The more nervous a person is, the more likely they are to put on a brave front. Seeing her like this, Jiang Cheng wasn't angry.
He smiled: "It's not that serious. You didn't have anyone notify me, which means you weren't in a hurry either. And I came back only after handling my matters, so nothing was delayed at all. You really don't need to feel embarrassed..."
What did he mean? He only came back *after* handling his matters?
So, Jiang Cheng meant he wasn't the least bit anxious; instead, *she* was the one anxiously waiting for him here...
Ah, this was infuriating.
I really want to bite him! ~~┗|｀O′|┛ Oww~~
After screaming internally for a while, she began to hypnotize herself.
Don't get angry, don't get angry. Anger leads to an early grave.
Anger harms the body.
Rage damages the liver!
Think of your breasts, your heart, your blood pressure! Don't get angry, don't get angry!
After taking a deep breath, Qiu Yihe decided not to get entangled with Jiang Cheng on this topic.
Mainly because arguing was a losing battle, and it would only make her half-dead with rage.
Secretly rolling her eyes, Qiu Yihe spoke up: "By the way, I didn't get a chance to ask you at noon. How did things go with Qiu Li?"
Bringing this up, Qiu Yihe felt her cheeks grow warm.
After all, for Qiu Li's sake, she had paid a not-so-small price.
Jiang Cheng glanced at her: "Qiu Li indeed has a problem..."
Jiang Cheng's words instantly froze and dissipated the trace of bashfulness on Qiu Yihe's face, born from the ambiguous atmosphere.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around her teacup, the knuckles turning slightly white.
"What problem?" Her voice instinctively lowered, and she leaned forward.
Professional sharpness and instinct instantly overwhelmed all personal emotions.
Although her relationship with Qiu Li was already complicated.
But the fact that Qiu Li had a problem was not good news for her.
Seeing her flustered expression, Jiang Cheng naturally reached out and placed his hand over hers on the table.
Mmm~ Not bad.
Although this Girl was usually handsy, her skin felt quite smooth and tender to the touch.
Qiu Yihe was in no mood to tease Jiang Cheng about anything now.
She didn't even bother with the redundant gesture of pulling her hand away.
After all, they'd already kissed and touched.
What's the point of pulling back from a hand touch now... Qiu Yihe originally meant to say'stop touching and just tell me,' but in her agitation, it came out as: "Stop touching, there's nothing good to feel about this..."
After she finished speaking, Jiang Cheng nodded in agreement: "Hmm, what you say makes some sense. This indeed doesn't feel as good as touching other places. Originally, I was thinking of taking things step by step, but if you're so eager, I could also..."
Seeing Jiang Cheng's hand creeping higher, Qiu Yihe immediately shook her hand off: "Aiya, can't you be serious? Can't you see I'm anxious?"
Seeing Qiu Yihe getting all prickly, Jiang Cheng stopped teasing her.
He picked up the teacup from the table and took a sip of tea.
Then, looking directly into her eyes, he said calmly: "Taking money to do jobs."
Although she had mentally prepared for the worst before asking Jiang Cheng to investigate,
Hearing this now still made her heart sink.
The kind of "money" that would make Jiang Cheng mention it in such a tone was definitely not ordinary commercial bribery.
"Whose money? To do what?" Qiu Yihe's voice was hoarse.
"Several offshore accounts, ultimately traced back to foundations in Northern Myanmar and a certain Western 'non-governmental organization'. The fund flow used multi-layered nesting; the method is very professional, not something an ordinary broker could handle."
"Are you sure?"
Jiang Cheng put down his teacup, his gaze calm yet penetrating. "The timing of the large capital injections coincides precisely with the period before and after she spearheaded the push for the 'Archival Sealing Pilot Proposal'. Wouldn't you say that's... quite a coincidence?"
Qiu Yihe's face turned completely pale.
That day, when she heard Qiu Li's high-sounding justifications, she had already sensed something was off.
What 'providing a more lenient social reintegration environment for repentant individuals, reducing labeling'?
The justifications Qiu Li gave, along with the very nature of this project proposal itself, were destructive to the entire environment.
Given her current profession, she knew all too well how such a proposal, once passed, could be exploited by certain people.
It would become a 'Protective Umbrella' and an 'Erasure Tool' for certain individuals with special backgrounds who truly ought to be under close surveillance.
"Is she being used as a pawn? Or is it..." Qiu Yihe didn't dare finish the sentence.
Because she was afraid Qiu Li herself was a direct, knowing participant.
"The current evidence chain indicates she is, at minimum, an 'active and aware key executor'." Jiang Cheng's tone was flat, yet each word struck at the heart.
After Jiang Cheng finished speaking, Qiu Yihe felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.
Clearly, she was so angry she was feeling lightheaded.
When she joined the force, she had sworn an oath that she would give her life for the fight against drugs.
But she never imagined someone from her own family could, for money, commit such an act of betrayal against the nation.
"Is the evidence... conclusive?" Her voice was raspy.
"The funds were transferred through Company A to a Trade Company B in Hong Kong Island. Then, disguised as consulting fees, they were subsequently transferred in batches into the accounts of a Policy Research Institute connected to Qiu Li, under the guise of 'policy research sponsorship'. These payments were ultimately marked as 'expert allowances' and 'project funding'. These transactions were very meticulous, passing through at least four intermediaries, even using a mixed model of cryptocurrency and traditional bank transfers."
"What I've said is enough to initiate an internal secret investigation, right?"
Seeing Qiu Yihe silent, Jiang Cheng looked at her and asked curiously: "What I found is darker than you imagined. What are you going to do?"
Qiu Yihe closed her eyes, her hands tightly clasped together, fingertips icy cold.
Reporting Qiu Li would mean the Qiu Family would face an earthquake.
On one side was her professional faith and national security; on the other, family reputation and the tearing apart of kinship ties.