After accepting the red packet, Bai Duanduan thoughtfully kept quiet. The two drove all the way back to the law firm and each returned to their desks, where Bai Duanduan handled a few more emails of legal advice before packing up and getting off work.
Because she had solved such a problem for Dai Qin, Xue Wen invited her to dinner in the evening, and by the time Bai Duanduan said goodbye to her and went home, it was already 8:30 in the evening.
After thinking about it, she decided to go to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities before returning home. Although she got two big bags of snacks from Ji Lin when her shopping plan was interrupted by the naughty child last time, she was yet to purchase the daily necessities.
Bai Duanduan picked things from the left and right shelf and procured another cart of goods. However, just as she was about to go to checkout, she remembered that she had forgotten to buy rubbish bags and turned back to the shelf of rubbish bags.
The most popular section of the supermarket was the food section, and there were hardly any people near the shelves on the rubbish bag side. Bai Duanduan found what she wanted to buy at a glance and was about to drop it into the shopping cart and be done with it, when she heard a voice from the opposite section of the shelfâ
âI heard that Bai Duanduan left ZhaoHui and went to Sheng Lin.â
âThe one where Ji Lin is?â
âYeah, this woman has many tricks up her sleeve, and the ones she picks up are all partners. The last one was Lin Hui and this one is Ji Lin. Itâs also strange, whatâs wrong with these men? Arenât they all well-known barristers in their circles now? Canât they hold on to themselves?â
âThatâs because youâve never seen Bai Duanduan. If you saw what she looked like, you wouldnât say that.â
âBut Bai Duanduan had an affair with Lin Hui. Ji Lin is much more handsome than Lin Hui and is young, with a promising future, so why does he have to take on women that even Lin Hui doesnât want?â
The answer was in a sour tone, âWith that kind of look, who cares if a woman is first-hand or second-hand? But a man like Ji Lin canât be serious about Bai Duanduan, heâs just playing around and will dump her sooner or later, just like Lin Hui did. After all, who would like to get married with a woman like Bai Duanduan, who looks like a demon and is covered in designer labels and spends money like water. She is definitely not a family-friendly woman.â
When the other party talked about Ji Lin, she changed her mocking style and softened her tone, âI think Ji Lin probably doesnât really like her either, sheâs just for show. In addition, this woman is a master in catching men. Maybe Ji Lin is just temporarily dazzled and later on when he will see her real side, he will also drive her out of Sheng Lin â¦â¦ but I saw Ji Lin once at the court last time, he was really handsome ah! This kind of man must not be cheated by Bai Duanduan ah! Iâm quite depressed at the thought of having to deal with Bai Duanduan every day in case I have the chance to join Sheng Lin in the future.â
Ah, it was no wonder her hostility against her was so strong because she was a toxic fan of Ji Lin.
âWhat are you worried about, Xiao Xian, didnât you just pass the first round of written exams at Sheng Lin? Youâll be able to get accepted directly into Sheng Lin once you go through the interview process next week, and when the time comes, youâll be able to pierce Bai Duantuanâs mask. Besides, Ji Lin will probably get bored with her in no time. Regardless of how beautiful she is, one will get aesthetic fatigue. She will not have a thigh to hold on. Maybe sheâll leave for another place soon after you join, and you wonât need to see her all day.â
â¦â¦
The three who had gathered to chat were all women, just on the other side of the shelf from where Bai Duanduan was. Because there were so few people in that section of the supermarket, they didnât think they would be overheard at all and were gossiping happily.
Bai Duanduan couldnât help but sigh in her heart. There are times when women in the workplace have to face not only male oppression, but more often than not, malice from the same gender.
She pumped her fist, thinking it was time to give these three gossip mongers a workplace education â
Anywhere, as a lawyer, one should not discuss other peopleâs only wrong doings in public, especially untrue ones. From the moment she heard that it was herself who was being spoken about, Bai Duanduan almost occupationally turned on the recording on her phoneâ¦..
Wasnât this a slander scene?
Yet before she could push her shopping cart around the shelves and walk to the other side, she heard another voice interject those three female voices.
It was Ji Linâs voice.
âHasnât anyone taught you not to slander and defame other people in public?â His voice was cold and indifferent, and almost as soon as he spoke, he said exactly what Bai Duanduan was thinking.
Those few people probably didnât expect to meet Ji Lin there by chance, so they all mumbled at once.
âYou three are women yourselves, yet youâre attacking Bai Duanduan, who is also a woman with such nasty words. What with first-hand second-hand, take over or not.â
It was about being slandered for having an affair with herself.
Ji Linâs tone already sounded vaguely suppressed with anger, âDonât you feel ashamed to say such things?â
OK, the next step was probably to clarify that heâs definitely not having an affair with a demon like herâ¦..
