A Lesson At The Mall

The legendary jewelry I ordered for my little sister had finally arrived at the boutique, so I brought her to pick it up. The moment we stepped into the mall, someone walked straight into me from the opposite direction. A cup of scalding hot coffee in her hand splashed all over my clothes. Seeing that the other person was a woman, I was just about to brush it off and say it was fine. However, the very next second, her crimson-painted fingernail jabbed straight at my forehead, and she spat right into my face. “Are you blind? Can’t you see where you’re going? Do you know how expensive this coffee is? It’s a special blend from the jewelry boutique! Someone like you can’t afford to drink it in your entire life!” She kept going, her words getting harsher by the second. Beside me, my sister’s eyes immediately turned red with fright. Not wanting to argue in front of her, I decided to call the police and let them deal with it. However, before I could do anything, the woman suddenly grabbed my sister by the arm. “So young and already with a kid so big, huh? Did you finish school before becoming someone’s mistress? Since you bumped into me in a mall owned by my family’s company, Jennings Group, I shall educate you on behalf of your parents today! Or you might cause even bigger trouble out there someday!” I froze. Jennings Group? As a daughter of the Jennings family, why haven’t I seen this so-called relative before? Chapter 1 My chest burned, and anger surged up inside me. However, even that humiliation couldn’t compare to the sight of my sister’s red, teary eyes. That alone nearly broke me. I forced down my anger and asked, “Are you part of the Jennings family?” I had spent many years studying overseas, so my understanding of the family’s affairs back home was somewhat out of date. I didn’t want to start a conflict with someone who might be related to us. If there were a misunderstanding, it would be better to clear it up. However, the woman froze for a moment after hearing my question. Then, as if she had just heard the biggest joke in the world, she burst out laughing. Her crimson fingernail shot up again, nearly poking me in the eye. “Who the hell do you think you are? You think you’re worthy of asking about the Jennings family?” I grabbed her wrist and told her, “If you want to talk, talk. Pointing fingers at people isn’t exactly good manners.” Her wrist was caught in my hand. I wasn’t even using much force, yet she suddenly screamed as if in pain and started slapping my arm with her other hand. “How dare you touch me? Do you even know who I am? I’m Mr. Jennings’s fiancée! You picked the wrong person to mess with today. You’ve offended me, Linda Miranda! You must be a country bumpkin visiting Harbor City for the first time, huh? In this city, everyone bows their head when they see the Jennings family. Believe it or not, one phone call from me and you two won’t even find a bridge to sleep under in this city!” Beside me, my sister’s eyes filled with tears. She tugged gently at my sleeve, her small hand trembling. She choked as she said, “It’s okay… Let’s just forget it…” My heart skipped a beat. My sister had always been born frail, so the entire family cherished her dearly. The doctors had repeatedly warned us that she shouldn’t be frightened or stressed. Yet now, her little face had gone pale, and tears rolled down like broken pearls as she sniffled quietly. In that moment, I completely lost the will to argue with that woman. “Come on. I’ll take you home,” I said softly. I bent down, lifted my sister into my arms, and turned to leave. At the same time, I quickly sent a message to my assistant, telling him to bring the car around immediately to pick us up. When I shook off the woman’s hand, I used a bit more strength than before. Linda staggered back two steps, nearly falling to the ground. She shrieked angrily, “Why are you running? Feeling guilty, huh? Without my permission, no one leaves! You think you can just walk into a Jennings family-owned mall wearing some cheap knockoff dress like that? Which man gave you that outfit as charity? It looks like the man you found isn’t that impressive either, only buying you bargain trash.” My breathing hitched for a moment when I heard that. The dress I was wearing could easily buy an entire jewelry set. Only someone completely ignorant would say something like that. Still cursing loudly, she stepped forward and blocked my path. Her sharp nails pointed straight toward my sister’s