Chapter 15 Asking for My Money Back

While they received compensation, I was fed like a sow that was raised to reproduce. This thought spoiled my appetite, so I went back to the bedroom to rest. Before I fell asleep, Ms. Cai knocked on the door and came in with the dress, “Miss Xia, does this dress need cleaning? It looks costly. Do you want it dry-cleaned?” The dress! That damn expensive dress! I jumped off the bed and snatched the dress from her hand, “No. That’s alright. It’s pretty clean.” “Sure. Goodnight then, Miss Xia.” She left and closed the door for me. I found the price tag and carefully checked the dress. Both the dress and the tag were intact. If I returned it to the shop tomorrow, I would get a refund of 20,000. This was my backup plan. As for the purse and earrings, those wouldn’t be a problem since I had the receipts. However, with all the walking today, the high heels must be worn out already. Whatever. It should be enough for the surgery. I couldn’t keep the baby. I lay down in the darkness and stared at the ceiling with the faint light seeping in from the outside. It sounded cruel, but I couldn’t give birth to the baby without knowing the truth. It was unfair, both for the baby and me. My child deserved a loving and complete family. If I couldn’t guarantee that, then maybe it wasn’t the best time for the child to come into this world. I slept through the night and woke up around noon the next day. After breakfast, I asked the driver to take me to Shengtang Mall. He was probably curious about why an unemployed woman was obsessed with the shopping mall. When I arrived, I made a beeline to the store from yesterday. The same shop assistant greeted me cordially, “Good morning, Miss. The new collection just arrived. Would you like to try it out?” I interrupted her passionate speech and showed her that no one was paying for me today. Instead, I passed the shopping bag to her. “I’m here for a refund.” She couldn’t believe her ears, “What?” I gave her the receipts which clearly stipulated that the products could be refunded within a week on the condition that they were not damaged or stained. High-end stores these days were very customer-friendly in order to attract more potential sales. The shop assistant took the bag over in disbelief and checked the dress inside out. I didn’t mind since I double-checked it before I came. It looked brand new. Some other assistants joined her and began to examine the dress. I reminded them coldly, “If you damage the dress while it is in your hands, that will be your problem.” They then put it away and started processing the refund for me, unwillingly of course. “What’s your credit card number?” “Pardon?” “The credit card you paid with yesterday.” she answered robotically. “I prefer cash.” “Sorry. According to the rules, the money will only be returned to the original payment account.” Original payment account? That meant Sang Qi’s credit card, which I had no access to. Needless to say, the refund of the purse and earrings would be paid back to Sang Qi’s account as well. I sat on the sofa, pondering about what to do about my dilemma. If I demanded to receive the refund, I would lose the dress and not get a single penny out of it. Considering what he did to me, I couldn’t go easy on him like that. The shop assistants were discussing with each other, loud enough to make themselves heard. “See? I just knew the dress was too much for her. She can’t even wait for one more day to exchange it for money.” “Poor girls need to get real. Luxury brands are not designed for them.” That was funny. They spoke as if they belonged to the upper class, but in truth, they just worked for the rich. Working in a luxury store had made them feel too good about themselves. I walked towards them and they stepped backwards nervously. I planned to negotiate with them, “Pay me in cash. The dress is worth 19,998 and I want only fifteen thousand. The rest will be your tip.” They gawked at each other in speechless query, and one of them seemed to be annoyed, “You want to get us fired! We won’t fall for your trap.” As expected, they dared not risk their job. “Refund the money to the credit card then.” “Are you sure?” they asked in surprise. “Yes.” They were probably puzzled by my choice. At the very least, I could have kept the dress. Just like they said earlier, I was a poor girl. So what was I going to do with the dress anyway? After that, I refunded the purse and earrings as well. Then I found the receipt for the breakfast yesterday and decided to get my money back from Sang Qi. However, I couldn’t do that in his office. The security guards would stop me before I could even get there in the first place. I wasn’t as silly as Yao Keyi. Arguing with the security guards in the lobby would only irritate Sang Qi. Luckily, I caught a glimpse of his schedule yesterday, so I knew that he had an appointment during lunch. It was with a female business partner. I went to the restaurant right away, where I couldn’t afford anything other than the free water. I was starving! I seriously missed Jin’s cooking. The waiter was getting impatient. Fortunately, the restaurant wasn’t fully booked at noon, or else I could imagine what he would say to me. The woman seated opposite Sang Qi was beautiful and she looked at him almost lovingly. It seemed that the women around Sang Qi all adored him. No wonder he was so spoiled. What a proud man. After some time, Sang Qi went to the bathroom, so I started to kill time with my phone. Before long, I noticed that someone was standing beside me. With a second look, I found that his suit was hand-made and obviously expensive. I didn’t even need to guess who that was. I looked at Sang Qi and smiled playfully, “What a coincidence.” “Coincidence?” he sneered, “You happened to be here playing games while I’m having lunch?” “I have every right to be here, don’t I?” “You checked my schedule?” It didn’t take him long to figure it out. “To be exact, your schedule for the whole month has been memorized, right here.” I pointed at my head, “Mr. Sang. You are too attractive, so I hope to be around you for the following month.” He laughed, “Your life must be very boring without work.” “For your information, I lost the job because of you.” I turned to his table and found his meal that he had barely eaten: a combination of grilled lobster, beef, and quail. “Are you finished or not?” I pointed at his table. He didn’t understand what I meant, “Sorry?” “If you won’t give me a job, at least give me something to eat,” I stood up and walked to his table. With his plate in hand, I smiled at him cunningly and started finishing the food.