Chapter 275: Chapter 275: Admission to the Hospital
To prevent Hu Jinzhi from waking up halfway and doing something harmful, the medical staff on site put restraints on her. Those who witnessed Hu Jinzhi’s madness didn’t think it was cruel for the medical staff to do so, as they had all seen her destructive power just moments before.
Xu Ke looked at the now quiet Hu Jinzhi and said coldly to the medical staff, "Please make sure to keep a close watch on her and don’t let her come out to harm people again. As for the hospitalization fees, I’ll notify her father to pay as soon as possible."
"Alright." The person who called them was Miss Bai from the Bai Family, so they weren’t worried about any potential bill-skipping. They nodded to Xu Ke, noted his request in their minds, and left with Hu Jinzhi.
With the matter resolved, people outside gradually dispersed. Lin Mengyao and Bai Ru also entered from the outside. Lin Mengyao, upon entering, threw herself into Xu Ke’s arms, speaking with a tremor in her voice, "I was so scared outside. Luckily you’re okay, otherwise, I wouldn’t know what to do." Lin Mengyao tightened her arm, as if afraid that Xu Ke might disappear in the blink of an eye.
"I watched many times from outside, those things just flew past your head, and my heart nearly stopped." Lin Mengyao said in a muffled voice.
"I’m fine, aren’t I? Don’t worry anymore." Xu Ke patted Lin Mengyao’s back and said gently.
"Thank you for today’s incident." After comforting Lin Mengyao, Xu Ke then turned his gaze to Bai Ru and said warmly.
"I really didn’t do much today, that ’thank you’ is undeserved." Bai Ru said softly, with a slight smile on her lips.
"You do deserve it. If it weren’t for you being by my side today, I would’ve panicked much more. You must accept this ’thank you’. How about we treat you to dinner tonight?" Lin Mengyao looked at Xu Ke with sparkling eyes.
Xu Ke nodded, "That’s only right."
The couple didn’t give Bai Ru any chance to refuse. Lin Mengyao pulled Bai Ru, ready to go eat, when the shop clerks, who had been hiding behind the counter, popped out one by one and blocked the shop door, preventing the three from leaving.
"What are you doing?" Lin Mengyao questioned with a stern face as she saw the door being tightly blocked. Bai Ru, who usually exuded a gentle demeanor, slightly furrowed her brow, showing traces of displeasure in her eyes. Only Xu Ke, knowing what kind of people they were dealing with, was not surprised by their actions.
"You can’t leave, the shop is in this state because of you, and you must compensate us," said the three clerks, blocking the entrance and looking assertively at the trio. Xu Ke, with his hair down and glasses on, looked like the well-off son of a noble family; Bai Ru exuded a scholarly air, seemingly gentle in temperament; only Lin Mengyao looked icily beautiful and not easy to mess with, but her earlier display of affection in Xu Ke’s arms made her seem like a paper tiger. The three clerks exchanged a look and decided to hold these three accountable for the shop’s damages.
"Because of us?" Xu Ke raised his eyebrow, repeating what was said, "If I recall correctly, all the stuff in the room was smashed by the woman who was just taken away." His voice was calm and devoid of emotion, like a machine, coldly stating a fact.
"But that woman smashed things because of hitting you. If it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t have smashed the shop, so ultimately it’s because of you that our shop got wrecked. Shouldn’t you compensate us for our loss? After all, our shop suffered misfortune due to no fault of ours." The clerk standing in the middle rebutted emotionlessly.
"Your words are somewhat laughable. Instead of holding the person responsible for the shop’s loss accountable, you come to us, the frightened customers, for compensation." Bai Ru’s expression turned gloomy. Despite her weak appearance, she seemed adorable rather than intimidating when angry, so the clerks paid her no mind.
Upon hearing Bai Ru’s words, a clerk rolled his eyes and spoke directly, "Innocent? How are you innocent? If anyone’s innocent here, it’s us. We were just minding the shop, and you guys had to invite a mentally unstable person in. Without you, she wouldn’t have come in, and the goods wouldn’t have been smashed, so isn’t compensating us the right thing to do?" said the clerk on the left, with hands on hips, speaking self-righteously.
"What you said is utterly ridiculous. If you’re in a mall and a madwoman says she knows you in front of the clerk and then empties the store, would you be accountable for her actions?" Lin Mengyao, seeing the clerk acting all assertive, felt a surge of anger. She had never encountered such shameless clerks before.
The clerk was momentarily stunned by Lin Mengyao’s words but immediately suppressed any hint of guilt upon seeing the room full of fragments and items worth millions. If these three didn’t compensate, then the clerks themselves would have to bear the cost.
"Stop with the nonsense, I’m telling you, without compensation today, you won’t be leaving this door." The clerk on the right said while locking the door in front of the three.
"You!"
Lin Mengyao and Bai Ru were infuriated by the shameless act, their faces flushed with anger.
"Doing such things in broad daylight, how is this different from robbery? It’s downright robbery!" Bai Ru, holding onto Lin Mengyao’s arm, rebuked loudly.
"If we’re robbers, then you are capitalists. Altogether, the items in this shop are worth over thirty million. Now they’ve all been destroyed. Today, there were just the three of us on shift; now that the shop is in ruins and everything’s been destroyed, our monthly salaries add up to only a few thousand. Even if we were peeled and sold, we couldn’t compensate for this loss."
"So what?" Lin Mengyao, with her hand on Bai Ru’s icy hand, asked coldly.
When Xu Ke faced these issues alone earlier, Lin Mengyao was panicked, unsure of what to do. Now that the three of them stood together, Lin Mengyao felt calm instead, her imposing demeanor now had an intimidating quality.
"Millions are an astronomical number to us, but to you, it’s like a few thousand bucks, hardly anything. Anyway, you rich people like to donate and do charity, right? Think of this as a donation—deal? If you pay this amount, it would be like saving three families, and we’ll remember your kindness." The middle clerk looked at the trio, speaking excitedly.
Seeing many such people, Xu Ke wasn’t overly reactive to their words, but for Lin Mengyao and Bai Ru, it was the first time hearing someone audaciously speak this way. Stunned, they were momentarily speechless, only widening their eyes in astonishment at the three men before them, wondering where they got the nerve and gall to demand millions for charity.
This typical "I’m poor, I’m justified" could truly render one at a loss for words.
"Where is the person responsible for managing your shop? Have them come out and talk to us." Xu Ke, not wanting to converse with these people, coldly made his request.