When Xing Zhaozhao walked into Zhaolan's store, she sensed that the atmosphere inside was a bit off.
"Just pull it, stop talking nonsense!" a loud female voice shouted.
"Excuse me, ma'am, we really can't pull it up any further. Why don't you try changing your skirt?" another voice cautiously suggested.
This wasn't Xing Zhaozhao's first time visiting Zhaolan's store. She had come before when it had just opened and knew the store manager and staff. She could tell from the voice that it belonged to Xiao Ji, a college student who was working there during her summer vacation. She must have encountered a difficult customer.
“I like this one, keep pulling,” the female customer insisted.
Xiao Ji said helplessly, "Then I'll try again. I'll count to three, and you remember to take a deep breath."
"I know, hurry up," the female customer said impatiently.
Xiao Ji began counting: "1, 2, 3..."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a "ripping" sound, like the sound of a zipper finally being pulled up.
However, the next moment, the female customer screamed, "Ouch, it hurts! It's stuck in my flesh..."
Xiao Ji was clearly panicked, her voice trembling: "I'm so sorry, I'll pull it down for you right away..."
The zipper was down, but the female customer wouldn't give up: "What kind of work are you doing? You can't even zip up a zipper?"
Xiao Ji quickly apologized, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, it's just that your body type and the size of this dress don't fit..."
"What do you mean? Are you calling me fat?" the female customer yelled, her shrill voice sounding like it could pierce the ceiling.
"I, I, I didn't mean that..." Xiao Ji tried to explain.
The female customer wouldn't listen, and said aggrievedly, "Honey, she called me fat. If I hadn't had a baby, I wouldn't be this fat. She actually called me that, boohoo..."
"How dare a mere shop assistant insult my wife? Who gave you the audacity?" a man's voice suddenly roared.
Then there was a crisp "snap" followed by a "bang" as a heavy object fell to the ground.
Upon hearing this, Xing Zhaozhao's face darkened, and she immediately ran towards the fitting room.
In front of the fitting room stood a young couple, who looked to be in their early twenties. The woman was trying to squeeze her overly plump body into a fitted dress, but despite her best efforts, she failed. She looked down at Xiao Ji, who had been slapped to the ground, with a smug expression.
The man's face was contorted with rage, as if he were having a manic episode. He had already slapped Xiao Ji once, but he still seemed unsatisfied. He raised his foot as if to kick Xiao Ji again: "You dare to insult my wife? Do you know who my family is? We are related to your boss by marriage. If we want to fire a lowly employee like you, it's just a matter of a word. We'll also make you pay my wife's medical expenses."
The woman got excited as well: "Yes, yes, make her pay for medical expenses, 10,000 yuan, no, no, we should also add compensation for mental distress, 100,000 yuan."
"What are you doing? Stop!" Xing Zhaozhao shouted angrily.
The man, who had just lifted his foot, immediately stopped. He and the woman then turned to look at Xing Zhaozhao. Seeing her unfashionable attire, they both showed expressions of disgust: "Where are you from, you country bumpkin? Get lost."
Xiao Ji looked at Xing Zhaozhao, pouting with a wronged expression: "Sister Xing..."
"So you're all in cahoots. But you're dreaming if you think a skinny country bumpkin can help you." The man said disdainfully, his foot, which had just stopped, was about to kick Xiao Ji again.
Xing Zhaozhao, her face grim, strode forward, grabbed the man's wrist, and flung him backward with all her might, sending him flying three to five meters away before crashing heavily to the ground with a thud.
A brief silence fell over the shop, then the woman let out another piercing scream that seemed to shake the heavens: "Ah..."
"Honey, are you alright?" the woman screamed, lunging at the man who had fallen to the ground.
The man seemed to have fallen quite hard; his face was pale, but he still glared defiantly at Xing Zhaozhao, his eyes filled with malice: "You country bumpkin, how dare you hit me? Do you know who I am?"
Xing Zhaozhao crossed her arms and looked at him with disdain: "I know, you just told me you're related to the shop owner by marriage. But do you know who I am?"
"I don't care who you are, you country bumpkin," the man cursed rudely, clearly someone used to being arrogant.
Xiao Ji had already gotten up from the ground. With Xing Zhaozhao as her backer, she felt more confident. Standing behind Xing Zhaozhao, she looked at the man with disgust: "She is our boss."
The man was taken aback and said in disbelief, "Impossible, isn't the owner of this shop surnamed Ying?"
“That’s another owner of our shop. We have two owners,” Xiao Ji said, raising his chin.
The man still didn't believe it and exclaimed, "Impossible! What kind of boss dresses like a country bumpkin?"
"That's what it means to look down on people; you only judge by appearances." Xing Zhaozhao looked at the man coldly.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! You're just trying to fool me! Where's your manager? Bring your manager out here!" the man shouted.
"What's wrong?" At this moment, the store manager, who had been in the office, finally came out after hearing the commotion outside.
The shop manager immediately noticed the man who had fallen to the ground and frowned in confusion, asking, "What happened?"
"You still ask what happened? How did you find the shop assistant? You actually hired someone to insult and beat up a customer!" the man shouted, pointing at Xing Zhaozhao.
The woman chimed in indignation, "That's right."
The store manager looked in the direction the man was pointing and saw Xing Zhaozhao. Her face quickly lit up with a smile: "Oh, you've already arrived, Sister Xing. President Ying already told me she'll be here soon."
"Mm." Xing Zhaozhao nodded.
The store manager's gaze shifted and landed on Xiao Ji's face. Seeing the obvious handprint on it, the smile on his face immediately vanished: "What happened to your face, Xiao Ji?"
Xiao Ji pointed at the young couple: "They were the ones who hit them."
The store manager stared at the couple with a grim expression: "How dare you come to my store and assault people? Who gave you the right?"
The young couple was taken aback. Something was off about the shop manager; shouldn't he be trying to appease them and avoid trouble?
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