Chapter 13 — 58 Lakhs And His True Face

After I finished reading, my fingertips were a bit cold, but my heart felt strangely steady. I took a photo of the entire chat, saved it to a new cloud folder, and named it: "Tan Dieu - risk warning". Then answer one question.

“I'll remind you once.”

“I saved all of this chat.”

“If the harassment or threats continue, I will ask a lawyer to handle it directly.”

“My cousin does this job.”

This time I deliberately typed the word "lawyer" clearly. The other side was silent for a long time. After a while, he replied back with a question.

"Do you need to be so tense? After all, we've been together for two years."

I looked at that sentence, countless images of those two years flashed through my mind. After work, he squatted in front of the train station waiting for me, one hand holding a glass of milk tea. Summer nights at the sidewalk restaurant, eating grilled skewers and peeling shrimp for me. In the winter, he gave me a scarf and smiled and said, "Your neck is short, you have to keep it warm." At that time, I believed everything he said, including his boasts, and was willing to consider the future. But now those images seem to be covered with a thin layer of fog. I thought for a few seconds, then typed a reply.

“I don't want to talk about love with you anymore.”

“Just say one thing.”

"That day at 4S, you stood in front of me, opened your mouth and considered 580,000 as your card."

“From that moment, it was no longer just a matter of love between us.”

“If you like calculating, then follow the rules.”

I looked back at the words, made sure there were no unnecessary emotions, nor lost control, before sending them. This time, he didn't reply. The chat frame is silent. I clicked on the avatar, my finger stopped on “block”. Wait two seconds, then switch to "turn off notifications". Blocking is too decisive, but it's like I still care. Turning off notifications is enough. If he tries any more tricks in the future, I will still be able to grasp his movements. I put down the phone and took a deep breath. The feeling of being stuck in my chest for so long... finally had a place to escape. When I got home that night, I sent all of today's story to my cousin Trieu Minh Vien. He responded very quickly, sending a voice clip.

“Good, this chat is very valuable to keep.”

"What he said was close to the border of intimidation and fraud. Even though it did not reach a criminal level, in a civil dispute it was enough to prove that the other party had bad intentions."

“Remember, don't meet in person, don't talk nonsense on the phone.”

“The more written content the better, it's all evidence.”

“If he comes to the company to cause trouble, call me immediately.”

“Let me handle the rest.”

His voice was still calm and decisive, it was reassuring to hear. I texted back "yes", then asked more.

“Dude, do you really think he can come to my company?”

“This type of person, just calculate the worst scenario, even if you're not sure they can do it, they will still try.”

“But you don't need to be afraid.”

“Just remember one thing.”

“No matter what he does, he can't touch 580,000.”

“The initiative is in your hands.”

I looked at the sentence "the initiative is in your hands", something seemed to light up in my heart. It turns out, from the moment I deposited money into a term account... I pulled myself out of the trap of being controlled by others. It's just that I'm still used to looking back. Turning off WeChat, I went to take a shower. Hot water poured down your shoulders, washing away the fatigue of the day. Steam fogged the mirror. I raised my hand to wipe it away and looked at the face in the mirror. A bit haggard, a bit strange. But the eyes... are brighter a few days ago. I smiled softly to myself.

“Lin Xiaoning, you can do it.”

I whispered in my heart. The next day when I went to work, everything was still the same. Around ten o'clock in the morning, a message suddenly appeared in the department group.

"Attention everyone, recently the leak of project documents is quite serious. When sending files, you need to be especially careful."

Behind is a series of bright red exclamation marks. My heart clenched slightly, unconsciously looking at the opposite table. Tieu Phuong is typing with her head bowed, her headphones hanging through her hair, her expression completely normal. A few days ago, the marketing department mentioned that a competitor's plan had an unusual overlap with ours. During the meeting, the leader's face was quite unsightly. At that time, I just thought my opponent had a lot of eyes and ears, and didn't think deeply. But the "document leak" message just appeared... The disparate pieces in my head suddenly connected into one line. Once, when I was on a business trip, Tieu Phuong proactively asked me to help me track project emails. When I returned, the computer was still open, she smiled and said, "I didn't touch your file, just looked at the chart." That night, she asked about the big client I was in charge of, saying "I heard the budget is very high, you have to try hard". At that time I just thought I was concerned. There was also a time when I worked overtime until after ten o'clock, and she sat and waited, watching a movie while waiting for me to take a taxi with her. That day, she casually said that she had a classmate who worked as HR at a rival company.

“Their side is also under a lot of pressure, working on proposals to death but the reward is not as good as your side.”

Now that I think about it… Those questions were so purposeful.