"What's going on?" Lin Chuan asked.

"How would I know? Go check it yourself!" Zhou Rui gnashed her teeth.

Lin Chuan was puzzled, and he hurried back to the transport company with Zhou Rui. The management office was already locked, but Zhou Kai and others had keys, as did Sister Hong. Since Lin Chuan was absent, Sister Hong refused to hand over the accounts to Zhou Rui. Although Zhou Rui knew the general accounts, she couldn't examine them in detail. Therefore, even though she knew that $300,000 was missing from the transportation market's report, she didn't know where it was missing from.

Lin Chuan called Zhou Kai. Upon hearing the news, Zhou Kai rushed over and opened the door to the management office.

However, even though the door to the management office was opened, nobody was able to open Sister Hong's safe, who was in charge of finance.

"Brother Chuan, how about we talk about this matter tomorrow?" Zhou Kai said awkwardly: "It's so late already."

"No," Lin Chuan shook his head and said: "The missing money might not be a lot, but the issues this situation has revealed are not minor. We must investigate this matter thoroughly."

Sister Hong was awakened by Lin Chuan's call and hurried to the management office.

The ledger was taken out, and Zhou Rui and Lin Chuan checked the accounts overnight. Sister Hong was very nervous on the side. The missing $300,000 was indeed her responsibility. But...

There weren't many transactions in the management office's accounts, and after two hours of tally by the two people, the missing amount was immediately identified.

"Sister Hong, what is this $300,000 material cost?" Lin Chuan pointed to an expenditure in the accounts.

"I..." Sister Hong hung her head, not daring to speak.

"What exactly happened?" Lin Chuan asked again.

"Lin Chuan, please... please forgive big sister. I took it to buy a house for my son." Sister Hong looked aggrieved and said, "In two months, I will be able to cover this account. If really necessary, I... I can pay you interest, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuan softened immediately.

"How can company money be misused like this?" Zhou Rui said sternly from the side: "Legally speaking, this is a criminal offense."

"I know," Sister Hong sighed and said, "But the law is nothing compared to human sentiment. We are all from the same community, and I have watched Xiao Chuan grow up."

"You..."

Zhou Rui was about to speak but was interrupted by Lin Chuan: "Stop, let's leave it at this. Sister Hong, cover the accounts within two months, and forget about the interest. Also, hand over the company's accounting duties to Zhou Rui. Sister Hong, you handle pushing for the collection of management fees from the tenants. Try to do a good job. Of course, your salary will remain the same."

After speaking, Lin Chuan got up and left.

Wow...

Sister Hong suddenly sat down hard and began sobbing.

No one knew whether she was satisfied or dissatisfied. Whether she was moved to tears by Lin Chuan's leniency outside the law, or very dissatisfied because Lin Chuan had demoted her and taken away her authority. Zhou Rui, seeing this, immediately went after Lin Chuan. Zhou Kai stayed behind to comfort Sister Hong.

"Lin Chuan, wait for me." Zhou Rui called out urgently.

Lin Chuan was walking slowly, and Zhou Rui caught up with him soon. Panting, Zhou Rui said, "Why are you walking away? Do you think it's so easy to return the $300,000?"

"What can I do?" Lin Chuan said with a wry smile, "Should we kill her? Or should we sell the house she bought?"

"You could take legal action!" Zhou Rui, who had been educated in the West, would instinctively go the legal route for all rights protection. She snorted coldly: "If this were in the United States, she would have been sued in court long ago. Does she think crying and whining will help?"

"But this is China," Lin Chuan smiled and said, "We have a saying here, 'where you can spare others, spare them.'

"I..." Zhou Rui's stream of words suddenly stopped, she blushed and suddenly took Lin Chuan's arm, saying: "Then are you sure about handing over the financial duties to me?"

"What's there to be unsure about?" Lin Chuan smiled frankly and said, "Now, apart from you, I probably have no one else I can trust."

"Hehe..." Zhou Rui showed a relaxed smile on her pretty face.

Late at night, the temperature was very nice. The two of them found a snack bar, ate some food, and Lin Chuan had some drinks. Having returned from abroad, Lin Chuan felt he had changed somewhat. Zhou Rui suddenly moved her cup closer.

"I want to drink too," Zhou Rui said with a blush, "It's boring for you to drink alone, let me accompany you."

"This is baijiu though," Lin Chuan pointed at the bottle.

"I want it," Zhou Rui pouted playfully.

"Alright." Lin Chuan nodded.

Lin Chuan poured Zhou Rui a less-than-full shot of white liquor, filling the glass only about two-thirds. Zhou Rui sniffed it and her face turned red from the strength. Lin Chuan burst out laughing, "Can you handle it? If not, don't drink."

"Who says I can't?" Zhou Rui picked up the glass and gulped it down.

Gulp...

Just after swallowing, the burning sensation almost made her unable to open her mouth. Her face became cherry red, and she coughed violently, her face turning purple.

