Chapter 54: Investigation

Lu Ranran quickened her pace, the night breeze brushing against her face but unable to dispel the gloom weighing on her heart.

Suddenly, she stopped, her gaze resolute as she looked into the distance. A thought surged within her—to go to the hotel from that night and check the surveillance footage! She turned and flagged down a taxi, urgently giving the hotel’s name.

Upon arrival, Lu Ranran hurried into the lobby and headed straight to the front desk, her face flushed slightly with nervousness. “I need to review the surveillance footage from a particular room that night.”

The receptionist’s expression faltered. Lu Ranran quickly pulled out her wallet, offering several bills with a pleading look.

The receptionist gently shook her head apologetically. “I’m sorry, but we have strict rules here. Only the police or hotel staff can access surveillance footage.”

Lu Ranran’s heart sank as if crushed by a heavy stone, making it hard to breathe.

She anxiously stared at the receptionist, her hands twisting together involuntarily, eyes full of earnest appeal. “Please, this is really important to me.”

She pulled out a few more bills, placing them before the receptionist, the notes glinting faintly under the light. Yet the receptionist remained unmoved, shaking her head firmly.

Biting her lip, a flash of determination crossed Lu Ranran’s eyes. She withdrew the money back into her wallet and said with unwavering resolve, “Call your manager over.”

The receptionist hesitated briefly but ultimately picked up the walkie-talkie and exchanged a few words.

Soon after, a sharply dressed middle-aged man with a stern expression hurried over. His sharp gaze swept over Lu Ranran as he asked, “Is there a problem with our service?”

Meeting his eyes without hesitation, Lu Ranran replied, “I need to view surveillance footage from a certain room. It’s very important to me. I understand your regulations, but I hope you can make an exception.”

She took a business card from her bag and gently laid it on the counter. “I am Miss Lu from the Lu family. This concerns our family’s reputation.”

The manager scrutinized the card, furrowing his brows as if wrestling with an intense inner conflict.

He spoke slowly, his voice low and firm. “Miss Lu, I completely understand your feelings, but the retrieval of surveillance footage follows strict procedures. The footage from last night was taken by an unidentified individual before you arrived. We do not know the purpose.”

No matter how urgently Lu Ranran pressed, the manager merely shook his head with a look of helplessness and regret.

The receptionist behind him also appeared clueless, clearly unaware of the matter.

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Lu Ranran’s heart plummeted once more. She bit her lip hard, clenching her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms, the pain insignificant compared to the despair and fury inside.

Her voice trembled slightly from tension as she demanded, “Who? Who took the surveillance footage?”

A troubled expression flickered across the manager’s face. After hesitation, he said, “I’m sorry, Miss Lu, but we cannot disclose that guest’s information. It is our duty to protect our guests’ privacy.”

He sighed softly, sympathy flickering in his eyes.

Lu Ranran clenched her fists tighter, nails piercing her skin, yet she seemed numb to the pain.

Determination gleamed in her eyes as she turned swiftly and left the hotel lobby, her mind already made up.

Back home, she immediately booted up her computer. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she contacted a well-known hacker friend.

The screen flickered, and the reply came quickly: “What’s the emergency?”

Without preamble, Lu Ranran sent her request: “I need you to hack into a hotel’s surveillance system, as soon as possible! Someone beat me to the footage that’s vital to me.”

After a moment’s silence, the friend agreed but warned, “This is risky. I can promise speed, but you must be prepared for the consequences.”

Lu Ranran gritted her teeth and replied, “I understand. As long as I get the footage, I’ll bear whatever comes.”

She stared intently at the screen, anxiety mounting, the world around her seeming to freeze—just her, the computer, and the truth soon to be unveiled.

Sitting at a large desk, she toyed absentmindedly with a pen, her vacant gaze fixed on the window.

Suddenly, the phone rang sharply, pulling her back from her thoughts.

She answered. Secretary General Shen Manli’s voice came through, tinged with apology: “Ms. Lu, something urgent has come up at home. I’d like to request five days off.”

Lu Ranran’s brow furrowed, the documents before her blurring momentarily. Coldly, she refused, “No. The company is at a critical stage. Everyone must pull their weight.”

With that, she slammed down the phone, the pen slipping from her fingers and clattering crisply on the floor.

---

Lu Ranran rubbed her temples, her eyes filled with anxiety and inner turmoil.

After hanging up, Shen Manli stood by the window, gazing toward the company building where Lu Ranran worked, a ripple of unease stirring within her.

Recalling the secret meeting with Si Qinyu at the hotel last night, her cheeks flushed, quickly replaced by dread.

She feared Lu Ranran already knew everything, and more terrifyingly, that Lu Ranran’s icy gaze could pierce through the phone line straight into her soul.

Fingers nervously twirling strands of her hair, Shen Manli muttered to herself, “It can’t be… She couldn’t know. I was so careful…”

A sudden breeze stirred the curtains, as if even the wind were spying on her secrets. Shen Manli shivered violently, her heart pounding as a foreboding sense surged.

Seated on her plush sofa, gripping a cup of now-cold tea she had forgotten to drink, she glanced nervously out the window.

Her mind replayed the clandestine moments with Si Qinyu at the hotel, each recollection setting her cheeks aflame and quickening her pulse.

Suddenly, her phone lit up with a brief message from Lu Ranran: “Come to the office tomorrow. We have important matters to discuss.”

Her heart sank sharply. She could almost feel Lu Ranran’s hawk-like eyes piercing through the text, staring into her very soul.

Her hands trembled lightly; the phone’s screen blurred before her eyes as an indescribable chill of fear crept through her body.

Shen Manli curled up in the corner of the sofa, the glow of the phone casting pale light on her pale, tense face. She bit her lip tightly.

Her eyes stared emptily ahead, yet her mind was a whirlwind of confusion.

Suddenly, she felt suffocated, gripping the sofa’s edge with such force her nails nearly sank into her palms.