Chapter 244 Cancellation
The air conditioning here makes the back of my neck numb.
The tour guide tapped the camera app, indicating that he would start filming the clarification video. His eyes were threatening: "It's not too late to film it now."
Suddenly, two big men came towards me and said in a rough voice: "Miss Gu, please."
I clenched my fists so tightly that my fingertips turned white. The man in front of me took another step closer and I could smell the strong smell of cigarettes on him.
"Ms. Gu, be sensible." There were still oil stains on his clothes that hadn't been washed clean, and he showed a disgusting smile, "Isn't it just posting a clarification video? It's easy for you, right?"
I took a step back, my throat tightening. “I won’t post it. There is indeed something wrong with your product. I can’t deceive consumers.”
"Oh," he sneered, "So you don't care about these things?"
He was going to attack me! My pupils suddenly contracted. Thinking of their trusting eyes, I bit my lips tightly.
"You...you are breaking the law." My voice was shaking, but I still insisted, "Even if you threaten me, I will not compromise. Consumer safety is more important than anything else."
The smile on the sturdy man's face disappeared, and he grabbed my wrist: "You don't want to accept my toast, so you have to drink a penalty, right?" The pain made me gasp, but I still stared at him stubbornly.
"If you dare to touch me, I will put you in jail." I felt tears welling up in my eyes but I refused to let them fall.
The burly man's hand was still tightly gripping my wrist, and I could feel his strength increasing. At this moment, the tour guide in front of me suddenly said, "That's enough, stop it."
The sturdy man was stunned for a moment, and the strength in his hands loosened a little. He turned to look at the tour guide with a look of confusion and dissatisfaction on his face: "But..."
"I said, stop it." The tour guide interrupted him. He walked over and his eyes stayed on my face for a moment, then turned to the burly man, "She won't buy it. It's useless to force her."
The sturdy man reluctantly let go of his hand, muttering something, but still stepped aside.
I rubbed my red wrist, my heart still beating fast, but I felt a little relieved. The tour guide looked at me with a complicated look, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just sighed and turned to leave the room.
I stood there and breathed a sigh of relief. The tour guide walked to the door, turned back and winked at the burly man: "Keep an eye on her, don't let her run around." The burly man nodded, blocking the door like a wall, with his arms folded across his chest, staring at me coldly.
The tour guide asked the burly man to keep his phone on so that I could hear the voices of the tourists: "Everyone, I'm really sorry, today's trip may have to be cancelled." There was regret in his tone, but it made my heart sink.
"Why? Didn't we agree to go to the ancient town today?" a tourist asked dissatisfiedly.
"Yes, we've all been waiting for a long time!" another voice echoed.
The tour guide sighed, with helplessness in his voice: "Alas, this matter is also difficult for me. There is a Miss Gu in our team, she... Alas, she insisted on handling some personal matters and refused to cooperate with our arrangements. For everyone's safety, we can only temporarily cancel today's itinerary."
"What? Just because of her, none of us can go?" someone shouted angrily.
"This is too selfish!" another voice sounded sharply.
I stood upstairs, listening to the complaints coming from downstairs, and felt as if I was being pricked by needles. I knew the tour guide did it on purpose, he wanted to use this method to force me to compromise.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms, but I didn't feel any pain.
The sturdy man leaned against the door and sneered, "Did you hear that? Everyone blames you for not being able to go out and play. You can handle it alone, but can you handle everyone's accusations?"
I didn't answer. The complaints from the passengers downstairs became louder and louder. Some even started shouting my name: "Ms. Gu, can you please stop being so selfish? We came all the way here, not just to waste our time with you!"
My heart was pounding and my mind was in a mess.
I took a deep breath. "You can keep threatening me and make everyone hate me, but I won't post that video. This is my bottom line."
The sturdy man was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect me to insist so much. He frowned and was about to say something when the tour guide's voice suddenly came from downstairs: "Everyone, don't be anxious. If you all persuade Miss Gu together, maybe she will change her mind."