face. “And you, you little brat, why are you crying? I know the tricks that girls like you play. Am I wrong? Hanging around a shameless woman like this. Sooner or later, you’ll end up selling yourself too–” “Move!” I held my sister tighter. The coffee soaking my chest still burned, its sting mingling with my anger to set my nerves ablaze. “What if I don’t?” She lifted her chin, the contempt on her face undisguised. “This is Jennings Mall. Do you think you can just come and go whenever you want? I bet you came here looking for trouble. And once you realized I was Mr. Jennings’s fiancée, you thought you could scam some money out of me, didn’t you? Or are you secretly in love with Henry Jennings, and you’re trying to steal my man?” In just a few sentences, Linda had painted me as some shameless woman trying to seduce her fiancé. I frowned, repeating the name Henry Jennings in my mind. Just as I was about to respond, I realized the crowd around us had grown in size. Some people had taken out their phones and started recording the commotion. Seeing that, she became even more smug. Facing the cameras, she shouted dramatically, “Everyone, come take a look! This woman bumped into me and tried to run away. When I exposed her, she even got violent, and now she’s trying to seduce my fiancé! When my fiancé gets here, I’d love to see whether he’d ever look twice at a woman like her!” Chapter 2 My sister had never been treated like that growing up, and under Linda’s stream of filthy insults, she finally burst into tears. Her small body trembled violently in my arms. My heart twisted painfully at the sight. I didn’t have the patience to argue with Linda anymore. All I wanted was to take my sister away as quickly as possible and calm her down. Holding her tightly, I tried to walk past Linda from the side, but Linda stuck to us like glue. She blocked the path and even deliberately stretched out her foot to trip me. “I’ll say this one more time. Move,” I said through clenched teeth. “What? Feeling guilty now, are you? Too scared to talk back? I’m not moving. If you’ve got the guts, you can–” Before she could finish her sentence, she saw that I was really about to leave. Suddenly, she reached out from behind and shoved me hard. I was completely unprepared. Still holding my sister, I staggered forward and fell, my knees slamming hard against the marble floor. As a dull thud echoed through the mall, pain exploded through my body, and my vision went black for a moment. The sudden fall frightened my sister even more. She screamed as she slipped from my arms, her small arm scraping across the ground. It immediately turned red and swollen. “Wah… Joni!” She lay on the ground, stunned for two seconds before bursting into heartbreaking sobs. My heart felt like it was being crushed in someone’s grip. Ignoring the sharp pain in my knees, I scrambled over and pulled her into my arms, frantically checking her over. A thin bead of blood had already formed on her delicate skin. Meanwhile, Linda stood nearby with her arms crossed, not the slightest bit of guilt on her face. Instead, she sneered. “Stop playing the victim? It’s just a fall. Are you trying to stage this and scam me for compensation? Has your whole family been living off this trick for generations?” The crowd around us immediately erupted into murmurs. Someone couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted, “What’s wrong with you? She was carrying a child!” “Exactly! You’re the one who pushed her!” Embarrassed and furious, Linda pointed angrily and snapped back at them, “What’s it to do with you? You’re a bunch of broke nobodies! What do you people know? Get out of here! This is Harbor City. You don’t get a say here!” She became more arrogant as she spoke. Then, she even lifted her foot and kicked my lower back. “Now, apologize to me. Otherwise, I’ll have security drag you out and throw you to the wilderness!” I shielded my sister beneath me and looked up at her. There was no warmth left in my eyes. The dull ache in my knees and the burning pain in my chest were nothing compared to the rage I felt seeing my sister’s tear-streaked face. “Linda, right? And Henry?” