Chapter 665: Chapter 665: Support
"I’m not going to argue with you about these things because they don’t have any meaning, and it’s not the reason I came today either." Lin Mengyao glanced at the woman, then raised her hand to skillfully dial a series of numbers on her phone.
The phone rang just once before it was answered.
A somewhat weary voice of Xu Ke came through the receiver, "Calling me so late, is there something wrong?"
"I came to bring you some food, could you come out of the office to meet me?" Upon hearing Xu Ke’s tired voice, Lin Mengyao unconsciously softened her own tone.
"Okay, find a place to sit for a while, I’ll come to you right away." Xu Ke’s voice noticeably perked up upon hearing Lin Mengyao was there, lightening the unpleasantness she’d felt from being shut out.
"No rush." Just as Lin Mengyao finished speaking, the office door, which had been closed, abruptly opened. Xu Ke was holding his phone in one hand and getting dressed with the other. Their eyes met unexpectedly in mid-air.
"I thought you were downstairs, why didn’t you come in after coming up? My office is right in front of you, isn’t it?" Seeing Lin Mengyao right in front of him, Xu Ke hung up his phone and walked over to her with a smile. He naturally took the food container Lin Mengyao was holding into his own hand.
"It’s so late, why didn’t you go home to rest instead of coming here to see me?" Xu Ke stood in front of Lin Mengyao, holding her hand with the one that wasn’t carrying anything.
"I thought you’d be so busy that you’d forget to eat, so I had the chef at home make some of your favorite dishes and brought them over." Lin Mengyao smiled warmly, linking her arm with Xu Ke’s, not mentioning that she’d been blocked outside earlier.
"My wife really knows me. I didn’t eat anything; it didn’t dawn on me until you mentioned it, and now I’m feeling hungry." Xu Ke smiled with happiness.
The woman was a bit worried initially, but seeing Lin Mengyao not even mention being stopped outside, she felt relieved and inevitably looked down on Lin Mengyao, thinking she’s not cherished by her husband, only pretending in front of others.
The woman’s contempt was undisguised on her face, and Xu Ke wasn’t blind. His steps halted and he turned to look at his assistant, standing beside him, "Assistant Liu, can you explain to me why my wife’s footsteps stopped outside the office while coming to visit me?"
Even after hearing Xu Ke’s question, Assistant Liu’s face didn’t show any panic, remaining calm, "You said you didn’t want anyone disturbing you during work, so I had your wife wait outside for a while." Assistant Liu responded assertively.
"If I recall correctly, I said not to disturb me with outsiders, so who allowed you to make that decision? My wife is not an outsider; didn’t you know? Keeping the boss’s wife outside the office door without even notifying me—who gave you the authority to decide for me?"
As Xu Ke fired one question after another, Assistant Liu’s expression gradually turned pale.
"I’m sorry, it was presumptuous of me, and I hope President Xu can give me another chance. I will learn from this and ensure the same mistake never happens again." Assistant Liu lowered her head to Xu Ke, appearing sincerely apologetic.
"If you really want to stay, start over as an intern. Once you’ve completely corrected your faults, you can be reinstated, or you can take a payout and leave this position now." Xu Ke gave her two choices.
Liu Assistant bit her lip, face ashen, body bent over but her mind racing with pros and cons, and in the end, her reluctance to lose prevailed.
Though she could take the payout, it wasn’t as lucrative as staying and getting reinstated.
"I’m willing to start as an intern, as long as you forgive me." The woman responded respectfully.
"I can only hope you adjust your mindset." Xu Ke said as he took Lin Mengyao’s hand and left. As soon as the office door closed, the previously calm employees burst into discussion.
Everyone’s gaze towards Assistant Liu changed. Those who had suffered under her before couldn’t resist saying a few sarcastic remarks, while those who envied her previously now donned faces of schadenfreude.
"Some people just don’t know their place. She’s just a small assistant and dares to act high and mighty in front of the boss’s wife. Does she really think she’s someone important? Didn’t she see how President Xu’s eyes lit up when he saw his wife, while he ignored some people? It didn’t even take a complaint from his wife for him to defend her. Yet in such a situation, some people still refuse to quit. Truly thick-skinned."
"Right, always with that smug face, who is she showing off to? As the boss’s wife said, her ambition and desire are written all over her face, yet she thinks others can’t see it when she challenges the boss’s wife? Ha."
"Don’t say that, careful she holds a grudge and comes back at you." Someone reached out to pull the two back, signaling them to see the chill in Assistant Liu’s eyes.
The two didn’t back down, even after seeing it, instead reassuring the colleague who warned them, "What are we afraid of? Do you think she can climb back up to the assistant position? As long as the boss’s wife is secure, she won’t get back to her position in this lifetime. Rest assured, she can’t touch us now."
Assistant Liu bit the inside of her lip, even breaking the skin, tasting blood but not relaxing her teeth.
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. I’m down now, but I became an assistant to President Xu after just a month of training. Now with past experience, I can rise even faster. So, we’ll still be colleagues for a long time in the future." Assistant Liu smiled without warmth as she spoke.
The faces of those who had been discussing Assistant Liu looked a bit unnatural, especially the two who spoke the harshest, but they adjusted quickly and few noticed.
"I’m a bit petty; if anyone crosses me, I won’t let them have an easy time." Assistant Liu’s gaze swept over the crowd, full of threat, making their spines tingle before she left.
"She’s been demoted to an intern, who is she showing off to? Who knows when she’ll be back?" Someone whispered, watching Assistant Liu’s fully departing figure.
The person next to her nudged her elbow, pushing back the rest of her words.
"Better say less. Assistant Liu may not be nice, but she is capable. What if—I’m just saying—what if she really comes back, and gets close to the boss? Wouldn’t it be easy for her to get you in trouble then? Best not to offend her before she’s officially left."
Hearing her colleague’s advice, the speaker, who wasn’t ungrateful, took a bunch of snacks from her drawer and placed them on the advising colleague’s desk as a treat.