Free Web NovelChapter 325: Chapter 325: Apology
Zhang Lili’s face flushed red. How was she supposed to answer Gu’er’s question? If she said no, then Li Zhi hadn’t made any indecent advances on her. If she said yes, her reputation would be ruined. How would she find a rich man after this? Even if she said yes and tried to pin it on Li Zhi, the Li Family would never let her marry in after a scandal like this. Who would be willing to marry her then?
With so many people watching, this question was clearly meant to trap her. But she couldn’t refuse to answer, yet she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.
Zhang Lili looked at the crowd and shook her head. The tears welling up in her eyes made her look pitiful, as if they were about to fall at any moment.
"So Li Zhi didn’t hold your hand or put his arm around your waist. Did he kiss you, then?"
But Gu’er wasn’t about to go easy on her and continued to press.
Zhang Lili’s face grew even redder. She kept shaking her head, looking like she was truly on the verge of tears.
Li Zhi stared at Gu’er. ’She’s so fierce!’ he thought. ’How can she just ask things like that? Getting married really changes a person. Jia Ming must have been a bad influence on her.’
"If none of that happened, then what part of it was ’indecent behavior’? This is slander. Weren’t you going to press charges? Go on, then. If you won’t, we will. You’ve ruined Li Zhi’s reputation, and you’re going to compensate him for damages to his good name."
Gu’er was indignant on Li Zhi’s behalf.
"N-No, it’s not like that," Zhang Lili stammered, trying to defend herself.
"Then what is it like? Why don’t you tell us."
Gu’er looked at Zhang Lili with a hint of sarcasm. ’There’s nothing wrong with a woman wanting a better life—everyone does. But I can’t approve of the way she’s going about it.’
"It’s... it’s... Li Zhi, say something!"
Zhang Lili couldn’t continue. Li Zhi really hadn’t done anything to her. But she turned her wide, pleading eyes to him, begging him to say something to help her.
"Don’t tell me Li Zhi said he was going to marry you?" Gu’er asked again.
Zhang Lili remained silent.
"No, I never said anything like that," Li Zhi declared, not looking at Zhang Lili. "Marrying a wife is a lifetime commitment. We were introduced by someone and met a few times, but I never made any promises. The last time we met, I told her we weren’t compatible and should stop seeing each other. I want to find a wife I can have a real conversation with, someone who wants to build a steady life together."
He understood now that beautiful wasn’t necessarily good. No matter how beautiful Zhang Lili was, he didn’t want her. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Zhang Lili felt utterly mortified. It was the first time, the very first time a man had treated her like this. In the past, all she had to do was give a man that look, and he would feel sorry for her and do whatever she wanted. But not Li Zhi. She felt she couldn’t stay a moment longer and turned to leave.
"Hold it. This isn’t over yet. You think you can just leave? Apologize. If you don’t apologize and make things clear today, then don’t blame us for being merciless."
Gu’er grabbed Zhang Lili. She knew people like her and wasn’t about to let her run away.
Lan Hua was dumbfounded. ’So in the end, we gained nothing from this,’ she thought. ’This Zhang Lili is useless. Can’t even wrap a man around her finger. What’s the point of having such a pretty face?’
"I’ll apologize, okay? I’ll apologize! Miss, I’m truly sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things to you, shouldn’t have cursed at you. I didn’t know the situation. If I had known Lili wasn’t Li Zhi’s girlfriend, I wouldn’t have done it. See? It was all a misunderstanding. Please don’t stoop to my level. Forgive me, won’t you?"
Lan Hua immediately started talking. What was her pride worth? If they really sued her, where would she get the money? She had been counting on Zhang Lili, but now that she saw Lili was useless, all her arrogance vanished.
She put on a fawning smile for Bai Xiaohua and showered her with flattering words.
"Alright. Even though your apology isn’t sincere, I accept it," Bai Xiaohua said. "I just want to tell you that our Boss Lin is right: all people are equal. There’s no such thing as noble or lowly. We may be salespeople, but we’re still human. We serve you with sincerity, but we also hope you’ll treat us with respect."
Bai Xiaohua felt she had received the respect she deserved today. She originally thought the department store’s management would make her bow her head and apologize for the sake of the customer. But instead, they had her back, making the person in the wrong apologize to her. Gu’er had shown her respect, and that moved her more than any compensation ever could.
"Thank you, thank you! You’re so generous, miss. And Boss Lin, Boss Li, Manager Qu, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have caused a scene and made trouble for the store. I was wrong, please forgive me. As for that talk of ’harassment,’ I heard it from Lili. She’s the one who said she and Li Zhi were a couple and told me all about how he treated her. I honestly didn’t know the truth; I was just spouting nonsense. This mouth of mine has no filter. Please don’t blame me. Money... I really don’t have any. My family can barely afford to eat. If you want compensation, go find Lili. She knows lots of rich people. I’m begging you, please let me go."
Lan Hua begged in a low voice, shifting all the blame onto Zhang Lili.
Zhang Lili stared at Lan Hua in disbelief. ’I can’t believe she’s saying this. In my eyes, Lan Hua was nothing more than a dog fawning at my side. I never gave her a second glance or thought she was worth anything. The only reasons I was friends with her were, one, I needed someone like her to speak up for me and cause scenes, and two, she was ugly, which made me look even more beautiful by comparison. I never imagined that a dog I looked down on would one day bite me.’
"Y-You... how could you say that?" Zhang Lili asked, her face a mask of betrayal. "I told you not to take them, but you insisted! You made such a huge, embarrassing scene, and I stood by you the whole time! I didn’t even blame you, so how can you say this about me?"
"Don’t you give me that act. You think I don’t know what you’re really like? All you want is to find a rich man. You only get by because of that face of yours, otherwise who do you think would give you the time of day? You came looking for me all eagerly today, telling me how wonderful Li Zhi was to you, how he bought you this and that. If you hadn’t said all that, why would I have thought those things? You’re the one who tried on the most clothes, and when I was about to walk out with them, you didn’t say a word. And now you’re trying to pin it on me? No way. Don’t you know a lot of rich men? Aren’t you good at playing the victim and crying? Don’t you call every guy ’big brother’? They all help you out, so go on, call Li Zhi ’big brother’ and get them to stop asking me for money. You know my family’s situation; we can’t afford it."
Lan Hua wasn’t falling for Zhang Lili’s act at all. She had only befriended Zhang Lili to leech off her. Now that there was trouble, she certainly wasn’t going to take the fall herself. She’d have to be a fool not to push the blame onto Zhang Lili.
Zhang Lili couldn’t believe this was the same Lan Hua she had always looked down on. ’How dare she say that to me!’ she fumed. ’How dare she!’
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