Chapter Eleven: Do I Harbor Ill Will Toward Her?

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An hour later, the repair technicians finally arrived.

After examining the system, they discovered that the company’s data network had been maliciously attacked, causing it to malfunction and crash.

Fortunately, Chen Ling had noticed the problem in time, so there was still a chance to recover the data. The technicians worked urgently to restore it, but in the end, they could retrieve only most of the files. A small portion had been lost beyond recovery, and the backups were gone as well.

All the data for the Quinton project happened to be among that missing portion.

Chen Ling’s face went ashen. “It’s over.”

Wen Ganan found it unbelievable too. Her lovely face was grave.

Manager Zhang looked as though he wanted to say something, but Wei Ming silenced him with a single warning glance.

With a sigh, he patted Wen Ganan on the shoulder and comforted her. “If it really comes to that, we’ll work overtime tonight. There’s still time. If we hurry, we may be able to pull it off.”

It was easy to say that. All the data for the project was gone. Even if they managed to find it again, they would still have to organize everything and hurriedly remake the bid proposal. It could be done, but anything produced in such haste might not meet the required standard.

Besides, the lost material had been painstakingly prepared by colleagues from several departments, many of whom had worked overtime. Wen Ganan could not bear to see everyone’s efforts disappear just like that.

She glanced at Wei Ming. The words on the tip of her tongue faltered, then she swallowed them back.

“I understand. I’ll contact the others and discuss how to resolve this. But we can’t just let this go. Should we report it to the police?”

A malicious attack carried out by such despicable means—it was beyond disgusting.

Wei Ming nodded without hesitation. “Of course. I’ll handle it. You focus on the bid proposal for now.”

Wen Ganan agreed.

“Ganan, what do we do now?”

Chen Ling had gone out to answer a phone call. By the time she returned, Wei Ming and Manager Zhang had already left, and worry clouded her face.

Wen Ganan pressed her lips together, then leaned close to Chen Ling’s ear and whispered a few words. Chen Ling’s furrowed brows instantly relaxed.

“Really?”

“Mm.” Wen Ganan then asked, “You just received a call. Is something wrong at home?”

“Yes. My daughter woke up and cried for me. My mother couldn’t calm her down.” Chen Ling sighed.

“Then go home first,” Wen Ganan said. “After dinner, I’ll bring Xiao Jiang to find you at your neighborhood.”

Knowing that Wen Ganan understood she had a child and did not want her running around outside late at night, Chen Ling was deeply grateful.

After Chen Ling left, Wen Ganan stayed behind at the company and worked on things alone for a while. She did not return home until dinnertime.

On the way, she called Xiao Jiang. After dinner, she met Xiao Jiang at the entrance to Chen Ling’s residential complex.

When Xiao Jiang learned what had happened, shock spread across her face.

Once they reached Chen Ling’s home, Wen Ganan took out a USB drive. The company normally kept backups of its data, but she always made an additional backup of her own, just to be doubly safe.

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It was a personal habit of hers. Nothing like this had ever happened before, so no one at the company knew about it.

Chen Ling let out an enormous sigh of relief, but then she grew puzzled. “Ganan, why didn’t you say anything at the company this afternoon?”

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow. Tonight, we’ll go over the contents again. If everything is in order, I’ll submit it directly.”

Xiao Jiang and Chen Ling exchanged a glance and immediately understood what Wen Ganan meant.

This sudden incident was probably not an accident. Someone clearly did not want them to win the project.

In both Xiao Jiang’s and Chen Ling’s minds, Manager Zhang was the prime suspect.

But Wen Ganan did not see it that way.

They worked until ten o’clock and successfully encrypted and uploaded the bid proposal to the tender information platform. Only then did the three of them let out a collective sigh of relief.

Chen Ling happened to need to go and look after her daughter, so Wen Ganan left with Xiao Jiang.

“Let me know when you get home. I’ll make sure you’re paid overtime for tonight.”

Downstairs, as she watched Xiao Jiang get into a taxi, Wen Ganan said this to her.

Xiao Jiang grinned and waved.

On her walk home, Wen Ganan received a call from Cheng He. Noticing the weariness and heaviness in her voice, Cheng He asked a few more questions, making Wen Ganan laugh.

