Ni Jingxi wasn't angry at this impolite stare; she just gave it a cold look.
After a moment, Wen Tang spoke softly, "You know Tang Mian?"
Ni Jingxi was taken aback, instantly realizing that she had probably been seen getting something in the lobby earlier. Since she had been seen, she didn't intend to deny it, and simply said, "I know him."
"What kind of relationship makes him come all the way here to bring you lunch in the middle of the day?" Wen Tang looked at her inquisitively, with a hint of ill intent in her question.
She suspects Tang Mian's relationship with her...
Upon realizing Wen Tang's idea, Ni Jingxi found it laughable.
She couldn't be bothered with Wen Tang's wild imagination, so she simply took a step to the side and prepared to leave.
Unexpectedly, Wen Tang seemed determined to cause trouble and actually blocked Ni Jingxi's way again, preventing her from leaving.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Wen Tang: "As a senior, don't blame me for not making this clear beforehand. I've already decided to interview Huo Shenyan, so don't bother trying. Even if you manage to get in touch with Tang Mian, the editor-in-chief will ultimately hand this over to me."
Ni Jingxi looked at her, both surprised and taken aback.
After a moment, she looked at Wen Tang coldly and said sarcastically, "Your job shouldn't be a reporter; you're more suited to being a screenwriter."
Her ability to make up stories on the spot is far superior to that of the screenwriters of today's prime-time TV dramas.
Wen Tang, of course, understood the sarcasm in her words. She gritted her teeth and, disregarding her status, muttered a curse under her breath.
"Oh shit……"
Ni Jingxi, who had already taken a few steps, suddenly turned around, the food box in her hand clattering to the ground. She then darted back in one step, grabbed Wen Tang's shoulders with both hands, and forcefully pressed him against the wall.
Having worked at the newspaper for so long, Wen Tang had engaged in countless power struggles and backstabbing, even managing to force some people out of the company. However, all of those were underhanded tactics; on the surface, she maintained a facade of harmony and didn't easily break off relations.
As for why Wen Tang insulted her earlier, it was because she didn't consider Ni Jingxi a rival. She thought she was just a girl who had only been in the club for a year, and that it was wishful thinking for her to surpass her.
In her anger, she subconsciously blurted out the swear words that were on her mind.
Who would have thought that Ni Jingxi was such an unconventional person, with a personality that prefers action to words? She had never seen anything like it in all the backstabbing and scheming she had done at the newspaper.
Wen Tang tried to struggle, but Ni Jingxi held her down firmly. Ni Jingxi stared at her with icy eyes: "Didn't your parents teach you not to casually mention other people's mothers when you speak?"
Ni Jingxi stared at her and spoke each word with extra emphasis. Wen Tang was intimidated and leaned against the wall, no longer daring to resist.
After saying this, Ni Jingxi released Wen Tang's arm and turned to leave, but stopped after taking only two steps.
Wen Tang was about to speak again when she saw her turn around, and she froze on the spot.
When Ni Jingxi's gaze fell on her, she suddenly laughed, her smile full of sarcasm: "As a junior, I'd also like to offer you a piece of advice."
"Huo Shenyan, you can't interview him."
Author's Note: I won't curse you, I'll hit you—Ni Jingxi, a hardcore woman who'd rather fight than talk.
After yesterday's post, some people actually commented that Lord Ni's personality has become more gentle. Haha, what do you think?
Be careful what you say -- Shenyan (nephritis), actually it's our Shenyan brother.
Chapter 4
Ni Jingxi sat at her desk and continued revising the manuscript. A moment later, Hua Zheng rushed over from the direction of the restroom and almost bumped into her chair.
Hua Zheng instinctively asked, "Jingxi, are you alright?"
Ni Jingxi was slightly taken aback by this question, and she asked in return, "What is it?"
Hua Zheng glanced behind her, then looked around a few times before saying, "I overheard in the restroom that Wen Tang was giving you trouble?"
As luck would have it, just as Hua Zheng entered the restroom stall, two more women came in.
