Super Rich by Doing as You Please

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Of Course You Have to Pay Me Back

Hearing that there was trouble, Jiang Peiyao and Xu Yun both thought one of the workers setting up the stage had been in an accident. Startled, they hurried out to see.

As it turned out, that wasn’t the case at all.

Xu Yun and Jiang Peiyao walked over, dispersed the crowd of onlookers, and asked a nearby sales associate, ”What happened?”

”A ’White Moonlight’ Jade Bracelet that just came in yesterday... it’s shattered.”

The sales associate who had handled the bracelet replied, ”I was showing Miss Song the jewelry she’ll be wearing tomorrow when she took an interest in that new Jade Bracelet of ours and said she wanted to take a look.”

”So I... I took it out for her. But she couldn’t get a firm grip, and it fell on the floor and shattered.”

Jiang Peiyao was speechless.

She asked, her voice tinged with anger, ”And the bracelet?”

”It’s right here, Manager Jiang.” Another associate brought over a tray. On it, the bracelet lay silently in four pieces.

She had thought it might just be chipped or cracked, but it had actually shattered completely.

”You’re a veteran employee, how could this happen? Who told you to take it out? Who gave you permission? What are we supposed to do now?”

Since Xu Yun had been the one to bring Song Xiaowei, Jiang Peiyao couldn’t just blame her directly. She had no choice but to feign anger at her own employee.

”Now that the bracelet is shattered, are you going to pay for it? Your entire year’s salary wouldn’t be enough!”

The sales associate burst into tears, scared. ”Manager Jiang, it really wasn’t my fault,” she defended herself. ”Miss Song was the one who wanted to see it. I tried to say no, but she insisted, so I had to show it to her.”

”That’s right, we can all vouch for her,” the other sales associates nearby chimed in.

Xu Yun stood to the side, not saying a word.

Manager Jiang stole a glance at Xu Yun. Seeing that he wasn’t making a move, she finally turned to Song Xiaowei. ”Miss Song, what do you think we should do about this?”

”I’m the one who broke it. It was an accident. It has nothing to do with her.” Song Xiaowei’s face had grown pale.

The Jade Bracelet was expensive, she knew, but a person had to take responsibility for their own actions.

’If I have to blame someone, it should be myself for getting tempted and wanting to try it on.’

There was a recent trend of young women wearing jade bracelets, so she had been captivated the moment she saw this ”White Moonlight.” She just wanted to try it on. Who would have thought she’d lose her grip for just a second and drop it?

Bracing herself, she said, ”I’ll pay for the Jade Bracelet.”

”In that case...”

Hearing this, Jiang Peiyao breathed a sigh of relief.

’It’s good that she’s taking responsibility. I was afraid this would turn into a huge argument.’

Jiang Peiyao smiled. ”You’re Xu Yun’s friend. Why don’t we go to my office to discuss this? It’s not convenient to talk out here with so many people around.”

”Okay.”

And so, the three of them went back to Jiang Peiyao’s office.

Jiang Peiyao said to Song Xiaowei, ”This Ice Jadeite Bracelet sells for 62,000. I can give it to you for 52,000—a discount of 10,000. Is that acceptable?”

”Yes.” Song Xiaowei nodded.

”So will you be paying by card or cash?”

For the first time, Song Xiaowei looked completely helpless. Her face flushed with shame as she said, ”But... I don’t have the money right now.”

Jiang Peiyao was speechless.

’Unbelievable. You don’t have the money, yet you agreed so quickly?’

She instinctively looked over at Xu Yun, her expression growing awkward.

Song Xiaowei also looked at Xu Yun in desperation. The only person who could help her now was Xu Yun, the one who had brought her here.

’But would he be willing to help?’

’Does he even have that much money?’

Feeling utterly humbled, Song Xiaowei asked, ”Brother Xu, do you have any money? Could you... lend me some?”

’She had always thought of herself as capable. She’d earn good money in the future, she’d told herself. Jewelry like this wasn’t even that expensive; once she had a proper job, she could easily afford it.’

