The Crown Prince Ascends the Entertainment Throne - Chapter 7

The man pressed his hand onto the dictionary, his eyes burning with almost uncontrollable rage. “If you did not tear it, you would not be standing here letting them bully you! Are you sick in the head?”

At that moment, Xiang Xu’s eyes widened, and he was completely stunned.

After a long pause, he finally understood. This person was actually helping him, even though his tone was abrasive and he had insulted him by calling him sick in the head.

However, the man had a powerful presence and an unwavering determination to clear Xiang Xu’s name, which served as a great support.

That is right, Xiang Xu thought. I did not do anything wrong! Why should I feel guilty?

Xiang Xu immediately straightened his back, turned his face away, and glared at Xiao Zhou.

“He tore it? That is truly shameless!” the man retorted.

Shameless!

Xiang Xu echoed the insult in his heart, puffing out his chest defiantly.

“No, no, sir, how can you make groundless accusations?” Xiao Zhou’s face turned bright red instantly. He tried to hide his guilt, arguing loudly.

The cashier girl looked confused, but she still tried to persuade the masked man. “Um, sir, have you misunderstood something? Or do you happen to know this gentleman?”

“I do not know him, but so what? Does that hinder me from upholding justice? Or are you planning to protect this scum who would even scam a disabled person? What kind of bookstore is this without a conscience? It is simply an insult to knowledge!”

It is simply a desecration of knowledge!

Xiang Xu repeated indignantly in his heart.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward Xiao Zhou, and even his colleagues began to look at him with deep suspicion.

“No, that is not it! He was the one who tore the cover. He is deliberately trying to shift the blame onto me!”

Xiao Zhou pointed a finger at Xiang Xu.

Seeing the man’s furious, defensive face, Xiang Xu desperately wanted to lunge forward and bite that finger.

“Too pathetic.” The tall man said in a low voice, cutting off Xiao Zhou’s argument. “Just thinking about breathing the same air as someone as pathetic as you makes my precious body feel like it is getting sick.”

After saying this, he weakly pressed his temples. “You had countless opportunities to come clean, yet you stubbornly chose to carry your mistake through to the end. You people are such vulgar and barren souls.”

This time, Xiang Xu did not repeat the man’s words in his heart. Although the man’s insults were eloquent, he felt as though he had been caught in the crossfire.

“You, who are you insulting?”

“Insulting you would not even wake up your conscience, since you do not have one to begin with.” The man exhaled and pointed to the surveillance camera next to the checkout counter.

“Technology has developed to the point where there are many ways to verify the truth, yet you people still judge right and wrong based on one-sided words. You are so stupid that compulsory education has clearly gone to waste.”

Xiang Xu followed his finger toward the white, ball-shaped object on the ceiling. He was confused and had no idea what that thing was.

When he lowered his gaze, he saw that the people around him had turned pale, looking as though they had been insulted but dared not speak out. The cashier girl’s face looked terrible, but her hands were already searching through another computer at the front desk.

This thing looks just like the one back at home.

Xiang Xu carefully observed her actions, but he suddenly felt a gaze on him. He could not help but look up and glance suspiciously at the man standing there assessing him.

Seeing his eyes meet the man’s, the man did not look away. Instead, he said in a voice just loud enough for Xiang Xu to hear, “I am afraid he might also be brain-damaged.”

Xiang Xu’s face darkened. Since the man had been helping him, he just snorted, turned his head away, and continued to watch the cashier’s keyboard and mouse operations.

“At least you understand human speech, so you might just be a little mentally challenged.”

The man continued to talk behind his back.

The cashier girl’s hand stopped moving the mouse. She stared at the screen for a moment, and her face grew paler.

She shifted her gaze, looked at Xiang Xu with a touch of pity, and then turned to her colleagues, completely at a loss. “It, it really was Xiao Zhou.”

Everyone’s face looked as sour as ruined cloth. Xiao Zhou, in particular, let out a shriek and ran to hide in the break room. The other staff members felt incredibly awkward; seeing the culprit flee, they immediately went to chase after him.

“I told you, you had countless chances to turn back, yet you chose to go all the way to the end. You are just a bunch of blind fools.” The tall man added one final blow.

With the other colleagues gone, only the cashier girl was left to face the storm. She looked almost ready to cry, forced to deal with these two ferocious predators.

Xiang Xu looked at her with clear eyes and shook his head, signaling that he did not blame her.

The cashier girl was instantly moved. This little brother with the bob cut is truly a considerate, kind-hearted boy. She carefully looked up again to check the other man’s expression.

His gaze was fixed on her from a condescending height. Even though he wore a mask, she could feel his predatory aura.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sir. This is our responsibility.”

“So you do know it is your responsibility?”

The flippant retort made the cashier’s heart tighten further.

“For giving you an unpleasant shopping experience, we are truly sorry.”

“Truly your specialty!”

