Chapter 221 – Strength Revealed
Inside the Discipline Inspection Committee Office of Changfeng Group, there was a separate interrogation room. After being brought to the Discipline Inspection Committee Office, Wei Chen was taken into the interrogation room, and everything proceeded according to the procedure.
The interrogation room was sealed, with only a small window connecting it to the outside. The interior was very simple, with just a desk and two chairs. There was a camera on the ceiling, monitoring the interrogation room throughout. The camera could record sound, capturing the entire process of this interrogation.
The Discipline Inspection Director personally came in to question Wei Chen.
Yes, question. Compared to interrogation, the Discipline Inspection Director preferred this more neutral term.
“Deputy General Manager Wei,” nodded the Discipline Inspection Director towards Wei Chen.
Wei Chen sat upright. Even in the confined and cramped interrogation room, he appeared without any trace of fear. He met the gaze of the Discipline Inspection Director confidently and nodded towards him.
The young observer monitoring outside the room became furious seeing Wei Chen’s composed demeanor.
“Why is he like this? Clearly, he has made a mistake. Why can he be so composed? People like him should be severely punished, spending their lives in prison!” the young observer muttered with indignation.
The middle-aged man accompanying the young observer sighed helplessly and asked, “How can you be so sure that the millions in Deputy General Manager Wei’s partner’s account are from embezzlement and bribery?”
The young observer became agitated by this question and said, “It’s impossible! Didn’t Zhou Tongpeng say his partner is an autistic person? How could an autistic person earn so much money? Who would foolishly give money to an autistic person? Moreover, it’s clearly stated in that document. Around the time the money was received in Chen Li’s account, it coincided with the period when Wei Chen had business transactions with other companies. How can such a coincidence occur?”
“I also find it highly unlikely,” said another young person watching the monitors in front of the surveillance. “A few days ago, I checked Deputy General Manager Wei’s account. These millions are just a fraction of the money in his account. Deputy General Manager Wei wouldn’t risk embezzling and taking bribes for what he considers a small amount of money.”
The young observer immediately seized on the crucial point in his colleague’s words, “Why does Wei Chen have so much money in his account then? It must be from embezzlement and bribery! We must investigate along this line; we’re sure to bring this tiger down.”
The young person in front of the monitor rolled his eyes, “Do you think we haven’t checked? The sources of funds in Deputy General Manager Wei’s account are legitimate, from investments and stock trading. Do you think Deputy General Manager Wei is just like us? He’s a Ph.D. from a prestigious university, capable of earning half our lifetime’s salary in a matter of minutes. Do you think he would care about those few million?”
The young observer wanted to argue further, but the middle-aged man made a hushing gesture, and the interrogation in the interrogation room had already begun.
The Discipline Inspection Director placed a document in front of Wei Chen and said, “This is the evidence from the public reporting against you. Your partner’s account received two large transfers during these two time periods. Coincidentally, you had two business transactions around this time, Deputy General Manager Wei. Please provide a reasonable explanation.” Although it was framed as questioning Wei Chen, due to the nature of the profession, the tone shifted towards interrogation during the questioning process.
Wei Chen glanced through the document, unruffled and calmly responded, “I sign more than just one or two contracts in a month. If you were to investigate, you would find several contracts signed around this time. It’s too easy to find two contracts to create such a coincidence.”
Why was the marketing department able to achieve performance growth every month and quarter under Wei Chen’s leadership? Wei Chen personally signed many business contracts, coupled with the efforts of his subordinates, allowing the marketing department to thrive.
The Discipline Inspection Director pondered for a moment, then picked up the intercom on the table and said, “Check as Deputy General Manager Wei suggested, see if it matches what he said.”
The person monitoring outside immediately went to check the contracts Wei Chen mentioned for that specific time period.
“Then can you explain the source of the tens of millions in Mr. Chen Li, your partner’s account?” The tone of the Discipline Inspection Director softened considerably, evidently trusting Wei Chen’s previous statement.
“I don’t know the source,” Wei Chen admitted openly, and he was speaking the truth. He never inquired about who bought Chen Li’s paintings. However, he continued, “Since you know the account, you can investigate. I assure you the source of these two transactions is absolutely legitimate.”
“Alright, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt,” the Discipline Inspection Director said. “But I need to see evidence. Evidence will reveal the truth of the matter.” Wei Chen nodded, maintaining his composure.
The young observer in the monitoring room was fuming. He knew it; how could Wei Chen not know the source? Not knowing the source definitely meant something was amiss!
The middle-aged man looked at the infuriated young observer, feeling helpless. He didn’t understand why they were so adamant about accusing Wei Chen when Wei Chen didn’t seem to have any issues.
After a few minutes, the person who checked the contracts Wei Chen mentioned during that time period came back. Indeed, as Wei Chen had stated, there were around ten contracts signed during those two brief time periods. Therefore, the two contracts mentioned in the evidence had no necessary connection to the timing of the funds entering Chen Li’s account, indicating that this evidence was not valid.
At this point, Wei Chen could have left, but he chose not to. Since they wanted to investigate, he would let them investigate thoroughly.
The person tasked with checking the account information took more than half an hour to return. It was unclear what complications they encountered during the account examination, but when they returned and entered the interrogation room, their expression was very serious.
This person handed over the information they had found to the Discipline Inspection Director and said, “Director, everything has been thoroughly investigated. It took a bit of time due to a special account we came across during the investigation.”
