Taming The Hidden Bigshot By Kissing Him-Chapter 626: Apologizing and Losing All Face

Qiao Xi raised her eyes to look at the police and Mrs. Pei, saying, "I have another piece of evidence in my hands, which might suggest that this matter also involves malicious competition among peers."

She handed her phone to the police and continued, "This is a photo taken this morning. The time shown on it indicates that Mrs. Pei had visited Yingyue Pavilion across the street and had a cordial conversation with their manager before coming to our Furong Beauty Salon."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Pei panicked. Not only had she failed to accomplish her goal, but involving others could bring the wrath of the Lu Family down upon her.

As a branch family’s wife, she wouldn’t be able to handle it, and the main family might even blame her.

The game was over!

Her face turned unpleasant as she said, "I admit that I did it, but this has nothing to do with Yingyue Pavilion. My relationship with their manager is good, so we just exchanged polite words. I simply couldn’t bear to see you sisters-in-law teaming up to bully my daughter. Everyone knows my daughter has feelings for Xie Xubai, but Huo Sijiao just had to interfere!"

"As a mother, I couldn’t swallow this anger. That’s why I did such a foolish thing during your opening ceremony. I admit it was me who slipped the necklace into her pocket—I just wanted to teach you all a lesson!"

This motive indeed seemed plausible.

The police looked at her, somewhat helpless, and said, "Such behavior is illegal. You’ll face detention and fines."

Mrs. Pei’s face turned even paler.

Pei Chun cried and said, "My mom can’t go to jail. The matter is already clear; it’s not that serious, right?"

The policeman spoke softly, "If the matter can be privately resolved, it can end with simple verbal education. However, if an agreement isn’t reached between the parties, then it might indeed go to court."

Everyone understood what he had implied.

Pei Chun’s face turned like a liver-colored hue. Was this situation forcing them to offer an apology?

She couldn’t believe she had to apologize to Huo Sijiao again!

Pei Chun bit her lip tightly, unable to utter a single word.

Mrs. Pei couldn’t help but panic when she heard about detention and court proceedings. Although she had previously considered every step carefully, thinking she could make the Furong Beauty Salon take the blow and suffer in silence...

No one had expected...

That Qiao Xi would perceive her scheme in advance.

This woman was indeed smart—no wonder Miss Lu regarded her as a thorn in her side.

"Miss Qiao, Miss Huo."

Mrs. Pei softened her tone, her heart filled with humiliation.

"This matter is my fault. I apologize to you both. I acted foolishly driven by maternal love. Please forgive me. I promise I will never do something like this again in the future."

Mrs. Pei gritted her teeth, forcing herself to appear amicable.

The more arrogant and domineering she had been before, the more pathetic and absurd she seemed now.

Huo Sijiao’s face flushed with anger, "You think a few words of apology can make it all go away? You wanted to turn our grand opening into a laughingstock in the entire Imperial Capital—how vicious of you! Pei Chun chasing after Xie Xubai has nothing to do with our salon, yet you targeted us. Such a mother really knows how to defend her child, doesn’t she?"

She sneered sarcastically, "If you had succeeded today, then Li Qian would have been dragged off to jail. Her bright youth utterly ruined. A sixty-eight-thousand-dollar diamond necklace—Mrs. Pei, you really went all in!"

"All for the sake of your daughter!"

She was fuming with rage.

Qiao Xi gently patted her shoulder to calm her and said, "Mrs. Pei, you’ve apologized to us, but have you forgotten to apologize to Li Qian? She is the biggest victim here."

Mrs. Pei squinted, suppressing the fury in her heart, and said, "I apologize."

She clicked her heels deliberately as she walked to Li Qian and said, "I’m sorry, young lady. I should not have framed you—that was my fault."

"I..." Li Qian was at a loss, unable to believe the sudden turn of events.

This wealthy lady was actually apologizing to her—it felt like a dream.

