Chapter 85: The Secret Door

Chapter 85: The Secret Door

Perhaps because it was daytime, the curtains were wide open, and compared to the light from the incandescent lamp, everything was particularly clear.

The visual impact was truly something else.

In the end, he helped her clean up and then prepared to get dressed.

Lin Yufan asked him, "Want to rest for a while?"

"I have meetings in the afternoon and evening, and I'll be back late today. Go to bed early tonight; don't wait up for me." He leaned down to kiss her forehead and smoothed her hair, "Want to sleep a little longer?"

Lin Yufan usually only naps for half an hour, and today she had already slept enough.

"I should get up as well." She sat on the edge of the bed, watching him button his shirt, and remembered what she wanted to ask earlier. "By the way, I saw Zhao Lixiang's rehab nurse at the hospital yesterday."

Zhao Zhiao: "It's Liang Yue. Did you notice it was her?"

Lin Yufan nodded: "She's got this mole right on her chin. Last year at the coffee shop, she was sitting right across from me, and I got a good look at it."

Zhao Zhiao knew she had an excellent memory, so he figured she'd see through it, even if others didn't.

He smiled and said, "Speaking of which, she's the one who brought us together."

If it weren't for Liang Yue, Lin Yufan wouldn't have sat in his car, squeezed next to his thigh, he wouldn't have been swept away by desire, and he wouldn't have been discovered by Lin Yufan at the pawnshop, leading him to take the chance to propose.

Lin Yufan hadn't thought that sitting squeezed together in the car was the origin of it all. After hearing him out, she couldn't help but tease, "I still remember how you pretended to be disdainful back then; you were quite the actor."

Zhao Zhiao couldn't help but laugh.

She tilted her head slightly to look at him and suddenly asked, "If it were another woman sitting next to you, would you have done the same?"

Zhao Zhiao quickly clarified, "How could that be? It was fate that brought us together! With another woman, these things definitely wouldn't have happened. Your soulmate is chosen for you. Otherwise, do you think I never had the chance to meet other women? I've got three concubines, and I've never strayed."

Lin Yufan was still somewhat confident: "Isn't it because I'm so good-looking?"

Zhao Zhiao, now fully dressed, smiled and touched her hair, "You're not just good-looking. On our first night of marriage, I couldn't get enough of you..."

This is called sexual attraction.

He had read about it in a book.

Lin Yufan couldn't help but mock him when she remembered his strange behavior on their wedding night: "You weren't exactly at your best back then. I even felt sorry for you."

Zhao Zhiao paused, "Looking for a spanking, are you? Don't think I won't cancel my plans and stay in bed to prove my point."

Lin Yufan was really afraid he would find an excuse to do it again, so she sweetly changed her tone with a smile, "I meant the Zhao Zhiao from our wedding night, not the you now."

After the couple teased each other for a bit, Zhao Zhiao left, and Lin Yufan got up.

She now writes three articles a week, one chapter of "Sorceress Legend," one chapter of "The Peacock Flies Southeast," and one chapter of a newly conceived novel.

It's relaxing, joyful, and satisfying.

*

Coming out of Director Gao's office, Wang Liu, Deng Kuan, and Long Jing were smoking in the stairwell.

Director Gao sent them to find Cui Yuan, but they weren't sure why.

Wang Liu worried, "Director Gao doesn't actually think Captain Cui's the mole and is using him to find another, does he?"

Longjing shook his head: "Captain Cui is definitely not a mole."

Deng Kuan glanced at Wang Liu: "How do you know there's another mole?"

Wang Liu clicked his tongue: "I was just speculating based on Director Gao’s hints. How would I know if there really is a mole? Xiao suspected me, and you were also suspected, Deng Kuan. Now that the suspicion has been cleared for both of us, only Longjing hasn’t been suspected or investigated."

"Damn!" Longjing spat out a puff of smoke, "I’m just a simple, honest little clerk. What does this have to do with me?"

"What should we do now?" Wang Liu asked, perplexed. "We can’t really bring Captain Cui back, can we?"

Longjing had an idea: "Let’s not talk about capturing him. We should go and explain the situation to Captain Cui and see what he thinks. If he doesn’t want to come back, he can just run away. We’ll say we couldn’t find him, and accept the punishment. That’s it."

Deng Kuan nodded: "Longjing makes sense."

The three returned to the office of Team One, and Wang Liu called Cui Yuan directly.