“A special account?” the Discipline Inspection Director said with a hint of confusion as they looked at the document in their hands.
The first payment of over ten million came from Sheng Jiaqi’s account, which surprised the Discipline Inspection Director. Why would Sheng Jiaqi give money to Wei Chen’s partner?
However, when their gaze fell on the source of the second payment, the Discipline Inspection Director couldn’t help but startle, staring at the simple three words for a long time, as if confirming they had read it wrong. However, no matter how long they stared, those three words remained unchanged.
It was only at this moment that they understood the meaning behind the phrase “special account” from their subordinate!
This was Old Master Qu’s account. Although Old Master Qu had stepped down from a higher position, his influence still persisted. In the capital city, where several of Old Master Qu’s former students held significant positions, this revelation was shocking.
The Discipline Inspection Director felt beads of sweat the size of soybeans forming on their forehead. They had never imagined that Wei Chen would have a connection with Old Master Qu.
Bribery? Never mind Sheng Jiaqi, but Old Master Qu? Someone of Old Master Qu’s status and position—why would they need a bribe? It was simply absurd.
Putting away the document, the Discipline Inspection Director said apologetically to Wei Chen, “Deputy General Manager Wei, we misunderstood you. Let me escort you back to your office.”
Regardless of why Old Master Qu would transfer tens of millions to Wei Chen’s partner, it was an established fact that Wei Chen had a connection with Old Master Qu. In light of this, Wei Chen couldn’t be offended. Since they had invited him, he would graciously accept their invitation and not let anyone misunderstand his position.
“No need to trouble yourself, I can go back on my own,” Wei Chen said, puzzled by the sudden change in the Discipline Inspection Director’s attitude. However, he suspected it had something to do with the source of the transfer that had just been presented.
So, just how influential was the person to whom Li Li sold the painting? To prompt such a significant change in the usually unyielding attitude of the Discipline Inspection Director?
Wei Chen was only curious, but his curiosity didn’t reach the level of needing to know who had bought Li Li’s painting.
“No trouble at all; I insist on accompanying you back,” the Discipline Inspection Director said, making a gesture of invitation.
Wei Chen couldn’t refuse the insistence and compromised, allowing the Discipline Inspection Director to escort him to his office.
The Discipline Inspection Director wanted to dispel any suspicions about Wei Chen, so their demeanor during the escort back to Wei Chen’s office was sufficiently humble. Upon reaching Wei Chen’s office, they spoke up, saying, “Thank you, Deputy General Manager Wei, for cooperating with our investigation and providing compelling evidence.”
Wei Chen replied, “You’re welcome; it’s what I should do.”
Shortly after, news spread within the company that Wei Chen was not taken away for investigation; he was merely cooperating with the investigation.
Those who had been skeptical of the previous events naturally breathed a sigh of relief. They said, “See, our wise and mighty Deputy General Manager Wei would never do anything detrimental to the company’s interests.”
The onlookers, who had put down their melon seeds, dispersed. The drama was over, and there was nothing left to watch.
Only those who truly knew the situation were aware that this was just the beginning of a performance, and the real tide had not yet arrived.
After Wei Chen left, in the Discipline Inspection Committee Office, the young observer was dissatisfied. How could they let Wei Chen go so easily? The source of those tens of millions hadn’t been clarified yet!
Now, everyone in the Discipline Inspection Committee Office regarded the young observer with disdain, as if they were looking at a fool. The director must have seen the evidence, which is why they let Wei Chen go.
One of the colleagues couldn’t bear it and approached the young observer, asking, “Do you know who Deputy General Manager Wei’s partner is?”
The young observer shook his head and expressed his disdain openly, saying, “Anyway, it’s an autistic person. How could an autistic person have so much money?” The tone carried a disdain even the young observer wasn’t aware of.
“You’re discriminating,” the colleague said, looking at the young observer with contempt. “Who says an autistic person can’t earn money? Do you know ‘Light’? Forget it; someone like you probably doesn’t know about this painting.”
This colleague had just discovered during the investigation that Wei Chen’s partner was Chen Li, the artist behind the painting ‘Light.’ The painting had already been sold for tens of millions in the market, so having millions in his account was quite ordinary.
Indeed, as the colleague had pointed out, the young observer didn’t know about ‘Light.’ So, he didn’t understand the relevance of his colleague’s mention of ‘Light’ to this matter. “What does ‘Light’ have to do with this? Can we stick to the facts, please?”
The colleague chuckled at the young observer’s ignorance. “Fine, let’s stick to the facts. I’ll tell you. The autistic person you’re belittling, hailed as a genius artist of the new century by the world, casually paints a piece worth tens of millions. Do you now understand why tens of millions were credited to his account?”
“Ah…” The young observer took quite some time to digest this information. So, the tens of millions in Wei Chen’s partner’s account were from the sale of the painting, not from bribery to Wei Chen?
For a moment, the young observer felt like a huge slap had landed on his face, stinging and painful. He even felt that the gazes of those around him were mocking. He wished he could find a crack in the ground to hide in.
Thanks for the chapter! Everyone, meet a sheep, easily led to it’s own death…
thx for the chp!
stupid fu*k… what is wrong with u?
Wait, what? How is it legal to just look at the transaction of someone else’s account? Like what the hell is going on here? I’m lost