brain hadn't completely dispersed, and it had affected his lower limbs. In fact, one of his legs had been immobile for the past two days.
He was an idol and the most popular artist of the company.
If he were really paralyzed, it would affect too many things.
So they had to come up with this desperate plan. After the stand - in had attracted all the attention, Yan Zhou took a second flight and arrived.
There was no one to pick him up this time. He went through a special passage and was sent directly to the best hospital in the capital as soon as he got off the plane.