Xia Mian continued: “What’s so special about this Assistant Zhou? Do you believe whatever she says? Aren’t you going to listen to what your wife has to say?”
Huo Xuewen’s bewildered expression made it clear to everyone that he was lost in this situation.
Zhou Qianqian retorted, “What do you mean? Little girl, why are you so hostile toward me?” She seemed to move her leg slightly, drawing attention to the conspicuous bruise. “Mr. Huo, I don’t understand why Madam dislikes me so much. It was one thing for her to get angry out of nowhere yesterday, but this girl, whom I don’t even know, suddenly accuses me of provoking her.”
“Mr. Huo, if you don’t believe me, you can ask Brother Xiao Li,” Zhou Qianqian added. “He was watching the whole time yesterday.”
Oh, it seems Zhou Qianqian has quite a backing, even managing to win over Huo Xuewen’s driver!
Unfortunately for her, Huo Xuewen’s obliviousness seemed to work fairly for everyone, and his reaction to seeing the bruise on Zhou Qianqian’s leg was just confusion, without even a hint of concern. He then looked at Xia Mian, puzzled.
Xia Mian didn’t know whether to be angry or to laugh. “Yeah, I’m not crazy,” she stood up to confront Zhou Qianqian directly. “I don’t even know you, so why would I target you out of the blue? Maybe you should reflect on whether you’ve done something wrong to provoke me.”
Zhou Qianqian: “…”
Hearing this, Huo Xuewen also looked at Zhou Qianqian with a thoughtful expression. “Xia Mian really doesn’t have any reason to target you.”
Now it was Xia Mian’s turn to be speechless: “…”
Calling him straight-laced is too generous. He’s simply the straightest of the straight-laced men to be alive—the kind made of ultra-hard titanium alloy!!!
Zhou Qianqian clearly hadn’t expected Huo Xuewen to question her like this, so she continued to feign innocence, throwing the question back, “I didn’t do anything. Why would this girl say I was provoking Madam? Why would I do that?”
Huo Xuewen actually frowned in thought and looked at Ning Shaoyun with a puzzled gaze.
“…” Xia Mian rolled her eyes. This man really needed to be taught a harsh lesson, and she was more than happy to help, as long as Sister Ning didn’t get wronged in the process!
With a cold sneer, Xia Mian started again, “Why would you provoke Sister Ning? Only you probably know. After all, I don’t know you, but from what I’ve seen, you’re constantly provoking Sister Ning. And you seem quite skilled at it, so this obviously isn’t the first time.”
She then turned to Huo Xuewen. “So I’m curious, Mr. Huo, why have you always tolerated this Assistant Zhou’s disrespectful behavior toward yourself? And worse, why do you let her disrespect your wife as well? What’s going on?”
Zhou Qianqian was stunned for a moment. She had expected Xia Mian to reveal her feelings for Huo Xuewen, and she had already prepared to play the victim. After all, Huo Xuewen was clueless, and no matter how much she had hinted over the years, all her hints had gone over his head.
If she had to confess directly, Huo Xuewen would surely reject her, but if Ning Shaoyun exposed her, she could claim to be wronged and gain Huo Xuewen’s sympathy. After a few rounds of this, with Huo Xuewen defending her, she would gradually win his attention, and the rest would naturally fall into place.
But she hadn’t expected Xia Mian to completely avoid that topic and instead accuse her of disrespecting Huo Xuewen! How could this be possible?!
“When have I ever disrespected Mr. Huo?” Zhou Qianqian quickly defended herself.
Huo Xuewen also said, “I never intended to let anyone disrespect Xiao Yun.”
Ning Shaoyun responded with a mocking expression, not even bothering to acknowledge him.
If not for her desire to defend Ning Shaoyun, Xia Mian wouldn’t have bothered with this dog man either. He totally deserves to be single forever!
“When have I ever disrespected Mr. Huo? Or Madam? You’re just a country girl—what do you know? How dare you make baseless accusations and slander me!” Zhou Qianqian refused to back down.
“You say you don’t know me?” Xia Mian scoffed, “But you seem to have done your research. You even know I’m from the countryside.”
“Assistant Zhou claims to respect Mr. Huo, so let’s ask your boss here. Mr. Huo, may you tell us what are your assistant’s duties?”
“To arrange my work schedule and facilitate my communication with upper management,” Huo Xuewen replied, much to Zhou Qianqian’s surprise, as she widened her eyes in disbelief, “Mr. Huo!”
