Chapter 127: A Farce
"Xiaoxiao!" Seeing Xiaoxiao felt like finding reinforcements. Hua Mei pulled her to her side and pointed a fierce finger at Nina, shouting, "It’s this vixen! She’s the one who stole Ziyu!"
Xiaoxiao was, of course, already well aware of these matters. Hua Mei’s shouting was not meant to reiterate the facts to her, but to inform everyone present that they had a colleague who destroyed families—someone who deserved to be treated as a pariah.
As expected, Hua Mei succeeded. People began whispering to one another, their gazes darting toward Nina with expressions of mockery, derision, and judgment. Not a single look was pleasant. Manager Huang, who had just been throwing things in his office, poked half his body out at the sound, observing the commotion from a distance with a cold, detached eye.
Throughout it all, Nina remained composed. With her arms crossed and a faint, mocking smile on her lips, she looked as though she were merely watching a farce.
"Hua Mei, stop making a scene. Let me take you downstairs first. Can we talk about this properly when I come to see you later?" Fearing the situation would escalate, Xiaoxiao tried to drag her away, abandoning all pretense of taking sides. Her greatest fear was becoming the butt of everyone's jokes.
"Don't pull me!" Hua Mei wrenched herself free from Xiaoxiao. Glancing at a steaming cup of coffee on a nearby desk, she grabbed it without a second thought and splashed it onto Nina!
"Hua Mei!"
Xiaoxiao tried to intervene, but it was too late. The cup shattered on the floor, and the scalding coffee drenched Nina from head to toe, leaving her neat, beautiful dress in a ruined, filthy state.
Hua Mei was relentless, pointing at Nina and cursing hysterically, "You vixen! You specialize in stealing other women's husbands, and now you’re inciting him to divorce me! What, are you laughing? Are you gloating? I’ll show you!" As Hua Mei lunged forward to attack, the crowd collectively gasped. Fortunately, Xiaoxiao grabbed her in time, throwing her own body between them to prevent Hua Mei from reaching Nina.
From start to finish, everyone else held their breath, yet Nina did not utter a single word, appearing more detached than even the bystanders.
It was only when Hua Mei’s rage dissipated and she slumped to the floor, covering her face in sobs, that Nina finally seemed to stir. She pulled out some tissues and began wiping the coffee stains from her clothes.
"Alright, alright, stop crying." Xiaoxiao crouched down to comfort Hua Mei, patting her back soothingly. "I’ll take you home."
After a long while, Hua Mei remained hunched over, sobbing quietly. Nina waved at Xiaoxiao to step aside, then leaned over and hauled Hua Mei up from the floor. For a fleeting second, Hua Mei looked up, seemingly stunned, and tried to pull away, but Nina gripped her firmly, forcing Hua Mei to stagger and finally stand steady.
"Mrs. Zeng," Nina said, her expression blank. "If you don't mind, I can even see you all the way down."
Hua Mei pushed Nina’s hand away, her eyes brimming with hatred. "Stay away from me, you vixen! You’re disgusting!"
"Mrs. Zeng, there are two things I hope you understand," Nina said, addressing her with cold seriousness. "Who are you making a scene with right now? And who is it that you *should* be making a scene with?"
Hua Mei froze. The question was too sharp. Was she really fighting with Nina? Probably not. She was clearly fighting with Zeng Ziyu, but since that was useless, she had brought her grievances to Nina, thinking that making Nina miserable would bring her relief. In the end, it had only added fuel to her own misery.
"It is precisely because there are so many spineless women like you that there are so many unscrupulous men," Nina said, pressing the crumpled, coffee-stained tissues into Hua Mei’s hand. "If you raised a mess, you’re the one who has to clean it up." While Hua Mei stood dazed, Nina turned and walked back toward the restroom.