Lifting her arm to help Lu Nianxin wipe her high heel, she withdrew her foot and stood up to straighten her clothes, speaking condescendingly, "I certainly don't have time to watch the two of you argue here."
"Go get my lipstick now."
Jiang Qingqing, upon hearing this, hurriedly thanked her, fearful of provoking Nianxin again due to her own unreasonable behavior. She propped up Wen Tang with her other arm.
"Sister Tang, sorry for causing you trouble," she said with regret in her eyes.
Wen Tang pursed her lips, "If anyone is causing trouble, it's me causing it for you."
As her words fell, she took her arm back from Jiang Qingqing and walked toward the direction of the elevator by herself.
She went downstairs and brought the lipstick up.
When she encountered Lu Nianxin coming out of the office, Wen Tang approached her, "Miss Lu, here's the lipstick you asked for."
Lu Nianxin glanced at it, and aside from some sweat on the tip of her nose, she looked no different from usual. She immediately tossed the lipstick into the trash, "I'm sorry, this is not the one I was looking for."
Wen Tang frowned, clearly remembering that there was only this lipstick on the passenger side.
"Listen carefully, I'm talking about the storage box in front of the co-driver," Lu Nianxin said seriously, arms crossed.
Wen Tang's toes curled, she spoke with a tough spine but a soft voice, "Alright, then I will go for another trip."
"Miss Lu, please wait a moment."
As she spoke, Wen Tang turned back the way she came.
"That's not right." Lu Nianxin pointed towards the emergency exit, "Go this way."
Wen Tang looked in the direction of her gaze. This was the top floor; it was not only tiring for someone with an injured leg but for any normal person without taking the elevator, it could be utterly exhaustive.
The people in the department sighed in pity, but no one dared to plead for Wen Tang.
They watched with wide eyes as Wen Tang walked towards the emergency exit.
If she grew tired, she would stop to rest. Her legs were sore and weak, and she felt so anxious going downstairs that it was daunting.
For a moment, she almost couldn't keep going.
Dragging her unbearably sore leg, she went to the co-driver's storage box to get the lipstick and returned to the company.
"Miss Lu, is this the lipstick you wanted?" Wen Tang's face was pale, and her small mouth had lost all color.
Lu Nianxin took the lipstick and sized up Wen Tang,
This woman could endure far more than she had imagined. But, this was just the beginning.
"Good luck," Nianxin said as she took the lipstick to the bathroom.
As soon as she left, Wen Tang nearly lost her balance, and her colleagues quickly stepped forward to support her.
Jiang Qingqing swiftly poured her a cup of water.
But no one dared to openly defend Wen Tang.
All they could do was to help her back to her desk.
After sipping some tea, Wen Tang received a summons from Pei Heyan in his office.
She quickly grabbed the well-organized files and entered the office with them.
"President Pei, here are the documents you requested," Wen Tang said, respectfully handing over the files.
Pei Heyan opened the file, and Wen Tang instinctively took two steps back to wait for his instructions.
She then heard the man casually remark, "You are one minute late."
Wen Tang lifted her head to look at the clock, aware that according to Pei Heyan's rule, the time from summons to arrival at the office should not exceed three minutes.
It took her four minutes to reach the office; she was indeed late.
"I'm sorry."
Pei Heyan's signature on the document, "It seems you've forgotten all the things I've emphasized before."
"And the most basic ones."
"If you were this slow with clients, the money would have already been scooped up by someone else."
Wen Tang's lips quivered slightly, "I..."
Lu Nianxin returned. She had magically touched up her makeup and approached Pei Heyan closely.
Casting a glance at Wen Tang, she intimately poured Pei Heyan a cup of tea, "Brother He Yan, what's wrong? Did Secretary Wen anger you?"
"In my opinion, as a personal secretary, if you can't even provide emotional value to the boss, it's better to just fire her." Lu Nianxin's words were blunt.
Pei Heyan capped his pen and said, "She's just a bit slow."
"I don't want to hire another personal secretary. It's troublesome, and I don't like it."
A hint of hostility rose in Lu Nianxin's eyes. With a smile on her face but echoing in agreement, she said, "How about this then."
"Secretary Wen, I happen to be craving crab roe buns. Could you run an errand and buy some for me?" She looked at Pei Heyan after saying this, "Consider it a small punishment. It can also serve as a practice to improve your speed. Once you remember this incident, you won't dare to neglect your duties again."
"You must have gotten lazy from staying in the hospital."
Wen Tang consciously blocked out Lu Nianxin's words from her ears.
She was waiting for Pei Heyan to speak.
Yet this man remained silent, showing no feelings for her, not even pity.
She forced a strained smile onto her face, "Alright, I'll go right away."
Lu Nianxin flirtatiously lingered by Pei Heyan's side, "I wonder if the taste of the crab roe buns has changed. I only remember they were very delicious. It was a friend who recommended them to me. Secretary Wen, when you bring the buns, you must have a taste."
Pei Heyan responded casually, indecipherable whether pleased or troubled.
Wen Tang left the office and closed the door behind her. She knew well that she was being intentionally targeted by Lu Nianxin, who was rubbing salt into her wound. Yet, she had to go along with it, dragging her uncooperative leg out of the company.
Was it fortunate that the crab roe bun shop was only a few hundred meters away from Pei Group?
It was precisely within the range where taking a taxi did not make sense, and walking was torture. Yet she endured the pain and bought the buns.
She delivered the crab roe buns to the office and did not dare linger for a moment before leaving.
She looked down at her leg, pain making it hard to stand, and faintly felt the stickiness on her skin. With a cotton swab and gauze in hand, she walked toward a place where she could find some time.
Pulling up her trouser leg, she saw that the gauze was soaked red with blood.
Unwrapping the bandage, wrapped round and round, the stitched wound looked like a many-legged centipede, repulsive even to her own eyes.
But it was worth it compared to losing a limb.
Wen Tang dabbed iodine with a cotton swab and began treating the wound. It wasn't painful, just cool, and this sudden relief felt a thousand times more comfortable than running errands in high heels.
Seeing that the wound was sufficiently treated, Wen Tang tossed the iodine into the trash can.
Footsteps in high heels clicked closer from outside, and Wen Tang hurriedly stood up, fixing her hair.
Lu Nianxin came in, took one look at Wen Tang, then at the iodine, the cotton swabs, and the medical gauze thrown in the trash can.
Shaking her head and clicking her tongue, "You, your life is over."
Wen Tang pressed her lips together, "I don't understand what Miss Lu is talking about."
Lu Nianxin turned to face her, "Do you truly not understand, or are you just pretending?"
She stepped closer to Wen Tang, "Regardless of whether your leg scar heals or not, just the thought of surgery, of being cut open and bleeding a lot here, will disgust people."
"People like you... the blood you bleed must also smell fishy, right?"