Chapter 158: Looking for Trouble
Han Ruochen was about to reject the proprietress when a sneering voice came from behind her.
"Ah, it seems like Miss Han cannot even go to a shop without being bothered."
When Han Ruochen heard the sneering voice, she couldn’t help but sigh. She should have looked at the almanack when she stepped out of the house. She slowly turned around and looked at Xiao Rui, who stood behind her, her expression full of jealousy and anger as she looked at Han Ruochen. Their gazes met and Han Ruochen for a second thought that sparks flew from the eyes of the woman in front of her.
"Teacher Xiao, is something the matter?" Han Ruochen did not wish to start an ugly quarrel with Xiao Rui. She knew very well that the woman was bent on going against her. But she hoped that she would not have to do that in a public space. It was the only reason why she was being polite to Xiao Rui, as Han Ruochen hoped that the woman would understand her meaning, but it was as if Xiao Rui had turned into a fool at that very moment.
She did not seem to understand a thing that Han Ruochen was trying to tell her and even crossed her arms before remarking, "Of course not, I was just making a casual remark and nothing else. Isn’t it difficult for someone like you to enter a shop without being bothered? How come you always end up showing off even when you don’t want to? I cannot help but wonder."
Han Ruochen sighed. It seemed like even if she did not want to cause an ugly sight, things were not going to go as she wanted. She pursed her lips and looked at the woman who was bent on making things difficult for her and questioned, "I don’t know what I did that offended you, but I would like it if you kept your opinions to yourself and left me and my brother alone." Han Ruochen did not want Han Beijiang’s anxiety to rise because of this woman. If her brother ended up getting scared, then it would take a long time for her to convince him to come out of the house.
"Make me if you can!" Xiao Rui had been watching Han Ruochen since she entered the shop. She was hoping that the proprietress would kick her and her idiot brother out of the shop the second they started touching this and that, but the woman simply ignored them. However, Xiao Rui still had hope. As she knew that Han Ruochen did not earn a lot of money. She had resigned from her teaching, and even if she was scouting seafood on the beach, how much could she even earn? A few pennies. It was laughable that Han Ruochen came to this shop and even tried on such an expensive set of clothes.
Xiao Rui was thus filled with confidence and wanted to make trouble for Han Ruochen. She turned to look at the proprietress and said to her, "Mam, I have to say that your eyes are not working well. Just look at them. They are dressed like beggars, and you are letting them try on such expensive clothes. Are you not worried about them dirtying the clothes in your shop? If I were you, then I would have kicked these people out as soon as they stepped inside my shop."
The proprietress was annoyed when she heard the words of the woman who was chiding her. She scowled and stated, "Then it is not a surprise that you do not own a shop. What do you mean by beggars? Are beggars not human beings? Are they not deserving of buying new clothes? I don’t know about you, but anyone is welcome in my shop."
Han Ruochen was quite surprised when she heard the proprietress speak up for her. She was quite touched by the words of the proprietress, as there were very few people who believed and thought like this. She then turned her attention to Xiao Rui, whose face had turned red as cooked shrimp.
"You!"
"What’s going on?" Su Mo, who had been standing outside, walked in when he heard the sound of a quarrel. When he saw Han Ruochen, he was surprised, but a second later he turned panicked when he realised the situation. He had liked Han Ruochen for the longest time, and being caught with Xiao Rui, who had been nothing but unkind to Han Ruochen, he believed that it was the quickest way to get into Han Ruochen’s bad books. Su Mo hurriedly explained, "Teacher Han, you are here as well? What a surprise. Teacher Xiao and my mother are friends, so my mom asked me to accompany Teacher Xiao shopping." Even though the latter half was not needed and wasn’t necessary, he still told Han Ruochen about the gist of the situation. He did not want her to think that he was together with Xiao Rui.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but scold his mother inwardly. His mother had been urging him to get married, saying that he was no longer young and he should have brought home a wife by now. Unfortunately for him, the woman his mother had set her eyes on was Xiao Rui.
Because Xiao Rui’s father was working in a factory and was in a high position, his mother had been insistent about the two of them getting married. In her eyes, Xiao Rui was both good-looking and rich; there was nothing for him to complain about. The only good thing was that his father was a bit sensible and knew that Su Mo did not like Xiao Rui and never urged him to get married to her.
But his mother was far from giving up and even asked him to accompany Xiao Rui to the department store today.
Su Mo did not think much of it, as he thought that it was just going to the department store and coming back, who would have thought that he would run into Han Ruochen!
