The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

If Zhang Lili was allowed to just run off like this, Li Zhi would never be able to clear his name. People would definitely assume he had done something to her. He was a man, after all, and many people were quick to assume that men take advantage of women.

Besides, after causing such a scene, did they think they could just run away before anything was settled? ’Not a chance.’

Without a second thought, Gu’er grabbed Zhang Lili’s wrist. "Hold on." She knew that if she didn’t physically stop her and just called out, Zhang Lili definitely wouldn’t stop.

With her wrist caught in Gu’er’s grasp, Zhang Lili couldn’t run even if she wanted to. She had no choice but to stop. She understood Gu’er had seen through her intentions, but she wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. Instead, she looked at Gu’er with reddened eyes, putting on a pitiful expression that would make anyone’s heart ache.

However, Gu’er wasn’t a man and felt no sympathy for her.

"Why are you leaving before this is settled? Weren’t you demanding an apology? Demanding we fire our employee? Demanding compensation? You don’t want that anymore?"

Gu’er smiled at her, but it was a cold smile.

Zhang Lili remained silent, looking aggrieved.

"Fine, fine. Our Lili is an honest person. She’s been wronged but doesn’t want to make a fuss. We don’t want to stoop to the level of a mere salesperson. We’ll be the bigger people. We won’t ask for her to be fired anymore. As long as she apologizes to us and compensates us with a hundred yuan, we’ll let this matter drop."

Lan Hua was an unsophisticated woman who thought Gu’er was afraid of the bad publicity and was actually going to compensate them. She was quite pleased with herself, thinking she’d handled the situation correctly by causing a scene.

"Heh. ’Don’t want to stoop to her level?’ Let me tell you something. A salesperson is a human being, too. She’s not a class below you. On the contrary, in my eyes, she’s far nobler than you are."

After speaking, Gu’er moved to stand beside Bai Xiaohua and continued, "She is an employee of my mall. Before we even opened, I told all my staff they must treat customers with a smile, with warmth, and with courtesy, because our customers are our lifeblood. I told them that no matter what’s happening in their personal lives, once they come to work, they must set all their emotions aside and greet every customer with a smile. My employee did that. She did it very well, and I’m proud of her. But today, she was bullied, and she’s not going to be bullied for nothing. You came here, insulted my employee, caused a scene, disrupted our business, and damaged the reputation of our mall and our staff, and you still expect us to apologize and compensate you? You think you can just let it go like that?"

Gu’er’s expression darkened. If she didn’t teach them a lesson today, they’d really think they could get away with anything.

"Wh-what did you say? You want *us* to pay *you*? Are you crazy? We’re the customers!"

Lan Hua couldn’t believe her ears.

"’Customer?’" Gu’er let out a cold laugh. "We don’t welcome customers like you. And even if you are a customer, does that mean you don’t have to take responsibility for your actions? By your logic, I could go to any business, curse them out, prevent them from operating, and then demand they pay me. Let’s see if they care that I’m a customer before they slap me across the face. Don’t use your status as a ’customer’ as an excuse. We welcome good customers, regardless of who they are, whether they have money or not, or whether they buy anything. As long as they walk through our doors, we will provide the best service. But for people like you... you’re not leaving today without giving us an explanation."

Gu’er sneered. So what if they were hiding behind the "customer" label?

At first, a few of the other customers weren’t too happy with what Gu’er was saying. But after hearing her full explanation, they felt she was right. Even if you’re a customer, you shouldn’t go to a business to curse people out and cause trouble. No one would stand for that.

Qu Feng looked at Gu’er. He had initially thought she would make Xiao Bai apologize just to keep the peace. After all, Gu’er had always insisted that employees greet customers with a smile, so he assumed she put customers above all else. That’s why, when he arrived, he had told Bai Xiaohua to apologize without even asking for the full story. He’d done it, but he hadn’t felt good about it, thinking Gu’er put too much emphasis on the customer. But now, hearing Gu’er’s words, he knew he had been wrong. His entire way of thinking had been wrong. He had misunderstood her.

"That’s right." Qu Feng stood up straighter. "Our mall treats customers with warmth and courtesy, but that doesn’t mean a customer can just bully and falsely accuse our employees. Actions like these have a huge impact on our staff and our reputation. This matter must be resolved."

"And what if I don’t?" Lan Hua challenged.

"Then we’ll see you in court. We will sue you and demand a public apology to our employee and our mall. We will also demand compensation for emotional distress. You baselessly insulted and slandered someone, causing damage to our employee’s reputation and mental well-being. Xiao Bai can demand several hundred yuan in compensation from you. You also affected our mall’s business and reputation, for which we will also seek damages, likely in the thousands."

Gu’er said this lightly, but her serious expression made it clear she was not joking.

"You... you’re extorting us!" Lan Hua’s eyes went wide as she pointed at Gu’er.

"Whether it’s extortion or not, you’ll find out when you receive the court summons."

Gu’er smiled at her, a smile that sent a chill down Lan Hua’s spine.

Lan Hua was at a loss. She didn’t understand any of this legal talk, but she had a feeling Gu’er wasn’t bluffing. She looked toward Zhang Lili, who was also somewhat stunned. She hadn’t expected Gu’er to say that, though she maintained her pitiful act. When she caught Lan Hua’s gaze, she turned to look at Li Zhi.

Lan Hua understood immediately. She turned to Li Zhi and said, "Li Zhi, say something! Are you just going to stand there and watch Lili get bullied like this?"

"What Gu’er and Manager Qu said is exactly what I think. You can either apologize to our employee right now, or you can wait for the court summons."

Li Zhi felt not an ounce of pity for them.

"Li Zhi, don’t our past feelings mean anything to you?" Zhang Lili asked Li Zhi, looking as if he had done something terribly wrong to her.

"Did we have any past feelings?" Li Zhi retorted.

Zhang Lili’s face turned ugly.

"You don’t care about past feelings, but you sexually harassed our Lili! If you sue us, we’ll sue you. If you don’t sue us, we won’t sue you either."

Lan Hua acted as if she had finally found some leverage against Li Zhi.

"What the hell?" Li Zhi fumed. "How did I harass her?"

"Ms. Lan Hua, are you aware that false accusation is also a crime? You claim Li Zhi sexually harassed Ms. Zhang Lili. Fine. Then let me ask you, how did he harass her? Did you see it? Or did Zhang Lili tell you?"

Even Gu’er had to admit, this Lan Hua woman was spouting absolute nonsense. This was clearly an act of desperation.

"Lili, say something!"

Lan Hua was getting anxious. She had just blurted it out without thinking. In her mind, Li Zhi was a man and Zhang Lili was so beautiful; she couldn’t believe Li Zhi hadn’t made a move on her.

"Ms. Zhang Lili, did Li Zhi sexually harass you? I’m asking you, how did he do it? Did he grab your hand? Did he put his arm around your waist?" Gu’er questioned Zhang Lili.

——————

Thank you to Yi Zhongqiu, Pacific Stone Monkey, Book Friend 160808215840440, Melody Ranran, Yanzi 125, and julywolf for the monthly tickets. Thank you all for your support.