Chapter 69 - Lihua's Confrontation With The Old Madam (1)
Chapter 69 – Lihua’s Confrontation With The Old Madam (1)
Lihua turned and saw an elderly lady with a countenance as cold as the Arctic step inside. Her face was devoid of any expression. But her gaze was sharp and menacing. With her aura alone, the store reached a deadly freezing point and the employees shuddered in her presence. Their heads automatically lowered, not daring to meet her dark gaze.
But of course, this change in the atmosphere was only felt by the employees and Ruomei.
Lihua didn't.
To her, the Old Madam was probably just another customer. Her dominating presence flew over her head. She didn't even notice the suffocating pressure building up in the air.
Fu Renshu straightened up. This was the time. They knew there would be a confrontation. He glanced at Jiang Weizhe. He didn't react. Instead, he was calmly gauging the situation. And Lihua.
Ruomei respectfully bowed. She couldn't afford to act undignified in front of the Old Madam of the Jiang family. "Old Madam," she softly said as she glared at Lihua, "This woman ruined my dress and is not ready to apologize either. Instead, she is arguing with me."
Lihua's mouth opened in a wide O. "Huh? I apologized already. Don't you remember that I said sorry?"
Ruomei flared at her. "Apologize? By giving some ridiculous advice about ironing my dress?"
"What ridiculous advice? I gave you the solution. You are the one making such a big deal for a small crease."
Ruomei looked at the Old Madam, her brows furrowed in distress. "Did you see, Old Madam? I don't know where this poor woman came from and suddenly started a scene."
Lihua was dumbfounded. "Hey! I didn't-"
The Old Madam narrowed her eyes at Lihua. She looked at her from top to bottom as she squinted her gaze. Her voice was quiet but firm and equally insulting as she cut her off. "Is this how you were raised? No manners, loud, rude and complete lack of etiquette."
Fu Renshu gulped.
Song Lihua, don't make her mad, okay? Just say sorry and be in her graces. It's for your own future!
Lihua blinked her eyes at her.
"No manners? I already apologized for my mistake. That's what people with good manners do. Loud? This is my normal voice. In fact, you are speaking too softly. Rude? Defending oneself doesn't come in rudeness. You cannot expect me to stay quiet when someone is making a big fuss out of nothing. Lack of etiquette? What does shopping have to do with etiquette? People don't care 'how' we shop as long as we buy their products." She touched her chin in confusion.
Silence. Ruomei and the store employees watched her in horror. Ruomei couldn't believe she would see one day where somebody would talk to the Old Madam like that. Nobody ever dared to do that.
The Old Madam froze. She blankly looked at her for a long time, digesting the fact that somebody spoke back to her. She expected her to lower her head and apologize. But she was actually defending herself. Her gaze turned cold.
Instead of getting angry, the Old Madam simply smiled. "See Shi Ruomei? This is why we don't like to mingle with people like her."
She nodded and smirked at her. "After all, we cannot expect anything from such lowly people."
Lihua glared at her. She didn't like the sarcasm and the insult. "Hey! You people have just a little more money. That doesn't mean you become God."
Ruomei widened her eyes.
You!
Lihua narrowed her eyes at the Old Madam. "And what do you mean by people like me? Am I an alien or something?"
Fu Renshu almost choked in laughter.
"We have the same eyes, nose, ears, mouth, arms and legs. We have the same heart and brain. We are all humans. So we are all the same. Having a little more money doesn't make you any different."
Now this was a direct hit to the Old Madam's ego. Being herself compared to the level of a commoner was a great insult to her.
Ruomei gritted her teeth. "How dare you? Do you know who you are talking to?"
Lihua innocently said, "A human just like me? But if you consider yourself as aliens then yes, perhaps I don't know who I'm talking to," she smiled.
"You…"
The Old Madam coldly said, "And clearly, you don't have any respect for the elders."
"Elders are also supposed to support the one who is right and reasonable in any argument. That is what we call wisdom. You didn't ask my side of the story. You are clearly biased towards her, which an elder shouldn't be."
The Old Madam quietly stared at her and then signaled the manager. "Why is she still standing here? Throw this woman out."
The manager hastily came to her side. "Mam, please leave from here. You are causing trouble here."
Lihua puffed her cheeks. "Excuse me? I am causing trouble here?"
Ruomei said, "Yes, trouble. And a great trouble to my dress. In fact, you should compensate for ruining it!"
The Old Madam didn't respond, suggesting she was in favor of what she said.
Lihua was dumbfounded. "Why should I pay for something that could be easily solved by just ironing the dress?"
"I cannot expect a poor woman like you to understand just how delicate this dress is! If you have ruined it, you will pay for it too!"
Just then she straightened up as she saw Jiang Weizhe coming towards her. Lihua frowned and when she turned to look, she was stunned.
That man from the supermarket! Boss's look-alike though he is a bit older. What is he doing here?
"You-"
Suddenly, she recalled Fu Renshu's message before she came here.
'Whoever familiar figure you meet in the store, pretend as if you never met him before at all! Understood Song Lihua? Or say good-bye to your job!'
Is this what Assistant Fu meant?
Jiang Weizhe said, "I will deal with her. No need for any compensation."
Ruomei froze.
The Old Madam shot a dangerous look at him. "What are you doing here?"
He didn't respond.
"I am surprised you got the time to come somewhere other than where that witch isn't."
Jiang Weizhe turned cold at that and he narrowed his eyes. "Don't talk about Yubi like that."
"You are in no position to stop me. You and your useless love for her has been nothing but a thorn in our family's reputation. I would have kicked you out of the house if you weren't my elder son. You are an utter embarrassment to me and now with what face did you come here? I am ashamed of you. Don't make me acknowledge in public that you are my son. Get out!"
Lihua was stunned. She watched Jiang Weizhe listen to her in absolute silence. He didn't say anything back to her. Even with such humiliation, he stood calm.
And maybe because he resembled Wei so much – his quietness, his calmness and his innocence; Lihua couldn't bear the humiliation. She felt as if that lady was insulting Wei himself.
She fumed as she pointed her finger at her. "Hey you! Stop talking already. Don't insult him any more than this, got it!?"