My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 18

Ji Rongxue immediately asked the shop assistant, “What are you doing?”

Tan Xialan and Du Xiaotong, hearing the commotion, also turned to look at Xiao Nianyuan’s direction, completely losing their enthusiasm for browsing clothes.

The assistant pointed at the collar and said, “She stained the clothes while trying them on. What should we do now?”

Her voice was rather loud, catching the attention of other customers who stopped browsing and gathered around, seemingly ready to enjoy the drama.

If there had been a vendor selling sunflower seeds at the entrance, they might not have minded grabbing a handful to munch on while watching the spectacle.

“If the clothes are stained, we can’t sell them anymore,” the assistant said anxiously, staring intently at Xiao Nianyuan while subtly inching toward the door, as if afraid she might suddenly bolt.

“It wasn’t me,” Xiao Nianyuan said calmly.

Just as the assistant was about to retort, a man walked in through the door, asking as he approached, “What’s going on? I could hear the commotion from next door.”

The assistant’s face lit up as if she had found a savior. “Boss, she stained the clothes while trying them on just now.”

She held the garment forward for the boss to inspect.

The boss glanced around at Xiao Nianyuan and her friends before the assistant quickly pointed at Xiao Nianyuan. “She was the one who tried it on.”

The boss then spoke in a lecturing tone, “Young lady, running a business isn’t easy. If you stain the clothes and we can’t sell them, you’ll have to compensate us.”

Ji Rongxue wore a smile, but her voice was icy. “You’re saying she stained it—where’s your proof?”

The boss replied without hesitation, “The clothes were clean before she tried them on, and now they’re stained. Who else could it be?”

“Just because she tried it on, it must be her?” Ji Rongxue refused to back down. “How can you prove it wasn’t someone else?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Tan Xialan chimed in, “Yeah, how can you be so sure it was us? Either show us proof that the clothes were clean before, or provide video evidence of the staining.”

Du Xiaotong pointed at the surveillance camera in the corner. “That should have recorded the condition of the clothes before she tried them on, right?”

The garment Xiao Nianyuan had tried on was originally displayed in the center of the store, and the path to the fitting room should have been clearly captured by the camera—especially since the stain was on the collar.

The boss hesitated for a moment before saying uncertainly, “The surveillance… might not be clear enough.”

“Whether it’s clear or not, we won’t know until we see it,” Ji Rongxue said, already walking toward the computer. The boss quickly blocked her path. “I already told you it’s unclear. Why won’t you believe me?”

Tan Xialan scoffed. “You don’t believe us when we say it wasn’t us, so why should we believe you?”

The boss frowned and immediately turned the tables. “You’re being unreasonable! Either way, if you don’t compensate us today, you’re not leaving.”

Xiao Nianyuan closed her eyes briefly, a headache forming. Sensing her discomfort, Ji Rongxue softened her tone. “But we don’t even like this piece of clothing.”

She knew that shopping was supposed to be enjoyable, yet now it had soured Xiao Nianyuan’s mood. It wasn’t worth the trouble, so she tried to find another solution.

Ji Rongxue was willing to compromise, but the boss refused to let it go.

Feigning helplessness, he said, “Let’s see if we can wash it out. If it comes clean, we’ll forget about it. If not…”

He left the sentence hanging as he handed the garment to the assistant. She took it to the back and returned shortly after, looking troubled. “No, it won’t come out.”

The boss sighed, “We’ve done all we can, but unfortunately, the stain won’t come out, and now this garment can’t be sold. How about this—I’ll give you the staff discount, and you buy the dress. Let’s both compromise.”

No matter what, he was determined to make them purchase that dress.

For Xiao Nianyuan, the price wasn’t expensive—it was actually quite cheap. But as more onlookers gathered outside the shop, Xiao Nianyuan, who disliked being stared at, reluctantly agreed to buy it.

Once Xiao Nianyuan decided to purchase the dress, her three roommates fell silent. After leaving the store, Tan Xialan spoke up indignantly, “Why should you have to buy it? There’s no proof you were the one who stained it!”

Du Xiaotong also fumed, “She just saw we were students and thought we’d be easy to push around.”

Though the four of them were pretty, their clothing, accessories, and makeup clearly marked them as college students. The boss, having weathered life’s hardships for years, was probably smug about how easily he’d manipulated them.

Xiao Nianyuan carried the bag in silence, her mood growing heavier with each word. Normally, she wouldn’t have minded buying the dress—it wasn’t expensive, after all.

But this time, she’d been forced into it, and she hated nothing more than being pressured into doing something against her will. Before they even reached campus, she was already dreading the sleepless night ahead.

The gnawing frustration was unbearable.

Suddenly, Xiao Nianyuan stopped walking. Her roommates took a few more steps before realizing she’d fallen behind and turned back in confusion.

