Zhao Shuting shouted that she wanted to see Ling Nuan.
After being refused by the receptionist, she simply plopped down on the floor and started wailing and making a ruckus. "Everyone, come and take a look! Some people are heartless and cold - blooded! Instead of being decent people, they become mistresses and sell their bodies. Now they've dragged their family into trouble and are leaving them to die!"
"My poor son! How could you have such a sister!"
Zhao Shuting bellowed at the top of her lungs. Her cries were ear - splitting. She'd deliberately chosen the morning rush hour. There were countless employees coming and going on the first floor, and they all saw it clearly.
Those who weren't in a hurry to go to work lingered, eager to get the latest gossip.
The receptionist, though sympathetic, still tried to persuade her. "Auntie, please stop crying first. Our company has its rules. We really can't let you in. How about you make another call? Can you talk outside?"
Zhao Shuting wailed, "She won't answer my calls! I had no other choice but to come and make a scene here. If I had a way out, who would want to act like a crazy old woman?"
"I'm so unlucky! My son is so unlucky!"
Seeing more and more employees gathering to watch the show, the receptionist hardened her heart and threatened, "Auntie, if you don't leave, I'll call the security guards."
Hearing this, Zhao Shuting exploded. She immediately got up from the floor. "Is your company in cahoots with her too? You're just protecting her!"
"Now that Ling Nuan has made it, she can disown her family. A person who would even harm her own family, how dare you work with her? You won't even know how you die!"
The employees watching the show caught the key word.
The protagonist was - Ling Nuan.
As soon as Ling Nuan entered the company, the first thing she heard was Zhao Shuting's nonsense.
It was nothing new. Just the same old story.
She stepped forward, grabbed Zhao Shuting, and before Zhao Shuting could react, "SLAP!" Ling Nuan slapped her across the face.
Ling Nuan put all her strength into that slap.
The "SLAP" echoed in the first - floor lobby. Even the onlookers winced in pain just watching.
Zhao Shuting covered her face, disbelief written all over her face. "You dare to hit me?"
"I'm hitting this filthy mouth of yours," Ling Nuan retorted coldly.
"I'm a civilized person, so I'll call you auntie. But if I really wanted to, I could directly call the police and sue you for slander. Everyone here is a witness. Guess how many years you'll get?" Ling Nuan threatened.
Zhao Shuting still remained stubborn. "I'm telling the truth. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
Ling Nuan scoffed. "Fine. Ask the person who sent you here if they dare let me take this to court and make it public. Let's see if they still have any face left and if they can still stay in this circle!"
Zhao Shuting immediately shut up.
Some things were understood by everyone.
Who was the real mistress?
It must be Huo Xiao.
If it got out that the eldest daughter of the Huo family was a mistress and the so - called tech tycoon Shen Shaoqing was a cheating scumbag, would more people laugh at Ling Nuan or at Huo Xiao and Shen Shaoqing?
But Zhao Shuting only stayed quiet for a moment. Soon, she started causing trouble again. "What person who sent me here? I came here on my own. You're the mistress. You angered your mother to death, and now you don't care about your grandmother or your younger brother! It's your promiscuity that has dragged the family into trouble!"
Even if Ling Nuan really sued her, Zhao Shuting was willing to take the risk. Nothing was more important than Xun Cong's safety!
Ling Nuan looked at Zhao Shuting's desperate expression, her own expression complex.
She was truly selfish, but she also truly loved her son.
Zhao Shuting wailed, "We tried to persuade you, but you wouldn't listen. You had to become a mistress for some money and offended the man's wife. Look, did that man help you? Ling Nuan, you're so stupid!"
"You've lost all your dignity for some money. Your mother was so angry that she died. Now they're taking it out on your younger brother because of you. Don't you feel the slightest bit of guilt?"
After scolding, she softened her tone appropriately.
Zhao Shuting was a great actress. She stepped forward and grabbed Ling Nuan's hand. "Nuan Nuan, even if your auntie is begging you, just go and apologize. They said that as long as you apologize, they'll let your younger brother go. Nuan Nuan, please!"
Seeing that Ling Nuan remained unmoved, Zhao Shuting gritted her teeth and knelt down directly. "Nuan Nuan, your auntie is kneeling in front of you. Please save your younger brother!"
Zhao Shuting knelt down sincerely.
There was an uproar among the onlookers.
"Oh my god! I didn't expect Secretary Ling to be such a person."
"It's all just empty talk. And Secretary Ling said she wasn't a mistress."
"Her auntie is even kneeling in front of her. An elder kneeling in front of a younger one. Isn't she afraid of retribution?"
"..."
Regardless of the truth, Zhao Shuting's kneeling did earn her a lot of sympathy from the onlookers.
Ling Nuan looked at Zhao Shuting and said, "If you keep causing trouble like this, I'll have to call the police."
Zhao Shuting wasn't intimidated at all. She cried and shouted, "Nuan Nuan, stop being so stubborn. Turn back! Let's go and apologize. We can still live a good life in the future."
Ling Nuan looked at Zhao Shuting kneeling in front of her and suddenly let out a soft laugh.
This laugh made Zhao Shuting feel a bit uneasy. But looking at the current situation, most people were pointing at Ling Nuan, obviously believing her words. The situation was completely under her control.
Zhao Shuting suddenly felt at ease.
"Nuan Nuan, what on earth will it take for you to save your younger brother?" Zhao Shuting wiped away her tears and asked.
Even some of the onlookers started to chime in. "Secretary Ling, just go and apologize."
"Yes, if you've done something wrong, apologizing is the right thing to do."
"Your auntie is kneeling in front of you. You can't just watch your brother die."
Ling Nuan scoffed softly. Instead of getting angry, she laughed.
"Keep causing trouble. Make as big a scene as you can. Just don't regret it later."
Zhao Shuting had come here crying, kneeling, and slandering her. She wasn't even afraid of being sued or having the police called. Regardless of the truth, most people believed what Zhao Shuting said.
Any explanation from Ling Nuan would be useless.
Especially since Ling Nuan was very beautiful. Sometimes, even if she did nothing and had nothing, she would still attract rumors.
Trying to find a way out of this situation would just waste time. Instead -
Ling Nuan glanced at the time. Huo Linsheng was very punctual for work.
Zhao Shuting felt more and more uneasy, but she couldn't think of any way for Ling Nuan to turn the tables. So she simply continued with her plan and caused more trouble.
The on - looking employees, seeing that Ling Nuan didn't refute, started discussing even louder.
Some even started spreading rumors on the spot.
"Actually, I've seen Ling Nuan getting in and out of luxury cars many times."
"She comes from an ordinary family. No matter how much she earns, she couldn't afford a luxury car. It must be from her sugar daddy."
"I heard before that Miss Huo deliberately made things difficult for her. Maybe Miss Huo is friends with the wife, so she knows Ling Nuan is a mistress?"
"I have some insider information. Ling Nuan was able to stay on the top floor because she slept with Assistant Fang."
"Hey, doesn't Assistant Fang have a girlfriend? So she's a habitual mistress!"
The surrounding was noisy with all kinds of rumors from the employees.
In contrast, Ling Nuan looked calm, as if all the rumors had nothing to do with her.
Until a male voice sounded.
"What are you all doing standing around here?"