The cashier girl did not dare to speak anymore. This man already had a stronger presence than most people, and now that he was in the right, his pressure was so overwhelming that it made it hard to breathe.

Just as she was trapped in an impossible situation, the little brother with the bob cut stood in front of the man’s terrifying gaze and shook his head vigorously at him.

“I am helping you. What is your problem?!”

Xiang Xu continued to shake his head, his expression even looking a bit displeased.

The man snorted in dissatisfaction and then shut his mouth.

The tense air eased slightly. Xiang Xu turned his face away, and the cashier girl, as if grabbing a life-saving straw, spoke at a rapid pace:

“We sincerely apologize for the poor shopping experience provided to you both. Therefore, we will waive the cost of your books and provide you with store vouchers. We know this cannot fully compensate for the trouble caused, but we hope you can accept our gesture.”

At this critical moment, the employee handbook she had memorized kicked in. She quickly shoved a few vouchers into Xiang Xu’s hand and ducked behind the computer to process the refund.

“Wait a moment.” The man’s gloomy voice interrupted her smooth operations. She raised her face, trying hard to maintain a smile. “Sir, is there anything else you need?”

“Do not process the refund.”

“Ah?”

“If you refund the money, it will look like I upheld justice just to get a free meal.”

“?”

“I do not allow anything that could possibly damage my reputation!”

“Well, sir, this was our responsibility, that is certain.”

“I do not care. Who knows what you people will say about me behind my back.”

“Uh.”

Xiang Xu, who had just tucked the vouchers into his pocket, stood there speechless along with the cashier girl after hearing the argument.

This man speaks so harshly that he must offend everyone, he thought. Yet he is worried about people gossiping about him behind his back?

Even so, why argue with money? This single reference book cost over two hundred yuan. If he bought this whole stack, he would save so much if he just accepted the refund.

“I do not lack this bit of money. If you try to refund it, I will report you!”

Hearing the man ferociously use the word “report,” the cashier girl suffered a momentary PTSD trigger. She immediately grabbed a bag and began packing the books on the counter at lightning speed.

“Understood, understood, sir. Please wait a moment.”

She used the fastest hand speed of her life to pack the books and offered them to this great Buddha with both hands.

“Sir, please go slowly. We hope you will return again.”

The man took the bag, shot her a cold glance, and walked toward the entrance.

After walking two steps, he noticed Xiang Xu still standing there like a fool. He walked back and gave him a rough shove.

Xiang Xu looked up, confused, only to see the tall man signaling him to leave with him, his eyes filled with a threat.

What does he mean?

He was baffled, but seeing the cashier girl looking at him with gratitude, he followed the man out of the bookstore.

After walking a few steps, Xiang Xu stopped.

As soon as he stopped, the man in front also halted. He turned around and walked back toward him.

He approached with such an intimidating presence that Xiang Xu stood there, unmoving, looking at him with confusion.

He saw the man take a green book out of the bag and throw it over.

Xiang Xu did not move, and the book hit the ground with a loud thud.

The man’s face turned stormy. He walked over in a few strides, bent down to pick up the book, and shoved it into Xiang Xu’s chest.

Xiang Xu took the book and finally understood: the man was giving him the book. From the way he had acted earlier, he thought the man was going to hit him with the book. Having judged that it would not actually hit him, he had stayed still.

He watched as the man gave him the book and then turned his head away, refusing to look at him.

“This book is too low; I order you to take it and disappear from my sight.”

Xiang Xu did not know what “low” meant, nor did he understand why the man was saying this, so he just stood there holding the book.

“Hey! Can you not understand human speech? I told you to take the book and get lost!”

Xiang Xu finally understood, and his face darkened.

Telling this Prince to get lost? Who does this guy think he is!

But because the man had helped him, and because of the language barrier, Xiang Xu swallowed his anger. He snorted, turned his face away, and began to walk off.

As he turned, Xiang Xu heard his stomach growl loudly. He suddenly realized he had not eaten a single thing since last night, and a wave of intense hunger hit him. Still, he kept walking forward.

“Stop!”

The person behind him called out again.

The good-natured Xiang Xu had no choice but to stop and turn around, wondering what other unreasonable demand this man might have.

“I just helped you. Shouldn’t you thank me? As repayment, you must serve me my meal!”

Xiang Xu could no longer hold it in. Although he was grateful for the help, serving him a meal was just treating him, the Imperial Crown Prince, like a palace eunuch!

Furthermore, helping others should be an act of kindness; demanding repayment made it an ulterior motive! He had originally thought that even though the man had a foul mouth, he was a good person for upholding justice. Now it seemed he was simply arrogant and willful!

However, Xiang Xu’s disadvantage was that he, a dignified Crown Prince, hated owing people favors.

His Imperial Father had once said: Better that everyone owes you a favor than you owe anyone a favor. You never know what a high price you will have to pay to settle such a debt.

So, you want me to serve you dinner? Fine! I will endure this!