Chapter Forty-Five

  Li Jin returned to the Li residence when the clock hand had just passed five o'clock in the afternoon.

  Li's residence has always followed the old master's rules and started dinner early. When Li Jinmai entered the gate, he heard the fragrance of rice and dishes wafting out like a beautiful woman rushing towards him, making his heart flutter and wanting to rush up without regard for dignity.

  He was really starving, having skipped two meals, and had gone hungry for a whole day.

  But he immediately stopped this idea of playing with fire, because Mr. Li Yi Heng was sitting leisurely on the sofa in the living room reading a magazine.

  Li Jin was extremely surprised, because according to Mr. Li's schedule, at this moment, he should be having dinner with a certain noble lady.

  Li Yiheng was also a bit surprised when he saw him, but for another reason: "Is everything settled?"

  Li Jing nodded and took off her thick woolen coat, casually throwing it over the armrest of the sofa: "Mm-hmm."

  Li Yiheng narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at him in disbelief as he sat down beside him. Outside, the temperature was dropping rapidly, and Li Jin brought a chill with him as soon as he entered.

  "In less than a day's time..." Li Yiheng confirmed once again, "So soon?"

  Li Jin picked up an apple and took a bite without peeling it: "Hmmm, things aren't as complicated as I thought."

  Li Yiheng used his left index finger to support his chin and smiled mysteriously.

  Li Jin was baptized by such a gaze, but suddenly he didn't notice. He finished the apple in two or three bites, and only then did he feel that the strength lost from his body had returned. Then he started talking to Li Yi Heng about serious matters: "Boss, I want to resign."

  Li Yi Heng's right eyelid twitched: "What's going on?"

  On the way back, Li Jin made a draft of what he wanted to say. In the end, he decided to be honest with Mr. Li - not being honest wouldn't work either. Mr. Li was a sharp person, and trying to deceive him would be like a child showing off in front of an adult.

  "Director Qin wants to start his own company, and Lu Fei's name is on the list of candidates for the first batch of signed artists," said Li Jin. "I want to join Director Qin's company and be Lu Fei's agent."

  "Qin Yige has finally decided to start his own company?" Li Yihe concentrated for a moment, then asked, "What position did he arrange for you?"

  "It's not decided yet, but it won't be too bad." Lei Jin thought of Bei Fuming's serious expression. As Qin Yige's right-hand man, he came to ask himself to join so seriously, which fully explained Qin Yige's intention. "Besides, I just want to be Luo Fei's agent anyway."

  Li Yiheng fell silent, as if this news came so suddenly that he couldn't accept it for a while.

  "I know it's a bit abrupt," said Lijin, "but don't worry about the handover of work, I'll stay for another half month until the new assistant can take over. As compensation, my previous salary will also..."

  "That has nothing to do with this." Li Yiheng interrupted him, just as he was about to continue speaking, Aileen had already prepared dinner and walked out of the kitchen.

  "Xiao Jin?" Ailin exclaimed in surprise, "When did you come back? Why didn't you even tell me? I steamed lotus leaf chicken, come and eat quickly."

  As she spoke, she almost dragged Li Jin into the dining hall by the arm.

  Mr. Li was cut off mid-sentence and swallowed his words, but he didn't get angry, putting down the magazine on the tea table and following them to the dining hall.

  "Aileen now cares about you more than she cares about me." It was said with a tone that was both strange and resentful, yet also seemed to contain a hint of teasing.

  Li Jin turned back in surprise, while Li Yi's eyebrows relaxed, but he seemed to have never said such childish words.

  Because he hadn't yet obtained Li Yi Heng's consent, Li Jin didn't reveal his plans to Ai Lin. So during dinner, Ai Lin asked him in a coaxing tone if the dishes were delicious and fragrant, and even promised to make famous dishes like steamed pork with preserved egg and old duck stew for him in the future. Li Jin recalled that when Li Yi Heng came to find him last night, he had said that Ai Lin was worried, at which time he thought it was just an excuse, but now it seemed that it was all true.

  He surprisingly agreed with a warm heart and said he must appreciate Eileen's craftsmanship more.

  After dinner, Li Yiheng called Li Jin to his room. Li Yiheng's room was very large, a suite with a bedroom inside and a study outside, against the wall were two large bookshelves filled with books in various languages from ancient and modern times, China and abroad.

  Li Yiheng asked him to sit for a while and walked into the bedroom himself, doing something unknown.

