Chapter Forty: Girlfriend?

What did I do? All I did was touch a bottle of lavender-scented shampoo. Then, out of nowhere, someone yanked me over, and then—

“Clack, clack!”

Just then, hurried footsteps approached, and two more staff members appeared. One of them was a middle-aged woman, dressed differently from the other three.

“What’s going on here?” She took in the chaos on the floor as soon as she arrived, her voice cold.

The two staff members who had arrived first quickly explained, “Manager Li, this kid knocked over our shelf!”

At this, the woman addressed as Manager Li furrowed her brows noticeably and turned her gaze to Nangong Yuchen, her tone still cold. “Sir, do you have a problem with our store?”

“Uh… No, no!” Nangong Yuchen hurriedly waved his hands, just about to explain when Manager Li spoke again, “Then why did you knock over our shelf?”

She was clearly furious now, her tone growing even more severe.

“Hm? Yuchen?” Nangong Kexin had originally just sent her younger brother to buy a bottle of shampoo, since they were almost out at home. But the sudden loud crash had piqued her curiosity, so she pushed her cart over. Seeing the chaotic scene and her brother surrounded, she was momentarily stunned, unable to make sense of what had happened.

“Sir, do you realize how much trouble this causes our staff?” Manager Li continued her reprimand in a cold tone. Seeing that Nangong Yuchen had stopped protesting, she finally turned to the staff behind her and ordered, “Xiao Zhao, go tally up how many items were damaged!”

The young man on the left quickly cooperated with the other two staff members to right the fallen shelf and begin counting the damaged goods.

“Hmph!” Nangong Yuchen looked aggrievedly at Manager Li, then shot a fierce glare at Angel, who was feigning innocence, her big eyes full of wounded confusion. He had the urge to strangle her on the spot. Every time he ran into this girl, nothing good ever happened!

And now, everything was being blamed on him, and no one would believe his side of the story.

Xiao Zhao and the others were efficient; in just a few minutes, they’d tidied up most of the mess. Xiao Zhao then reported, “Manager Li, it’s mainly shampoo that was damaged. Only a few bottles are actually broken, but all the bottles on the top shelf are flattened. They’re still sealed, but I doubt we can sell them now. Take a look…”

“What? Not sellable?” At these words, Nangong Yuchen panicked. The entire length of the shelf, even if it was just the top row, must have held a hundred bottles at least. How much would that cost? At least two or three thousand, surely!

And he barely had three hundred on him. How was he supposed to pay that?

After a moment’s thought, Manager Li turned to Nangong Yuchen. “Sir, considering you didn’t do this on purpose and your attitude is good, we’ll go easy on you. You just need to pay a thousand.”

“A thousand!” Nangong Yuchen felt a little dizzy. It was just shampoo, how much damage could a fall even do? A thousand, and that’s considered lenient?

“Do you have a problem with that, sir?” Manager Li’s brows drew together again.

“Isn’t that a bit much?” Nangong Yuchen protested.

“If that’s how you feel, Xiao Zhao, please bring all the squashed bottles over and pack them up for this gentleman. We can’t sell them here anyway,” Manager Li said unhurriedly.

Hearing this, Nangong Yuchen nearly lost it. What was he going to do with all that shampoo? He used one bottle every month or two—how many years would it take to use these up? Ten? Twenty?

The worst part was, he didn’t even have that much money.

Realizing it was useless to argue further, he clenched his teeth and gave in. “Alright, Manager Li, let’s do as you say. I’ll pay at the front when I leave, is that okay?”

“That’s fine.” Manager Li finally gave him a look of approval, but just in case, she instructed, “Xiao Zhao, stay with our customer. Don’t let him slip away.”

“Understood.”

With the issue settled, Manager Li left, and the onlookers gradually dispersed.

Now, flushed with embarrassment, Nangong Yuchen finally exploded. Spotting the culprit attempting to sneak away, he chased after her and roared, “Angel!”

“Oh—Nangong Yuchen, what a coincidence! I have something to do, so I’ll be going!” Angel tried to make her escape.

But Nangong Yuchen was faster. He grabbed her arm, furious. “Did you do this on purpose?”

“Ow! You’re hurting me!” Angel struggled, her cheeks reddening.

Nangong Yuchen ignored her protests—he wasn’t going to let her off this time. Who else was going to pay that thousand? The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He pulled Angel back, pressed her down over his raised knee, and with his free hand, delivered a firm smack to her round, upturned bottom.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

“Are you deliberately trying to mess with me?”

“Every time I run into you, it’s a disaster!”

…

Once the crowd had dispersed, Nangong Kexin finally managed to push her cart over. She was stunned by the scene: she’d never seen her brother act so rough, let alone spank a girl in public.

“Let me go, Nangong Yuchen!” At first, Angel struggled with all her might, but after several spanks, her body trembled and she shrieked, “Nangong Yuchen! I’m going to kill you!”

After a dozen or so smacks, Nangong Yuchen finally felt a bit better. He let Angel go and said, “Hand over the thousand—”

He didn’t get to finish. Angel, tears in her eyes, glared at him furiously.

“Nangong Yuchen, just you wait for the start of school in two days! I won’t let you off!” Angel was both furious and humiliated, clutching her burning cheeks.

She’d never been treated like this in her life, let alone in such a sensitive area.

Nangong Yuchen awkwardly rubbed his nose. He’d only lost his temper because he was so angry—after all, she was his classmate. Where else was he supposed to hit her?

Still, he needed the money.

He cleared his throat. “Angel, about that thousand yuan, hurry up and hand it over.”

“Money?” In this situation, Angel certainly wasn’t about to pay. If she’d been willing to, she wouldn’t have tried to escape. She shot back angrily, “No way!”

At her words, Nangong Yuchen stepped forward, startling Angel, who quickly crossed her arms in front of her chest and stammered, “What… what are you going to do?”

“Do you know this girl, Yuchen?” Nangong Kexin approached, pushing her cart and studying Angel.

The girl was a little over 160 centimeters tall, delicate and dainty, with a strikingly beautiful, flawless face—except for the faint freckles that marred her otherwise perfect skin.

Her long, black hair was tied high with a blue ribbon, forming a spirited ponytail that swayed with her energetic movements. Her loose blue-and-white striped top did nothing to hide her graceful curves, and her blue shorts revealed shapely, pale legs.

“This girl is quite something,” was Nangong Kexin’s first impression.

Watching the two argue, inspiration struck. She pushed her cart up and called out, “Yuchen, how could you treat your girlfriend like that?”