I feel his arrangements are quite reasonable.

The faces of He Xiaofu and Zheng Zhiming turned pale in an instant. Zheng Zhiming, in particular, had cold sweat beading on his forehead. He hurriedly scurried up to the stubble-faced man and whispered,

"Big brother, didn't you promise Boss Leonard that you would let me con... continue working here?"

"Sorry, your boss is over there!"

The stubble-faced man glanced at him with utter indifference, gesturing toward Chen Muxue.

Zheng Zhiming's face twisted in bitterness, plunging instantly into deep despair. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears. Then, his expression hardened as if he had made a grim decision. Without a second word, he raised his hand and dealt himself a vicious slap across the face. With an expression of abject pleading, he turned to Chen Muxue, stammering,

"President Chen, I was wrong. I offer my most sincere apologies for my offense toward you just now. I beg you to spare me this once, as a magnanimous person taking no notice of a petty one..."

With that, he struck himself across the face yet again, tears welling up in his eyes from the force of the blow. He knew all too well that if he were driven out of here, he would never find a job better than Champs-Élysées!

"Oh, now you know you're wrong! Weren't you acting quite arrogant just a moment ago?"

Luo Qi glared at him with wide, angry eyes and scolded harshly, "Did you skip breakfast? Why was that slap so light?"

"I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

Zheng Zhiming hurriedly increased his strength, raining several more vicious slaps upon his own face.

"Qiqi, let it go!"

Seeing this, Chen Muxue felt a pang of sympathy. Although Zheng Zhiming was at fault, his behavior hadn't been entirely unforgivable; a minor punishment would suffice. Besides, if she fired him right now, she wouldn't be able to find anyone to take over the place on short notice. She thus spoke up,

"Manager Liang, you may stay, but you need to change the way you treat people!"

"Yes, yes! Thank you, President Chen! Thank you, President Chen!"

Hearing this, Zheng Zhiming was overjoyed. He nodded repeatedly, tears of gratitude streaming down his face, and came within a hair's breadth of dropping to his knees before Chen Muxue.

"You can stay, but you are temporarily demoted to a sales associate," Su Zheng chimed in leisurely at this moment. "You don't have any objections, do you?"

Zheng Zhiming's body stiffened slightly at these words. Although his expression remained somewhat bitter, he still nodded hastily.

"No objections! No objections at all!"

"In addition, you will temporarily act as the store manager."

Su Zheng turned his head and smiled at the female sales associate from earlier. Compared to Zheng Zhiming, this woman clearly possessed a much higher level of professional etiquette.

"Me?!"

The female sales associate's mouth dropped open in sudden astonishment, her face filled with disbelief.

"Hey, you really know how to throw your weight around, don't you? What business of yours is this?"

Seeing this, Luo Qi immediately shouted at Su Zheng with deep dissatisfaction, feeling extremely annoyed. Judging by Su Zheng's imposing manner, anyone would think he was the one who had bought the entire store!

"I think his arrangement is quite reasonable, Qiqi."

Chen Muxue hurriedly pulled Luo Qi back, feeling that Su Zheng's reward-and-punishment measure was indeed spot on.

"President Chen, we will take our leave now!"

The stubble-faced man said respectfully to Chen Muxue before turning and walking out of the store. Chen Muxue had not yet recovered from her daze; she had intended to ask the stubble-faced man for that person's contact information to express her gratitude, but the man and his subordinates had already strode away.

Luo Qi patted Chen Muxue on the back, genuinely happy for her best friend. However, turning around and seeing that He Xiaofu was still standing there without leaving, her face instantly darkened, and she snapped angrily,

"Hey, why aren't you leaving yet?"

"Why should I leave?!"

He Xiaofu straightened her back, wearing an expression of righteous indignation. "I am a customer, not an employee here. The customer is God, and right now, I am your God!"

"God my foot! We aren't doing business with you, so get the hell out of here right now!"

Luo Qi rebuked coldly with a stern face. "If you don't scram this instant, don't blame me for calling security!"

Hearing this, Zheng Zhiming hurried toward the front lobby, taking a few fast steps before shouting at the top of his lungs,

"Security! Security, get in here!"

