Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Who Is Telling the Truth, Who Is Lying
He seemed to be their supermarket’s manager. He was claiming someone had openly tried to bribe him. And, according to him, the culprits were none other than the Shen Nian siblings standing right in front of him.
"Young lady, what’s going on here?"
If it had been anyone else standing here, He Hongming, as the owner, certainly wouldn’t have bothered to inquire personally.
But the person standing here now was the great benefactor of his He Family! How could He Hongming possibly turn a blind eye?
"Sir, this man... is he a manager at your supermarket?"
Shen Nian didn’t know his name, so she could only address him as "Sir." But it was clear He Hongming was not pleased with such a formal title.
’Our He Family’s great benefactor... how can she be so formal!’
"I’m He Hongming. I’m quite a bit older than you, so if you don’t mind, just call me Uncle He."
"Okay, Uncle He. My name is Shen Nian. You can call me Xiao Nian."
Shen Nian had a good impression of the man standing before her. Even though she had just dealt with a piece of work like Manager Liu, she wasn’t about to blame He Hongming for his employee’s actions.
’After all, even as the owner, He Hongming can’t control every single one of his employees, can he? And that Liu Qiang is such an actor; who knows what kind of performance he puts on for the boss!’
"Alright, Xiao Nian. This is our supermarket’s Manager Liu. Was there some kind of misunderstanding between you all earlier?"
Even though Liu Qiang was one of his own, He Hongming refused to believe that Shen Nian was the type of person to offer a bribe, as Manager Liu had claimed.
’After all, Shen Nian is the He Family’s great benefactor. If she really needed something from the supermarket, she could have just come directly to me. Am I, the owner, less approachable than some junior manager?’
"A misunderstanding? Not quite. It’s just that my account of what happened is a little different from what Manager Liu described. I wonder if you’d be willing to hear my side of the story, Uncle He?"
"Go on, Xiao Nian."
The moment Shen Nian said that, He Hongming understood there was more to the story. He glanced at Liu Qiang, his expression growing colder.
Meeting He Hongming’s gaze, Liu Qiang’s heart sank. Still, he clung to a sliver of hope.
’I’m a manager here! The boss won’t just take an outsider’s word for it and ignore me, right? Besides, if it turns out I’m the one at fault, it’ll make the whole supermarket look bad.’
"My brother and I run a farm, and we came here today hoping to discuss a supply order with the supermarket. Initially, I thought Manager Liu was the person in charge, so I tried to talk business with him. But we’d barely said a few words before he started demanding a kickback. We do business honestly, so of course we refused and prepared to leave. But then, Manager Liu suddenly blocked our way and even started getting handsy with me. In the heat of the moment, my brother shoved him to protect me. After that, this manager started yelling and turned the tables, falsely accusing us of bribery. He didn’t even give my brother or me a chance to explain."
Shen Nian’s expression remained neutral as she gave a calm, factual account of what had happened. She stuck entirely to the truth, not exaggerating a single detail even with He Hongming present.
Hearing Shen Nian’s side of the story, the surrounding onlookers began to exchange uncertain glances.
The two stories were completely different—in fact, they were polar opposites. It was impossible to know who was telling the truth and who was lying.
