Chapter 168: Lingering Ghosts
Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Lingering Ghosts
Jennings Plaza was a members-only establishment; you needed a card to get in. This wasn’t exactly a secret; many locals in Brynn knew about it.
Eugene Jennings knew this as well. He had been here a few times before, using Mrs. Jennings’s membership card.
It was precisely because of this card that when Arabella Donovan mentioned wanting to go shopping for a wedding gift, Eugene Jennings had suggested coming here.
After all, while the items here were a bit pricey, the quality was guaranteed. Giving something from here as a gift wouldn’t be embarrassing.
Who would have thought they’d hit a snag the moment they arrived?
"Didn’t you just need a membership card to get in before? Why do you suddenly need the cardholder to be present?"
The mall’s security guard was reasonably polite. Although he had stopped them, he explained patiently, "I’m really not trying to give you a hard time. You’ve probably heard about the mall bombing a while back, right?"
Eugene Jennings subconsciously glanced at Arabella Donovan. "Hasn’t that case already been solved? And the mall is fine."
"The mall is fine, but the police investigation afterward revealed that the culprit who brought the bomb in got into our mall by using a stolen membership card. The owner felt this was a security loophole and issued a new policy. Now, entering customers must not only have a membership card but also be the person who registered for it."
This was Eugene Jennings’s first time at the mall since the bombing, so he never expected such a blunder.
"With such a new rule popping up out of nowhere, didn’t your customers have any complaints?"
Eugene Jennings was just speechless at the unexpected turn of events and asked out of idle curiosity.
He didn’t expect to be misunderstood by a middle-aged man in a sharp suit who was preparing to enter.
"Complaints? What complaints could there be? This mall was opened for rich people. And what do rich people value most? Security and service! The owner is being responsible for the safety of all the customers inside. We’re all civilized, wealthy people. Who would be so unreasonable as to complain about the mall and its owner over something so trivial?"
The logic was sound, but coming from this man’s mouth, with his tone, it just felt like a condescending lecture.
Eugene Jennings frowned but didn’t say anything.
But the other party didn’t seem willing to let them go. The woman next to the man heard him speak, lifted her chin slightly, and shot the pair a haughty glance before chiming in, "Mr. Sterling is right. If you ask me, some people should stop pretending to be rich when they have no money. The budget mall next door is perfectly fine; you can buy things there that’ll do the job. If you can’t even afford a membership card to get in, you won’t be able to buy anything inside anyway, even if you manage to squeeze in. So why bother?"
"Who are you calling too poor to buy anything in here?" Eugene Jennings had a short fuse, and his temper flared.
"Well, whoever can’t get in, of course." The woman clearly took them for a young couple and muttered to Mr. Sterling, "I saw it all just now. This girl was waiting outside for almost half an hour, without even a car to shelter her from the elements. And don’t even get me started on the guy. Has to borrow someone else’s card just to get in. Isn’t this just a case of a young man trying to save face, wanting to bring his girlfriend in here for a look around to pretend he’s a big shot? I’ve seen plenty of people like you."
"You!" Eugene Jennings was both angry and guilty—angry at the woman’s deliberate humiliation, but even more guilty that he had actually made Arabella Donovan wait outside for so long.
Arabella Donovan, however, wasn’t bothered by this. She glanced at the couple and grabbed Eugene Jennings’s hand. "Forget it, forget it. Calm down."
But Eugene Jennings had no intention of letting it go. He didn’t care if people looked down on him, but he couldn’t let Arabella Donovan be mocked along with him. Otherwise, if his parents found out when he got home, they would surely give him a good thrashing!
Just as he was about to argue with them—and throw money at their faces if necessary—he heard a thought murmur in Arabella Donovan’s mind.
’One is plagued by imminent misfortune, the other is fated to lose wealth and suffer harm. Together, they’re basically a pair of walking disasters. If you even walk past them, you have to worry about their bad luck rubbing off on you, making you lose money. Better to stay far, far away.’
Eugene Jennings: "..." ’Fine, I’ll let it slide this time. Retreat is the best strategy. Better to slip away now!’
"What are the requirements for membership? Can I sign up now?"
"Yes, you can. The requirement for membership at our mall is a pre-paid deposit of 100,000 yuan into the card. This deposit can be used for purchases in the mall. If you decide you won’t be coming back, you can go to the service counter to cancel the card, and the remaining balance will be fully refunded."
"However, a person is limited to signing up for a card only twice in their lifetime. In other words, if you sign up for and then cancel a membership card with us twice, you will be blacklisted by the mall, and we will not issue you a third one."
Hearing the mall’s rules, Arabella Donovan couldn’t help but marvel at how the style of Imperia was so vastly different from the small, shabby place she came from on the mountain.
’A mall that’s open for business demands a 100,000 yuan deposit for a membership just to get in the door, and it’ll even blacklist and ban customers for canceling their cards. Isn’t that just actively driving customers away?’
’Could this be the confidence that comes from being in Imperia, where they say if you drop a brick from a building, you’re bound to hit half a dozen rich people?’
Complaints were just complaints. For the sake of buying a wedding gift for Dennis Donovan and his partner, and not to spoil Eugene Jennings’s mood, Arabella Donovan made a grand gesture and generously opened a membership card for both of them.
Eugene Jennings had wanted to get his own, but Arabella Donovan rejected the idea, saying, "You’re here with me to help me shop. It makes no sense for you to spend your own money on a card."
After entering the mall, the two took a quick stroll to get a general sense of the layout and the location of some of the stores, then headed straight for the luxury goods section.
After looking at a series of luxury watches, haute couture, and handbags, Arabella Donovan finally led Eugene Jennings into a jewelry store.
"It’s a wedding, after all. Jewelry might be a bit cliché, but it’s the safest and most reliable choice. You can’t go wrong. We can skip the rings; I’m sure Great-Uncle already has a big, sparkly diamond ring ready. So maybe a necklace or a bracelet? For a necklace, should it be pure gold or have gemstones? For a bracelet, pure gold or jade?"
Arabella Donovan muttered to herself as she browsed. Unable to decide which was better, she finally asked the sales associate to take out all the items she had her eye on so she could inspect them.
The words had barely left Arabella Donovan’s lips when a familiar, scornful laugh came from behind her. "Can’t afford it, so you came in to feast your eyes? I suggest you two think carefully. They’re a pair of paupers. If you take out these precious jewels and they accidentally get scratched or damaged, they wouldn’t be able to pay for it even if you sold them."
Eugene Jennings’s face fell the moment he saw the woman. He replied, half-angry and half-amused, "You again? Whether we have money or can afford to pay is none of your damn business. You’re like a persistent ghost."
’Aren’t they, though? I deliberately avoided them and went the opposite way, but we still ran into them. Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!’