The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Watching Zhang Lili and Lan Hua start to fight, Gu’er sighed to herself. ’It’s really true. You never know who people really are until something happens.’

"I’ve already apologized, so can I go now? I really don’t have any money. If you’re after money, go ask her. She actually knows some rich people. I’m not lying, it’s useless to ask me."

Ignoring everything else, Lan Hua pleaded with Gu’er and Li Zhi, desperate to leave.

"You came together, so you can leave together. You’ve apologized, and Xiao Bai has accepted. Now it’s her turn. Once she apologizes and Xiao Bai accepts, you can both go."

Gu’er looked at Zhang Lili, feeling no sympathy for her.

This time, Zhang Lili’s tears were real. The humiliation she suffered today was too painful. The person she’d brought with her was speaking to her like this—it was tantamount to social ruin. And now they wanted her to apologize. ’No!’

Zhang Lili wept silently, but she stood her ground with a stubborn look on her face. ’I won’t apologize. They aren’t worthy of my apology. So they won’t let me leave? Fine, then I won’t leave. Let’s see what they can do to me!’

"Hurry up and say something! Is it going to kill you to apologize? Just hurry up and say it! This will all be over if you just apologize to them. What, did you go mute?"

Seeing Zhang Lili remain silent, Lan Hua shoved her.

Zhang Lili hadn’t expected Lan Hua to push her. She lost her footing, staggered, and then sank to the ground, covering her face and starting to cry.

"What are you crying about? I didn’t even push you that hard. Stop putting on an act! Don’t tell me you’re trying to pin this on me, too? I’m telling you, if that’s your game, I’ll go back and tell everyone your business. I’ll make sure everyone in our neighborhood knows exactly what kind of person you are. We’ll see if you still have the nerve to show your face outside then!"

Lan Hua, for her part, thought Zhang Lili was trying to scam her.

’Zhang Lili tried to be clever and it backfired spectacularly,’ Gu’er thought, shaking her head. ’Still, she doesn’t deserve any sympathy. She’s the type of person who’s always looking to use others.’

"Get up and apologize! If you keep this up, I’m really going to start talking."

Lan Hua was getting anxious. She figured the sooner Zhang Lili apologized, the sooner this would all be over, and she wouldn’t have to stay here anymore.

But Zhang Lili just kept crying with her face in her hands, refusing to say a word.

"How about I apologize for her? Would that work?"

Lan Hua was at her wit’s end. Zhang Lili wouldn’t speak, and she couldn’t get a word out of her.

"No. You can’t represent her. People need to take responsibility for their own actions. Since she did this, she has to be the one to apologize. Otherwise, we can just stand here in a stalemate. The rest of you can go back to your shops. Xiao Bai, you stay here. Zhang Lili can leave when she apologizes."

Gu’er shook her head, then motioned for the nearby salespeople to return to their respective stores.

Although the salespeople wanted to watch the drama unfold, their boss had spoken. Without another word, they immediately returned to their shops. However, the curious customers didn’t leave and continued to gossip among themselves.

"Zhang Lili, I’m warning you. I’m going to count to three. You’d better get up and apologize, or I’m going to start talking."

Seeing that Gu’er was serious, Lan Hua grew frantic.

Lan Hua counted to three, but Zhang Lili just remained squatting there, whimpering and refusing to get up.

"Fine, you forced my hand. When you were fifteen, your dad—no, wait, your stepdad, he..."

Lan Hua threw caution to the wind and began to spill the beans, but just as she got to that part, Zhang Lili shot to her feet, staring at Lan Hua with eyes full of hatred.

Zhang Lili’s eyes were beautiful and captivating. Having just cried, they were like freshly washed black gems that should have been sparkling brightly. But right now, they were filled with so much hatred and disgust that the gems were clouded over, losing their luster.

Lan Hua instinctively fell silent.

"S-Sorry. Even though I never intended to take any clothes from here, I was the one who brought her. She did something wrong, she caused a scene, and I didn’t stop her. I bear some responsibility. Since you insist that I apologize, then... then I... I offer you my apologies."

As she spoke, Zhang Lili gave a slight bow toward Bai Xiaohua.

Even though she was apologizing, her words and expression clearly conveyed how wronged she felt. The implication was that she herself had done nothing wrong—Lan Hua was the one at fault. However, since they had come together, she was willing to apologize for Lan Hua’s mistake. This tactic not only absolved her of blame but also made her seem magnanimous for taking the fall for her companion. There was another layer to it, too: implying that Gu’er and the others were bullies who had forced her into this position.

"Lili has apologized. Can we go now?"

Lan Hua, seeing that Zhang Lili had finally apologized, was in a hurry to ask. She paid no attention to the hidden meaning in Zhang Lili’s words; it didn’t matter if she’d even noticed it.

’This Zhang Lili is really something,’ Gu’er thought as she watched her. ’If this were the future, she’d probably succeed whether she became a movie star or married a rich man. With her acting talent and a face like that, it would be a shame if she didn’t win a Best Actress award.’

"Don’t make it sound like we forced you. You think you’re the victim here?"

Gu’er didn’t like people like Zhang Lili. It wasn’t that she was jealous of Zhang Lili’s looks; she just disliked her personality.

Zhang Lili didn’t speak, but her expression made it clear: she did feel wronged.

"No one asked you to come here; you came of your own free will. No one told you to say you were Li Zhi’s girlfriend; you said that yourself because you were trying to achieve something. Since you said it and you did it, you should have been prepared for the consequences. And now that the consequences aren’t what you expected, you still have to accept them. Don’t think that just because you’re pretty, the whole world revolves around you. Even the most beautiful face gets old. What will you rely on then? A person with a beautiful heart stays beautiful forever, while a wicked heart will only turn a person ugly. No matter how beautiful you are now, it’s only skin deep. People who care about inner beauty won’t give you the time of day."

Gu’er lectured Zhang Lili.

Zhang Lili bit her lip as she listened, her body swaying slightly as if she had suffered a heavy blow.

"Xiao Bai, do you accept her apology?"

Gu’er asked Bai Xiaohua.

"I accept. I know she’s not being sincere at all, but I accept. I just don’t want them to keep making a scene in the shopping center."

Bai Xiaohua nodded.

Gu’er glanced at her. ’She’s a good one. Worth developing in the future.’

Gu’er then glanced at Li Zhi.

"I accept, too. It’s frustrating to be accused of being a creep, but I’m a big guy, I can let it go. It won’t look good if we let this drag on. People might think we’re the ones doing the bullying."

Li Zhi also indicated his acceptance.

Zhang Lili’s expression turned even uglier. Today’s humiliation was simply too great. She had been forced to apologize to a mere shopgirl, and Li Zhi had caused her such immense embarrassment. She would remember it all. If she ever had the chance, she would pay them back a hundred times over. And as for that Lin Gu’er, she would make sure to remember that woman. One day, she would crush Lin Gu’er under her heel. She would make Lin Gu’er kneel and beg. She would steal everything Lin Gu’er owned and see how arrogant she could be then.

Zhang Lili swore this to herself, but her face showed none of it, maintaining the same fragile and delicate appearance.

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