Chapter 141

Tong Xuelu, biting down on her lower lip, stammered, “I came here early today and waited right here for the door to unlock. Then Comrade Tan arrived. She looked me up and down and then pointed at my nose and warned me not to… not to seduce you just because I am somewhat attractive!”

Liu Dongchang’s face turned beet red. He turned to look at Tan Xiaoyan. The latter’s nostrils flared and had a look of disbelief on her.Tong Xuelu did not give her a chance to talk. She carried on to say, “She eve said to me that she had her eyes on you and for me to not have any ideas. She would otherwise chase me away from the government-operated restaurant!“I was so angry when I heard that. The two of us had only met once and I had done nothing. She was blatantly tarnishing my reputation. And, I didn’t know that you two are sister/brother-in-law. You two……”Tong Xuelu stopped right there and looked at the two of them with surprise and contempt.She was professional when it came to making stuff up.“……”“……”There were a few seconds of silence between the three of them.When Tan Xiaoyan recollected herself, she was so angry that her nose turned red. “You are making stuff up! I never said any of those things! You were the one who started shouting me first for no reason first!”“You just said no reason. There is no beef between us. Why would I shout at you for no reasons?”“That’s because… because you……”Tan Xiaoyan, blushing and stammering, couldn’t come up with words.She was the one who yelled at Tong Xuelu first but she didn’t dare to let her brother-in-law find that out.Besides, she cared a lot about her image in Liu Dongchang’s eyes. She would not want to repeat to him the part that Tong Xuelu called her ugly.Liu Dongchang’s face was red like a cooked shrimp. “Comrade Tong, don’t misunderstand. There is nothing going on between Comrade Tan and I. I only think of her as my little sister!”Tong Xuelu gave him a dubious look. “But that wasn’t what Comrade Tan had said earlier……”Liu Dongchang, “She wasn’t thinking straight. Don’t listen to her nonsense. Tan Xiaoyan, you apologize to Comrade Tong right now!”Tan Xiaoyan couldn’t be angrier. “Brother-in-law, I didn’t……”Liu Dongchang cut her off and shouted at her sternly. “Do not call me that. If you couldn’t do that, you can stop coming to work here!”Tan Xiaoyan felt very aggrieved, but she had no choice but to apologize.She stared at Tong Xuelu with her puffy eyes and said, “I’m sorry, Comrade Tong. I shouldn’t have made up stuff to antagonize you. Please forgive me!”Tong Xuelu put on a very understanding look. “I’m glad to hear that you’ve realized your mistake. As you’ve already apologized to me, Comrade Tan, I’ll just forget that the whole thing had happened.”Liu Dongchang’s face was still very red. “Comrade Tong, what you’ve said earlier, can you please… please not repeat it elsewhere?”Tong Xuelu raised three of her fingers and swore. “I, Tong Xuelu, solemnly swear that if I ever repeat those words again, I will be strike down by thunder! I am here to serve the people; not to deal with internal politics. You can be assured that won’t happen, Manager Liu!”Liu Dongchang let out a sigh of relief as soon as he heard that. “Good, Comrade Tong, I won’t have to worry about it then. You are a good comrade. I’ll keep that in mind!”Having said that, he turned and looked coldly at Tan Xiaoyan. “Comrade Tan, I will be deducting three points from you for trying to stir up drama today!”All workers at the government-operated restaurant had a grading standard and their performances were graded by the manager of the restaurants.The one with the highest score at the end of the year would receive an award and the one with the most deducted would be criticized publicly and also need to turn in a self-reflection report before year end.Tong Xuelu almost vomited blood when she heard that. “Bro… Manager Liu, I……”“Say no more. This conversation is over.”Liu Dongchang interrupted her rudely and put a stop on the subject.