Cui Yuan worked for the Bamboo Chapter, but he couldn’t be reached by phone.

In the end, Wang Liu decided to go in person, with Deng Kuan accompanying him. Longjing had other matters to attend to, so he stayed behind in the office.

Wang Liu and Deng Kuan drove a jeep to the Bamboo Chapter in the West District and found Cui Yuan playing cards in the chapter house dormitory.

Cui Yuan was doing well in the Bamboo Chapter; Bald Li held him in high regard, and he had become a minor leader, overseeing over a hundred people.

After listening to Wang Liu, Cui Yuan glanced at Deng Kuan.

Deng Kuan suggested: "Captain Cui, it might be safer for you to leave Hongcheng."

Cui Yuan stroked his shiny, oiled-back head and snorted coldly: "They say I’m a mole, but who have I harmed? I didn’t kill Fat Liu, and Ji Shutong’s death has nothing to do with me. Wang Liu can vouch for me."

Wang Liu couldn't quite recall whether Cui Yuan was with him at the brothel at the time Ji Shutong was killed. Earlier, Xiao Zepeng's questioning had thrown him off, but now, reflecting on it, he realized Xiao Zepeng was the one with issues.

Wang Liu pounded his chest: "Of course, I’ve got your back."

"Then that’s that, right? Why should I hide? I, Cui Yuan, live an upright life. Why should I live in hiding?" Cui Yuan refused to believe this nonsense. He went back into the room, holstered two guns, and said, "I'll go back with you to see Director Gao."

Cui Yuan had a knack for schmoozing and winning people over. He had been with the Bamboo Chapter for less than two months, yet all his subordinates were already loyal to him.

His crew was worried and drove along to the Hong Kong office.

After stepping out of the car, Cui Yuan told his men: "Shui Tou, wait downstairs."

Shui Tou agreed: "Boss, if you’re not down in half an hour, we’ll round up a hundred guys and take them on!"

Let them inside know who really runs this town.

Wang Liu was instantly impressed. He trailed behind Cui Yuan, buttering him up: "Captain Cui, you’ve got more men under you than Director Gao!"

Cui Yuan raised an eyebrow: "The best part? I’m free. No one breathing down my neck, no one accusing me of being a rat, and the pay’s better than here!"

"Man, I’m jealous! If I ever get the boot here, Captain Cui, I’m coming to you."

Cui Yuan: "You're my brother. You’re welcome anytime."

Wang Liu bolted off, racing in to spill everything to Director Gao.

Walking behind, Deng Kuan and Cui Yuan exchanged a glance. Cui Yuan whispered: "Don't worry about me."

Wang Liu went in and gave a grandiose account to Director Gao: "Captain Cui is working at the Bamboo Chapter, under Guang Touli, managing over a hundred men, quite impressive. His men are downstairs, threatening that if Captain Cui doesn't come out in half an hour, they'll show us what a real local power looks like."

Director Gao glanced at Wang Liu with slight impatience: "Get him in here, quick."

"Right!"

Wang Liu opened the door and called out to Cui Yuan: "Cui Yuan!"

Cui Yuan, standing at the stairway, quickly entered Director Gao's office.

As soon as he entered, Cui Yuan immediately switched to a familiar tone: "Director, it’s good to have you back. What happened to your face?"

"Let’s not talk about it. Take a seat." Director Gao waved his hand, signaling Wang Liu and Deng Kuan to leave.

Hearing Director Gao's tone, it seemed he wasn't there to settle scores with Cui Yuan. Wang Liu and Deng Kuan felt slightly relieved and left, closing the door behind them.

Cui Yuan sat down obediently: "Director, just like you, I’ve been wronged and framed. I was left with no choice but to turn to the streets!"

Director Gao sighed: "If it weren’t for Qiu’s fall from grace and someone higher up protecting me, I wouldn’t just be back—I’d be dead."

He pointed to the white scar on his face and continued: "Before, I believed self-preservation was key. I could turn a blind eye to the Communists if needed. But damn it, they framed me and nearly got me killed! This time, I’m back, and I’m through with the Communists."

Cui Yuan nodded sincerely: "Director, I understand you."

"What’s the use of understanding? You’ve got to come back and help me! I can’t get a read on Xiao Zepeng. Dong Yushan used to run with Zhuang Ziguang, and I suspect he’s connected to the Security Department. Wang Liu and Deng Kuan have both been under suspicion as spies! I have no one I can trust!" Director Gao sighed heavily, looking at Cui Yuan with expectation.

