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墨書 Inktalez
As the New Year approached, the shops lining the streets began to adorn themselves with colorful decorations.
We walked along, occasionally stopping to browse the inexpensive festive goods displayed by street vendors.
Yang Fan stood behind me, lost in thought. I picked out a few lucky character decorations, paid for them, and turned around to find Yang Fan somewhat dazed. I asked, "Still thinking about that case?"
Yang Fan snapped back to reality, realizing I had finished my shopping. He tightened his scarf and smiled, saying, "Yeah, I've looked into it, but everything about Xinlan Company seems normal. I'm at a bit of a loss."
I sighed in exasperation; Yang Fan always had a tendency to blur the lines between cases and everyday life.
I patted my lovely tenant on the shoulder and said, "Let's go find Chen Yin first; we can talk about the case later." Yang Fan shrugged in agreement.
The story actually began a week ago when Yang Fan and I were discussing some doubts regarding the previous Love Song Case.
Our conversation was interrupted by a rhythmic knocking at the door.
I opened it to find a young man dressed in a suit.
"Excuse me, is this Mr. Yang Fan's home?" The young man looked somewhat cautious as he waited for my affirmative response before slowly stepping inside.
Upon seeing the young man, Yang Fan paused momentarily before breaking into a smile. "What brings you here?"
I was surprised that these two knew each other. Although they were of similar age, they didn’t seem like they had any connections.
The young man took a seat across from Yang Fan and glanced around the room. Noticing it was just the two of us, he asked, "Is my uncle not here?"
“Old Luo,” Yang Fan said, taking a sip of his coffee, “he went out of town with Lu Tong to handle a case. Is there something you need to discuss with him?”
“Oh.” The young man looked slightly disappointed. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly turned to Yang Fan across the table and said, “Our Lo Family has run into some trouble, and I’d like to ask for your help.”
Yang Fan set down his coffee cup without surprise and smiled at the young man.
It was only during the young man's self-introduction that I learned this unassuming man was actually Luo Xinyu, the newly appointed business manager of the real estate giant Lo Group, responsible for investments and other commercial operations.
He was twenty years old and had just taken over the family business, currently busy with a bid for a strategically important piece of land. When Luo Xinyu reached this point in his narrative, he paused involuntarily.
“Did something go wrong with the bid?” Yang Fan guessed.
Luo Xinyu nodded. “We had discussions with the company selling the land, and the proposal was already drafted. We were just waiting to proceed according to plan during the public bidding. But…”
“But what?” Yang Fan pressed.
“The proposal went missing before the bid.” Luo Xinyu's tone remained steady.
“How did it get lost?” Yang Fan asked.
“It was in my office,” Luo Xinyu replied. “I left the proposal on my desk on the first night, but when I came in the next morning, it was gone. You know our Lo Family has always had excellent security, and my office is on the top floor.”
“So that rules out the possibility of an outsider committing the act?” I interjected instinctively. Luo Xinyu looked at me in slight surprise before nodding.
Luo Xinyu recounted some trivial details.
It seemed that there wasn't much useful information to be gleaned verbally. Yang Fan pondered for a moment and then asked, "When did the bidding start?"
Luo Xinyu replied helplessly, "It has already ended."
"Really?" Yang Fan was somewhat surprised.
"The company lost at least eighty million because of this. My father is extremely angry and has ordered me to investigate the matter," Luo Xinyu continued. "I’ve been looking into it privately for two days, but I have no leads."
"Are you asking me to find out who stole the proposal?" Yang Fan stood up and put on his coat, seemingly agreeing to take on the task.
"Yes," Luo Xinyu added, "and there's one more thing."
"What is it?" Yang Fan inquired.
"The real estate company that won the bid only outbid us by two million," Luo Xinyu said. "I suspect that company is using underhanded tactics."
That afternoon, we drove to the Hua Mao Building in the center of Xi Cheng. Due to it being a branch office, the Lo Family had only purchased the top three floors—specifically, the twenty-first, twenty-second, and twenty-third floors. I almost immediately dismissed the idea that someone could have infiltrated from outside upon seeing Hua Mao for the first time; the building was entirely clad in glass curtain walls, leaving no footholds for climbing.
Luo Xinyu noticed my thoughts and said to me, "The rooftop has also been sealed off; no one can access my office from above using ropes."
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