Wang Qiqi knew as soon as John mentioned it that it would be a melodramatic topic. However, if Anna's sister hadn't died in a car crash, Wang Qiqi doubted John would have married her. Even with talk of marital freedom, the principle of marrying into a family of equal standing still applied, whether domestically or internationally. John’s wife was not only beautiful but also the daughter of his father’s close friend, and her family background was respectable.

Fortunately, John had no intention of recounting dramatic stories. After briefly mentioning Anna’s sister, he quickly explained why he recognized Anna. “That’s why I thought keeping her as a receptionist at the company wouldn't be bad. Even though her abilities are average, what does a receptionist really need? Honestly, being beautiful and graceful is enough.” As for the simple tasks of a receptionist, a university student should surely grasp a thing or two.

Only then did Wang Qiqi and the others understand why John’s attitude toward Anna seemed so perplexing. It turned out that because of this connection, he still wanted to protect her even now. This made Wang Qiqi and the others quite dissatisfied. Although he was the major shareholder and bore the brunt of any financial loss, some of their money was involved too. “We won’t comment much on what happened between you and Anna’s sister, but if this really involves Anna, we can’t let this go. We can overlook past issues, but she must leave.” Han Tao was already unhappy having her standing in front of him, and hearing now that she had embezzled their money, how could he tolerate her?

Yet, they couldn't completely disregard John’s feelings. Although John had mentioned his relationship with a former girlfriend, Han Tao instinctively felt that John hadn't told the whole story, or perhaps John was connected to Anna’s sister’s death. Otherwise, why would he be so attentive to Anna? Even a former girlfriend’s younger sister wouldn't warrant such treatment. Since that was the case, firing her was the only option.

“Right, if we keep someone like this, her appetite will only grow bigger later.” Fatty agreed with this assessment. Not sending her to the police station was already giving her face. Keeping her in the company, Fatty felt, would defy all reason.

Wang Qiqi thought how fortunate it was that John hadn’t mentioned her sister to Anna; otherwise, the consequences would have been dire. “Actually, Anna has always wanted to be involved in this round of financing. She said she studied finance and could help us analyze and gather information, though I didn't agree initially.” Thinking about it now, she was so glad she hadn’t agreed. She might have leaked the results or their discussions with John to those investment bankers, leaving them embarrassed. While she might genuinely just want a better job than a receptionist with no prospects, now that they knew she was scheming, Wang Qiqi certainly had to use this as an opportunity to drive her out. Otherwise, Wang Qiqi couldn’t guarantee what Anna might do if she discovered the nature of her relationship with John. Since John was clearly transferring his sense of obligation to her sister onto Anna, Wang Qiqi had to be wary. In fact, if she hadn't worried about potentially ruining someone's marriage, Wang Qiqi would have told John’s wife about the situation.

John hadn’t anticipated this. He thought how lucky it was that she hadn’t approached him earlier; if he had impulsively agreed, something huge might have happened. A person who cared about such a small amount of money would certainly sell him out easily if the other party offered a higher price. “Compared to her sister, she falls far short.” One was gentle, generous, and always considered others; the other was utterly selfish.

The reason John took such good care of Anna was that he owed her sister a life. He had originally intended to cultivate her, perhaps getting her into middle management if top-tier positions were impossible. He hadn't expected her to be so utterly incapable. “If she shows no remorse, handle it as you see fit.”

With John’s acquiescence, Wang Qiqi and the other two breathed a collective sigh of relief. They weren't worried that John was building his own faction, but having such a ticking time bomb in the company made them uneasy. The three of them had already clashed with Anna; once she gained traction, she would surely retaliate. Wang Qiqi particularly worried that she hadn't given up completely. Even if Anna performed well and got promoted later, Han Tao’s net worth would grow alongside the company. If she gave up now because the effort didn't match the reward, would she remain indifferent once the company thrived? She would definitely cling to Han Tao.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make her resign voluntarily, but this will be noted in the internal employee files, so she can’t reapply to the company in the future.” Wang Qiqi thought for a moment before adding this. She worried John might get sentimental again in the future and bring this troublemaker back into the company. While sending her to the police wouldn't achieve much—perhaps a few years in custody—this feud had become serious, and it had already soured things with John. Given this, it was better to save face for John.

Although John was eating, he knew Angel let Anna off the hook out of respect for him. He let out a soft sigh. Regardless, he had helped Anna, but she was truly disappointing. If she hadn’t left such a significant vulnerability, Angel wouldn't be pursuing her so relentlessly.

