TNSFC – Chapter 39

Que Yining leaned back in her boss’s chair, a foxy smile playing on her lips as she looked at the message on her phone screen.

She ate her late-night snack in high spirits, already planning her workout for tomorrow.

Although gaining a little weight wasn’t a big deal, and Que Yining didn’t rely on her looks for a living, she habitually managed her figure to maintain her optimal condition.

When Que Yining came out of her office, most people had already left. Xie Yanhuai and Lin Jingyu were still sitting in front of their computers. Besides them, two other people were also there, looking like they were prepared to work through the night.

Que Yining patted Xie Yanhuai’s chair, signaling that they could leave as it was time to get off work.

Xie Yanhuai: “Boss, I’ll just finish writing the program I’m working on.”

Lin Jingyu: “I’ll just fix two more bugs.”

Que Yining: “Alright then, don’t push yourselves too hard. Your health is fundamental.”

Que Yining looked around and noticed two others who hadn’t left. One was the man with the small round glasses who had made a strong impression during his interview. The other was a female employee Que Yining didn’t recognize.

Que Yining walked over to their desks to check their progress. The female employee smiled at Que Yining, looking a bit reserved.

“Still not going home this late?”

Que Yining looked at her name tag. Her name was Lin Yuan.

It seemed familiar. Que Yining thought for a moment before remembering that Zhang Shiyu had previously reported about her. She was the capable modeler who was likely trying to conceive.

“I’ll be leaving soon.”

Lin Yuan saved her data, her lips moving as she looked at Que Yining, then glanced in other directions before finally returning her gaze to her computer.

Que Yining sensed she had something to say and looked at her with some confusion. “Is there something you want to say?”

Lin Yuan looked at Que Yining and shook her head, then continued looking at her computer.

Que Yining didn’t press further and walked towards the man with the small round glasses.

The man with the small round glasses’ full name was Geng Liyun. Que Yining remembered it clearly. She stood behind him, watching him modify data.

After she arrived, Geng Liyun’s movements slowed down, his face visibly stiffening. He took out a tissue and started wiping sweat from his brow.

Que Yining: “Why aren’t you off work yet?”

“Boss, I’m I’m about to to leave.”

He stuttered a bit, and coupled with his nervous appearance, he looked rather pitiful.

Que Yining thought he might have social anxiety, becoming very nervous whenever someone approached him. Zhang Shiyu had mentioned this situation before; it wasn’t just with her, even if other colleagues stood beside him, he would unconsciously become tense.

“Then leave early. It’s hard to get a taxi too late,” Que Yining looked at the other three people, her voice a little louder, “You guys too, go home early.”

The others agreed. Que Yining went downstairs, where Zhang Shiyu was already waiting for her.

The car moved smoothly through the night. A foreign language song played on the radio, the female singer’s voice ethereal. Que Yining closed her eyes, feigning sleep, and sorted through her thoughts.

She suddenly spoke: “Has anything unusual happened at the company recently?”

Zhang Shiyu: “Strange things?”

She thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, “I don’t think so.”

“What’s wrong, Boss? Did you notice something?”

Zhang Shiyu felt that Que Yining wouldn’t bring this up without reason. She tried hard to recall, but indeed, she couldn’t find anything strange.

Que Yining shook her head: “No, it’s just that Lin Yuan seemed to want to tell me something today, but she didn’t. Can you keep an eye out for me?”

Zhang Shiyu nodded without objection: “Okay.”

Outside the window, the fog was thick. Que Yining raised her hand and left a fingerprint on the misted glass, her thoughtful expression hidden.

There were no stars in the sky; the night slipped away quietly.

When Que Yining woke up the next day, she found it was pouring rain outside, but this didn’t affect her good mood in the slightest.

The thought of having lunch with Gu Shanxue and getting the key to Gu Shanxue’s house filled Que Yining with joy. She even sent a wave of concern across the distance to Ningning, who was about to be neutered.

But her good mood ended with a phone call from Zhang Shiyu.

“Boss, Lin Yuan just called me. She said that modeler Geng Liyun, the one with the small round glasses, hasn’t come to work yet. She told me she thinks Geng Liyun is acting a bit strange. Yesterday, she saw him standing by Xie Yanhuai’s computer, looking like he was copying data. But she has no proof and didn’t dare to say anything rashly.”

At that moment, Que Yining was applying lipstick. Upon hearing Zhang Shiyu’s report, her expression immediately darkened.

She stood up, her eyes filled with coldness: “Has it been confirmed?”

Zhang Shiyu’s voice was tinged with annoyance: “I’m afraid it’s true. I checked the surveillance footage. His actions look very suspicious, but I can’t be certain. He hasn’t come to work yet, and his phone is off. I sent someone to the address he provided, despite the rain, but it’s empty. Boss…”

Que Yining: “Come pick me up.”

Zhang Shiyu: “Okay.”

A security breach was no small matter. Que Yining had dealt with such situations before, but she hadn’t expected to be targeted so early in her venture.

Logically, this shouldn’t have happened. She had just entered this circle, so how could she be targeted so quickly?

Que Yining felt a surge of irritation. She pinched the bridge of her nose, her grip on the corner of the desk tightening.

She looked out at the heavy rain, her face covered with a layer of frost.

It wasn’t certain yet that data had been lost. And even if it had, their development was far from the most critical stage. Even if Geng Liyun stole the data and sold it elsewhere, and even if the game was released prematurely by others, they would only be able to copy the superficial aspects.

