Secretary Yao's apprehension about Yu He's potential refusal to enter was immediately dispelled when Qin Yonghao emerged.
Her job was to wait for Yu He and escort her to Fourth Master. If Yu He left, it would be her dereliction of duty. However, now that Qin Yonghao had seen Yu He, her task was complete. Whether Yu He stayed or left was no longer her concern.
If possible, Secretary Yao secretly wished Yu He would leave quickly, believing Yu He was not worthy of the high salary offered by Qin's Financial Group.
With this thought, she immediately said, "Fourth Master, my apologies for keeping you waiting. Miss Yu has only just arrived."
She deliberately emphasized the words "only just."
A flicker of disgust flashed in Qin Yonghao's eyes. He had waited too long, hence his decision to come out and see for himself.
Had it been anyone else, he would never have agreed to a meeting with such a languid attitude towards business cooperation. Yet, this was someone Qin Yongchao had specifically designated for him to sign.
"Come in," he said, his face stern.
"Secretary Qin Fourth has already rejected the cooperation on behalf of Mr. Qin Fourth. I don't think there's anything left to discuss," Yu He said in a calm tone.
Qin Yonghao glanced at Secretary Yao. He had promoted this secretary not only for her competence but primarily because she was perceptive and knew how to assess people.
As the President of Qin's Financial Group, he had to maintain his image in public. Certain matters were inconvenient for him to handle personally, so he delegated them to his secretary.
Secretary Yao understood his intentions perfectly and always performed her duties to his satisfaction. Therefore, even though she knew she was deliberately making things difficult for Yu He, he implicitly condoned it, turning a blind eye.
However, Yu He's words clearly indicated she wouldn't let this matter rest.
"Miss Yu, please don't speak carelessly. I am just a secretary; how could I possibly make decisions for the president? Please don't slander me," Secretary Yao immediately said before Qin Yonghao could speak.
"Slander?" Yu He sneered. "Heh, the employees of Qin's have poor素质, and they speak without basis. I assume the corporate culture isn't great either. Such a working environment is too unpleasant; I don't wish to cooperate."
Hearing this, Qin Yonghao's brow furrowed slightly. Secretary Yao, on the other hand, was inwardly delighted. She hoped the cooperation wouldn't go through, as she didn't want to see Yu He in the conglomerate in the future!
"Don't you want to know about her?" Qin Yonghao asked.
The "her" he referred to was Shu Yun'er.
Yu He paused in her departure. This was precisely the reason she had come.
However, she couldn't appear too eager. In the past, whenever she uncovered new leads, her haste had led her into traps. Facing the Qin family now, she couldn't afford to seem too anxious, or she would be at a severe disadvantage.
She intended to play hard to get.
"If you want me to stay and listen to you, then fire her," Yu He said, glancing back indifferently at Secretary Yao.
Upon hearing this, Secretary Yao didn't get angry but rather felt like laughing.
Listen to that! What kind of arrogance could prompt such a demand?
Secretary Yao had followed Fourth Master Qin for ten years and was his trusted assistant. Yu He was truly presumptuous, did she really think she was some rare talent? Did Qin's need her? Demanding the dismissal of the President of Qin's Financial Group's right-hand person right off the bat?
How could Fourth Master Qin fire her on Yu He's word?
Wishful thinking!
To Secretary Yao's astonishment, Qin Yonghao said emotionlessly, "Secretary Yao, please go to the finance department, settle your salary, and you don't need to come in tomorrow."
Secretary Yao: !!!
"Are you satisfied?" Qin Yonghao asked Yu He, his gaze exceptionally calm.
To fulfill the task assigned by Qin Yongchao, he was willing to resort to any means.
But don't think he was afraid. Once the person fell into his hands, it would be up to him to decide their fate.
Secretary Yao incredulously uttered, "Fourth Master..."
"Get out!" Qin Yonghao snapped coldly.
Only then was Secretary Yao certain that Qin Yonghao was serious. She looked at Yu He as if her eyes were laced with poison.
Yu He, however, remained unfazed. She turned and entered the courtyard, following Qin Yonghao into the study.
"This is the cooperation contract. You can look it over first," Qin Yonghao said directly, taking three identical contracts from his drawer and handing them to Yu He.
Yu He didn't look at them, placing them aside. "First, tell me what you know."
Qin Yonghao looked at her arrogant demeanor, and for a fleeting moment, a thought of killing her on the spot arose within him. But impatience leads to disaster.
He took a sip of tea, forcibly suppressing the thought, and slowly began to speak in a gentle tone:
"In the Qin family, concerning the matters of my sixth brother and sister-in-law, Eldest Brother had issued a decree that no one was to mention them again. But as you were Yun'er's daughter, and out of our past uncle-niece relationship, I will make an exception this once to tell you. However, you are not to speak of this to anyone else."
Yu He looked at his feigned sincerity with a cold gaze. "Continue."
A vein pulsed on Qin Yonghao's forehead, but he suppressed it and continued:
"Yun'er's death was not a simple accidental car crash. She was murdered by an organization and made to look like an accident."
Yu He hadn't expected him to be so direct. Before this, the Qin family and the traffic police had insisted that Shu Yun'er died in a car accident.
Her peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly, and she asked, "What organization?"
Qin Yonghao uttered two words: "Xing Que."
Yu He: "..."
"I don't know how much you know about this organization. I've heard their internal discipline is extremely strict, and their methods are brutal. Members who violate the organization's rules are directly dealt with as if they died in an accident."
Qin Yonghao lit a cigar and began to smoke slowly, continuing:
"As far as I know, Yun'er used to work for Xing Que back then, but I'm not sure for what. If it hadn't been for her accident, we wouldn't have known she worked for Xing Que.
"Because the night after Yun'er's car crash, people from Xing Que came to search your former villa, saying they were looking for something. There was quite an unpleasant scene then, but they didn't find what they were looking for in the end.
"So, I suspect Yun'er's car accident was orchestrated by Xing Que."
He sighed as if filled with sorrow, exhaling a plume of smoke that obscured his face.
"My sixth brother and I are of the same mother, and our bond was very deep. After my sixth brother passed away, my sixth sister-in-law followed soon after. I did ask Eldest Brother to hold Xing Que accountable, but they are too powerful and their methods are extremely cruel. Even the Qin family is wary of them. Eldest Brother didn't want to offend them, so he ordered that this matter be dropped."
He spoke with such theatrical emotion that if Yu He hadn't heard the recording of the hired assassination, she might have believed him.
Old Master Qin had married twice. After his first wife's death, he quickly married the film empress who was immensely popular across the mainland at the time, who was now the Second Madam. Their son had inherited her talent, acting with such conviction.
Yu He sneered, "Is that all?"
Qin Yonghao spread his hands. "That's all I know. But please, absolutely do not tell anyone that I told you."
Yu He pushed the contract back to him. "This information is not enough for me to cooperate with you."
Qin Yonghao seemed to have anticipated her reaction. He took out two more items from his drawer and placed them one by one in front of Yu He.
"Don't be too quick to refuse. Take a look at these two things first."