“Vice President Gu, the ambulance will be here soon. Don’t worry.” Zhuang Shu looked at Gu Long lying on the ground, and even he felt a chill run down his spine.
Gu Lin shot a cold glare at Yu Xiaoduo, who was standing off to the side. Earlier that morning, he had indeed told his son to mess with Yu Xiaoduo—it was an order from above, after all. But he never expected Yu Xiaoduo to actually fight back like this.
Yu Xiaoduo wore an expression of utter innocence, though a faint, barely noticeable smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I didn’t hit him. They did.”
“You’re full of crap! We walked in and saw you beating the captain,” Zhuang Zha shot back loudly, backed up by the nods of his cronies.
Standing beside Yu Xiaoduo was a tall, burly middle-aged man named Du Sheng, the head of the Security Department.
“Have you checked the office surveillance yet?” Du Sheng asked in a deep voice.
Zhuang Zha replied, “The office cameras are down. It was probably Yu Xiaoduo’s doing.”
Du Sheng was aligned with Gu Xiao, so he didn’t really care that Gu Long got beaten up. What mattered was whether he could complete the task he’d been assigned.
“Yu Xiaoduo, did you hit him or not?” Du Sheng questioned in a low, stern tone.
“Director Du, isn’t it a little too convenient that the camera just happened to break? The office camera is out, but the ones in the monitoring room should still be working. Why don’t we take a look and see who exactly tampered with the surveillance?”
Yu Xiaoduo’s words immediately made Zhuang Zha nervous, and his panic was instantly caught by Zhuang Shu, who knew this was bad news.
“I think you’re just grasping at straws! So many people saw you do it—are you saying they’re all lying? Vice President Gu, just call the police and fire this guy!”
Gu Lin wasn’t stupid. Zhuang Zha was his nephew, and the way he’d suddenly gotten flustered suggested that maybe Yu Xiaoduo really hadn’t been the one to hit his son.
But this was still a perfect excuse to kick Yu Xiaoduo out.
The only catch was that his son got beaten up as the price—and Gu Lin couldn’t swallow that.
“Director Zhuang, getting nervous, are we?” Yu Xiaoduo said with a light laugh.
“Yu Xiaoduo! You beat someone up and you’re still grinning like that? How does a guy like you even work here?!”
Zhuang Zha chimed in, “You’re a cancer on this company! You should be fired! You’re way too arrogant!”
Yu Xiaoduo let out a long sigh and looked at Gu Lin. “Vice President Gu, what do you say—shall we take a look at the monitoring room footage?”
“What’s there to see? You’re just trying to muddy the waters.”
“Director Zhuang, why are you so worked up? Don’t tell me you’re in on this too?” Yu Xiaoduo smirked, which made Zhuang Shu’s face darken. It wasn’t just him—everyone in that room was complicit.
But the real decision rested with Gu Lin. If they actually checked the surveillance, it probably wouldn’t end well—and then his son would have taken a beating for nothing.
After weighing his options, Gu Lin said flatly, “So many people saw you hit him. That’s all the proof we need.”
Yu Xiaoduo sighed and shook his head, looking a little disappointed. Your son got beaten black and blue, and you can still let this slide?
Just then, a familiar figure appeared at the door.
“What’s going on here?” Gu Wan’er had already gotten word. She’d been about to leave, but decided to come check things out first.
“President Gu.”
“President Gu.”
“President Gu.”
Zhuang Zha pointed at Yu Xiaoduo and said sharply, “President Gu, this guy beat our captain. We all saw it, and he won’t even admit it.”
Gu Wan’er looked at the man on the floor, blood still pooling beneath him. That was a brutal beating.
“President Gu, they’re the ones who did it. They’re framing me,” Yu Xiaoduo said, hamming up the victim act.
Gu Wan’er knew very well what Yu Xiaoduo was capable of, but she also knew he wasn’t the type to start a fight for no reason. This was probably a setup targeting him. Still, did he really have to beat the guy that badly?
Zhuang Shu couldn’t help adding, “And the victim is Vice President Gu’s son, Gu Long.”
The implication was obvious—this was a member of the Gu family, even if just a branch member. She couldn’t side with an outsider.
For some reason, hearing that it was Gu Lin’s son actually made Gu Wan’er feel a little pleased. Good riddance.
“Yu Xiaoduo, do you have any proof to clear yourself?” Gu Wan’er asked. You’re usually so sharp—don’t tell me they actually got you.
Yu Xiaoduo said seriously, “President Gu, I told them to check the cameras, but they got nervous and refused. And earlier, there were sacks and clubs here—now they’re gone. Someone must have taken them. We can check the surrounding surveillance footage.”
“In that case, let’s go check the footage,” Gu Wan’er said directly.
Gu Lin and the others shifted uncomfortably. Zhuang Shu glanced at Du Sheng, who gave a slight nod, putting Zhuang Shu at ease.
When they arrived at the monitoring room, a tech support guy was working on the system.
“What are you doing?! Who told you to mess with the surveillance?” Zhuang Shu shouted, putting on a show.
A nervous security guard ran over and said, “The system crashed. The tech team is fixing it.”
Yu Xiaoduo and Gu Wan’er exchanged a look. They both understood now—here, they could twist black into white.
“When will it be fixed?” Gu Lin asked in a low voice.
“Right away.”
Soon, the system was rebooted—but all of today’s footage was gone.
Zhuang Zha was overjoyed. Du Sheng must have pulled some strings. Yu Xiaoduo was done for now—even Gu Wan’er couldn’t save him.
“President Gu, the ambulance and police are here.”
Gu Wan’er furrowed her brows. “Who called the police?”
“Shouldn’t we call the police when someone’s been beaten?” Zhuang Zha asked with mock innocence.
Zhuang Shu added clearly, “A guy like him doesn’t deserve to work here!”
“Enough! Are you trying to blow this up and damage the company’s reputation?!” Gu Wan’er snapped. These people were infuriating—they’d all ganged up on Yu Xiaoduo.
Yu Xiaoduo didn’t argue. Soon, the paramedics carried Gu Long out, and the police began questioning everyone, pointing the finger at Yu Xiaoduo.
“Mr. Yu, you’ll need to come with us.”
Gu Wan’er was frustrated. In just a few hours, they’d managed to corner him. Yu Xiaoduo was usually so cunning—how did he fall for this?
Suddenly, Yu Xiaoduo cracked a smile. “Oh, I just remembered—I actually recorded a video.”
Everyone: “??????”
What do you mean you just remembered?!
Are you freaking kidding us?!
Now everyone was staring at Yu Xiaoduo, their teeth grinding in frustration. It felt like he’d been playing them all along, and they’d been the clowns putting on a show right in front of him.
Yu Xiaoduo pulled out his phone and played the video he’d just recorded. The sound of beating echoed from the speakers, clearly showing Zhuang Zha and his crew pummeling the person inside the sack.
Gu Lin’s mouth twitched violently. He shot a furious glare at Zhuang Shu, who flinched in terror.
So this was Gu Xiao’s doing! You had Zhuang Shu’s people beat up my son to frame Yu Xiaoduo and make me swallow my pride. You’re something else!
Zhuang Zha’s face went pale, and so did the faces of his lackeys.
Gu Wan’er knew Yu Xiaoduo was too clever to be played like that. She’d been worried for nothing. She shot him a glare anyway, just to let him know.
