The fake heiress loves to act? The max-level boss isn't interested in playing along.

"You don't recognize me?"

The middle-aged woman, Wang Fen, raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at Lin Jingqiu beside her: "Teacher Lin, it seems you didn't recognize me either. Are you two just forgetful or have you simply forgotten me since I've left?"

Before Su Yurou could ask further, Wang Fen said coldly, "I am Chen Man's mother. My daughter studied dance in your troupe for two years."

Su Yurou and Lin Jingqiu suddenly realized.

Chen Man is a talented, hardworking, and good-looking girl.

Last year at the arts festival, Chen Man, as the lead dancer, discovered her dance shoes were broken before going on stage, so Fu Chaochao had to take her place.

Chen Man left not long after that incident.

Unexpectedly, I saw her mother here.

Since they're acquaintances, things will be much easier.

"Mother Chen, you see, since we're all old acquaintances, this matter..."

Su Yurou spoke in a consultative tone.

"I said, I'll pay you back, five hundred yuan, I won't ask you for more."

"Five hundred yuan? How is that possible? It's just a piece of clothing."

Lin Jingqiu looked up in disbelief.

"Why not? Teacher Lin's high heels cost over a hundred yuan a pair, and I'm wearing a 500-yuan wool coat, is that too much to ask?"

Wang Fen's voice was loud, which attracted the attention of several newly arrived customers who turned to look.

Lin Jingqiu stood there, her face flushing red and then turning pale.

She was still clutching the beige trench coat in her hand, unsure whether to put it down or keep holding it.

Su Yurou stood in front of her, her face also looking very unpleasant.

But he still tried to keep his voice down: "Comrade, we're all friends, let's talk this out. It was our mistake, we should apologize and compensate as needed, but 500 is too much, can we discuss it..."

"discuss?"

Wang Fen sneered and held the coat up in front of Su Yurou.

"Is it because you can't afford to pay the damages? That makes sense. Your troupe only makes 138 yuan a month. With that kind of salary, can you really afford to pay it back?"

Su Yurou choked for a moment.

Wang Fen got more and more excited as she spoke, taking a step forward: "Besides, my Manman worked so hard as the lead dancer for so long, and you just replaced her like that without even consulting me?"

Director Su, Teacher Lin, I have a question for you. Last year at the arts festival, my daughter Chen Man's dance shoes were slashed.

Such an obvious opening, why is no one investigating or taking action? Huh?

Finally, they even had Director Su's daughter, Fu Chaochao, take over as the lead dancer.

You may have forgotten about this, but I haven't!

Su Yurou's face turned even paler.

Wang Fen pointed at Lin Jingqiu: "She's Chen Man's teacher. She was backstage at the time. I don't believe she didn't see anything or know anything."

You're all in cahoots, shoving opportunities from others into the hands of your own people!

Lin Jingqiu became anxious: "Sister Wang, what are you saying? At that time, I was focused on the performance. The show was about to start, and I was also doing this for..."

"Shut up!"

Wang Fen waved her hand to interrupt her, "Do you know which theater troupe my Manman is in now? It's at the provincial level!"

Master Cecchetti personally saw her dance and immediately wanted to recommend her for further studies abroad! Your troupe? Hmph, you've squeezed out all the talent; your life will be just so-so!

Lin Jingqiu was speechless.

She recalled what happened last year, and at the time she hadn't really thought much about it.

Looking back, it seemed strange; the tear in the dance shoe looked like it had been deliberately damaged.

Only Fu Chaochao had a motive.

But at that time, Fu Chaochao was Su Yurou's daughter.

In addition, she was a student whom Cecchetti had shown concern and offered his regards to.

In the theater troupe, who dared to say anything more?

Now that Fu Chaochao is in jail, what's the point of bringing up the old story again?

Wang Fen's companions also gathered around, each chiming in with their own comments.

"Exactly, he's just bullying people because he's the director."

"Manman is such a good child, but she was squeezed out of her place."

"Now that we've run into each other, it's a miracle."

Su Yurou felt her face burning as she listened to these words.

She wanted to argue, but the words stuck in her throat.

She didn't really investigate that matter further because... because Fu Chaochao was her daughter.

She couldn't say it, but everyone knew.

Lin Jingqiu also lowered her head and remained silent.

Seeing their reaction, Wang Fen became even more smug.

He shook the coat in his hand: "Alright, enough nonsense. Apologize, pay up, five hundred yuan, not a penny less."

"five hundred?"

Lin Jingqiu looked up. "I've seen this dress sold for just over three hundred in department stores. Why should we have to pay five hundred?"

"On what grounds?"

Wang Guifen pointed to the gray stain on her cuff.

"This is the first time I've worn these clothes, and you've dirtied them. How can I wear them again? Don't you want to pay for dry cleaning? I'm in a bad mood, don't you want to pay for my emotional distress?"

Su Yurou took a breath, trying to keep her voice steady: "Comrade Wang, this is unreasonable."

"Am I being unreasonable?"

Wang Fen's voice rose again, "When you were stealing other people's lead dance, were you reasonable? When you were bullying others, were you reasonable? Now you want to reason with me? Ridiculous."

Her companion chimed in, "That's right, pay up! Don't even think about leaving until you pay up!"

More and more customers gathered around, some whispering amongst themselves, others craning their necks to watch the spectacle.

Zhang Wen stood by anxiously, wanting to offer advice but unsure how.

Fu Hua had just seen off a few customers when she heard the commotion and turned around.

She glanced at Su Yurou, then at the coat in Wang Fen's hand, and walked over.

"Comrade,"

She spoke, her voice low but clear.

"Could you please let me take a look at the clothes?"

Wang Fen paused for a moment, then looked her up and down: "Who are you?"

"Hello, I am Fu Hua, the store manager of this store."

Fu Hua spoke calmly and firmly.

"Your clothes got dirty in my store. Please rest assured that I will handle it and make you satisfied."

Wang Fen snorted and handed over the coat.

Fu Hua took it, turned it over to the gray stain on the cuff, and examined it carefully.

"Your wool coat is made of very fine material and looks very expensive. Anyone would feel heartbroken if it fell on the ground. I completely understand how you feel."

Wang Fen's expression softened considerably, her anger subsided by these words. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Fu Hua continued, "Don't worry, no matter how this matter is handled today, whether it's cleaning or something else, I will take full responsibility."

Wang Fen's lips moved slightly, her anger subsiding a little.

But his face remained tense: "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Fu Hua didn't answer immediately, but turned around and looked at Lin Jingqiu.

"Comrade,"

She spoke calmly and composedly, "I don't think you did it on purpose. There are a lot of people in the shop, and things get messy, so bumps and scrapes are inevitable. We are all well-mannered customers and wouldn't intentionally make things difficult for anyone."

Lin Jingqiu paused for a moment, recognized Fu Hua, and looked at Su Yurou.

Su Yurou shook her head at her.

Lin Jingqiu quickly nodded: "Yes, yes, I really didn't mean to, I was in a hurry and didn't see it..."

Fu Hua nodded, then turned to Wang Fen.

"so,"

She said confidently, "We have professional emergency cleaning services for wool garments in our store. I'll have someone take it to be cleaned right now, and it will only take a few minutes. I guarantee it won't affect your ability to wear it."

She paused for a moment, then said, "If you're not satisfied after the cleaning, we can discuss it further until you are. Is that alright with you?"