The question silenced the entire class.
"Besides, did she say she liked him? There should be a limit to your jokes. You can't make up for the hurt you've caused by just saying sorry at the end."
The boys, who had been laughing and joking, fell completely silent.
Ni Jingxi gave a final cold laugh: "Being liked isn't shameful. You don't need to ridicule someone for this. After all, being liked means they have some merits. Unlike some people who only know how to mock others, they are truly worthless."
The boys were speechless, and dared not refute her at all.
After Ni Jingxi finished speaking, she returned to her desk and continued reading. The girl in front of her stopped crying, and the boy behind her stopped talking and laughing loudly about her situation.
When the girls in the class got together, they were absolutely in awe of Ni Jingxi.
One girl said that she stood up for that girl and taught that boy a lesson, and she was practically a righteous and benevolent leader.
At first, everyone called her Ni Qingtian, but it was too unpleasant to hear, so they gradually started calling her Lord Ni. Over the years, it has become a habit.
Hua Zheng was stunned again after hearing this.
She felt like she had used up all the surprise and shock she had ever experienced in her life, and all of it had been directed at one person.
"Lord Ni is so handsome!" Hua Zheng cupped her cheeks in her hands, looking like a lovesick fool.
She suddenly felt that she really wanted to marry Ni Jingxi; the feeling of being protected by her was wonderful.
Tang Mi wasn't surprised by Hua Zheng's attitude at all. To be honest, when they graduated from high school, so many girls cried while hugging Ni Jingxi, reluctant to part with her.
Tang Mi laughed and said, "And do you know what's the funniest thing?"
"What is it? What is it?" Hua Zheng's eyes were filled with excitement and curiosity, and she quickly asked.
Tang Mi: "These two classmates got married in the end, and they even invited us to the wedding. The boy kept thanking Master Ni, saying that he was really immature back then and actually liked that girl, but he was too embarrassed to respond because of the other boys' teasing. In the end, Jingxi scolded him and woke him up, and he won over his future wife."
Hua Zheng: "Wow, it's so sweet."
The two continued talking, but Ni Jingxi glanced helplessly at Tang Mi and said, "Why do I feel like you're portraying me as a tigress?"
Tang Mi blinked innocently and asked in return, "Really?"
“Yes.” Ni Jingxi nodded, then shook her head with a smile.
At that moment, her phone, which was on the table, vibrated slightly. It was a WeChat message from Huo Shenyan, telling her that he was about to have lunch.
Huo Shenyan ate lunch at the company cafeteria today because he didn't have any social engagements. Hengya does have an employee cafeteria, but out of consideration for the appetites of his employees, he rarely eats there.
Tang Mian placed the food box on the table, turned around, and left the office.
Ni Jingxi lowered her eyes, her finger swiping across the screen as she replied: 【What did you have for lunch?】
Huo Shenyan thought for a moment, took a picture of the dishes on the table, and sent it over.
When Ni Jingxi took a look, she realized that the other person's meal was much more lavish than hers. Not only was the variety abundant, but the dishes also looked exceptionally tempting, making it seem like they would taste delicious just from a visual perspective.
So she politely replied: "I want to eat it."
Not only was her tone gentle and tender, reserved only for him, but even the sweet smile that appeared on her lips when replying to messages was solely because of him.
She was just about to put down her phone to take a sip of water when it buzzed again. When she looked down at it, she almost spat out the water she was holding in her mouth.
Come here, I'll feed you.
Ni Jingxi looked at those six characters over and over again more than ten times before she was convinced that they were sent by Huo Shenyan.
And finally, one thing was confirmed.
This man, when he gets into a repressed state, is incredibly lewd.
Author's Note: My handsome brother, please continue to be this reserved yet charming, okay?!
Chapter 13
After finishing lunch, the three of them strolled leisurely toward the company building.
Today, Shanghai enjoyed a rare sunny day. The sun was high in the sky, and its rays bathed the entire city, making everyone feel warm and comfortable.
Hua Zheng yawned as she walked: "It's easy to feel sleepy when you're full."
"How about grabbing a coffee?" Tang Mi suggested, since there was a Starbucks downstairs from the office.
Ni Jingxi wasn't a big fan of coffee, but since the two of them wanted some, she didn't want to spoil the mood and went with them. After buying the coffee, it was almost time to go back to the company, so the three of them went upstairs.
Unexpectedly, I ran into other colleagues downstairs, all looking like they were in a hurry.
When they saw Ni Jingxi and Hua Zheng still looking so relaxed, they were surprised and asked, "Aren't you going to report back to the newspaper office?"
Hua Zheng spat out the straw from her mouth and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Wen Tang and Wu Mengni got into a fight."
As soon as she finished speaking, Hua Zheng and Tang Mi exchanged a glance, and without hesitation, each grabbed one of Ni Jingxi's hands and rushed into the elevator.
Ni Jingxi looked at them and said helplessly, "Do you really want to watch the show that much?"
Hua Zheng: "Who wouldn't want to see a dog-eat-dog drama?"
Tang Mi agreed with her description and nodded, saying, "Yes, I watch it too."
Previously, Tang Mi was unaware of the difficulties Wen Tang and Wu Mengni were causing Ni Jingxi. Today, Hua Zheng talked to her about it for a long time, which made Tang Mi so angry that she rolled up her sleeves.
Now things have gotten complicated; these two have turned on each other and started fighting.
There weren't many people using the elevator at lunchtime. The two colleagues who were just now took another elevator up first, and when this elevator came down, there were only the three of them.
So I wasn't so reserved when I spoke.
