Though the events that transpired a few minutes ago was intense and nerve-racking, the harmonious aura came back when they reached the bookstore.Dandan carefully measured her boss" mood while they were walking towards the entrance and it seems that her boss has cooled down. She thanked all the G.o.ds and deities in this world that everything is back to normal again.
Once they were inside, Dandan excused herself so she can quickly pick the necessary items that the employees from the office wanted. She left her boss hanging around the fiction books section.
The bookstore was really crowded today so once Secretary Dandan has to queue, it"ll take long before she could pay the office supplies she picked.
Xiulan"s mood was serene again and everything that happened a while ago were swept away once she"s inside the store. Bookstores are her happy place and it immediately alleviated her mood. She went to young adult fiction section to check the newest and trendiest books.
Since its young adult, it"s full of romance and magic genre. The t.i.tles were all new to her and the stories seems promising.
Her attention was caught by the romance books with very vulgar covers in it. She liked the stories but the covers were quite distasteful for her. She thought that books these days are not so discreet in hiding what"s inside. She remembered the books twenty years ago would have plain cover designs and people wouldn"t actually know the book is erotic unless they read it. But now, these provocative book covers are exposed to children.
While she criticize each of the books" cover, she took her time reading each of the synopsis at the back as well. She seems to be so engross in reading them that she was not aware that some aunties inside the bookstore were gossiping about her.
"Is that Mrs. Xing? She"s so tiny..."
"It"s my first time seeing her in person. She"s very pretty but she lacks height. Her dress is so pretty though!"
"The contrast of Hongqi"s ex-girlfriends vs Mrs. Xing are too big! I"m pretty sure Hongqi has a tall, beautiful, model side chick."
"I am going to bet a s.l.u.t could s.n.a.t.c.h Xing Hongqi from this woman. She"s pretty but there are far more beautiful and s.e.xier women."
"Look at her height, OMG!"
"Wow! Her waist is so small… but her height… err…"
"Hmph! She"s not that pretty like what the people says!"
"Gong Yuming is prettier."
"Betting that they"ll divorce this year. She"s not that pretty like her husband"s exes."
The constant degrading hush from the bystanders managed to catch Xiulan"s attention. "Are they really gossiping about me, in front of me? I can"t believe this. Are people really this boisterous in shaming someone?"
She had enough of this. When will people stop this kind of attacks on her? She can"t just stand here and let them slander her like this. She could ignore this if it was a hearsay but they are slandering her in person. For some reason, the constant mention of her height irritated her so badly. Never ever criticized a woman"s height in front of them.
Xiulan put down the book she was holding and coldly gazed at the gossiping women. She walked towards them with her high heels clacking so loudly. She stopped in front of them and savagely scolded them. "You women have a lot of free time to gossip about me. Instead of talking about my marriage and height, all of you should check on your husbands. A young, tall, beautiful girl might be with them right now."
The women gawked at her, they were all surprised by her words. They all thought she"s meek and wouldn"t even try to approach them. But here she is, standing in front of them with her thousand dollars dress, shoes and clear skin. They were embarra.s.sed but they wanted to rebut to save face and bully her back but she"s not finished in her scolding yet.
"And my short height doesn"t undermine the continuous contributions I made for this country. What about you people? Is your gossiping helped the country"s economy?" Xiulan"s perfectly plucked eyebrows were all way up. With her tiny height but amazing confidence, she intimidated these G.o.dforsaken gossipers.
The women were mummed and don"t know how to answer back. They were just middle cla.s.s people and a rich, upper cla.s.s woman scolding them made them afraid to say something.
"I didn"t know that Mrs. Xing has a lot of free time to scold people." A woman with very long fake eyelashes emerged. With her voice, she might be the person who mentioned Gong Yuming"s name.
Xiulan lazily looked at this woman who appeared like a random mushroom, provoking her. "Yes I have a lot of free time. What about it?" Xiulan reb.u.t.ted and her eyebrows were still arched. It gave her a sn.o.bby and intimidating look.
The annoying woman scoffed. "Don"t be c.o.c.ky just because you are rich and married to Xing Hongqi. He can leave you anytime."
"Ad-hominem. Why is my husband being mentioned in this? So what if he leaves me? Am I not allowed to scold people who are slandering me? Hmm?" Xiulan was in the mood to scold people so she would continue this until Dandan is finished with her shopping. h.e.l.l, who cares about image now?
"People with cla.s.s don"t argue with people in public." The woman fought back.
"And who said that? Was it written in a manual on how to be cla.s.sy?" Xiulan won"t let this woman slide.
"You might be rich but your att.i.tude stinks." The woman provoked. Her arguments were out of place.
"Judgmental. How come you say my att.i.tude stinks when we"ve been only exchanging questions? I can"t believe I am not allowed to scold people who slandered me." Xiulan bewilderingly asked. She doesn"t get this woman"s anger. She only scolded the gossipers but this woman is diverting the topic to something else.
"Just wait and your careful pure image will be trashed soon." The woman was about to leave since she doesn"t know what to say anymore.
"I wouldn"t mind that. Be careful on not losing your job too." Xiulan scoffed before she left the gossiping women and went to Dandan, who"s busy in responding to the group chat with her co-employees regarding what to buy in the bookstore.
The woman halted her movements and nervously looked at Xiulan"s retreating back. "She won"t know my name and report it to my boss, right?"
"Dandan, aren"t you finished yet?" Xiulan smiled at Dandan. Her face didn"t display any irritation or negativity. It seems that she enjoyed the argument she had a while ago.
"Boss, I"ll be next soon. You can wait in the car so you can relax." Dandan quickly answered. She was confused for a moment why the people surrounding them were looking at her boss quite differently.
"Okay." Xiulan agreed but before she leaves the place, she picked a book that has caught her eye a while ago and gave it to Dandan. "Add this to your cart. I want to read it tonight."
Xiulan left and went to rest inside the car.
Dandan confusedly took the book and stared at it. The t.i.tle was "The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera" with a dog doodle on the book cover. Dandan thought it was a harmless novel but when she read the synopsis at the back, she can"t help but question if her boss" marriage is currently on the rocks.