Chapter 35 - 35 The Beauty Trap
Chapter 35: Chapter 35 The Beauty Trap
A month after school started, the students were greeted by their first long vacation, the National Day holiday.
Before the vacation arrived, many classmates discussed where to go, talking excitedly.
“Wen Li, where are you planning to go? Why don’t we go to the neighboring province together?” Xu Wei handed her phone to Wen Li with the searched scenery on the screen, “Look, the scenery of this mountain is so beautiful, and you can even camp at the summit to watch the sunrise!”
Wen Li’s eyes lit up at the photos, but that light quickly dimmed.
She hesitated, “I probably can’t go…”
“Ah, why not?”
“Ji Tingyang won’t let me go.” She bit her lip.
“That’s true, then let’s forget about it.” Xu Wei also remembered and stopped discussing it with her, turning to talk with other classmates. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Wen Li vaguely heard someone say, “Should we invite Wen Li?” but before her expectation could arise, she heard Xu Wei say, “She can’t go, don’t ask her.”
They responded with an “Oh,” and after that, they seemed to completely forget about Wen Li, never mentioning her again.
A feeling of being ignored and unable to control her own freedom arose from the depths of her heart. Wen Li clenched her fist, sharp fingernails digging into her palm, spreading pain through her hand.
She bit her teeth, struggled for a moment, and then called out to Xu Wei.
“You… last time you said that leaking Ji’s confidential documents could suppress Ji Tingyang, can it really…?”
A shrewd light flashed in Xu Wei’s eyes, fleeting. She suppressed the excitement in her heart and pretended to recall hard, “Oh yeah, it was something… something new energy?”
“Confidential, it must be very difficult to get, right?” Wen Li said.
Ever since she was caught sneaking into the study last time, the door to the study started to be locked. Whenever she looked at the study a bit longer, Lin Xu would stare at her vigilantly.
She couldn’t even enter the study, let alone steal documents.
“That’s true, but…” Xu Wei whispered into her ear, “If you use a little seduction, couldn’t you get your hands on anything confidential.”
Wen Li looked hesitant.
“Haha, I’m just kidding. Just take it as a casual remark.” Xu Wei laughed a few times and didn’t continue the discussion on this topic, returning to talk about the vacation with a nearby classmate.
Wen Li also forced an awkward laugh.
The National Day is observed domestically, but not abroad, so the international business departments still had to work overtime.
As the president, Ji Tingyang also had to work overtime.
However, since Lin Xu would pick him up from work, to avoid making her wait too long, Ji Tingyang would bring unfinished work home and continue in the study after dinner.
That night, Wen Li went downstairs to get water and saw the light was still on in the study, her thoughts stirring slightly.
Her steps carried her to the study door, where she knocked.
“Come in,” a deep voice came from inside.
The door was pushed open.
Ji Tingyang set down his pen, rubbed his tired nose, and looked up while saying offhandedly, “It’s still early, I’ll continue…”
His voice trailed off.
When he worked overtime in the study, Lin Xu would often come in to urge him to go back to his room to rest and would sometimes bring in some snacks.
He had expected Lin Xu today, but unexpectedly, it was Wen Li, his expression one of startled surprise.
“Is there something you need?” Ji Tingyang asked.
Meeting his gaze, Wen Li felt nervous, her voice tense, “I… I saw the light in the study was always on, so I came to check.”
Her hand holding the cup tightened, as if mustering courage, “Are you hungry, do you want to go down and eat something?”
Ji Tingyang raised an eyebrow, somewhat amazed.
Wen Li had always avoided him, and yet today she was actively showing concern for him, even inviting him to have late-night snacks together.
Going a long time without a response, the courage that Wen Li had finally mustered up had all but vanished.
“Forget it, I’m going back to my room,”
She said and was about to turn around and leave.
“Wait,” Ji Tingyang hurriedly called after her, “What would you like to eat?”
Ji Tingyang felt this was a sign that Wen Li wanted to reconcile with him. If he missed this opportunity, their relationship would never improve.
His mother often said to seize the moment, and this time he had to grasp it well.
As he asked, he had already walked up to Wen Li’s side.
“Is barbecue okay?” Wen Li asked.
“Then I’ll ask Aunt Zhang to get it ready.”
There were many kitchen utensils at home, and Aunt Zhang quickly prepared everything needed for the barbecue.
The pork belly sizzled on the grill, releasing a fragrance that wafted through the air.
“Do you want to have some alcohol?” Wen Li said.
Ji Tingyang didn’t want to dampen her spirits, so he agreed.
He found that Wen Li really did seem to want to make up with him. She even took the initiative to pour him drinks. Overwhelmed with happiness, he unconsciously drank one cup after another.
The scene before his eyes began to blur.
Ji Tingyang’s tolerance was good; he didn’t become violent when drunk, but simply sat in silence, staring at Wen Li.
The way Wen Li was being watched made her feel uneasy. She broached tentatively, “Shall I take you back to your room to rest?”
“Sure.” Ji Tingyang was very agreeable after drinking.
Wen Li supported his arm, led him back to the bedroom to lie down, and covered him with the quilt.
When she passed by the study again and saw the open door, she slipped in.
The project document about the new energy was openly lying on the desk, seemingly the one Ji Tingyang had just been looking at and hadn’t had time to put away.
She took out her phone and photographed every page of the document. Then she returned everything to its original state and left the study.
Back in the bedroom, Wen Li excitedly paced around a few times, amazed at how easy everything had been.
Eager to share this thrilling feeling, she immediately made a call to Xu Wei.
“I got it!”
“Hmm?” Xu Wei was confused.
“The confidential document you told me about, I got it!”
“What?!” Xu Wei was shocked, having not expected that Wen Li would actually succeed.
“Should I send it to Xie Group’s email right now?” Wen Li remembered that Xie’s and Ji’s were rival companies.
“Wait a minute, don’t send it yet! That would expose you,” Xu Wei advised, “I know someone, we can go through him…”
—-
The National Day holiday meant that everyone was happily playing, but returning to work afterwards brought just as much depression.
Especially for the employees of Ji Group, who felt a heavy atmosphere spreading from the top down.
Who could have imagined that right after the National Day holiday, the company’s major project would be snatched away by their competitor, Xie Group.
They had invested a lot of effort in the project, even tightening the budget on other projects to ensure more funds were available for this one.
The exchange with the partner had gone smoothly, so who could have anticipated that just before signing the contract, the partner would change their mind and choose Xie Group instead.
Ji Tingyang was furious at the company, picking faults with everyone he met and deducting a lot of their bonuses.
Within the company, everyone felt at risk, and nobody dared to provoke further trouble.