The man instantly glared angrily at Ye Yanxi and roared viciously, "Give it back to me!"
Ye Yanxi weighed the wallet in her hand and sneered, "Don't tell me you, a grown man, like using a women's wallet. Judging from your reaction, did you steal this?"
The young man looked decent, but it was a pity that he resorted to such underhanded deeds. Seeing that Ye Yanxi wouldn't give him the wallet, his expression immediately turned ferocious as he threatened her, "Be smart and give it back to me quickly, or you'll be in for it!"
After saying that, he tried to pounce on Ye Yanxi to grab the wallet. She easily dodged his punch and unceremoniously kicked him in the knee.
The kick was delivered with just the right amount of force, probably hitting the joint of his knee. The thief instantly knelt down, clutching his knee and howling in pain.
Realizing that he was no match for Ye Yanxi, the thief decided to look for an opportunity to escape.
"What bad luck!" After saying that, he glared angrily at Ye Yanxi again, struggled to get up from the ground, and fled towards the exit.
Watching him disappear in a cloud of dust, Ye Yanxi didn't bother to chase after him. The owner of the wallet was probably anxiously looking for it everywhere. For now, it was more important to find the owner.
Thinking this, she pulled He Chuyan into the mall. After walking a few steps, her shoelace came loose. So she handed the wallet to He Chuyan to hold first, then squatted down to tie her shoelace.
He Chuyan was enjoying her ice cream, and she was also holding a bag in her other hand. So she casually put the wallet into her bag, slowed down her pace, and waited for Ye Yanxi while walking.
Just as He Chuyan put the wallet into her bag, Huo Lin, not far away, happened to see this scene.
From a distance, Huo Lin was followed by several bodyguards. Seeing the wallet in He Chuyan's hand, she immediately pointed at He Chuyan and shouted, "Good! I caught you red-handed. How dare you steal so brazenly. Grab her for me!"
He Chuyan looked at Huo Lin in confusion, only to see the other woman pointing angrily at her. By the time she realized what was happening, the bodyguards behind Huo Lin had already grabbed her arms.
"What are you doing? Why are you grabbing me?" He Chuyan struggled in surprise and anger, but she couldn't shake off the bodyguards' grip. Frustrated, she shouted, "Xixi, come and save me quickly!"
"At your young age, with hands and feet, you turn to thievery!" Huo Lin said with a gloomy face. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed you could do such a dirty thing. You've really shamed your parents!"
He Chuyan was so stunned by Huo Lin's scolding that she couldn't refute at first. By the time she came to her senses, she understood what Huo Lin was saying.
She had a fiery temper and couldn't tolerate being scolded like this, especially when she was clearly being wronged.
"You old hag! Can't you see that I retrieved your wallet from the thief's hands? Instead of appreciating my kindness, you not only frame me but also scold me."
No one would be happy to be called an old hag. Huo Lin's face immediately darkened.
"You're still being stubborn even after stealing. You're really something."
"Who do you think stole your stuff, old hag? You'd better make it clear. If I stole your stuff, I'll be hit by a car as soon as I go outside!" He Chuyan stared at Huo Lin with red eyes.
"Swearing an oath won't help!" Huo Lin sneered coldly. "Thieves like you are always quick to swear oaths. I don't know how your parents have been teaching you."
"I'm warning you. You can scold me, but don't drag my parents into this." He Chuyan was also enraged. All her pent - up frustration and anger burst out as she roared at Huo Lin.
"If your parents knew how to teach you, would they have let you become a thief?"
Ye Yanxi had just finished tying her shoelace. She took a couple of steps and caught up with He Chuyan. Hearing the commotion, she quickly rushed over.
She happened to hear the conversation between He Chuyan and Huo Lin.
She quickly understood what was going on. But since the other person was Xiao Yu's mother, the situation became rather awkward.
She stood there, not knowing whether to leave or try to mediate. As she hesitated and listened to the argument escalate, she finally couldn't hold back.
"Mrs. Xiao, you've misunderstood. My friend didn't steal your wallet. I just snatched it from a thief." Ye Yanxi said truthfully.
Huo Lin glanced expressionlessly at Ye Yanxi standing beside her. After looking at her for a few more times, she finally realized that Ye Yanxi looked familiar.
"So it's you." Huo Lin looked at Ye Yanxi arrogantly. "You're all the same kind of people. One works as a part - time maid for my son, and the other turns to thievery. I knew those from the housekeeping company couldn't be trusted."
