Chapter 20: Didn’t Get My Fill of Hotpot, But the Drama’s Been Plenty

“Xuenian-jie, you’re really making me apologize?” Ning Hao looked absolutely incredulous.

Wang Xuenian’s head throbbed.

Usually, she could tolerate a bit of pouting and petulance from him. But now? This was someone backed by the young master of the Xie family—the wealthiest clan in the city! Even if Ning Hao were technically in the right, they still had to bow their heads.

Otherwise, forget Ning Hao—she might lose her job.

And then how was she supposed to pay for his study abroad?

“Ning Hao! Apologize to this young lady right now. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Ning Hao clenched his fists, his expression dark and stormy. Still, he refused to apologize.

He didn’t recognize Xie Jingting, but judging by Wang Xuenian calling him “Young Master Xie” and the man’s head-to-toe luxury wardrobe, the guy had to be important.

Normally, he’d have given in. But these past few days, debt collectors had pushed him to the brink.

Same species, different lives. Why were some born among the clouds while he had to claw his way through the mud?

Ning Hao shut his eyes, swallowing his bitterness.

He drew in a shaky breath and tried to force the words out: “I’m sorr—”

“Hold it. No need to apologize just yet.” Tu Shanju stepped out from behind Xie Jingting and cut him off.

“The facts haven’t been clarified. With all these people watching, if you apologize now, they’ll say I’m bullying you with power. Isn’t there surveillance footage?”

Xie Jingting folded his arms and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go with what my sister-in-law says. Roll the footage.”

Some in the crowd—finally breaking from mob mentality—voiced agreement. “Yeah, that’s fair for both sides.”

Seeing he wasn’t controlling the crowd like before, Ning Hao’s expression shifted. Still, remembering the layout of the surveillance cameras, he forced confidence into his voice. “Fine, let’s watch. She hit me—what’s she got to say for herself?”

Wang Xuenian glanced at Xie Jingting’s unreadable face. After a moment of hesitation, she headed to the front desk to review the recordings.

And of course, nothing drew a crowd like drama.

In no time, the front desk was packed wall to wall. The poor cashier girl got shoved aside.

Tu Shanju was seated at just the right angle to see the surveillance screen.

The footage was rewound to just before Ning Hao had been “shoved.” As soon as the video played, a burst of audio blared out.

When the crowd heard that the footage had sound, Ning Hao’s face drained of color.

Panicking, he tried to push past Wang Xuenian to stop the video. “Wait, there’s no need for this. I’ll apologize. It’s just a small thing—no need to ruin everyone’s mood. Come on, folks, go back and eat! The food’s gonna get cold.”

Xie Jingting extended an arm to block him. “The hotpot’s on a burner, genius. It’s not getting cold. You, on the other hand, are getting real nervous.”

The surrounding onlookers began exchanging looks.

“Xuenian-jie!” Ning Hao turned to Wang Xuenian, eyes pleading, flashing desperate signals.

She blinked rapidly, already sensing what was coming.

“The sound feature was added while you were on leave to visit your grandparents,” she said quietly.

Then the audio began to play:

“Hey babe, say sorry now and transfer me 2,000 yuan, and I’ll let it slide. Otherwise, I’ll make you regret messing with me. You don’t want to go viral for the wrong reason, do you?”

“What’s with that look in your eyes?”

“What do you think? The kind you give a moron.”

“F*ck! You really won’t listen, huh? Fine, I’ll make you trend, get the internet to dig up your whole damn family tree. You’ll drown in spit alone!”

“With your kind of moral compass, what will your girlfriends think? Will they still want you?”

“What did you just say?!”

“Tsk. If they all dump you, how are you going to pay back those loan sharks? Think they’ll just let you go?”

“How do you know about that? Tell me!”

Smack.
Thunk.
Clatter.

“Don’t touch me with your dirty hands. You want me to apologize to you? What a joke.”

Ten lines. That was all it took to turn the tide.

The final footage showed Ning Hao reaching out to grab Tu Shanju—then, after a glance toward the camera, he flung himself backwards, faking the fall.

Tu Shanju, who hadn’t said much until now, fixed her gaze on the stunned Wang Xuenian and calmly asked,
“Manager Wang, still want to barter for that knife?”

Wang Xuenian bit her lower lip hard. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. After a moment of inner struggle, she gritted her teeth and said, “Yes—I’ll barter!”

She didn’t care about the “prediction” stuff. But from the surveillance footage alone, it was clear this girl knew something. She wanted answers.

Tu Shanju smiled slightly. “Deal preliminarily accepted. Report him, Manager Wang. He used your ID to take out high-interest loans. With compound interest, the amount must be huge by now. He’s been researching how to flee these past few days.”

Cold sweat beaded on Ning Hao’s forehead. “Bullshit! That’s not true! Don’t listen to her, she’s just a scammer!”

He tried to grab Wang Xuenian. “Xuenian, don’t forget—I took a car hit to save you! I was in the hospital for three months!”

Tu Shanju exposed him with no mercy. “Classic move: fake hero act. Bear saves beauty, tries to turn fiction into reality.”

The entire room gasped.

Didn’t get enough hotpot—but the gossip buffet was more than full.

Ning Hao was now trembling with rage. He pointed at Tu Shanju and yelled, “This is defamation! I’ll sue you!”

“Enough!” Wang Xuenian shouted.

“Ning Hao, I can’t believe you turned out like this.” She stepped out from behind the register and walked toward him. She turned to Xie Jingting with polite formality, “Young Master Xie, would you kindly step aside?”

Ning Hao rushed forward. “Xuenian-jie! I swear I didn’t! If you don’t believe me, I’ll go get the ID right now—we’ll go investigate together!”

Wang Xuenian rolled up her sleeves, bent down, took off her high heels—and hurled them at him.

“You really think I’m stupid? Letting you go back just so you can run off? I knew something was off. You said you went home to visit your parents, but my friend saw you at the mall! And I didn’t believe them!”

“You saved me?! I could’ve dodged that motorbike by myself! You grabbed me and pulled me into it!”

“I thought you were just clumsy and panicked. But now I see—I was the idiot for believing your crap!”

“You told me you came from a poor family, that you were brilliant but had no opportunity. I even saved up money to send you overseas! And you had the audacity to use my ID to borrow from loan sharks?!”

“Did you forget that my cousin is a lawyer?! You piece of trash—I’ll make sure you rot behind bars!”

With each sentence, she smacked him with her high heel.
Ning Hao howled in pain, unable to escape.

Because the very people who’d believed his sob story just minutes ago—
were now standing behind him, blocking his escape.