Chapter 248 - His friend's place

....

On Friday, a few days later, Han Ye and Xiao Lei were done with a meeting at another company and were on the way back to the office. Han Ye was too lazy to drive, so he called for a driver. 

"What do you think of the meeting earlier?" Han Ye asked as he looked at Xiao Lei, who was sitting next to him at the backseat. 

Xiao Lei was arranging her notes on the company-issued iPad at the moment. When she heard his question, she thought for a moment before saying, "I don't think that we should sign with them. Their proposal is good, too good to be exact. Somehow... I think that there's something amiss." 

She c.o.c.ked her head to the side and frowned. "But I don't know what's wrong..."

Han Ye smiled and nodded. "Not bad. You have got a good instinct, but your research skills still have much to improve." 

He pulled out a doc.u.ment from his briefcase and handed it to her. "This is what my people found."

Xiao Lei took the doc.u.ment and quickly gleaned through it. There were a few photos inside as well as some bank account details. "Isn't this the CEO of that company?" 

Han Ye nodded. "He's embezzling the funds of his own company in order to fund his lavish lifestyle. There are already multiple investigations that are currently being done against him, and I suspect that within a month or so, the news would break. I think the bigshots of the company have a feeling that things are about to go down south, that's why they offered us such attractive offers." 

He took the doc.u.ment back from Xiao Lei. As he placed the doc.u.ment back into his briefcase, he added, "If we sign with his company now, we would probably take a hit and be placed under investigation as well. Of course, things wouldn't escalate that badly, but still, it would be a hassle, and I'm too tired lately to be dealing with these kinds of unnecessary problems." 

Xiao Lei glanced at him. Han Ye did look tired lately. For the last few days, he had been pulling a few all-nighters at the office, and whenever he went home, it would always be after 11 p.m. and he would be at the office at 7 a.m the next day. 

"Why are you working so hard?" Xiao Lei asked. 

"Since President Du temporarily entrusted the workings of the company to me, of course I have to work harder. Besides," he said as he looked at her with a wry grin, "it's almost bonus season."

"Bonus?" Xiao Lei blinked for a few seconds before saying in a coy manner, "Boss... Would I be getting a bonus as well?" 

Han Ye smirked. "It depends on your performance."

Xiao Lei was about to brag about her performance when her phone rang. "Oh, it's Zhihao." 

She immediately answered the call, "Zhihao, is everything alright?" 

The reason why she asked was that Xiao Zhihao usually called later in the day, and it was only around 5 p.m. at the moment. 

As Xiao Lei talked to her son, Han Ye could not help but take a brief glance every now and then. He wondered what they were talking about and whether it was anything important. 

When she hung up, Han Ye wanted to ask if Xiao Zhihao was doing alright, but he was slightly worried that he might come across as too intrusive. So, he waited for her to say anything. 

Luckily, she did. 

"That's weird..."

"What?"

"Zhihao said that he'd be staying at his friend's place this weekend."

"Friend?" 

"He didn't tell me his name, and I didn't ask further," Xiao Lei said as a few frown lines appeared on her forehead. There was a naggy feeling in her heart, yet she did not know why. "I'm glad that he finally found a friend other than Tian Le and President Du's twins, but I was hoping to see him this weekend." 

"I think it would be good for him to hang out with someone his age, especially since he went through a lot lately. Besides, you won't be at home this weekend anyway. Have you forgotten about the grave visit?" Han Ye said. 

"Of course I didn't. I just thought that I could go home on Saturday night and go back to the burial ground on Sunday morning," she said with a pout.  

He frowned. "Don't be nuts. That's a few hours away!"

Xiao Lei sighed. It wasn't like she had a private helicopter. "What about President Du's-"

"Don't even think about it." Han Ye cut her off before she could finish her words.  

Xiao Lei leaned back in her seat with a displeased expression. After a while, she looked at Han Ye with an annoyed expression and complained, "How could you think that I would forget about such an important occasion? Yuexue would be placed in a proper place soon. As her best friend, I have to be there."

Han Ye merely smiled and did not say anything.

Xiao Lei looked at him for a while before asking in a curious tone, "Why did you decide to place her at Du Family's burial ground? Why didn't you just get her a nearer place?"

Han Ye shrugged. "President Du offered, and at that time, he said that Yuexue and I both did not have any kids and that we had no siblings... Once I'm no longer in this world, there would be no one else to take care of Yuexue. And I think he's right, so I accepted his offer."

"You said that there would be a small ceremony?" 

Han Ye nodded. "Just to make it more proper."

"Would Mr. and Mrs. Wu go? Did you manage to contact them?"

Han Ye sighed and shook his head. "I've done everything I could. If they didn't want to respond, then there's nothing much I can do at this point. My people found out that they have been back in the country, and that they have been staying at their old house since last week. I've informed President Du's security team as well. If they appear at the columbarium at the Du Family's burial ground tomorrow, they would be allowed to enter."

"You've done all you could. Yuexue wouldn't blame you," Xiao Lei said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder. 

When they arrived at Du Corporation, Han Ye walked Xiao Lei to the lift. While waiting for the lift, he said, "I've to go and meet Callum and Guangying to discuss something. Why don't you head up first?"

Xiao Lei nodded. 

Ding!

When the lift arrived and she stepped in, Han Ye thought of something and quickly added, "I might not go back so early, so I'd probably see you tomorrow morning. Don't forget to pack a sweater or two. The burial ground is on higher ground, so it gets cold at night."

Xiao Lei blushed slightly, mostly because there were other people around her; some of whom were her colleagues. "Yes, boss," she replied before quickly pressing on the "close door" button.

One of her colleagues poked her on the shoulder, and when she turned around, the woman asked in a giggling tone, "Ms. Xiao, are you going out with Mr. Han?" 

Xiao Lei shook her head nervously. "No way!"

"You've been spending quite some time with him lately, and he's always ready to ask you out for lunch. Before you joined us, Mr. Han rarely asks people out for lunch."

Xiao Lei's eyes shifted around, and she quickly wracked her brain for an excuse. She quickly found one. "That's 'cause I'm his secretary. You know how he's been giving me books to read? Since he's so busy, whenever he has some time during lunchtime, he would test me out on what I've been reading. He said that it would be embarrassing to bring me out for meetings if I don't even know the basics."