Chapter 526 - Did You Still Have the Time to Miss Me? You’ve Been so Busy Clubbing (1/2)
Huo Jinyao stayed silent while Ding Qing stood there with a guilty face. Ding Qing made a bet. She bet that Su Qingsang would not ask Huo Jinyao about this matter again when he got home.
Her explanation would still be justified even if Su Qingsang decided to ask him about it again. She was ninety percent confident that she would be get away with it.
Huo Jinyao looked at Ding Qing. Ding Qing was a capable employee. Her performance at work had been remarkable since she took over Zhang Yang.
She was even more thoughtful about some matters, compared to Zhang Yang, because she was a woman.
Huo Jinyao didn’t want to replace her for the time being.
However, that decision was conditional.
“Miss. Ding.”
Ding Qing stood there still. She wasn’t sure if Huo Jinyao would accept her explanation and forgive her. If he didn’t, she could only blame her bad luck.
“I hope that you understand one thing.”
“Yes, President Huo.” Ding Qing dropped her head and put on a very humble face.
“I understand that everyone makes some small mistakes during work, or cause some imperfections. But, matters which include my wife is the bottom line. Do you understand?”
Su Qingsang wasn’t an unreasonable person. She couldn’t possibly be unhappy because he hadn’t told her about the apartments he owned in Minghua Xindu.
That wasn’t Su Qingsang’s nature. Huo Jinyao believed that there was some other reason, and that reason likely had something to do with Ding Qing.
Ding Qing overlapped her hands on her chest and didn’t raise her head. “I’m sorry, President Huo. I promise it won’t happen again,” she said.
“I assume you know what’ll happen if I find out that you did lie to my face.”
Ding Qing felt like she was under immense pressure at the moment, so much so that her back started sweating. “President Huo, I didn’t lie. What I said is true. I…”
“Miss. Ding.” Huo Jinyao looked at her and asked, “are you sure that my wife is upset because I didn’t tell her about those properties that I have?”
“That’s not what I meant,” replied Ding Qing, dropping her eyelids. “Maybe I said something wrong. Maybe something I said displeased Mrs. Huo. It was all my fault anyway.”
“I’m glad you’re aware of that.” Huo Jinyao dropped his head and stopped looking at Ding Qing. At that moment, Ding Qing could feel the perspiration streaming down her back. “President Huo, I’m sorry. It was my fault. Please give me another chance.”
It was quiet in the office. Huo Jinyao stayed silent, focusing on his work.
He didn’t tell Ding Qing to leave, nor did he tell her how badly she could be punished.
Ding Qing moved her lips slightly. She wanted to talk again so badly. Huo Jinyao finally finished reading a few files in his hands and raised his head to look at her again.
“I will give you another chance,” he told her. He looked at Ding Qing, waved a hand, and said, “but if this happens again, don’t blame me for having no mercy.”
Ding Qing had worked hard to solve the problem that Qiao Hong caused. She had even gotten her foot injured for that.
Huo Jinyao wasn’t a cold-hearted person in general. He wouldn’t simply fire his secretary and get a new one unless he absolutely had to, for good reasons.
Ding Qing turned and left. She sighed with relief as she walked out of Huo Jinyao’s office.
That was a close one, and she was safe, for now.
She had been a little impatient this time. Next time, she would be careful not to make the same mistake again.
There wouldn’t be the next time, though.
She turned around and glanced at Huo Jinyao’s office with a determined look in her eyes.
…
Yang Wenchang came into Huo Jinyao’s office before Huo Jinyao got off work.
He had Qiao Hong’s bank accounts checked thoroughly, but no issues were found.
That was not normal. Qiao Hong seemed to have acted on an impulse at that time. Now, Huo Jinyao believed that he had every reason to doubt that the whole thing wasn’t as simple as it had looked like.
“That is not normal.”
Huo Jinyao knocked on the desk gently. He looked at Yang Wenchang with a serious look and asked, “are you sure? Have you checked all his accounts? What about the accounts of his families?”
“Yes, I’ve checked them all.” Yang Wenchang sounded affirmative. “I’ve even checked the bank accounts of Qiao Hong’s grandparents.”
“Anything suspicious?”
“No.”
“They didn’t move, did they?”
