CHAPTER 255: CHAPTER 239: IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL A FRIEND?

Mu Shuoqian said he originally intended to let the matter end there, claiming that it was merely toying with the Qi Family, and even without Luan’s mother’s outburst, he had no intention of letting them off the hook.

Mu Shuoqian placed the vase of well-arranged flowers on the dining table, setting it up straight. Only someone like President Mu would use a Song Dynasty vase for wildflowers.

He glanced at Gu Qili, who sat in the chair with her hands propping up her chin, facing her curiosity, he absentmindedly fiddled with a petal and said, "It’s a pity the Qi Family doesn’t understand this."

"Then can you tell me, when did you start planning this?"

The Qi Family had deep roots in Aus City; to say that Mu Shuoqian struck them in one blow is less accurate than to say he had been plotting for a long time.

Mu Shuoqian moved behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and gently pressed: "The Qi Family is Qi Meihui’s support and also Mu Hewen’s reliance. My war with Mu Hewen would inevitably involve the Qi Family, hence I began observing them and secretly collecting their intelligence years ago. My plan was to catch them off guard when they stepped in to help Mu Hewen, but they forced me to prematurely end their role as gunmen. Some people may not seem like your enemies now, living peacefully with you, but one day in the future, they might become your biggest stumbling block. Therefore, one must not only focus on the present, thinking long-term is more advantageous, even if your speculation is simply groundless worries."

After listening, Gu Qili turned her head to look at him, then suddenly shook her head: "Mu Shuoqian, it’s terrifying to be your enemy."

She couldn’t help but shiver, thankful that she hadn’t offended him... "I haven’t offended you, have I?" she asked, uncertain again.

"Who says you haven’t?" His eyes suddenly grew darker, and with his palm, he cupped her bewildered face: "Last night, you did not satisfy me."

)

Just as she was about to rebuke him, the phone in her pocket rang suddenly.

Gu Qili answered the call with a greeting only to hear a formal voice on the other end: "Miss Gu, would you mind coming to the station tomorrow morning at eight?"

Was there progress on that side?

The next day at eight o’clock, Gu Qili arrived at the station on time.

Gu Qili hadn’t waited long when she suddenly saw an acquaintance, who also saw her and greeted her with a somewhat stiff smile: "Qili."

"Zhu Ping, what are you doing here?" Gu Qili stood up.

Zhu Ping had lost weight in the days they hadn’t seen each other, her face was haggard and lacked the vibrancy she had when Gu Qili first met her.

Zhu Ping seemed unsure of how to answer; just then, the officer in charge of the case came over with a notebook.

"You are Zhu Ping, right? May I see your ID?" He unfolded the notebook before him.

Zhu Ping took out her ID from her purse and handed it over, standing to the side nervously, head down, not looking at Gu Qili.

Gu Qili always felt that seeing Zhu Ping again gave her a completely different impression, and there seemed to be a sudden increase in the distance between them.

"Do you know about the incident where Gu Qili was bitten by a poisonous snake?" he asked.

Zhu Ping said softly, "I don’t..." but after glancing at Gu Qili’s bandaged right hand, she bit her lip lightly: "I know."

"Which is it, do you know or not?"

"I know."

"According to the person involved, only you touched her keys, is that correct?"

"That day Qili asked me to get something for her, but it was only for a very short few minutes, and right after I used them, I returned them to her. Qili, you can testify to that, right?"

Gu Qili nodded affirmatively; if possible, she really didn’t want to doubt Zhu Ping. They had joined the company together, and among all the colleagues, their relationship was the best.

"Keys can be pressed into a specialized mold and then copied in just a few seconds, so what you’ve said about those few minutes, it’s entirely possible," he pressured Zhu Ping, staring into her eyes: "You secretly pressed the key into a mold and then made an identical copy, am I right?"

"No, no, I didn’t," Zhu Ping’s face turned pale with horror, shaking her head continuously while looking towards Gu Qili, "Qili, I didn’t do it."

Gu Qili also said: "Comrade, you can’t make such arbitrary inferences without evidence."

A sealed small pouch is taken out of the drawer and placed on the table, she points to it and asks Zhu Ping, "This mold was found in your home, the traces on it have already been tested and compared, and are exactly the same as the pattern on Gu Qili’s wardrobe key. Moreover, we have also asked the lock shop near your home, the owner very clearly pointed at your photo and said that you had a key duplicated there, because you used a mold, it left a deep impression on him."

