Chapter 852: A Cold Laugh

The man sneered: "Humph, no matter how difficult he is to deal with, he has weaknesses. Don't forget, you confessed your feelings to him before? This is your advantage. Find a way to make good use of it."

Zhang Xiaolan nodded helplessly: "Okay, I'll try."

After returning home, Zhang Xiaolan lay in bed, tossing and turning. On the one hand, she was afraid that cooperating with the mysterious man would bring serious consequences, and on the other hand, she was tempted by the high remuneration promised by the man. After a mental struggle, she finally decided to act according to the man's plan.

A few days later, Zhang Xiaolan dressed up carefully and came to Qi Tongwei's office again.

"Leader Qi, I have re-made the flip plan, please take a look." Zhang Xiaolan handed the plan to Qi Tongwei with a sweet smile on her face.

Qi Tongwei took the plan and looked at it carefully. This plan seemed to be in compliance with the law and did not involve the issue of land occupation.

"Well, the plan this time is not bad. However, you must ensure that the actual construction is consistent with the plan." Qi Tongwei reminded.

"Leader Qi, don't worry, I will strictly follow the plan." Zhang Xiaolan said, her eyes unconsciously glancing at Qi Tongwei, trying to find an opportunity to close the distance between the two.

Qi Tongwei noticed Zhang Xiaolan's strangeness. He raised his head and said seriously, "Xiaolan, you should be more careful in the future. We are in a superior-subordinate relationship, so we should maintain a proper distance."

Zhang Xiaolan's heart tightened, but she still pretended to be calm: "Leader Qi, I understand. It's just that you have helped me so much during this period of time, and I am very grateful in my heart."

Qi Tongwei waved his hand: "This is what I should do. As long as you can abide by the rules and get things done, it will be fine."

Seeing that Qi Tongwei was determined and unable to find a breakthrough, Zhang Xiaolan had to leave.

Back at the cafe, she told the mysterious man about the situation. After hearing this, the man's face became even gloomier: "It seems that Qi Tongwei is really stubborn. In this case, let's give him a hard time."

The man took out a stack of photos from his bag and threw them on the table. The photos showed Qi Tongwei and Zhang Xiaolan being intimate in the office. Although there was no actual misconduct, the angle of the photos was clever and could easily lead to misunderstandings.

"Take these photos and spread them around. Say that Qi Tongwei took advantage of his position to have improper relationships with his subordinates. By then, he will be unable to take care of himself and will have to agree to our conditions." The man said viciously.

Zhang Xiaolan looked at the photo and felt a sense of fear in her heart: "Is this too much? Leader Qi is actually a good person. He has always taken good care of me."

The man sneered, "Good guy? There is no distinction between good guys and bad guys when it comes to interests. If you don't want to do it, then the reward promised to you will be gone. Besides, do you think it's too late for you to quit now? You've already participated in it. Once the matter is exposed, you can't get away with it."

Zhang Xiaolan was caught in a dilemma. She held the photo with her hands trembling slightly. In the end, under the temptation of interests and concerns about her own situation, she chose to follow the man's arrangements.

A few days later, some negative posts about Qi Tongwei suddenly appeared on the Internet, accompanied by those manipulated photos, causing an uproar in public opinion. Various rumors also began to spread in the unit, and colleagues' attitudes towards Qi Tongwei became very subtle.

When Qi Tongwei learned about this, he was angry and anxious. He knew that someone was deliberately framing him, but these photos were indeed easy to cause misunderstandings and were very difficult to deal with.

Liang Lu also saw the news online. She called Qi Tongwei anxiously: "Tongwei, what is going on? Where did these photos come from?"

Qi Tongwei quickly comforted her, "Liang Lu, don't worry. Someone is deliberately framing me. There is nothing between Zhang Xiaolan and me. I will definitely find out and clear my name."

After hanging up the phone, Qi Tongwei immediately started an investigation. Through various channels, he soon discovered that the source of the spread of these photos seemed to be related to Zhang Xiaolan. He was disappointed and angry, and he didn't expect Zhang Xiaolan to do such a thing.

Qi Tongwei found Zhang Xiaolan and asked her, "Xiaolan, did you spread those photos? Why did you do that?"

Zhang Xiaolan didn't dare to look into Qi Tongwei's eyes. She lowered her head and said, "Leader Qi, I... I was forced into a situation. A man threatened me that if I didn't do this, he would harm me."

Qi Tongwei frowned: "What man? Tell me the whole story clearly!"

Zhang Xiaolan had no choice but to tell the whole story about the mysterious man who wanted her to cooperate with him, attempted to seize the farmland, and later threatened her to spread the photos.

After hearing this, Qi Tongwei was furious: "You are so stupid! How could you cooperate with such a person? Now that things have gotten out of hand, do you think you can escape responsibility?"

Zhang Xiaolan cried and said, "Leader Qi, I know I was wrong. I really regret it. Please help me."

Qi Tongwei took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He knew that now was not the time to blame Zhang Xiaolan. The most urgent task was to find a way to solve the problem and clear his grievances.

"Stop crying first. Think carefully. Did that man give any clues, such as the power behind him, or what his purpose was besides seizing farmland?" Qi Tongwei asked.

Zhang Xiaolan wiped her tears and tried to recall: "He...he seemed to have said that this piece of farmland was very important to a big project of theirs. I don't know what the specific project was. Also, he was very careful every time he contacted me, and he always contacted me in that remote cafe."

Qi Tongwei nodded: "Okay, I understand. Go home first, don't run around during this period, and wait for my news. I will handle this matter, but you must also be prepared to bear the consequences."

After Zhang Xiaolan left, Qi Tongwei immediately arranged for someone to investigate the identity of the mysterious man and the forces behind him. At the same time, he also issued a statement through official channels to clarify the online rumors and said that he would pursue legal responsibility for the rumor makers.

During the investigation, Qi Tongwei discovered that there was an interest group behind this mysterious man, who attempted to develop a lucrative business project by occupying arable land. In order to achieve their goals, they did not hesitate to use various means.

Qi Tongwei knew that in order to completely solve this problem, he had to catch this interest group in one fell swoop. He joined forces with the police and launched a secret operation. After a hard investigation and tracking, he finally obtained sufficient evidence of the interest group's illegal crimes.

The police acted quickly and rounded up the main members of the interest group.