Everyone was dumbfounded.
The expressions of Gao Yun and Cui Minli alternated between all sorts of emotions and they were evidently livid because of Shen Qi.
Didn’t she catch even a sentence of the whole load of mockery they had made just now?
In that case, why should they even say it so excitedly if no one was listening?
“Hey you, don’t you think you’re being too arrogant? Do you really think you can do anything you want and act so haughtily just because the supervisor fancies you?”
“Exactly. Aren’t you just being sent a breakfast set? Do you really think so highly of yourself? Our supervisor is married. Aren’t you being too shameless to seduce a married man?”
Their voices got louder and louder and their words were getting more and more offensive. Some of the colleagues who were watching the clash thought they were going overboard and there were also those who preferred to chide in.
“Why would she even care about losing face? She throws herself at every guy. You should be asking her if she has any respect for herself to begin with…”
Shen Qi was speechless.
“Exactly. She has no respect for herself!”
The aura Shen Qi gave off suddenly turned icy as she slowly curled her lips into a sneer and added, “Is having a breakfast set on the desk considered seducing a married man?”
Everyone was stunned.
Shen Qi rose, picked up the bag of food from her desk and put it on Gao Yun’s desk.
“What about now? Miss Gao, could you please be more respectful of yourself?”
Gao Yun’s expression changed.
“I would have thought that such offensive remarks and everything that you girls just said earlier were things that would only be uttered by gangsters. To my surprise, those actually came from each and everyone of you here. Didn’t all of you ask me whether I could be more respectful of myself? In that case, I too have one question for all of you here—what’s the difference between all of you who are behaving in this way and those shrews and brutes out there who only know how to shout and yell in the streets? What’s the difference?”
Shen Qi’s words were not offensive but she had implied that their behavior was unsophisticated.
Blood started boiling in all of them as they retorted angrily.
“What do you mean by that? Since you dare to commit such an act, why can’t we point out what you have done?
Cui Minli snapped through gritted teeth, “Exactly. You have the guts to do it but you don’t dare to admit it. What’s more, you are even making slanderous remarks about others.”
With a subtle grin, Shen Qi stretched her hand and tucked a strand of hair which had fallen to the side of her cheek behind her ear. Suddenly, she walked toward Cui Minli and said, “Miss Cui, I saw a bald guy picking you up last night. At first, I thought that man was your father but later on, I saw you two smooching each other. May I know what is the relationship between that guy and you?”
Cui Minli got nervous right after she heard her and her pupils shrunk.
“W-What nonsense are you talking about?! I didn’t!”
Everyone gaped at Cui Minli in shock.
“You didn’t? I suppose you only have the guts to do it but don’t dare to admit it!”
Something dawned upon Gao Yun who stood next to Cui Minli—Shen Qi was sabotaging them by making allegations about them.
“Stop trying to divert attention away from yourself! The point is, aren’t you the one who seduced our supervisor? Why are you throwing mud at Cui Minli?” With that, Gao Yun got so outraged that she extended one of her hands to grab Shen Qi’s hair in an attempt to drag her away from Cui Minli.
The expression on Shen Qi’s face changed and she immediately dodged her attack.
“I didn’t get physical with both of you even after receiving a whole round of offensive remarks but right now, you two are already laying a finger on me after I’ve merely said a sentence. Is it because what I said was spot-on and you two are angry out of embarrassment? Or is it because you just can’t wait to help her cover up her scandalous deeds? How about I elaborate on some of yours too?”
Gao Yun countered, “Mine? What stories are you trying to sketch up again?”
“I’m not going to do that. I’m just going to give you a heads-up out of kindness—your boyfriend was talking over the phone with his lover before he came to pick you up.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” It never occurred to Gao Yun that she would even slander her boyfriend; her anger hit the ceiling as she raised her hand and was about to hit Shen Qi.
“What are you guys fighting over?”
Suddenly, Xu Liao’s voice was heard and everyone’s voice came to a halt.
Although everyone loved to talk about him behind his back, he was still a very intimidating figure as he had been the supervisor of this department for around five to six years. At the sight of his presence, the crowd immediately dispersed.
Seeing that Xu Liao was here, Gao Yun’s eyes went red-rimmed as she started firing away, “Supervisor, you’re finally here. The newcomer talked to me rudely after I criticized her for the mistakes she made. What’s more, she made slanderous comments about Minli and I.”
Cui Minli, who got mentioned, immediately played along with Gao Yun as she stared at Xu Liao with a miserable look.
“Supervisor, what we said about her was not really harsh but she actually claimed that I have a sugar daddy. Being a pure and innocent lady, how could I ever be such a character? Supervisor, please do justice for us!”
No matter how ridiculous Gao Yun and Cui Minli’s claims were, Shen Qi remained standing at the same spot as she stared at the two girls icily.
Her demeanor made one hard to resist the urge to linger one’s vision on her.
She appeared independent and out-of-this-world.
Suddenly, Xu Liao discovered the beauty in her. Although she always treated him with indifference, her icy gaze and her tough personality were not annoying. On the contrary, Xu Liao found himself becoming more and more infatuated with her the harder she tried to push him away.
“She just made some casual remarks. When did you two become so fragile?” Xu Liao cleared his throat before turning to Shen Qi and asked in a soft voice, “Did you really say so or are they just framing you?”
Both Gao Yun and Cui Minli’s faces turned somewhat paler. “Supervisor, what do you mean by that? How is it possible that we are framing her?”
Shen Qi too was surprised by what he said as she did not expect he would ask her such a question. Was he trying to punish the two by making use of her? The thing was… she really did not feel like having anything to do with Xu Liao who was standing in front of her.
Forget it.
With her lips pursed, Shen Qi did not even bother to speak as she directly turned around and went back to her seat.
Xu Liao felt slightly bitter as he was being ignored.
“Supervisor…”
“Enough, you two. Can’t you girls create less trouble for me? You girls started having an argument in the early morning and I’m asked to settle your dispute. Do I have to start handling your meals too? Get back to work now. Otherwise, your bonuses for this month will be confiscated!”
With their bonuses at stake, Gao Yun and Cui Minli did not dare to comment further and could only return to their seats with anger bottled up inside them.
In the beginning, Xu Liao thought of leaving too but at the sight of Shen Qi’s curvy and attractive body coupled with the thought of her face and her icy gaze, he was filled with desire again.
Hence, he walked over and cleared his throat before saying, “Shen, please head to my room.”
Shen Qi paused for a second when she heard him and she turned around to glance at Xu Liao. “Supervisor, how can I help you?”
Xu Liao said, “I’ll tell you in the office!”
With that, he turned around and left.
Sitting at her desk, Shen Qi drew in a deep breath as she in fact already knew why he wanted to see her. Nonetheless, she would not go along with what he wanted to do; as long as she had a clear conscience, she should not be afraid of any slanderous remarks made against her.
It provided a chance for her to make her intention clear to Xu Liao too.
At that thought, she locked her computer, rose from her seat and headed toward his room.
As soon as she was gone, Gao Yun and Cui Minli got together again.
“What’s wrong with Xu Liao? Didn’t he say that Qiangwei already ordered him to give Shen Qi special treatment? Why didn’t he help us?”
“Damn, what a dirty old guy. He’s attracted to every woman he comes across. Is he really attracted to that ugly newcomer? She’s not even half as beautiful as Qiangwei. I can’t believe he is actually fancying another girl now. What a cheap guy!”
“Gao Yun, what should we do then? Without Xu Liao’s help, how are we going to sabotage her? What’s more, she seems rather sharp.”
