“I don’t recall mentioning Technician Zhou’s name, did I?” Shen Wanquan narrowed his eyes.
Everyone present was sharp. Hearing this, they quickly pieced together the likely truth. Those standing near Hu Pingsheng subtly moved away, trying to distance themselves from him, afraid of getting caught up in the fallout.
At the same time, their gazes toward Hu Pingsheng carried a hint of disdain. In the workplace, backstabbing colleagues was a major taboo. Minor conflicts were one thing, but Hu Pingsheng had dared to claim credit for such significant research, stepping on someone else’s hard work to climb up!
Putting themselves in that position, they felt goosebumps rising all over.
Disgusting! Shameless!
“Who else could it be besides him? Zhou Yinghuai and I have never gotten along. He’s just jealous of me, so he made up this lie to deceive you!” Hu Pingsheng only panicked for a moment before regaining his composure. He glared fiercely at Zhou Yinghuai, his eyes filled with hatred, as if he could devour him alive.
Zhou Yinghuai leaned back in his chair and let out a mocking laugh. “Jealous of you?”
His calm, indifferent demeanor made it seem as though he had never taken Hu Pingsheng seriously. Hu Pingsheng gritted his teeth. “Zhou Yinghuai, stop pretending. Do you have any proof that this research wasn’t done by me?”
“Then what evidence do you have to prove that this research was completed by you?” Zhou Yinghuai countered without answering directly. He then straightened up and tapped his finger on the surface of a folder on the table.
Hu Pingsheng followed his gesture and saw a familiar blue folder. It was the one he had personally handed to Supervisor Lei. He hadn’t expected it to end up in Zhou Yinghuai’s hands now.
He only glanced at it before looking back at Zhou Yinghuai, only to meet a pair of calm, unreadable eyes. The mockery hidden within them made a pang of guilt flash through Hu Pingsheng’s heart. He felt as though he were completely exposed in front of Zhou Yinghuai, like a clown jumping around naked.
Zhou Yinghuai’s calm, confident demeanor made Hu Pingsheng panic, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew he couldn’t back down now, or everything would be over.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
“Evidence? This is my research. I can confidently say no one understands its contents better than I do. Moreover, Supervisor Lei can vouch for me. I was the first to submit this report to him.”
Supervisor Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I wouldn’t dare hide something like this. As soon as Technician Hu handed it to me, I immediately passed it on to the director. You know that, Director.”
“That doesn’t prove anything,” Deputy Director Chang Yan’an interjected coolly from beside Director Shen.
Hu Pingsheng gritted his teeth. “Deputy Director Chang, you can’t let your personal friendship with Zhou Yinghuai bias you in a matter like this, can you?”
Seeing that Hu Pingsheng was still refusing to admit defeat and trying to justify himself, Chang Yan’an adjusted his glasses, hiding the cold glint in his eyes. “If you claim to understand the contents of the report better than anyone, how did you miss the errors in the data? Or were you deliberately submitting an incomplete report to the factory?”
At Chang Yan’an’s words, Hu Pingsheng froze. Errors in the data? What errors?
As a senior technician, he undoubtedly had the skills to match his title. Moreover, he wasn’t foolish—he knew he had to verify the accuracy of the data in the report before submitting it to upper management.
He had spent considerable effort calculating and verifying the data in the research report, ensuring there were no issues before handing it to Supervisor Lei. Even Supervisor Lei hadn’t found any errors, so how could there be mistakes in the data?
Was Chang Yan’an trying to trick him again?
After some thought, Hu Pingsheng chose to sidestep the issue. “The truth will come out. I believe the factory will give me a fair explanation.”
“You don’t need to deflect. We’re here because we have concrete evidence,” Chang Yan’an said, not giving Hu Pingsheng any room to maneuver. He opened the folder beside him and showed it to everyone. “What you submitted was only a draft. This is the complete and accurate research report.”
“Moreover, Technician Zhou has already successfully tested the research in the workshop over the past few days, turning it into a tangible application. It has significantly improved production efficiency and product quality while reducing costs.”
“Hu Pingsheng, ask yourself honestly—could you have done this? Isn’t this far more compelling evidence than whatever you’re claiming?”
“If Technician Zhou hadn’t promptly approached Director Shen and me to explain the situation, and if he hadn’t spent the past few days working tirelessly to prove who the true author of this research is, the factory would have suffered significant losses due to your selfish actions.”
“After stealing someone else’s work, you show no remorse. Even now, you’re still spouting nonsense. Don’t you find that laughable?”
With every word Chang Yan’an spoke, Hu Pingsheng’s face grew paler. He had never imagined that the research report he had treasured so much was only a draft, containing errors in the data. This completely disrupted all his plans…
No, this couldn’t be happening.
“Zhou Yinghuai, you did this on purpose, didn’t you? You set me up!” Hu Pingsheng’s eyes widened with rage, and he lunged at Zhou Yinghuai. Before he could get close, he was kicked away and slammed into the wall.
No one had expected Hu Pingsheng to suddenly lose control, but fortunately, Zhou Yinghuai reacted quickly and was skilled enough to stop him.