The two weren't there to use the restroom; they had just finished lunch and came in to touch up their makeup. One of them was holding a tube of YSL lipstick, and just as she raised her hand to apply it, she turned to the woman in pink washing her hands next to her and asked, "I just saw Wen Tang go to see Ni Jingxi?"
The woman in pink is named Wu Mengni, and she is a colleague at the newspaper who is on good terms with Wen Tang.
The woman wearing lipstick, also in a gossipy mood, casually asked a question.
No sooner had she asked than Wu Mengni tossed her hair and said calmly, "Some young girls, relying on their looks, don't take the right path and climb over their seniors to get ahead."
Relying on her looks...
Climbing over one's seniors to get ahead...
The woman in the lipstick immediately perked up. There was plenty of gossip in the newspaper, but gossip that was exciting just to hear about was rare.
She asked, "What happened? What happened? Tell me."
Wu Mengni sneered, "Don't let Ni Jingxi's quiet demeanor fool you. A silent dog doesn't bite. She's obsessed with climbing over our Team Leader Wen to get ahead. Didn't Team Leader Wen want to interview the CEO of Hengya Group earlier…?"
"This didn't work out, did it?" the lipstick-wearing woman said impatiently.
The news spread throughout the newspaper office. Wen Tang's attempt to interview that important figure was rejected, and she lost face even before the editor-in-chief. After all, she had given a pledge to do this feature, but ultimately failed.
Wen Tang has always been arrogant and high-profile, which naturally makes some of her colleagues dislike her.
When she's doing well, no one says anything, but when something goes wrong, of course there are people who want to laugh at her, providing plenty of material for gossip in the break room.
Wu Mengni glanced at the woman in lipstick and said quietly, "You don't know this, do you? The interview was practically a done deal, but then the other party went back on their word."
The woman wearing lipstick was taken aback. How come this was different from the gossip circulating in the company?
It's not that Wen Tang was flatly rejected and never even considered accepting an interview.
"Today, when Team Leader Wen and I were downstairs, we saw her with President Huo's assistant. Tell me, what a coincidence! Team Leader Wen's interview with him fell through, and then she was hanging out with his secretary. If she hadn't been involved, I would have twisted my head off."
Finally, Wu Mengni snorted, "That's why I say these new young girls who join the company, don't be fooled by their seemingly honest appearances, they're all cunning and scheming behind the scenes. How come a girl with no connections or family background is so familiar with the CEO's assistant, uh..."
This single word 'uh' contains a thousand words.
Hua Zheng, who was squatting in the toilet clutching her stomach, was so angry upon hearing this that she wanted to immediately pull up her pants and come out to argue with these gossipy old women.
But by the time she pulled up her pants, the two men were already gone.
So she rushed back to see if Ni Jingxi had been mistreated. She whispered, "Wen Tang just came looking for you?"
Ni Jingxi: "How did you know?"
Hua Zheng was utterly shocked; it was true after all. She angrily told Ni Jingxi the gossip she'd overheard in the bathroom. Without pausing for a moment, Hua Zheng finished speaking, concluding with a resolute, "Wen Tang hates you."
Ni Jingxi was amused by her tone and reassured her, "It's not that bad."
Seeing that Ni Jingxi was completely unconcerned by her nonchalant attitude, Hua Zheng became even more anxious, fearing that Ni Jingxi might suffer a loss. She and Ni Jingxi joined the newspaper together, but their personalities were completely opposite. Hua Zheng was the kind of girl who was boisterous and impulsive, playful, and not very mature, while Ni Jingxi was different.
She is meticulous and organized in her work, and never gets involved in the company's gossip. She is neither obsequious to her superiors nor easily manipulated.
In short, she has a cool, nonchalant vibe.
Hua Zheng looked around warily and said in a very low voice, "Don't disbelieve me, Wen Tang really hates you, I can tell."
Ni Jingxi didn't say anything.
