Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 539 - 387. Details are the Devil (2nd update, 1st part)
James sneered, "Ma’am, do you really think I’m that stupid? Using murder as a price to obtain this position is too high a cost."
"Let me tell you, my habit is always to maximize benefits with minimal cost. Since I have ways of getting this position without killing my brother, why would I choose the dumbest approach?"
Tang Yan Yi stared at him intently, "Between 9 PM last night and noon today, where were you? Can anyone vouch for you?"
James replied calmly, "Mr. Lin Qi hosted a dinner for all the directors. As the newly appointed general manager, I was naturally with everyone the whole time. We ate, sang, and partied the entire night. Mr. Lin Qi and all board members can attest to that."
Tang Yan Yi focused sharply on James, "Your own flesh and blood; you should know at least something about his whereabouts."
James shrugged, "I’d want to help you, but I can’t lie. I don’t know, I truly don’t know."
Tang Yan Yi suddenly stood up, pressing both hands on the table and glared at James, "You two are siblings, yet he’s gone missing, and you show no hint of concern or worry?"
James shrugged again, "I’d like to appear concerned, as it would mean less blame for me. But I’m not one for pretending; if I’m not worried, I’m simply not worried."
"Because of a major conflict over company matters that I recently had with him, I’m left with nothing but disappointment; moreover, we’ve been apart for 15 years, brotherly bonds faded long ago, and meeting again feels like meeting strangers."
Not to mention, when we met again, George already looked like Huangfu Huazhang.
Not to mention... back then George and Huangfu Huazhang fought for inheritance rights, and George used him as a sacrificial lamb.
With all these thoughts accumulated, even if he wanted to act worried, he couldn’t pull it off, so he chose not to act at all.
James then stood up proudly, gestured towards the door in a manner of seeing someone out, "However, if you truly want to know George’s exact whereabouts, I suggest you continue to focus on Huangfu Huazhang."
Tang Yan Yi stared into his blue eyes, unable to resist a cold laugh, "You sure know how to deflect trouble. How do I not see any connection between Huangfu Huazhang and George’s disappearance now!"
If the Ford Group truly was seized back by George, then Huangfu Huazhang dealing with George is understandable, but now George is himself a loser and Huangfu Huazhang is still facing a lawsuit, why continue to clash with George?
"Is that so?" James didn’t insist, just put his hands in his pockets, pointing to his forehead, "Intuition. You in the police reason and solve cases, don’t you rely on intuition too?"
Tang Yan Yi glanced at him, then turned to leave, "Just as long as you’re not planning to eliminate a George, and then use our police to help you eliminate a Huangfu Huazhang too."
James smiled indifferently, "Take care, won’t be seeing you off."
.
Tang Yan Yi walked out of the Ford Group headquarters gate, stood in the sunlight to think quietly and sort out her thoughts.
It was already early summer, the sunlight on the tip of her nose forced out fine beads of sweat.
She carefully recalled the confrontation with James earlier, feeling vaguely that something was amiss.
Thinking left and right, the focus wasn’t in the words exchanged. Tang Yan Yi closed her eyes, imagining herself back in James’ office.
She focused all her attention on James’ face, yet subconsciously she swept her gaze over to a green porcelain brush washer on his desk.
Although it was just an unconscious glance, she still saw it clearly, Tang Yan Yi thought it must be because it was a Chinese item, somewhat conspicuous in the all-western styled office of James.
Conspicuous... was it really only due to cultural differences? She suddenly felt a shock, and remembered something.
No wonder it caught her eye; she had seen it in her elder sister’s shop before!
How did the brush washer from her elder sister’s shop end up on James’ desk?
"Virtual Tang Yan Yi" then scanned the entire office, trying to clearly see all the objects she had unconsciously seen before.
She saw it, saw it again.
It was actually a blue-glazed Buddha head!
In James’ office, there were actually two items from her elder sister’s shop appearing simultaneously, this definitely couldn’t be a coincidence!
She hastily grabbed her phone and called Yan Jian.
Yan Jian listened and only responded indifferently, "Oh, so what? Our eldest sister is quite famous in the industry, James must have come because of her reputation. He didn’t ask about our eldest sister at the store, nor did he take the opportunity to snoop around for news, he just bought things and left."
After finishing, Yan Jian excused herself by saying she was still in class and hung up the phone.
Tang Yan Yi still felt something was off.
