Li Xiaohui had just finished singing the praises of Wanlong Supermarket when she was immediately proven wrong in the most embarrassing way.
The prize redemption area at the supermarket entrance was now surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.
"I finally won two grand prizes, and you’re refusing to honor them? Or was this whole event just a scam to trick customers into spending money?"
"Yeah! Why won’t you give my brother his prize?"
Led by Song Hui and Brother Pao, their group began causing a scene right then and there.
"Everyone, come take a look! Wanlong Supermarket’s prize draw is a fraud—they won’t honor the prizes! They’re clearly trying to cheat us. Who knows if any of the prizes were ever real in the first place?"
"That’s right, this is outright deception! A complete scam!" a few lackeys chimed in loudly.
The crowd around them grew restless, murmurs spreading like wildfire.
Though no one particularly liked the rough-looking troublemakers, when it came to consumer rights, people naturally sided with their own—empathy kicking in despite appearances.
"These guys might look shady, but they’ve got a point. The winning ticket is right there in their hands—why won’t the supermarket pay up?"
"Exactly! It doesn’t matter who won; a prize is a prize. This is about basic integrity. If they can’t run a fair event, they shouldn’t have held one at all!"
"If they can just refuse to pay out, then all of us who shopped here for a chance to win are just fools! How do we know they won’t cheat us too?"
"Where’s the manager? Someone needs to explain this! The event was your idea—now honor it!"
"......"
As the situation escalated, the voices grew louder and more chaotic, but the core demands were clear:
"Pay up! Honor the prizes!"
"No backing out now!"
"Get the manager out here!"
"Fraud! False advertising!"
"Who’s gonna trust you after this?"
"......"
Meanwhile, the supermarket manager and key staff were scrambling to placate the angry customers, inwardly cursing their luck.
A few employees, core members of the Wanlong Society, were barely holding back their frustration. Some even wanted to call in reinforcements to shut the troublemakers down by force.
But common sense prevailed—doing something like that would be the end of their careers.
The young mistress would have their heads.
Dealing with ordinary customers wasn’t the same as handling street thugs. Wanlong Supermarket was in this for the long haul.
Li Xiaohui watched the scene unfold, her face burning as if she’d been slapped.
Humiliated. Truly humiliated.
And in front of so many people, no less!
The supermarket was the backbone of the Wanlong Society, a venture personally spearheaded by Liu Yutong.
Its service, product quality, and attention to detail were unmatched—Li Xiaohui had never seen a better supermarket in her life.
Her earlier praise hadn’t been exaggerated.
So how could something like this happen?
Was someone abusing their power behind the scenes?
Fuming, Li Xiaohui marched toward the commotion.
A few core members spotted her and immediately greeted her respectfully.
"Sister Hui!"
"Sister Hui!"
"......"
Her sudden appearance didn’t faze them—until she added, "The young mistress is here too. She’s watching from over there."
Instantly, tension spiked among the staff.
The news soon reached Yao Qianshan, who was inside the supermarket gathering evidence.
At the moment, she was coordinating with other branches to retrieve surveillance footage.
Though only a few clips had come through so far, they’d already spotted repeat offenders—the same faces appearing at multiple locations.
This was clearly an organized scheme.
With that confirmed, the next step was compiling the evidence and notifying Tianyi Law Firm for legal support.
The priority now was calming the crowd and avoiding further backlash from customers.
Even someone as experienced as Yao Qianshan found the situation headache-inducing.
Then came the report: The young mistress had arrived and was observing from outside.
Yao Qianshan’s heart skipped a beat. Without another thought, she hurried out.
Meanwhile, Li Xiaohui had gotten the full story from the staff.
This group was likely trouble—and one of them had even harassed Yao Qianshan, the supermarket’s deputy manager, multiple times before.
"So they’re here to pick a fight?"
"Since when does the Wanlong Society back down from a fight?!" Li Xiaohui snapped, furious.
She thought the staff were being too passive, tarnishing the society’s reputation.
The employees exchanged uneasy glances but stayed silent.
Yu Xin stepped forward. "Xiaohui, I don’t think they’re scared. Look at all the customers gathered here. If this escalates, the fallout won’t be worth it."
"Dealing with these troublemakers is easy, but upsetting innocent shoppers? That’s a different story."
Li Xiaohui took a deep breath, forcing her anger down. "You’re right, Sister Xin. I let my emotions get the better of me."
"But what do we do now? Just let them keep causing trouble?"
Yu Xin: "Someone just mentioned that Sister Qianshan is inside reviewing surveillance. She must be gathering evidence. Maybe we should wait and see."
Li Xiaohui: "Fine. I guess that’s all we can do for now..."
She was still anxious, but no better solution came to mind.
Truthfully, the Wanlong Society was the best company she’d ever encountered. She’d grown deeply attached to it.
As the only daughter of a prominent figure, she’d visited countless businesses with her father. But the Wanlong Society—a venture she’d initially joined on a whim—stood out as something extraordinary, almost unreal.
She couldn’t quite put it into words.
It wasn’t just a company or a cold, corporate entity. It felt more like a sanctuary, a shared dream where people could thrive together.
And at the center of it all was her classmate—the true leader of the Wanlong Society, Liu Yutong.
Liu Yutong had a rare magnetism—sharp, decisive, and skilled, yet driven by an unshakable conviction.
That unique brilliance had drawn Li Xiaohui in, transforming her initial casual interest into genuine admiration and loyalty.
That was why seeing the supermarket in trouble had upset her so much.
But her anxiety didn’t last long.
Because when she spotted Liu Yutong standing in the distance, chatting calmly with Gao Min, her restless heart suddenly settled.
Sister Yutong would know what to do.