Hua Zheng continued, "Think back to when you first joined our newspaper, it caused quite a stir. People say that writers are jealous of each other, but it's the same for beautiful women. You're so good-looking, do you think Wen Tang would find you pleasing to the eye?"
Hua Zheng wasn't exaggerating; when Ni Jingxi joined the newspaper, it did cause quite a stir.
This girl is the kind of pretty that is easily recognizable.
Her face was truly only the size of a palm, with almond-shaped, bright, and moist eyes, and incredibly delicate, fair skin. Hua Zheng genuinely liked beautiful young ladies like Ni Jingxi.
It goes without saying that she's beautiful. Ni Jingxi doesn't put on airs; she's cool and ethereal.
Ni Jingxi finally looked up at her speechlessly. Hua Zheng looked at her, saw the other's indescribable expression, blinked, and asked for confirmation, "Am I wrong?"
After a long silence, Ni Jingxi said expressionlessly, "You should also write TV dramas."
Everyone in this newspaper office must be a drama queen.
*
A few days later, Ni Jingxi couldn't help but apologize for her blind judgment of Hua Zheng that day. Because after these few days, she realized that Wen Tang truly hated her.
After Ni Jingxi slammed Wen Tang against the wall and gave her a stern warning that day, Wen Tang, the reporter who had always had a smooth career at the newspaper and never had to worry about anyone's attitude, naturally didn't intend to let her off the hook.
Ni Jingxi has now been assigned to the economics group, which happens to be the same group as Wen Tang.
Although Wen Tang was only a deputy group leader with a group leader above him, this group leader was the kind of old hand in the newspaper who had been full of energy when he was young but could no longer get promoted at this age, so he simply drifted along.
As a result, Wen Tang, though the deputy group leader, sometimes carried more weight in the group than the group leader himself.
These past two days, Ni Jingxi has been constantly being ordered around, with interviews either being conducted in the suburbs or with difficult characters.
Just as it was lunchtime, Wu Mengni came over and threw something on Ni Jingxi's table, saying, "Go to this place this afternoon to get some materials."
Ni Jingxi glanced down at it but didn't say anything.
At this moment, her colleagues looked over, and as soon as Ni Jingxi looked up, everyone scattered like birds.
This made Ni Jingxi laugh. What did she mean by "she's become a plague god"?
She glanced at the address; it was fine, about a two-hour subway ride. Oh, there might not be a subway here; she'd probably have to transfer.
Ni Jingxi didn't plan to eat and intended to go downstairs directly.
Hua Zheng immediately caught up from behind and asked, "Are you really not going to eat?"
Ni Jingxi: "Let's go get the things first, and grab something to eat on the way."
Hua Zheng's face darkened, and she said angrily, "They're deliberately targeting you."
Even a fool could see the atmosphere in the group these past few days. Wen Tang is the leader, and it would be incredibly easy for her to deliberately make things difficult for Ni Jingxi.
When they got downstairs, Ni Jingxi saw that Hua Zheng was still with her and said indifferently, "Let's go have lunch. I can take care of myself."
Seeing that Hua Zheng still didn't want to leave, she deliberately said, "You'd better stay away from me. I'm a plague god now, it won't do you any good to get involved with me."
"What are you saying? I've known you since I joined the newspaper. I'll stand by you no matter who else is against you." Hua Zheng almost jumped up. As a loyal girl, she wanted nothing more than to tear Wen Tang and her gang apart.
However, the other party was using underhanded tactics to torment Ni Jingxi, and she didn't know how to help.
Hua Zheng stamped her foot and said, "But I heard that Wen Tang's father is also a veteran in the journalism industry. Otherwise, why would our editors and chief editors give her so much face?"
Hua Zheng was genuinely worried for Ni Jingxi. Disliking Wen Tang was one thing, but offending her was another.
Seeing her distressed expression, Ni Jingxi smiled slightly, her calm demeanor softening. "Go have lunch, don't worry. I haven't taken this to heart."
It was just asking her to make a few more trips; Ni Jingxi really didn't mind that it was a bit of a hassle.