“I’ve always kept the documents locked in my office cabinet. If you hadn’t gotten greedy and stolen my work to cover up your private bribery, none of this would have happened today,” Zhou Yinghuai said coldly, looking down at Hu Pingsheng.
Hu Pingsheng’s eyes flickered with shock and panic. How did Zhou Yinghuai know so much?
“What are you talking about? I don’t understand,” Hu Pingsheng stammered.
“Save those words for the police,” Zhou Yinghuai said coldly, his expression stern. He then turned to Director Shen and asked, “What do you think?”
“Our Rongzhou Machinery Factory will never shield such a parasite,” Shen Wanquan replied firmly. He had already made his decision before coming here. This visit was merely procedural, serving as a warning to others who might harbor similar thoughts.
“The technical department is the core of our factory. I absolutely will not allow anyone to cause chaos here!”
His authoritative gaze swept across everyone in the room before finally settling on Hu Pingsheng. With a mix of disappointment and anger, he said, “It’s not easy for the factory to train a senior technician. Instead of being grateful, you’ve been involved in so many disgraceful acts behind the scenes. You’ve brought shame to all technicians.”
After a deep sigh, Shen Wanquan instructed someone, “Keep him under close watch and send someone to report this to the authorities.”
Only then did Hu Pingsheng truly realize the severity of the situation. With multiple charges against him, he had no idea how long he would spend in prison. Remembering Director Shen’s words, he crawled over, clutching Shen Wanquan’s leg, tears and snot streaming down his face as he begged for mercy.
“Director Shen, I know I was wrong. I’ll work hard for the factory from now on. If I go to prison, the factory will only have Zhou Yinghuai as its senior technician…”
“I promise I’ll never do it again. Please, don’t report this, okay?”
“You don’t truly believe you’ve done anything wrong. You’re just afraid of taking responsibility and don’t want to go to prison,” Shen Wanquan said, utterly disappointed. “And don’t try to threaten me. Yes, we lack talented senior technicians, but the factory will only thrive without people like you, who have such twisted intentions.”
Hu Pingsheng shook his head repeatedly, unable to comprehend how things had come to this. He wanted to say more, but he was pulled away from Shen Wanquan’s leg, his mouth covered, silencing his cries.
“Starting today, the factory will begin testing Technician Zhou’s research. No, I should say, Director Zhou from now on,” Shen Wanquan said, a rare smile breaking through his usually stern expression.
He looked at the outstanding young man before him with admiration, though a hint of regret lingered in his heart. If only things had been different, he might have heard Zhou Yinghuai call him “father-in-law.”
Thinking of his daughter, who had shut herself at home, Shen Wanquan sighed inwardly.
Matters of the heart couldn’t be forced. Now that Zhou Yinghuai was married, he could only hope that Xiaolian would come to terms with it and not cling to a man who was already taken.
The others in the room, hearing Shen Wanquan’s words, began to stir with thoughts, subtly glancing at Supervisor Lei, who looked pale.
The balance of power in the technical department was shifting.
It seemed that in the future, it would be best not to take sides until things were settled, or else they might end up like Supervisor Lei.
—
“Setting aside the bribery and theft, the destruction of so many documents in the technical department alone is enough to land him in prison.”
Zhou Yinghuai gently stroked Cheng Fangqiu’s hair, the satisfaction in his eyes gradually replaced by a cold glint.
“Hu Pingsheng thought he left no traces, but the police had already collected plenty of evidence from the scene. After investigating the whereabouts of the technical department employees that day, they quickly identified Hu Pingsheng as the prime suspect. They were just waiting for the arrest warrant to be approved. Today, they took him into custody ahead of schedule.”
The outcome was immensely satisfying. Greed had led Hu Pingsheng to overreach, and his fate was well-deserved.
Despite being a young senior technician with a bright future ahead of him, Hu Pingsheng had chosen shortcuts and underhanded methods. In the end, he not only ruined his career but would also spend a long time behind bars.
“You’ve worked hard,” Cheng Fangqiu said, tightening her arms around Zhou Yinghuai’s waist. She couldn’t imagine how he had managed these past few days—completing a full report in such a short time and then replicating it in the workshop…
Zhou Yinghuai kissed her forehead and smirked. “Not as hard as earlier.”
Hearing this, Cheng Fangqiu immediately understood his meaning. She punched his chest several times in mock anger. “Get lost! Who told you to complain about me being slow and take over yourself?”
“Alright, I won’t complain next time,” Zhou Yinghuai said, catching her hand and holding it tightly in his palm.
Cheng Fangqiu rolled her eyes in exasperation but remained silent for a while. Just as she was about to bring up something she had remembered, she noticed the steady rhythm of breathing coming from beneath her.
He had actually fallen asleep just like that.
Cheng Fangqiu propped herself up slightly and gazed at his striking profile. In sleep, the cold, aloof aura that usually kept people at a distance softened, revealing a gentler side.
His eyelashes were thick and long, and his nose was tall and straight.
Come to think of it, people always said you could tell a man’s… capabilities by looking at his nose. There might be some truth to that.
At this thought, a faint blush tinged the tips of Cheng Fangqiu’s ears.