Xiao Rui’s smug face stiffened. When she saw Su Mo coming, she thought that she could show off in front of Han Ruochen and prove to her that she had won. But who would have thought that as soon as Su Mo arrived, he would tell Han Ruochen everything? Forget about making Han Ruochen misunderstand; the man was this close to drawing a line with her. Xiao Rui was fuming mad and couldn’t help but say, "I was just telling Miss Han not to push herself. We all know that she had sold her job and has no means of earning. And yet she bought clothes for more than one hundred yuan."

Her voice was quite loud, and she even attracted the attention of several of the customers in the shop, who turned to look at Han Ruochen with a frown on their faces. Some of them even silently questioned why the woman was trying to bite off more than she could chew when she did not have enough money.

When Xiao Rui heard the murmurs, she was quite proud of herself.

"That’s enough!" Su Mo glared at the woman next to him. This was the reason why he never liked Xiao Rui; she was petty and had an ugly way with her words. What was she even trying to do by using such foul words against Han Ruochen? Even if Han Ruochen did not have money, that was her problem. Why was Xiao Rui poking her nose into her matters?

More importantly, Su Mo knew that Han Ruochen was not the kind of woman who would try to stretch further than her own limits; if she came to the shop and tried the clothes on, then she certainly could buy them.

"Why are you getting angry at me? I am just looking out for her," pouted Xiao Rui.

"Are you sure that you are looking out for her and not trying to ruin her reputation?" the proprietress couldn’t help but say with a sneer.

Xiao Rui whipped her head and turned to look at the woman who was bent on going against her and cursed in her head. "Why are you poking your nose in our matter? This has nothing to do with you."

"You are causing trouble in my shop without knowing anything. This young lady here owns a fishing boat, how can you say that she cannot afford to buy a few sets of clothes? What do you even know about her to make such baseless claims?" The proprietress had had enough of the nonsense that Xiao Rui was spouting from her mouth. It was really ugly to listen to her foolish talk. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Impossible!" When Xiao Rui heard that Han Ruochen had bought a fishing boat, her first reaction was to reject the notion. How could Han Ruochen even have the money to buy a fishing boat? She turned to look at Han Ruochen, who looked rather calm without a hint of worry in her eyes. "You—"

"Do you want me to show you the licence?" Han Ruochen questioned with a raised brow.

Xiao Rui’s face turned the shade of an ugly pallor. She opened her mouth and then closed it before saying in an upsetting manner, "Who knows how you bought that fishing boat? The last thing we know you are known for getting close to the influential men—"

Slap!

The sound of the crisp slap landing on Xiao Rui’s cheek echoed in the shop.

Xiao Rui, who had never expected that Han Ruochen would dare to do such a thing in a public place, was left stunned. She raised her hand and touched the cheek that had been slapped, and looked at the woman in shock. "You—you actually slapped me?"

"It seemed like Teacher Xiao’s memory was not very good. I have told you time and time again that making up rumours and spreading them is not something that you can do without facing the consequences. What is it? The last time you missed a trip to the police station, and you are not feeling satisfied with that alone?" Han Ruochen sneered coldly. The thing that she hated the most was someone maligning her reputation. In her past life, she suffered quite a lot due to those gossip mongrels and swore that she would never allow anyone to ruin her reputation ever again.

Xiao Rui’s complexion turned pale, as she never expected that Han Ruochen would threaten her with the police again. She looked at the woman in shock and stammered, "You...you...have you lost your mind? You want to bother the police officers for something so small?"

"What do you mean by small? You are spreading false rumours about me and ruining my reputation. As long as there are enough witnesses and evidence, I can sue for defaming me! Don’t think that just because your father is a section head, you can do whatever you want. If you don’t believe me, then come with me." As she spoke she reached out to take hold of Xiao Rui’s wrist.

Han Ruochen wanted to warn the woman. In her past life, she did not know what Xiao Rui did, but she landed herself in prison. She only heard some bits and pieces of information from Han Ziyan, who mocked her for working with a criminal. Her mother-in-law even praised Han Ziyan for her quick wit for selling the job earlier on, or else the trouble would have come knocking on their own doors.

Given Xiao Rui’s unruly temperament, it must be because of her parents, who were clearly spoiling her rotten. However, they forgot about one thing. They would take mercy on their daughter, but others won’t.

"You! You have simply lost your mind!" Xiao Rui was scared silly when she saw that Han Ruochen looked really serious. She flung her arm and then walked out of the shop without looking back; behind her, Su Mo bowed apologetically to Han Ruochen and then chased after Xiao Rui. not because he was worried about her but because he was worried that the woman would tattle tale to his mother.