Chapter 13 Rumor

Making her way through, Ashley sensed that there was something odd in the way some of her colleagues looked at her. They seemed to be eyeing her indifferently as if she was walking with a speck of dirt in the face.

With a baffled look, she headed towards her desk. 'What's going on in here? I just took a few days off. Why are they acting so weird?' she thought, rubbing her chin pensively.

But she didn't give much thought about that. Ever since she had been hired, her colleagues had questioned her capability and had been hostile to her. Thus their unusual stares were not new to her, and she had been used to it somehow.

"Is that her? I heard that she started harassing Mr. Luo since college. What a shameless girl!" a girl in her late twenties started as she cast Ashley a scornful glance.

"But she doesn't look like a bad person," another girl who was just new in the company responded gingerly.

"You're too naive. You can't judge a person by her appearance," the first girl returned with her head low and her voice in a whisper.

"Don't be fooled by her looks. You're just saying that because you're young and innocent. Sometimes, people pretend to be nice in front of you, but the truth is they are stabbing you in the back. Who knows?" she continued to gossip.

"She is young and could have a good prospect. I don't understand why she chose to be a third party," the second girl remarked with a frown.

"Exactly, if I were in her place, I wouldn't do that. But fortunately, Mr. Luo is engaged to Lena," the first girl responded with widened eyes.

Getting excited with their gossip, the new girl was about to say something but she caught sight of Ashley coming in.

Pretending to be busy with something, the new girl coughed and nudged the first girl to stop her from speaking.

"What are you doing? I still have something to say. Ashley tried to steal another woman's boyfriend, but she doesn't admit it," the girl snapped impatiently.

Worried that Ashley might hear them, the second girl put on a worried look. 'Please stop talking. Ashley is behind you. You're playing with fire, ' she murmured in her heart.

"G... Good morning, Ashley," the girl greeted Ashley anxiously as she dropped her head.

Alarmed by her greeting, the girl who had spoken ill of Ashley shut up immediately and her face turned pale with fear.

Feeling guilty of talking behind her back, the girl let Ashley pass by her and rolled her eyes at the girl. "Why didn't you tell me that Ashley was here?

I said so many bad things about her. Did she hear everything I said? What if she speaks ill of me in front of Mr. Luo? I might lose my job," she expressed her frustrations silently with an exasperated expression.

Being equally guilty as well, the second girl winked at her and speaked to her in an inaudible voice, "I reminded you. You ignored that and continued talking."

At that point, the girl who had been caught by Ashley wore a dejected expression. With her head low in embarrassment, she turned around and walked away.

The other gossip girl also found an excuse and retreated to her own desk.

With a mocking smile forming on her lips, Ashley fluttered her heavy eyelashes and held her head high up. She finally understood why they looked at her that way.

For reasons unknown to her, she realized that she had been set up.

She was certain that Lena had spread the rumors.

Besides, she couldn't think of any other aside from Lena who could do it. After all, she was known for framing others.

As soon as Ashley went up to her desk and sat down, a lovely girl came rushing to her on her rolling chair.

"Cheer up, Ashley. I don't believe the rumors spreading around here. I know that you're not that sort of person. They are lying," with her hands firmly placed on the desk, Fiona Xia said earnestly as she stared into Ashley's eyes.

"What makes you think I am not that kind of person they said? What if they are telling the truth?" Ashley countered tentatively with a slight smile.

"I have faith in you. I know you. You would never do that," Fiona Xia replied firmly without a second thought, her voice a little louder this time.

Far from everyone's knowledge, Fiona Xia was an intern who had worked in the company for only a month. And she was a junior student in a university.

Her beauty was not the head-turner type nor the gorgeous one, still, she looked comfortable and had a pleasing temper. Around 165 cm tall, she had chubby cheeks. She was crazy about food, desserts, and sweets in particular. Each time she relished palatable food, she stuffed lots of things into her mouth like a cute hamster munching her food.

Their personalities were really alike, and maybe that was the reason why they were close with each other. Ashley was also a foodie, and that was how the intern had gotten to know her.

Since the two gourmets always had a meal together, Fiona Xia had become Ashley's fan. She always followed Ashley acting like her protector and best friend.

"Thank you for believing in me. I am innocent and I did nothing wrong. I don't care what others are thinking about me," Ashley said, with her eyebrows relaxed while stroking Fiona Xia's head fondly.

Somehow, she was satisfied to know that she had someone on her side and trust her in the office. After all, she was never alone.

"Well, you should go back to your work," Ashley suggested.

"Got it," Fiona Xia replied promptly. While she reluctantly got back to her desk, from time to time, she turned to look at Ashley.

As her closest companion, she didn't want to see Ashley sad and bothered.

Amused by her funny acts of concern, Ashley gave a chuckle.

'What a cutie pie she is!' she exclaimed.

Watching Fiona Xia retreat to her desk, Ashley turned around and opted to turn on the computer.

Browsing the internet she visited the company's website and clicked on the forum page. Then to her surprise, her loyal fan came to her side again.

With a troubled look, she blinked her big eyes at Ashley. As the latter wondered what was going on, she showed her a piece of cake placed on a cute transparent box.

"Come on, Ashley, be strong. I will give you my favorite cake. Don't be upset anymore. Sweets will help you feel better," Fiona Xia offered sweetly, thinking that Ashley was really upset.

Grateful for her concern, Ashley reached for the cake hesitantly, looked her straight in the eye and sincerely said the words, "Thank you!"

Upon hearing her thanks, Fiona Xia put on a disappointed face. Ashley was bothered and assumed that she would take the cake back. But to her surprise, Fiona Xia gave the cake a look and withdrew her gaze away from it, regretfully. "I hope you would love it," she said while slowly lowering her head.

Realizing what had just happened, Ashley was somewhat bothered by Fiona Xia's reaction. However, looking at the cake, she had come to understand her frown. Although they hadn't gotten to know each other for a long time, she knew how much Fiona Xia loved desserts and cakes.

As a matter of fact, Fiona Xia was an easygoing type of girl. Her only weakness was her obsession with food. If anyone dared to take desserts or cakes away from her, she would turn violent and hysterical just to have her food back.

It was rare for her to offer or give the cake to others.

Ashley was touched by her sweet and selfless actions. Taking the cake off the box, she grabbed her chin and made her look at her and stuffed a piece of cake in her mouth using a spoon. Pinching her chubby cheeks, she reassured her friend, "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

Caught off guard, Fiona Xia didn't realize what was going on until Ashley spooned some cake and stuffed it into her mouth. Gaping at Ashley with her pitiful eyes, she seemed to be slightly annoyed.

'But, I was giving it to you, ' she muffled.

"You're such a cute girl," Ashley commented with joy. The amusing expression on Fiona Xia's face dispelled her negative feelings.

After sharing the cake, Ashley persuaded the young girl to go back to her work, and she started to scan the posts on the forum.

Several characters caught her attention.

"What a surprise! Aloof beauty is the third party! A homewrecker!"

The post was pinned on the top.

To Ashley's surprise, comments flooded below the post. Some were commenting in defense of her yet most were against her.

Mixed emotions brewed inside of her as she scanned through the post and comments. She was overwhelmed and hadn't anticipated the reactions the news had elicited. Ashley couldn't help but press her temples with her hands as her head throbbed in anger.