You Have the Right to Keep a Secret Love

Chapter 54: I miss you so much, afraid I can't hold back

"Lao Dong didn't wait for the conference call to end; he stormed into the office, consumed by anger and loss of control.

'Qi Xi! Why did you have to ruin me!' He disregarded maintaining his image and the employees in the open office area outside, focusing solely on Qi Xi. 'You ungrateful wretch! I've treated you so well, and you turn on me in an instant! Repaying kindness with enmity!'

Yuan Chen's management was known for swift action. Lao Dong's disheveled appearance indicated that they likely received preliminary investigation results. Yuan Chen had probably initiated a suspension inquiry process as per regulations. If further evidence confirmed Qi Xi's report, Lao Dong could face not only termination but also reprimands and compensation. The news could spread throughout the city's workplace scene.

Lao Dong's face, once composed, was now devoid of gentleness, replaced by fury. He stared intensely at Qi Xi. 'What do you gain from this? Do you think you'll get more money? Or did you believe that by filing a report against me, you could cozy up to management? You're dreaming! By ruining me, someone difficult to get along with will take over HR once I'm gone. She'll be awfully envious of young, attractive women like you.'

'If something happens to my wife because of this, you better be prepared!' For the first time, Qi Xi realized that personal gain could make people behave in such an ugly manner. Even at this point, Lao Dong displayed no genuine remorse or guilt; his words shifted blame onto others.

'Lao Dong, I'm grateful for your help when I started, but each matter should be judged on its own merits. Your kindness can't negate your wrongdoing involving Nana.'"

Qi Xi felt a mixture of sadness and heartache, but also a newfound determination. "You blame your extramarital affair on Nana's deliberate seduction, downplaying your own responsibility, constantly excusing yourself by claiming you were intoxicated and misguided. You used company funds to manage your personal affair and justified it as an alternative way to receive the overtime pay you felt entitled to. And now, in your current predicament, you're putting the blame on my reporting."

"Listen to what you just yelled at me. You said it's my fault if something happens to your wife, but did I force you to have an affair? I'm not the one harming your wife; it's you who knew the consequences yet allowed yourself to engage in an extramarital affair. You're the one who stabbed your wife's heart with a dagger. You're the perpetrator, not me."

While facing a much older and experienced Lao Dong might have initially made Qi Xi feel uneasy, at this moment, she was growing increasingly confident.

Yes, she wasn't wrong.

The wrongdoer was never the person exposing the wrongdoing; it was the person committing the wrong.

"Lao Dong, I haven't done anything wrong. I am a lawyer, but I'm not your personal lawyer. I'm Yuan Chen's corporate legal counsel. My client is Yuan Chen, and Yuan Chen's interests are my interests. I've acted in accordance with my professional ethics."

Qi Xi bravely looked at the much older Lao Dong, whose expression remained fierce. "Even if you threaten me and curse that I'll have trouble working with Yuan Chen in the future, personally, I don't hate you, nor do I wish you ill. I hope you do well. I hope you sincerely apologize to your wife, accept whatever consequences she decides—whether it's divorce or trying to mend the relationship. You should reflect on your mistakes and genuinely repent. If your wife forgives you and accepts you, I wish you both well. If your wife chooses divorce, I don't feel sorry for your outcome."

Qi Xi gazed at Lao Dong and said deliberately, "Because in this whole story, the person who should feel sorry the most is you."

Having finished speaking, Qi Xi picked up her bag, straightened her back, and only then realized that the man she had once admired wasn't as towering as she had imagined. Lao Dong hunched his back, and though he refused to admit it, a hint of guilt appeared on his face. He couldn't even meet Qi Xi's gaze.