Chapter 15

When Bai Wei was summoned to the office, none of her female colleagues in the department could hide their pleasure from the misfortunes of others.

They couldn’t stand Bai Wei, who relied on her good looks and often shirked her responsibilities, leaving her work to others. Of course, male colleagues were willing to indulge her in this behaviour. While it’s said that it’s a superficial world, being treated differently over the long term would inevitably lead to resentment.

Though they didn’t know exactly what had happened this time, it couldn’t be good if the boss’s wife had taken an interest in her.

“I guess she was trying to flirt with Mr. Meng and got caught by Mrs. Meng. Seriously, she thinks highly of herself just because she’s favoured in this department and by some male colleagues. I heard that Mrs. Meng is even more beautiful than celebrities.”

The female colleagues typed away on their keyboards, discussing Bai Wei’s fate eagerly.

“I’ve seen Mrs. Meng in the parking lot, and she’s incredibly beautiful. Comparing her to Bai Wei, there’s no contest. I think Bai Wei is going to be fired for sure. She even made Mrs. Meng ask for her name. Mr. Meng wouldn’t jeopardize his relationship with his wife for an employee.”

“Who would have thought Bai Wei had such audacity? She actually had designs on Mr. Meng. She should have considered her own qualifications. What does she have to offer that would catch Mr. Meng’s eye? But thinking about not having to look at her two-faced, hypocritical, green lotus face anymore, the air feels fresher. These losers must be crying. Who would’ve thought their goddess aspired to be a third party?”

Mr. Meng’s previous girlfriends had all been goddesses, and his wife was the ultimate among goddesses. Bai Wei’s ambitions were truly boundless. Now she was out of a job, and this matter couldn’t be hidden in the industry. It was truly embarrassing.

People don’t harbour ill intentions toward someone unattainable. In the minds of these female colleagues, they wouldn’t look down on Xu Yuan at this moment or have any ill will toward her because she was on a different level, far and unreachable from their lives.

When Bai Wei realized she had become the target of the boss’s wife, she knew her fate was sealed. However, being called to the manager’s office and seeing the undisguised disdain on his face, she couldn’t help feeling wronged and angry.

What had she done wrong? Why was she being treated like this?

The manager glanced at her and said, “Have a seat.”

Although Bai Wei was infuriated, she obediently took a seat.

In a way, Bai Wei’s looks were above average, especially in a department with few female colleagues. The manager usually favoured her a bit, but now that Mrs. Meng had taken an interest in her, he wished she would stay as far away as possible.

From a man’s perspective, he understood Mr. Meng’s decision perfectly.

Not to mention that even if Bai Wei were prettier, she couldn’t even compare to Mrs. Meng by one-tenth. In the end, she was just an outsider. What man would risk offending his wife for someone else?

Furthermore, Mrs. Meng was stunningly beautiful, and she came from the Xu family. Bai Wei couldn’t hold a candle to even a single strand of her hair…

To act as an extra in someone else’s public display of affection was simply foolishness taken to the extreme.

“Bai Wei, the HR department has spoken to me and learned about the situation in the department from your colleagues. I’ve noticed that you haven’t been taking your work seriously. You’re no longer suitable for your current position. Of course, the company isn’t heartless; you’ll receive full compensation. If you have nothing else to do, you can wrap up your work today. You won’t need to come in tomorrow. If you have any questions about your salary or compensation, you can contact the HR department.”

The manager didn’t want to say much more to Bai Wei. The decision to terminate her employment was made by Mr. Meng personally, and no one could question it.

He just hoped that Bai Wei would be smarter in the future and not make such mistakes again.

Bai Wei clasped her hands together and forced a smile. “Have I done something wrong?”

She knew that now wasn’t the time to say anything and that she should quickly gather her things and leave. However, she couldn’t help but ask, on behalf of herself, what had she done wrong? Why was she being punished so severely? She had hardly spoken a few words to Mr. Meng. Why had she caught Mrs. Meng’s eye?

