Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

The moment he said it, the other customers in the store erupted in uproar, crying out in alarm: "Are you serious? I was just in the fitting room—they didn't film me too, did they?"

The customers dropped the clothes they were browsing and crowded toward the register. Seeing how serious things had suddenly become, the clerk grew frightened: "Sir, you can't just say things like that. We've had this shop here for five years—our reputation is beyond reproach. How can you accuse us of secretly filming people?"

"Whether you filmed or not, you know damn well. Cut the crap—get your boss out here. This isn't over!" The man slammed his palm on the counter and roared.

"Sir, everything requires evidence. You're spouting nonsense here without a shred of proof and hurting our business. We can call the police," the clerk warned quickly.

"Evidence? Evidence? Of course I have evidence!" The man held up the P4 and said, "I've already downloaded the video and put it on this P4. You get your boss out here—this isn't over."

"Is that so? If there really is evidence, then pull it out and show everyone," the clerk said. He figured the man was bluffing; he was a veteran employee of this shop and had never heard of any camera being installed.

"Th-this can't be shown to you," the man said, faltering for a moment. "Wait until your boss gets here."

Seeing the man hem and haw, the clerk grew all the more certain the fellow was here to make trouble. If you have evidence, why not show everyone? His confidence swelled, and he gave a cold snort: "Sir, you have evidence but won't produce it—then I'm afraid I can't help you. I very much doubt your purpose in coming here. Are you just trying to pick a fight?"

"Fuck your mother!" Hearing the clerk dare to mock him, the man flew into a rage. "So what if I won't show you? I say there is evidence, so there is. Hurry up, stop dawdling, go get your boss—you really think I don't dare smash up your shop?"

"You were in there changing just now too, weren't you?" Yang Ce glanced at Jing Yu and asked.

"Yeah, I changed." Jing Yu nodded with a frown. "No telling whether there really is a camera in there."

"Then you—" Yang Ce had had no intention of watching this farce play out; whatever happened had little to do with him. But now that Jing Yu was involved, things were different. Jing Yu might not be anyone special to Yang Juehuan, but she was at least a friend, so having seen this, Yang Ce could not simply walk away.

"It's fine. I only took off my outer clothes, not my underwear," Jing Yu said with a smile. "I've always been very careful about that sort of thing."

Jing Yu had grown up amid the mixed crowds of society and had probably seen plenty of this sort of thing. She was always careful to protect herself—which was, in its way, a fine quality.

"Then do as you please. If you dare smash up my shop, you'll pay for every last bit of it," the clerk snorted, utterly unafraid.

Just then a middle-aged, overweight man came briskly toward them, asking as he walked, "What's going on here? What happened?"

"Manager Wang!" The clerk looked up, saw the fat man, and said, "It's like this—this customer says he was secretly filmed while trying on clothes in our fitting room and that it was posted on the internet."

"Oh?" Manager Wang nodded and then said, "Who said that? I'm the manager here, my surname is Wang. What exactly is going on?"

"So you're the manager." The man glanced at Manager Wang. "Good, you're exactly who I'm looking for. Come on, let's talk in your office."

"Whatever you have to say, say it here." Manager Wang's face darkened. "You're making a huge racket here and scaring off all my customers. If you don't explain yourself clearly right here, how am I supposed to do business after this?"

"Hah, so you're saying I wasn't secretly filmed, and I'm just here to make trouble on purpose?" The man glared and sneered.

"I never said that. But after kicking up this fuss here, now you want to go to the office—what's that supposed to mean? Why not lay it all out clearly and let everyone see whose responsibility this is?" Manager Wang shot back without backing down.

"Damn it, if you want to make a fool of yourself, don't blame me for being rude!" The man gritted his teeth. "I originally wanted to settle this privately with you, but since you want to blow it up yourself—heh heh—let them watch if they want. I'll risk it all."

"Oh no, not here!" The woman beside the man saw him about to open the P4 and cried out in alarm to stop him.

"Here is fine. What's there to be afraid of? But let me say this up front—once I play it here, this won't be so easily settled," the man said.

"No problem. If you can really produce valid evidence that you were secretly filmed, then we'll do whatever you say. If you want me to pay you a million, I'll accept that too." Manager Wang had never installed any camera in the fitting room, and he had just sent others to check the shop, finding nothing out of the ordinary. That was why he spoke with such certainty.

"You said it!" The man pulled out the P4 and pressed the play button.

The footage was shot from above, looking downward. Though not very clear, it was plainly a fitting room. Before long a woman walked in and began to undress. Since it was summer, she wore little; after taking off her clothes, she was left in only a bra and a pair of panties. But for some reason, the woman then took off her bra as well, exposing her breasts. Then she tilted her face up and swayed back and forth in the fitting room, dancing. The onlookers burst into a roar of laughter. But when the woman's face became clear, it was unmistakably the girlfriend of the man who had been throwing the tantrum.

The woman was now covering her face, standing behind the man and not daring to make a sound. The man, however, was furious: "See for yourselves—is this your fitting room or not? Here, here, and here, they all have markings. I've already compared them—this is definitely your shop."

Manager Wang's expression shifted. Though the video was not very clear, he could still recognize the fitting room of his own shop. After a moment's thought, however, he said, "It's true this is our fitting room. But I find it highly suspect—when a normal person goes to try on clothes, how could they possibly put on a striptease in there? The more I look at it, the more it seems staged. This isn't something you recorded yourselves on purpose to extort us, is it?"

The man's face changed, and he was rendered speechless by Manager Wang's words, flushing bright red with fury: "I admit my girlfriend shouldn't have been dancing in there, but nobody ever said dancing in a fitting room is forbidden!"

"In any case, I'm highly suspicious of your motives. But since you won't believe me, let's all go look at the fitting room together. If a camera can be found—same as before—I'll pay you a million." Manager Wang spoke with full confidence.

"Fine, let's go!" the man snorted.

"Wait." Yang Ce stepped forward, smiling, and blocked Manager Wang's path.

"What do you want?" Manager Wang was taken aback—he had not expected another customer to step forward.

"My friend was in the fitting room trying on clothes just now too. If a camera is found, are you going to compensate me as well?" Yang Ce asked coldly.

Staring at this Cheng Yaojin bursting in from out of nowhere, Manager Wang was baffled yet powerless. He assumed Yang Ce was trying to cash in on the chaos, so he said, "Fine. If a camera is found, I'll pay you whatever you ask."

"I want this shop of yours. Will you give it to me?" Yang Ce asked with a smile.

"That—" Manager Wang was rendered speechless by Yang Ce's words. "This has nothing to do with you. I'd ask you not to get involved—or I'll call the police and report you for extortion."