As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes were on Fang Rong. He stood up and replied, "I received a work order from the Guest Room Center at six o'clock yesterday afternoon to replenish the diffuser for the VIP guest in Room 2008. When I entered the room, Tao Xinrou and Zheng Shuhui were checking the items in the decorative cabinet. I noticed that one crystal ornament was missing from the cabinet, and they were discussing it right then. It wasn't a case of concealment."
Fang Rong's words were like timely rain in a drought, precisely watering the soil of Tao Xinrou's heart!
The CEO helped speak up—who dares to act recklessly now!
Fang Rong's testimony directly overturned Li Meili's accusation of "falsely reporting all items present." Though embarrassed, Li Meili forced herself to stay calm. "You were just replenishing the diffuser, staying less than a minute. Can you really be sure?"
"I wouldn't mistake it. The crystal ornaments in Room 2008 are custom-made, arranged in a circular array. One missing leaves an obvious gap—it's clear at a glance. Besides, when I replenished the diffuser, I specifically asked if they needed help reporting it. Tao Xinrou said she had already noted it down and would report it soon."
This statement completely shattered Li Meili's scheme.
Seeing this, she snapped, "What kind of record is a private note? Even if they recorded it, it doesn't change the fact that they didn't follow the signing procedure and didn't report in time! Wei Jiaxin, tell us what you saw."
"Well..." Wei Jiaxin reluctantly stood up and replied, "I was supposed to do the inventory, but Supervisor Li assigned me to deliver documents and told me to let Xiao Zheng know. She wasn't there, and I was in a hurry, so I asked Supervisor Li to make the arrangements. Who knew this would happen?"
He glanced furtively at Zhang Hongbin in the main seat. Seeing Zhang Hongbin's grim expression, he quickly added, "Oh, by the way, after delivering the documents, I even went to the 20th floor. I wanted to help, but I saw Xiao Zheng had already finished the inventory, so I came down. I even bought her milk tea to thank her. At the time, I thought it was strange that she kept lingering around Room 2008. Now that I think about it..."
Sure enough, everything was developing exactly as she had foreseen.
Li Meili was clearly determined to make Tao Xinrou and Zheng Shuhui suffer.
"But Supervisor Li, what if the item hasn't been lost and is still in the hotel?" Fang Rong asked.
Li Meili's expression stiffened noticeably, but she asked, "Still in the hotel? Then produce it."
Fang Rong didn't answer. Li Meili pressed on, "Can't produce it? Then stop making excuses. Manager Zhang, the evidence is conclusive. How do you think we should handle this?"
Zhang Hongbin glanced at the group and then made his decision. "Since the evidence is clear, let's handle it according to the rules. Zheng Shuhui and Tao Xinrou, due to dereliction of duty..."
Zheng Shuhui was panicked and dazed, and Tao Xinrou's heart was also racing.
Why hasn't Security found it yet?
Just then, the conference room door was suddenly pushed open. Two colleagues from Security walked in, one holding a transparent bag containing the missing crystal ornament.
"Manager Zhang, Supervisor Li, we found the missing crystal ornament in the storage cabinet at the 20th-floor fire exit."
"What? Found it?!" Li Meili exclaimed.
"Preliminary judgment suggests this was deliberately hidden."
The entire room erupted in murmurs. What had been deemed a case of dereliction was now suddenly a case of deliberate concealment.
"Can you determine when it was hidden?" Zhang Hongbin asked.
"Yes. We'll go retrieve the surveillance footage and confirm the identity of the person who hid it as soon as possible."
Just as the Security colleagues were about to leave, Li Meili quickly stopped them and interjected, "Wait. Manager Zhang, Inspector, since the crystal has been found, why not let our department handle the investigation? Let's minimize this matter and avoid any misunderstandings with headquarters. Xiao Zheng, I apologize to you. But if this happens again, make sure to report it promptly, okay? Don't waste everyone's time. Manager Zhang, what do you think?"
What a great way to shift the blame!
Tao Xinrou looked at Li Meili. She was completely different now from the aggressive person she had been moments ago. It seemed she was the one behind this.
Zhang Hongbin waved his hand and cast a sharp look at Li Meili. "It's commendable that you can admit your mistake and take responsibility. Follow this as you said: fully cooperate with the investigation, improve management procedures. Meeting adjourned."
Li Meili responded respectfully, and everyone saw Zhang Hongbin out. The tension in the conference room dissipated.
Zheng Shuhui rushed over and hugged Tao Xinrou, tears streaming. "Xinrou, thank you! I'd be finished without you!"
"It's okay, it's okay," Tao Xinrou said, patting her back.
Seeing that everything was fine, Wei Jiaxin walked over and said with a feigned helplessness, "Great, I'm glad you two are okay. What a mess. I really should have helped Xiao Zheng search back then."
Tao Xinrou shot him a glare. This two-faced guy was putting on a fake show of concern now.
"No need. Just stay away from us from now on."
"Well..." Wei Jiaxin didn't know what to say, but Tao Xinrou had already turned her gaze to Fang Rong, who was packing up his notes.
She quickly walked over, her voice full of gratitude. "President... I mean, Fang Rong, thank you so much just now. If you hadn't given us the layout yesterday, we might have died without even knowing why."
Zheng Shuhui also nodded in thanks. "Yeah, Fang Rong. I didn't expect you to be so sharp. Good thing you helped us."
Fang Rong closed his notebook with a warm smile. "I just happened to be there and told the truth. But during the follow-up investigation, you both should be careful. Supervisor Li won't let this go easily."
Tao Xinrou nodded, mentally noting another point:
The CEO is such a good person!
With the CEO's help, I can conquer the world!
As for the grudge with Li Meili...
Well, this feud would probably last until next year.
*
The reason Security had been able to find the lost item so quickly at the fire exit was thanks to Fang Rong's tip.
That morning, Tao Xinrou had claimed that headquarters needed to inspect the fire exits and that the leadership had specially asked her to remind the Security colleagues. Fortunately, they had found the missing crystal before the meeting ended, sparing them from punishment.
But through this incident, Tao Xinrou realized that the future she saw could be changed. If she had been able to keep her father back then, could she have changed his future?
But now, it was too late to say anything.
Although the lost crystal had been recovered, Li Meili had her salary cut for three months due to her management negligence.
As soon as the news broke, the department exploded. Everyone knew that her salary cut was related to Tao Xinrou and Zheng Shuhui.