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened my contacts. “Call whoever you want, it won’t help!” she shrieked like a wild cat whose tail had been stepped on. “In Harbor City, no one refuses me! And no one dares to challenge the Jennings family!” With a sudden swing of her arm, she slapped the phone right out of my hand. The phone hit the floor, and the screen instantly shattered into a spiderweb of cracks. “Who are you pretending to call, huh? Let me guess, you’re trying to summon that fat sugar daddy of yours? Well, forget it. Our mall doesn’t welcome people like you.” She stepped on the broken phone with her high heel and twisted it. The screen crumbled beneath her shoe. “Fine. I’m feeling generous today. Next week is my big day with Henry. Since you ruined my mood today, I’ll still be merciful and let you go.” My sister shrank deeper into my arms, trembling. I stood up while holding her, a piercing pain shooting through my knees. “Take your foot off,” I said, staring at Linda’s heel. “And what if I don’t?” she sneered, stomping on my phone again. “So what if I smashed your cheap phone? Talk back again, and I’ll make sure both of you have to crawl out of this mall.” People around us started to get angry on our behalf. “How can you do that? Just because you’re rich and powerful doesn’t mean you can treat people like that!” “Even if that woman really were a mistress, you can’t hit someone…” Just then, a sudden commotion rippled through the crowd. Someone gasped, “Mr. Jennings is here!” I looked up to see a man in a tailored suit walking over, surrounded by people. He stood tall, his sharp eyes carrying a kind of deliberately practiced authority. So that was him. Chapter 3 Linda’s eyes lit up, and the arrogant attitude she had just moments ago vanished instantly. In its place, she put on a tearful expression, as if she might cry at any second. Swaying her hips, she hurried over in small steps. “Henry! You’re finally here! These two bullied me!” As she spoke, she pointed at the coffee on her clothes while pretending to sob. “Look! They ran into me and spilled the special coffee the jewelry boutique had prepared for me all over me. It was so hot! I tried to reason with them, but they even got physical.” Linda rolled up her sleeve and showed him her arm. “See? She twisted my arm until it turned red! And with this little girl crying, anyone who didn’t see what happened would think I was the one bullying them!” Hearing that, I gasped. Most of the coffee had splashed onto me; only a few drops had landed on her, and she had the nerve to twist the story like that. Henry frowned as he helped to steady her. When his gaze swept over my sister and me, there was not a hint of familiarity in his eyes. His brow furrowed even deeper as his gaze landed on my stained skirt and my sister’s tear-streaked face. He said with contempt, “So it was you two who bullied Linda?” “Mr. Jennings,” I cut in, “you can check the surveillance cameras and see exactly what happened.” I forced down the anger rising in my chest. The last time I saw Henry was years ago, the year he managed to study his way out of that remote mountain village. Back then, he had stood outside the gates of our family manor with a heavy sack of sweet potatoes slung over his shoulder. He had rubbed the corner of his shirt nervously, his face red as he tried to thank my grandfather. At that time, there had still been a kind of rustic innocence in his features. His eyes were filled with hope for the future, nothing like the slick opportunism he carried now. Grandpa had always cared deeply about the village where he was born and raised. That was why he had been funding the education of that village’s students for years. Thinking of Grandpa, I slowly unclenched my fists. Fine. For Grandpa’s sake, I would give him one more chance. Whether he seized it or not would depend entirely on him. Henry gave me a cold stare, his gaze fixed on the large dark coffee stain across my chest. His expression was flippant, and his tone was thick with disgust. “Surveillance? Why would I need to check that? I trust my girlfriend’s word. An adult who can’t even walk properly? I’d say you did it on purpose.” Linda immediately cried even harder and shrank into his arms. Her fingertip brushed across the barely visible coffee speck on the hem of her dress. “Henry, it’s not that I care about the coffee. I’m just worried they might have gotten burned. After all, if something happened in our own mall, it wouldn’t sound good. But they pushed me. Look at this dress, it’s the one you gave me.” Henry’s brows knitted tightly together as if he had just heard something unforgivable. “This dress was custom-made for Linda by an Italian designer. It’s the only one in the world, and it’s worth a million. Now that you’ve dirtied it with coffee, even repairs