Chapter 97
Chapter 97
I tracked down the security room and found the guard on duty.
He was the same one who had been working the day the surveillance cameras were turned off.
I knew this guard was lying. According to the records, he had suffered a sudden bout of gastroenteritis right when the cameras were shut down.
How could someone with gastroenteritis eat spicy food?
There was a bowl of malatang on his desk, likely a takeout order; I had smelled the spicy aroma before I even stepped through the door.
“What are you doing here?”
He looked back at me and quickly recognized my face. “Wait, weren’t you just in there for an interview?”
I nodded, handed him a cigarette, and started a conversation. “Actually, I’m Chen Guowen’s son. My name is Chen Mo.”
He froze for a moment. “Manager Chen’s son?”
His attitude immediately became several times more polite.
“Then you must have been interviewing for the finance department, right?”
“Your dad is the manager of the finance department, after all.”
I told him I wasn’t there for an interview; I was there to look into something.
“Wang Hua, the director of Workshop Three-his motorcycle was stolen a few days ago. The cameras were turned off the day it happened. You were the one on duty that day, weren’t you, sir?”
The guard blinked, staring at me. “Didn’t your father tell you about this?”
I was stunned for a second. “Tell me what?” I asked, puzzled.
He suddenly let out a laugh. “Nothing. I just meant, did Manager Chen tell you about the incident?”
I nodded. “I mainly came today because I wanted to ask if you saw the person who turned off the cameras that day.”
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t see anything. I definitely didn’t see a soul. If I had, I certainly would have told Director Wang.”
I didn’t press him further. Instead, I simply wrote my phone number down on a piece of paper. “How about this? Think it over carefully. If you remember anything, give me a call.”
“I’ll give you five thousand yuan. I only want to know who turned off those cameras.”
He stared blankly for a long time, falling silent.
It was obvious. He had seen them; he knew exactly who had turned off the surveillance.
If he truly didn’t know, he would have just insisted he didn’t know. In that case, my five thousand yuan wouldn’t have been an incentive at all, because he couldn’t just make someone up.
The person who stole the bike was someone from the factory. Would he dare to lie about a name?
“I heard you have gastroenteritis. Since your stomach is bad, you really shouldn’t be eating so much spicy food. You need to take better care of yourself.”
I smiled and turned to leave.
This man was a terrible liar and clearly greedy. There was a high probability he would call me for that five thousand yuan and tell me who the thief was.
Leaving the security room, I headed to my father’s office.
I had been here twice before, but the last time was a long time ago. I hadn’t realized he had moved to a new office-one that was much larger.
“Dad, life as a leader seems pretty comfortable. You’ve even moved into a bigger office.”
My father laughed. “I’ve worked hard for over half my life. What’s wrong with getting a bigger office? I started working when I was twenty, and I’ve been with Old Huang for nearly ten years now. He just moved me in here a few days ago.”
Old Huang was the factory director and a friend of my father’s.
I sat in my father’s office chair. I had to admit, it was quite comfortable.
On the desk, a certain object caught my eye.
It was a new Seal. I picked it up to look; it was my father’s personal Seal, engraved with his name.
The smile vanished from my face instantly, and an inexplicable sense of dread washed over me.
I asked my father, “Did you get a new seal?”
My father paused, startled. “The old one went missing, so I had a new one made. What’s the matter? Why are you making such a fuss over a seal?”
My hands and feet felt numb.
Meng Yifan’s expression changed as well, his eyes fixed blankly on the seal.
“How did it go missing?”
I stared intently at my father and asked, “It wasn’t lost when you moved offices, was it?”
He shook his head. “It’s actually quite irritating to talk about. That day, I came to work and realized I’d forgotten my seal. I was too busy to leave, so I asked your grandfather to bring it to me. Who would’ve thought he’d lose it on the way?”
“I had a mountain of documents waiting to be stamped. Without the seal, I couldn’t get anything done. I ended up getting a real earful from Old Huang.”
“And you know your grandfather’s temper. I didn’t dare blame him.”
My father went on and on, grumbling for a while, but I didn’t hear a single word.
Distracted, I didn’t chat with him for long. I made an excuse about having work to do and prepared to leave.
“I’ll see you out.”
“No need, just get back to your work.”
With that, I turned and left with Meng Yifan without looking back.
Once we were out of the building, Meng Yifan couldn’t help but ask, “What are you thinking? You don’t actually think your dad is…”
“How could it be such a coincidence?”
I looked at Meng Yifan, my entire body trembling. “Remember that night when we performed the Soul Summoning for Li Xiumei? When I knocked that person down, a piece of his seal fell out.”
“Then there’s that motorcycle. It just so happens it was stolen from this very factory.”
“Wang Hua’s car keys were stolen at the same time. Who could have gotten their hands on his keys? Who could have turned off the surveillance cameras without anyone noticing?”
After hearing me out, Meng Yifan also grew tense. “It… it is a bit of a coincidence. But your dad-Uncle-he couldn’t possibly do something like that.”
“Remember that one time our families were spending a holiday together? We had to slaughter a chicken, and your dad didn’t have the heart to do it. My dad had to do it instead. With Uncle’s courage-or lack thereof-do you really think he’s the one who hired Lv Zhengxian and Li Xiumei? Does that seem possible?”
“And… and that person is the one who killed Fang Man. Do you really think your father would kill Fang Man? Kill his own son’s girlfriend?”
I was stunned, my mind going completely blank.
I knew what kind of man my father was better than Meng Yifan did. It was precisely because I knew him that I couldn’t accept this.
But with so many coincidences piling up, I couldn’t just lie to myself.
“Besides, your dad just said it himself-the old man was the one who lost the seal.”
Meng Yifan fished my phone out of my pocket and shoved it into my hand. “Hurry up and call the old man. Verify it. Even if we assume your dad is that person, there’s no way your grandfather is involved too. He has no reason to help your dad lie.”
I finally snapped out of it. “Right. I’ll call my grandfather. I’ll call him right now…”
I dialed my grandfather’s number, and he picked up quickly.
“What is it, Chen Mo?”
His voice came through the line. I tried my best to steady my emotions and hurriedly asked, “Grandpa, what happened to my dad’s old seal?”
My grandfather suddenly went silent. I immediately grew tense again, my heart leaping into my throat.
But soon, his disgruntled voice came through the phone, scolding, “Your father is still complaining to you about that little thing? I lost it. So what? It’s not like I lost it on purpose! Is it really worth all this?”
“Your father is far too petty, whining to you about such a trivial matter.”