Secretly Seducing the Third Female Lead Behind the System’s Back - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Letting Go of Obsession?

After breakfast, the two of them headed to the meeting room for training.

It had been several days since Jiang Yisheng last saw An Hao. She thought back on the plot of the novel and suddenly realized that the parts she remembered clearly were all related to Bai Chu. As for An Hao and Youran—she couldn’t recall a single thing.

Not long after, He Youran walked into the meeting room and, just like usual, sat next to Bai Chu.

Jiang Yisheng immediately propped her elbow on the desk in front of Bai Chu, making sure He Youran could see her clearly, especially how close she was sitting to Bai Chu.

“Good morning, President Jiang,” He Youran greeted her politely with a slight nod.

“Morning!” Jiang Yisheng smiled brightly in return.

He Youran was clearly still in a bad mood.

Tsk.

Jiang Yisheng shook her head slightly, inwardly sympathizing with her. Why is the heroine’s love life so tragic?

She looked at Bai Chu and couldn’t help but smile, eyes curving. Compared to He Youran, she felt incredibly lucky.

With that thought, she reached under the table and secretly held Bai Chu’s hand, interlocking their fingers.

Bai Chu glanced sideways at her, still wearing a serious expression, but she tightened her grip, holding their hands even closer.

Jiang Yisheng smiled contentedly and leaned toward Bai Chu throughout the lecture.

“Sit up straight,” Bai Chu whispered to her.

“Oh,” Jiang Yisheng replied, reining in her behavior a little.

All day long, Jiang Yisheng stuck close to Bai Chu—even following her to the bathroom.

After the afternoon session ended, Jiang Yisheng returned to her office to handle a stack of documents that needed signing.

Honestly, none of them were very important—just minor personnel transfers and equipment purchases. Her signature was mostly a formality.

Bai Chu also had company documents to process, so they agreed to head out for dinner after wrapping up.

Jiang Yisheng hummed a tune as she flipped through the documents. Zhang Tao stood nearby, ready to assist at any moment.

“List of external hires,” Jiang Yisheng read the document title aloud with curiosity.

“Yes, this one’s from the logistics department. They said they’re short on cleaning staff. These people passed the interviews today. Their résumés are in the back,” Zhang Tao explained, hands folded respectfully in front of her. “Although they’re external hires and not on our official employee roster, they still receive the same insurance and benefits.”

Jiang Yisheng casually flipped to the résumés and chuckled when she saw how some of the uncles and aunties had padded their résumés.

She quickly noticed a typo in the third résumé—her editor’s instincts flaring up.

Shaking her head, she picked up her pen and signed.

“How much do they earn per month?”

“External hires earn very little—only 3,000 yuan a month.”

That was about what Jiang Yisheng made in the real world too.

“Let’s raise it to 4,000. It’s not easy for older folks to come out and work,” she said sympathetically.

“President Jiang… then should we raise the salaries for all current external hires too?” Zhang Tao bent slightly, cautiously asking.

Jiang Yisheng hesitated. She had only considered these few new hires—not the rest of the company’s external workers.

“How many external hires do we have total?”

“About one-fifth of all staff.”

“That many?” Jiang Yisheng was surprised.

Raising each by 1,000 yuan would increase monthly expenses by nearly a million.

After thinking it over, she sighed. “Let’s keep it at 3,000 for now.”

She thought back to how she used to complain about stingy bosses—now she suddenly realized that things weren’t as simple as she thought.

After signing everything, she headed up to the ninth floor to find Bai Chu.

Most people had already left—only Bai Chu’s desk lamp was still on.

Jiang Yisheng walked straight over, wrapping her arms around Bai Chu from behind and rubbing her cheek against her ear.

“Let’s go eat barbecue tonight,” she cooed.

After a couple of seconds, Bai Chu gently placed her hand over Jiang Yisheng’s—but said nothing.

Jiang Yisheng noticed something was off and immediately straightened up, leaning on Bai Chu’s desk to face her directly.

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly, eyes full of concern.

Bai Chu looked up at her, her gaze noticeably heavier than before, laced with a faint trace of tension.

She held Jiang Yisheng’s hand and led her to sit beside her before slowly speaking.

“Do you remember when I told you my parents passed away?” Her voice was calm, but Jiang Yisheng suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.

“I remember.” She held Bai Chu’s hand tightly and nodded.

Bai Chu swallowed hard before continuing. “It was my seventh birthday. The whole family was together, celebrating. After dinner, we went to sleep. The next time I woke up, the house was filled with smoke.”

Her voice began to crack, and her hand turned icy in Jiang Yisheng’s grasp.

