His Trust

As he watched the familiar vehicle drove away, Zhang Yu Han heaved a sigh in relief. He did not expect that he would be meeting Li Qin Yao's mother when he came to find her.

Finally, it felt as if he can breathe easier without Xu Yilan's scrutinizing gaze on him. Or was he overthinking things?

Zhang Yu Han snapped out from his thought and turned to Li Qin Yao. "Wei Jun Hao texted me earlier and said that something cropped up and he might be late."

Earlier, Zhang Yu Han had called his friend to inform him of this sudden change of plan. Of course, Wei Jun Hao was infuriated. However, after Zhang Yu Han made a few deals with him, Wei Jun Hao reluctantly agreed to meet up with the agreement draft.

"Is your phone okay now?"

Her question made him paused. It was then that Zhang Yu Han realized that he had given an excuse that something was wrong with his phone and therefore he could not contact her.

"Well, I tried to switch it off and on again when you went upstairs and suddenly, everything turned out alright," he lied.

"Oh," Li Qin Yao nodded. "Then, what's your plan now?"

"Let's head to your office first," Zhang Yu Han said. "I'll text Jun Hao your address and asked him to come over later."

"Is that alright?"

"Of course. His office is in B City. It shouldn't be difficult." He led her to his Cayenne and opened the door for her. Then he went to the driver's side and put the key into the ignition. Only when he was sure that Li Qin Yao had fastened her seatbelt, that he started to drive.

After five minutes, they suddenly found themselves stuck in the traffic. It seemed that B City is more congested than Y City. Perhaps it was due to this that Li Qin Yao would prefer to use public transport.

Zhang Yu Han glanced at the woman beside him and decided to end the silence between them. "Can I ask you something?"

Li Qin Yao was looking out the window when she heard his voice. She tilted her head and said, "What is it?"

"Why didn't you stay and work with your grandfather in Capital City?" though he had heard the reason through Wei Jun Hao's report, Zhang Yu Han wanted to know what was her thought.

Li Qin Yao was startled as she was not expecting the question. She stared at Zhang Yu Han for a few seconds longer and wondered if he would change his mind on collaborating with her after he learned about her scandal.

How many people knew that she was involved in such a scandal ever since she moved to B City to live with her mother? Even Chen Hao knew nothing about this. But it was only because she had never told Chen Hao the truth about herself.

Li Qin Yao turned away from him and tilted her head down. "Have you heard about QL Group's scandal in Capital City two years ago? A shopping mall collapsed and a few construction workers died."

"I've heard of it," Zhang Yu Han confessed. "Since the two companies are cooperating, I did ask someone to have QL Group investigated. Naturally, I've heard of this scandal."

"I was involved in that scandal. In fact, I was the project manager for that project." Li Qin Yao lifted her gaze again to look at his expression. "Will this make you change your mind and stop investing in B City's project?"

Zhang Yu Han did not answer her question. "What happened?"

Li Qin Yao was surprised that there was no change in Zhang Yu Han's expression, but then she thought that perhaps, Zhang Yu Han was someone who rarely showed a change in his expression.

"Two years ago... what happened? How did you get involved in such a scandal?" He repeated his question when he thought that she might not his question the first time.

"There were rumors that I had authorized the use of cheap materials that led to this accident."

"Did you do it?"

Li Qin Yao clutched her fist tightly at his question and turn to look out the window.

The scene from two years ago appeared in her mind. In one evening, she received news that the west wing of the incomplete shopping mall has collapsed. Seven were heavily injured. Three were dead and there were a few more casualties.

It was such a big accident that it had received a lot of cover from the local news.

Then, she was called up to face the higher-ups. Everyone was looking at her with an accusation gaze. Even though her grandfather had taken her side, Li Qin Yao knew that he too thought that she had done something as despicable as authorizing the use of cheap materials in construction.

"No." Her voice came out softly.

"I believe you." Zhang Yu Han pressed his foot on the brake as the traffic light turned red. He turned to look at her and their gaze met.

His answer surprised her. Li Qin Yao turned to look at Zhang Yu Han with her eyes wide as if in disbelief over what she had heard. However, his deep voice, saying that he believed in her resounded in her ears a few more times.

"If you said you did not do it, I will believe in your words," Zhang Yu Han continued when she did not give a response. Soon, the light turned green again, and he went back to concentrate on the road.

Slowly, her lips curved into a smile. "You don't know what happened. How can you say that you believe in me?"

"True. I don't know what happened two years ago. I was not at the scene. Therefore, I cannot comment on anything I did not know of," Zhang Yu Han said. "But I choose to believe in your words."

"Why?"

"You said it was a rumor. Why would I choose to believe in a rumor? Li Qin Yao, I rather trust your words."

Li Qin Yao felt a tingle in her eyes. Back then, how many of them had said that they believed in her?

However, this man who she only knew for a short period had said that he trusted her.

Looking at his expression, Li Qin Yao could see that he was telling her the truth. Moreover, Zhang Yu Han had no benefit to lie to her in such a situation. After all, he was placing his investment in her project.

It would be a lie to say that she did not feel anything towards his trust in her.

Li Qin Yao swallowed as she felt something warm expanding in her chest. "Zhang Yu Han. Thank you."