As expected, Ji Lin suppressed his anger and opened his mouth, âAlso, I need to clarify a few points.â
He paused, âIt would be saddening for you to know that men, at all, donât find Bai Duanduan unsuitable for marriage. Men just like her demonic self. So what if she spends a lot of money? There are people who are willing to spend money on her, there are people who are willing to hold their fortunes for her to lose, so whatâs it to you? Did she spend your money?â
To Bai Duanduanâs surprise, he didnât clarify at first that he had nothing to do with her but helped herself to spray it back.
Even though his tone was mocking and pungent, Ji Lin did not use particularly foul words, yet his implied words had flourished out with his tone â
Where were these wild chickens coming out from to add more to their self imagined drama?
The three people really couldnât say a word in retort, and there was silence on the other side of the shelf.
The only voice that rang out was Ji Linâs cold voice, âI have not been deceived by Bai Duanduan either, so donât rush to think that you have a mission to âclear the rulerâs sideâ 1 it means that Ji Lin is emperor or ruler of some kind and it is these womenâs sole duty to protect him from evil doers hahaha , donât bother yourselves at all. She is what she is in front of everyone, and apart from standing up for the same gender, I have never seen her attack any female; it is you people, who usually look meek and kind on the outside, but end up attacking others like this behind their back. You all are not as good looking as Bai Duanduan, but youâre all still so ugly in your hearts.â
âAs for you, what Xian is it? Iâm telling you clearly, Bai Duanduan is at Sheng Lin now and will continue to be at Sheng Lin for a long time in the future. I wonât fire her unless she wants to leave on her own, and you donât have to dwell on seeing her and feeling depressed. You donât have to come to the second round of interview at Sheng Lin. I will communicate with the HR department to find your resume and return it to you.â
Ji Lin sneered, âWe at Sheng Lin will not want this kind of person who likes to attack internally. Being a lawyer is important professionally, but having a poor character is not acceptable.â
He said this before he turned around and probably walked away from the scene, because after this, the one called Xian in the three female voices just then finally broke down emotionally and was actually crying.
âLawyer Ji, Lawyer Ji pleaseâ¦â¦â
âStay away from me.â
Ji Lin coldly and ruthlessly finished these four words, before shaking off the other party and leaving completely.
And the female voice then cried out to her companion in the same place, âWhat to do, what to do? My offer is gone, I really want to join Sheng Lin ah. I changed jobs this year and itâs hard to find a job that suits this salary and working environment ⦠What should I do?â¦â
The next thing that rang out was the girlâs crumbling cries and the consolation sounds of her companions.
Bai Duanduan, however, has no interest in these follow-ups, and she really doesnât want to appear at all at this moment to give the other side a filler, she doesnât care at all about these people who scold her behind her back, itâs justâ¦â¦
Her heart was beating a little faster than usual.
It wasnât until the people on the other side of the shelf were gone and there was no sound that Bai Duanduan realized that she should turn off the recording on her mobile phone.
She never thought that Ji Lin would defend her like this.
When Ji Lin said those words in a cold voice, Bai Duanduan experienced a strange tenderness. Although, this man was really sometimes so venomous that people wanted to beat him up, but when he was charming, he was really very, very charming.
Even Bai Duanduan herself didnât realise that at that moment she was actually giggling like a fool while looking at the rubbish bags on the shelves. And it wasnât until a moment later that she reacted, looked around awkwardly and when shen found no one was there, she gathered her thoughts and pushed her shopping cart away.
In the end, Bai Duanduan found Ji Lin in the checkout line. Ji Linâs expression was still not very good. When he saw Bai Duanduan, he was taken aback for a second and only after a moment did he collected himself and return to his cold state.
If Bai Duanduan had not been standing behind the shelves and heard the whole chaos, just by looking at Ji Linâs cold and indifferent face, she probably would never have imagined what had just happened.
âThank you.â
Ji Lin frowned âWhat?â
âFor speaking up for me just now, thank you.â
Bai Duanduan thought that Ji Lin would be quite receptive to her gratitude, however, Ji Lin was not a normal functioning human being. Not only was he not receptive, his face even showed a bit of annoyance, âWhere were you hiding? How much did you hear?â
Bai Duanduan noticed that his face was flushed with a red and white look. In order to avoid Ji Lin from getting embarrassed and thinking that he purposely didnât come out, she lied very sweetly, âNo no no, I just happened to walk by and heard you say that you would not fire me, so she did not need to dwell on the need to see me and she wouldnât be hired.â Bai Duanduan knowingly asked, âSo did the other person say something bad about me? Was it someone I offended?â
Since Ji Lin wanted to, then let this man himself recount what really happened, Bai Duanduan thought to herself. She would only be responsible for blowing a wave of 360 degree rainbow farts after Ji Lin finished anyway!
However, the narrative she imagined from Ji Lin did not appear. The man actually coldly denied everything, âDonât think I wonât fire you. Iâm just making an analogy, her qualifications are too poor, even worse than yours. I canât stand the presence of someone with her qualifications at Sheng Lin.â