"Boss, what are you talking about? How could I possibly do something like that?"
After a moment of shock, Xu Kai put on an innocent expression.
"We're at this point, and you still won't tell the truth?"
Yuan Jianan's face turned purple with anger. She never expected her assistant of nearly 10 years to do something like this.
"Boss, I'm being framed! If you say I stole the design, please show me proof."
Seeing that Yuan Jianan couldn't speak, Xu Kai knew his boss likely had no evidence, and his confidence grew.
"Young man, don't rush."
Just then, Song Qiao gently patted his shoulder from behind, signaling him not to get agitated. He then earnestly advised,
"You must have heard just now that your boss's design also has questionable origins. If you steal it for profit, you'll be legally liable as well."
As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Kai, who was already flustered, lost some of his bravado.
After a moment's hesitation, he summoned the courage to say, "I have nothing to hide, so I'm not afraid of shadows. I didn't steal it, and I don't believe the law can convict me for my boss's problems!"
Song Qiao looked at his indifferent expression and his expression turned cold.
"You're ungrateful. Just wait to go to jail."
Song Qiao threatened, then gave Yuan Jianan a look.
She immediately understood and took out her phone from her bag. With a half-smile, she looked at Xu Kai and said,
"Fine, since you won't admit it, let's call the police. Regardless of the issues with my work, let the police investigate first."
After speaking, she started dialing without looking at Xu Kai's reaction.
"Wait, boss, don't call the police, I'll talk."
Seeing Yuan Jianan's all-or-nothing attitude, Xu Kai panicked, his face turning pale with fright.
"Boss, it was my fault. I did secretly sell your design to Tianyuan Company."
Xu Kai was now utterly despairing. He closed his eyes and confessed everything.
"What? It was really you?"
Although Yuan Jianan had been mentally prepared, she was still furious when Xu Kai confessed.
"Xu Kai, you've been with me for quite some time. I haven't treated you poorly all these years, have I?"
Yuan Jianan glared at him, her face filled with disappointment.
"Boss, I'm sorry, it was my fault."
Stared at by Yuan Jianan, Xu Kai felt his skin crawl and he knelt down with a thud.
"Boss, I was momentarily blinded by greed and did this foolish thing. Please forgive me."
"I really had no choice. My mother has uremia, and a kidney transplant costs two hundred thousand. I really couldn't come up with the money, so I decided to steal the company's design."
As Xu Kai spoke, he repeatedly kowtowed to Yuan Jianan. Due to his extreme agitation, his voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Your mother is ill?"
Xu Kai's words startled Yuan Jianan, and her expression softened.
She was, after all, a kind woman. While she was angry about being betrayed by her employee, she still valued their years of relationship.
Hearing that he stole her design because his mother was ill, she softened and her eyes showed a hint of pity.
"Stand up and tell me."
Yuan Jianan hesitated for a moment and was about to help Xu Kai up.
"No, boss, it's all my fault, I'm sorry."
Unexpectedly, Xu Kai's eyes were red, and he stubbornly refused to get up.
"Boss, for the sake of my years of service to you, please save me. My mother only has me as her child. I really can't face legal charges now."
As he spoke, he heavily kowtowed to the ground, remaining there for a long time.
Yuan Jianan became flustered. Having never experienced such a situation, she didn't know what to do.
After a moment of silence, she turned to Song Qiao for help.
Song Qiao smiled, immediately understanding her intent. He quickly walked over to Xu Kai and pulled him up.
"Young man, don't cry. Your boss's design is fine; I was just bluffing you."
Song Qiao said this while handing Xu Kai tissues from the table.
"We have no evidence, so this was the only way to force a confession. Otherwise, as time goes by, our company's losses will be even harder to estimate."
Song Qiao's voice was gentle. As the biggest victim of this incident, he didn't seem overly angry.
"Really?"
Xu Kai, whose spirits had sunk to the bottom, brightened when he heard Song Qiao's explanation.
"Of course, it's real. What you need to do now is quickly contact Tianyuan and get back the design you sold. We will pay the breach of contract fee."
Song Qiao chuckled and proposed his solution.
Based on his understanding of Tianyuan, Xu Kai's design probably wasn't worth much. Even with liquidated damages, the amount would likely be small.
"It's that simple?"
Xu Kai looked at Song Qiao with disbelief. He never imagined Song Qiao would let him off so easily, and even offer to pay the penalty for him.
Thinking of this, he secretly glanced at his boss, wanting to confirm if it was true.
"Do as Mr. Song says. The company will cover the expenses."
Yuan Jianan understood his meaning and simply glanced at him, saying softly.
"Thank you, boss, thank you, Mr. Song."
Xu Kai was overjoyed and almost knelt down to Song Qiao again.
"You don't need to thank me. I'm only helping you because you've been with your boss for so many years. I hope you won't do this again in the future."
Song Qiao straightened his expression and said sternly to Xu Kai.
Xu Kai quickly nodded and promised that this would never happen again.
Seeing that the matter was resolved, Yuan Jianan's furrowed brow eased. She insisted on taking Song Qiao to dinner.
...
"Song Qiao, why do you look so gloomy? Are you troubled by something?"
At the dinner table, Yuan Jianan seemed to notice something unusual about Song Qiao and couldn't help but ask.
"It's nothing much."
Song Qiao was silent for a moment and then recounted the conflict he had with Xue Mei and his wife that day.
Yuan Jianan listened and shook her head after a long pause.
"Song Qiao, there's really no evidence in this matter, so it's not entirely your wife's fault for arguing with you."
"What I'm most worried about now is that Xue Mei might continue to retaliate against Yuqing."
Song Qiao was startled by her words and began to worry about his wife.
As the saying goes, it's not the thief you fear, but the one who is always on the lookout.
If this continued, Xia Yuqing would eventually suffer greatly.
Thinking of this, he quickly called Xia Yuqing.
"Hello, wife, where are you now?"
"Having dinner with a client," came Xia Yuqing's somewhat distant reply.
"That's good." Song Qiao breathed a sigh of relief and temporarily set his mind at ease.
"You focus on your dinner. I'll come to pick you up later."
Xia Yuqing thought for a moment and didn't refuse.
"Okay, come pick me up at Xinyuan around eight or nine tonight."
Seeing that his wife had agreed, Song Qiao was relieved again. He responded and hung up the phone.