"Maybe we could fight fire with fire," Li Qiyu said.
Before the chief secretary could figure out what she had in mind, Song Yi'an immediately understood and nodded in agreement.
Soon, two rumors circulated within the Song Corporation.
The first rumor claimed that Song Yi'an was not actually the late Mr. Song's grandson. Mr. Song had discovered this before his death and thus stipulated in his will that Song Yi'an was not eligible to inherit his estate. Only Song Yunsheng, Mr. Song's adopted son and the only person still related to the Song Corporation, had the right to inherit.
The second rumor was the exact opposite. It said that Song Yi'an was indeed Mr. Song's grandson. It was Song Yunsheng who had sown discord. Mr. Song had not changed his will before his death; he only said otherwise under duress from Song Yunsheng. Moreover, Song Yunsheng had even resorted to harming Mr. Song in order to achieve his own goals. Mr. Song's sudden death was entirely Song Yunsheng's doing.
These two rumors targeted different people, yet they were intricately linked, like the age - old question of whether the chicken or the egg came first.
At first, Song Yunsheng's supporters naturally refuted the second rumor. The video of Mr. Song's last moments "accidentally" leaked and quickly spread.
Even so, these supporters were gradually silenced by others' questions.
"If Song Yunsheng didn't kill Mr. Song, how did he know about the will and manage to record it? Who in their right mind would rush to record a dying patient?"
"Well... Mr. Song asked for it. It was to leave evidence and ensure his will was legally protected."
"If it was to leave evidence, shouldn't the evidence be complete? This edited video hardly counts as evidence!"
"At least it's more credible than your baseless claim that Song Yunsheng killed Mr. Song."
Song Yi'an's supporters scoffed. "Your video is hardly any more convincing than just making things up."
The chief secretary, who had been dining nearby in the Song Corporation's cafeteria, overheard the entire conversation. He had barely touched his food before he lost his appetite. Angrily, he threw down his chopsticks and left the cafeteria.
The chief secretary went to the hotel to meet Song Yi'an.
Since Song Yi'an was suspected of not being Mr. Song's grandson and was kicked out of the Song family by Song Yunsheng on the grounds that he was not a real Song, he had to stay in a hotel. It was the same villa as last time.
Li Qiyu naturally stayed with Song Yi'an. This small villa was almost like their second home in the capital.
When the chief secretary visited, Song Yi'an was out, and Li Qiyu was the only one at home. As soon as the chief secretary entered, the air was filled with tension. "Is this what you meant by fighting fire with fire?"
At first, Li Qiyu didn't understand where the chief secretary's anger was coming from. She offered him tea with a smile and invited him to sit down.
But the nicer Li Qiyu was, the angrier the chief secretary became. He pounded on the coffee table so hard that the tea spilled everywhere.
"You've gone too far! I thought you and Song Yi'an were more conscientious than Song Yunsheng and truly cared about Mr. Song and the Song Corporation. But what you're doing now is no different from Song Yunsheng! Mr. Song's body is barely cold, and yet you're stoking the flames. People are gossiping about Mr. Song's death everywhere. Don't you have even the basic respect for a senior and a deceased person?"
The chief secretary was usually a gentle and refined man. Having served Mr. Song for many years, his steady temper was one of the reasons he had been able to keep his position. He was a trusted confidant of Mr. Song.
But even this kind - hearted man had a temper. Especially now that Mr. Song had suddenly passed away. First, he was mocked by Song Yunsheng for not fulfilling his duty as a secretary and not being by Mr. Song's side at the end. Now, he heard employees gossiping and discussing Mr. Song's death without any respect, treating it as a mere topic of conversation. It broke his heart.
Li Qiyu understood the chief secretary's anger and felt genuine admiration for him. She raised her cup and said, "I offer this cup of tea to you as an apology. I didn't think things through when planning this. Please forgive me."
As the saying goes, you can't be angry with someone who is being polite. Since Li Qiyu had apologized, the chief secretary couldn't stay angry. He took the tea but didn't drink it. Instead, he placed it on the table because he was eager to voice his demands.
"Regardless of the truth, you should issue a statement immediately. First, employees are not allowed to talk about this anymore. Second, until the investigation is completed, stop spreading the rumor that Mr. Song was killed by Song Yunsheng."
Li Qiyu was like a well - behaved student. She nodded in agreement to all the chief secretary's requests, showing a very sincere attitude.
Only after the chief secretary finished speaking did she calmly ask, "Have you talked to Song Yunsheng?"
Hearing this, the chief secretary was stunned.
Of course, he hadn't talked to Song Yunsheng. Would Song Yunsheng listen to him? If his persuasion worked on Song Yunsheng, there wouldn't be so many problems.
Naturally, he couldn't say this in front of Li Qiyu. So he replied, "I would never talk to him. He's a beast. There's no point in reasoning with him."
"It seems you also know our opponent is a beast. We would like to compete fairly, but Song Yunsheng doesn't play by the rules. We didn't release the video of Mr. Song's last moments, and we didn't start this mess. The one who truly exploited Mr. Song's death and even hastened it is someone else. If others are acting like villains, but we're supposed to be gentlemen, then please tell me, how can we win this battle?"
Although Li Qiyu's words were a bit hard to swallow, they made sense. The chief secretary wasn't stupid; he understood. Although he was still angry, he stopped scolding her.
But his anger couldn't be easily dispelled. He picked up the teacup on the table and took a big gulp without realizing it was hot. The scalding tea burned his mouth. He wanted to spit it out, but seeing Li Qiyu sitting across from him, he forced himself to swallow it to maintain his dignity as an elder.
Li Qiyu did it on purpose. She served him warm tea at first and then deliberately replaced it with hot tea.