Cui Yuan awkwardly said: "If you’re unsure about Wang Liu and Deng Kuan, why not promote Longjing? He’s got what it takes."

"In my eyes, no one measures up to you!"

A former boss is no better than a dog!

Cui Yuan wouldn’t be swayed by Director Gao's sweet talk: "Director, if I come back, I’m worried I’ll bring you down with me. Guang Touli’s playing both sides, and he’s tight with the Communists too. If I’m working for him now and then come back to you, I’m afraid it might tarnish your reputation. You know how those people upstairs are—if some lowlife rats us out, wouldn’t that implicate you?"

Hearing this, Director Gao hesitated.

What Director Gao feared most now was being suspected of having ties with the Communists again.

Seeing Director Gao waver, Cui Yuan continued: "Besides, I’ve got a good grip on things at the Bamboo Head. If you ever need anything, Director, I can handle it on the down-low. Wouldn’t that be more convenient?"

There’s some sense to that!

But the possibility of cooperation wasn't great.

After all, he really couldn't figure out which side Guang Touli was on.

Having connections in different places could be a safety net if the Nationalists fell.

Director Gao didn’t press further: "True, if you can make it there, it could be another path for you."

"I was forced into this with no way out." Cui Yuan chuckled.

He began to boast to Director Gao about his amusing experiences as a gangster at the Bamboo Head.

Director Gao wasn’t interested in hearing this, but he didn’t want to interrupt, especially since Cui Yuan was no longer his subordinate.

He forced a smile, occasionally glancing at his watch. Seeing that half an hour was almost up, he quickly reminded: "It’s been half an hour. Aren’t your men waiting downstairs?"

"They can wait, no problem!" Cui Yuan said, noticing Director Gao's troubled expression, and tactfully stopped, "Right, right, I almost forgot. If I don’t go out, they’ll come charging up."

Cui Yuan stood up with a smile, bid farewell, and left.

He exchanged a glance with Wang Liu and Deng Kuan as they headed out, and Long Jing was also there, so they went downstairs together to find a place to eat.

After Director Gao returned, although he intended to root out the traitors, it turned out to be all talk and no action, as transporting supplies was the top priority now.

After Xiao Zepeng received a warning from Eagle, he started cooperating with Director Gao, and the next period was unusually calm.

Deng Kuan had been keeping an eye on Long Jing, and perhaps because he had been watching him so closely, he noticed that Long Jing seemed suspicious.

For example, Long Jing often wandered around the offices, often vanishing without a trace. Before, Deng Kuan hadn’t paid much attention, assuming he was just slacking off in the dormitory.

But now, after paying closer attention, he realized that during the times Long Jing disappeared, he wasn’t in the dormitory either.

Long Jing didn’t gamble, drink, or frequent brothels, so where did he go during those times?

The watchers outside didn’t see him leave either, so he must have been somewhere in the Hong Kong office building.

However, Long Jing’s disappearances were always stealthy and hard to track. Deng Kuan didn’t dare to keep too close an eye on him, fearing he might expose himself, so he hadn’t caught Long Jing yet.

*

Lin Yufan showed up at the publishing house around ten, ready for the usual meeting.

Wen Li gave her the meeting materials ahead of time, and Lin Yufan quickly glanced through them before heading to the conference room.

In the conference room, the others were already waiting.

They were chatting and laughing about the plan to level Turtleback Mountain and build a commercial district there.

Someone asked, "President, will we have to move our office in the future?"

After sitting down, Lin Yufan smiled and replied, "That’s at least four or five years down the road. We’ll evaluate whether to move the office when the time comes."

Hui Yan said, "That area is the city center, so it’s convenient to get anywhere from there."

A Tang teased her, "It’s mainly convenient because it’s near your place."

Hui Yan defended herself, "Whether it’s near my place or not doesn’t matter. I’m renting, so I can move whenever. But Turtleback Mountain is indeed more convenient than here."

A Jin inquired, "I heard from Manager Lin that if the office moves there, this place will be demolished and rebuilt, with shops on the ground floor and residences above. Employees can buy at a discounted price."

Lin Yufan had indeed considered this, but it was still in the planning stages and wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

Even though it was just a pipe dream, everyone was happy to hear it.

The room was filled with smiles. Having the right boss meant enjoying a good life together.

The meeting officially began. Recently, due to the increase in business volume, all departments had been requesting additional positions. However, Director Chen, who was used to tough times, had been holding back on approving them.

