Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 519: Chapter 516 Stolen

It appeared she would have to make a few more trips to the hospital in the coming days, Huo Sining thought to herself.

”What on earth happened? Master’s wife was in good health; how could something like this just happen out of the blue?”

Once out of the hospital room, Su Qingqing couldn’t help but chase after Qin Shaoyou to ask.

A suppressed rage flickered in Qin Shaoyou’s eyes, ”Professor was researching a scientific project about ornamental fish, which was in its final stage, just in need of some minor improvements before submission to the research institute. To complete this project as soon as possible, we spent even New Year’s Eve in the lab. But the night before last, a thief broke into our lab and stole our research results!”

”What?!” Huo Sining was shocked upon hearing this, ”Stolen?!”

”Yes, we had invested a great deal of time and energy into that project, and the funding allocated by the research institute has been exhausted. Now that the results have been stolen, Professor Gan was so enraged and anxious that he fell ill from the extreme anger.”

Huo Sining asked anxiously, ”Did you report it to the police?”

Qin Shaoyou nodded, but his face took on a bitter smile, ”We did report it, but it was no use. The surveillance was sabotaged, and we couldn’t capture the thief on camera.”

Su Qingqing’s face showed her anger, ”Who would be so immoral as to steal someone else’s research? That’s just too shameful!”

Huo Sining, however, thought further, ”The lab isn’t used only by you; were other research projects stolen as well?”

Qin Shaoyou shook his head, and Huo Sining immediately understood, ”Then it must be an inside job. Other than those within your own lab, no one else would know the details of your project’s progress. The thief must have known that your project was nearing its end and decided to steal the fruits of your work.”

Qin Shaoyou’s gaze flickered, and seeing his expression, Huo Sining knew that there must already be a suspect in his mind.

Just at that moment, Qin Shaoyou received a phone call. An urgent voice came through from Jin Chenyu at the other end:

”Cousin, you asked me to investigate that Professor Zhu. I hacked into his email and found that he’s been quietly communicating with the Dongyang Ornamental Fish Corporation. They have arranged to meet him today at 3 PM at the Hilton Hotel. I suspect he is planning to sell your research results to the Dongyang people!”

”Damn it!” Qin Shaoyou’s complexion darkened immediately upon hearing the news. He looked at his watch, and it was already 1:30 PM with only an hour and a half left until Professor Zhu’s scheduled meeting with the Dongyang people.

”You figure out a way to access the Hilton Hotel’s system and find out which room Professor Zhu booked. We cannot let those items fall into the Dongyang people’s hands!” Qin Shaoyou said angrily.

”Okay, got it!” Jin Chenyu nodded in response.

Huo Sining and Su Qingqing listened, confused, ”What Professor Zhu, and what does he have to do with the Dongyang people?”

With a somber face, Qin Shaoyou explained, ”It’s Zhu Xingwang, the deputy director of the College of Biology. He was involved in the competition for this scientific project initially but failed to beat Professor Gan.”

”I suspect that this person harbors resentment and took the opportunity to seek revenge when we were producing results, so I had Jin Chenyu help investigate this person.”

”It turned out that he was secretly in contact with the Dongyang Ornamental Fish Corporation. I suspect it was he who stole the research results and planned to sell our findings to the Dongyang people!”

”How is such a person even fit to be a professor?!” Su Qingqing was immediately enraged, ”As a professor of the institute, shouldn’t he be engrossed in scholarly research instead of engaging in all these petty intrigues and underhanded tactics? If he had any competence, he should compete with others on his own merit! It’s as if all the knowledge he has is wasted on him!”

Huo Sining was also angry in her heart, but she considered more problems than Su Qingqing. After listening to Qin Shaoyou’s words, she calmly said:

”If the research results were indeed stolen by Zhu Xingwang, and he doesn’t get along with Professor Gan, the subsequent issues could be worse than what we are currently facing!”

Qin Shaoyou nodded, ”You’re right. Now that the research funds are almost used up and the results have been stolen, with Zhu Xingwang’s personality, he will definitely try to sling mud at Professor Gan, accusing her of embezzling research funds. If Professor Gan can’t provide evidence to prove her innocence, she’ll be unable to clear her name even if she were to leap into the Yellow River. So—”

”So we absolutely cannot let the research results fall into the hands of the Dongyang people, we must find a way to get them back!”

Huo Sining said in a cold voice, ”Professor Gan is already in a dangerous situation and can’t withstand any more shocks. If she is framed by Zhu Xingwang, her condition might worsen, leading to a life-threatening situation!”

”Then we need to act fast, we have less than an hour and a half left. We must hurry to the Hilton Hotel,” Qin Shaoyou said urgently.

Su Qingqing nodded, and the three of them drove quickly towards the Hilton Hotel. Halfway there, Su Qingqing began to sense that something was amiss:

”But if we find Zhu Xingwang, how can we stop him from selling the research results to the Dongyang people? Are we going to barge in by force?”

Anxious as he was, Qin Shaoyou hadn’t thought about this issue, and now faced with Su Qingqing’s question, he was stumped and his face stiffened unnaturally as he looked towards Huo Sining.

After giving it some thought, Huo Sining said, ”There’s no need for all that trouble. Just call the police and report that there is a drug deal happening at the hotel. When the police arrive and catch them red-handed, Zhu Xingwang won’t be able to escape the charge of stealing the research results.”

Upon hearing Huo Sining’s suggestion, Qin Shaoyou and Su Qingqing couldn’t help but light up and gave Huo Sining a thumbs up.

However, their thoughts were too naive. When they arrived at the Hilton Hotel, they found that the problem was much more complicated than they had imagined because Jin Chenyu called them to say that Zhu Xingwang’s name was not on the list of guests who had booked rooms at the hotel.

”Could he have given up on the deal?” Su Qingqing felt something was off and couldn’t help asking.

Huo Sining shook her head, ”Impossible. The research results are like a ticking time bomb in his hands. Now that the laboratory has been burglarized and the police are investigating thoroughly, he can’t possibly keep those things on him any longer. He will definitely look to dispose of them as soon as possible, and selling them to other research institutions is the best way to maximize their value.”

Qin Shaoyou’s gaze was filled with cold intent, ”He must be afraid of being exposed, and so he is being extra cautious, not using his own ID to book a room!”

This guess made Su Qingqing feel both furious and anxious, ”What now? If we can’t even find the person, how can we stop them from making the deal?”