In this audio - visual surveillance footage, it can be clearly seen and heard that the noblewoman who slipped away in the chaos suddenly got excited after recognizing Zhang Qiu.
"Mrs. Xu, what a coincidence! Are you here to buy perfume?"
"Tsk tsk, do you really have to come in person just to buy such a small thing, Mrs. Xu?"
"Right, Mr. Xu died so pathetically. I heard he left behind over a billion in debt. Mrs. Xu has fallen from grace into the mire."
"I heard the Qi family is going to kick your daughter out of the house. Well, I can understand. After all, which family can tolerate a daughter - in - law who can't have a child after three years?"
"If you ask me... Hey, why are you hitting me? Someone, help..."
The provoking words were extremely harsh and clear.
Xu Tingyu also recognized that the noblewoman speaking was a classmate of Zhang Qiu.
The two had always been rivals, until Xu Tingyu married Qi Shifeng.
This feud ended with Zhang Qiu's "victory".
Now that the Xu family was in trouble, how could the other woman miss this chance to "assert her superiority"?
"Even if the other party was wrong, it's still wrong to start a fight in the store. We're so innocent," the store manager complained first, looking extremely aggrieved.
"If your staff hadn't taken sides, would my mom have smashed the counter?"
Xu Tingyu wasn't distracted.
She paused the video and pointed to the scene where the store clerk only held back Zhang Qiu but didn't stop the other woman from pulling Zhang Qiu's hair.
The store manager was speechless for a moment.
But the store clerk with a scratched face beside her started crying.
"How did I take sides? Your mom suddenly went crazy and wanted to hit my customer. Could I just stand by and do nothing?"
The clerk was emotionally excited with a scratched face. Coupled with her angry tone, it sounded like she was scolding.
Xu Tingyu's face darkened, and she shot a sharp look at the clerk.
"Who are you calling crazy? If that woman is your customer, why didn't you stop her when she was provoking?
"Are you going to say you have no right to stop what the customer says?
"Then let me ask you, how did you have the right to stop my mom and let her be slapped twice unilaterally?"
Xu Tingyu was kind - hearted and easy - going, but it didn't mean she was weak and easy to manipulate.
Otherwise, she would have been devoured by the Qi family long ago.
The clerk was intimidated by her aura and didn't dare to say another word. She shrank into a corner and started sobbing softly.
If someone who didn't know the situation came in at this moment, they might think Xu Tingyu and the others were bullying others.
Coincidentally, Qi Shifeng walked in just then.
At the sight of him, Xu Tingyu's back instantly stiffened, and the light in her bright eyes dimmed.
This was the first time he had seen her in such a mess since the Xu family's downfall.
He didn't know how to tease her yet.
But there were so many outsiders here.
Xu Tingyu didn't know why he was here.
But she knew very well that if he sided with the other party now, by tomorrow, she and the Xu family would become the laughingstock of the whole capital.
By then, all those forces that were still on the fence would probably swarm in like wild dogs.
They would be devoured to the bone.
She had already lost miserably in love.
Now she couldn't drag her mother and younger brother down.
Thinking of this, before Qi Shifeng could say a word, she went limp and threw herself into his arms.
"Husband," she tightly wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her face against his chest, and called out to him in a soft voice, "Why did you come so late?"
Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, her eyes were filled with moisture, and her face was pale.
She looked like a wronged little wife. Anyone who saw her would feel sorry for her.
But she knew.
The hands that held Qi Shifeng were trembling, but she held on tightly, afraid that he would push her away the next second.
She knew, and Qi Shifeng knew too.
This woman wouldn't easily show this innocent and coquettish look in front of him.
Except for the loss of control in the heat of passion in bed, she always wore a mask of gentleness and obedience.
Now throwing herself into his arms in front of everyone was because she was afraid that he would embarrass her in public.
A hint of a smile flashed across Qi Shifeng's eyes and then disappeared instantly.
He raised his hand to hold her waist, but his eyes were on the others. "What happened?"
Someone immediately told him the general situation.
Seeing him come, Zhang Qiu, whose eyes had been dull just now, instantly regained their luster.
"Son - in - law, you have to stand up for me."
"Those disgusting people see that the Xu family is in decline, and they all want to ride on my head and act high - handedly."
In fact, Zhang Qiu had met Qi Shifeng no more than ten times, mostly at banquets.
They were not close at all.
But now, she complained to Qi Shifeng in a tone that showed more dependence than she had on Xu Tingyu.
It seemed that Qi Shifeng was her son, the one who could stand up for her.
Qi Shifeng glanced at his mother - in - law.
It was obvious that she had been having a hard time since the Xu family's downfall. Her face was haggard, and her eye sockets were sunken.
She couldn't even carry off her luxurious clothes.
Sitting there, she looked like a delicate marionette.
Gorgeous but soulless.
He didn't respond to her complaint and withdrew his gaze. He scolded his assistant behind him, "Call the manager here."
When the manager came, he reported to Qi Shifeng nervously, his face covered in cold sweat.
Only then did Xu Tingyu know that this shopping mall already belonged to the Qi family.
She was still in Qi Shifeng's arms, but she felt a stabbing pain all over her body, making it hard for her to breathe.
She subconsciously glanced at Zhang Qiu and saw that she was still looking at Qi Shifeng expectantly, with affection in her eyes.
It seemed that she didn't even realize that this shopping mall had changed from "Xu" to "Qi".
"Such a thing happened, and you left the customers to confront each other. Are you all dead?"
"I think you don't need to be the manager anymore, and this store doesn't need to stay open."
Qi Shifeng didn't even have the patience to listen to the manager finish his rambling and interrupted him.
As soon as he said this, everyone understood.
Qi Shifeng had really come to stand up for them.
The rumors in the town about the estrangement between the couple were all false!
The coldness around him silenced everyone.
Especially the store clerk and the store manager. Their faces turned deathly pale.
The shopping mall manager kept wiping the cold sweat off his forehead and didn't dare to utter a single word of defense.
Qi Shifeng didn't look at them anymore.
He coldly told his assistant behind him to handle the matter and then walked out with Xu Tingyu in his arms.
Xu Tingyu didn't want to ruin the "atmosphere" between them at this moment, so she winked at Secretary Qian in his arms.
Secretary Qian understood what she meant and nodded, indicating that he would take good care of Zhang Qiu and take her back.
It wasn't until they reached the car that Qi Shifeng removed his hand from her waist.
Instead, he placed his hand on her back and pushed her into the car, then got in himself.
The moment the car door closed, the atmosphere instantly became oppressive.
She looked up and saw Qi Shifeng staring at her with his cold, piercing eyes.
Cold and as if he was so angry that he wanted to devour her alive.