"Don't! Please don't!"
The woman let out a shrill scream. Although Xu Qingqing couldn't clearly see her expression, she could sense the woman's nervousness.
If Xu Qingqing hadn't dodged quickly, the woman might have snatched the phone from her hand.
Xu Qingqing held the phone behind her back warily and looked at the woman irritably.
"Do you want to extort more money? There's a surveillance camera right above. It was you who ran into my car..."
"Don't you even recognize me?"
The woman grew anxious upon hearing Xu Qingqing's words.
Her words left Xu Qingqing even more confused. She sized the woman up again.
Come on!
With your hair covering your face completely, how could I possibly recognize you!
Xu Qingqing glanced at her watch. Lu Qi's shop would open in half an hour, and she was in a hurry to repair Li Jiani's antique.
"Get to the point. If you keep acting all mysterious, I'll call someone right away."
Xu Qingqing's tone was quite blunt. She didn't have time to waste here.
Seeing her serious attitude, the woman reluctantly reached behind her hair, parting it slightly to reveal her face.
After just one look, Xu Qingqing immediately recognized her as Zhang Xiaolu, the one who had hurt Xu Yiyi.
Xu Qingqing's face hardened, and her tone was filled with coldness.
"What are you doing here?"
Could it be that she wanted Xu Qingqing to retract the truth she had posted online?
After all, Zhang Xiaolu was a public figure. Once such a scandal broke out, her reputation would probably plummet.
But Xu Qingqing would never retract it. Before Zhang Xiaolu hurt her child, she should have anticipated a mother's determination to avenge her child.
"Xu Qingqing, I really know I was wrong. Could you please..."
Zhang Xiaolu knelt on the ground, crying. Every word she said was within Xu Qingqing's expectation.
"No!"
Sure enough, she was here to ask for forgiveness.
Xu Qingqing crossed her arms and took a few steps back, avoiding Zhang Xiaolu's approach.
"I'm not going to retract what I said on Weibo. Don't come to me again!"
After saying that, Xu Qingqing was about to open the car door and leave with a cold face.
Suddenly, Zhang Xiaolu lunged forward and pressed her hands firmly against the car door, preventing Xu Qingqing from leaving.
Due to the excessive movement, the bruises on her exposed arms, a vivid shade of purple and blue, stood out starkly against her fair skin.
Zhang Xiaolu pleaded, "Xu Qingqing, it doesn't matter how much you scold me online!"
"I've realized my mistake, and I'm willing to make amends. But could you please ask your husband to continue cooperating with my family?"
"If the cooperation can't continue, my husband will beat me to death when I get home!"
After saying that, Zhang Xiaolu started to cry, looking extremely miserable.
Xu Qingqing was taken aback. She didn't expect Lu Chuanbai to have terminated the contract with Zhang Xiaolu's family without her knowledge, bringing them to such a desperate situation.
Xu Qingqing remained cold - hearted.
Zhang Xiaolu always picked on the weak. It wasn't Xu Qingqing who had terminated the cooperation, so why was she coming to her?
Xu Qingqing mercilessly pushed Zhang Xiaolu aside. "Wait here. A black Maybach will pass by later."
"That's my husband's car. Go and ask for his forgiveness yourself. I can't make this decision."
It was Lu Chuanbai taking revenge for their bullied son. As a mother, she whole - heartedly supported him and naturally wouldn't interfere.
As for how to resolve the issue, she'd let them handle it themselves. She had her own work to do.
"Xu Qingqing! Xu Qingqing, I'm begging you!"
Zhang Xiaolu watched helplessly as Xu Qingqing got into the car and drove away.
She chased after the car for a few steps but tripped over a speed bump and fell to the ground, filled with despair.
She had checked online before. Lu Chuanbai was well - known as a cold - hearted and uncompromising man. It was impossible to talk him into anything!
That's why she had come to Xu Qingqing. But since Xu Qingqing wouldn't help, she was bound to get beaten when she got home.
Moreover, if she couldn't get the contract back and continue the cooperation with the Lu Group, her family might go bankrupt.
Her life as a wealthy housewife would come to an end!
"Damn it."
Zhang Xiaolu regretfully slapped herself across the face.
If she had known things would turn out like this, she would never have harmed Xu Yiyi no matter what.
On her way, Xu Qingqing stopped by the security room and briefly told the security guards what had just happened.
The security guards apologized to Xu Qingqing and promised to strengthen the patrol in the future to prevent such things from happening again.
Due to Zhang Xiaolu's sudden appearance and the time wasted, by the time Xu Qingqing arrived, Lu Qi's shop was already open.
"Good morning, Xu Qingqing. Do you want to have breakfast with me?"
Lu Qi, who was having breakfast at the front - desk, waved the steamed bun in his hand at Xu Qingqing.
"No, thanks. I've already eaten."
Xu Qingqing waved her hand and declined, then went back to her office.
She needed to get her employee card to go to the storage room to fetch the unfinished vase.
She saw the employee card lying alone on the table, face - up.
Xu Qingqing put down her bag and tried to recall how she had placed the employee card last night.
She always placed the employee card face - down on the table to prevent others from seeing her information.
But now the card was face - up, which meant someone had touched it.
Xu Qingqing didn't think much of it.
Since Lu Qi often forgot to bring his employee card, he would borrow hers to swipe into the storage room.
Maybe he had taken it this time too.
Xu Qingqing changed into her work uniform, picked up the employee card, swiped it, and entered the storage room.
At the sight of the mess, Xu Qingqing was shocked.
She walked in disbelief around the room and looked at the empty first row of shelves.
"What's going on?"
Xu Qingqing let out a scream. All the vases in the first row had been smashed to the ground, shattering into countless pieces.
There were vases of various colors, and all of them had been broken into pieces the size of a thumb.
Not a single intact piece remained, indicating how much hatred the person who smashed the vases must have had.
The fragments of the vases were scattered everywhere, on all the shelves and in every corner of the room.
All these vases were extremely valuable. Two of them were meant to be sold by Lu Qi, and the rest were brought in by customers for repair.
"Lu Qi, come here quickly!"
Xu Qingqing was so heart - broken that she could hardly breathe. She leaned against the storage - room door and shouted.
Hearing Xu Qingqing's call, Lu Qi grabbed a bun and rushed into the storage room.
"What's up?"
When Lu Qi saw what had happened in the storage room, his casual tone suddenly stopped. The bun in his hand dropped to the ground due to the shock.
"Who... who did this?"
Lu Qi first rubbed his eyes in disbelief. After confirming it was real, he let out a crazy scream.
Lu Qi was extremely panicked. His back felt alternately cold and hot, and his head felt dizzy.
He rushed into the storage room, knelt on the ground, and looked at the fragments all over the place. He pounded the ground in pain and anger.
Many of these fragments were from vases brought in by regular customers. Now they were all in pieces. How could he explain this to them?