As Zhao Mingcheng left, the crowd of onlookers dispersed as well, leaving behind a few female staff members in the store. Some of them stepped forward to comfort Lin Wenwan.
However, Lin Wenwan didn’t have the luxury to think about that, as she hurriedly approached with a worried look on her face and said,
"Miss Huo, you guys should leave quickly. Mr. Zhao has a lot of powerful connections, he knows plenty of influential friends. Once he gets people over here, you won’t be able to leave!"
The sales guides and staff members in the store became tense upon hearing Lin Wenwan’s words. Before, when Zhao Mingcheng had made his threats, they hadn’t taken much notice, but now, realizing that this man named Zhao had connections, they became anxious.
Could this fight these two women had with Mr. Zhao in the store bring trouble upon them?
Huo Sining smiled upon hearing this and was about to reveal her own identity when suddenly a woman spoke up.
"They can’t leave! Didn’t you hear what that man surnamed Zhao said? If they leave, he’ll make sure our store can’t continue to operate!"
The speaker was also a female sales guide. Seeing Lin Wenwan was about to let Huo Sining and the other two leave, she immediately stood in front of them and asked Lin Wenwan sharply and stridently,
Seeing this, Lin Wenwan’s brows furrowed instantly, "Liu Shanshan, what are you doing?"
Liu Shanshan looked coldly at Lin Wenwan, "Isn’t it obvious what I’m doing? If you let them go now, Mr. Zhao will take his anger out on us. Do you want us to take the fall for this?!"
Lin Wenwan was infuriated, "If worse comes to worst, we can just close the doors and hide. If Mr. Zhao can’t find anyone, he can’t do anything to us!"
Liu Shanshan sneered upon hearing this, "You make it sound so easy. Can this store just shut its doors whenever we like? What if he really brings people over and our store can’t continue to operate? Will you take responsibility for the losses?"
Lin Wenwan started to panic after hearing Liu Shanshan, and so did a few other employees.
Most of the young girls hired by Wu Jun were either college students not yet graduated or those who had just graduated. Faced with this situation, they were completely at a loss, each showing fear and worry in their eyes—especially after hearing what Liu Shanshan said, they quickly became dissatisfied with Lin Wenwan.
Some whispered that Lin Wenwan was too pretty, practically a curse, saying she had caused trouble even before she officially started working after training; others worried about the offense to Mr. Zhao of unknown status, not knowing what would happen, questioning if the new store could even open on Saturday;
Additionally, people were secretly annoyed, blaming Lin Wenwan for not knowing her limits, causing such a mess, and unfairly bringing trouble upon the company and them.
Although these people did not discuss these things in front of Lin Wenwan, she wasn’t deaf; naturally, she could hear their loud voices.
Upset by her co-workers’ complaints and targeting, Lin Wenwan couldn’t help but cry, gritting her teeth, "Stop talking, I caused this, and I definitely won’t implicate everyone! If Zhao Mingcheng really comes for payback, then... I’ll just have to fight him to the end!"
When ordinary people encounter such situations, they would mostly react like these store employees—either watching with indifference, keeping their distance, or kicking someone when they are down. But Lin Wenwan didn’t do that.
She didn’t blame Huo Sining and Su Qingqing for the incident; instead, she took all the responsibility on herself, and she even tried her best to persuade Huo Sining and the others to leave. This made Huo Sining’s impression of Lin Wenwan grow even more favorable.
Beautiful women, although advantaged in society, also face more temptations and dangers. Someone like Su Qingqing, who comes from a privileged background, naturally has people protecting her, but for someone like Lin Wenwan, with an ordinary family, it’s much harder to avoid.
Lin Wenwan did not accept the luxurious life that Zhao Mingcheng promised her; instead, she sternly refused him. To maintain an innocent and kind heart amidst such myriad temptations is indeed very rare.
Moreover, since Lin Wenwan was an employee at her store, how could Huo Sining let Lin Wenwan suffer any grievances there?
Su Qingqing had long disapproved of those few employees and, seeing this scene, couldn’t help but turn her head back and shout at those chattering women, "We haven’t left yet, what are you so excited about? Whatever happens, we’ll shoulder it, it’s none of your business!"
Liu Shanshan heard this, snorted with laughter as if she’d heard a joke, and looked at Su Qingqing disdainfully, "You think you can just walk away after causing a fight in our shop? Who knows where you country bumpkins come from. You’ll shoulder it? Can you even handle it?"
As soon as Lin Wenwan heard Liu Shanshan’s words, she got angry, wiped the tears from her face, and retorted, "Even if something happens, it has nothing to do with you!"
After saying that, she turned back to look at Huo Sining, "Miss Huo, thank you and your friends for standing up for me today, but you should hurry up and leave. The Imperial Capital is not like S City. Here, every inconspicuous person has a background and must not be provoked. By offending that Mr. Zhao, it’s just my bad luck!"
Upon hearing this, Huo Sining asked in return, "What about you?"
Lin Wenwan gave a bitter smile, "Me? Mr. Zhao knows my school and dormitory building, I can’t escape. You are from out of town; once you leave here, he won’t be able to find you and won’t be able to trouble you anymore. I’ll have to figure out a way to deal with it myself!"
Saying so, Lin Wenwan then avoided Liu Shanshan and pushed Huo Sining and the other two towards the exit.
Seeing this, Liu Shanshan once again blocked the way of Huo Sining and her group, stretching out her hand to stop them, "No one’s leaving today!"
Lin Wenwan’s expression turned utterly stern, "Liu Shanshan, what do you really want?!"
Liu Shanshan sneered, "Whoever causes the trouble should resolve it, don’t think about dragging others down with you!"
The other store employees fell silent upon hearing this. It seemed someone wanted to say something to mediate but then thought better of it and swallowed their words, only giving Huo Sining and her companions sympathetic looks.
Huo Sining looked at Liu Shanshan with a half-smile and then turned to ask Lin Wenwan, "Is this woman like a supervisor or team leader for you?"
Lin Wenwan shook her head upon hearing Huo Sining’s question, "No, our assessment results haven’t come through yet. We need to wait for the scores from the back office before a supervisor can be chosen."
Huo Sining nodded upon hearing this, "Then on what basis does she act like a boss, as if her word is law? I thought she was the store manager, that everyone had to listen to her! She certainly plays the part well!"
"What did you say?!" Liu Shanshan, hearing Huo Sining’s words, suddenly flared up in anger.
Huo Sining didn’t deign to entangle with such a person and glanced at the name tag on the chest of this store clerk and said indifferently, "Your name is Liu Shanshan, right?"