Chapter 501 Smug
As Zhang Xiaoman was squirming, she yelled, “Let go of me! Help!”
“You’re too soft! No one’s going to hear you,” Qiao Zhan said.
“What do you want from me?”
“Not much, honestly. I just want to talk to you. If you’re worried something is going to happen to you, you can call the police. I won’t stop you.” Qiao Zhan simply gestured to her to make the call.
However, Zhang Xiaoman had no intention to call the police. All she wanted to do was to run away.
“I don’t want to talk to you, and I have nothing to say to you. Instead, I have a train to catch!” Zhang Xiaoman roared.
“As I’ve told you before, I won’t force you into anything. Nevertheless, I won’t hesitate to call the police if you don’t cooperate. My company has suffered tremendous loss because of what you said. We’ll demand full compensation from you.”
Upon hearing that, Zhang Xiaoman went silent.
“Let’s go. We should have a talk. Trust me. You won’t get far even if you get on the train now. You can run all you want, but I’m going to find you. Do you want what I’m best at? I’m best at playing cat and mouse, and I’m a hell of a cat. Of course, I’m an even better head of security.” Qiao Zhan looked at her with a smug on his face.
Left without a choice, Zhang Xiaoman gave in and got into Qiao Zhan’s car.
After that, Qiao Zhan whipped out his phone and rang Jiang Zhe.
The latter picked up the phone. “Captain Qiao—”
Qiao Zhan cut him off instantly and ordered, “I’m the head of security. Address me as Chief Qiao from now on.”
Jiang Zhe was overjoyed. “Oh, I heard about it! Please look after me from now on, Chief Qiao. I’d like you to do something about the ladies in the company. They’re constantly harassing me with text messages.”
“What are you talking about, Jiang Zhe? Do you think I have time for your trivial matters? You better watch what you say!” Qiao Zhan thundered.
“What do you want, then? Why did you call? Did you call me just to tell me you got promoted?” Jiang Zhe was amused.
“I want you to deliver Sir Chen a message. I’ve found the person in question. I’ll interrogate her before bringing her over.”
“All right,” Jiang Zhe answered.
“Let me make myself clear. I’m instructing you to deliver the message instead of reporting to you. Make sure Sir Chen is informed. Please see to it.”
“Yes, I heard you the first time. I have things on my hand. Got to go.”
“Wait, are you not going to congratulate me on my promotion?”
“Congratulations.”
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Qiao Zhan queried.
“What else do you want?”
“Well, don’t you think you ought to treat me to a meal or something?”
“Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Since you’ve been promoted, aren’t you going to buy me a meal?”
“No. Since we’ll be working closely in the future, I think you have to build a strong relationship with me. Otherwise, how would we be able to work well together?”
“You’re such a smug!” Jiang Zhe smiled before hanging up the phone.
Qiao Zhan was over the moon after his phone call with Jiang Zhe.
The latter was the first person that popped up in his mind when he wanted to boast about his promotion. He was eager to show off his official title.
“All right, then. Where would you like to go for a chat?” Qiao Zhan was in an excellent mood as he looked at Zhang Xiaoman and asked.
“How would I know?”
“Okay, I’ll decide. I’m bringing you somewhere nice.”
Qiao Zhan was being rather gentle with Zhang Xiaoman. After bringing her to a cafe, he ordered her a cup of coffee and a slice of cheesecake.
“The company was forced to stop production and sales in the aftermath of your words. As a result, we’ve suffered losses of up to a million. Now that the testing results are out, it was proven that there was nothing wrong with our products. Hence, the company intends to sue you for defamation and get compensated. As for Ms. Ding, she has had issues with product endorsements because of what you did. You’re required to compensate up to ten million on that. Since I have no idea how much you were paid by the person who asked you to do all these, I do wonder if you have enough money to pay for all the compensations. If you do, then there’s nothing else for us to discuss. All you need to do is pay up. If you don’t, may I know how you intend to fix this? Before you say anything, please know that there’s no way you can escape my grasp.”
With that, he took a sip of his coffee gleefully. Since I’ve been promoted, I should act more sophisticatedly.
Zhang Xiaoman was fidgeting anxiously because she didn’t expect things to turn out so badly.
Of course, Nan Chen was able to prevent such heavy losses. Qiao Zhan was just intimidating her.
“I was wrong,” Zhang Xiaoman apologized.
“Your apology doesn’t fix a thing. In fact, only kids have the luxury of offering nothing but their apologies upon doing something wrong. As for an adult like you, you have to be responsible for your actions, and you ought to pay for your mistakes. Seeing how serious the damage is, how do you intend to resolve this issue?” Qiao Zhan stared at Zhang Xiaoman while he spoke.
“I haven’t thought about it yet.” Zhang Xiaoman was devastated.
“Why did you do it in the first place?”
“My boyfriend gave me ten thousand and told me to do it.”
“Ten thousand? That little?” Qiao Zhan was baffled.
Then, a realization dawned upon him. She was tricked by her boyfriend!
“It seems like he has tricked you. I’m sure he’s getting paid a lot more than that for what you pulled on us. He must be spending his rewards on other women as we speak. Now that you’re caught, he doesn’t even bother to help you,” Qiao Zhan said.
Zhang Xiaoman got worked up all of a sudden and exclaimed, “I think so, too! Damn it! I’ve been fooled by him!”
“Now is not the time for that. You’ve got to think about how to get yourself out of trouble. If you don’t mind, I can show you a way out of this.” Qiao Zhan stared at her.
“Please, help me! I’d do anything as long as I don’t have to pay for the compensation!” Zhang Xiaoman anxiously answered.
“Very well, then. Do you really have a skin allergy?”
“No.” Zhang Xiaoman lowered her head in shame.
“What brand of makeup do you normally use? Do you use any of Beauty Cosmetics’ products?”
“No. Beauty Cosmetics’ products are too expensive for me. I only use the other brands.”
Qiao Zhan nodded. She must be telling the truth.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll set up an interview for you. Then, you must tell the truth to clarify the situation. Once you’ve done that, we won’t come after you anymore. Remember, only the truth. I won’t help you if you lie.”
Zhang Xiaoman seemed hesitated.
Qiao Zhan immediately stood up and said, “Since you don’t want to cooperate, I’ll leave now. See you in court.”
“Wait! I’ll do whatever you say!” Zhang Xiaoman panicked.
Qiao Zhan smiled upon hearing that. I knew you were going to yield. It seems like I’m just as smart as Jiang Zhe, if not smarter!