“Director Cheng, you’re very dedicated.”

Cheng He laughed as well. He neither denied nor admitted it.

Naturally, Wen Ganan did not tell him what had happened that day. She merely said lightly, “I may have been working too much overtime lately, and the mental pressure has been intense. But it’s all right now. The bid proposal has been submitted. All we can do is wait for good news.”

Cheng He sounded rather surprised, but soon comforted her gently. “Do what you can and leave the rest to fate.”

“Mm!”

After ending the call, Cheng He turned around and saw Liang Yuxiu standing in the doorway. His expression was rather unpleasant, though Cheng He had no idea who had upset him.

Cheng He also felt that Liang Yuxiu had been growing increasingly inexplicable lately—and that he seemed to have a serious grudge against Wen Ganan.

In other words, he was being malicious.

“She’s a hardworking, earnest girl. Don’t be so hostile toward her.” Cheng He had defended Wen Ganan the last time.

Liang Yuxiu had responded with a cold laugh. “I’m hostile toward her? How exactly did you arrive at that conclusion?”

“Then are you hostile toward me?” Cheng He had reached out and tapped the desk. “What? You can’t stand seeing your brother happy?”

At the time, Liang Yuxiu’s expression had been as dark as the bottom of a cooking pot.

—

That night, Wei Ming sent another message to ask how she was doing.

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Wen Ganan pretended not to see it and did not reply.

At Monday’s morning meeting, Manager Zhang issued a series of emergency measures in response to the previous day’s incident. Only afterward did Wen Ganan and Chen Ling report on the progress of the project.

Everyone was surprised, but more than anything, they were relieved, as though a heavy burden had finally been lifted.

After the meeting, Wei Ming summoned Wen Ganan to his office.

“Ganan, why didn’t you tell me yesterday that you had another backup? You didn’t answer my messages either. You made me worry all night.”

Wen Ganan looked at him thoughtfully. “Yesterday’s incident was far too coincidental and sudden. I felt there was more to it, so I chose to keep it to myself. I’m sorry, Mr. Wei, for making you worry.”

Wei Ming was stunned for a moment. “Are you saying Manager Zhang did it?”

Wen Ganan did not indicate that she agreed.

“I don’t know. Without evidence, it wouldn’t be right to make reckless accusations.”

Wei Ming seemed to relax, but the deep furrow between his brows remained.

Wen Ganan asked him, “Mr. Wei, did you report it to the police?”

Wei Ming shook his head. “I thought about it yesterday. Being maliciously attacked isn’t exactly something to be proud of. It wouldn’t look good if word got out, and our clients might question our professional abilities. Besides, the loss wasn’t particularly serious. You had a backup of the Quinton bid proposal, so it didn’t affect the project. Perhaps it’s better to let it go?”

Wen Ganan understood.

She fell silent and, after a while, nodded.

Before she left the office, Wei Ming assured her, “I’ll give you a suitable resolution.”

That meant he intended to fire Manager Zhang.

Wen Ganan said nothing.

On Tuesday, Wen Ganan and the others watched the online bid-opening meeting. The evaluation and final selection would take place afterward, a process expected to last approximately three working days.

The wait for the results was long. During that time, the tension weighing on everyone eased briefly. So on Wednesday, Wen Ganan applied to take compensatory leave. However, because of another project on her hands, she still had to go out to meet a client at eleven that morning. Once that was done, she could enjoy half a day off.

While waiting for the client, Wen Ganan happened to scroll past Liang Yuxiu’s account on WeChat. She was actually a little worried that, because of what had happened before, Liang Yuxiu might make things difficult for them or deliberately trip them up. But she could not exactly approach him and ask about it directly. That would only make things stranger.

Her heart churned as though it had been thrown into a pan of boiling oil. In that state of mind, Friday arrived, and the results of the bid evaluation were released.

Wen Ganan had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. She went straight to the office with two dark circles beneath her eyes.

All morning, she repeatedly logged into the information platform, only to log out again.

At three in the afternoon, she logged in once more—and saw an eye-catching red notification dot in the upper-right corner.

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