She thought for a long time and decided to call Shi Nian.
It was noon, so Shi Nian invited Tang Yan Yi out for lunch. As Shi Nian started eating, it was Tang Yan Yi who looked a little uncomfortable.
Shi Nian looked up and said, "Since you’ve decided to talk to me, it shows you still trust me on this matter. So don’t hold back, just say what you want to say, can’t you temporarily forget about our past conflicts?"
Tang Yan Yi snorted, "I didn’t come to you because I trust you, it’s just that the eldest sister’s store was entrusted to you, so you’d know more about what’s happening with the little sister at the store."
When Shi Nian heard this, she paused with her chopsticks in her mouth.
She realized Tang Yan Yi was asking about James.
Tang Yan Yi suddenly reached out her chopsticks to tap Shi Nian’s, "Don’t bite on the chopsticks, that’s bad manners!"
Shi Nian was startled but then laughed, "That’s a rule in your Tang family, isn’t it? Thanks for pointing it out to me."
Someday she would join that family and have to adapt to these rules, wouldn’t she? Learning a bit earlier would help her adjust faster in the future.
Tang Yan Yi noticed Shi Nian’s flushed cheeks and guessed what she was thinking, so she snorted, "I came to you to talk about serious matters!"
Shi Nian stuck out her tongue, "Alright, let’s get serious. Yes, I also noticed James has visited the store a few times and there’s something fishy between him and Yan Jian. However, Yan Jian has her own little quirks and won’t tell me directly."
"I knew it." Tang Yan Yi’s worry surged, and her fingertips couldn’t help but twist the napkin tightly.
Shi Nian observed and couldn’t help but scrutinize Tang Yan Yi, "Actually, you’re sisters, your bond with Yan Jian is much closer than mine. Why didn’t you go directly to Yan Jian and instead put yourself through the trouble of asking your enemy?"
Tang Yan Yi gave Shi Nian a sidelong glance, "Of course, I asked her, but Yan Jian wouldn’t say anything."
Shi Nian smiled and shook her head, "I think the root of the problem isn’t here; it’s in your sisterhood. Yan Jian is the youngest girl in your family, indulged from birth inevitably. Her temperament, I can see, is to speak her mind, so I guess, when you were young, you two fought, right?"
That sharp-tongued little Yan Jian probably said some unpleasant things because Tang Yan Yi wasn’t a biological daughter of the Tang family. Tang Yan Yi was also a sensitive and sharp girl, so it’s imaginable that they must have fought a lot when they were little.
As Shi Nian asked, Tang Yan Yi fell silent.
Shi Nian chuckled, "Then I guessed correctly."
Tang Yan Yi knew she couldn’t hide it, so she let out a long sigh, "You’re right, we fought secretly all the time when we were little. Among the four sisters, our eldest sister was detached and Yan Yu was easy-going, while Yan Jian and I had similar temperaments. So we didn’t fight with our eldest sister and Yan Yu, only with each other."
"She was little then and could not accept another girl from outside, eating and playing with her. With this girl’s arrival, the family would allocate more money to us girls, and she had to be forced to call this girl her sister."
"And me, I felt displeased, too, but it wasn’t my choice to play with her. I didn’t tell the adults to divide that money into four. I didn’t care if she called me sister or not... Actually, even coming to this family wasn’t something I wanted. It was the director and others who decided for me. I was in a bad mood, why should I look to a little brat’s face, and so I clashed with her."
"Over the years, after we grew up, both of us knew it was immature, so it’s not as stiff now as it used to be. But... how to say, to her, I’m always different from the eldest sister and Yan Yu. When I find something amiss with her, our eldest sister and Yan Yu can press her until they get an answer, but I can’t."
She looked over, "So I had to come to ask you."
The Tang Yan Yi in front of Shi Nian was unfamiliar to her. She was willing to open up herself like this.
Shi Nian reached out and held Tang Yan Yi’s hand, "I understand. You love Yan Jian very much, truly treating her as your own little sister, that’s why you worry so much. You just don’t know how to express it, how to get her to open up to you."
"For her sake, you’d even talk to your adversary, which shows how much you cherish this little sister."
Tang Yan Yi felt a bit awkward and hurriedly turned her head away, "I don’t know either. In short, since I discovered it, I can’t ignore it. I’m really worried James has ulterior motives towards Yan Jian."
