197: You are indeed presumptuous

The Steward looked back at Gu Shiyu and said regretfully,

“General Manager Gu, this part of the surveillance footage is missing…”

Gu Shiyu should have realized earlier that the other party was prepared and it wouldn't be that simple.

Since they dared to openly scheme against Miss Ji, they must have made thorough preparations. It was likely a group, with a master strategist guiding them from behind.

“Make a list of the guests who came to the Ji family today and give it to Miss Ji.”

After Gu Shiyu finished speaking, the Steward simply gave a perfunctory ‘hmm’ and paid no attention, an unwilling expression plastered on his face.

Gu Shiyu smiled helplessly,

“Steward Yang, do you think Miss Ji being pushed into the water in her own home means you, as the Steward, bear no responsibility? The Ji family has so many servants, and even more security guards were arranged today. When the incident happened, where did all these people go?

Who ordered them away?”

The Steward didn't expect Gu Shiyu, an outsider, to be so forceful in speaking to him. The Ji family's affairs were not something an outsider like her should meddle with.

He maintained his indifferent attitude,

“This matter needs to be investigated slowly. Even if Bao Gong came, he couldn't figure out the whole story at once, could he?”

Gu Shiyu told him directly,

“As far as President Ji is concerned, if you can't find out, it means you did it! Steward Yang, you must always remember that you are paid to work. What do you think happens to employees who only get paid but don't work?”

The Steward froze, then closed his mouth.

His face flushed, completely speechless after being rebutted.

Upstairs in the guest room, Song Yuan was still waiting for someone to deliver clothes.

The Steward, with a long face, carried the clothes bag upstairs and knocked on Song Yuan's door. Gu Shiyu followed him the entire way.

In the room, Song Yuan was already annoyed from waiting. He had called his own housekeeper twice, and she said the clothes had been delivered half an hour ago.

He had no clothes to wear now, wrapped in a thin bath towel, waiting for the delivery.

Finally, he heard a knock at the door.

The Steward handed the bag of clothes to Song Yuan and watched him pull out the clothes, ready to put them on.

The Steward stood there, looking at Song Yuan. The birthmark behind his shoulder was so conspicuous, making one unable to help but wonder.

“President Song, if I may be so bold, when is your birthday?”

Song Yuan put on his shirt, buttoning it one by one, and did not want to answer him,

“You are indeed being bold.”

The sudden embarrassment made it impossible for the Steward to stay there any longer. He left the guest room with a defeated look, closing the door behind him.

Song Yuan changed into a clean set of clothes.

Gu Shiyu told Song Yuan what had just happened, and Song Yuan was completely stunned.

It was hard to imagine that even in the twenty-first century, such bloody incidents could occur in the struggles between powerful families.

In this matter, there was almost no need to guess who was behind it.

The situation was clear: if Ji Qingxue had an accident, who would benefit?

However, everything needed evidence. Without evidence, relying solely on speculation would ultimately be useless.

Song Yuan pondered for a long time,

“I'll try to recover the lost surveillance data. I'll need a computer. Shiyu, how is Ji Qingxue's condition now?”

Gu Shiyu shook her head,

“Her condition is very bad. She was terrified and is now hiding in her bedroom, not even daring to come out, afraid that those people will come to harm her again.”

Song Yuan expressed sympathy,

“As a girl, she must have been terrified by something like this. It's not easy for anyone to go through this.”

Gu Shiyu asked him,

“Do you mind if I take Ji Qingxue back to our house first, and we can make other arrangements once her emotions are a little better?”

“I don't mind.”

After they discussed it, Song Yuan went downstairs to wait in the living room, while Gu Shiyu went up to settle Ji Qingxue and brought her out.

The three of them walked back to Nineteen Courtyard.

Gu Shiyuan was lying on the living room sofa, playing games, one disabled leg held high. The carefree young master thought his sister and brother-in-law wouldn't be back before dark, and he had the house to himself for a wild afternoon.

Hearing the commotion, he looked towards the door and saw not only the couple returning, but also someone else with them.

Gu Shiyuan was about to joke with Ji Qingxue, but seeing the grim expressions on the three people who entered, he swallowed the rude words that were on the tip of his tongue.

“What's wrong with you three? Did you lose money or lose a fight?”

Gu Shiyu glared at him and led Ji Qingxue to the single sofa, asking the auntie to pour her a cup of hot orange juice.

Gu Shiyu winked at her brother,

“You stay here and keep Shiyu company. Make her happy, and your allowance will double next month.”

Gu Shiyuan's spirits lifted,

“Sister, you're a woman of your word, right? You won't transfer it one second and then recall it the next, will you?”

Gu Shiyu assured him,

“No.”

Gu Shiyuan threw down his half-played game, sat up straight, and with a playful grin, began to tell jokes off the cuff,

“Let me tell you a joke first. A fly daddy took his baby to eat poop, and the little one asked, ‘Daddy, why do we eat poop?’ What do you think his dad said?”

Gu Shiyuan answered his own question,

“His dad said, ‘Shut up! Don't say such disgusting things while eating, hahahahaha…’”

Gu Shiyuan burst into laughter, but Ji Qingxue looked at him expressionlessly.

Gu Shiyu stopped on the stairs and turned to scold him,

“Can't you tell something less disgusting?”

Gu Shiyuan scratched his head,

“Okay, here's a new one. Sun Wukong couldn't find his Golden Cudgel and was scratching his ears and cheeks in a hurry. He asked the Earth God, ‘Where is my Golden Cudgel?’ The Earth God said, ‘Your Golden Cudgel is so great because it perfectly matches your hairstyle!’ Hahahahaha…”

Gu Shiyuan laughed at himself again, while Ji Qingxue only managed a slight curve of her lips.

Gu Shiyuan pleaded with a long face,

“Miss, please just smile! My living expenses next month depend entirely on you!”

…

Upstairs, Gu Shiyu followed Song Yuan to the study.

Song Yuan opened his computer and easily hacked into the Ji family's surveillance system.

He wouldn't look at the more private surveillance footage in the villa. Song Yuan only looked at the footage from the courtyard. After finding the damaged surveillance footage near the lake, he operated on the computer with both hands.

After a while, he sighed,

“The deleted video cannot be recovered. The other party was very vigilant and used a physical deletion method. Once deleted, it cannot be recovered.”

Gu Shiyu gnashed her teeth in anger,

“These people are too cunning!”

Song Yuan went to check other surveillance videos from the time after Ji Qingxue fell into the water. His hands paused at a section in the equipment room,

“The person who pushed Ji Qingxue wasn't found, but Shiyu, look!”

Gu Shiyu looked over. In the selected video, the back of a fifty-year-old man entered the equipment room. The man was carrying a handbag, which was exactly the clothes Song Yuan had asked the housekeeper to send.

Further into the video, it showed the Steward and Gu Shiyu coming to the equipment room together, but by then the surveillance footage had already been deleted.

In other words, before the surveillance footage was deleted, only the Steward had entered this equipment room!

Gu Shiyu looked at Song Yuan with a shocked expression,

“So, it was the Steward who deleted that crucial video?”