Unraveling Connections

Although she thought they were just being polite, she couldn't help but feel a little happy.

So, she deliberately added an extra half spoonful of tofu pudding to their bowls.

"Thank you, beauty!" the boy named Wang Hei beamed and asked, "Can we take a photo with you? I'll help advertise for you at school!"

Delighted at the prospect of free advertising, Rong Xuelan posed for a few photos under Wang Hei's direction.

The boy left with their tofu pudding, but after walking a short distance, they suddenly erupted into excited chatter.

"Ahhh, he's really so beautiful!"

"Did you see it? She smiled at me just now!"

"But she already has a kid..."

"Maybe it's her little brother? She looks about our age. How could she have a child?"

...

While Rong Xuelan was busy selling tofu pudding, Qi Yu was also swamped with work.

The mess at the Huanfei Commercial Building project wasn't a major issue for him.

His approach to handling it was straightforward: since the substandard steel bars hadn't been used yet, they just needed to be replaced with ones that met quality standards.

To make up for lost time, the workers could work overtime for a few days, and he would simply pay them extra.

The evidence for Li Daikun committing dangerous driving and embezzlement was conclusive.

The building materials supplier he was colluding with was also arrested.

Next, it was just a matter of waiting for the public prosecution, trial, and judgment to recover the losses.

What truly kept Qi Yu busy, however, was investigating Rong Xuelan.

For some background checks that were less than suitable for public handling, Qi Yu entrusted Secretary Tang to contact private investigators.

When Secretary Tang submitted Rong Xuelan's information to the investigator, the feedback came almost immediately: Rong Xuelan was the same person with whom Qi Yu had had a one-night stand over a year ago.

Qi Yu had always been known for his clean and disciplined lifestyle.

The only exception had been over a year ago when a competitor drugged him.

In a haze, he had grabbed a young woman and taken her to a hotel.

The next morning, the young woman was gone.

Believing she had been sent by his competitor to entrap him, Qi Yu became wary of potential trouble and specifically instructed Secretary Tang to investigate and resolve any issues.

To his surprise, Secretary Tang reported back that the young woman had no connection to the drugging incident.

She had just been a passerby at the karaoke bar.

The KTV owner revealed that the woman had come to apply for a night security job.

Her name was Rong Xuelan.

The owner, however, deemed her too petite for the role and didn't hire her.

Rong Xuelan left shortly thereafter.

A week passed, and the competitor made no move.

Qi Yu successfully secured the project.

With no further complications from that one-night stand, he put the incident out of his mind.

Now, seeing Rong Xuelan again, he finally understood the strange sense of familiarity he'd felt when he first saw her.