The legal representative was someone else's name. The real boss was Zhao Yuwei. The contract was not something she obtained herself - the path had been paved in advance by someone else.



I pulled up the organizational chart from Gu Lingfeng's computer: Zhao Zheng, Vice President, Curriculum R and D Department. Zhao Yuwei. Zhao Zheng. Same surname. One managing supplier introductions inside Gu Group, one using a consulting company to collect money on the outside.



The second night, I pieced together the money trail from the transaction data provided by the audit team.



Within thirty days of every supplier signing a contract, they all made a payment equal to twelve percent of the contract amount to the same Bangkok consulting company. The controlling party of this Bangkok company was precisely that shell company of Zhao Yuwei's in the Caymans. After the money arrived in Bangkok, it split into two paths: ten percent stayed in Zhao Yuwei's account, ninety percent transferred out the next day, landing in another shell company of Zhao Zheng's in the Caymans.



These data were not something I could have looked up myself - the equity penetration of Cayman shell companies, Bangkok bank transfer records, all were retrieved by the audit team through compliance channels. What I did was not excavation, it was piecing together a puzzle. Laying out the payment records of the seven suppliers together, the pattern jumped out - twelve percent, transferred out the next day, three layers of offshore structure, the endpoint all pointing to the same person.



"This is how the chain moves." I pointed at the red line on the screen. "All these suppliers were brought into Gu Group one by one by Zhao Zheng back in the day. After bringing them in, he privately negotiated with each one: after signing the contract, pay an additional twelve percent to Bangkok. Don't pay? Next bid, someone else replaces you. The suppliers obediently paid for three years. Three years, forty-six million."



Gu Lingfeng stared at the screen, his expression very grim. An outsider had been hollowing out his own system for three years - more ugly than any opponent.



"Tianxing is not threatening those suppliers. Tianxing is threatening Zhao Zheng himself. Once the joint venture direct-run model succeeds, Gu Group will roll out the Tianxing model to other cooperative kindergartens. One becomes two, three hundred all follow Tianxing. Once the curriculum system changes, all suppliers change. The old suppliers that Zhao Zheng brought in get eliminated as a group. His stamp, his people, his twelve percent - all reset to zero."



I clicked on that consulting company on the screen: "So he will stop at nothing to kill Tianxing. Compliance review, curriculum reports, industrial and commercial reports - all parts of his setup. His sister's consulting company collects money on the outside, Lin Yue digs for information in my house. Every thread points to the same goal - not letting Tianxing land."



The third night, 2 AM, I finished the last spreadsheet. Gu Lingfeng was leaning on my shoulder asleep, his breathing heavy, his brows furrowed.



I nudged him: "The evidence is enough. But there is one problem - these payment records are internal data from the audit team. Taking them to the hearing is not enough. We need the original contracts, the kind with stamps and signatures. But supplier contracts are classified archives. We don't have access permission. We don't even know which archive room they're stored in."



He was about to speak when the phone on the desk vibrated.



A message from an unknown number, anonymous channel, only one line: Archive Room B3, the cabinet farthest inside on the third row. The key is in the pen holder on the archive room supervisor's desk. Don't mention it.



We stood up simultaneously.



Outside the window, Beijing at 2 AM was quiet as a stone. I stared at that line of text on the screen, a chill running down my spine.



"This person knows what we're investigating. And he knows the cabinet number and key location in the archive room better than you or me. He's someone inside Gu Group. Not a low rank."



Gu Lingfeng was already putting on his jacket: "First get the contracts. We'll figure out who sent it later."



At 3 AM, we got all the original contracts. Kraft paper covers, stamped with the character for "Classified." The contracts themselves were clean, no sign of that twelve percent. Zhao Zheng was not stupid - he would not put an oral agreement into writing. But the supplier names on the contracts matched the bank transaction records we had been tracking.



Walking out of the archive room, Gu Lingfeng stopped.



"I know who sent that message."



"Who?"



"The surveillance cameras on this floor of the archive room all went dark just now. But only for two minutes. Just enough time for us to enter and exit. The entire Gu Group has no more than three people who can shut off the archive room surveillance at any time. One is the security director, one is the old master, and one is Gu Jun." He paused. "Gu Jun has no motive - Zhao Zheng's kickbacks have nothing to do with him. The security director is on leave tonight. That leaves only one person."



I stood in the 3 AM corridor, another chill running down my spine.



The old master. From beginning to end, he knew what we were investigating.



Walking out of the small building, the sky was already showing the white of dawn. Gu Lingfeng draped his jacket over my shoulders.



"The hearing is Friday. Are you afraid?"



"Afraid." I pulled his jacket closer. It carried his faint sandalwood scent. "But more afraid of being treated like a soft persimmon that anyone can squeeze."



He looked down at me: "Then let them see exactly how tough Teacher Su is."



I cracked a grin, about to laugh, when his phone vibrated again.



An unknown number. Still the anonymous channel.



Don't think getting the contracts means you're secure. Zhao Zheng's move tomorrow - you won't guess it.



Gu Lingfeng finished reading and flipped the phone face down on the desk. His expression darkened.



"What other moves does he have?"



"Don't know. But this person never leaves himself only one escape route."



Outside the window, the sky was already bright. I stared at that message, the string in my heart tightening another turn.