PEOPLE often say that being an independent director of a publicly listed company is an easy job where you can earn money by just raising your hand. However, Su Manhua disagreed.

　　With a cautious and responsible attitude, she always took her work, especially tasks involving economic data, very seriously. Knowing that Fonghan Group had issues, she was even more careful.

　　So, early the next morning, she went to Fonghan Group to review the board meeting proposal materials.

　　Since it was the third-quarter board meeting, there were many items to be reviewed. The board secretary handed Su Manhua a large stack of proposal documents and went off to attend to other matters.

　　Taking the documents, Su Manhua sat at her desk and calmly began to go through each item one by one. First up was the financial report, followed by an investment proposal. This was an overseas investment in a Canadian real estate company, with an investment amount reaching eight figures.

　　Su Manhua cautiously glanced at the door, took out her phone, and snapped a photo. There was definitely something wrong with this investment proposal. This was her fourth board meeting, and there had been similar investment proposals in two previous meetings, investing in the same company but with different amounts.

　　She had always thought the additional investments were because this company was profitable. Although the paperwork said so, after learning about Lee Lesi’s involvement in some illegal transactions, she couldn’t help but suspect something fishy about this proposal.

　　Just as she finished taking the photo and put away her phone, Lee Lesi’s voice came from outside before she even entered the room.

　　“Manhua, how diligent you are!” she said.

　　“Lesi!” Su Manhua smiled and stood up to greet her. “How have you been?”

　　Lee Lesi, nearing forty, was well-maintained and looked just over thirty. She was beautiful and sociable, often giving the impression of being very approachable.

　　Today, Su Manhua carefully observed her for a while, noticing the sharpness in her beautiful eyes. The slight upward tilt of her eyes seemed to see through people. Previously, she only thought these eyes were pretty, but now she didn’t want to look into them directly.

　　“I’m good! I was worried you might be bored,” Lee Lesi smiled and said, pulling a swivel chair to sit beside her. “There are some proposals I haven’t had time to read yet, so let’s go through them together!”

　　“Sure! It’s great you’re here, otherwise, I might have dozed off,” Su Manhua said. She felt relieved that she had acted quickly. If she had been a few minutes slower, she might not have even seen the content of the proposal, let alone taken photos.

　　The afternoon meeting progressed smoothly, ending by five o’clock. Su Manhua wanted to find an excuse to leave and meet Ding Yi, but Lee Lesi insisted on catching up, so she had to stay.

　　She sent a message to Ding Yi explaining the situation, and after sending the photos she had taken, she deleted them from her phone.

　　Although she was a bit worried about being suspected, the two people who had seen her back then were still detained, so logically she shouldn’t have been exposed. Nonetheless, she reminded herself to stay cautious.

　　The evening dinner was scheduled for seven o’clock. After chatting with a few other independent directors for a while, Su Manhua found the conversation uninteresting. Lee Lesi and several other executive directors were still discussing in the meeting room. Remembering the rooftop garden, she decided to go up for some fresh air.

　　Being work hours, the rooftop was empty. The garden was lush with flowers and shrubs, with a few seasonal blooms decorating the place.

　　The sun was already leaning towards the west but still had some residual heat. Su Manhua found a bench behind a row of shrubs on the easternmost side. Sitting there, she was shielded from the sun and could enjoy the distant view.

　　Her phone vibrated. It was a message from Ding Yi, asking about the location of the dinner. She sent him the address and was about to switch her phone from meeting mode to normal mode when someone entered the rooftop garden while talking on the phone. From the voice, it was Lee Lesi.

　　Instinctively, Su Manhua silenced her phone, lowered her body, and hid behind the shrubs. These actions were purely instinctive; she just felt she should do so.

　　“Sorry, I was in a meeting and didn’t hear the phone ring,” said Le Lesi. The voice was getting closer, making Su Manhua nervous. She quickly sat up straight, trying to appear natural and not like someone eavesdropping.

　　What followed from Lee Lesi was a series of agreements and responses. She walked to the row of shrubs next to Su Manhua but didn’t come any closer. Instead, she turned and walked back towards the center.

