Guo Tian leaned back, folding his arms loosely. "So." His tone stayed casual. "How are things progressing? Finding anything interesting in those records?"
Li Feng picked up another bite. "It's early."
"Of course, of course." Guo Tian nodded slowly. "Three years is a lot of material. No rush." He paused. "Though I imagine someone with your eye for detail has already spotted a few things." He let out a small laugh. "The previous auditors always came to me first, you know. Before Tao Jun even. Said I had the best operational knowledge of the branch." He shrugged lightly. "If you ever need context on anything — my door is always open."
Li Feng set his chopsticks down and looked at him for the first time since he sat down. "I appreciate that," he said simply.
Guo Tian smiled.
Li Feng closed the lunchbox. "Though I prefer to let the records speak first before asking questions."
The smile on Guo Tian's face didn't move. But something behind his eyes did.
"Smart approach," he said quietly.
"Mm." Li Feng picked up his pen. "Thank you for stopping by, Assistant Manager Guo."
Guo Tian stood, smoothing his jacket. "Anytime, Mr. Li."
---
Back at the apartment, Zhao Lihua sat cross-legged on the floor, Li Xian crawling over her lap without a care in the world. She grabbed her mother's face with both hands, squishing her cheeks together.
"Mummy is so pretty," Xian announced seriously.
Zhao Lihua burst out laughing. "And where did you learn that?"
Xian simply patted her cheeks and moved on, toddling across the floor to collect Baozi from the corner.
Zhao Lihua watched her for a moment then slowly sank back onto the sofa, exhaustion settling over her all at once. Her mind drifted without permission.
*What was I thinking yesterday.* She pressed a pillow over her face. *Does he think I did that on purpose?*
She groaned quietly into the pillow. Xian looked over at her mother curiously then went back to Baozi without concern.
After a moment Zhao Lihua lowered the pillow and reached for her phone. She scrolled for a bit, not looking for anything in particular. Then she stopped. She decided to call someone. She didn't need to search for the number. She had carried it in her head for years. Her hands trembled slightly as she typed it in digit by digit and pressed dial.
It rang for a while. Then it connected.
"Mei?" she said slowly. "It's me. Lihua."
A sharp intake of breath from the other end.
"Jiejie?" The voice broke slightly. "Is that really you?"
"Yes," Zhao Lihua answered softly.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Mei's voice came rushing through all at once. "Jiejie where have you been? I have been trying to reach you for so long. Your old number wouldn't connect. I went to the house once and they told me you weren't available." Her voice cracked. "I didn't know what to think. I didn't know if you were okay. I didn't know anything."
Zhao Lihua closed her eyes. "I'm okay," she said quietly.
"You're okay?" Mei's voice pitched higher. "Jiejie I haven't heard from you in over a year. Do you know what that does to a person? I thought—" She stopped herself. "I thought something terrible had happened to you."
"Mei—"
"No. No, let me finish." A shaky breath. "Are you really okay? Where are you? Are you safe? Is he—" She hesitated. "Is everything alright at home?"
Zhao Lihua looked over at Xian, who was now having a very serious conversation with Baozi on the floor. "Everything is alright," she said. "I have a new phone. I just..." She paused. "I just wanted to hear your voice."
Silence from the other end. Then very quietly — "I missed you so much, Jiejie."
Zhao Lihua pressed her lips together. "I missed you too, Mei."
---
Li Feng sat across from Tao Jun, hands folded on the table. "Mr. Tao." He paused for a moment. "I'll be honest with you."
Tao Jun straightened slightly.
"There are more than just a few bad apples working here. I can already map out several of them. Small things. Petty enough that they felt safe doing it." He paused. "I'll compile what I have and leave the decision on how to handle them to you."
Tao Jun's expression darkened quietly.
"However," Li Feng continued, "that is not the real problem."
"What do you mean?"
"The previous auditors." Li Feng looked at him directly. "They went through these same records. Twice. And they signed off on everything." He let that sit. "Mr. Tao, the irregularities I am finding are not hidden well enough to escape a trained eye. Any competent auditor should have caught them."
Tao Jun's jaw tightened. "You're saying they were bought off."
"I think it is the only explanation that makes sense," Li Feng said simply.
The office went very quiet. Tao Jun leaned back, exhaling slowly, hands pressing flat against the desk. "Then who can I trust?" he said quietly, more to himself than to Li Feng.
Li Feng looked at him calmly. "Right now?" he said. "Me."
Tao Jun moved forward, grabbing Li Feng's hands with both of his. "Please, Mr. Li." His voice was low and heavy. "Get to the bottom of this."
Li Feng looked at him steadily. "I plan to," he said simply.
---
He left the building as the evening settled in.
---
Elsewhere, a phone pressed against an ear.
"He's out. Heading your way." The voice was low and clipped. "Don't mess this up."
The call ended.
---
Li Feng walked at an easy pace, bag over his shoulder, files tucked under his arm. The street grew quieter the further he went. He turned down a narrower road.
Then he stopped.
Two figures stepped out from the alley ahead of him, blocking his path. He heard movement behind him without turning. Two more emerging from the shadows at his back.
All four wearing masks.
Li Feng stood very still for a moment, eyes moving calmly across each of them.
Then he set his bag down.
<<<<<<
Jie jie!" → "Big sis!"