Yet even his smile was faint. He glanced at Fan Lingling without any particular expression, then walked over and sat down on the sofa.
Chen Zhaoci said respectfully, "President Zhou, I'll leave you to talk. I'll step out now."
President Zhou nodded. Only after Chen Zhaoci closed the door behind him did he turn his full attention to Fan Jia, offering a slight smile. "How old are you?"
Fan Jia replied, "Just turned 23."
President Zhou said, "You owe the company nearly 40,000 yuan, and it doubles every month."
Fan Jia hung her head low. "President Zhou, I didn't know the interest and late fees would be so..."
President Zhou waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. If you pass my interview and join the company, the debts of those under me can be easily handled. Do you think the finance department would dare chase after my assistant for money? Haha."
Fan Jia was taken aback and couldn't help but smile.
President Zhou said, "Tell me about your academic performance in university and your practical experience."
Fan Jia thought to herself, Is this really turning into a job interview? So she began recounting the background the police had prepared for her. President Zhou listened quietly while brewing Gongfu tea, then poured her a cup. Fan Jia barely touched it to her lips, hardly drinking at all.
By the time she finished speaking, President Zhou had lit a cigarette and was leaning back in the sofa, squinting slightly. His gaze made her somewhat uncomfortable. Fan Jia timidly asked, "President Zhou, do you think I'm suitable?"
He asked, "Are you a virgin?"
Fan Jia froze. "I..."
The uncomfortable aura around him intensified. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he flicked his cigarette ash. "A promiscuous girl has no place by my side."
Fan Jia lowered her head. "Yes."
"Whether you are or not, I'll find out eventually," he said indifferently.
Fan Jia clenched her fingers tightly, her voice barely audible. "President Zhou, I came here to interview to be your assistant."
He slowly leaned forward. Fan Jia instinctively retreated but had nowhere to go, pressed against the sofa. He touched her face and said, "You're already here. Why pretend to be innocent? Think carefully: if you walk out that door, you'll be in debt, have broken the law, and have no future. Your family and friends will suffer because of you. I think you have potential. Stay with the company, stay with me, and you won't have to worry about the future."
Fan Jia stiffened like wood, her eyes welling with tears. He seemed pleased with her timid reaction and didn't rush to press further, sitting back again. Calmly, he said, "You don't have a boyfriend anyway. What does it matter who you're with? In a year or so, your debts will be cleared, and you might even earn some money. Where else would you find such a good deal? Don't go back later. Come have dinner with me, and I'll take you shopping for clothes."
Fan Jia said nothing, just shook her head desperately through her tears, sobbing.
President Zhou laughed instead, scolding, "So stubborn. Listen, I'm giving you this one chance to clear your debt. If you walk out that door today, even if you kneel and lick my dick later, it won't be forgiven."
Fan Jia covered her face, weeping softly. Just then, President Zhou's phone rang. He answered, "Mm... alright, I'll come take a look." After hanging up, he said to her, "You have ten minutes, little girl. Think it over carefully. I don't want to see you cry, or see your parents, relatives, and friends crying along with you."He went out, and Fan Jia immediately looked up, scanning the room—no cameras were installed. She darted to the door and pushed it, only to find it locked from the outside. She decisively turned the deadbolt from inside, then hurried to the desk. She quickly rifled through the drawers, finding stacks of loan contracts and debtor information, but nothing of value. Her eyes fell on the computer, and she pulled out the power bank from her bag, connecting it to the computer with a cable.
Fan Jia was skilled in technology, and this power bank appeared ordinary on the surface—the girl earlier hadn’t detected anything amiss. In reality, it housed a miniature decoder.
After booting up the computer, it took just over a minute to crack the password. Fan Jia thought for a moment and directly searched for the names "Liu Yisha" and "Zhao Feier." Sure enough, two folders appeared.
She copied them first, then opened them—loan contracts, transaction records, various documents, and a video file.
As soon as Fan Jia clicked it open, she saw pale, exposed flesh and a girl’s numb, expressionless face holding up her ID card, reciting: "I am Liu Yisha, ID number: XXXXX. Today, I borrowed 20,000 yuan from the Gold Splitting Treasure Company…"
Fan Jia felt a surge of anger and closed the file, continuing to search the computer for other clues. Most of the contents were similar materials. A quick glance revealed that over a thousand girls had recorded nude loan videos for the Gold Splitting Treasure Company.
Time ticked by, and Fan Jia estimated that Manager Zhou would be back soon. She didn’t want to alert her colleagues or expose her identity yet, as she hadn’t found any valuable leads. But she needed to find a way to escape.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she nearly finished scanning the entire hard drive. She opened an inconspicuous small file and froze—it was filled with encrypted documents. Without hesitation, she copied all of them and began decoding one.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside. Fan Jia glanced up and suddenly felt a headache coming on. She instinctively steadied herself against the desk as the document finished decrypting. She clicked it open…
Her eyes widened slowly, but her expression grew increasingly grim. Even as an experienced police officer who had handled numerous cases, the sight of those images brought a suffocating, oppressive feeling rising in her chest. Her eyes grew slightly hot. So this is how it is, she thought. This is really how it is. Every one of those people in the videos—they can’t escape now.
Fan Jia unplugged the "power bank" and stuffed it into her pants pocket, then shut down the computer and tidied the desk. The sound of keys jingling came from outside as someone began unlocking the deadbolted door. They were on the third floor—jumping out the window wasn’t an option. In an instant, Fan Jia made a decision: she had obtained critical evidence, but the means were not entirely aboveboard. If she could avoid raising alarms, that would be best. She would pretend to waver and submit, waiting for Manager Zhou to take her out for a meal or shopping to make her escape.
So she ran back to the sofa and sat down, once again adopting a submissive, docile demeanor.
The door opened, and Manager Zhou walked in. Seeing her still sitting obediently in place, he felt somewhat satisfied. He strode over and sat down beside her, their bodies pressed close, thighs brushing, and draped an arm over the back of the sofa behind her. "Why did you lock the door? Afraid I’d come in?" he asked. "You dare lock the door in my territory? It seems you’ve got quite the nerve—you really need to be taught a lesson."Just as Fan Jia was about to speak, a sudden wave of dizziness washed over her. She swayed slightly and felt Manager Zhou's hand already resting on her shoulder as he asked, "What's wrong? Are you unwell?"
Alarm bells rang in Fan Jia's mind—this was bad, it must be Zhang Wei's tea! She hadn't touched Manager Zhou's tea, but she hadn't avoided the very first cup. Moreover, emboldened by knowing her comrades were waiting outside, she had indeed let her guard down a little.
OpenNovel