The tour guide stood at the stairs, clapped his hands, and signaled everyone to be quiet. He had an embarrassed expression on his face, and said earnestly, "Everyone, I know everyone is very anxious, and I understand. How about this, let's go up together to persuade Miss Gu? After all, there is strength in numbers, and maybe she will listen to everyone's opinions."
The passengers nodded one after another, and some of them were already impatiently heading upstairs: "That's right, we can't let her waste all of our time!"
"Yes, if everyone persuades her together, she will listen!"
I stood in the room, listening to the noisy footsteps outside the door getting closer and closer, my heart pounding. The strong man was still blocking the door, with an expression of watching a good show on his face. The moment the door was pushed open, I saw more than a dozen angry or dissatisfied faces.
"Ms. Gu, just post a video and don't embarrass everyone!" A middle-aged woman spoke first, with impatience in her tone.
"Yeah, we came here from far away, not just to waste time with you!" a young man echoed.
"You are so selfish!" another voice sounded sharply.
I stood there, feeling like my throat was blocked by something.
Their eyes stabbed me like knives, making it almost impossible for me to breathe. But I still forced myself to look up, and said in a trembling but firm voice: "I'm sorry to disappoint everyone. But I can't post that video because it's a lie."
"So what if it's a lie? What does it have to do with you?" someone shouted dissatisfiedly.
"Maybe you just want to make money." A voice interrupted me.
I was speechless.
Seeing that everyone was excited, the tour guide took the opportunity to exaggerate: "Ms. Gu, look, everyone is saying this. You are really unscrupulous in order to make money!"
"That's right! You've thrown away your conscience for the sake of money!" A middle-aged man pointed at me with contempt on his face.
"People like you only care about money, right? You don't even care about other people's safety for money!" a young girl said angrily.
I raised my head suddenly. "You are wrong! If I really wanted money, I would have posted that video long ago! The money they gave me is enough for me to live comfortably for the rest of my life! But I don't have it. I can call the police now."
Seeing the tense atmosphere, the tour guide suddenly clapped his hands and put on a fake smile: "Everyone, since Miss Gu insists, we can't force you. However, for everyone's privacy and safety, please give your cell phones to me for safekeeping."
"What does that mean? Why are you collecting cell phones?" someone asked dissatisfiedly.
The tour guide smiled, his tone relaxed but unquestionable: "This is for everyone's good. After all, some things are not good for anyone if they are spread out, right?"
Then everyone was asked to hand in their cell phones and go downstairs.
At the same time, the aunt and uncle discussed with the tour guide about going to meet me.
“I’ll go talk to the tour guide and I’ll be able to persuade her. He’ll definitely agree to let me in.”
There was a hint of determination in the aunt's voice.
"Then be careful and don't let them get suspicious." The uncle warned.
After a while, footsteps were heard outside the door, followed by the tour guide's voice: "Auntie, can you really persuade her?"
"Don't worry, I'm so old, and I still have my ways of persuading people." The aunt said with a smile.
The tour guide seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally agreed: "Okay, go and try. But don't play tricks, otherwise it will be difficult for everyone."
The door lock clicked open and the auntie came in. She closed the door and walked quickly to my side.
I was stunned for a moment, "Auntie, you..."
"Don't worry," I said, "someone will come to rescue us."
**The uncle frowned, obviously not quite believing it.**
"How do you know?" he asked in a low voice, "Our phones have been confiscated. We can't contact the outside world."
"A lot of people have watched my live broadcast," and my phone has a positioning function, so they will definitely be able to find this place. "
The aunt's eyes brightened for a moment, but soon dimmed again.
"But how did they know we were here?" she asked. "This place is so remote..."
"As long as I lose contact for more than a certain period of time, the platform will automatically alarm me."
The uncle's frown relaxed a little, but there was still worry in his eyes.
"But the tour guides them..." He hesitated to speak.
"They don't dare to really do anything to us. My live broadcast has already exposed them. If they dare to touch us, things will only get worse."
The aunt loosened her hands and looked complicated.
Outside the door, the tour guide asked, "How is it? Is she willing to listen to advice?"
The aunt sighed: "Almost."
The tour guide seemed very satisfied: "Okay, thank you for your help, Auntie. Let's go out first!"
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