Jiang Yisheng quickly used both hands to warm her.

“My parents pushed me out to save me. I waited outside for so long, but they never came out.” Bai Chu’s head drooped, and tears silently streamed down her cheeks.

Jiang Yisheng immediately reached out to wipe her tears, her own vision becoming blurry.

Bai Chu bit her lip hard, trying to restrain her emotions.

“I’ve been investigating the fire ever since. I always felt something was off… but I was also afraid I might be right.”

“A while ago, the investigator helping me said it really was arson.”

Her voice was trembling.

Jiang Yisheng immediately stood up and pulled her into a hug, gently patting her back.

“He just messaged me again, asking to meet. Said he had something to tell me.” Bai Chu exhaled deeply and closed her eyes, leaning into Jiang Yisheng’s embrace.

Jiang Yisheng looked down at the top of her head, her heart aching.

“I’ll go with you,” she said gently, stroking Bai Chu’s hair as tenderly as possible.

Bai Chu didn’t speak. After a few seconds, she finally responded softly, “Okay.”

When they arrived at the meeting spot, the man was already seated.

Bai Chu held Jiang Yisheng’s hand as they sat across from him, her face composed and calm. Only Jiang Yisheng knew how cold her fingertips had become.

“And this is?” The man glanced at Jiang Yisheng.

“She’s one of us,” Bai Chu replied. “Please go ahead—any new findings?”

Jiang Yisheng leaned back, narrowing her eyes. She wanted to see what this guy had to say.

The man took a sip of coffee, adjusted his glasses, and finally began speaking:

“Our investigation found that the fire was actually an accident.”

He took another sip.

Bai Chu froze, stunned for a moment. “Didn’t you say it was arson last time?”

He glanced at her, then looked back down at his coffee. “Sorry. We made a mistake before. The latest findings indicate it was indeed an accident.”

“Can you explain how you came to that conclusion?” Jiang Yisheng sat up straight, eyes locked onto him.

“It was a drought year. The air was dry. Probably a spark from the stove—”

SLAM!

Jiang Yisheng slammed the table, making the man jump.

“And you’re saying this now? Why didn’t you say so last time? How did you conclude it was arson before?” she demanded, pressing him relentlessly.

“Investigations involve trial and error,” the man said, shamelessly.

“Trial your damn—” Jiang Yisheng cursed outright.

“Yisheng,” Bai Chu quickly gripped her hand to stop her.

The man sighed and shook his head. “I understand you’re upset, but this is our conclusion. If you don’t believe it, feel free to hire someone else.”

He stood up to leave.

“Wait.” Jiang Yisheng snapped.

He turned around.

“Give us our money back,” she said coldly, her tone like ice through clenched teeth.

“Miss, investigations cost money. Just because you don’t like the result doesn’t mean you can ask for a refund. That’s unreasonable,” the man replied self-righteously.

“Enough.” Bai Chu stood up, facing him directly with cold eyes.

“I got the result. You can leave now,” she said flatly.

The man scoffed and left without even paying for the coffee.

Bai Chu turned back to Jiang Yisheng, her gaze softening. “Why are you so angry?”

Jiang Yisheng sat down again and took a few deep breaths. “Don’t you think he’s obviously a fraud?”

“He told you it was arson, took your money, and now suddenly says it was an accident? There’s no proof he even investigated anything.”

Bai Chu lowered her head and began unconsciously picking at her fingers. She murmured, “Maybe… maybe it being an accident isn’t so bad.”

At least it wasn’t intentional. At least there was no hatred.

Maybe her parents could rest easier that way.

Jiang Yisheng opened her mouth to say more but stopped when she saw Bai Chu’s expression.

Her gaze softened as she held Bai Chu’s hand.

“Bai Chu.”

“Hmm?” Bai Chu looked up at her.

“What if…” Jiang Yisheng paused, reorganizing her thoughts.

“What?”

“What if that guy really is a fraud?” she asked cautiously.

Bai Chu shook her head. “I’ve hired so many people over the years. None of them have ever given me a clear answer.”

“I wonder if… maybe it’s time to stop.”

She looked at Jiang Yisheng. “Maybe I should let go of the obsession and start living my life.”

After all, her life was beginning to feel meaningful again.

Jiang Yisheng furrowed her brow. In that moment, she truly didn’t know what mattered more for Bai Chu—learning the truth or saying goodbye to the past.

She gently caressed Bai Chu’s cheek, bit her lip, and then smiled warmly.

“You’ve always deserved to live a good life, Bai Chu. And to love yourself well.”