Chapter 025: With Me Here, No One Can Harm You!

Shi Runrun stared at them, speechless.

She immediately looked at them and refuted, “Why?! Why do you want to search my bag?!”

At that moment, Lin Jing, sensing the perfect opportunity, strode over in her high heels, stopped in front of Shi Runrun, and curled her red lips into a smile. “Miss, I am the manager of this store. Here’s the situation—our security gate will sound an alarm for any items not scanned at checkout. So we suspect you might have taken something from our store.”

Shi Runrun let out a scoff. “Are you saying I stole something from your shop?!”

Lin Jing, perfectly composed and confident, replied, “That’s how it looks right now! But it’s easy to clear your name—just let us check your bag and your pockets. As long as we don’t find any of our merchandise, you’re free to go.”

Shi Runrun clutched her bag and took a step back. “You mean you want to search me? Why should I let you search me?!”

Lin Jing calmly brushed back her golden curls and let out a light laugh. “If you won’t cooperate, then we’ll have to call the police and let them handle it.”

Shi Runrun gritted her teeth. “Fine! Search me! But if you don’t find anything, it proves you’ve been falsely accusing me. I want you to apologize!”

With that, Shi Runrun opened her bag.

If your conscience is clear, the shadows mean nothing.

Shi Runrun had never stolen anything and had nothing to fear.

Lin Jing’s beautiful eyes flickered as she took the bag and searched through it. Before long, she drew out an item, holding it up before Shi Runrun with a cold sneer. “Miss, what’s this? How do you explain this diamond from the wedding dress ending up in your bag?”

A nearby saleswoman immediately chimed in, “Isn’t that the biggest diamond from the bridal gown she just tried on? So the fitting was just a pretense—she really wanted to steal this diamond!”

Shi Runrun was utterly stunned, frozen in place.

She couldn’t understand how such a large diamond had ended up in her bag.

A crowd had gathered, whispering and pointing at her.

Shi Runrun’s face went pale. “No! I didn’t steal that diamond! After I changed out of the dress, I handed it back to the saleswoman! I don’t know how it ended up in my bag!”

Lin Jing, pleased her plan had succeeded, looked at her with utter disdain and continued her cold mockery, “If you didn’t steal it, did it fly into your bag by itself? Tsk, tsk, that wedding dress costs three hundred and eighty thousand, and this diamond alone is worth over two hundred thousand. What, you liked it so much? Poor girls like you can’t afford things, so you just steal them, is that it? Thieves like you are absolutely despicable!”

Shi Runrun trembled, her heart and body shaking with humiliation.

But she still tried to defend herself. “I didn’t steal anything from your store! Please watch your mouth!”

Lin Jing sneered, “The world’s really gone upside down—a thief scolding others? The only way to deal with poor girls like you is through the law. Let’s send you to prison and let you eat prison food for a few years! How shameless! Come, take photos of her and post them on our official social media. Let everyone see what a thief looks like!”

As soon as she said it, a saleswoman did take out her phone to snap pictures.

People in the crowd also began filming, eager for more drama.

Shi Runrun’s eyes reddened instantly. In her nineteen years of life, she’d never been wealthy, but she’d always prided herself on her character.

She couldn’t bear such humiliation.

Through her tears, she shouted one last time, “I didn’t steal anything!”

Then she forced her way through the crowd, rushed into the elevator, and leaned against the wall as tears streamed down her face.

If only she’d never come to this mall…

To be accused of theft and humiliated so publicly—

After she left, the crowd dispersed.

Lin Jing sent a congratulatory message to Shi Qing: “Qingqing, you can’t imagine how satisfying that was! That wretch thinks she can flaunt herself just because she’s with Xiao Xuezheng? We can crush her at will!”

…

After leaving the mall, Shi Runrun sat by the roadside for a long time.

Her tears dried up, but she remained there, staring blankly at the passing cars.

Suddenly, she felt overwhelmingly lonely.

Her mind replayed the scene in the store: their accusations, the contemptuous stares of the crowd.

She couldn’t understand how people could be so cold, so cruel.

She hadn’t stolen anything—why would they slander her this way?

Was it fate, then, that those born poor or of low status must always be trampled underfoot by the wealthy?

Suddenly, she found herself longing desperately for Xiao Xuezheng.

She covered her face with her hands and sobbed softly.

“Xiao Xuezheng, where are you now… I miss you so much…”

As Shi Runrun whispered, a deep, magnetic male voice sounded above her.

“What’s this? I was only gone a little while, and you’re already missing me? You love me that much?”

Shi Runrun’s hands dropped. She stared wide-eyed at the tall, imposing figure before her—those finely chiseled, handsome features filling her vision.

Without a second thought, she launched herself into his arms.

“You’re finally here! You’re finally here! Wuu… wuu…”

Shi Runrun sobbed uncontrollably in his embrace, venting all the humiliation she’d endured.

Xiao Xuezheng’s strikingly handsome face lowered toward her as he reached up to gently wipe away her tears. Then he asked, “What’s wrong? Didn’t I tell you to go ahead and shop by yourself for a bit? Why are you sitting here on the roadside crying?”

For a moment, Shi Runrun wanted to tell him everything that had happened so he could avenge her.

She believed he could.

But then she thought—if she did, how would she be any different from those who’d just oppressed her?

So she dabbed her tears away, shook her head, and softly replied, “No… it’s nothing… I just suddenly thought of something sad. I’m fine now… Let’s go home.”

He gazed down at her, a cold, dangerous light flickering in his eyes for a brief instant, quickly masked as he spoke gently, “That’s not the truth.”

Shi Runrun fell silent.

Then he continued, “Shi Runrun, I’m your husband now. Whatever wrongs you suffer, whatever grievances, you can always tell me. As long as I’m here, no one can hurt you. Do you understand?”