won’t restore it to its original state.” My grip around my sister’s arm tightened, disbelief washing over me. I had seen that dress in a fashion magazine just last week. It was an entry-level luxury brand piece, listed on the official website for only three thousand dollars. How was it worth a million now? “Mr. Jennings, are you sure you weren’t scammed? A million for that dress?” I suppressed the bitter taste in my mouth. Even my voice trembled slightly. Back then, Grandpa had pulled them out of the mud by funding his education, paving the way for his future, and even bringing him into Jennings Group to work. And now, for the sake of a compulsive liar, he was humiliating the granddaughter whom Grandpa cherished the most. “What did you say?” Henry snapped, as if someone had stepped on a sore spot. “How would a country bumpkin like you know? Who are you to comment on Linda’s clothes? I think you’re just trying to dodge responsibility! Apologize to Linda right now and compensate us one million dollars. Or I’ll call the police immediately and have you arrested!” I took a deep breath. Then, deciding to give him one final chance, I said, “Henry Jennings, my name is Joni Jennings.” Chapter 4 A flicker of confusion appeared on Henry’s face. He muttered my name under his breath, repeating it slowly. “You said your name is Joni Jennings? Do you even know who Joni Jennings is? She’s the eldest daughter of the Jennings family! Who are you to impersonate the Jennings family’s young heiress?” Seeing his reaction, Linda covered her mouth and laughed. “So she’s not some country bumpkin; she’s just crazy, running around pretending to be some rich young lady. Everyone knows the real Miss Joni has been living in Milan for the past few years. Henry, if you ask me, this woman’s probably done this before. Who knows how many times she’s pretended to be Miss Joni to scam people out of their money?” Henry let out a cold laugh. “Linda’s right. For the sake of the Jennings family’s reputation, we can’t let her walk away today. Otherwise, it would be a disgrace to the Old Mr. Jennings after all the care he’s shown me.” Holding my sister in my arms, I stepped forward, and my gaze drifted to the watch on his wrist. It was a gift from Grandpa. “Henry,” I said, “the watch you’re wearing is one I bought in Milan. Grandpa said you had just secured a major project for the Jennings family in the Southeast Region, so he wanted to give it to you as a reward. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?” Henry’s expression shifted. For a moment, he hesitated. Perhaps, deep down, he didn’t want to believe that he might have offended the real daughter of the Jennings family. After steadying himself, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Sonny, has Miss Joni returned yet?” My heart skipped a beat. I hadn’t told anyone about my return home yet. I was just about to call out to Sonny, but before I could speak, Linda suddenly covered my mouth from behind. With my sister still in my arms, I couldn’t break free. All I could do was watch as Henry’s face darkened while he hung up the phone. When he looked at me again, his gaze was the same one he’d give a lunatic. “Hah. I must be too kind to believe the nonsense from a lowlife like you. Miss Joni is currently in Milan attending an exhibition. It looks like you just got lucky with your guess. What magazine did you read that interview in—the one where Grandpa mentioned giving me this watch? And you thought you could use that to pretend to be the young heiress?” I stared at Henry’s arrogant face. The last bit of hesitation in my heart, held back only because of Grandpa, vanished. Instead, disappointment washed over me. Just as I was about to signal for the mall staff and have them contact Jennings Group’s legal department, the sister in my arms suddenly began coughing violently. Her little face turned bright red, and her breathing grew rapid and shallow. “Susie?” All the blood in my body seemed to freeze. Those were the signs of her asthma attack! Chapter 5 I frantically reached into my bag for the emergency inhaler. My fingertips had just touched it when Linda suddenly lunged forward. She snatched my bag away and hurled it to the ground. Everything spilled out across the floor. The life-saving inhaler rolled away and stopped right at Henry’s feet. “Trying to fake an illness to get out of paying?” Linda sneered. Then, she stepped on my bag and crushed the inhaler beneath her heel, grinding it slowly. The sharp