“No,” Yang Wenchang replied. Yang Wenchang was a very capable person. He surely wouldn’t allow himself to make silly mistakes. “Qiao Hong’s parents live in a cheap neighborhood, about an hour drive away from here. Earlier, they had prepared a sum of money for Qiao Hong as a down payment on an apartment, as he and his girlfriend were about to get married. But then, his girlfriend got sick.”
Huo Jinyao found that weird.
As something crossed his mind, he stopping knocking on the desk and said, “keep an eye on Qiao Hong’s bank accounts.”
“President Huo?”
“Keep an eye on him. Firstly, find out how he’ll spend the two million. And secondly, see if anyone gives him more money within half a month from now.”
Yang Wenchang had his eyes glow, when he asked, “President Huo, are you saying that Qiao Hong probably hasn’t received the dirty money yet?”
“Yes.” If it was a trap, whoever Qiao Hong was working for must have promised him something.
They might not pay him immediately. They might not pay him until everything was done. The truth would be revealed through the amount of the money that he would receive in the end.
“What if nothing happens at last?”
“Then he probably really did do that on impulse.” Huo Jinyao didn’t believe that, however. “Go. You’ve been working hard. Go home early today.”
“President Huo, this morning, the board…”
“It’s okay. I’ll handle that.”
Huo Yifan had indeed been a little too mischievous lately. It was okay, though. Huo Jinyao intended to let him stay like this for another while.
He was the vice-president of the company. Lately, he seemed to be playing a more important role than Huo Jinyao, but it was merely because he had taken over the Ickes case.
Huo Yifan knew how the partnership with Ickes was built. Everyone did. Huo Yifan wasn’t ashamed to give himself most of the credit, though.
It was not only Huo Yifan, but Huo Yiyang, who now worked in the design department, had also been maintaining a high profile lately.
Huo Jinyao stopped thinking about the small tricks that his cousins had been playing lately. After all, they wouldn’t be able to keep doing that for too long.
He was going to tell Yang Wenchang about what Ding Qing had done earlier today, and tell him to recruit a backup secretary immediately if possible. But finally, he changed his mind.
He had agreed to give Ding Qing a second chance anyway, so he decided to let her stay. Zhang Yang was only on a temporary break anyway. He didn’t permanently leave the company.
Yang Wenchang was a little worried. He spent a few seconds looking at Huo Jinyao, but at last, he left quietly.
He honestly felt that Huo Jinyao’s life was not very easy. He had never seen a chairman like Huo Jinyao’s father, who would rather help his nephew than his very own son.
Huo Jinyao had no idea that Yang Wenchang was pitying him.
It was dark when he arrived home.
Su Qingsang was in the kitchen, chatting with Ms. Yu. He could hear their titters from outside.
The aroma of delicious food permeated the apartment, which was illuminated with a warm light.
Huo Jinyao once again felt the warmth that he had felt in Lin City. He put down his car key, quietly changed his shoes, and walked to the door of the kitchen.
Ms. Yu was cooking and Su Qingsang was assisting her.
“Ms. Yu, this soup needs only a little more salt now, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ms. Yu said with a smile. “I didn’t know that you could be such a talented chef. Mr. Huo will be so happy to know that you have made this soup for him.”
“Who said I made it for him?” Su Qingsang put the salt in the soup, then tasted it. It tasted great.
“I’ve been feeling exhausted for the past few days, so I made the soup for myself.”
“Mrs. Huo, I bet you’ll want Mr. Huo to have some of this soup.”
Hearing Su Qingsang being dishonest, Ms. Yu smiled a bigger smile. She put down the food, then turned and found that Huo Jinyao was back.
Su Qingsang was going to argue with her, but before she could, she saw Huo Jinyao standing there. She gave a startled look, almost dropping the spoon in her hand.
She gave Huo Jinyao a glare, then brought the soup out of the kitchen.
Huo Jinyao followed behind her. As she put down the soup, he put his arms around her waist and said, “darling, I missed you so much.”
“Stop it,” said Su Qingsang, patting the back of his hand. “Go and wash your hands. Prepare for dinner.”
“Darling, I really missed you. Didn’t you miss me?”
He put his mouth near her ear, breathing down her neck.
Su Qingsang felt itchy. She shrugged and said, “why would I miss you? Go and wash your hands and then come back for dinner.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”