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CHAPTER 231
"Yes. Search everything. And if you find a drive, connect it to the laptop. We need to ensure everything is clean."
"You cannot do that," Peng Xiaoli intervened as she stepped forward and reached for her laptop.
Before her hands could touch the laptop screen, one of the guys snatched it from her desk, handing it over to Beatrice.
'Tsk, persky bastards. Thank goodness I have nothing that shows my contact with Andromeda on my laptop else I would be toast.' Peng Xiaoli reminded herself internally as she drifted her gaze from the idiot who snatched her laptop to Beatrice.
"What? Because you have so much to hide?" Beatrice questioned as she tapped on the laptop screen.
"No. I do not. But that is my personal property."
"That makes you more suspicious," the first lady chipped in from behind them.
"Fine. If it pleases you, feel free."
"Good. Now guys, search thoroughly. Besides, she is sure she is not a snitch. So do your jobs well."
"Yes, Ms Zhang," all three guys chorused.
Retaining her stand, Peng Xiaoli crossed her arms on her chest and waited for the guys to do their work.
No matter what the outcome of their search was, she was sure she was clean.
What was more, the only flash drive she had she had left at home today when in a hurry to work.
No sooner had that thought crossed her mind than her drawer was pulled open and two flash drives were found.
"Miss Zhang, I got one, I mean two," the second guy by the drawer called out, bringing everyone's attention to him.
"Oh… Interesting. Let us see," Beatrice ordered.
Surprised by the findings, Peng Xiaoli's brows drew even closer together as her eyes squinted while trying to peer closely at the contents in her drawer.
Thanks to the tall frame of the guy before her, her view was partly covered.
However, she did not have to bother much as he rose to a standing position the next second with the two flash drives in his hand.
One of which she recognized as the one given to her by the company and the other, she knew nothing about.
Averting her gaze back to Beatrice, Peng Xiaoli stated calmly, "None of them is mine."
"Then care to explain whose?"
"One is for the company. I am sure you all are familiar with it. As for the other, I am afraid I do not know how it got there."
"I see. Is that the truth you are telling me or is this because it was the flash drive Andromeda gave to you to steal from me or better still, you bought it to use for quick business, which is why you do not recall?"
"Does anything about your accusation make sense?" Peng Xiaoli questioned with her eyes remaining stern and unblinking.
"Fine then. Since you do not believe me, let us check both flash drives. After all, they were found in your possession and not mine."
"Exactly. And anyone of your goons could have put it there. Even while searching."
"There was nothing like that," the second man who found the flash drives quickly chipped in. "I did no such thing. Rather than lying and fixing blame, own up to your wrongdoings"
"I did no wrong. I won't own up to any lie," Peng Xiaoli spat out defiantly.
"You nuisance…" He lifted his hand ready to hit her when Beatrice intervened quickly.
"Stop! There would be no need. Hand over the flash drive. Let me save us the stress."
"Yes, Miss Zhang."
Following her wish, he handed over both drives to her and watched as she placed the laptop on the desk, away from Peng Xiaoli's reach and went to work.
"Oh, before I forget, there would be only one thing that can happen to you, should I find any incriminating evidence on you."
"And that would be?"
"You would leave this company today. Now one last chance. Do you want to come clean or do you wish for me to search?"
A low scoff tore through her lips as she shook her head. "Come clean? Only those who are guilty of an offence would take your deal. I have nothing to say. Make the search, I am innocent. You would only find what you wish to see there anyways."
"I like your confidence. So, we shall proceed."
Not wasting any more time, she inserted the first flash drive, belonging to the company, and thoroughly searched.
All the while, Beatrice had the screen of the laptop facing Xiaoli, to prove her fair point.
Minutes passed and she was done with searching the files on the first drive before moving on to the second and unknown flash drive.
Her cheeks puffed up a bit as she tsked away at Peng Xiaoli.
"Here goes nothing. The last one."
"Sure," Xiaoli said with utmost indifference in her eyes. "Go on."
The second the flash drive was displayed on the screen, three folders popped on the screen.
"What do we have here?"
She clicked on the first and got an empty folder with less than a kilobyte worth of space. Moving to the next, she got the same thing. Until she clicked on the last.
"Umm, remind me, is Divine Pearl's Fashion Show the full meaning of DPFS?" Beatrice Zhang's voice resonated loud and clear as she straightened her back and paved the way for Xiaoli to see the evidence.
Staring right at her, were pictures of the sketches drawn to be used for the fashion show that ended.
"I do not know what you are talking about," Peng Xiaoli denied.
Even in the face of such danger, she refused to cower before her.
"You still lie? I saw a folder with the name Horror movies on it. I clicked and saw another bearing the letters, DPFS on it. I clicked and it took me to another unnamed folder bearing this."
"Why are we still asking her? Miss Zhang, it is clear she is really a snitch and a confirmed liar," the third lady cheered on.
"Say whatever you wish of me," Peng Xiaoli began, diverting her gaze to the sinister-looking ladies, glaring at her.
"It does not change the fact that I was framed."
POW!
A resounding slap reverberated in the office, stunning everyone who witnessed the incident.
"Enough of your lies," Beatrice said through gritted teeth.
A stinging pain seared into Peng Xiaoli's face from the slap which Beatrice had landed on her.
One minute she was busy talking to the other lady and the next, she was slapped.
Her chest rose and fell as she heaved out a deep sigh. At this point, all of her rage tempted her to be set free but she knew better than to let it happen.
Slowly lifting her head, Peng Xiaoli blinked at her, forcing a smile as she fixed her attention on Beatrice.
"You slapped me?"
"Yes. And I would do it again."
"No worries. It is useless being in a place full of framers and liars. I would uphold your deal and leave."
Having her agree so quickly to the earlier proposal and not beg made Beatrice suspicious of her.
Narrowing her eyes at her as she studied the weak expression on Peng Xiaoli's face, Beatrice Zhang felt her heart swell with pride.
A light scoff fell off her lips to the hearing of Xiaoli as she placed her hand back on her hip. "And what are you that I would lower myself to your level to frame you?"
"The key to bringing you down."
Her smile faded and her expression became ardent as she closed the gap between them. "Keep wishing. This time I won," Beatrice said in a whisper.
A small smile danced on Peng Xiaoli's lips but she refrained from saying much.
"Guys, we are done here," Beatrice concluded and turned away, making her way back to the laptop.
"I would be confiscating this. I am sure the CEO would love to know what exactly happened. This would clear my name."
"You will go down for this."
"No. And oh, tell your Andromeda Kai, I won."
'I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. You may win the game, but she would win the tournament.' Peng Xiaoli finalized in her mind.
"Have her pack her things and get her out of this company."
"Yes Miss Zhang," the three guys chorused.
Saying no more, Beatrice picked up both flash drives, after ejecting the complicated one and left the office.
Several snares and glares fell on Peng Xiaoli but the latter remained unphased by their actions.
Quickly, she picked up her laptop and began to arrange her things.
"Just look at her. A green snake under the green grass."
"Tsk, I am glad she was discovered. It is a good thing Miss Zhang came to search her office."
Ignoring them, she rushed with her things while keeping her thoughts in check.
By the time she was done and left the company's building with her things, a wry smile danced in her eyes as she looked back and stared at the entrance.
Without wasting a second, she got her phone out and placed a quick call to someone.
"Hello."
"Yeah. I'm out. You know what to do."
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