"It"s alright, Mr. Mu, I can handle the problem with a few replaceable employees." She revealed a platonic smile, which scared and surprised Mr. Mu at the same time. He understood the underlying message and immediately worked hard to please her. "As the head of the security team, it is within my duties to get rid of annoying pests for you. You do not need to tire yourself over the likes of these people." He was terrified of being fired from this extremely well-paid job. He knew how fickle these wealthy socialites could be and despite this woman"s calm posture, who"s to say she won"t retaliate against him?
The sales a.s.sociate paled upon hearing the threat, her face becoming paperwhite in fear. She broke out in cold sweat and stumbled over her words when she tried to form proper sentences, "M-ma"am, would y-you still like to purchase the suit cuffs? I"ll wrap it up right away and offer a bonus—"
"Forget the bonus. Just swipe the card." Zhao Lifei examined her nails, completely unfazed by the commotion she had caused. She ignored the fuming Xia Mengxi who slammed down the polished black card.
"I said the cuff link is mine!" She could not believe she had lost twice in a row! This cunning vixen! Just wait until I report this to Zheng Tianyi!
Through her irrationality, Xia Mengxi forgot who she was — the proud and unwavering heroine of her Cinderella dream. She shouldn"t have to overwork herself with the back scheming likes of Zhao Lifei who didn"t know how to do anything else aside from stirring up trouble.
"I doubt you can make it yours with your low credit." Zhao Lifei snorted, flipping her hair over her shoulders and signing her name on the check. She grabbed the small bag and pulled out the silver box then stared at the cuffs with disinterest.
"It was only a million. What was the fuss about?" She chuckled, closing the box and placing it back onto the counter. "You can keep it. I have no use for something so cheap."
Her words cut deep into Xia Mengxi who could never escape her background...
The socialites sighed. As expected of the former Queen. Despite the fact that she had lost her crown, she didn"t lose her thorns.
"Tch, Xia Mengxi cried over a million like it was a billion."
"How embarra.s.sing. Even the poorest socialite can afford something as inexpensive as that."
"Isn"t she also belittling Zheng Tianyi by not swiping his card, to begin with? Makes him look like a stingy lover." One of the socialites casually spoke up, her statement immediately causing a buzz of conversation that did not dare to point fingers at Zheng Tianyi himself, but instead, blamed Xia Mengxi for making her pampering husband look bad.
"Aside from a pretty face, what else does she have?"
"Zheng Tianyi really lost out by marrying her."
"How could she imply she was poor when she has Zheng Tianyi backing her up? Isn"t that trying too hard to be humble?"
Xia Mengxi gritted her teeth, her nails digging into her skin. "I don"t want it anymore—"
"Don"t be so prideful and childish. Just see it as my charity work for the day." Zhao Lifei chuckled. It was amusing to see Xia Mengxi so riddled up.
Zhao Lifei"s confidence nearly faltered when she thought about what Zheng Tianyi would do to her. But she immediately dismissed the thought. If Xia Mengxi cried to Zheng Tianyi, Zhao Lifei can also cry to Yang Feng, but she preferred not to be the damsel-in-distress.
Zhao Lifei turned to the man in front of her. "I hope you keep your promise, Mr. Mu." She firmly said before sauntering out of the store, the mischievous glimmer in her eyes disappearing the second she stepped foot outside.
How tiring.
She was glad she was no longer the Queen. Creating drama left and right was too exhausting for her.
She walked to the store a.s.sociates holding her shopping bags. They were so fatigued from the shopping, neither of them had noticed or paid any mind to the large crowd that had gathered inside the store. She couldn"t blame them because they couldn"t see much from where they sat.
"Please have the items delivered back to the Zhao Mansion." She paused and decided despite the argument she just had earlier, she still wanted to shop for a present. "You guys are free to go after having the items delivered. Thank you for today."
The store a.s.sociates" head immediately snapped up in utter shock upon hearing the latter statement. "N-no, please don"t thank us!" They hurriedly stood up, tucked their hands in front of their stomach, and performed a solid 90-degree bow while Zhao Lifei walked off in search of another gift.
Zhao Lifei walked into many different stores in desperate search of a gift worthy enough. After a while, she reached the last store of the mall, one that was tucked into the corner. She tilted her head and saw it was an inconspicuous label called YRQ.
She realized it was the label of the anonymous designer who has recently been taking the fas.h.i.+on industry by storm. Every single piece of clothing made by her was an instant success, so much so that the media could not stop praising the mysterious prodigy behind the brand. She had to admit, the media did not lie. The style, coloring, and materials of the clothing pieces were all topnotch, very unique, and aligned with the times.
The only thing that she found strange was the fact that such a popular store was placed all the way in the corner of the highest floor. Shouldn"t a popular brand such as this one be located right in front of the escalator perhaps?
A young woman stepped forward, dressed in a sales a.s.sociate"s clothes, but her face and posture gave off the impression that she was a wealthy heiress instead of a simple employee. She was absolutely stunning with her refres.h.i.+ngly chic appearance.
"Good afternoon Ma"am, how may I help you today?" The woman asked, her voice friendly, but with a tinge of frigidness.
"I"m just looking around." Zhao Lifei replied, walking to the displays and inauspiciously picked out a top and a jacket. As she walked past the clothes, a small box caught her eye. She walked to it and was surprised to see it was a full-gla.s.s display ranging from watches to handkerchieves. But in the corner was a sole pair of suit cuffs that immediately screamed Yang Feng"s name.
It was a rectangle-cut red gem encrusted with small crystals. She picked it up and examined the way it felt cold on her hands, despite the fact that the cuffs were under the glaring lights.
The woman saw this and walked over to explain the item.
"This gem... It can"t be a red diamond, right?" Zhao Lifei knew how rare this jewel was!
"Indeed it is. This red diamond is valued at thirty thousand dollars per carat due to their naturally black surroundings with has a lovely dark crimson hue in the center. It is exquisitely hand-made by the designer herself, thus, the value of this cuff is higher than all of the ones found on the table. The crystals encrusted by the side of the red diamond are not regular ones, for they are black opals valued at a couple thousand per carat."
Zhao Lifei immediately brightened. In comparison to the obsidian one that she was keen on buying, this one was a lot better and would suit Yang Feng a lot more. "I"ll take it, please wrap it up for me." She cheerfully said, accompanying the woman to the cas.h.i.+er.
"Right away." The employee"s voice, for some reason, had a very calming and soothing effect on Zhao Lifei. It was gentle, like the warm breeze on a hot summer day.
She wondered why this store didn"t seem to have many customers, considering the staff was so polite. Plus, this was the famed YRQ brand. Perhaps they wanted to stay hidden so that only those who wandered off the intended path would find it? Regardless, she decided not to probe.
The cuffs racked up quite the bill, but she remained unfazed by it and swiped the card without hesitation.
Feili was doing exceedingly well, thus, her pocket was filled to the brim. She was quite proud of her little accomplishment. She didn"t know her small investment would start such a successful firm that was vastly expanding across the country, the name catching the eyes of many other companies.
Because of her always correct opinion and eyes that were quick to spot shady deals and errors, Feili"s reputation and image were squeaky-clean. Not a single flaw, aside from the lack of their CEO"s appearance, was found in the company.
She remembered about her standing CEO contacting her regarding Yang Enterprise"s persistent secretary who insisted on a personal and face-to-face meeting, but she quickly shot down the idea and ordered her right-hand man to reject as many times as he had too.