At thirty, I started my comeback from the intelligence system.

Her questions were reasonable, even aggressive.

Chen Geng had anticipated this and remained calm: "It's because Su Qingqing is Zhou Peng's person, a pawn he placed by your side to get close to you and gather information. And Su Qingqing is my ex-wife."

This is something Liang Dan could easily verify with a little inquiry, and it's also the most reasonable explanation for getting himself involved in this matter.

Liang Dan's eyes flickered slightly, but she didn't speak, signaling him to continue.

"I divorced Su Qingqing for a shameful reason: she cheated on me."

Chen Geng spoke calmly, as if he were talking about someone else, "One of the targets was Zhou Peng. Of course, Zhou Peng was probably just playing around, but Su Qingqing thought she had climbed the social ladder."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, "During the divorce, I accidentally found some things on her old computer that hadn't been completely deleted. She probably thought formatting would fix it, but I have a friend... who knows a bit about data recovery."

It's likely true that Su Qingqing cheated on Zhou Peng, but the old computer and data recovery are fake.

These were actually downloaded by Chen Geng using the account and password provided by the intelligence system after logging into Zhou Peng's cloud drive.

But this is the least falsifiable way to explain the source of intelligence.

"What's inside?" Liang Dan pressed, her body unconsciously leaning forward slightly.

"Some chat screenshots, some thumbnails of encrypted folders, and a few audio recordings," Chen Geng said with great seriousness.

Every word was like a heavy hammer blow to Liang Danxin!

"What about the recording? What's it about?" Liang Dan's breathing became slightly rapid.

"One of the audio files is 'The Original Call Between General Manager Zhou and General Manager Wang of Jinding,' which I've recovered and listened to." Chen Geng began to deliver the real "hard stuff," "The content is about how to use a third-party payment method to pay a 'consulting fee' to someone designated by Zhou Peng, and... how to ensure that certain sections of the 'Longwan' project 'must' use steel bars provided by Jinding that meet national standards but are not the optimal type, in order to reduce costs, and agree on the percentage of 'thank you' after the deal is done. In the call, Zhou Peng also mentioned that he had prepared 'another set of explanatory materials' about the procurement process, and if the group inquired, he would shift the responsibility to... you."

"How dare he?" Liang Dan gritted her teeth.

"There are two more. I heard one of them; it was a conversation between you and Zhou Peng. It seemed to be about entrusting him with some documents for your son to study abroad."

"The other part is about you entrusting him with the Jin Ding Building Materials matter, but strangely, many of what you said is exactly the same as what you said in the previous recording..."

He didn't say it directly, but the meaning was obvious. This is the source of the "edited evidence"—extracting parts of the call that are favorable to him and unfavorable to Liang Dan, and possibly even fabricating and splicing them together!

Liang Dan's expression completely changed. Zhou Peng's audacity, and the potential support behind him, were far more terrifying than she had imagined!

"Where are these things now?" Liang Dan's voice carried a hint of tension that was barely perceptible.

"It's in a very secure USB drive, only I know where it is. The original computer... was smashed during the divorce, and the pieces were thrown into different junkyards."

Chen Geng calmly said that smashing the computer was a pretense, but the path to tracing its source must be cut off.

"I've backed up the recovered data, and the original files are still on that USB drive."

He gave Liang Dan hope and also seized the initiative.

Only the howling wind remained in the pavilion.

Liang Dan turned around and faced the vast river again, remaining silent for a long time.

She was processing, weighing, and judging the credibility of Chen Geng's words.

What a coincidence! A divorced ex-husband, cheated on, happens to recover crucial evidence from his ex-wife's computer—evidence that could bring down the real estate company's vice president's enemy?

This is like a scene from a novel or movie!

But it is precisely because it is so coincidental that it has a kind of absurd realism.

Moreover, the details Chen Geng described were too specific to be fabricated out of thin air, especially the point about "editing," which precisely hit her deepest suspicion—she had indeed entrusted Zhou Peng to handle some documents for going abroad.

More importantly, she has no choice now.

The investigation into her suspension has begun, and with each passing day, her situation becomes more precarious.

The people behind Zhou Peng are exerting their influence, trying to completely destroy her.

She had to grasp at any straw, even if it had thorns.

"Why help me?" Liang Dan didn't turn around, her voice carried on the wind. "Or rather, what do you want to gain? Money? Or to get revenge on Su Qingqing by bringing down Zhou Peng?"

This is the most crucial question, and Liang Dan must figure it out before deciding on the next step.

Chen Geng walked to the pavilion and stood side by side with Liang Dan, watching the river flow eastward.

"Mr. Liang, the revenge against Su Qingqing has been completed at the police station today. She has a criminal record, signed a letter of repentance, and will never be able to hold her head up in front of me again. As for the money..."

He smiled, a smile tinged with complexity. "I desperately need money. My mother is ill, and I'm burdened with debt. But I know that some money is too hot to handle, and some paths are irreversible."

"I'm helping you primarily because I can't stand people like Zhou Peng and Su Qingqing. They have no bottom line when it comes to achieving their goals. Today they can frame you, and tomorrow they can crush a nobody like me. I don't want to become a victim for no reason someday."

"Secondly," he said, glancing at Liang Dan's profile, "I believe you are a capable and principled leader. At least, in my limited contact with you and what I've heard, your reputation in the industry isn't bad. I don't think it's right for someone who gets things done to be brought down in this way by a group of scheming people."

This statement contains flattery, but more importantly, it expresses a stance.

"Finally," Chen Geng said frankly, "I also want to secure a future for myself. I've worked at GG Company for five years, stuck in the middle. Hanfeng Group is huge, but for someone like me with no background or connections, climbing the ladder is as difficult as climbing to the sky."

"I don't want to be a pawn that can be replaced at any time forever."

"If... I mean if, Mr. Liang, you can get through this safely, or even go further, I hope to get a... a fairer opportunity to compete, a position where I can earn a living based on my own abilities and not have to worry about being sabotaged all the time."

This is more sophisticated than directly demanding benefits, and it also shows more vision and ambition, which fits the persona of a capable but suppressed young person.

Liang Dan finally turned around and re-examined Chen Geng.

His words were a mixture of truth and falsehood, but they were logically consistent and his motives were reasonable.

"I need to verify the contents of the USB drive."

Liang Dan spoke slowly, her tone now different, less scrutinizing and more suggestive of negotiation.

"When can you give it to me?"

"tomorrow!"

"Okay." Liang Dan nodded. "Give me the item. If I verify its authenticity and... it really works, I, Liang Dan, will owe you a favor."