No sooner had she sat back down at her workstation than Zhou Yun approached Tao Xinrou to reply: "Miss Tao, I've verified it. The filing records show that attachment was optimized out during a file reorganization five years ago because the format was non-standard and its content largely duplicated the main document. Additionally, due to the age of the files, it's normal for some documents to have missing content or to have been optimized. If the project needs it, I can help you look for it."
Tao Xinrou could tell Zhou Yun was lying, but she couldn't say anything. She just nodded dumbly: "Okay, I understand. Thank you, Director Zhou. I'll keep looking on my own."
As she watched Zhou Yun leave, Tao Xinrou's mind was in turmoil.
Zhou Yun's reply only confirmed that Ying Huaishan was behind it all!
Not only did Ying Huaishan know she was investigating, but he was also monitoring her in real time through Zhou Yun.
She instinctively looked out the window and saw that Zhang Hongbin hadn't left the headquarters building. Instead, he crossed the atrium and headed straight for another annex building where the core management of the group was based.
His patron was definitely Ying Huaishan.
That explained why they had been asked to choose sides earlier—Ying Huaishan needed to strengthen his power base and secure his position in the group so that no one would dare touch him.
And she was like a small insect caught in a spiderweb; every move she made seemed to be watched clearly by the spider in the shadows.
But the more they tried to stop her, the more determined she became.
Tao Xinrou decided to change her strategy—to sift through the bits and pieces that hadn't been cleared away.
For example, documents from other branches from the same period, general reports from headquarters, even seemingly unrelated union activity records and internal newsletters. She tried to piece together the overall environment and undercurrents of the group around 2009 from these minor details.
She knew the direct evidence might have been destroyed, but the traces of the era and people's hearts might still linger in these less conspicuous corners.
If a head-on collision wouldn't work, she'd wage a guerrilla war.
Pretend to advance on one path while secretly taking another!
Ying Huaishan, you can clear out the archives, but can you clear away everything?
*
Meanwhile, in Ying Huaishan's office, he had just finished listening to Zhou Yun's weekly report on the archive room. His fingertips tapped slowly on the solid wood armrest.
From the moment he learned that Ying Jingsheng was planning a cultural heritage project, he had sensed something was off.
Thinking of his two useless sons, a wave of irritation washed over him.
If he didn't act soon, once the old man handed everything over to Ying Jingsheng, his branch wouldn't even get a sip of the hot soup.
He had to take precautions and nip all threats in the bud.
At first, he thought only Ying Jingsheng was investigating, but now it seemed there was someone else who needed to be understood.
That was the girl who had suddenly appeared by his side—Tao Xinrou.
He'd heard they were living together and had both worked in the guest services department. That couldn't help but make him wonder if there was something between them.
He had hired her himself. He had reviewed everyone's résumé and done background checks.
He still remembered Tao Xinrou's résumé a little. At the time, he thought her background was too clean, almost sparse, and as a fresh graduate, she was best suited for the guest services department.
He remembered that in the family member section, only her mother was listed; the father's column was blank. He hadn't thought much of it then.
Hotels had high turnover at the grassroots level; there were plenty of kids from simple family backgrounds.
A few days ago, when the hotel side said they wanted to access the headquarters' archives, he grew suspicious. When he saw the list of people requesting archives, he wasn't suspicious at first, but then he saw the surname Tao, which made his heart skip a beat. Coupled with some vague information flashing through his mind...
That day at the hospital, when he met her and her mother for the first time, he had inexplicably started worrying about her.
Now, at the project kickoff meeting, he saw her again. This time, she was following Ying Jingsheng, looking like a child who would dutifully do her job.
All these pieces of information coming together completely changed the picture.
Originally, he just wanted to see what Ying Jingsheng was up to, but with such tight defenses, he had almost forgotten about this. So he decided to have Zhang Hongbin deliver the news about loosening access to the archives.
Now it was clear that Tao Xinrou had indeed checked the 2009 archives and even dared to report it. She had some nerve.
If she really was Tao Haizhen's daughter, then...
A crack appeared in his sealed memories.
If that were true, then her entry into Yunlu was no coincidence!
And Ying Jingsheng—the old man's favoritism toward him was obvious. This cultural project might very well have been tacitly approved or even instructed by the old man, giving him a legitimate channel to access old archives. And Tao Xinrou might be the "knife" Ying Jingsheng had chosen to stab him.
"What a fine nephew, what a fine landlord."
Ying Huaishan's eyes narrowed slightly.
He never believed in coincidences, only in carefully designed inevitabilities.
If those two didn't have some kind of deal between them, he'd never believe it.
He couldn't sit idly by anymore. He had to firmly take the initiative back into his own hands.
You want to investigate? Fine, I'll let you investigate. But what you investigate and how far you go will be up to me.
Ying Huaishan stood up, leaned over his desk, and picked up the phone.
He dialed Zhang Hongbin: "Hongbin, you haven't been coming to headquarters much lately. Is it because my nephew won't let you?"
Zhang Hongbin sounded anxious on the other end: "President Ying, of course not. It's just that with a new manager in office, there's a lot to help out with."
"Mm, you're very thoughtful. I have an idea that might help you out."
"Please, go ahead, President Ying."