********

CHAPTER 165

"I know," Ye Cheng spat sharply as well as he darted his gaze over to his friend. "It still does not change the fact that we have lost it and that alone is disturbing. That was supposed to e our big break at the end of the year and by January we shock everyone with the bidding proposal and you know it."

"I know. Still, this is not you. You are usually more calm and collected and you analyze things thoroughly first," Yi Wang Lei challenged him.

Ye Cheng knew his friend was right and that he was better than this. Perhaps the hurt he had so well been concealing was only clouding his judgment as he was yet to get over what Bai Qing Mei and Hao Huizhong did to him and now the next person he trusted was doing this?

It was hard.

"I'm sorry." He waved his hand in front of him and closed his eyes. He was trying so hard to steady his thoughts and bring is rationality back.

"Tell me, what is wrong?"

Ye Cheng's lips parted and he pried his eyes open to look at her. It was obvious she was oblivious to it all. At the every least he could tell just from the look in her eyes that she was not faking and would be as shocked as well when she found out.

"The Yu Group came out with a new business proposal plan about to kick start next week. He had done a mini advert on it, introducing what the city should be expecting from their company and the business world has gone into an uproar because of it," Ye Cheng explained.

"Then we would counter it with our secret business plan with Mr Kang. Why are you so worked up?" Rather than answering her question, Ye Cheng's eyes dropped closed again as he sucked in a lung full of air before opening them to answer her question.

"You do not get it, do you?" Li Jing shook her head at him, indicating her negative response. "Take a look then."

He typed some things on his system and then turned it over for her to have a look at it.

Immediately, the short commercial started playing and Li Jing had her heart in her mouth by the end of the thirty seconds video.

She did not need a prophet to tell her what she saw. Her ideas, their business plan, word for word was pitched in that commercial.

She peeled her gaze from the laptop screen and looked at Ye Cheng. The pain in his eyes mirrored hers and there and then his doubt was cleared.

"How could this happen?"

"I do not know as well. At first, I thought you pitched it to another company as well and that was why I was angry but now…"

If Ye Cheng had known, he would not have said that because the moment he did, Li Jing's face dropped further and was replaced with anger.

"Li Jing. I am sorry."

"No. It shows how much you see me and value me, Ye Cheng."

"No, it isn't like that."

"Then it is what? How could you ever think that I would betray you and do something like that to you? Do I look so cheap and useless to you, huh? Do I?"

Ye Cheng knew he blew it but then again she just could not blame him for it.

"Do you know how many times others begged me to come work with them? I refused it all.

Li Jing was clearly hurt by his distrust and even more angry that he had thought her a traitor.

"Mr Kang wanting to work with me, by all means, agreed to do business with your company because of that marketing slide. So how then do you think I would betray you all just so I can get what, money?"

"Li Jing. I apologized. I let my anger and pain get the best of me. I thought perhaps you pitched it to both companies and the one that responded you agreed to work with them for the idea and forgot about the other."

"That was a stupid thought, Ye Cheng. What if I had said you were the one who gave it out."

"I can never do such a thing," Ye Cheng defended himself. He knew he wasn't the culprit so that left out her.

"Okay, I am neither. Why would I wait for you to be happy about something and pitch it off to another person when I know I do not have a backing?"

"I said I am sorry."

"Still not good enough because I could so much have not given it to you but then again I did because I trusted you and we were friends but I guess the trust only goes one way then."

Ye Cheng was in soup and Yi Wang Lei knew it. He sighed at his friend's stupidity before deciding to help him out.

"Okay you two can continue fighting for now or you put aside your anger and let us figure out who did such a thing and stole from our company," Yi Wang Lei chipped in after some time.

He was tired of their blames and anger and what they needed now was way out, way forward and not a way backwards.

Both of them nodded their agreement at him and finally decided to work together. "Better."

"Okay, if it was neither you nor I, then who else have a copy of the slides and plan?"

"Mr Kang."

Ye Cheng and Yi Wang Lei looked at each other before returning their gaze back to her. "What?"

"It is nothing," Ye Cheng lied.

"Then why are you two having that look on your faces?" She was not going to buy their word as just because they said so. No way. "Did I say anything wrong? We can just wait for the meeting time and talk with Mr Kang."

"The only problem now is that there is no longer a meeting."

"What? Why?" Li Jing could not believe this. How could everything be falling apart right before her eyes?