　　Relieved, Su Manhua guessed that Lee Lesi assumed no one would be up here during work hours, so she didn’t check.

　　Lowering herself again, Su Manhua held her breath. Lee Lesi’s cautious behavior indicated that this call was significant and possibly shady.

　　“Does it have to be today?” Le Lesi asked. “I have an important dinner tonight and can’t leave. Could it be tomorrow?”

　　Su Manhua carefully peeked and saw Lee Lesi standing with her back to her, speaking softly and watching the entrance to ensure no one intruded. Whatever the reply was, it made Lee Lesi anxious enough to tear off a few leaves from the shrub.

　　“Alright! You’ll have to come over. Let’s meet at the restaurant next to my company. I’ll book a private room and give you the number. I only have two hours, so please come quickly,” she said.

　　After hanging up, Lee Lesi made another call to book the private room, fiddled with her phone for a bit as if sending a message, and then left.

　　Once she entered the elevator, Su Manhua quickly moved to the elevator entrance to wait. She watched the floor numbers decrease without stopping until it reached “1.” Then she hurried to the edge of the garden and looked down to confirm that Lee Lesi entered the restaurant next door. Only then did she return to the elevator entrance to wait.

　　Leaving Fonghan Group, Su Manhua called Ding Yi to update him on the situation. Ding Yi said he would be there soon and instructed her to wait outside the restaurant and not act rashly.

　　After waiting for a few minutes, Su Manhua, worried about missing the opportunity, decided to go inside and probe a bit. As she entered the restaurant, a waiter promptly greeted her warmly, “Hello Miss, are you here for dining? How many of you are there?”

　　Su Manhua smiled and replied, “I have an appointment with a Ms. Lee. She didn’t tell me the private room number, but she should be here already.”

　　“Is it Ms. Lee from Fonghan?” the waiter asked. Due to the location, Fonghan Group was one of their major clients, frequently booking reservations here. So the waiter immediately recognized that it was Lee Lesi based on Su Manhua’s description.

　　“I’m not sure, but her last name is Li. Could you tell me which room she’s in? I’ll go check,” Su Manhua replied.

　　“She’s in room 13. By the way, do you know the two gentlemen who just went upstairs? They are here to meet Ms. Lee,” the waiter said, pointing to two men who were just turning the corner to go upstairs.

　　The two men were in suits. From this angle, only their profiles were visible. One was quite young, and the other was in his fifties. Su Manhua vaguely remembered the older man from over a decade ago, but she wasn’t sure.

　　“Yes, I know them,” Su Manhua quickly responded. “I’ll head over now.”

　　Following the two men, she saw them enter room 13. She then returned to the front desk and said, “Sorry, I mistook them for someone else. My friend called to say she’s running late. Could I get a room? Is room 12 available? I checked the environment, and it looked good.”

　　The waiter informed her that room 12 had been booked but not specifically requested by the customer, so they switched it for her.

　　Thanking the waiter, Su Manhua went into room 12 to wait for Ding Yi. She tried listening through the wall but couldn’t hear anything. When Ding Yi arrived and saw her comical posture, he couldn’t help but tease her, “Are you trying to be a gecko?”

　　“You won’t believe who I saw,” Su Manhua glared at him and said.

　　“Who?” asked Ding Yi. Could it be someone he knew too?

　　“Syu Yujhou,” Su Manhua replied. He was the president of their head office.

　　Back when her father was still in Hedong, he would often inspect and guide work at various banks. When Su Manhua was in her third year of middle school, her father once went to Hedong Commercial Bank for a supervision meeting. After the meeting, Syu Yujhou insisted they stay for a meal. Her father, using the excuse that he had to pick her up, couldn’t refuse and had to bring her along. That was the first time she witnessed the masks and hypocrisy of adults, leaving a deep impression of Syu Yujhou.

　　Ding Yi showed a surprised expression and asked, “He’s here too? With Lee Lesi?” Isn’t tomorrow a holiday? He had just gotten off work, and Syu Yujhou had already rushed back from Hedong. That was fast!

　　“I haven’t seen him in over ten years, so I’m not completely sure, but it’s likely him,” Su Manhua replied.