Lin Chuan hurriedly patted her on the back, saying, "I told you not to drink. You insisted, and you even gulped it all at once. Not being able to drink is not scary, showing off is scary."

"You… you…" Zhou Rui was so angry that she was lost for words.

Lin Chuan quickly handed her a glass of water, then said, "Take a sip of water."

Zhou Rui quickly drank a sip of water, which finally dilutes the spiciness in her mouth. She exhaled deeply and her tomato-red face relaxed a lot. She took a deep breath, glaring at Lin Chuan, and said, "I always thought drinking looked enjoyable, now I realize this white liquor is so hard to drink."

"I never asked you to drink it," Lin Chuan said with a helpless smile.

"Hmph." Zhou Rui snorted softly, saying, "You should have told me it was this disgusting."

"I think it tastes quite good," Lin Chuan chuckled.

Zhou Rui stared at Lin Chuan, saying, "I feel like my stomach is burning."

"That's the liquor in your stomach," Lin Chuan laughed, "Eat something to pad your stomach."

Before long, Zhou Rui's face turned red, and then she started to feel blurry, her mind not working well, and her speech slurred. Lin Chuan realized that this girl really couldn't hold her liquor at all. Indeed, a university graduate who hardly touched alcohol.

Seeing that they couldn't finish the late-night snack, Lin Chuan could only pay the bill and leave.

Zhou Rui was already somewhat delirious, Lin Chuan had to support her by the waist and walk her out. After getting in the car, he sent her back to the Transportation Market. Fortunately, this girl had a room to stay in at the Transportation Market. Otherwise, Lin Chuan really wouldn't know what to do.

After sending her back to her room, just as Lin Chuan was about to leave, this girl suddenly clung tightly to Lin Chuan's neck, shouting, "Don't go, don't go, I want to hug you, I want to kiss you, I want to kiss you…"

Lots of bold words came out of this girl's mouth.

"Zhou Rui, Zhou Rui, let go." Lin Chuan hurriedly freed Zhou Rui's hands.

However, this girl clung to him like an octopus, making it impossible to free himself. He could only manage to wrap her with a blanket before letting go. After taking off her shoes, he directly tucked her into bed.

Who knew, the girl fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed, lying among the blankets, snoring lightly, her sleeping posture extremely beautiful.

Her hair, black as ink, scattered over the pillow, delicate face, seemingly only as big as Lin Chuan's palm, yet her features were exquisitely beautiful. Large eyes with long, curvy eyelashes, and rosy lips looked as tempting as a dewy red rose.

Lin Chuan's hand gently stroked her cheek. Unexpectedly, the girl who used to run around with a snotty nose behind him more than ten years ago had grown so big, and so beautiful, and so mesmerizing in such a short time.

However, Lin Chuan had no particular feelings for Zhou Rui, theoretically speaking, they were classmates. Zhou Rui was a prodigy, having skipped grades during the five years of primary school, and completed three years of junior high school in two years. She caught up with Lin Chuan in the first year of high school, and although there was a few years' difference in age, they ended up in the same classroom in the first year of high school. However, Lin Chuan left during their first year, and during the second year, Zhou Rui took the TOEFL exam and was admitted to a well-known university in the United States, leaving Jiangbei City.

Their reunion could not be described as having a bond of old classmates, but they shared a sort of childhood sweethearts vibe. Zhou Rui was nearly four years younger than Lin Chuan. At the age of eight, when Lin Chuan was already a leader among the children, leading a group of kids three or four years younger than himself to play wildly, Zhou Rui was among them, those years were their most beautiful memories. But as time flies, things could never return to the way they once were.

After staying in Zhou Rui's room for a long time, Lin Chuan got up and left.

Just as Lin Chuan shut the door, Zhou Rui's eyes opened, she sat up, looking disappointed as she watched Lin Chuan's retreating figure. She did not expect Lin Chuan to be indifferent towards her. Zhou Rui was somewhat grinding her teeth, cursing, "You jerk, are you even a man?"

Zhou Rui never expected that there truly existed a kind of man who could maintain his composure. Lin Chuan apparently had no thoughts about her. Zhou Rui didn't know whether to take this as good news or bad news.

That shot of white liquor was nothing more than a trivial matter for Zhou Rui. After all, she studied in the United States, even obtaining a master's degree. In college, there were various parties and gatherings, how could she not drink? However, today Zhou Rui was merely putting on a show. It was nothing more than trying to test Lin Chuan's feelings for her, this test only led to her disappointment.

"Lin Chuan, you're not a man!" Zhou Rui grabbed the pillow in her hands and fiercely threw it towards the door.

The next morning.

Knock, knock, knock...

Lin Chuan was still asleep when someone knocked on his door. Lin Chuan opened the door, Mrs. Lin stood at the door anxiously saying, "Chuanzi, Miss Tang has come to see you."

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