How did Sister Su know something would happen at the café at 11 o'clock? Is she some kind of fortune teller?
As these thoughts flashed through Guan Qingtong's mind, she quickly followed Su Yirao, who had already pushed her way through the crowd gathering outside the "Qi Yu" café. From a distance, Guan Qingtong could hear the angry voice of a man coming from inside the café.
"What on earth is going on?" she asked, but before she could get an answer, Su Yirao's tall, slender figure had already disappeared into the crowd. Guan Qingtong hurried after her, squeezing through the throng to get to the center of the commotion.
A man in a loud floral shirt stood at the center of the café, his hands in his pockets, a look of disdain on his face as he pointed angrily at a steaming cup of coffee on the table in front of him. "You almost burned me! Why shouldn't I ask for compensation?" he shouted. "If you don't pay me, I'll make sure you won't do any business today!"
Zhou Huiying, who had been standing nearby, was doing her best to keep her temper in check. "Sir, you insisted on having your water served boiling hot..." she explained, trying to keep the situation from escalating.
But the man cut her off, his voice growing louder and more aggressive. "Are you saying this is my fault? That I'm the one to blame for nearly getting burned?"
His unreasonable behavior was driving Zhou Huiying to the brink of losing her composure, but she knew she had to think about the reputation of the newly opened café. So, she gritted her teeth and continued to explain.
"Sir, you misunderstand. I'm not blaming you. I'm just saying..."
"Enough! Your water nearly scalded me. I've been here fighting for my rights, and you should compensate me for the emotional distress and the time I've lost!"
It was bad luck to encounter such an unreasonable person on the café's opening day. Guan Qingtong couldn't help but feel frustrated as she watched the scene unfold. But then she saw Su Yirao calmly step in front of the man and ask, "Sir, you claim you were burned. Could you show us where you were injured? If you were truly burned, we won't shirk our responsibility."
"Oh, so now you're accusing me of lying to extort money from your shop?" the man sneered.
"We need evidence to back up any claims. If your injury is real, we'll take full responsibility," Su Yirao responded calmly, her eyes discreetly scanning the crowd, noticing a person with a phone streaming the scene live.
Everything seemed to be falling into place.
The man laughed derisively. "So you think I'm making this up?"
"Everything needs to be proven. If it's true, we'll take responsibility," Su Yirao said coolly, her gaze briefly flicking toward the person filming with their phone.
"Prove it? Here, I'll show you!" the man growled, suddenly grabbing the steaming cup of coffee and flinging the hot liquid toward Su Yirao.
In a split second, scalding hot water was flying towards her face. But Su Yirao managed to dodge in time, though the water splashed onto her collarbone, leaving a red, angry mark.
Zhou Huiying gasped in shock. "Su Yirao!"
"Sister Su!" Guan Qingtong cried out, rushing to her side to check on her injury.
The man's outrageous behavior caused the crowd to gasp in horror.
"Call the police!"
"That young man has gone too far!"
"Miss, are you okay? Did you get burned?"
Concerned voices rose from the onlookers as Su Yirao, her face pale from the pain of the burn, took a deep breath and shook her head at Guan Qingtong. "I'm fine..."
"Boiling water was thrown at you; how could you be fine?"
Guan Qingtong was frantic with worry, her eyes darting to the red mark on Su Yirao's skin, while the man continued to rant, "Is the water hot enough for you now?"
Ignoring the searing pain, Su Yirao glanced at the person streaming the incident, then looked up at the man, her expression cold.
But before she could say anything, Guan Qingtong, unable to contain her anger, stepped forward and shouted, "You weren't burned at all, yet you're making a scene and even threw hot water at Sister Su. You've gone too far!"
The man sneered at her fury, dismissing her with a scornful look. He turned back to Su Yirao. "So, feeling the heat now? Ready to pay up?"
Guan Qingtong glanced down at the burn on Su Yirao's collarbone, the sight of the reddened skin making her heart ache. As the man continued to spew his threats, Guan Qingtong's resolve hardened. She rushed to the back area and returned with a freshly boiled kettle of water.
Without hesitation, she stepped toward the man, tilting the kettle slightly in his direction, threatening to pour the boiling water on him.
"Apologize! Apologize to Sister Su and 'Qi Yu' café right now! Otherwise, I'll make sure your fake burn becomes real!"
Guan Qingtong's sudden outburst was startling, completely out of character for her usually gentle demeanor.
Zhou Huiying, who had been holding back her temper for the sake of the café's reputation, finally snapped back to reality. Seeing her friend hurt, she joined in, "We've already called the police. If you don't apologize now, we won't hesitate to really burn you and then pay you compensation!"
The man hesitated, clearly caught off guard, but before he could say anything, Guan Qingtong tipped the kettle, letting the boiling water splash near his feet. Even with his pants as a barrier, the heat was intense enough to make him jump back in fear.
"You're all crazy! Crazy women!" he shouted, backing away in terror before turning and fleeing the scene.
As the man fled, Guan Qingtong finally relaxed, lowering the kettle with a sigh of relief.
"Not bad, Qingtong. I didn't know you had that in you," Zhou Huiying said, impressed.
"The only way to deal with unreasonable people is with unconventional methods," Guan Qingtong replied with a strained smile.
Su Yirao gave Guan Qingtong a long, thoughtful look before turning to address the crowd.
"I think it's clear to everyone who was right and who was wrong in this situation. We're very sorry for this incident on our opening day. Please, disperse now. If you'd like to enjoy a cup of coffee or some desserts, we'd be happy to welcome you."
Her words had the desired effect, and the crowd began to disperse, though a few curious onlookers decided to stay and try the café's offerings.
"Alright, I'll handle things here," Zhou Huiying said, turning to Su Yirao and Guan Qingtong. "Qingtong, take Sister Su to buy some burn ointment. The sooner she applies it, the faster she'll heal."
Guan Qingtong put down the kettle and nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."
"Sister, there's a hospital nearby. Let me take you there," Guan Qingtong said.
Feeling the burning sensation just below her collarbone, Su Yirao nodded slightly, not bothering to argue, and followed Guan Qingtong out of the café.
...
After getting the burn ointment, Su Yirao found that the hospital was too far from her home to conveniently return for treatment. So Guan Qingtong led her to the inpatient building, explaining that her mother was staying there and that her roommate had just been discharged, leaving the room quiet and perfect for applying the ointment.
It turned out to be perfect timing, as Guan Qingtong's mother was sound asleep.
"Close the curtain around the bed," Su Yirao said, holding out her hand. "Give me the disinfectant and ointment."
Guan Qingtong pulled the curtain closed, but instead of handing over the supplies, she looked at Su Yirao and said earnestly, "Sister, let me help you apply the ointment. It'll be hard for you to do it yourself."