cracking sound made my heart shatter. I stared at her in disbelief as she shouted. “I knew you were all a bunch of scammers! First, you stage an accident, then you pretend to be sick, and now you impersonate the young lady of the Jennings family? Do you think the Jennings family is filled with idiots?” Beside me, Susie’s cough was growing weaker and weaker. It felt like my heart had been thrown into a shredder, torn into pieces with every second that passed. “Give me the medicine! My sister has asthma! You’ve worked for the Jennings family for so many years. Don’t you know my sister has asthma?” I lunged forward as I shouted hoarsely, but Henry grabbed my shoulders and pinned me down. “Still acting, are you? Sure, you even managed to look that up. Miss Susie does have asthma, that rich-people illness. But who the hell is your sister? Now you’re making her fake an asthma attack just to escape responsibility? Apologize.” Henry’s voice was as cold as ice. “Apologize to Linda, pay one million dollars in compensation, and I’ll give you the inhaler.” “Are you insane? She’s having an asthma attack!” My tears mixed with anger as they fell onto the back of his hand. “This is a mall under your management! Are you really going to let something happen to us here?” “Henry, I am Joni Jennings, and you’ll regret treating us like this. How can you face Grandpa after everything he’s done for you?” At the mention of what Grandpa had done for him, Henry’s eyes widened. For a moment, I thought he might finally hand the inhaler back, but instead, he laughed a sinister laugh. “What are your lives worth anyway? I'll say this one more time. Stop pretending to be a member of the Jennings family and going around scamming people. I can give you the inhaler, but you have to pay the price for what you did today.” The surrounding crowd had fallen silent. In Harbor City, everyone knew the Jennings family. If someone from the Jennings family so much as clears their throat, the entire city would suffer for it for three days. “Henry, stop wasting your breath on her. You want the inhaler? Sure. Kneel and beg me for it. Then, I’ll give this piece of junk back to you.” Susie’s breathing was getting weaker. Her little face had turned as pale as paper. Looking at her frail state, a chill ran down my spine. I knew I could wait no longer. “Fine,” I said. “You want one million? I’ll give you ten million.” Both Henry and Linda froze, clearly not expecting me to give in. They immediately handed me a phone and told me to gather the money. “It looks like your family will have to sell your house, your car, and even your blood to come up with that much. Take it as a lesson. Next time, don’t mess with people you shouldn’t provoke.” Even while we waited, Linda kept making things difficult for me. “Well? Where’s the kneeling? You still have to kneel!” Linda lifted her chin proudly, waiting to enjoy the sight of me humiliating myself. I held Susie tightly and slowly shifted my position. However, instead of facing Linda, I turned slightly to the side and nodded toward a man in a black suit who had just rushed over from a distance. “Felix,” I said, my voice calm again, “pass down the orders. First, freeze all of Henry Jennings’s authority within the Jennings Group. Effective immediately, suspend him pending investigation. “Second, contact the legal department and file charges against Linda Miranda for intentional assault and extortion. Third, call in a helicopter ambulance and have it arrive at the rooftop helipad as fast as possible to pick us up.” Felix Hall, my assistant, nodded and immediately began issuing instructions. Henry’s expression changed drastically. “Who are you talking to? Do you even know what you’re saying?” Linda shrieked, “Who are you putting on a show for? Hurry up and kneel for me!” I ignored them. Lowering my head, I kissed Susie gently on the forehead and whispered, “Susie, don’t be afraid. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Susie rubbed against me weakly. “Joni, I’m okay… Don’t worry about me…” Just as Henry was about to make a move against me, a group of executives in Jennings Group uniforms rushed over, surrounding an elderly man with graying hair. It was none other than Billy Porter, the highest-ranking executive administrator of the Jennings Group, a man who had long since stepped away from public affairs, and his face was pale. Looking at the crowd, he barked, “What are all of you standing there for? Arrest those two bastards immediately!”