Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 097

Chapter 97 ☆, For a Better Future.

The thing faster than the speed of light in this world was the speed at which gossip spreads.

When Zheng Zaochuan’s mother came to her workplace, few people saw her. However, before long, the matter spread and became gossip that many people talked about.

The charm of gossip lay in the fact that it wasn’t entirely true, but it wasn’t entirely false either.

For several days during meals, Zhao Xi would look at Xin Xin with a hesitant expression, as if he were meeting her for the first time.

Xin Xin had him scrutinize her for several days before finally noticing something was amiss and asked him, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

Zhao Xi asked her furtively, “What happened between you and Zheng Zaochuan?”

Xin Xin was confused. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Zhao Xi said, “I heard that a super beautiful woman came looking for you, and the two of you were fighting over one man.”

Xin Xin was both amused and exasperated. “What nonsense! That’s Zheng Zaochuan’s mother.”

Zhao Xi didn’t believe it. “How could that be? This gossip’s too outrageous.”

Xin Xin couldn’t stop laughing. “It really is that outrageous; I’m getting married.”

The statement seemed abrupt and unrelated, causing Zhao Xi to pause for a moment, a fleeting look of disappointment crossing his face. He quickly smiled and politely wished Xin Xin well, “May everything go smoothly.”

Xin Xin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She also told Sullivan, who had been worried about her, about the news. The two hadn’t seen each other for a long time since their last meeting, and they met again when Xin Xin was delivering documents at the end of her work.

Sullivan asked Xin Xin repeatedly before finally feeling relieved.

Xin Xin had no intention of caring about Xibei anymore, but after hesitating for a long time, she couldn’t resist her curiosity and asked, “How’s Xibei doing lately?”

Zheng Zaochuan was no longer backing her up; it was unclear whether this had affected her.

Surprisingly, Sullivan’s opinion of her changed drastically. “I don’t know what got into her, but she suddenly became very motivated, signed up for an acting class, and lately she’s been doing quite well.”

Xin Xin smiled, feeling that everything was going smoothly.

She told Zheng Zaochuan the news, and Zheng Zaochuan was not surprised. “That’s how people are. Once someone’s there to cover for them, they will act recklessly and shift the responsibilities they should bear onto others.”

Xin Xin teased him, “Since you know all this, why have you been letting them run rampant?”

Zheng Zaochuan paused for a moment, then sighed, “Perhaps it’s not just because they are holding me hostage; maybe I really want to prove that I’m needed.”

That was quite strange. In Xin Xin’s opinion, Zheng Zaochuan was the person in the world who needed no external affirmation the most.

“Then why is it not needed now?”

“Because I have you.”

Zheng Zaochuan held Xin Xin’s fingers tightly in his own hand, and the warmth of her fingers spread through him, giving him a sense of stable peace of mind.

Xin Xin smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

Being addicted to giving to loved ones was like being addicted to work; you had to convince yourself that you were “very important” before you could put all your own needs aside and work hard for others.

The new company had been running smoothly recently, and Zheng Zaochuan had been going to work and getting off work on time, leading a peaceful and stable life.

Xin Xin focused on preparing for the wedding. She had never been one to care about details, so she didn’t find wedding preparations tedious. Zheng Zaochuan, on the other hand, was very particular, arranging everything from the hotel to the wedding dress, from the new house to the furniture.

Actually, Xin Xin didn’t really want to move, but Zheng Zaochuan was very superstitious. He scrutinized every aspect of the house, from its orientation to the color of the furniture, as if he was worried that any small flaw would sow the seeds of bad things in the future.

Xin Xin had always felt that people in business were somewhat superstitious, but she once thought Zheng Zaochuan was an exception.

This man, who quickly recovered after leaving the company he founded, showed no signs of ambition in this matter. He even earnestly explained, “One cannot believe everything, nor can one disbelieve everything. The quality of one’s living environment greatly affects one’s aura.”

Xin Xin neither confirmed nor denied it, but she felt a strange atmosphere lately, perhaps because Zheng Zaochuan had said it.

She initially discovered that someone had splashed red paint on her parking space, but she did not take it seriously, thinking it was just a coincidence.

But just two days later, Xin Xin received a phone call late at night. A gentle female voice came from the other end of the line, asking her to come downstairs and move her car.

Zheng Zaochuan was half asleep when he heard her answering the phone. He woke up with a start, asked Xin Xin to hand him the phone, and asked warily, “Who are you?”

They didn’t press the matter further and were quite agreeable, saying they could move it the next day.

Xin Xin didn’t take this matter seriously. Although she had seen countless risk prevention videos online, she always thought that these things were far removed from her life.

However, things got even more complicated after that.

Xin Xin felt she was being followed. She discovered that a car would tail her to the entrance of her residential complex every day after she got off work. It was a white Volkswagen with an unremarkable license plate.

The reason she felt the car was following her was because one day the car in front of her was involved in a rear-end collision, and to avoid trouble, she took a longer route.

The road she usually took had heavy traffic, making it difficult to spot problems amidst the hustle and bustle.

However, this road was more remote, which made Xin Xin realize something was wrong.