Ye Yanxi was annoyed that the blame was suddenly shifted to her, but since the other person was Xiao Yu's mother, she had to swallow her anger.
"Mrs. Xiao, we really didn't steal your wallet. We just entered the mall and hadn't seen you before." Ye Yanxi patiently explained.
"Who knows if you're colluding and lying? Do you think I'll believe you? Since you're accomplices, I'll send you both to the police station."
"Old hag, don't think you can bully me. Believe it or not, we didn't steal your stuff. Don't be so unreasonable." He Chuyan didn't have the patience to talk to her gently and simply shouted.
"Fine. If you say you didn't steal it, then show me the evidence!" Huo Lin paused and added, "I just saw you put the wallet into your own bag with my own eyes. Who else could it be but you?"
He Chuyan was so angry that her eyes widened, and for a moment, she didn't know how to explain.
Although Ye Yanxi was also angry, she still managed to keep her wits about her. After thinking for a while, she had an idea. "The surveillance camera. Yes, if we go to the mall's surveillance room and find the footage from just now, everything will be clear."
"What new trick are you up to?" Huo Lin refused to believe them. "Don't try to escape when there are a lot of people around."
Ye Yanxi frowned and repeatedly assured her, "Mrs. Xiao, don't worry. Since we say we didn't steal your stuff, we definitely won't run away."
Huo Lin was still warily looking at the two of them and was about to say something when a bodyguard walked up behind her. He walked up to her and whispered, "Madam, we just checked the surveillance. While you were trying on clothes in the store earlier, a thin man in a dark - blue suit stole your wallet in the chaos. I've already sent people outside the mall to look for him."
Halfway through, the bodyguard glanced at Ye Yanxi and He Chuyan. "The surveillance shows that on his way of fleeing, the thief was attacked by the young lady in white, and that young lady snatched the wallet away."
Although the bodyguard had lowered his voice, Ye Yanxi and He Chuyan, who were standing nearby, heard it clearly.
"Did you hear that? We didn't steal the wallet. It was a man. We even retrieved it for you!" He Chuyan immediately shouted.
Huo Lin's face instantly turned ugly, but she still stubbornly argued, "If you retrieved the wallet, why didn't you look for the owner? Instead, you put it in your own bag. Isn't that stealing?"
"You're being so unreasonable, old hag! Which eye of yours saw that we weren't going to look for the owner?" He Chuyan was so angry that she stamped her foot.
"Mrs. Xiao, believe it or not, we didn't steal your wallet. If you insist on distorting the facts, then we're just unlucky. We were actually about to look for the owner. Since we've met you now, I'll return it to you!"
Huo Lin expressionlessly took the wallet Ye Yanxi handed over, opened it, and looked inside carefully to see if anything was missing. After making sure nothing was lost, she sized Ye Yanxi up with a sideways glance.
Now that the wallet had been found, Huo Lin gave a signal to the bodyguard, who immediately released He Chuyan's arm.
Watching Huo Lin turn around and leave, He Chuyan was filled with anger. She took a few steps and rushed in front of her. "Do you think you can just leave now that you've got your wallet back? You misunderstood me and scolded me so harshly. You can't just leave without an explanation and an apology!"
Huo Lin squinted at her. "So what do you want?"
"I want you to compensate me for the mental damage. Otherwise, you're not going anywhere."
"Sure enough, it's all about the money. How much do you want?" Huo Lin's tone was full of disdain as she looked down at He Chuyan.
He Chuyan was so angry that she felt a lump in her throat. "Who wants your money? Just because you're rich doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. I want you to kneel down and apologize to me!"
Seeing He Chuyan like a furious cat, Ye Yanxi quickly stepped forward and grabbed her.
"Yanyan, forget it. Stop talking."
"Is there any justice? This old hag unjustly accused me for no reason and scolded me so harshly. You may be able to tolerate it, but I can't!"
Ye Yanxi pulled He Chuyan to one side and looked at Huo Lin awkwardly. "Mrs. Xiao, you'd better leave quickly."
"Xixi, why are you taking her side? I won't let her go!"
He Chuyan was still shouting loudly, but Huo Lin expressionlessly left the spot, ignoring her scolding.
After Huo Lin left, Ye Yanxi was criticized by He Chuyan for a long time. Ye Yanxi finally said faintly, "She's Xiao Yu's mother."
He Chuyan exclaimed in surprise, "Are you kidding me? That unreasonable old hag is actually Xiao Yu's mother?"