After finishing her apology, Mrs. Pei looked at Qiao Xi and asked, "Young Madam Huo, are you satisfied with this? Do we need to discuss further conditions?" freewёbnoνel.com

"Compensation for Li Qian’s mental distress—she’s been scared. Don’t you think, Mrs. Pei, that you owe her that?" Naturally, Qiao Xi wanted to stand up for her staff.

Mrs. Pei replied, "Alright, I’ll give her twenty thousand for mental distress."

"Mrs. Pei, how generous." Qiao Xi smiled and said, "Then why not include compensation for our salon’s losses as well? The downtime of so many beauticians and the missed appointments caused by this commotion—they all deserve reimbursement. These people wasted their time and energy because of your recklessness."

This was truly asking for a lot.

Still, Mrs. Pei had no choice but to be the scapegoat to put an end to this.

She said, "Fine, I’ll pay!"

"Manager Zhao, please calculate the damages immediately and report to Mrs. Pei. Once she pays up, the matter will be concluded."

Qiao Xi wasn’t planning to escalate the situation further.

All she wanted was to restore the salon’s reputation.

Manager Zhao had already started calculating upon hearing her instructions.

With her good arithmetic skill, it didn’t take long before she reached a conclusion.

"Mrs. Pei, based on each beautician’s commission rates and factoring in the appointments of the customers waiting for their treatments, the total amount comes to forty-six thousand two hundred and eight yuan. Would you prefer to pay by card or..."

Qiao Xi calmly added, "Let’s just waive the eight yuan for Mrs. Pei."

Mrs. Pei, livid, countered angrily, "No need! I can still afford eight yuan!"

The bulk was already paid—who would care about eight yuan!

Waiving those eight yuan felt like an intentional humiliation!

She took out her card from her bag and handed it over.

Manager Zhao processed the payment on the spot and returned the card to her.

"Thank you for your patronage, Mrs. Pei."

Mrs. Pei clutched the card tightly, the sharp edges digging painfully into her palm.

Forcing a semblance of composure, she asked, "Young Madam Huo, is this matter resolved now? Can my daughter and I leave?"

Qiao Xi magnanimously replied, "Please."

With a face dark as thunderclouds, Mrs. Pei grabbed Pei Chun and stormed out of the salon.

As soon as they stepped outside to a quieter area, Mrs. Pei slapped Pei Chun across the face: "Everything is ruined because of you! I could have left unscathed, but now we’re the laughingstock of the Imperial Capital!"

Pei Chun stared at her incredulously: "Mom, how was I supposed to know it was really you? I was trying to support you—I didn’t want you to go after Huo Sijiao for me! If you’ve lost face, so have I! And now you’re hitting me!"

She was utterly aggrieved.

Mrs. Pei replied coldly, "Mind your own business when it comes to me. Instead, focus on capturing Xie Xubai’s heart. If you can’t win him over, then escalate things—make it irreversible. For a family as prestigious as the Xie Family, they would be compelled to take responsibility. You must marry into a good family and bring me some honor."

Despite being respectfully addressed as "Mrs. Pei," in front of the Pei Family’s matriarch, all she could do was bow and scrape.

Pei Chun covered her reddened cheek and stormed off in frustration: "I don’t need you to teach me!"

Mrs. Pei took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

Her dignity and reputation had crumbled completely, but at least the Lu Family wasn’t implicated. Otherwise, both the Lu and Pei Families would blame her for meddling.

The excuse of standing up for her daughter was the most defensible one!

Clenching her teeth, she made a mental note: Today’s grudge is settled! She would reclaim her dignity someday.

...

Back inside Furong Beauty Salon, Qiao Xi explained the situation to the police and had Old Chen courteously escort them out.

She then instructed Manager Zhao to resume regular customer appointments, and the crowd in the lobby dispersed.

The salon resumed normal operations.

Huo Sijiao couldn’t hold back and asked, "Sister-in-law, why didn’t you press charges? After she pulled something like this, I’d rather wipe my hands of the apology and compensation! It’s not like the Huo Family lacks money!"