“So her duty is limited to arranging your work schedule, not to decide it for you, correct?” Xia Mian continued with a sneer. “This is the first time I’ve seen an assistant who can freely manage their boss’s whereabouts and make decisions with no reminders or notifications.” She turned to Zhou Qianqian and asked, “You call that respect? How did you know Mr. Huo was here? He came late last night, and it was a family visit during his private time. Is that something an assistant should be aware of?”
Huo Xuewen looked at Zhou Qianqian. Although she was close to his mother, he had told no one about coming here last night, concerned that it might upset his mother.
Zhou Qianqian quickly explained, “It’s because Mr. Qi mentioned the Chengbei project was urgent, so I called Brother Xiao Li, and he told me you were here, so I came over.”
“Oh?” Xia Mian looked amused, “This is the second time you’ve mentioned that ‘Brother Xiao Li. Earlier, you said what? Oh, right, it seems that Xiao Li could testify that Sister Ning bullied you?”
“You’re truly something, even winning over the people around the boss. Not only do you pry into his private life, but you also meddle in his family affairs. Otherwise, why would a mere assistant like you be standing in front of the boss’s wife and claiming to have been bullied?”
Xia Mian turned to Huo Xuewen, “Mr. Huo, is this what you call respect? Do you feel respected?”
“Stop your nonsense!” Zhou Qianqian snapped.
Xia Mian fired back, “Where is the nonsense? Don’t you have your boss’s contact information? Why ask the driver? And if you did ask the driver, why didn’t you check what the boss was doing and whether it was suitable to come? Or better yet, have the driver come in and inform the boss of the situation?”
“There was no need!” Xia Mian said coldly, “Because you thought there was no need. Even though your boss was reuniting with his wife and child after a long time, you were confident that as long as you showed up, he’d leave with you, because you’re more important than the boss’s wife and child.”
Xia Mian shot a sharp look at Huo Xuewen, “Mr. Huo, if this isn’t provocation, then what is?”
Seeing the slight change in Huo Xuewen’s expression, Xia Mian scoffed, “And isn’t that the truth? Aren’t you about to leave with her?”
Huo Xuewen frowned, “I’m going to work.”
“Is all your work urgent?” Xia Mian replied. “Let’s put aside Assistant Zhou for now. What about your driver? He immediately leaked your whereabouts after receiving a call from Assistant Zhou and didn’t even inform you afterward. Mr. Huo, your staff is truly something.”
“It’s the modern age now, isn’t it? You have a mobile phone, right? If Assistant Zhou bothered to call you an hour in advance, you could’ve used that hour to comfort Chenchen, explaining why you couldn’t spend time with him today, rather than just leaving him with a vague ‘Dad’s busy with work…’”
“Do you think Chenchen is very sensible? No, he’ll cry and throw a tantrum if Sister Ning breaks her promise because his mother usually keeps her word. His dad, on the other hand… ha, when disappointment builds up, even a young child will stop hoping. Chenchen already knows that his dad isn’t trustworthy, and anything he says is just talk!”
Huo Xuewen suddenly looked at Chenchen, memories flooding his mind. In the past, when he first broke his promises, Chenchen did throw tantrums. But when has it started? Now, with just a single mention of work, Chenchen would quietly behave…
As Xia Mian continued, she became more fired up, “Let’s get back to the point. I don’t care how this Assistant Zhou manipulates you, but let me ask you, since this Assistant Zhou walked in, has she looked at Sister Ning even once? Isn’t that a fact?”
Huo Xuewen seemed to finally notice this.
“If you come across your business partner with his wife, do you only speak to him without even greeting his wife? Now imagine a staff is doing that to her boss and her boss’s wife. If it’s not a provocation, then what?”
Seeing Huo Xuewen frowning at her, Zhou Qianqian hurriedly said, “It’s because the matter was urgent, so I…”
“Urgent? How urgent? Not even enough time for a greeting?” Xia Mian sneered, “It’s said that a husband and wife are one. Your boss’s wife and child are right here, and you act as if you’re blind, only focusing on your boss.”
“That’s like seeing a person and completely ignoring their upper body, just focusing on their lower half. Do you think that’s respectful? That’s visual harassment!”
“Pfft…”
“Cough, cough…”
“Cough! Cough!”
Ning Shaoyun quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, while Mao Huimei patted her chest, and the others had various reactions.
Ning Shaobai wiped his lips and glared at Xia Mian, “Watch your language!”
Xia Mian feigned innocence, “Did I say something wrong? Is Sister Ning the lower half of the body? That’s even worse! Sister Ning is so beautiful…”
Huo Xuewen: “…” Did he… just get insulted somehow?
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Thank you for the chapter ! I enjoyed it a lot today
Thanks for the chapter!!!!!
What a smackdown! Round of applause for Xia Mian
😂😂😂
Thanks for the chapter ❣️