If it really happened, regardless of the motive or reason, those people would have to pay the price, including the thief!

Que Yining narrowed her eyes, recalling the initial interview with Geng Liyun.

If this was all orchestrated by the other party, then they must have joined the company with ulterior motives from the start. In that case, the nervousness wasn’t due to personality, but because of a guilty conscience, afraid of being seen.

Why decide to leave today instead of lurking longer? Was it because her concern yesterday scared Geng Liyun?

Que Yining didn’t know, but more than why he chose to leave today, she wanted to know who was behind him.

She grabbed her bag and went out. The rain outside was heavy. Zhang Shiyu held an umbrella for her and opened the car door.

Que Yining: “No one at home?”

Zhang Shiyu: “Yes, I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I also asked the neighbors. They said the family moved out of town and haven’t been back for a long time.”

Something was definitely fishy. Otherwise, why provide an empty address?

Que Yining: “Is anything missing?”

Zhang Shiyu immediately replied: “Not at the moment. When I received the call, I quickly called Suyin Jiejie and Xie Yanhuai, asking them to check the situation. They just got back to me. Nothing is missing, and the passwords haven’t been cracked.”

Que Yining: “Got it. Let’s go to the company first.”

Que Yining was pensive. Important core data was uploaded to the cloud and backed up multiple times, so it definitely wouldn’t be lost. However, the fact that the password hadn’t been cracked was somewhat strange.

Could it be that the other party hadn’t succeeded yet?

But if they hadn’t succeeded, why would they leave?

Or perhaps the other party’s technical skills were so advanced that even Xie Yanhuai hadn’t noticed?

After Que Yining entered the company, she immediately called a small meeting, including Lin Yuan.

Que Yining placed her bag on the chair, her gaze sweeping over everyone’s face.

“Explain in detail, what’s the situation.”

Lin Yuan stood up from the corner, looking at Que Yining, nervously clutching her clothes. She tried her best to articulate the situation clearly.

“Ever since I joined, I felt Geng Liyun’s actions were a bit off. He was always very nervous, constantly glancing at the team leader’s position. Several times, he walked over to the team leader’s computer. Once, I called out to him, and he looked particularly evasive, but nothing happened, so I couldn’t just gossip about a colleague.”

“Yesterday, the boss told us to go home early. After I left work, I realized I forgot something in the office, so I came back to get it. When I reached the door, I saw Geng Liyun standing at the team leader’s desk, seemingly unplugging a USB drive. When he saw me come in, he greeted me and hurriedly left. I originally planned to report it to the secretary last night, but I didn’t take any pictures and had no evidence, so I didn’t dare to be too rash.”

“But when I saw he hadn’t come to work today, I couldn’t help but tell Secretary Zhang.”

Lin Yuan explained the whole story. After she finished, everyone looked at Que Yining’s expression.

Que Yining turned her gaze to Zhang Shiyu: “Continue.”

Zhang Shiyu stood up and continued: “After receiving the call, I immediately called Suyin Jiejie, asking her and Team Leader Xie to verify if any data was amiss. Then I called someone to go to the address Geng Liyun provided to find him and kept calling his phone, but it was turned off.”

Zhang Shiyu: “The person I sent reported back that no one lives at that place. The neighbors said the family moved away a long time ago, and no one has moved in recently.”

Li Suyin spoke next: “The moment I received the call, Team Leader Xie and I went to check. We also sent someone to re-verify the address. Indeed, no one lives there.”

Que Yining looked at Xie Yanhuai: “Are you sure the password wasn’t cracked?”

Xie Yanhuai nodded: “I’m sure. There are no signs of my password being cracked.”

Que Yining narrowed her eyes: “Are you absolutely certain?”

Xie Yanhuai’s face was calm: “Absolutely certain.”

Lin Jingyu raised his hand and spoke after Que Yining gestured for him to do so: “I’m sure. My boss used to be a really skilled hacker, but he reformed. I can’t even crack the password locks he sets, so that modeler definitely couldn’t. And even if someone spent time cracking it, it’s impossible to leave no trace. If even a little bit was triggered, my boss would know immediately.”

Que Yining raised an eyebrow: “So, you’re saying he ran away out of guilt?”

This was the most optimistic scenario. Just as Lin Jingyu was about to nod, Xie Yanhuai kicked him hard. He yelped in pain and then dared not make another sound.

Li Suyin: “Boss, should we call the police now?”

Que Yining: “Of course.”

That person must be caught. She wanted a result.

After the meeting, Que Yining stood in her office, watching the raindrops continuously fall on the glass.

She called Xie Yanhuai into her office and asked him for his thoughts.

Xie Yanhuai pondered carefully upon hearing this.

Xie Yanhuai: “Boss, do you think this might be targeting me?”

Que Yining: “That’s very possible. Besides your old employer, do you have any other enemies?”

Que Yining didn’t overlook any possibility. Why else would Geng Liyun only target Xie Yanhuai’s computer?

Xie Yanhuai scratched his cheek, looked at Que Yining’s face, and said honestly, “Boss, if you put it that way, there are quite a few.”

Que Yining listened to him rattle off names as if ordering dishes, feeling her head buzz.

Until Gu Shanxue called her, Que Yining’s head was still aching from checking the people on the list.

Gu Shanxue: “Ningning, are you at the company? I’ll come pick you up.”

Que Yining revived in an instant, her voice full of energy: “Yes, I’ll wait for you!”

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