66: If you don't want ghosts to know, then don't do it in the first place.

After hanging up the phone with the Secretary-General, You Lin's brows furrowed as thoughts raced through his mind. The BOSS called him to the office first thing in the morning!!!

“Did the ship capsize???”

[How is that possible? Stepping on dozens of ships—how could the ship capsize after months of sailing?! This is simply a fantasy!]

[No, no, no! Absolutely impossible! I've settled everything with the customer service center and the inspection team perfectly. Surely, surely I'm just overthinking it!]

You Lin walked out of the manager's office with slightly heavy steps. Just then, the elevator descended slowly and stopped in front of him.

Entering the elevator, it was empty. You Lin raised his hand, pressed the button for the eighteenth floor, and then silently moved to the back.

Just as the elevator reached the fourteenth floor, the doors suddenly opened.

Chief Assistant Lin, dressed in a vintage British-style suit and wearing thin red high heels, walked elegantly into the elevator while tightly clutching a thick stack of documents.

“Chief Assistant Lin! Are you going to the 18th floor too?”

You Lin crossed his arms over his chest and asked with a slight upward curve of his lips, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.

“Mm.”

Lin Ran's face remained expressionless as she gave a faint response, then quickly turned her head away.

[Hmph! How unlucky to run into this long-tongued gossip.]

A dead silence filled the elevator, as if time had frozen; only the sound of Lin Ran's steady and even breathing could be heard.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, You Lin stole a glance at Chief Assistant Lin out of the corner of his eye, only to happen to meet her gaze—an expression clearly revealing extreme disgust.

As their eyes met, You Lin instantly felt like needles were pricking his back. He hurriedly looked away, inwardly lamenting his luck.

[Oh no! Has Chief Assistant Lin already noticed that I've been flirting with Forensic Doctor Xie?]

[Chief Assistant Lin likes Forensic Doctor Xie!!!]

“Ding-dong!” The elevator reached the 18th floor, and the doors slowly opened.

You Lin exhaled a breath of turbid air and walked out, feigning composure. However, just as he took a step, he heard Chief Assistant Lin's voice from behind him.

“Manager You! If you don't want ghosts to know, don't do it.” Lin Ran pursed her lips, her expression calm. Thinking of something, the coldness between her brows deepened slightly.

“What do you mean, Chief Assistant Lin?” You Lin's face turned ugly as he turned around to stare at Lin Ran.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Lin Ran responded coldly. “Don't think that no one knows the things you've done.”

“I don't understand what you're talking about!” You Lin still tried to play dumb.

“Manager You, I advise you to confess and be lenient, otherwise you'll have to bear the consequences,” Lin Ran threatened. “The BOSS has plenty of evidence in hand.”

You Lin's heart began to panic, realizing that things might have already been exposed.

“I... I'll go explain to the BOSS.”

“I hope it's not too late!” Lin Ran sneered.

Hearing this, You Lin's footsteps paused for a moment, but he eventually steeled himself and walked toward the BOSS's office.

[I wonder where the BOSS will banish him? But he knows his trouble is massive!]

Lin Ran stared at You Lin's receding back with a deep expression, her eyes curving slightly.

[That'll teach you to spread rumors—saying the BOSS is the one on the bottom!]

[The Empress could never be the one on the bottom!!! Unless the BOSS touches me a few times...] Lin Ran slightly pressed her legs together and touched her bright red earlobe... As soon as You Lin entered, he saw the BOSS leaning back in the office chair, looking down at the report he had submitted the day before yesterday. He tentatively called out: “BOSS?”

“Is there a problem with the report?”

You Lin struggled to maintain his composure. On the surface, he was calm and collected, but his heart was already churning with a barrage of thoughts.

[Could the BOSS have found some clues from the number of mobile phones purchased in the report?]

[Damn, it must be that! I've found the truth!]

Shang Wan Ning shook her head and said, “There's no problem with the report; it's within the acceptable budget range.”

You Lin secretly bit the tip of his tongue. “Then why did the BOSS call this Subordinate here?”

Shang Wan Ning raised an eyebrow at You Lin, just as he thought he was about to have a hole stared through him.

She spoke: “Recently, I've been receiving quite a few complaint letters regarding you, Manager You Lin, in my inbox.” As she spoke, Shang Wan Ning slowly pulled a USB drive from her suit pocket.

Then, she shook it gently in front of You Lin. “How about it? Do you want to take a look at what's inside?”

You Lin felt three black lines instantly appear on his forehead. [Damn it, it must be that greedy old female ghost Ming Xuan again! Wasn't a thirty percent profit enough for her? She actually dared to go and complain!]

He swallowed hard and said with a slightly trembling voice, “BOSS! This Subordinate doesn't need to look. This Subordinate is willing to confess and be lenient, please punish me, BOSS!”

[Heavenly Dao! I swear I'll never flirt again. Wuwu X﹏X, the Empress's aura is too terrifying for a ghost! I'm really afraid the BOSS will physically erase me.]

Seeing You Lin's nervous appearance, Shang Wan Ning couldn't help but frown slightly, thinking to herself: “Hmph, as expected, he was hiding something from This Old Lady. A little scare and everything is exposed.”

Seeing this, You Lin steeled his heart and simply blurted out everything at once.

This included how he carefully planned his net to swindle money and beauty; how he skillfully arranged his time to ensure no flaws were revealed; and what measures he would take to eliminate any possible traces once things were exposed... After listening to You Lin's statement, the corners of Shang Wan Ning's mouth curled into a perfect arc, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

[Damn! This Old Lady didn't even receive a single bit of tribute. This is outrageous! Look at these so-called good Subordinates of mine! They actually dare to secretly take on private jobs behind my back!!!]

[Banishment! They must be banished! I've noted it in my little notebook; I'll deport all of you abroad in the future. Hmph!]

You Lin's gaze kept flickering toward the BOSS's face. When he saw the corners of the BOSS's lips turn up in a slight smile, he finally breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

[She shouldn't be too angry, right!]

Shang Wan Ning's thick and long eyelashes fluttered a few times as she tightly gripped the fountain pen in her hand.

With a crisp “crack,” the fountain pen instantly snapped into two pieces.

You Lin suddenly felt his legs go weak and stumbled to the floor. “BOSS, everyone I swindled had swindled others before. I have never laid a hand on a good person, I can swear...”

“Enough! After you get out, go to the Finance Department immediately and hand over all the ill-gotten gains to the public treasury.” Shang Wan Ning's face was dark as she scolded him coldly.