Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years

Chapter 416: Then I’ll Make Sure You Know Exactly Why You’re Finished Today!

by cnwebnovels

An Menglan caught Su Lei’s reaction. She shot a look at Wu Chen, then back at Su Lei.

Wu Chen had just mentioned a name: Xia Xiaobin.

She had heard it before. Xia Xiaobin wasn’t a celebrity or entertainer. He was in Peng Wei’s line of work. A paparazzo.

The country had several famous paparazzi studios. Peng Wei’s Wave Studio was the undisputed number one; whether by annual income or online attention, nothing else came close.

Below Wave Studio, though, there was no real second, third, fourth, or fifth. Wave Studio occupied a tier of its own. The ones after it were all on roughly the same level, and it was hard to say which ranked ahead of which.

Together they were known simply as the “major paparazzi studios.”

Magic Cube Studio was one of them.

And Xia Xiaobin owned it. Like Peng Wei, he was notorious throughout the entertainment industry. Over the years he had broken plenty of big scandals, and there were others he had never broken, because he’d extorted money over them instead.

“Morning Mist… Mr. Morning Mist, I don’t understand what you mean,” Su Lei said.

In that instant a storm had broken inside him, but he quickly steadied himself. This was the kind of thing that could ruin him. He had no choice but to keep his composure.

“Not going to admit it?” Wu Chen gave him a smile. “I gave you a chance, and you threw it away. You’re still using the number ending in 6546, aren’t you? Did you bring that phone with you? And the money still went into your mother-in-law’s account, didn’t it?”

Su Lei lost his composure again.

Two sentences from Wu Chen, and his face changed color again and again. He was utterly stunned.

Anyone could see it from his reaction, even an idiot. It was him.

“Su Lei! It really was you!” An Menglan shot to her feet, eyes blazing, and shouted at him. There was anger in her voice, and disbelief too.

Wu Chen watched Su Lei. Zhuang Xiaodie blinked at him.

Every eye was on Su Lei’s face.

He had come apart. His breathing grew heavy; the pressure on him was plainly immense. Fear flickered in his eyes, even a trace of bewilderment, as though he felt he was finished.

But only for a few seconds. In that silence, he seemed to work something out, and his expression hardened into resolve.

“Boss, it wasn’t me. I don’t understand what Mr. Morning Mist is talking about.” He looked at An Menglan, paused, and went on. “And Boss, since you don’t trust me, there’s no reason for me to stay. I resign.”

He bowed to her, turned, and walked toward the door.

Leaving, just like that.

Whether she approved his resignation or not, he had no intention of ever coming back.

His performance shook An Menglan for a moment. He looked like a man who had suffered a terrible injustice, or who carried some painful secret he couldn’t explain.

“You really think you can walk out of here today?” Wu Chen said with a faint smile, just as Su Lei pushed the door open.

Su Lei stopped, turned to look at Wu Chen, then looked at An Menglan. “Boss, are you planning to hold me here? That’s illegal. If you really suspect me of something, call the police and have them investigate me. But you can’t take away my freedom on your own.”

Saying something like that to An Menglan might seem almost laughable. It wasn’t laughable at all.

If this had been Li Ruobing, there would probably already be a gun pressed to his forehead.

But An Menglan and Li Ruobing were entirely different people. She never used her family’s power to do anything illegal. Her moral bottom line was very high.

Su Lei had been at Menghua Music for over two years. He had little contact with her, but employees naturally talked among themselves about what kind of person their boss was.

No one had a bad word for her. They all praised her.

And that was exactly what Su Lei was exploiting. He knew she wouldn’t hold him.

Wu Chen knew even the bow had been deliberate, meant to move her for a moment so he could slip away more easily.

But he had misjudged.

An Menglan had hardly ever lost her temper in her life, because she had hardly ever had much to be upset about. Her life had gone too smoothly. That was why she seemed so good-natured. And nothing like an audio leak had ever happened to her before.

“Su Lei, tell me. Was it you or not?!” She took a step forward. She was already fighting the urge to call in her bodyguards and have him held.

“No!” Su Lei denied it flatly.

He was afraid of being recorded. At a time like this, he would admit nothing.

“Why put yourself through this? You really think you can get out of it this way?” Wu Chen laughed. To him, the man was plainly a little short on brains. Compared with Wu Chen, of course.

“Mr. Morning Mist.” Su Lei turned to him. He had settled into his role now, his whole manner grave. “I know you may know some things about my private life. I don’t understand how you know them, but… if you suspect me, do you have proof?”

That was what had suddenly come clear to him.

Yes, the number Wu Chen had mentioned really had contacted Magic Cube Studio yesterday.

And yes, a sum of money really had landed in his mother-in-law’s bank account.

But.

None of it was proof.

He had every right to call whomever he liked. He didn’t owe anyone an explanation for money between himself and Magic Cube Studio. Even if the police asked, he could come up with some other reason.

As for the leak, he would simply deny it to the end. There was no direct evidence that he had done it, no complete chain of evidence at all. The most crucial link was missing.

Magic Cube Studio would certainly back him all the way, too. If the audio really had gotten out through them, that would constitute the crime of leaking trade secrets and cause Menghua Music enormous financial losses, enough to send Xia Xiaobin to prison for the rest of his life.

So Su Lei felt very sure of himself.

He knew An Menglan would have people look into his backup number. He knew she would look into his mother-in-law’s account.

So what?

They could know perfectly well it was him and still have no evidence to touch him.

“I know you’re in a hurry to leave. You want to get hold of Xia Xiaobin right away and line up your stories. I also know you’re already thinking about leaving the country. Getting out of Modu, out of the country, as fast as you can, because you’re scared the An family will come after you. Am I right?” Wu Chen asked, still smiling.

Su Lei’s gaze tightened slightly. Another storm broke inside him.

Because Wu Chen had gotten every word of it right.

“Mr. Morning Mist, you should be a screenwriter,” Su Lei said. Naturally, he couldn’t admit it.

“Ha.” Wu Chen laughed, then rose. “Then today I’ll make sure you know exactly why you’re finished. You just asked whether I had proof. Here’s my answer: I do. It’s on your laptop. Dare to let me take a look?”

He raised an eyebrow at Su Lei.

Su Lei was silent a moment. He glanced at An Menglan without meaning to, then said to Wu Chen, “The innocent have nothing to hide. If you insist on suspecting me, Mr. Morning Mist, go ahead and check my computer. But if the evidence you’re talking about isn’t there… then what?”

“Then what?” Wu Chen smiled, one hand in his pocket. “You really think I’m negotiating with you? You think you get to say no?”

Wu Chen loved making bets. What someone could or couldn’t do, nearly anything at all, could be turned into a wager.

But it depended on who.

He had no interest in betting with Su Lei. A bit player like that, was he worthy?

He was not.

Su Lei’s face shifted slightly. He glanced at An Menglan again. He knew perfectly well that refusing to let them check his computer would be as good as giving himself away. All his denials would count for nothing, and An Menglan might well have him held after all.

“Do whatever you want,” was all he could say, still wearing the look of an innocent man too wounded and worn out to bother explaining.

“Let’s go, then.” Wu Chen tilted his head toward the door.

He walked out. An Menglan followed, naturally, and Zhuang Xiaodie got up and came too.

On their way out, An Menglan called for bodyguards to come along.

Su Lei walked at the front, expressionless, not looking panicked in the least. Because he knew there was no evidence on his computer.

He had deleted all of it.