Chapter 41: Her Cover Is Blown, the Impostor Dr. Q

"Your disguise is not foolproof. Miller's people are suspicious and ruthless—if you catch their attention, the consequences will be dire!"

Qiao Xi snapped awake, realizing this was no time for risk.

She decisively abandoned her original plan, lowered the brim of her hat, and slipped out of the banquet through a side door without a sound.

Returning to Snow Kiss, Qiao Xi and Gu Ranran immediately reviewed the night's events.

"Miller knows our movements inside out. He can even anticipate our investigative actions," Qiao Xi said gravely.

"This isn't just business competition—it feels like there's a serious problem within our own ranks."

"Ranran, I'll leave things here to you and the legal team. Follow the legal procedures strictly."

She made a swift decision, stood up, and began packing her belongings. "I must return home at once!"

"If there's a traitor inside the Fu Corporation, and we don't root them out, the crisis facing Snow Kiss will never truly be resolved, and even the Youthful Project will remain under constant threat!"

Moreover, this mole must be high-ranking, able to tip off Miller at the first opportunity.

She needed to sever this malignant hand at its source.

—

Almost simultaneously with Qiao Xi boarding her flight home, Fu Yancheng received an urgent report from his subordinate.

"President Fu, an eyewitness claims to have seen the Madam at F Country International Airport. The description and travel time match!"

F Country?

Fu Yancheng's heart skipped a beat.

The neighboring countries M and F were adjacent; it was entirely possible she'd disappeared from M Country only to reappear at F Country's airport.

Could it be that Qiao Xi deliberately changed her route, transferring in F Country just to avoid him?

"Prepare the plane immediately. We're going to F Country!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Fu Yancheng headed straight for the airport.

At M Country International Airport, Qiao Xi, wearing sunglasses and a mask, blended into the crowd, preparing to check in for her flight to S City.

Her mind was heavy with worry, focused solely on how to return home and thoroughly investigate the mole. She paid little attention to her surroundings.

Meanwhile, Fu Yancheng had just deplaned from his private jet, striding in with Zhou Ze and several bodyguards.

At a certain junction.

Separated by more than ten meters and a throng of bustling travelers, they nearly brushed shoulders as they passed each other.

Qiao Xi was glancing down at her phone for flight information.

Fu Yancheng was listening intently to Zhou Ze’s whispered report on the latest investigation.

Neither looked up.

—

Neither noticed the other.

Qiao Xi’s figure soon vanished amid the crowd heading for security.

By the time Fu Yancheng’s plane soared through the clouds, Qiao Xi was already in a taxi leaving the airport.

Fu Yancheng never realized that the person he had searched for so desperately had just been within arm’s reach, only to slip away once more.

Nor did Qiao Xi know that Fu Yancheng, seeking her, had chased her all the way to another country.

—

Fu Corporation.

Qiao Xi dropped her luggage at her mother's house and went straight to the laboratory.

Lin Moran and several other core researchers were startled and delighted to see her sudden return.

"Team Leader Qiao! You're back!"

"Did you settle things at home?"

Qiao Xi skipped pleasantries, her expression serious as she got straight to the point. "During my absence these past few days, was everything normal in the lab? Any unusual occurrences?"

"Or... did anyone else come in?"

The researchers exchanged glances, searching their memories.

Lin Moran suddenly recalled something. "No abnormalities... but Dr. Qin did come by a few times."

Qiao Xi’s heart sank.

"Qin Yiren? What was she doing here? She’s no longer the project lead."

Another researcher chimed in, "She said... she said President Fu asked her to hand over some previous project files and needed to look up some old experiment record backups."

"We saw she had an access card and her explanation seemed reasonable, so we didn’t stop her."

"What exactly did she take? Which records did she review?"

Qiao Xi’s voice was tightly controlled, barely containing her anger.

The researchers shook their heads. "We weren’t watching her closely the whole time..."

"She went into the small file room. That’s where we keep the earliest paper records and backup hard drives."

Hearing this, Qiao Xi’s face turned pale.

The small file room—its contents seemed outdated, but it held the project’s original concepts, lessons from failures, and a trove of unpublished raw data.

If someone with malicious intent exploited and tampered with them, they could fabricate evidence damaging to Snow Kiss!

Qiao Xi was now almost certain the mole leaking core secrets to Miller was Qin Yiren.

She had used her position and remaining access rights to steal critical information from the Youthful Project and Snow Kiss, selling it to Fu Yancheng’s business rival!

"Pull all lab surveillance footage from the past few days, especially after hours and weekends!" Qiao Xi ordered coldly. "Focus on the cameras outside the file room!"

—

It was bad enough that Qin Yiren had stolen Dr. Q’s identity, but now she’d set her sights on the Fu Corporation...

This time, Qiao Xi would not let this woman escape.

She deliberately spread the rumor that family matters would delay her return home for several more days.

As expected, on a late night during overtime, Qin Yiren slipped into the lab again.

She went straight to the small room where the early project files were kept.

Using her phone’s flashlight, Qin Yiren was searching for encrypted hard drives, oblivious to the door quietly opening behind her.

"Dr. Qin, working so late—still so dedicated to the project?" Qiao Xi’s voice rang out from behind.

Qin Yiren jolted, the hard drive in her hand dropping to the floor with a sharp smack.

She spun around, seeing Qiao Xi standing in the doorway, her face drained of color.

"Qiao Xi? Weren’t you abroad?"

Her voice trembled as she instinctively tried to kick the dropped hard drive under the cabinet.

"So late, Dr. Qin—what are you looking for in my lab?" Qiao Xi stepped closer. "Did President Fu send you? Or... is it your new master, Mr. Miller?"

Qin Yiren’s face went deathly pale, but she quickly forced herself to appear calm, trying to push past Qiao Xi. "I don’t understand what you’re saying."

"I just left something behind and came to retrieve it. Step aside!"

But Qiao Xi stood her ground, blocking the doorway, her gaze locked on Qin Yiren.

"Qin Yiren, stop pretending. You’re not Dr. Q at all!"

"You stole her identity, impersonated her to enter Fu Corporation, and now you’re betraying us, selling core secrets to the competition!"

She stared directly at Qin Yiren. "Tell me—how much information did you give Miller?"

Hearing her secret exposed so bluntly, Qin Yiren, seeing no one else around and knowing Fu Yancheng was absent, dropped all pretense. Her red lips curled in a cold sneer.

"Yes! I’m not Dr. Q—so what? Qiao Xi, who do you think you are? Why should you have all the luck?"

"Dr. Q’s achievements are so great—they’re wasted just sitting there! Why shouldn’t I use them? And Miller... he can give me what I want, so why shouldn’t I cooperate with him?!"

Her words were nearly a full confession.

Qiao Xi’s phone captured every word in a clear recording.

Realizing what she’d just admitted, Qin Yiren’s face changed abruptly.

She stared in terror at Qiao Xi’s phone. "You recorded me? Give me that phone!"

With a scream, she lunged forward, trying to snatch it!