Wen Tang heard the words and ignored them, enduring in silence.
Shortly after, she noticed the woman glancing at her with contempt when the man left.
It seemed that because of the online reports, the woman indignantly said, "Men are all the same, if they see a beautiful woman with a good figure, they can't move on and want to keep everything for themselves."
"Only women can really see who the 'vixen' is."
Wen Tang's resolve wore thin, and she lost the heart to continue working. Closing her laptop, she turned to look at the woman sitting by the window.
Her piercing gaze made the woman falter instantly.
Resentful yet fearful of losing face, the woman stuttered, "Blaming others when you shamelessly became 'the other woman'?"
Wen Tang looked at her intently.
Even as just a secretary, her elite presence still held sway.
"Are you talking about me?" she asked.
The woman sat up straight and replied, "Who else would I be talking about, don't you know?"
Wen Tang let out a light laugh; she detested those who blindly followed others.
However, ignorance is not a crime, and she was even less inclined to trouble innocent people.
She mentioned nonchalantly, "Accusing someone of being 'the other woman' requires evidence; otherwise, it is defamation and can be directly sued." Looking at the woman not far away, she added, "Don't you even have that common sense?"
The woman was intimidated by Wen Tang's words.
As the child's father came towards them with a kettle, the woman muttered indignantly then stood up, saying, "Well, it's almost time for lunch. I'm going out to buy some food, take good care of the child."
With that, she walked away, casting a resentful glance at Wen Tang.
Then she disappeared from Wen Tang's view.
However, the incident didn't settle down with her departure.
Passersby occasionally cast glances, some pointing and whispering amongst themselves.
It was as if she had become the butt of jokes and the main topic of gossip.
Wen Tang pursed her lips and forced herself to remove these vexations from her heart.
When the nurse came again to deliver medicine and saw Wen Tang was still alone, she said, "This can't continue; if the hospital fee isn't settled, it will go into negative, and you don't even have anyone to run errands. Maybe..."
Before she could finish, Wen Tang cut in, "Thank you for your kindness."
She still wanted to think over the matter of hiring a caregiver.
The kind nurse poured her a cup of tea.
Wen Tang took her medicine and lay down.
After the nurse left the room.
She threw back the covers and got out of bed. The woman who had accused her earlier sat nearby, watching indifferently.
Wen Tang didn't expect her to come over and help; she moved slowly, step by step, towards the elevator.
The pain was much less than the day before.
See, she could still endure.
Wen Tang comforted herself as she walked out of the elevator and joined the crowd at the payment window, queueing up to settle the bill.
Whenever someone in front moved forward, she stepped forward as well.
Standing for long periods, her legs grew increasingly weary.
Occasionally, she would look up to see how much longer it would be until her turn.
She was completely unaware that she had been targeted.
And she had been watched for quite some time.
Two women looked at their phones, then at Wen Tang.
After confirming her identity as the one who supposedly ruined Pei Heyan and Lu Nianxin's relationship, they exchanged glances, decided there was no rush to pay, and deliberately lined up behind Wen Tang.
Wen Tang had just made her payment and was about to leave when, already unsteady from an injured leg, she stumbled over someone's foot and was suddenly tripped to the ground.
The entire person unexpectedly fell to the ground without any warning.
Like a watermelon hitting the ground, her knees made a loud noise.
Families in line to make payments nearby all turned their heads toward Wen Tang.
Wen Tang, gritting her teeth in pain, looked at the two people standing in front of her, her forehead covered with dense beads of sweat.
She tried to stand but couldn't, and the two who had tripped her didn't offer a hand to help.
"Why?" she asked through the pain.
The two women looked innocent; one of them suddenly covered her mouth in shock and looked at Wen Tang, "You, aren't you the woman who was exposed on the internet a few days ago?"
"It was you who blatantly stole someone else's man!"
People around once again focused their attention on Wen Tang.
Elderly people shook their heads and sighed at Wen Tang.
Middle-aged people, who had families to care for, continued to pay fees.
Others about the same age as the two women weren't in a hurry and seemed quite entertained.
Either pointing at Wen Tang or pulling out their phones to take pictures.
They completely surrounded Wen Tang, disregarding the fact that she was in so much pain she couldn't even crawl.
Medical staff soon came with a gurney.
Wen Tang lay on the gurney, and with fewer faces in her line of sight, she suddenly felt a lot quieter.
Her limbs unknowingly relaxed.
But she was certain that the two who had tripped her were definitely fans of Lu Nianxin.
Later, Wen Tang was pushed into the CT room for scans.
Cao Yin Qiong, lifting the scan, looked at it and then at Wen Tang lying on the hospital bed.
She sighed, a sense of helplessness in her tone.
"Originally, your leg was already seriously injured, and this fall has made it worse."
Wen Tang asked her, "What's the best course of action?"
Cao Yin Qiong bluntly said, "With the injury like this, all the weight was clearly on this leg at the time of the fall; we can't wait any longer, we must operate sooner."
Wen Tang looked down at her leg.
Bright red blood had seeped through the white bandages, stark and striking.
"Then let's do the surgery sooner; I have no objections," she agreed without a second thought.
Cao Yin Qiong looked at her, "But before the surgery, we need a family member's signature."
Wen Tang pondered for a moment, "I'll sign for myself."
Cao Yin Qiong didn't speak but turned to look at a nurse nearby.
The nurse understood silently and quietly left the room.
Cao Yin Qiong gave some instructions and then walked out.
As Wen Tang waited to sign, she caught a glimpse of Pei Heyan's imposing figure appearing at the door of the hospital room.
It was Pei Heyan; he had come, surely to visit her.
Wen Tang's heavy heart suddenly felt much lighter.
Cao Yin Qiong pushed open the door of the hospital room and walked in.
Pei Heyan followed behind, arriving at the hospital bed and giving Wen Tang a cold glance.
His face was devoid of any expression, but Wen Tang was used to that by now, and she asked, "President Pei, what brings you here?"
She suppressed a small flutter of joy inside her.
Cao Yin Qiong abruptly cut her off, "If he hadn't come, who would sign the operation form?"
Wen Tang caught the hint, her eyes following suit and looking downward a great deal.
It seemed Pei Heyan had not come on his own initiative, nor was it because he suddenly remembered she was in the Hospital and decided to visit.