I was buying groceries. At checkout, the owner suddenly said to me: "It was you and your boyfriend who walked out without paying yesterday, right?" I told him I wasn't even here yesterday. But the owner insisted it was me and my boyfriend. Helpless, I called my boyfriend over. The owner just smirked: "Not this one. It was the other one. The old man." I sneered: "Boss, actually, I saw you in a video once." "You were carrying a bottle of cooking oil and half a watermelon." Several girls standing nearby nodded in unison. "Yeah! We saw it too!" 1 "Check out, please." I put the vegetables on the counter. The middle-aged owner stared at the Mahjong game on his phone, fingers swiping furiously, not even looking up. I raised my voice: "Boss, check out!" "Don't rush, little girl!" He looked up impatiently, his eyes locking onto my face. "It was you, right?" I was baffled. "What was me?" He slapped his phone face down on the counter, a scornful smile plastered on his face. "Hey, don't be so quick to deny it!" "Yesterday, around this time, just as the sun was setting! You were wearing a white dress. And you were with a guy, right? Glasses, tall and skinny!" "You two were picking and choosing, filled a whole basket! Even took a box of the most expensive strawberries! Then, while I was in the back moving stock, you snuck out!" 2 I took a step back. Subconsciously, I recalled what I did after work yesterday. No. Yesterday after work, I went to the movies with my best friend. I wasn't here at all. I quickly explained: "I didn't come to your supermarket yesterday, and I wasn't wearing a white dress!" "Boss, you must have mistaken me for someone else." "Mistaken you?" The owner let out a weird laugh. "I've been doing business in this neighborhood for seven or eight years. I never forget a face!" "Fine," he waved his hand, acting magnanimous. "You're young, thin-skinned, embarrassed to admit it. I understand." "How about this? Yesterday's stuff plus what you're buying today, let's call it an even three hundred bucks. Pay up, leave, and I'll pretend nothing happened. Save you some face, how about it?" 3 Hearing this. I was ready to call the police. But then I remembered my mom mentioning recently that last month's flood destroyed a lot of valuable stock in this supermarket. He lost tens of thousands. His wife was in poor health and needed surgery soon. So he was desperate to find the person who skipped the bill. I suppressed my anger and took out my phone. I pulled up the movie ticket order from last night. "Yesterday after work, I went to see a movie with my best friend. That theater is like six miles from here." "So it's impossible for me to have been in your store at that time." The owner's eyes swept over the screen, flickering for a second. But just for a second. He crossed his arms. "Who knows who watched the movie? Maybe you bought tickets for someone else?" "Anyway, I saw it with my own eyes yesterday. You and your boyfriend didn't pay!!" 4 "There's no point arguing like this." I pointed to the surveillance camera on the wall. "Check the tapes!" "If I really stole from you yesterday, I'll pay you triple!" "But if you're wrongly accusing me, I want a handwritten apology posted on your front door for three days!" The owner waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it." "Regulars know my cameras are trash. Can't see a nose from an eye." "Even if I check, you won't admit it! Pointless!" Just then. A middle-aged man smoking in the corner put out his cigarette and spoke slowly. "Little girl, I live in the complex behind here. I've known Old Zhang for years! His memory is good! How many people in this neighborhood? He remembers them all after one look! He even remembers who buys what vegetables! If he says it's you, he definitely remembers." Several customers browsing nearby were drawn by the commotion. Two of them were aunties from my building. My mom even square danced with them! If I didn't clear this up today. Tomorrow, I'd be infamous in the neighborhood. I stared coldly at the owner: "You just said my boyfriend was tall, skinny, and wore glasses, right?" The owner nodded firmly: "That's right! I remember clearly!" "Wait right here! I already texted him to come over!" "In a minute, use those 'unforgettable' eyes of yours and take a good look!" 5 It didn't take long. The plastic curtain was pushed aside. My boyfriend, Mark, rushed in, reaching my side in a few strides. He was wearing sportswear, built like an ox, muscles clearly defined. "Jen, what's wrong? What happened?" I stepped aside, letting Mark stand fully in front of the owner. "Boss, look closely! This is my boyfriend!" "Yesterday afternoon, was he the one skipping the bill with me? Is this the tall, skinny guy with glasses?" Actually. The owner's face had frozen the moment Mark rushed in. Mark doesn't wear glasses. He's jacked. Clearly someone who works out constantly. Completely different from the person he described. 6 The owner's eyes darted around, then he feigned casualness: "Not... not this one... it was another one." "That one was older! A bit balding too!" Although he didn't fully understand the situation, hearing this, Mark's face darkened instantly. "What do you mean?" The owner glanced at Mark's clenched fist and immediately switched to a 'heart-to-heart' expression: "Young man, don't be impulsive! Lots of people here. Let Uncle tell you something." Saying this, he half-pushed, half-pulled Mark a few steps outside the supermarket door. "Yesterday it was your girlfriend! Wearing a white dress! Following a guy in his fifties. They were close while shopping, he even fixed her hair!" He clicked his tongue. "You could tell they weren't just friends! Young man, go home and ask her! Don't let yourself be used!" Mark's fist was still clenched, but his frown deepened. He looked at the owner, then shot a messy glance at me standing in the doorway. Seeing he didn't argue, the owner felt he succeeded. He patted Mark's arm: "Think about it!" He turned and went back into the supermarket. 7 Only Mark and I were left at the door. I walked over and looked him in the eye: "You believe him?" "I don't!" Mark retorted immediately, voice raised, but the urgency felt hollow. "Jen, I want to believe you!" His tone struggled, and finally, he threw out the doubt: "You said you went to the movies with Lily after work yesterday... but I ran into Lily at the gym this afternoon. She said she was working overtime at the office last night until almost ten!" I froze. Overtime? Impossible! Lily watched the movie with me after work yesterday. There must be a misunderstanding! I pulled out my phone immediately: "I'll call and ask her right now!" 8 To prove my innocence. I put it on speaker. The call connected quickly. "Hello? Jen?" Lily's voice came through, sounding normal, even a bit relaxed. "Lily!" I didn't bother with pleasantries, my voice tight. "Mark just told me... he saw you at the gym today, and you said you were working overtime last night? Until ten?" Silence on the other end. Dead silence. My heart sank bit by bit. "Uh?" Lily's voice finally sounded, clearly hesitant. "Over... overtime?" "Did Mark mishear? Yesterday after work, I watched the movie with you!" Mark grew even more suspicious at her ambiguous attitude. "Lily, what movie did you watch yesterday?" Another suffocating silence on the other end. "Oh, uh, I didn't really pay attention to the movie yesterday..." Lily stammered. "So I don't remember clearly!" I interrupted her incoherent excuses. "Lily, why are you doing this?" "We discussed the plot after dinner yesterday. Now you say you don't remember?" I told her exactly what situation I was facing. "Lily, I need you to tell the truth right now!" Lily's voice rose sharply, sounding guilty: "Jen, can you keep me out of your issues with Mark? Solve it yourself!" Then. Click. She hung up.
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