Chapter 49: I Want to Pursue You

Everyone turned their heads to look, only to see Silas Vance walking in with his long legs, his posture forcefully imposing, carrying an flavor of majesty that commanded respect without anger.

His ink-black eyes locked straight onto Vivian Hale’s palm-sized face, awaiting her answer.

Vivian froze slightly upon seeing him, wanting to say that this was merely a tiny problem—was it truly worth disturbing him to come over?

But recalling what she had stated previously about keeping things strictly business.

This problem indeed stemmed from her end.

Ineffective oversight, failing to consider matters thoroughly at the initial stage of the project, causing her to trip up over such a minor issue.

Therefore, Vivian rose and opened her mouth to speak, "My apologies. I will not commit this kind of mistake again in the future."

The man, however, let out a cold snort, "Don't you think this sentence sounds a bit too light-handed? If you still encounter this type of problem in the future, are you going to waste time just like today? Then how exactly is the project supposed to be pushed forward?"

Vivian knit her brows, lifting her head to look at the man.

Her eyes collided straight with the man's profound gaze.

Was he... making things difficult for her on purpose?

But according to her own understanding, this man didn't seem to be some petty, narrow-minded person.

So, why on earth did he say such things?

Meanwhile, the crowd within the department stared at this scene with a fair amount of surprise.

Although the President Vance before their eyes rarely showed his face, the employees had more or less seen him before.

Right now, seeing that he seemed to be intentionally making things difficult for Vivian, a few weather-vane employees immediately launched into sarcastic remarks.

"Director Hale, Lucas is asking you a question, are you completely unable to provide an answer? This is far too unprofessional! Could it be that you yourself carelessly filled in the incorrect data?"

"If you ask me, Lucas, you had best give some serious consideration regarding the matter of Miss Hale assuming the position of director."

Witnessing this scene, Ian had a look filled with malicious joy gleaming in his eyes.

The gazes the crowd directed toward Vivian carried deep skepticism.

She tightened her brows, just preparing to open her mouth to speak, but in the very next second, Silas spoke up.

"No matter from which exact step the error began, this matter must be thoroughly investigated. I will deploy the company's internal Omniscient Surveillance System to find out. If it turns out to be Director Hale's problem, I will handle it strictly according to the rules!"

As the words fell, Ian’s face altered drastically.

What? The Omniscient Surveillance System?

The company actually possessed the Omniscient Surveillance System? He had consistently believed it was merely a rumor, and it had never once been deployed over so many years; he never expected it to truly exist within the company.

He began to inexplicably feel that something was amiss.

Lucas didn't appear to have come to reprimand her at all; rather, he seemed to have come to assist her instead.

Hearing this, Vivian’s gaze darkened a few shades, and she stood up right after, "Fine. If it turns out to be my problem, I am perfectly willing to accept any punishment."

"Very well."

Silas gave a massive wave of his hand, immediately instructing Jonathan to go pull the surveillance footage from the Omniscient Surveillance System.

Before long, Jonathan returned clutching a tablet displaying the captured visuals and video logs, playing them publicly on the screen.

Very quickly, someone let out a startled cry.

"What? The system execution error was triggered because someone tampered with the data? How could it possibly be Ian's computer? Could this be a mistake?"

In an instant, everyone's gaze locked entirely onto Ian.

Ian’s face was already ghostly pale by now.

Because the system clearly displayed that on his uniquely assigned computer, data had been tampered with, including exactly when it was tampered with and how it was tampered with, written with crystal clarity on the interface.

He shook so hard his legs turned soft from terror, "It's not like that, I didn't do it, someone else might have used my computer..."

But this explanation was incomparably hollow.

Because during that stretch of time, everyone had witnessed Ian remaining at his workstation without ever departing.

No matter how he defended himself, a single glance at the surveillance would settle it.

Only, the crowd didn't know why on earth he would execute such an action.

Vivian also knit her brows, failing to anticipate that someone was actually tripping her up from behind?

Only, she didn't even know the man before her eyes.

Nor had she ever offended him, so why on earth did he do this?

As she pondered this, she also gave voice to the question, "Ian, why on earth did you do this?"

But right at this exact millisecond, Silas's slender fingers tapped lightly, his cadence nonchalant yet striking straight at the core point.

"Because he and Julian, who was fired previously, are a married couple."

"The company strictly forbids employees from engaging in romantic relationships, yet you masked the facts, the two of you joining hands to run amok within the company, seizing other people's achievements and squeezing out other excellent personnel."

Silas delivered the itemized statements one by one, his tone sharp as a blade: "Someone submitted a report previously, and I began the investigation back then. Right now, you actually still dare to play devious tricks with critical project data—your behavior is wretched to the absolute limit! Ian, you are fired!"

A massive wave of shock blanketed the entire venue.

What?

The two of them were a married couple? They had actually masked it this beautifully?

The color entirely drained from Ian's face, realizing that whatever he said at this juncture would be far too late.

With a loud thud, he fell to his knees onto the floor, pleading repeatedly.

"Boss, I was wrong, I won't ever dare to do it again! I beg you to give me one more chance, I will definitely rectify the mistake, I beg you..."

W.E.'s employee benefits and salary packages were items many ordinary individuals could only look upon with envy.

He had gone to great lengths, utilizing every connection alongside his wife to squeeze into this company. The exact millisecond he was fired, other companies would perform background checks, meaning he could completely forget about continuing to survive in this industry.

Silas, however, failed to grant him even a single extra glance, indicating to Jonathan beside him, "Drag him out."

"Yes."

Jonathan immediately gripped him by his back collar, dragging the person away exactly like dragging a dead dog.

Ian’s final gaze landed onto Vivian filled with venomous resentment.

Vivian didn't care at all, her mind currently filled to the brim with absolute surprise.

So, Silas wasn't making things difficult for her moments ago, but acting to assist her instead?

Just as she was pondering, Silas opened his mouth.

"Director Hale, come over to my office for a moment."

Under the watchful eyes of the massive crowd, Vivian feigned total composure to follow him up.

Right up until they entered the CEO's office, the door closing with a loud bang.

Silas turned his body to look toward her, a trace of a smile rippling through his ink-black eyes.

"Director Hale, have you figured out exactly how you intend to thank me?"

Vivian raised her eyebrows lightly. Staring at his appearance, she suddenly comprehended absolutely everything.

She tilted her head to measure him up.

"President Vance knew all along, didn't you? That little performance moments ago—wasn't it merely relying on my hand to eliminate the individuals you had long since desired to eliminate? And you still want a thank you?"

He had already investigated Ian's background with absolute clarity long ago, choosing to endure without unleashing it solely because he lacked a justification to strike.

Right now, he relied on her hand to purge the person.

Proceeding like this, absolutely everything made total sense.

She was wondering why on earth this man would suddenly march over to stick his neck out for her benefit.

"This truly leaves me heartbroken."

Silas appeared somewhat aggrieved upon hearing these words.

He leaned his upper body close, carrying the subtle, faint scent of cedar wood across his form, his voice dropping low and alluring: "I glaringly desired to assist you, flushing out Ian was merely a side benefit. In the end, do I truly fail to secure even a tiny shred of an advantage?"

Vivian, however, noticed that the massive hand which had climbed onto her waist at unknown when was emitting a scorching temperature.

The corners of her mouth twitched, delivering a sharp slap to knock away that misbehaving hand.

"What sort of an advantage exactly do you want?"

"I want to pursue you," Silas's answer was thoroughly crisp and direct.