At this sight, He Xiaofu was so furious her nose was practically twisted out of shape. That damned Zheng Zhiming—what a fast-changing face he had!

She stamped her foot in bitter hatred, pointing at Chen Muxue and Luo Qi as she spat,

"You two little sluts, don't think that just because you know someone with a bit of influence you can do whatever you please. Let me tell you, the day will come when you're used up and tossed aside by whoever is keeping you!"

Clearly, she had completely misinterpreted how Luo Qi and Chen Muxue had suddenly become the owners of the shop.

With that final remark, she immediately turned on her heel and strode toward the exit.

"You damned hag, who are you calling names?!"

Luo Qi flew into a towering rage, pointing at He Xiaofu and shouting furiously, "You stop right there!"

As she spoke, she made a move to chase after He Xiaofu, but Chen Muxue grabbed her arm and pulled her back, advising her with a helpless sigh,

"Qiqi, forget it. Our conscience is clear; let her think whatever she wants."

She knew that Luo Qi was naturally so agitated because He Xiaofu had cast them as kept women.

"How can we just let it go?!"

Luo Qi was still visibly furious, but before she could give chase, a graceful figure happened to walk in through the entrance.

Upon seeing this woman, He Xiaofu's steps came to an abrupt halt. She instinctively bowed her head slightly and greeted her respectfully,

"President Qiao, what brings you to a place like this today?"

"It's you?"

Qiao Lan looked slightly startled upon seeing He Xiaofu.

"Oh, what a coincidence! President Qiao, are you here to pick out some clothes too?!"

He Xiaofu shook hands with Qiao Lan in a rather excited, ingratiating manner. "Once you're done selecting your clothes, allow me to treat you to a meal. We can discuss the contract renewal details while we're at it and finalize everything, saving you the trouble of wasting your precious time separately!"

"Um... let's talk about the contract renewal later. I don't have time for this right now."

Qiao Lan nodded impatiently, then walked straight into the store.

Catching sight of Su Zheng, a sweet smile bloomed on Qiao Lan's face as she nodded in greeting. She had happened to run into the stubble-faced man nearby and learned that Su Zheng was in this shop, so she had hurried over to say hello and ask Su Zheng for a favor.

"Brother Zheng, Sister-in-law!"

Qiao Lan called out crisply.

Brother...?!

Sis... Sister-in-law?!

Hearing how Qiao Lan addressed Su Zheng and Chen Muxue, He Xiaofu felt as though she had been struck by lightning. Her body stiffened in panic, her face turning instantly ashen, and she nearly stumbled and fell to the floor.

All of her previous haughtiness and arrogance vanished completely, replaced by a massive wave of terror engulfing her from head to toe.

She knew very well that Qiao Lan's Longevity Pavilion was her company's largest corporate partner—ninety percent of her company's profits came from that exact partnership!

In other words, the only reason she could afford to stroll into Champs-Élysées two or three times a year was thanks entirely to Qiao Lan's Longevity Pavilion!

And now... she had actually offended President Qiao's sworn brother and sister-in-law?!

He Xiaofu's head buzzed violently, the world spinning around her as she felt close to fainting dead away!

"Pre... President Qiao, are you saying... they are your... your..."

He Xiaofu could no longer form a coherent sentence. Trembling, she shuffled forward, instinctively pointing at Su Zheng and Chen Muxue while looking at Qiao Lan with a gaze filled with profound terror and disbelief.

"Step aside! I have matters to discuss with Brother Zheng and Sister-in-law, what are you interrupting for?!"

Qiao Lan frowned and glared at He Xiaofu. However, noticing the look of utter remorse on the woman's face, she dimly guessed what had happened and demanded in a cold, stern voice,

"Speak! Did you offend Brother Zheng and Sister-in-law in some way?!"

"Plop!" Hearing this, He Xiaofu collapsed straight onto the floor. Her lips quivered as she issued a helpless, wretched plea,

"President Qiao, I'm sorry! I was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai! It's all my fault for offending your friends. Please forgive me this once, I swear I'll never dare do it again!"