The manager had already lost interest in saying more. He closed Bai Wei’s personal record and said meaningfully. “Bai Wei, being pretty is indeed an asset for a girl, but there’s always someone better. To be a vase, you need the conditions to be placed in a conservatory. Doing your job diligently is more important than anything else.” He paused and added, “So I often tell my daughter, whether it’s studying or anything else, there are no shortcuts to success.”

Bai Wei’s face changed slightly. She bit her lip and replied, “I understand.”

She got up, straightened her posture, and left the manager’s office.

The news of Bai Wei’s termination didn’t make big headlines; it quickly died down.

However, the employees at Meng Corporation understood two things from this incident. First, Mrs. Meng had started working at the company, whether it was for fun or seriously. In any case, she was now an employee. Second, Mr. Meng treated Mrs. Meng very well. Even if they didn’t know the reason behind her dislike for a particular employee, they understood that Mr. Meng was resolute in supporting his wife.

In summary, Mrs. Meng was someone they absolutely couldn’t offend, even if she didn’t hold any official position.

When Xu Yuan learned about Bai Wei’s termination, her expression remained unchanged. After all, wasn’t this what she had expected Meng Zhengrong to do?

Although she wasn’t close to Meng Zhengrong, there was no conflict between them. She was his wife and also the Xu family’s eldest and only daughter. Meng Zhengrong wasn’t a clueless fool; he wouldn’t do anything to make her unhappy in this matter.

Through this incident, Xu Yuan confirmed one thing: there is no problem with Meng Zhengrong’s IQ.

This gave her peace of mind. As long as Meng Zhengrong remained intelligent, she could avoid many troublesome situations.

In her previous life and this one, what mattered most to her wasn’t personal relationships but more practical matters.

Xu Yuan had been working at Meng Corporation for a few days now. During this time, she hadn’t deliberately tried to build relationships with anyone. She neither carried an air of haughtiness nor was overly active. She behaved like an ordinary newcomer. On this day, sister Zhou treated the department to a meal as a way to reward everyone for their hard work in May. However, there was also an element of welcoming Xu Yuan to the Finance Department.

So, at lunchtime that day, Xu Yuan went out to eat with the Finance Department team, while Meng Zhengrong sat alone on the sofa in the office, looking at the dishes on the coffee table. He felt strangely uncomfortable.

He used to have lunch alone, but these past few days, he had been eating with Xu Yuan. Although they didn’t chat too cheerfully, having someone to eat with made it less boring.

Today, she went to lunch with her department colleagues, leaving him behind…

Stop! Meng Zhengrong knew that such thoughts were quite childish. He, as a mature and steady man, shouldn’t have these petty emotions. But eating alone was undeniably boring.

After reluctantly eating a bowl of rice, Meng Zhengrong put down his chopsticks, found his phone on the desk. He hesitated for a moment, and thought he was just concerned about her getting along with her colleagues. So, he sent her a WeChat message: “Having lunch?”

When Xu Yuan received this WeChat message, she was listening to her colleagues gossiping, which she found quite amusing. Unexpectedly, her phone vibrated, and when she looked at it, she saw a WeChat message from Meng Zhengrong.

It’s really annoying.

She wanted to reply, but at the moment, she was just starting to learn Pinyin, and she couldn’t type very well. She didn’t even know how to respond properly.

She considered calling him to let him know she was having lunch, but then she thought it wasn’t such a big deal.

Xu Yuan felt that by looking at this WeChat message, Meng Zhengrong might expect some response. A habit that had developed over the years made her unable to deliberately ignore him.

Finally, Xu Yuan gritted her teeth and sent a random expression in reply.

When Meng Zhengrong received the expression Xu Yuan sent, he really didn’t know how to react.

Why did Xu Yuan always ignore his questions, but at the same time, not completely ignore them? At least she would respond with a smiling expression.

Moreover, the default smiling expression on WeChat seemed to give off a mocking vibe, which was quite irritating!