567 The voice of recognition
“Mam, please…” Cui Fen stammered through the tears falling down her cheeks as she hurriedly followed Xing Bi. “P-please talk to Sir, will you? I d-don’t want to get kicked out of Sky! Please Mam…”
Cui Fen begged Xing Bi as she was the only last hope left for her. Her face and eyes were red and wet, indicating that she had cried for fear of her future for a long time, which was now at the brink of ending forever.
Xing Bi let out a sigh. Cui Fen was still relatively young and still had a chance of a bright future if given a second chance.
“But that depends on Sir and President Chen. More so the President because your lies put blame upon him and Shi Huan. Don’t you think that you should sincerely apologize to them first instead of asking me?”
Cui Fen bit her lower lip, another tear slipping down. “President Chen is with Sir in his office a-and I don’t want to disturb them…”
The atmosphere in Jun’s office was warm and merry as he talked with Yunru and Sun Bai, and Cui Fen couldn’t get the courage to break the lively air with her presence. It would have dampened everybody’s mood.
Xing Bi focused her gaze on her for a few long moments, observing her expression. To her, Cui Fen did look genuinely sorry for her actions.
“Why did you agree to do this? You do know how big of an issue plagiarism is, right?”
Cui Fen hung her head, ashamed. “I am sorry, Mam. I-I am very new to Sky and I was just anxious to prove myself worthy as soon as possible.”
Xing Bi released another sigh.
Young people these days are so anxious to get immediate results…
“And I was a-afraid that I would be fired if I didn’t follow the orders. It’s still relatively a new company compared to Dream High, but I loved how it worked,” she trembled and sniffled. “That’s why I was so happy to come here, but I was suddenly told what to do one day and so scared to imagine that I might be thrown out.”
“Huh?” She tilted her head in confusion. “Why did you feel that you would be fired?”
Cui Fen, in turn, blinked back at her, perplexed. “Because I am a newbie author here. Naturally, I am not very aware of the ways here…”
“No I mean, why did you feel like anybody in Sky would fire you? That decision lies with Sir and the President and if you know their reputation before coming here, you would know that they would never take any unnecessary steps towards you or threaten you with your job.”
Cui Fen grew more fidgety. “I am really sorry Mam, but I don’t think I am getting what you are saying…”
Xing Bi tried to express herself more clearly this time. “When you said that you were afraid of getting fired, it looked to me as if you were saying that somebody working in Sky told you that.”
“Oh…! Yes, it felt to me that way.”
Her eyes widened. “What? That must be a misunderstanding. We all work together as a family here. None of the employees will threaten each other like this.”
Cui Fen gave her a troubled look. This time, it was her who wasn’t sure how to explain herself to Xing Bi. “Y-yes I know. Everybody is so warm and helping here. But…I don’t know why but whenever this person relayed his orders to me, it felt to me that it was somebody in Sky. I-I mean that thought just came to me naturally,” she looked away for a second, trying to focus on the source of her feelings, “L-Like I was being watched.”
Xing Bi stared at her.
“So since I felt that I was being watched, I just unconsciously thought that somebody should be present around me in the company. That’s why I was afraid of losing my place in Sky because I thought that whoever is talking to me has some power to take that decision against me.”
She let out a gasp, her heartbeat rate slowly increasing as she was trying to understand her nuances. Then she recalled another thing.
“You…At Sky’s anniversary, I sometimes caught you throwing glances at people here and there.”
Cui Fen nodded. “Because I felt the person was present during the anniversary. So I was very nervous…”
She froze.
“They were telling me what to do and when to do it. I cannot show those messages since they got deleted…” she pursed her lips in lament, “but the whole time I felt as if that person knew where I was since they could…how should I say…accurately time the unfolding events. To do that, you need to be physically present in the celebration to know what is happening.”
Xing Bi felt slightly out of breath despite standing still at her place all this time.
Um this is weird…
pαndα`noνɐ1–сoМ
But it cannot be possible…A traitor in Sky?
She snapped out of her daze and quickly said, “I-I see. I will talk to Sir about this. For now, you can leave. Don’t worry about your job. I will talk to Sir and the President and try to convince them to give you a second chance.”
Cui Fen’s wet eyes shone with hope. “Thank you so much Mam!!! I will be forever grateful! I will personally apologize to President Chen and Miss. Shi too,” She bowed deeply.
“Good.”
As Cui Fen left, Xing Bi, too, hurriedly walked towards her own office. Her heart was pounding faster as was trying to figure out what she just heard from Cui Fen.
Lost in her thoughts, she crashed into Hou Lin. “Shit! I am really sorry! I didn’t notice you…”
Hou Lin caught her arm and helped her balance. He furrowed his brows at her. “Are you okay, Miss. Xing? You look distressed.”
“Oh me? Of course not. I am super happy especially after today’s press conference haha.”
“Indeed. Today’s conference sorted out every last stain on Sky. It’s all fine now.”
Xing Bi didn’t know why but she slightly stiffened at the last sentence. She stared at Hou Lin, prompting him to stare back at her with his attention.
‘It’s all fine now.’
‘It’s all fine now.’
Why does his voice suddenly feel so familiar…? Xing Bi wondered.
‘It’s all fine now…Zhou Ai…dead anyway.’
At that moment, Xing Bi froze. The strange voices she had heard at the time of her near accident from Jin’s car suddenly came flashing at her. She had recognized one voice that belonged to Zhan Yahui, but she couldn’t put her finger on what that other voice was.
Huh…? I must be mistaken right?
“Miss. Xing, are you really doing fine?” Hou Lin asked in concern once again.
Her expression grew paler the more she heard Hou Lin’s voice.
This is so stupid, she nervously thought. Why am I feeling that the voice I heard at that time matches Hou Lin’s?