As Wang Qiqi yawned and walked past Anna, she said, “I’m free this morning. Have those vendors come in to settle their bills, and organize the receipts while you’re at it.” Rushing the settlement pleased the restaurant, but Wang Qiqi also worried Anna might notice something amiss. After much thought, she came up with this reason: she was busy lately, and everything she did was squeezed in between tasks. Anna hadn't expected the settlement to happen days early. Anna did hesitate, but Wang Qiqi’s reason was perfectly plausible—everyone in the office saw how busy they had been these past few days. “I understand; I’ll notify them.”

After hearing the reply, Wang Qiqi gave an 'oh' and returned to the main office. She ran into Han Tao by the tea room door and accepted the tea he poured her, saying, “Thanks.”

Han Tao subtly gestured, asking how things went. Wang Qiqi gave an 'OK' sign, thinking that her intervention meant success. “John said he felt a bit unwell today and planned to come in this afternoon. I was thinking I could slack off, but then I realized we have to settle the restaurant expenses in a few days, so I thought it better to settle them early so I wouldn't be overwhelmed later.” Wang Qiqi didn't know if Anna had completely dropped her malicious intentions, but she couldn't risk it. While complaining and acting affectionately towards Han Tao, she explained the reason for settling the bills early.

“John isn’t coming?” Han Tao was genuinely surprised. That guy was as sturdy as a bear; for him to take a leave? Was he really sick, or did he want to avoid the upcoming confrontation? “Is his health...?”

“It’s genuinely bad,” Wang Qiqi whispered. “He’s probably too busy and hasn't slept enough; his voice is extremely low. I wish I hadn't come today either, sigh.” Wang Qiqi had initially thought he was making an excuse, but considering how long John had spoken with her, even if he was pretending at the start, he was sustaining the act too well. Regardless, without him present, Wang Qiqi wholeheartedly agreed with the situation. “I should buy some pears when I get back to nibble on.” That stuff is good, but she wondered if they had Chuan Bei (Fritillaria bulbs) here. If not, she’d have to ask Manman to mail some over from New York.

“Then I’ll go out at noon to buy some Chuan Bei.” Han Tao understood Wang Qiqi’s real intention behind mentioning pears. Stewed pears with Chuan Bei were far better than rock sugar pears. That was too sweet, and Han Tao worried if Qiqi drank it often, her blood lipids might rise.

Wang Qiqi didn’t know what Han Tao was thinking; she just felt the care from her man. But she suddenly remembered that it was fine even without Chuan Bei. “Let’s go to Chinatown, and while you’re there, help me buy some red dates, lotus seeds, dried longans, goji berries, and white fungus.” These were all nourishing ingredients; they’d be great for stewing soup for everyone.

Hearing the long list of items Wang Qiqi requested, Han Tao suddenly felt an urgent need to use the restroom. Wang Qiqi always used a lot of water when she stewed things, so hearing these ingredients immediately made Han Tao visualize becoming a water barrel and needing to relieve himself. But since he had already offered, it would be awkward to refuse Qiqi now. He could only hope that when Qiqi added water to the pot, she would show some mercy.

The restaurants that received Anna's notification promptly issued invoices and attached the slips, preparing to come in for payment. Everything was bustling with activity.

Meanwhile, Wang Qiqi wasn't idle. To avoid delaying the staff’s work, she sat next to Anna with her laptop and recounted the receipts Anna had already calculated, then added the totals and cross-checked them against Anna’s figures. Worried about making a mistake on the first pass, Wang Qiqi checked the addition several times.

Wang Qiqi’s actions during this process were indistinguishable from those during the earlier bill collection; Anna stopped watching her constantly. Moreover, Anna had no time to observe Qiqi’s actions as several urgent slips suddenly required her personal attention, forcing her to deal with official business.

Watching Anna get busy, Wang Qiqi noticed that someone had deliberately sandwiched the Japanese restaurant receipts in the middle of the stack. She knew Anna thought Qiqi would grow tired midway and might not scrutinize those initial receipts too closely, especially since the first few calculations had been correct.

Wang Qiqi roused herself, flipping through the papers quickly. Although her movements when entering numbers into the computer were adept, upon closer inspection, she noticed she had skipped summarizing a few receipts altogether.

After calculating two different totals for this stack of receipts, a cold feeling settled in Wang Qiqi’s heart. This person was ruthless. If she hadn't been cautious beforehand and made a slight alteration to the original receipts, even she might not have noticed.