Tang Mi said with a smile, "I think your newspaper's dramas are really exciting."
Ni Jingxi glanced at her and chuckled, "Our newspaper's entertainment section is short of a film critic. Why don't you come? I guarantee you'll be watching dramas every day."
Tang Mi said with a smile, "Your newspaper employees only make a few dollars a month."
Hua Zheng suddenly clutched her chest, "Teacher Tang, you hurt me."
“Poor things, really, once my new media studio opens, you two will both quit your jobs at this lousy newspaper and come start a business with me.”
Tang Mi was filled with boundless pride.
Hua Zheng immediately raised both hands in agreement. Hua Zheng was from Suzhou and came from a well-off family, but she didn't want to go back to Suzhou and wanted to stay in the big city of Shanghai. However, the cost of living in Shanghai was indeed high, and the salary at the newspaper company wasn't particularly high.
The elevator arrived shortly after, and as soon as the doors opened, a noisy commotion could be heard outside.
The three of them exchanged somewhat bewildered glances; it was quite a lively scene...
After they went outside, they saw that almost everyone was gathered at the end of the elevator corridor, near the newspaper office entrance. Behind the newspaper office's transparent glass doors, many people were also peeking in.
Clearly, no one wanted to miss out on this excitement.
At this moment, Wen Tang was furious and said, "Wu Mengni, let me tell you, you became someone's mistress because you willingly degraded yourself, what does it have to do with me? You even said that I told the other party's wife because I was jealous of you, are you out of your mind?"
Sure enough, even someone as proud and arrogant as Wen Tang couldn't help but speak recklessly when Wu Mengni was being unreasonable.
Wu Mengni, who had already given up all hope, looked up and saw Ni Jingxi arrive. Pointing at Ni Jingxi, she said, "I willingly degenerate? Then what about the matter of you instructing me to deliberately target Ni Jingxi?"
Wen Tang's chest heaved suddenly, clearly not expecting her to actually go all out.
At this moment, everyone's face showed the word "Holy crap," after all, everyone knew about Wu Mengni's scandal, and besides, she came to the newspaper office today to pack her things and prepare to resign.
So she specifically chose to come at noon when there were fewer people, but she didn't expect to run into Wen Tang at the entrance. For some reason, the two of them actually started fighting.
Wen Tang: "You're talking nonsense."
Wu Mengni burst into laughter. Anyway, she was completely done with it and didn't mind tearing Wen Tang's face off.
"You're just jealous that Ni Jingxi is not only young and beautiful, but also has a higher education than you and a better future. You may have forgotten what you told me, but I haven't. You deliberately made Ni Jingxi run errands for you, but you couldn't bring yourself to do it, so I did it for you."
"And you haven't forgotten that interview with that old lecher from the advertising department, have you? You know Ni Jingxi is pretty, so it's a good opportunity to let that old lecher have a taste of her beauty."
Tang Mi couldn't take it anymore and immediately cursed, "What a piece of idiot."
Wen Tang's face was as white as paper. She still had a sense of shame and still had to work at the newspaper. She wasn't as reckless as Wu Mengni.
Finally, security guards were called back to escort Wu Mengni away, but the crowd of onlookers hadn't dispersed. Ni Jingxi, on the other hand, walked forward slowly, and everyone's eyes were fixed on her.
Ni Jingxi is quite famous in the newspaper. She is a woman of few words but capable, and she is not one to be bullied.
Previously, Wu Mengni caused her trouble, and she directly confronted her in a meeting, which many people have heard about.
When she walked up to Wen Tang, she paused slightly and turned her head to look at Wen Tang.
Wen Tang opened her mouth but still spoke up: "Ni Jingxi, Wu Mengni is desperate and she's throwing mud at people and ruining our relationships as colleagues. You don't believe that, do you?"
Ni Jingxi found it quite amusing, really quite amusing.
She thought for a moment and then asked humbly, "You mean Wu Mengni framed you?"
Wen Tang forced herself to remain calm: "Of course."
Ni Jingxi looked at her expressionlessly: "Who do you think would believe that? Me or them?"
She glanced through the glass door; several colleagues were still gathered around watching the commotion. Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but everyone could hear her clearly.
"Save your breath," Ni Jingxi sneered.
*
The staff at the Shanghai Daily have been bombarded with gossip this week, making it nearly impossible for them to concentrate on work. Although Wu Mengni has left the newspaper, the legends surrounding her haven't disappeared.
Everyone said that the reason she argued with Wen Tang in public that day was because she suspected that Wen Tang had betrayed her by telling the other man's wife about her affair with that rich man.
As for Wen Tang, due to Wu Mengni's accusations and with Lao Zhang's instigation, he was summoned for talks by several leaders of the newspaper.
His arrogance faded, and he no longer acted domineeringly.
By Friday, the people who had been following the gossip all week were clearly a bit listless, and there was none of the usual scene of them eagerly leaving get off work on Fridays.
Ni Jingxi, contrary to her usual behavior, shut down her computer, picked up her bag, said goodbye to Hua Zheng, and left as soon as it was time to get off work.
She took the subway to People's Park first, where there is an old shop specializing in Shanghai dim sum. Her grandmother's teeth weren't very good, but she loved the soft, sweet, and glutinous dim sum made there.
However, my grandmother has slightly high blood sugar and cholesterol, so she only lets her eat one or two pieces each time she buys them.
The nursing home is located in the suburbs, but the environment is excellent. Just inside the entrance is a huge garden with pavilions and exercise equipment for the elderly, the kind commonly found in parks.
At this moment, a lingering orange rim of the sun on the horizon prevented the city from completely falling into darkness.