Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 58p2

Chapter 58 p2: Bring Her Back

In previous years, the advertising bids for the reading group were all for cosmetics or beauty products. But because Logos’s advertising standards were too high, the advertisers of female consumer products were unwilling to invest in public welfare, so Liu Jia had gone to Beijing this year to talk to a few car companies and wine companies about advertising.

A reading program that promoted wine culture. No matter how Qin Luo thought about it, she felt it was a disconnect.

Shang Yi looked down, his hands on his stomach, and said in a deep voice, “Qin Luo, you’re tired and want to rest. I understand. How about we postpone it next quarter?”

He looked at Qin Luo and gave his compromised result. “The original plan was for the end of the year. We’ll postpone it to next summer. Let the project team replan. It’s fine even if we have to start over, but it’s not allowed to disappear. It’s a business card, a business card I saw when I first invested in Logos. I won’t allow it to disappear.”

A person who has lost power can only choose within a reasonable range.

Qin Luo breathed slowly and, after a few seconds of thought, said, “Then what if I, as the main party, insist on stopping the reading group?”

Shang Yi smiled, stood up calmly, and threw the mineral water bottle into the trash can beside him. “You just said that we’ve been cooperating for eight years. Based on my understanding of you, I believe you won’t.”

This was Shang Yi’s euphemistic way of expressing himself to his partner.

But he still made it clear: “You have to know that there are many people who want to be ‘Qin Luo,’ and there are also many people who want to pick up this banner. But they don’t know that to achieve a long-term vision and fulfill the original intention, you need to speak from a position of class.”

“But it’s clear that you and I are now in the same class. You know that.” Shang Yi shrugged, his hands in his pockets, not caring at all about his impolite tone. “Replacing you might be even worse for it.”

“Don’t forget that Her Kill still needs the reading group.”

He didn’t need to threaten Qin Luo at all, because in his narrative, the interests he was protecting were never any gender faith. He was protecting class interests.

“I have an appointment to go swimming tonight. I’m leaving now.”

Shang Yi walked toward the door. Halfway there, he looked at Zhan Luo beside him. “Change all the water in Director Qin’s office to drinkable water. The clients who come to the reading group for business talks are all very important. You can keep that kind of water for yourself.”

“Oh, right.” Shang Yi continued to Zhan Luo, “You can add my assistant’s WeChat later. It’ll be easier to coordinate work in the future.”

Zhan Luo stared at him and said, “Okay.”

As soon as Shang Yi left, Zhan Luo closed the office door.

He leaned his back against the door. The conversation between the two big bosses was an absolute shock to him.

Zhan Luo couldn’t calm down. He couldn’t believe that Qin Luo really wanted to disband the reading group.

“Sister Qin… you—”

“You can go out first.”

Qin Luo rested her elbows on the table, took off her glasses, and put her hands in her hair. “Don’t let anyone into my office.”

***

A person’s emotions will be prioritized by important events, from large to small.

In the first few days after the Logos incident, Qin Luo was just anxious to the point of not being able to eat or sleep well.

But after Shang Yi had refused to let her stop the reading group, Qin Luo’s anxiety had turned into pain. This pain had even seeped into her behavior. She had started to have insomnia all night, had difficulty concentrating, and had refused to communicate.

It was not uncommon for Qin Luo not to come to the company.

But for her not to reply to group messages, not to receive emails, was very strange to Liu Jia.

Even when Her Kill was about to have its final internal creative discussion, the planning assistant couldn’t get in touch with Screenwriter Qin. In the end, she had called the Logos office, which had made Liu Jia realize that Qin Luo might have had a breakdown.

Liu Jia was busy attacking Ranmei online and had taken half a day to get some news about Qin Luo from Zhan Luo.

Zhan Luo told President Liu, “Director Qin only asked me to get a grasp of the materials left by the previous assistant as soon as possible, and then she disappeared. I haven’t been able to find her either.”

No one, huh…

Liu Jia took out her phone and called the housekeeper.

But the housekeeper told Liu Jia that Miss Qin was not at home. The food in the refrigerator had not been touched, and there was no household garbage.