  The rattan chair in the study was a bit hard, so Li Jin sat for a while and felt uncomfortable. She got up to examine the two large bookshelves, then casually took down the books that interested her and put them on the table, scanning them quickly. As she looked through them, her neck began to ache, so she turned her head and caught sight of the photo frame beside her hand.

  In the frame, Ke Yuan is wrapped in a thick gray and white coat, as if he is afraid of the cold. His somewhat long hair is supported by a thick scarf, making him look a bit disheveled. He seems to be walking steadily on the road, but suddenly someone calls out from behind him, so he turns his head back, with a bewildered expression.

  Li Jin doesn't remember this photo at all.

  He picked up the photo frame, the background in the picture was blurry, even on a bustling street, but the photographer seemed to be completely unaware of the second person in this world. In the secret lens, he loudly declared his love with a still image.

  Li Yiheng must often be like this, holding the frame tightly in his hand, during the intervals of working at his desk or staying up all night, stroking the eyebrows and eyes of the person in the mirror.

  The wooden frame was rubbed smooth and glossy, leaving a shallow and elegant fingerprint on the glass surface.

  "Li Jin," someone suddenly spoke up from the bedroom and walked out, "take a look at this."

  Li Jinru put down the photo frame in her hand like a startled bird, and the wooden frame collided with the wooden desk, making a dull noise that couldn't be covered up.

  Li Yiheng's gaze suddenly solidified, he walked a few steps to the desk, carefully picked up the fallen photo frame, and carefully placed it back in its original position.

  "Don't move." He growled in a low voice.

  "Sorry." Li Jin bowed his head in apology.

  Li Yiheng also realized that his attitude was a bit bad, so he took three deep breaths and handed the document in his hand to Li Jin: "Take a look at this."

  Li Jin took it over.

  The file was marked "Top Secret" and wasn't very thick. The tone of the text inside was inconsistent, it was clear at a glance that it had been compiled by different people, and even a few pages were written in English, signed off by some foreign Ph.D.

  Li Jin only read a few pages before his breathing became rapid, and by the time he quickly browsed through the file, his chest was violently heaving, almost unable to suppress the intense emotions in his heart.

  "Is this the stock transaction record of Shu Mu and He Yueshang?" Li Jinchao furrowed his brow, quickly flipping through the documents in his hand. "After Ke Yuan's death, he repaid the misappropriated public funds on behalf of Ke Yuan, and introduced He Yueshang to take over Ke Yuan's shares. At the same time, he also acquired some small shareholders' shares... Now, he is the largest shareholder of HM Company, no, the only shareholder."

  "It seems you've made a lot of progress, being able to understand such complex financial documents." Li Yiheng joked.

  Li Jin glared at him, as if condemning his lack of timing, and carefully checked a page of the document: "It shows that He Yuesong is just a nominal shareholder, replacing Ke Yuan's debt repayment, taking over Ke Yuan's shares, and acquiring small shareholders' shares, all using Shu Mu's own money." Li Jin furrowed her brow, "Where did he get so much money?"

  As he spoke, he looked at Li Yiheng with a scrutinizing gaze.

  Li Yi Heng hastily clarified: "The money I had someone transfer into his account to help Ke Yuan repay the debt, he later returned to me." He said, flipping open a page of the file, where the transaction record clearly showed this entry. "However, as a top star at Shu Mu for ten years, he must have some savings. At the very least, he earns a guaranteed 30 million per year, so accumulating a few hundred million in assets shouldn't be difficult."

  When HM company was just starting out, he clearly told me that he spent lavishly and almost all the money he earned was gone.

  And his financial situation has always been open with me, it's simply impossible...

  No, it's possible.

  Li Jin closed her eyes, and in her mind's eye appeared that day when everyone was watching, Shu Mu branding a lingering kiss on He Yuesong's brow.

  Great, Shu Mu, you deceived me again.

  Li Jin sat on the rattan chair, forcing himself to breathe slowly to prevent his intense anger from overwhelming his rationality. He re-examined the documents in his hand, this time with even greater care and attention.

  Mr. Li seems to have started investigating the current situation of HM Company not long after Ke Yuan's death. This document contains HM Company's financial transactions, accounting statements and major business expenditures for the past year. It can be said that the operation of HM Company in the past year is fully reflected in this document. Even more, the last English document records Shu Mu's financial situation for nearly three months and makes a brief predictive analysis of his investment consumption.

  Too detailed.

  Ling Jin raised his head and asked coldly: "Why do you have this?"

  "Because I also suspect Shu Mu," Li Yi Heng said, "I'm curious, what does he want to do after all."

  Li Jin noticed sharply that he used the word "also".

  "What do you know?" he asked.