My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 19

Xiao Nianyuan hadn’t reacted in time, but a figure beside her moved swiftly, pulling her away.

The shop owner lunged at empty air, lost his balance, and crashed into the clothing rack behind him. With a loud clatter, the rack toppled over, scattering clothes across the floor. The owner scrambled up from the ground, his face dark with fury.

The shop assistant hurriedly tried to gather the clothes while casting worried glances at her boss. Though his words had been unpleasant, he was still her employer. If he got into trouble, her job wouldn’t be secure either.

Xiao Nianyuan turned to see who had pulled her—it was Du Xiaotong.

Du Xiaotong had been watching the owner’s movements closely. The moment he fixed his gaze on Xiao Nianyuan’s phone, she had guessed his malicious intent.

Sure enough, she was right. The owner had tried to snatch the phone when Xiao Nianyuan wasn’t paying attention. Fortunately, Du Xiaotong had yanked her away in time—otherwise, not only might the phone have been stolen, but Xiao Nianyuan could have been hurt in the scuffle.

Amid the chaos, Xiao Nianyuan had accidentally ended the call. She glanced at her phone, then at the fuming owner. “Were you actually going to hit me?”

The owner faltered for a moment. Though his main goal had been to grab the phone, he had indeed considered resorting to force.

Given his size, he could easily overpower Xiao Nianyuan. But with a crowd gathering outside the shop, he couldn’t possibly admit it now.

“I just didn’t want you to call the police,” he argued weakly.

“Why wouldn’t you want me to call the police?” Xiao Nianyuan pressed forward. “If you’re innocent, why be afraid?”

The owner was left speechless. Xiao Nianyuan didn’t say much, but every word struck a nerve.

“Boss…” the shop assistant called softly, trying to mediate.

Her only concern was keeping her job and getting paid on time. Whether the owner suffered consequences didn’t matter to her—they had a purely professional relationship, nothing more.

The owner shot her a glare. “Since when do you tell me what to do?”

The assistant shut her mouth. She wasn’t trying to boss him around—she was just worried he’d do something even more reckless.

But since he wouldn’t listen, she decided not to bother. If the shop went under, she could always find another job.

The pay wasn’t great anyway—it would just take some time to search for something new. She’d been too lazy to switch before, but now it seemed like the right moment to start looking.

After snapping at the assistant, the owner seemed to regain some composure. He turned back to Xiao Nianyuan, forcing a smile. “I was being foolish earlier—I didn’t understand the situation. How about I just give you a refund?”

“Just a refund?” Tan Xialan rolled her eyes. “You refused before, and now that things have escalated, you think a refund will make us leave?”

“Forgive and forget,” the owner said awkwardly. “Everyone makes mistakes—what matters is learning from them. There’s no need to be so harsh.”

Even now, the owner refused to admit his wrongdoing, insisting it was just a “misunderstanding” and acting as if Tan Xialan and the others were the ones being unreasonable.

“Hey, aren’t you being a bully?” a voice suddenly called from the entrance. “Do you think you can push them around just because they’re girls?”

Xiao Nianyuan looked over and saw the group of girls who had been watching earlier.

Seeing Xiao Nianyuan look over, they smiled at her with encouragement in their eyes.

The shop owner’s face turned pale then red. He had never been publicly called out like this before. Thinking Xiao Nianyuan and her friends would be easy to fool, he never expected her to not only counterattack but also escalate the situation so dramatically.

Now everyone around knew he was deliberately trying to scam customers. If this continued, word would spread even further, and his shop might really go out of business.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’s my fault!” the owner quickly apologized. “I’ll refund you right now, okay?”

Not daring to make any more ambiguous remarks, he admitted his mistake outright and promptly issued the refund to Xiao Nianyuan.

After Xiao Nianyuan left, his mind was still reeling. He never thought he’d suffer such a major setback at the hands of a few college students today.

While the owner was fuming with anger, Xiao Nianyuan and her friends were in high spirits.

Tan Xialan chattered nonstop, praising Xiao Nianyuan for her bravery one moment and Ji Rongxue for her quick wit the next. She didn’t leave herself or Du Xiaotong out either, taking turns to compliment all four roommates until her praises became increasingly exaggerated, nearly elevating Xiao Nianyuan to celestial status.

“Du Xiaotong was so cool just now!” Tan Xialan finally exclaimed with admiration.

Xiao Nianyuan glanced at Du Xiaotong and noticed a faint smile on her lips. Du Xiaotong was the quietest in the dorm after Xiao Nianyuan, who knew the least about her. Curiosity piqued by Tan Xialan’s comment, Xiao Nianyuan couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know what he was going to do?”

Du Xiaotong replied nonchalantly, “He kept staring at your phone—obviously he wanted to snatch it.”

“That simple?” Tan Xialan was surprised. “Have you learned martial arts? Your move was so fast I barely saw it.”