Can't afford to pay for the takeout? Stunning CEO: Then pay with your body!

Chapter 97 A barking dog doesn't bite!

The ambiguous atmosphere in the cabin was frozen into ice crystals by Zhang Yan's words.

Nie Qingcheng's hand, which was unbuttoning her clothes, froze in mid-air. Her dazed eyes instantly cleared, as if she had been splashed with cold water.

She knew Zhang Yan too well. This man was usually as lazy as a cat basking in the sun, but once he showed that look in his eyes, it meant something was really wrong.

"What happened?"

Nie Qingcheng quickly straightened her disheveled clothes, and the languid, feminine demeanor receded like the tide, replaced by a chilling calmness.

"I just glanced at the news notifications on my phone, and something seems off."

Zhang Yan casually made up an excuse, put his phone back in his pocket, and helped her pull up her slipped silk robe. "It seems like our 'base camp' has been attacked."

The plane began its descent, passing through thick clouds, and the dazzling night view of Jinghai City unfolded outside the porthole.

But beneath this bustling facade, undercurrents are surging.

……

Jinghai International Airport, private helipad.

The rain was heavy, pattering against the concrete and splashing up a layer of white mist.

Several black Mercedes-Benz vans were parked there early on, their hazard lights flashing and windshield wipers swishing wildly, exuding an air of anxiety.

As soon as the hatch opened, a damp, cold wind rushed in.

Nie Qingcheng's secretary, Linda, didn't even bother to open an umbrella. She stumbled up the gangway in her high heels, her hair soaked by the rain and plastered to her forehead, making her look extremely disheveled.

"President Nie! Something terrible has happened!"

Linda's voice was filled with anxiety, and the tablet she was holding was trembling. "Half an hour ago, the core bid data for the '10 Billion New City' project was leaked! Just now, Tianqing Capital suddenly announced its involvement in the bidding, and..."

She swallowed hard, avoiding Nie Qingcheng's eyes: "Furthermore, their preliminary plan overlaps with our core design by a whopping 90%, and their quote... is exactly five million lower than our bottom line!"

five million.

In projects worth tens of billions, this number is as precise as a scalpel, directly severing all avenues for survival for the Qingcheng Group.

This is an open card.

The other party is telling everyone: I see through your cards.

Nie Qingcheng stood on the gangway, her trench coat fluttering in the wind.

She didn't get angry, and her expression didn't even change. She simply reached out and took the tablet from Linda's hand, quickly glancing at it.

"Who did it?"

She asked.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was as cold as the icy rain falling from the sky.

"Still under investigation..."

Linda replied, "But the company is in complete chaos right now, and the stock price has already hit the daily limit down in after-hours trading."

"besides……"

"What else? Tell me."

"The board of directors... Chairman Liu, along with several minority shareholders, is causing trouble in the meeting room, saying they're initiating an 'emergency accountability procedure,' demanding... demanding you return to the company immediately to explain, otherwise..."

"Or else you'll dismiss me?"

Nie Qingcheng scoffed and casually tossed the tablet back to Linda. "These old fogies, they complain about meat getting stuck in their teeth when it's time to eat it, but when trouble comes, they run faster than rabbits."

She turned her head and looked at Zhang Yan behind her.

The little woman who had just been begging for pleasure on the plane seemed to have died in the clouds, while the one standing in the rain now was the ruthless and decisive Jianghai Queen, "Bamboo Leaf Green".

"Zhang Yan, you go back to the villa first."

Nie Qingcheng's voice softened a bit, but it still carried an undeniable air of authority: "Company matters are too dirty; don't get involved."

In her view, although Zhang Yan is talented and skilled in both fighting and painting, his business dealings and backstabbing are completely different from his overt conflicts.

She didn't want him to see her in such a sorry state, and she didn't want him to get involved in this mess.

Zhang Yan remained silent.

He simply opened a long-handled black umbrella, walked to Nie Qingcheng's side, and tilted most of the umbrella over her head to shield her from the wind and rain.

"I'm your intern, Mr. Nie."