Finally, everyone used the meeting to air their grievances and push for more hires.

Director Chen adjusted his glasses and said, "We’ve already hired twice this year. Looking at the clock-in records, no one is working overtime regularly. Is the workload really that heavy? The competition is fierce now, and we haven’t entered a stable period yet. It’s easy to hire people, but if profits drop, laying them off would be a headache."

Hui Yan said, "Brother Zeng, Xiao Qing, and I all take manuscripts home to review. We can’t finish everything in the office."

Brother Zeng added, "Yes, we’re reviewing manuscripts until eight or nine every night. We’re not asking for much—just two more hires."

Wang Muxun also requested two more people, and A Tang from the marketing department asked for additional hires as well.

Director Chen looked at Lin Yufan with difficulty, "President…"

Lin Yufan clearly remembered what Zhao Zhiao had told her before. There were many things in society they couldn’t change, and as a boss, the only thing she could do was provide more job opportunities.

With their current profitability, they could easily employ dozens more people.

Lin Yufan thought for a moment and said, "Director Chen is objecting out of concern for the company's interests, but the departments are indeed short-staffed, and we should staff up as soon as possible. Director Chen, you should also hire one more person to help you, otherwise you won't be able to manage."

Hui Yan laughed and said, "Right, Director Chen, don't shoulder everything yourself. As the company makes more money, we need more people. Many hands make light work, and together we can move forward."

Many hands make light work!

Director Chen nodded with a smile, "Alright, I'll arrange it."

Next, Hui Yan reported the sales of the second quarter's 30Cent novels. Due to the rising cost of paper, the profit margin had decreased.

Although the paper mill and printing factory were both owned by Lin Yufan, the publishing house still had to pay a higher price to the printing factory during the settlement process, which was already much lower than the market price.

"Although the profit margin has decreased, the overall profit for the second quarter has increased. Moreover, we have almost outpaced our competitors. There are hardly any competitors in the market that can truly affect us now."

After Hui Yan finished her report, everyone discussed the plans for the next quarter, and then Wang Muxun began to present the summary of the second quarter for "Panorama."

Wang Muxun said, "First, some good news. The sales of our recent two issues of 'Panorama' have nearly reached 30,000 copies, only a few thousand copies behind the highest-selling 'Fenghua Magazine.'"

"Wow!" He Xiaoqing led the applause, "You guys are amazing!"

A Jin boasted with a smile, "It's only a matter of time before we overtake 'Fenghua' from the top spot!"

Lin Yufan also praised, "Congratulations on the great achievement. The efforts of Wang Muxun, A Jin, and An Tuo are evident to all. As A Jin said, our next target is to claim the top sales spot! It's up to you now."

Everyone was full of confidence, as they were ambitious contenders with great momentum.

Wang Muxun analyzed the reasons for the sales increase, "We signed nearly twenty writers in one go, and with Cai Nan joining, we attracted a large number of intellectual readers to buy our magazine. Additionally, another important reason is that as the plot of 'Sorceress Legend' unfolds, more and more readers are hooked on the serialized novel, wanting to know when the little sorceress will reach Tiantai Mountain and conquer the martial arts realm."

An Tuo added with a smile, "Recently, there has been a wave of interest in martial arts novels in the newspapers!"

Wang Muxun continued, "Moreover, these readers are the most dedicated and consistent, buying 'Panorama' without fail every issue, as soon as it's released."

Lin Yufan was not at all surprised by the popularity of "Sorceress Legend." She had anticipated this outcome.

After all, martial arts novels would become hugely popular in a few years.

She had simply accelerated the timeline by three or four years.

After the meeting, Lin Yuwu followed Lin Yufan into her office and suggested, "Isn't 'Sorceress Legend' divided into three parts? The first part is already finished. Can we turn the first part into a movie?"

This was a good idea, but the timing might not be ripe yet.

Lin Yufan pulled out a chair and sat down, "The influence of 'Sorceress Legend' hasn't gained enough traction yet. Let's wait a bit, maybe next year or the year after. Let Director Shen wrap up 'A Sudden Windfall of One Million' first."

Lin Yuwu said, "Director Shen originally wanted Xiao Qing to adapt it herself, but after several discussions, he found it wasn't working. Now he's looking for a screenwriter to handle the adaptation, which might take some time."

