Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Conspiracy Behind the Scenes

“It’s President Pei who’s truly considerate. Let’s not discuss work today, then.” Hearing this, Pei Susu smiled gently. “Thank you, President Zhao.”

The rest of the dinner proceeded normally. Zhou Haoyue arrived quickly—after all, Pei Susu was a woman in an unfamiliar city, sharing a room with strangers; there was certainly some risk involved.

When the dinner ended, Zhou Haoyue and Pei Susu said their farewells to Zhao Haihe and got into the car.

“As soon as I heard Zhao Haihe bragging about his company’s profits, I felt something was off,” Zhou Haoyue couldn’t help but complain as soon as she sat down. “I’ve worked with plenty of partners, but he’s the first one who gave me a bad impression at first glance.”

Pei Susu felt the same. “I’m beginning to think Haihe Company has serious issues. Looks like our previous plans will have to be scrapped,” she sighed.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Haoyue comforted her, “At least you were cautious from the start. Even after seeing the reports, you insisted on coming for an inspection. Isn’t that a good thing? Think of it as stopping the loss in time.”

“You’re quite optimistic,” Pei Susu said, shaking her head helplessly.

Right now, optimism was all they could muster. It was fortunate the problems surfaced before any cooperation began; otherwise, things would have become more troublesome.

Although they hadn’t found a better partner than Haihe Company during the selection process, there were still several established companies with reliable strength and previous cooperation history—no need to worry about unexpected issues.

“This time, let’s consider it a break for them. You were thinking the same before we came, weren’t you?” Zhou Haoyue continued to comfort her.

Pei Susu smiled and nodded.

“But there’s one more thing—the hotel we’re staying at, who booked it? I feel like there’s something wrong…”

—

Elsewhere.

As the city lights flickered on, moonlight spilled gently into the room—soft yet cold.

Fu Zhichen sat on the sofa; the room was shrouded in darkness, the lights left off so he could let the shadows engulf him. Pei Susu had only been gone half a day, yet already he felt restless.

Her presence lingered faintly on the sofa. Fu Zhichen closed his eyes, then took out his phone and sent Pei Susu a message.

Fu Zhichen: Have you finished your work, sister? Was everything smooth today?

He hadn’t expected an immediate reply, but surprisingly, she responded quickly.

Pei Susu: Don’t worry, everything went well. Did you have a good dinner tonight?

Seeing that she still remembered to care for him, Fu Zhichen’s lips curled unconsciously, a smile he himself failed to notice. Before he realized it, his finger pressed the video call button.

Pei Susu had just reached her hotel room. When the call popped up, her heart softened, and she chose to answer.

On the other end, everything was pitch black; nothing was visible. Pei Susu called, “Zhichen,” and then, with a click, the lights switched on, brightening the view.

“Sister, your side is dark too.”

Reminded by him, Pei Susu reached for the light switch.

Just as her hand touched the switch, Fu Zhichen’s expression on the video suddenly turned grave. “Sister, don’t turn on the light yet.”

She stopped, withdrawing her hand.

“I see a red light behind you.”

She had almost forgotten about that. Pei Susu turned around—the red glow was not very obvious in the darkness, but perhaps due to the video feed, Fu Zhichen noticed it immediately.

She’d intended to use a metal detector, but evidently, that wasn’t needed now.

“It’s a camera.”

Though she’d suspected it earlier that afternoon, seeing it for real sent a chill through her.

“What happened? Did you know about this before?” Fu Zhichen frowned, and Pei Susu recounted everything that had happened earlier, all while gathering her luggage and heading out.

She definitely couldn’t stay here any longer. Who knew if the other rooms had hidden cameras as well?

“Sister, don’t panic. I’ll book you a new hotel now. If it’s cold, find a convenience store and wait there.”

His voice was like a sedative in the night. On the strange city streets, Pei Susu suddenly found herself missing him.

“All right,” she replied in a muffled tone. Fu Zhichen’s heart tightened instantly; he exited the video, sent instructions to his assistant, and started checking flights.

He couldn’t rest with Pei Susu alone in Wanjiang.

After booking the ticket, Fu Zhichen returned to the video. Pei Susu sat beneath the dim light, her lowered eyes uncertain and lost.

Such an expression was rare for her—perhaps she thought he wasn’t watching, so her guard slipped for a moment.

Pei Susu expected it would take a while, but in just five minutes, a car slowly stopped in front of her.

“Are you Miss Pei? I’m here to take you to your hotel.”

Fu Zhichen’s arrangement had arrived.

Pei Susu was wary, hesitant to get in. She picked up her phone to confirm with Fu Zhichen, only to realize their video call had never been disconnected—

Had he watched her sit in a daze for five minutes?

“Sister, it’s someone I sent. Get in,” Fu Zhichen said, his cool, steady voice coming through the video as if reading her mind.

“Alright.” Pei Susu coughed softly, feeling less embarrassed.

The driver got out, loaded her luggage without asking any questions, then sped away with Pei Susu onboard.

Since their video hadn’t been disconnected, ending it immediately upon entering the car would seem deliberate; Pei Susu cleared her throat.

“I thought not cooperating would be the end of it, but now it seems Haihe Company is after more than just a partnership. I’ll need to investigate their schemes further.”

After all, this involved the entire Fu Group; caution was essential.

“It’s too dangerous. I’ll arrange further investigations. You can stay in Wanjiang a few more days if you wish, but I don’t approve of any more contact with Haihe Group.”

Pei Susu knew he was worried, but from start to finish, Haihe Group’s actions felt odd. Most importantly, she suspected there was a traitor nearby.

How did the hotel and Haihe Group come into her orbit?

Someone must have helped them; otherwise, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. Besides, isn’t President Fu here to back me up?” Pei Susu’s eyes sparkled with laughter. “Even if Haihe is a local bully, they won’t dare mess with me.”

Their ultimate goal was to cooperate with Fu Group; their attitude toward her would surely remain polite.

Seeing her resolve, Fu Zhichen said no more.

After all, he’d be in Wanjiang tomorrow. Everything could be addressed then.