Chapter 19: Taking Action

“What happened?” Yan Xue took the opportunity to ask the three of them.

Of course, she remembered that Niu Wenhui had mentioned this matter before. However, although Niu Wenhui talked about the conflict between the colleague’s wife and Cong Fangfang, she had deliberately omitted the detail of Cong Fangfang physically attacking the pregnant woman, likely due to her own subjective feelings.

“If I tell you about it, I’m not sure how you’ll react. Judging by the two of you, I guess you’re unmarried and childless, so I don’t know if you’ll understand,” Sister Na spoke carefully, indirectly making her stance clear. “People clearly have different levels of closeness and distance with others. It’s not about being so old-fashioned as to say men and women can’t interact or be friends, but there are boundaries that need to be respected, right?”

“That’s true. Even interactions between people of the same gender require boundaries; it’s even more important with the opposite sex,” Kang Ge nodded in agreement.

“Exactly! If only the colleague at our company were as clear-headed as you, maybe we wouldn’t have so many troubles,” Sister Na sighed. “At first, we outsiders didn’t know much. We just thought Cong Fangfang and that male colleague seemed a bit too close. Sometimes during lunch breaks, they would play around in the office. Cong Fangfang wouldn’t hesitate to ask him for favors, no matter what. Sometimes after work, she even rode home in his car.

“I’m the kind of person who can’t mind my own business. It wasn’t even my concern, but seeing them act like that day after day, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. So I couldn’t hold back. I didn’t want to confront Cong Fangfang directly—after all, she’s single and naive. But the other guy is married, and his wife is about to give birth. How could he not be aware of what he was doing?

“So I told our male colleague, ‘A grown man with a family should be more mindful of appearances. If there’s something to avoid, it should be avoided. If you two get too close, it will cause gossip and trouble for everyone.’ He just laughed it off and said not to worry; it wasn’t that complicated. He said Cong Fangfang was just a young girl, like a child to him.”

After saying this, she suddenly laughed and winked at Li Ying beside her. “What did you say to him at that time?”

Li Ying tugged at the corner of her mouth, forcing a smile that looked quite disdainful. “I told him, ‘You two are only six years apart. If you could have a daughter at six years old, that would truly be a miracle in human evolution!’”

Yan Xue couldn’t help but laugh, and Kang Ge gave Li Ying a thumbs-up. “Putting aside who was right or wrong in the matter, just from what you said, your comeback was really sharp!”

Li Ying smiled and shrugged helplessly. “I had no choice. He was so shameless with his replies, I just couldn’t hold back.”

“So his wife brought the matter to the company later?” Yan Xue asked.

Xiao Yun waved her hand. “No, that was some time after. One day, near the end of work, his wife suddenly showed up at the office. She looked prepared; she didn’t need to ask who Cong Fangfang was. She went straight to Cong Fangfang’s desk so precisely that no one could react in time. She just grabbed Cong Fangfang up from her chair.

“I was nearby and was startled by the sudden move. I hurried over, asking who she was and what was going on. At that moment, the male colleague ran over too, supporting her and asking why she came, telling her not to get upset for the sake of the baby. That’s when I realized she was his wife—and a pregnant woman at that!”

“Did they fight?” Yan Xue asked.

“No, not exactly, but the tension was thick. The pregnant wife angrily confronted Cong Fangfang about why she kept messaging her husband late at night, why she would confide in him about this and that, knowing he had a family. Wasn’t it shameless?

“At first, Cong Fangfang denied it, but the wife took out her phone and started reading the messages aloud, showing screenshots to those around. The male colleague hurried to stop her, pulling her aside and saying they could talk about it later. They were already outside the office when we thought the matter was settled. But then Cong Fangfang, for some reason, suddenly chased after them.

“In the hallway, she insisted on apologizing. But instead of a straightforward apology, she acted wronged and said she didn’t even know what she did wrong, but since she made the wife angry, and considering pregnancy makes emotions unpredictable, she would apologize for the sake of the baby and they could sort out any misunderstandings later.”

“Isn’t that just fanning the flames?” Yan Xue was surprised by the turn of events.

“Exactly!” Xiao Yun was annoyed. “I think she did it on purpose to provoke. Our department overheard what the wife was reading—WeChat messages—but other departments on the floor didn’t know the details. They might have heard some noise but not the reason. Cong Fangfang’s behavior made it look like the pregnant wife was being unreasonable.

“As a result, the wife, who had just calmed down, flared up again and started arguing in the hallway. Cong Fangfang kept repeating that if the wife really couldn’t accept male and female colleagues working closely on projects, she could withdraw and let another man take over.

“She even said she understood that pregnancy changes a woman’s body and makes her insecure and sensitive, so no matter how harsh the wife’s words or irrational interpretations, she wouldn’t mind or hold a grudge.”

“So, when Cong Fangfang later physically attacked the pregnant woman, was it in self-defense?” Kang Ge asked.

“Not at all,” Sister Na snorted coldly. “The wife was furious, almost beside herself, but on one hand her husband was holding her back. On the other hand, once a woman reaches a certain stage of pregnancy, maternal instincts kick in. She’s unlikely to do anything that might harm her baby.

“The pregnant wife didn’t hit Cong Fangfang; she just kept yelling. The situation got chaotic, and I didn’t catch exactly what she said. Then Cong Fangfang suddenly snapped and said, ‘If you have an issue, take it out on me, but don’t you dare insult my parents.’ Then she rushed at the pregnant woman and shoved her.”