Lin Yufan had heard about this from He Xiaoqing, and she said, "No rush. We currently have two movies in the works, and Director Shen has time to polish the script slowly. How is the progress on those two movies?"

Lin Yuwu replied, "Lan Bing and Dongzao both take their time. They are filming artistic films, and their pace is much slower than Director Shen's. Fortunately, there aren't many sets to build, and the investment isn't huge, so we can afford the time. Also, 'The Passionate Tenant' will be released next week, and it has already broken last year's record. The final total box office should be around $115,000, and after splitting with the theaters, we should earn about $51,000."

Lin Yufan was very satisfied with the box office of "The Passionate Tenant," "Next week, let’s have the company kitchen prepare a special lunch for everyone. Also, set aside some time to organize a trip for everyone."

Lin Yuwu asked with a smile, "Everyone will probably be over the moon. I'll arrange it. The construction work at Guibei Mountain has already started, and the final planning map from Desheng Real Estate has come out. They included an additional building for the Hong Kong Airport ticket hall. When do you have time to go over it with them?"

"Anytime is fine for me. Just communicate and arrange it, then let me know."

"Alright."

*

At this moment, in the office building of Muir Media, Mrs. Muir sat in the general manager's office with a stern face, facing her husband.

Mrs. Muir complained: "Since Fenghua Magazine started publishing advertisements, the sales of each issue have been declining. If this continues, Panorama will catch up with us by the end of the year."

Mr. Muir said, "We need to keep advertising in the magazine; it's the way things are going. We can't give up halfway!"

"Our readers won't accept it!"

"They'll get used to it! This is non-negotiable." Mr. Muir was very authoritarian.

Unable to persuade him, Mrs. Muir had no choice but to give up.

She stared at her husband and asked, "When are you going to cover the 30,000 Hong Kong dollars you took from the company account?"

"Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it." Mr. Muir changed the subject, "I checked the financials; why have the recent magazine costs gone up so much?"

Mrs. Muir explained: "Paper prices have gone up. Other magazines raised their printing fees by over 5%, but we only went up 2%, which is good. Luckily, I was smart to sign a long-term deal with Wenmo Printing Factory earlier this year, or costs would be even higher."

Mr. Muir, who usually doesn’t deal with this stuff, didn’t know his wife was profiting from it. After a while, he pointed to the royalty expenses and said, "Royalties are up too."

"They were higher the past few months, but they’ve dropped this month. We’re bringing in new writers who cost less, write well, and stir up controversy to get people talking. The impact isn’t bad either." Mrs. Muir couldn’t help but complain again, "If it weren’t for the ad issue hurting sales, the impact would be bigger. The new writer Fan Yi has brought back a lot of readers."

Mr. Muir looked at his wife, slightly disdainfully furrowing his brows: "Fine, if new writers cut costs, use more of them."

After talking for a bit, Mrs. Muir left the office and went to Chui Zhu to tell him to use more new writers.

Chui Zhu smiled and said, "Funny you mention it. I just got a great piece from a new writer today. The writing’s really good—gentle and smart, like a little stream, totally different from Fan Yi but just as good."

Mrs. Muir smiled and said, "Oh, great. Looks like our luck’s changing."

"Yes!" Chui Zhu was very pleased. He specifically handed the freshly printed manuscript to Mrs. Muir to read.

Mrs. Muir, who was barely literate but acted cultured, said, "Oh, so excellent!"

*

That day, Deng Kuan came out of the archives room and happened to see Long Jing leaving the office alone, very cautiously looking around.

Deng Kuan quietly followed him.

He saw Long Jing hurry up to the third floor and duck into the storage room in the corner.

Afraid of being discovered, Deng Kuan didn’t follow him up. Instead, he waited until after work, invited Wang Liu and Long Jing to dinner, and excused himself to go to the restroom, letting them go ahead to order.

Watching from the window as Wang Liu and Long Jing crossed the street, Deng Kuan then sneaked up to the third floor.

Using a small wire to unlock the storage room door, he went inside and saw that the room was filled with cleaning tools and miscellaneous items, but nothing special.

After searching around, Deng Kuan noticed something odd about the corner cabinet.

The cabinet was fixed and couldn’t be moved. Opening the double doors, he gently tapped the cabinet panel next to the wall. The left panel sounded different from the right, very hollow, suggesting that behind it might not be a solid wall.

After poking around, he found small latches at the top and bottom of the cabinet panel. Prying open the latches, the panel suddenly loosened. Gently pulling it out, the panel opened like a small door.