Zhang Yan had one hand in his pocket and the other steadily holding an umbrella, a reassuring smile on his face. "The boss is going to work overtime, and I, as his subordinate, am going home to sleep? Isn't that a bit unprofessional of me to be a kept man?"

"But……"

"There's no 'but' about it."

Zhang Yan interrupted her, put his arm around her shoulder, and led her to the car. "Besides, I wasn't full from that hairy crab earlier. I heard your company cafeteria has pretty good late-night snacks?"

Nie Qingcheng was stunned for a moment. Feeling the warmth from her shoulder, her nerves, which had been so tense they were about to break, inexplicably relaxed a little.

"Fool."

She cursed under her breath, but didn't push him away. Instead, she leaned closer to him and said, "If you start fighting later, remember to stay far away."

……

The Mercedes convoy tore through the rain and sped toward the City Tower in the city center.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Linda sat in the passenger seat, constantly making and receiving phone calls, reporting one bad news after another.

"The PR department can't handle it anymore. The trending topics are exploding, all questioning our internal management..."

"The bank called and said they need to reassess our credit limit..."

"Chairman Liu and the others smashed cups in the conference room, saying that if you don't arrive within ten minutes, they'll just vote..."

Each message was like a heavy hammer blow, striking the backbone of the Qingcheng Group.

Nie Qingcheng leaned back in the seat, closed her eyes, and tapped her fingers rhythmically on the armrest.

She is reviewing the situation.

The tender documents were top secret; only she and a few core executives had access to them. The computer storing the tender documents was triple-encrypted and physically isolated from the network.

unless……

There are ghosts.

Moreover, this mole is of a very high rank, and may even be the person she trusts most.

The feeling of being betrayed by someone close to you is more disgusting than business failure.

A warm, large hand suddenly covered the back of her hand.

Nie Qingcheng opened her eyes and met Zhang Yan's calm gaze.

"Your hands are so cold?"

Zhang Yan pulled a hand warmer out of his pocket—he'd bought it casually at the airport convenience store—torn open the packaging, and stuffed it into her hand, saying, "Warm yourself up."

"You still have the mind to worry about this at a time like this?"

Nie Qingcheng gave a bitter smile.

"Even if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up; you're not tall."

Zhang Yan pinched her cheek. "Besides, there's no use rushing when it comes to catching mice. You have to let them show their tails on their own."

Catching mice?

Nie Qingcheng's heart skipped a beat.

At the same time, the system interface was flashing wildly in Zhang Yan's mind.

[Ding! Host detected as being at the center of a business crisis.]

[Initiating basic hacker scan...]

[Target locked: Qingcheng Group's internal network.]

[Data flow analysis in progress...]

On Zhang Yan's retina, countless green codes flashed by like a waterfall.

He was searching for that crack, the source that had destroyed the multi-billion dollar project.

"Found it."

Zhang Yan's pupils contracted slightly.

It was not an external intrusion.

There were no signs of a hacker attack.

That tender document was copied directly from the president's office computer using a USB drive at 3:40 PM today.

And at that point in time...

Zhang Yan glanced at Nie Qingcheng beside him.

At that time, she was on a plane, flirting with him.

The president's office has a fingerprint lock and iris recognition. Who can get in besides Nie Qingcheng?

The system cursor blinked, eventually settling on a name.

Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow.

interesting.

The play was even more exciting than he had imagined.

"What's wrong?"

Nie Qingcheng noticed Zhang Yan's unusual behavior and asked him sharply.

Zhang Yan withdrew his gaze, toying with a coin in his hand, a playful smile curving his lips.

"It's nothing."

He leaned close to Nie Qingcheng's ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Wife, when we get to the conference room, no matter what those old men shout, don't rush to speak."

Why?

"because……"

Zhang Yan looked out the car window at the Qingcheng Building getting closer and closer. The skyscraper looked like a sharp sword stuck in the rainy night, but its sharpness was obscured by dark clouds.

"Because a dog that really bites doesn't bark."

……

The top-floor conference room of the City of Beauty Building.

The heavy mahogany door was suddenly pushed open.

The conference room, which had been as noisy as a market, fell silent for a second.

Nie Qingcheng strode in.