Xin Xin was afraid Zheng Zaochuan would worry, so she didn’t tell him about it but secretly memorized the license plate number. Sure enough, half a month later, Xin Xin confirmed that the car had been following her all along.

She told Zheng Zaochuan about it, and Zheng Zaochuan became nervous.

“I will pick you up and drop you off for the next couple of days.” After a moment of silence, “You’ve given up on investigating Su Chengjie, haven’t you?”

Xin Xin shook her head blankly. “I came to Jiangcheng and didn’t continue investigating him.”

She didn’t mention the details of her previous chance encounter with Su Chengjie, during which she even felt that Su Chengjie didn’t take her seriously at all.

At the time, before the kidnapping suspect in Northwest China went to trial, she was in the open, while Su Chengjie was in the shadows. On the surface, she was investigating Su Chengjie, but in reality, all the information she obtained had absolutely nothing to did with him.

If this were a guessing game, she hadn’t even gotten close to the end.

However, Zheng Zaochuan was very worried and proposed a new plan: “Why don’t you take a vacation? We can get married now and take a honeymoon to go on vacation.”

Xin Xin gave a wry smile.

“How can I decide to take leave on my own? I have to get approval from the company. Besides, it may not even be related to Su Chengjie.”

Zheng Zaochuan said with a serious expression, “I heard that the regulators are going to take action to rectify the capital market.”

Xin Xin was stunned. “Is the news true?”

If it were just a routine regulatory inspection, Zheng Zaochuan wouldn’t be taking it this seriously. The use of such a broad term as “rectifying the capital market” suggested a major policy-level deployment.

Xin Xin’s mind raced. “But a lot of the data is no longer with me.”

Wang Zhuo left without saying goodbye, and his whereabouts remained unknown. She did not even know if Wang Zhuo was friend or foe, nor did she understand the complicated events she had been dragged into.

However, the tense situation within Hengyang soon made Xin Xin realize that Zheng Zaochuan’s news was not unfounded.

First, three fund managers from Hengyang were arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes as non-state personnel and offering bribes to non-state personnel. One of them was Zhang Wentian, who had a conflict with Xin Xin.

Subsequently, several prominent figures in the political and business circles of Haining City and Jiangcheng City were placed under investigation.

While it couldn’t be concluded that being detained was entirely a crime, such rumors were often not entirely unfounded.

Xin Xin received death threats at this juncture.

“Put your things in the Konghai Building, or you know what will happen.”

Initially, Xin Xin only received text messages, but later even her internal email account was attacked by hackers.

Xin Xin didn’t want to add to Zhao Xi’s already overwhelming workload, but given the current situation, she had no choice but to report it.

Xin Xin compiled a report detailing her previous investigation into Su Chengjie in Haining and the harassment she was currently experiencing and submitted it to Zhao Xi.

Zhao Xi was already very busy cooperating with relevant departments in investigating Zhang Wentian’s case. After receiving Xin Xin’s report, he immediately decided, “Call the police. Don’t come to work for the time being.”

Xin Xin looked at his expression; he was completely devoid of his usual composure. Zhao Xi’s fair face was tinged with a bluish tinge, and although a faint smile still lingered on his lips, his eyes were almost desolate.

Was the situation really that serious?

Zhao Xi frowned slightly. “Zhang Chengkun has been detained.”

Xin Xin was taken aback. “How come I haven’t heard of this?”

Zhang Chengkun was the head of the Haining Securities Regulatory Bureau, and Xin Xin submitted all the suspicious documents to the regulator. Although many people told her not to try to stop them, that her documents wouldn’t even pass through the hands of an ordinary section chief.

Zhao Xi pondered for a long time before finally saying, “Xin Xin, have Mr. Zheng personally find you a reliable bodyguard.”

Xin Xin’s heart pounded violently as the terrifying memory of being kidnapped in the Northwest came rushing back, giving her a nightmare-like fear.

Zhao Xi calmly analyzed, “The Central Inspection Team is already investigating. The fact that they still think of you at this critical juncture means you must have some important evidence that you yourself may not have discovered. Xin Xin, listen to me, have Mr. Zheng assign you a bodyguard and get out of Jiangcheng.”

Xin Xin was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered, “The net of heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it. I know you mean well, but if one day you find out about me, I will cooperate with you in every way possible.”

Zhao Xi was getting a little anxious. “What does this have to do with you? Everything that needs to be investigated will be investigated. Why are you getting involved in this mess?”

Xin Xin smiled. “Just think of it as me doing this for justice.”

Zhao Xi paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed, “You are really idealistic. Does a perfectly perfect capital market really exist? Are you rational right now?”

Everyone in their line of work had an economics background.

When they were in school, all the assumptions in Western economics were met with disdain by these economics students.

Rational men assumed that everyone acted in a self-interested manner.

Xin Xin smiled and said, “Yes, I’m not rational. I just stubbornly believe that capital cannot expand indiscriminately. I believe that none of us will die under the control of capital.”

She was too small to have a broad perspective.

Or perhaps, she was simply following Wang Zhuo’s stories, whether true or false, for a more righteous future.