Oh, to put it bluntly, Qin Luo was not at home.

Liu Jia hung up the phone and then called Shen Yiyi.

The annoyed Liu Jia’s tone was fierce. “Is Qin Luo with you?”

Shen Yiyi was running data with Lin Puping in the research lab. She was suddenly questioned by Liu Jia and was not happy. “I’m at work.”

“Is Qin Luo staying at your place?”

What an unreasonable question…

Shen Yiyi lowered the volume of the earpiece, stood up, and walked around her colleagues to go outside. “She’s not with me. Did something happen to her?”

“Alright, it’s nothing.”

Liu Jia frowned and hung up on Shen Yiyi.

Not at Shen Yiyi’s place… Liu Jia’s fingers were scrolling through her contacts, trying to find a friend who was connected to Qin Luo.

But she had searched high and low and couldn’t think of anyone else that Qin Luo would look for when she was having a breakdown besides herself.

At this thought, Liu Jia was even more annoyed. Her blood pressure rushed to the back of her head, burning her cervical spine.

Liu Jia was unwilling to give up. She dialed Guo Rui’s number.

“Hello? Jiajia?”

“Hey, Guo Rui, is Qin Luo with you?”

There was a few seconds of hesitation on the other end, and then, as if she had gotten the person’s tacit approval, she said softly and soothingly, “Don’t worry. Qin Luo is fine now. She’s sleeping.”

Hoo—

As long as she could be found. Liu Jia let out a long sigh of relief.

Having been old friends with Qin Luo for thirty years, she had long regarded the other as family. She had shouldered most of Qin Luo’s past, and even her adult love and hate. Now, just a thirty-minute loss of contact had made her so panicked she was a little detached.

But besides losing a family member, Liu Jia was more afraid of losing that bond of trust. Disappointment welled up from the bottom of her heart, stinging her throat like a swarm of bees.

She couldn’t ask for the reason, and she was powerless to respond to the other’s disappearance.

Liu Jia had to say some polite words to the not-so-close Guo Rui: “Then you take good care of her. She’s been too tired from work lately. She needs to rest.”

The four phone calls had exhausted Liu Jia. She turned her back on her employees, pinched her sore brow, and at the same time, held back the tears that were about to fall due to her high eye pressure.

After she had composed herself, she called Shen Yiyi back. “I found her. She’s at Guo Rui’s.”

Shen Yiyi was still standing in the corridor, but she had already taken off her white lab coat and was holding it on her elbow.

“It’s good that you found her.”

Liu Jia’s voice was unusually calm. “Qin Luo is not in a good state.”

Shen Yiyi was silent on the other end of the line.

“It seems a little melodramatic to say this at this time. After all, we haven’t seen each other in over a decade, and I can’t predict if you two have a future together. But she has really been thinking about you for many years.”

As Liu Jia spoke, she walked out of the hall. She didn’t want anyone to hear Qin Luo’s gossip, nor did she want Shen Yiyi to be affected by the noisy background noise, which would make it difficult for her to hear her.

“The company and the production have a lot of things to deal with. She’s hiding and not showing up, and she’s not answering my calls, which means she’s in such a bad state that even I can’t save her. Maybe it would be useful if you comforted her, or maybe…”

Liu Jia really couldn’t think of any other way. “After a while, she’ll figure it out on her own.”

“In these past few years, as the face of Logos, she has experienced countless online attacks. The number of people who have cursed her, reprimanded her, and cursed her is countless, but her state has never been this bad.”

“Who likes to be cursed?”
“Anyway, I don’t like it.”
“So although Qin Luo says on the surface that she doesn’t care, I know she must be suffering inside, especially now… the company’s development is a bit contrary to what she had imagined.”

“You know how sensitive she is.”
“How good do you think her state can be?”

Liu Jia leaned against the wall, as if pleading, “I remember when she first started Logos, she said that she hoped someone could find a place to rest on their climb, to get a helping hand when they were calling for help in despair. So… I think this is probably related to you. After all, she’s even hiding at Guo Rui’s.”

“Help me bring her back. Let her come back early.”