’But now that disaster had struck and she actually had to produce the cash, she realized she couldn’t even scrape together 10,000.’

’It felt as though her pride had been instantly and mercilessly shattered by reality.’

Feeling Manager Jiang’s eyes on her, her face burned with shame.

Seeing they were both looking at him, Xu Yun sighed.

”If you don’t have the money, why were you even looking at jade bracelets?”

He said to Song Xiaowei, ”I can lend you the money, but you have to write me an IOU.”

”No problem.” Song Xiaowei quickly nodded, afraid Xu Yun would change his mind.

Over fifty thousand. She hadn’t expected Xu Yun to agree so readily.

After hearing Xu Yun’s words, Jiang Peiyao also breathed a sigh of relief internally.

’Otherwise, this whole situation would have been a real headache to resolve.’

’She was the store manager, yes, but when property was damaged, someone had to compensate for it. The most she could do was offer a small discount.’

’After all, she was just an employee herself; she had to answer to her higher-ups.’

Xu Yun took the IOU Song Xiaowei had written, casually stuffed it into his pocket, and then found Jiang Peiyao on WeChat to transfer her the 52,000.

And with that, the matter was settled.

Jiang Peiyao looked at the broken pieces of the bracelet and smiled at Xu Yun. ”Even though the bracelet is broken, we can have it repaired. If you don’t look too closely, you won’t even be able to tell.”

”I’ll have someone take it to be repaired, and then I’ll give it to you.”

”Okay.”

Xu Yun nodded, then said to Song Xiaowei, ”Alright, don’t dwell on it. You should get back to familiarizing yourself with the event procedures and the venue with the staff. We can’t have any slip-ups tomorrow.”

”Okay, Brother Xu.”

As evening approached, the stage for the event was set up, and Song Xiaowei and Xu Yun both went through a simple rehearsal.

Jiang Peiyao had originally wanted to treat Xu Yun and Song Xiaowei to dinner, but Xu Yun declined.

He declined because he had dinner plans that evening.

There was some disappointment in Jiang Peiyao’s eyes, but she didn’t show it.

As they were leaving, she took out the ”White Moonlight” bracelet that had been broken that afternoon and handed it to him.

’I have to admit, the artisan’s craftsmanship is impressive.’

Now that it was bonded back together, he really couldn’t spot the break unless he looked very closely.

But of course, Xu Yun wouldn’t keep it.

After leaving the mall, he turned and said to Song Xiaowei, ”Hold out your hand.”

”Oh,” Song Xiaowei said.

Xu Yun put the repaired Jade Bracelet on her hand and said, ”You paid for this, so you should wear it. Consider it a lesson learned.”

”In the future, if you come across something you can’t afford, don’t just go touching it. You can’t afford the consequences.”

Song Xiaowei was speechless.

Xu Yun’s words, much like the Jade Bracelet itself, were a sharp slap to her face, shattering her pride and dignity.

’Before, she had looked down on Xu Yun. But after today’s incident, she found herself completely dependent on his help.’

”Brother Xu, don’t worry.”

Song Xiaowei said firmly, ”I will pay you back this money.”

”Of course you have to pay me back!”

Xu Yun teased, ”If you can’t pay it back in cash, you can always pay me back with your body. I wouldn’t mind.”

”...”

Hearing this, Song Xiaowei’s face instantly turned red. She said, ashamed and angry, ”Brother Xu, what kind of person do you take me for!”

”Yes, I borrowed money from you, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to sleep with you!”

”I will pay you back this money as soon as possible!”

”Alright. One can hope.”

Reaching his car, Xu Yun opened the door and got in. He gave a slight smirk. ”You can get back on your own. I’ve got other plans, so I won’t be giving you a ride.”

With that, he slammed his foot on the gas and sped away in his Porsche.

Song Xiaowei was left standing alone, her thoughts as chaotic as the wind whipping around her, staring at the Jade Bracelet on her wrist.