Some were happy, some were sad.
At the Imperial Grand Banquet Hall, the waiters had already cleaned up the shattered glass and red wine.
The guests' mood, initially ignited by Qin Beiting's appearance, was now boiling hot after witnessing the Gu family's dramatic performance.
Everyone realized that the Ye family was no longer what it used to be; their status had risen considerably, and they all wanted to court favor with them.
Ye Qichen and Ye Jianming moved through the crowd, busy greeting guests.
"Young Master Ye, may I have a word?" General Manager Liu from a state-owned enterprise, who had previously deliberately delayed cooperation, approached Ye Qichen with his wine glass.
"General Manager Liu." Ye Qichen clinked glasses with him, took a sip of wine, and then asked knowingly, "What do you want to say, General Manager Liu?"
After the previous incident, many VIPs had discreetly inquired about the Ye family's relationship with Qin Beiting and wanted to cooperate with him. He naturally understood General Manager Liu's intentions.
General Manager Liu knew that Ye Qichen was feigning ignorance, but he had believed Qin Meimei's nonsense and halted their cooperation. Now that his superiors had told him to resume discussions, he could only put on a smiling face and said:
"I've reviewed the new contract. When do you think we can find time to sign it?"
"This…" Ye Qichen pretended to ponder.
Seeing this, General Manager Liu added, "Regarding the profit, I've managed to secure an additional five percent for you from my superiors."
In reality, his superiors had proactively suggested it, intending to ensure he cooperated with the Ye family.
Generally, state-owned enterprises had substantial profits, and to add such a high profit margin, Ye Qichen decided it was best to accept. He said:
"Since General Manager Liu is so sincere, we'll find a place to sign the contract tomorrow."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Ye Qichen excused himself, citing other matters, and began searching for Qin Beiting.
He had to admit that Qin Beiting's arrival had made the banquet much more successful. Although he knew Qin Beiting was doing this for Yu He, he still felt obligated to thank him in person.
However, he scanned the entire banquet hall but couldn't find Qin Beiting anywhere, nor Yu He. He called his assistant to inquire.
"Young Master Ye, Master Qin and Miss left half an hour ago," the assistant replied.
Half an hour ago!
That meant they left just as the banquet officially began?!
Ye Qichen: "..."
He knew Qin Beiting had come for Yu He and had given them such a generous gift, but wasn't this going a bit too far?!
Every time he came, he just whisked her away!
"Ding." Just then, a message arrived on his phone.
He glanced at it; it was from an unknown number.
【Did you enjoy the opening of the annual meeting?】
Ye Qichen wondered who it was when another message arrived.
【Brother-in-law】
Ye Qichen: "..."
No need to guess, he knew who it was.
—
Meanwhile, at the Public Security Bureau.
Yu He and Qin Beiting were in the surveillance room of the interrogation room, watching the police interrogate Qin Meimei.
After two hours, Gu Ze's car accident had caused Qin Meimei to have a mental breakdown. This interrogation was much smoother than before; she confessed almost everything.
The cause of death for Luo Xiaoyao and her mother was as Yu He had suspected. Qin Meimei had ordered their confinement. On their escape, they were killed by Scarface, who then disposed of their bodies in the reservoir to make it look like an accident.
As for the memory card, Qin Meimei claimed to be unaware of it. On Christmas night, someone suddenly delivered it to her, saying it was evidence Luo Xiaoyao had buried in the banyan grove.
She immediately listened to the recording and was surprised that Luo Bin had actually recorded it.
However, critical parts of the recording had been deliberately damaged, leaving only incomplete transaction details between the two. Listening to this recording alone, the first suspect would surely be Qin Meimei.
But in reality, there was another person present at the scene of the transaction that year, whose voice in the recording had been destroyed.
"Who was that person?" the interrogating detective asked.
Qin Meimei suddenly fell silent, as if lost in thought, her gaze unfocused.
After a long while, she seemed to snap back and said, "I told Luo Bin to do it, to deliberately cause an accident and make it look like an accidental death, killing Shu Yun'er."
Shu Yun'er was Yu He's adoptive mother.
Yu He stared coldly at Qin Meimei through the one-way glass window. She was lying! She was protecting the real killer!
"Why did you kill Shu Yun'er?" the detective asked again.
"Because I didn't like her," Qin Meimei replied.
This flimsy excuse seemed consistent with Qin Meimei's previous behavior of bullying and being arrogant. However, eleven years ago, she was merely a minor branch family member of the Qin family and could not possibly shake the Sixth Branch of the main family.
Furthermore, she was a perfectionist and valued her reputation. She would not casually get her hands dirty with a murder unless it was absolutely necessary or profitable.
Even then, it would be a case of using a knife to kill. Even if she were arrested and convicted, the mastermind behind her would still be at large.
However, no matter how the detectives interrogated her, Qin Meimei refused to reveal the identity of the true mastermind.
In the surveillance room.
Yu He turned her gaze to Qin Beiting beside her, her lips parting as she called out, "Ting Ge."
Qin Beiting looked at her clear, dark eyes, glistening as she gazed at him, and suddenly felt his throat grow dry.
"Hmm?"
"Did you learn any effective interrogation techniques in the military?" Yu He asked.
Qin Beiting understood her meaning and raised an eyebrow, "And then?"
Yu He pointed to the interrogation room behind the glass window and said, "Their efficiency is a bit low. If you have any tricks, show me?"
She had finally found the evidence and caught the suspect. Just as the name of the killer who had murdered her adoptive mother was about to be revealed, Qin Meimei stopped talking.
Yu He had lost her patience and wanted to make her confess quickly to avoid further complications.
Seeing her anxious and worried, Qin Beiting wanted to tease her, "Beg me!"
Duan Aiguo, also in the surveillance room, was about to lift his cup to drink water when he heard this and almost spat it out.
If Shao Chen had said this, he could have accepted it with a smile, but Qin Beiting had always been known for his indifference to women.
What was this public display of flirting?
Yu He: "..."
Yu He: "Please."
The girl's voice was clear and cold, but different from her usual demeanor; it carried a hint of compliance, sounding somewhat soft, making Qin Beiting's throat feel even drier.
"Okay, Ting Ge will show you some tricks," Qin Beiting said, rubbing her hair before turning to leave.
However, the moment the surveillance room door closed, a commotion suddenly erupted in the interrogation room behind the glass window.
Qin Meimei, driven to a breakdown by the relentless questioning, thought that even if she confessed everything, she would still face the death penalty. She couldn't even go out to see how Gu Ze was doing. Thus, she attempted to bite her tongue to commit suicide.
The two interrogating detectives immediately stood up to stop her.
Yu He rushed from the surveillance room to the interrogation room. Qin Meimei's mouth was already bleeding, and she was being taken out of the interrogation room by the police to be sent to the hospital for treatment.