41: Don't think that paying my bill means you'll pursue me.
After washing up, Chen Kai sat on the edge of his bed and opened today's refreshed intelligence, rubbing his hands together with a bit of excitement.
[Today's Intelligence Refreshed: In the HR Counter at Yuelong Mall, there is a foundation sample for sale. Opening it and scanning the QR code can win an HR black and white bandages gift set. If you go before 3 PM today, you can intercept it. Market price: 39,999. Official buyback price: 3,999]
Chen Kai was taken aback. Today's intelligence was a bit... underwhelming.
He knew about HR Black Bandage. It was touted as something no woman dislikes, but the price really made it hard to like.
Moreover, all of HR's cosmetics were expensive. The official buyback was only 4,000? That's a tenth of the value gone in one go. Such a loss.
He opened his WeChat Moments and searched for duty-free store purchasing agents in Hong Kong. Agents sold it for over six thousand.
So they're just ripping off those who buy in-store, huh?
He then opened Idle Fish and found that prices for items used once (99% new) and brand new unopened ones were around five to six thousand.
The main thing was... they weren't selling. This pricing was quite contradictory.
Women who could consistently use black and white bandages wouldn't bother saving a bit by buying used second-hand items that might not even be genuine.
Those looking for bargains... all went to agents to buy the smaller bottles. No one bought the large ones.
Chen Kai scratched his head and let out a long sigh.
"Forget it. Not taking advantage of a loophole is for fools. At worst, I'll just take the official buyback."
Chen Kai suddenly felt like slapping himself. It had only been a few days since he got the Intelligence System, and he was already looking down on four thousand yuan?
That used to be ten days' wages! Ten days of wages earned under the scorching sun for ten hours a day!
And this was like picking it up for free?
Thinking this, he set an alarm. When in doubt, sleep on it first!
...
Early the next morning, under the relentless ringing of his alarm, Chen Kai slowly crawled out of bed. After a quick wash, he changed his clothes.
He sat on the edge of the bed and lit a cigarette.
"Click."
After finishing the cigarette, he went downstairs, rode his Electric Scooter, and headed towards Yuelong Mall.
In less than half an hour, Chen Kai parked his scooter outside the mall.
He glanced at the directory at the entrance, found the location of the HR store, and walked into the mall.
Entering the mall, he found the HR store not long after. There weren't too many people, just a few scattered individuals browsing.
A row of sample products was displayed at the store entrance, with a slogan attracting quite a few people.
[HR Samples, 79 yuan each. Open and scan the QR code for a chance to win the grand prize: a complete black and white bandages gift set!]
Chen Kai stood at the Counter, looking at these samples. This marketing strategy was somewhat successful. They were only a few milliliters, enough for maybe two applications, yet sold for 79 yuan.
And they used the scanning prize as a gimmick.
He stood at the edge of the crowd and looked. Sure enough, he saw a faintly glowing foundation sample.
A small glass bottle, about the size of a palm, was emitting a faint light.
He queued up, standing second in line.
There was only one girl in front of him, picking and choosing among the foundation samples.
He stood there browsing his phone. A full three minutes passed, and the woman in front was still picking and choosing, having only taken one bottle of foundation.
She kept playing with it in her hand, spinning it around like a fidget spinner.
A Counter Sister in a suit, seeing this, walked over with some concern.
"Ma'am, please don't keep playing with the cosmetics. The bottles are fragile. If you accidentally drop and break it, you might have to... pay for it."
The woman in front of Chen Kai, who had been playing with the glass sample bottle in her hand, seemed displeased. "It's just a sample. It's not like I can't afford it."
The Counter Sister gave a worried smile and quickly explained.
"Ma'am, I didn't mean anything else. It's just that... these cosmetic samples are all the same, uniform specifications. There's no need to pick for so long...
There are people waiting behind you. It's just that these sample bottles are glass. If you accidentally break one, you'll be responsible."
The woman queuing in front of Chen Kai was clearly unhappy. "If it breaks from just picking like this, would I dare buy it? And it's not like I can't afford to pay. If I break it, I'll just pay the 79 yuan."
The woman said disdainfully.
The next moment, the foundation sample in her hand suddenly slipped and flew towards the other sample products on the Counter.
"Crash!"
Instantly, the foundation in her hand knocked over seven or eight sample bottles, and two even rolled onto the floor.
All seven or eight sample bottles shattered upon impact.
Hearing the sound, Chen Kai quickly looked up.
"Damn!"
That faintly glowing foundation sample was also within the range of impact. It was shattered!
The brownish-white liquid inside flowed onto the Counter.
"This... what do we do now?"
The woman standing in front of Chen Kai was clearly at a loss.
She hadn't expected her words to become a prophecy, directly breaking so many bottles.
"Hmph, what do we do? I warned you earlier, ma'am. The broken ones need to be paid for by you."
The Counter Sister wore an expression of vindication and chuckled.
"Huh? I have to pay for all of them? For these nine bottles, that's almost a thousand yuan? I... I'm still in university. Can it be cheaper?"
The woman in front of him was clearly panicking now, her hands flustered as she picked up the remnants of the bottle she had been playing with.
"Can't make it cheaper. The prices are clearly marked. If you pay, you can take all these broken bottles. They'll be yours."
"Wait... then... let me call a friend and ask if it's worth it..."
"No need to ask about worth. Prices are clearly marked. Pay at the original price. If you can't pay, I'll call Hat Uncle."
The university student in front of him panicked upon hearing Hat Uncle. She quickly took out her phone and called someone saved in her contacts as "Lapdog."
When the other party heard she needed to pay over a thousand, they hung up without hesitation.
Watching this scene, Chen Kai frowned.
If they're broken, they belong to her. Given this woman's character, she'd definitely take them all.
He quickly stepped forward. "The samples she broke, can I buy them? If I buy them, can I take them away?"
Chen Kai asked the Counter Sister.
"Of course, sir. But are you sure you want to pay for this stranger?"
The College Girl in front of Chen Kai turned her head to look. Instantly, she wasn't as panicked. Someone was covering for her! Was this the confidence that came with being pretty?
But she still had to put on an act. She said to Chen Kai,
"You... don't think that just because you pay for me, you can pursue me."
"If you pay for me, at most I'll give you my WeChat. Whether I agree to your pursuit depends on your sincerity."
Chen Kai was stunned and cursed 'idiot' in his heart.
What a delusional little fairy, thinking so highly of herself. She wasn't even one-tenth as good-looking as Liu Yunshang.
He gave the Counter Sister a slight smile. "Don't misunderstand. I only want to buy one of the broken ones. For the rest, she should pay as she ought to. I don't know her."