Ji Rongxue was the first to ask, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Xiao Nianyuan shook her head and glanced down at the stained dress in her hand. Had there been no issue, she could have worn it right after buying it. But the thought of the stain made her so uncomfortable she hadn’t even tried it on, carrying it in the bag the whole time.

The more she thought about the stain on the collar, the more resentful she became. Without another word, she turned and marched back the way they’d come.

The three roommates exchanged glances and immediately understood her intention, quickly following. A smile tugged at Ji Rongxue’s lips, while Tan Xialan whispered excitedly, “Yes! We’re going back to give that guy a piece of our minds!”

Xiao Nianyuan was indeed returning to confront the shop owner. She couldn’t swallow this injustice—why should she take the blame for something she didn’t do? Just because she wanted to avoid trouble didn’t mean she should compromise.

She knew that if she gave in this time, there would be a second, a third—endless concessions made out of fear of conflict. She refused to start down that path. Such compromises were meaningless.

Before they even stepped inside, they overheard the shop assistant’s voice: “Boss, you’re amazing! I was worried she wouldn’t admit it.”

The boss chuckled smugly, “You’ve still got a lot to learn. Stick with me, and you won’t lose out.”

The assistant hesitated, “But… what if she’d insisted on checking the surveillance? I didn’t notice if the dress was stained before she tried it on—I only saw it after she came out. If you hadn’t returned in time, I wouldn’t have known how to handle it.”

“Just insist it was her, and she’ll have to admit it,” the boss said dismissively. “Young girls these days are too thin-skinned to argue.”

The shop assistant was also a woman. Hearing the boss say this made her feel uneasy, as if something wasn’t quite right. But since Xiao Nianyuan and her friends had already left and the matter was settled, she didn’t dwell on it and turned to organize other clothes.

Just then, footsteps sounded at the entrance. The assistant looked up and was stunned to see Xiao Nianyuan’s group returning. Instinctively, she glanced at the boss.

The boss hadn’t expected them to come back either and tensed up, unsure if they’d overheard his earlier remarks. But he quickly adjusted his expression and stepped forward with a smile. “Why are you back? Did you think our clothes were good quality? The employee discount earlier was because the stained clothes couldn’t be sold. If you still want to buy, I can give you a slightly better deal, but not by much.”

His words skillfully praised his merchandise, shifted blame onto Xiao Nianyuan, and simultaneously tried to make a sale—all delivered in an ingratiating tone.

Most people, hearing they could get an even better deal, might have cooled off, feeling they’d gained an advantage.

But Xiao Nianyuan was different. She hadn’t returned to buy clothes but to clear her name. Her focus was entirely on the boss’s earlier accusation: “You’re the one who stained the clothes.”

“I want a refund,” Xiao Nianyuan said firmly, holding out the bag.

The boss’s smile vanished instantly. “Why?” he asked sternly.

“I don’t like this piece,” she replied coldly.

The boss spread his hands helplessly. “Then why did you buy it?”

“It’s been washed. I won’t accept that. Refund.” She stood her ground.

The boss snorted. “We washed it because you stained it. No refunds in such cases.”

“No refund?” Xiao Nianyuan gave a cold laugh and took out her phone. “Fine, I’m calling the police now.”

Hearing “police,” the boss remained unruffled.

This was a trivial matter. A college student like Xiao Nianyuan, with her thin skin, surely wouldn’t actually call the police. Most students thought involving the authorities was troublesome and preferred not to escalate things.

But he was wrong.

Xiao Nianyuan had been taught since childhood to “seek help from the police when in trouble.” Though this wasn’t a major issue, it still qualified as trouble. Without hesitation, she dialed the number and spoke calmly, “Hello, police? I’d like to report a case…”

She really did call the emergency number. At first, the boss maintained his composed demeanor, still dismissing it as she spoke into the phone.

Only when Xiao Nianyuan suddenly turned her phone screen toward him, revealing the displayed “110,” did his expression change drastically. He finally realized she wasn’t joking—she genuinely intended to involve the police.

“How can you call the police over something so trivial? Can’t we discuss this properly?” the boss said, forcing composure but with a hint of panic in his voice.

“Discuss properly?” Xiao Nianyuan stared at him coldly. “Didn’t we try that earlier? You insisted it was us without any proof.”

Recalling the conversation she’d overheard at the door, she suddenly suspected the boss had known all along someone else had stained the clothes but, unable to find the culprit, had pinned it on her.

“Hang up that call now!” the boss shouted. Seeing her unmoved, he grew even more frantic.

Xiao Nianyuan asked unhurriedly, “Why are you in such a hurry? If you’re innocent, the police coming would actually help clear your name.”

“I think he’s feeling guilty,” Tan Xialan added pointedly from the side.

“I’m not guilty at all!” The boss raised his voice, though his eyes involuntarily darted toward Xiao Nianyuan’s phone. “It’s just… having the police here would affect my business, so I’d rather you didn’t call them.”

As Xiao Nianyuan was considering how credible his words were, the boss suddenly lunged at her.