　　Ding Yi fell silent for a moment. Investigating Gu Wei’s loan had narrowed down his suspects to three people—the deputy president in charge of credit at the head office, Ma Jieh, president Syu Yujhou, and chairman Le Binwei.

　　All three were of the right age, but from the salary records, only Ma Jieh was working at the Linghai branch office the year Huo Yanjhih had his accident, in an office clerk position. Syu Yujhou and Le Binwei were branch managers. Before Ru Mong’s accident, she was a teller at Syu Yujhou’s branch.

　　That morning after returning from Hedong, Ding Yi had specifically asked Ru Mong. She confirmed that before her accident, Syu Yujhou had been seconded to the office to temporarily perform the duties of office director. The branch was managed by the deputy president, who was doing two jobs, leaving Ru Mong an opportunity.

　　Previously, management was less formal, and not everything was documented. Secondments, especially lateral ones, might only be recorded in meeting notes. Ding Yi hadn’t thought to check those records.

　　Moreover, after the secondment, personnel and salary matters were handled by the original post, so checking salary records was futile.

　　Now it seemed Syu Yujhou was the prime suspect. What was he doing rushing back to Hedong today? What was his relationship with Lee Lesi?

　　“I think you’re supposed to head back to avoid arousing suspicion. I’ll stay and wait for them to come out to confirm things,” Ding Yi said. The soundproofing of this room was so good that staying here wouldn’t help much. He just wanted to identify the other young man.

　　“Alright. Have you checked on that Canadian company?”

　　“I’ve got someone looking into it. The investment proposal doesn’t show any obvious flaws. We’ll start with the company and see if we can find any useful clues.”

　　“I’ve ordered dishes. They should be served soon. How about I stay and eat with you?”

　　“Sure!” Ding Yi smiled and replied. He actually preferred she didn’t go to that dinner.

　　After hesitating for a few seconds, Su Manhua stood up and said, “I think I should go back.” She wanted to help him and didn’t want Lin Chian’s death to be in vain.

　　About half an hour after Su Manhua left, the door of the next room opened. Ding Yi cracked his own door open slightly and moved to the corner. Watching through the gap, he saw two men walk out one after the other. Rubbing his chin, Ding Yi recognized Syu Yujhou!

　　But where was the other person?

　　Ding Yi waited another two minutes, and when no one else came out, he decided to take a risk.

　　He walked to room 13, boldly pushed the door open, and entered. To his surprise, instead of a table full of food, he saw a young man sorting through a pile of forms. Hearing someone enter, the young man flipped the forms face down on the table before turning to look. Seeing an unfamiliar face, he scowled.

　　“Hey! Why does the room look different after just a bathroom break? Who are you?” Ding Yi said curiously.

　　The young man held back his irritation and sternly replied, “Sir, you must have entered the wrong room. Please check carefully.”

　　Ding Yi glanced back at the room number, then approached the man with a smile, apologizing, “Sorry! My mistake.”

　　Though the man had covered a few forms, the table was full of papers he couldn’t hide quickly. A quick glance revealed signatures on some blank forms, including Lee Lesi’s and Syu Yujhou’s, for investment immigration paperwork.

　　Feigning excitement, Ding Yi said, “You handle investment immigration, right? I’ve been looking for someone to explain the process. I’m considering moving to Canada.”

　　The young man’s initial anger dissipated upon hearing this, his face softening. He handed Ding Yi a business card and said, “My last name is Wang. Feel free to consult me anytime.”

　　“Thank you!” Ding Yi glanced at the card and said, “Manager Wang! My last name is Huo. I didn’t bring my card today, but I’ll contact you later. Could we discuss this now?”

　　“I’m quite busy at the moment. How about another day?” said Manager Wang. He looked troubled.

　　Just then, a waiter’s confused voice came from room 12. “Where is the customer? The dishes are served, but no one’s here,” the waiter asked.

　　“Here, I’m coming,” Ding Yi called out before turning back, “I’ll head over now. And I’ll contact you later.”

　　Manager Wang breathed a sigh of relief, smiling as he escorted Ding Yi out and then locked the door behind him.