Chapter 400: Chapter 399: Am I Wronging You?
Xue Yue was naturally happy to hear that Daya and Gu Kai Zhi had made their relationship official. She had wanted to celebrate, but Daya said Gu Kai Zhi had already left.
So, they dropped the matter.
The moment she arrived at the office in the morning, she heard arguing inside.
"What’s going on?"
The moment Deng Weiwei saw Xue Yue come in, tears started streaming down her face.
Guo Zhaoyang gave an embarrassed, awkward smile and sat down.
It was Ding Ruzhi who said to Xue Yue, "A classic case of unrequited love. How pitiful."
Xue Yue pretty much understood. Deng Weiwei and Guo Zhaoyang were arguing again over who-knows-what.
Anyone could see that Deng Weiwei liked Guo Zhaoyang.
But it was obvious Guo Zhaoyang didn’t feel the same way.
This really had nothing to do with Xue Yue, and she didn’t plan on getting involved. However, some people clearly thought otherwise.
Deng Weiwei looked at Xue Yue and said, "Sister Xue, you be the judge. Guo Zhaoyang was totally leading me on, but he’s still going on blind dates with other people. How could he do that?"
Xue Yue looked toward Guo Zhaoyang, who hurriedly denied it.
"I did not."
He then looked at Deng Weiwei. "When was I ever leading you on? There’s nothing between us, okay?"
Deng Weiwei retorted unhappily, "What do you mean, nothing? I even gave you a watch that cost over three hundred yuan. Why don’t you mention that?"
Guo Zhaoyang shot to his feet, looking at her furiously. "When did I ever accept a watch from you? Don’t you dare frame me! I’ve never even seen it."
Deng Weiwei froze for a moment, then said in disbelief, "How is that possible? You clearly took it."
Guo Zhaoyang asked her directly, "When did you give it to me? How did I take it from you? Who can prove it?"
At the side, a flicker of something passed through Zhao Li’s eyes.
Deng Weiwei said, "It was last week, on your birthday. I came in early specifically to leave it on your desk. It was in a small blue box. No one else was in the office at the time. I put it down, then stepped out to get a cup of water. When I came back, I saw you had arrived. I even glanced at your desk, and the box was gone. If you didn’t take it, who did?"
Guo Zhaoyang’s eyes widened slightly. He shook his head. "I never saw it."
Deng Weiwei said, shocked, "Then who took it? I definitely left it there."
Guo Zhaoyang thought for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at Zhao Li. "Sister Zhao, now that I think about it, on the morning of my birthday, you were just leaving as I was coming in. That means you must have gotten here before me."
Deng Weiwei whipped her head around to face Zhao Li and demanded, "Did you take the watch I bought for Guo Zhaoyang?"
Zhao Li said hurriedly, "I did not! Guo Zhaoyang, don’t you go making baseless accusations. I only arrived a few seconds before you did. Besides, I went straight to the restroom as soon as I came in."
Guo Zhaoyang watched Zhao Li thoughtfully, his suspicion clear. But Zhao Li looked remarkably calm, not flustered in the slightest. For a moment, it was hard to tell who was telling the truth.
Xue Yue had no desire to play referee for this kind of drama first thing in the morning.
"Alright, everyone get back to work. We can talk about other things after we clock out."
But there was no way Deng Weiwei would let it go. That was over three hundred yuan—almost several months of her salary.
She stared directly at Zhao Li. "Did you take it or not? If you took it, please give it back to me. I’m not rich. I had to scrimp and save for months to buy that watch."
Zhao Li shot back immediately, "I already told you it wasn’t me! Why do you keep hounding me? Since you gave it to Guo Zhaoyang, go ask him for it. What does it have to do with me?"
Deng Weiwei glanced at Guo Zhaoyang. Compared to Zhao Li, she was more inclined to believe that Guo Zhaoyang wouldn’t lie.
"Zhao Li, you were the first one to arrive after me that day. You must have taken it. I suggest you hand it over, or I’m calling the police."
Zhao Li wasn’t intimidated at all. She scoffed, "Calling the police is your prerogative. But you can’t just accuse me without any proof. You didn’t see me take your things with your own eyes. I’m not someone you can just push around."
Seeing Zhao Li act so self-righteous, Deng Weiwei exploded with anger.
"Accuse you? Do you think you’re some kind of saint? You told me Guo Zhaoyang liked Sister Xue. You said Sister Xue was using her good looks to seduce him. And I was stupid enough to listen to you and be wary of them both. And what was the result? It was all nonsense! And another thing—"
Hearing this, Zhao Li hurriedly cut Deng Weiwei off before she could say more.
"Deng Weiwei, what nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever say any of that to you?"
Deng Weiwei figured since the gloves were already off, there was no reason to hold back.
She continued, "What are you afraid of? You won’t admit it, right? Fine, then I’ll just tell everyone what you told me and let them see what kind of person you really are."
Zhao Li said, "I already said I didn’t take it. How can I admit to something I didn’t do?"
’Of course, Zhao Li couldn’t admit it now. If she confessed, how could she ever show her face at the office again?’
Deng Weiwei nodded. "Fine. You also told me that Sister Xue and Vice Minister Zheng have an ’improper’ relationship. That the only reason Sister Xue got to her current position at such a young age is because of that connection. I didn’t just make that up, did I?"
As soon as those words were out, everyone else turned to look at Xue Yue.
Xue Yue narrowed her eyes at Deng Weiwei, then her gaze locked onto Zhao Li.
Zhao Li looked flustered and shook her head at Xue Yue. "I didn’t say that! She’s framing me. How could I possibly say something like that?"
Deng Weiwei was so angry she almost laughed.
"Zhao Li, you were clearly the one who told me! Otherwise, how would I, a newcomer, know about any of this? And you’re still trying to deny it! If you hadn’t told me all those bad things about Sister Xue, would I have been so wary of her? And look how that turned out. Guo Zhaoyang has nothing to do with Sister Xue. He’s out there on blind dates with other people!"
Zhao Li was left speechless, only able to cast an uneasy glance at Xue Yue.
A frosty glint appeared in Xue Yue’s eyes. She asked softly, "And what kind of relationship do Vice Minister Zheng and I have?"
Ding Ruzhi had heard this rumor before—that Xue Yue was Vice Minister Zheng’s daughter. But she didn’t think it was likely. ’If her father were a high-ranking official, she’d be far more arrogant. She’s already got enough swagger with her uncle being a leader.’
"It wasn’t me who said it, anyway." Zhao Li refused to admit it, her fingers anxiously picking at the surface of her desk.
Xue Yue’s gaze swept over them all. "Since everyone is so eager to know, I’ll just have Vice Minister Zheng come over and explain it to you himself. We’ll see what kind of relationship we really have."
With that, she picked up the phone and made a call to Zheng Guofeng’s office.
"Uncle Zheng, it’s me. Yes... could you come down to my office for a moment? Right, something’s come up."
After hanging up, Xue Yue didn’t bother with work anymore. She leaned against the edge of her desk, folded her arms, and waited patiently for Zheng Guofeng to arrive.
The remaining colleagues exchanged uneasy glances. Deng Weiwei was starting to panic a little now. After all, she had started this whole mess, and she never expected it to escalate to the point of involving the vice minister.
Zhao Li, on the other hand, was overwhelmed with guilt. She wanted to explain something to Xue Yue but didn’t know what to say. She felt so unsteady she could barely stand.
