Chapter 369: Chapter 369

"This time, you need to act more pitiful. After all, there are so many years of ties between us. If nothing too serious has happened, there’s still a chance to mend things."

Hearing this, she did feel a bit sentimental.

It truly seemed reasoning made sense.

At this moment, Ji Yu also had a proper conversation with Hu Jianyu about the matter.

"Yu, don’t worry. I clearly know who’s right and who’s wrong in this situation. Both you and Xiao have already compromised this time. If she still wants to come begging me for mercy, I definitely won’t agree."

He was quite fair in this matter.

Besides, it was Hu Qianqian who had simply made the mistake in the first place.

Ji Yu actually understood that he was probably feeling conflicted deep down. "Dad, please don’t think this situation is all bad. Actually, many things don’t need to be thought of in such a negative way."

He was her father, so he still had certain privileges at times.

Hu Jianyu shook his head. "Yu, it’s not that I’m thinking of it negatively. It’s just that I know your personality. You’re just like your mother, Yao. Whenever you encounter something that doesn’t sit well with you, you feel upset, but you won’t actively voice it."

He didn’t want the affection between father and daughter to be exhausted.

It had been so difficult for him to find his daughter again; how could he allow her to be bullied so easily?

"Yu, you have to trust me. As a father, I’m much more competent than you might imagine. You are my daughter; it’s okay even if you’re a bit headstrong."

He knew what Ji Yu meant to him, which was why standing firmly on her side at this moment was the right thing to do.

Ji Yu finally smiled. "Dad, honestly, there are many times when I don’t even understand my own nature. But you’re right—if you were to easily forgive Hu Qianqian just like that, I’d definitely feel a surge of anger within me."

Fortunately, they understood each other now.

It was then that Hu Qianqian arrived.

When she saw Ji Yu, her heart was filled with jealousy. But she still remembered that today she was here to plead for forgiveness. "Uncle, Yu, I really know I was wrong. Please, I beg you, don’t kick me out. I’ll prove to you with my actions from now on that I’ve truly changed. I promise there won’t be similar problems again."

She spoke with conviction, but all Ji Yu could see was hypocrisy.

She probably fit the description of someone who wouldn’t shed tears until she saw the coffin.

"In this situation, the victims are Gu Qixiao and me, aren’t they? Yet now you’re acting as if you’re deeply hurt, making it seem like we’re the ones bullying you. Isn’t that a little twisted?"

Ji Yu looked at the person in front of her, clearly indifferent to the situation.

She understood what Ji Yu’s blunt words implied.

But if Hu Qianqian didn’t play the role of the pitiable party, how could she possibly arouse their sympathy later?

At this point, she was desperate to resolve the matter quickly. If she were truly kicked out, then everything in the company would likely end up entirely in Ji Yu’s hands. In her view, such an outcome would be worse than death.

"If you really want to apologize, why not clearly tell us what’s going on? Why did you make such decisions? Where did the drugs come from? Or, are you saying someone might have been colluding with you?"

Ji Yu didn’t believe this was some spur-of-the-moment scheme.

This matter definitely had other parties involved.

Perhaps not expecting Ji Yu to ask in this way, Hu Qianqian paused briefly before resolutely denying it.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about. I admit using the drug was wrong, but back then, I was simply too obsessed with Gu Qixiao. Now I’ve come to my senses, and I’ll never do something again."

She appeared resolute in her words.

Yet Ji Yu had long seen through her—this incident undeniably had another party’s involvement. What mattered most was that this person had managed to stay completely hidden, suggesting they were quite familiar with the situation. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to pull such a scheme.

Ji Yu wasn’t going to remain unaffected by this.

She needed to get to the bottom of this.

But Hu Qianqian wasn’t going to cooperate easily in the current situation.

"Choose: leave, or tell me who’s behind this. You pick."

Ji Yu was already certain that there was indeed someone behind all this, so her ultimatum was simple.

After struggling for a while, Hu Qianqian still chose to stay. Heaven knew how desperately she wanted to remain in the company at this point. If she left, she’d truly have nothing left.

"I don’t know exactly who this person is, but a while ago, she reached out to me and said she wanted to help me. As long as I managed to lure Gu Qixiao away from you, you’d lose a lot of support. At the time, I was blinded and felt her proposal made sense, so I accepted it."

Looking back now, the whole thing seemed far too coincidental.

It was possible this enigmatic figure had merely used her to deal with Ji Yu.

"We’ve never met in person. The drugs were delivered to me by someone she arranged."

The more she thought about it, the more regretful she felt. But things had already escalated to this point—there was no turning back.

Ji Yu found the situation intriguing.

But she could tell that Hu Qianqian wasn’t faking her regret. To uncover the mastermind, Ji Yu would have to bait the trap further.

"Help me find out who this person is, and I’ll pretend this whole incident never happened. You should know how much this incident could affect you, right? I can let this matter slide."

The terms she offered were indeed very tempting.

Hu Qianqian didn’t bother contemplating further. "Fine, as long as you don’t hold this against me, I’ll do whatever you ask."

Heaven knew how miserable she felt at this moment.

Ji Yu, observing her state, grew all the calmer.

She still couldn’t be certain who the person behind everything really was, but it seemed like the truth might surface soon.

"You can leave for now. We’ll address this matter later."

She needed to carefully strategize.

When Hu Qianqian left, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She finally understood that someone like Ji Yu was not someone to provoke. Nobody could predict what she might do next.

"Yu, if you feel this situation is too difficult to handle, let me take care of it instead." As her father, he naturally wanted to help manage her emotions. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

But Ji Yu was determined. "Since this person is so familiar with us, it means they’re definitely someone we know. I must personally uncover their identity."