"No, this, this thing, I’ve thrown it away, how could it..." Zhu Ping’s words were cut short, as she suddenly froze and stared, her legs going weak and nearly collapsing to the ground.

The so-called evidence was pushed forward: "The mold you used was indeed thrown away, this is just a random substitute I found."

Zhu Ping stepped back, pain twitching across her face.

There was no so-called evidence, all this was merely to flush out the snake.

She had been tricked.

"Miss Zhu, we have surveillance and recordings here, you better not think about denying it anymore, just explain the situation in detail."

Gu Qili was already stunned when Zhu Ping uttered those words, as if someone had thrown a bomb inside her head, leaving her ears ringing.

"Zhu Ping, is this true?" She couldn’t believe it, that Zhu Ping actually duplicated her key.

Zhu Ping slowly calmed down, no longer weakly avoiding her gaze, but looking straight into her eyes and said, "Qili, I did make the key, and I was the one who handed it to Luan Yi, but I don’t know what Luan Yi actually wanted to do with it."

"Why, Zhu Ping, I’ve always treated you as a friend."

"Friend?" Zhu Ping sneered, as if she heard an incredibly disdainful word: "When have you ever treated me as a friend, how come I didn’t know about it?"

Gu Qili: "..."

"Qili, since you appeared you have been the one with the golden key in your mouth, you are President Mu’s darling, you are not the same as us, so you can be willful, you can dislike whoever you want, even someone like Manager Qi, you are not afraid of offending, because you have a bigger backer. You definitely don’t know, the time I spent with you, I was responsible for reporting your daily activities to Assistant Xiao at set times, who likes you, who bullies you, President Mu knows it all."

Gu Qili looked at her in astonishment, so Zhu Ping was the spy Mu Shuoqian had placed by her side, and she hadn’t noticed at all.

No wonder, only Zhu Ping was the closest to her, whatever happened she would share with Zhu Ping, it was natural for Mu Shuoqian to find her.

But Zhu Ping felt a psychological disparity because she did such things every day, Gu Qili could freely make mistakes, because President Mu was behind her, but she was frequently scolded by Guo Jun, with nobody to stand up for her.

There were men who doted on her, but she did not even have someone who liked her.

Zhu Ping was now fearless, playing with her own fingers as she continued to speak: "You say you treat me as a friend, but you never tell me about your relationship with President Mu, you also didn’t tell me that you are a top student from Australian University, and even more, you did not mention you were representing to participate in the bidding... and many more, all things I heard from others’ mouths, they look at me with strange eyes, they say, Zhu Ping, aren’t you close with Qili? Why didn’t she tell you."

Gu Qili silently watched her, waiting for her to continue.

"Although Luan Yi doesn’t get along with you, she is a kind-hearted person. She knew I couldn’t bear to buy oranges, so she bought a big bag and put them in my locker, and when she knew I needed money, she quietly slipped it into my bag. So when she asked me to figure out how to get your key, I agreed. I did struggle, but that day, you proposed to HR to have me fired. I just took a few extra days off, missed a couple of days of work, and this is how you treat me?" Zhu Ping’s expression turned cold, her gaze chill as she looked at her, "Is this what you call a friend?"

Gu Qili waited for her to finish speaking before responding: "The person who took my wine bottle and threw it down the garbage chute, that was you, right?"

Zhu Ping admitted it very readily: "Yes, I knew how important that bottle was to you, if it was thrown away, you would definitely think it was Luan Yi who did it, you would argue with her, even come to blows, and like that, your position as a team leader would have been gone. Even covered by President Mu, you would still resign on your own."

Her fists that had been clenched all this while, now slowly unclenched, with a pained and sorrowful expression becoming exceedingly calm.

"Zhu Ping, you say I don’t tell you anything, then let me tell you a few things you don’t know. You have been taking days off because your father is ill, his new chief physician is someone I asked Xiao Ran to please; the extra money in your locker is half a month of my salary, totalling 2800 yuan; and the oranges you didn’t buy that day due to an argument, I bought 11 because it was exactly 3 pounds; I didn’t ask HR to fire you, but when they insisted on it, I used my personal connections for the first time and begged Mu Shuoqian, he agreed to arrange for you another position in a different hotel, with a better title than you have now."

Zhu Ping’s pupils suddenly dilated, looking more shocked than before.

She had always wondered why such a famous chief physician would come to consult her father, she was also puzzled, as soon as she was unemployed someone would come to her door offering a high salary, it turned out....