Chapter 158 — Then Who Could It Be?

The excuse sounded terrible even to Lan Zheng, but that was what happened exactly. He had already reprimanded the employee in question.

"So you're telling me that in spite of the competitive salary the company pays you all, you guys at the security department just cross your legs and practice being useless all day?"

Lan Zheng could only lower his head. Although the words were harsh, it was a fact that they had failed in their duty.

Li Chuanmo began giving orders. "Secure all nearby CCTV footages within a five-kilometer radius. Time frame is from 12 midnight. Also speak with the employees on the ground floor and compile a list of suspicious persons.

"And send that employee to the HR immediately. I need a detailed report on how he forgot to turn on the CCTV for a whole day. If you're feeling generous, remind him that his report will determine if he would get off lightly as being merely negligent or cause him to be questioned by the police as an accomplice."

Lan Zheng nodded to show he understood.

"I don't care how you do it, but I want results by tomorrow, else I'll give you a kind suggestion to start getting your CV ready."

The implication was that he would have to go hunting for a new job.

Li Chuanmo's voice that had become even lower due to anger sent shivers down Lan Zheng's spine. He had never seen the chairman so angry before.

"Make sure you also file a police report." Li Chuanmo finished. He was not too keen on that because the police had not found anything concerning the last incident.

He nodded again and was about to leave when Pei Yueran, who had began to calm down, added "How about the CCTV for the thirtieth floor?" Although it was usually not in use, she held out hope that it could have captured something.

Lan Zheng shook his head, "It's out of commission."

She nodded absentmindedly and waited for Lan Zheng to leave before asking, "Chuan, do you think it's the handiwork of that lady?"

She was referring to Fu Mengyao, who was currently serving her jail term in City M's district prison. Her father, who had been running around trying to appeal her sentence had aged a decade in a few months.

Li Chuanmo didn't think for long before dismissing that thought. It couldn't be her at all. Leaving aside the fact that she was still mentally unstable in prison, even a thousand Fu Mengyaos would be unable to carry out a scheme like this.

Her brainpower was simply inadequate.

"Then who could it be?" Pei Yueran questioned in a low voice. The repeated attacks annoyed her to no end, but she was really frightened today.

Thankfully Han Yichen was in the boarding school, and she knew Anping First Middle School had a really good security system, so she could rest at ease a bit.

She hadn't told him about the attacks either. She didn't want him to be affected by the mess.

The only love rival she knew of was Fu Mengyao, who tried to kill her some months back.

Li Chuanmo clenched his fists as he heard the fear in her voice. He felt like strangling the culprit, but he didn't even know who to direct his anger at. All he could say was that whoever it was, he or she had better hide properly.

"I will get to the bottom of this, I promise." He said with a quiet confidence that strangely assured Pei Yueran. She nodded. Still her brows furrowed as her mind spun, thinking of possible suspects.

"I wonder who would benefit the most from this. Your ex is not in the country so she can be ruled out, maybe one of your many admirers? Chuan?" Pei Yueran asked, thinking aloud, but when Li Chuanmo went strangely silent, she looked at him.

Li Chuanmo on his part felt his mind go blank for a second. That's right, how could he have forgotten?

Xie Weiwan. She was back in the country. He pondered for a moment. Could she really be behind this? But it wouldn't make sense at all. How could she have gained access into the company in the first place?

He didn't believe she could pull this off. But then again, he didn't believe she could cheat on him and kick him to the curb either.

He had realized that from the beginning, he never knew her well.

And just thinking about that smile of hers the last time he saw her made alarm bells go off in his head. What if—

"Chuan? Li Chuanmo?" Pei Yueran called, reaching out to pat his knee. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just remembered something. Don't worry about it."

Because they kept getting interrupted whenever he wanted to tell her about Xie Weiwan's visit, she still didn't know that she was in town.

And now, he didn't want to tell her. He could see that she was already stressed, frightened and generally not in a good state of mind. He worried that knowing would only cause more problems.

He didn't feel at ease letting her go home alone, so he asked, "Would you like to come and stay with me?"

Pei Yueran thought about it, but shook her head in the end. "There's no need for that, I'll be fine. Asides from the office, I don't go anywhere else anyways. And I've learned not to open the door for strangers."

Li Chuanmo nodded. "Okay, but let me take you home at least." Pei Yueran gratefully agreed. She couldn't deny that having him around was very reassuring.

On the way, they dropped by the local supermarket and bought groceries. They both had the same idea—to stock up her fridge. Li Chuanmo also wanted to whip something up for her.

Once they arrived at her home, Pei Yueran went in to change her clothes, while he went to the kitchen to brew some calming tea for her. He also made egg fried rice for dinner.

As he watched her drink the tea, the sight of her face that still hadn't regained their color caused his eyes to darken visibly to the color of the bonsai on her window sill. His aura was practically freezing.

Whoever was responsible for this would pay dearly. He would make sure of it.

While she got ready for bed, he checked the locks of her apartment. He decided he would install a CCTV camera in a location that would capture her front door view.

When he went back inside, Pei Yueran walked to him, dressed in a flowery flannel nightdress that went past her knees.

On a normal day, Li Chuanmo would have seized the opportunity to tease her about how old fashioned it looked and how he would love to see her wear something more revealing in a few weeks, but today was hardly the day for such jokes.

He held out his arms, and she walked into them willingly, wrapping her arms around his waist. He patted her head that was resting on his chest. "Make sure you get some sleep, and don't stay up late, okay? You'll be fine. I will not let anyone hurt you, I promise."

It was a promise he wanted to keep with every fibre of his being.

Pei Yueran nodded.

They stood just hugging for a few minutes. Then Li Chuanmo placed a kiss on her forehead, and another one on her lips. "Good night Ran. I love you."

She inclined her head, managing a small smile. "I love you too, Chuan."

On his way down, he spoke to the security guards to be cautious and inform him if any suspicious or unusual people came looking for Pei Yueran.

The apartment complex was owned by the Li Conglomerate, and most of the people who lived there worked in one of their branch companies. The security guards agreed to do so.

When he got home, he went straight to the study and sat down to think.

He hated it. He really hated the current situation of things. It was unlike him to be so passive. He had so much power at his disposal, but his fiance's had been threatened three times, and he had been unable to do anything about it.

He decided that the feelings of anger and powerlessness simmering beneath his calm facade needed to be vented, so he left the study again and went to the gym, stopping by his room to change.

As his legs moved in tune with the rhythm of the treadmill, his mind turned to his ex-wife.

He had begun investigating Xie Weiwan immediately she came back on his radar. The information he got on how her life had been like since she divorced him was extremely ironic.

He wondered sardonically if that was the kind of love she was so hellbent on, if that kind of love was worth abandoning him and their son for.

He furrowed his brows tightly once more. He had been tracking her whereabouts her since that day, but he suddenly hit a brick wall some weeks ago when he discovered that she had been reported missing.