She changed into a black suit, wearing ten-centimeter red-soled high heels, her long hair was tied up, and she wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that concealed the fatigue in her eyes, revealing only her breathtaking queen-like aura.

Zhang Yan followed behind her, carrying the Hermes bag, like a dutiful little follower, but his eyes scanned everyone present the moment he entered the room.

The long conference table was filled with directors in suits.

The first one on the left is a bald, middle-aged fat man who is twirling a pen in his hand with a greasy face.

Chairman Liu is the ringleader of this power struggle.

"Oh, Mr. Nie, you've finally arrived."

Chairman Liu spoke with a forced smile, his tone full of sarcasm, "We thought President Nie was having too much fun in his harem to care about us old guys."

"I heard that President Nie's trip to Beijing this time was for that... oh, that food delivery boyfriend?"

Chairman Liu's gaze fell on Zhang Yan, and he snorted contemptuously, "What? The company is about to go bankrupt, and you still bring this kind of scoundrel to the board meeting? Is this a place for playing house?"

"Snapped!"

Nie Qingcheng slammed the folder in her hand heavily onto the table.

The crisp sound made the fat on Chairman Liu's face tremble three times.

"Mr. Liu, if you want to chat about gossip, turn left after you go out and you'll find the tea room; that's perfect for you."

Nie Qingcheng placed her hands on the table, looking down at him condescendingly. "If you want to talk about the company, then shut your mouth and listen to me."

"What did you say?!"

Enraged, Chairman Liu slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly, shouting, "How did you manage to ruin this multi-billion dollar project?"

"Tell me how you caused the company's market value to evaporate by two billion?!"

"Nie Qingcheng! You've disappointed us terribly! You have absolutely no ability to manage this group!"

"I propose it!"

Chairman Liu looked around and roared, "Immediately dismiss Nie Qingcheng from her position as president! The board of directors will take over the company and thoroughly investigate the leak!"

I second that.

I second that.

Several minority shareholders who had already conspired raised their hands.

The situation instantly turned one-sided.

Nie Qingcheng stood there, looking at the faces that had once been respectful to her but now wished they could devour her alive, and felt a chill run down her spine.

This is a shopping mall.

There is no loyalty, only self-interest.

Just then, Zhang Yan, who had been standing in the corner like a ghost, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Pfft."

The laughter sounded particularly abrupt in the tense meeting room.

Everyone glared at him.

"What are you laughing at?!"

Chairman Liu pointed at Zhang Yan and yelled, "Get out! You have no right to speak here!"

Zhang Yan ignored him, and simply strolled over to the conference table, pulled out a chair, and sat down casually.

He pulled a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, popped it into his mouth, then looked up at Chairman Liu and mumbled:

"I laughed at you guys for being so into your acting that you didn't even realize your pants were falling down."

"What did you say?!"

I said…

Zhang Yan took out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and then turned the screen towards the crowd.

On the screen is a screenshot of a surveillance video.

Although somewhat blurry, it is clear that a figure is sneaking out of the CEO's office, clutching a black USB drive in his hand.

In the instant that figure turned its head, that face was clearly exposed to the camera.

The conference room fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone's gaze instinctively turned to the middle-aged woman sitting to Nie Qingcheng's right, who kept her head down and remained silent.

That was Nie Qingcheng's aunt, Nie Hongmei, who was also the group's financial director.

Nie Qingcheng's body swayed suddenly, as if she had been stabbed hard in the back, and she turned her head in disbelief.

"Auntie...is that you?"

Nie Hongmei's face was as pale as paper, and the teacup in her hand fell to the ground with a "clang" and shattered.

Zhang Yan chewed the candy in his mouth, stood up, walked behind Nie Hongmei, and placed his hands on her shoulders as if a demon were whispering.

Don't rush to deny it.

"I have something even more interesting here."

"For example... where did the ten million that suddenly appeared in your son's account yesterday come from?"

"Would you like me to read out the name of the person making the remittance?"

Zhang Yan's voice was soft, yet it was like a thunderclap, sending chills down the spines of everyone present.

"The remitter is... Tianqing Capital."