Chapter 391 - 387: Reprimand

Cecilia Sterling had always been a decisive shopper, so the salesman was prepared when he nodded. "Of course. Will it be your usual size?"

Cecilia looked at Sarah Harris, her voice softening slightly. "It’s for my sister."

At this, Sarah’s eyes widened in excitement, nearly popping out of her head.

"Sis!" She glanced around at the items on the sofa—bags, clothes, almost ten items in total!

"You’re... you’re buying all this for me?"

Ignoring everyone else, Cecilia snapped, "You don’t like them? If I don’t buy them for you, who will? Should I just wait for some random guy to trick you and wrap you around his little finger with a few cheap gifts?"

Hearing Cecilia’s words, the man’s face flushed. "Miss, what you’re saying... I..."

Before the man could finish, Cecilia shot him a look as sharp as a dagger. The chilling frost in her eyes made him stop in his tracks.

"You can go now. And you are not to contact her ever again," Cecilia warned him coldly.

The man was genuinely intimidated by Cecilia’s aura. This was Lorcain, a city teeming with powerful and wealthy people. He didn’t dare provoke Cecilia any further, especially after she had just inadvertently revealed her financial might.

’He really must be someone I can’t afford to provoke.’

Humiliated and furious but too scared to act, the man’s face turned a livid shade of purple. In the end, he scurried away with his tail between his legs.

Watching him go, Sarah couldn’t help but stick her tongue out. But with her sister buying her so much Chanel, she was on cloud nine and couldn’t be bothered to spare another thought for the man.

"I’m sorry, Sis. I was wrong today. Please don’t be mad, okay?"

After changing back into her own shoes, Sarah took the initiative to approach Cecilia, apologizing sweetly.

At five-foot-eight, with excellent body proportions, she stood a good half a head taller than Cecilia.

Cecilia remained silent, clearly still fuming.

Among the three siblings and their two cousins, Sarah had always been the one who gave them the most headaches. During her teenage years, she had been the most rebellious and difficult to manage.

Fortunately, her height and good looks led her to choose the right major—flight attendant—and in her past life, she had married well, avoiding any major pitfalls.

But this time, things were clearly on a completely different track. If Cecilia hadn’t stopped her today, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

"Miss Sterling, everything is packed. You can pay over here. If you have any issues later, you can contact me directly on WhatsApp."

Two bags, a pair of shoes, and a suit set—the total came to tens of thousands of dollars. To Cecilia, this was a trivial amount, but to Sarah, it was the definition of luxury.

The purse she was currently carrying was one Cecilia had given her for the New Year. It still looked brand new, a testament to how carefully she used it.

Seeing her sister spend so much money without batting an eye, Sarah felt an even deeper pang of guilt.

On the way to the parking garage, she chattered on, apologizing profusely. "Sis, I’m really sorry. I was wrong. Please don’t be mad, okay?"

"You still love me as your little sister, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have bought me all this stuff."

"Thank you, Sis. I promise I’ll listen to you from now on. I won’t make you angry again."

"Come on, smile for me. We haven’t seen each other in so long..."

She was tall and still in her flight attendant uniform, and the sight of her constantly bowing to apologize to Cecilia was rather comical.

But Cecilia wasn’t about to forgive her so easily. What happened today was no small matter, nor was it something that could be laughed off and forgotten.

Back in the car, Sarah was instantly captivated by Cecilia’s luxury vehicle. She excitedly ran her hands over the surfaces, admiring every detail and reveling in the cloud-like comfort of the seat beneath her.

"Sis, this car is amazing! It must have been really expensive, right?"

Cecilia, her face impassive, took a moment to compose herself before she finally spoke. "Who was that man? How did you meet him?"

Sarah fell silent.

Cecilia stared straight at her, her gaze filled with immense pressure.

"Sis, please don’t ask. I promise I’ll never see him again, is that okay?"

"Not okay!" Cecilia said in a low, firm voice. "If you don’t give me a clear explanation today, we’re not going anywhere. I’ll sit here with you all day if I have to!"

Sarah’s gaze darted away from Cecilia’s before she mumbled, "He’s just a friend I’ve been talking to online for a while. We met on a dating app."

"Was today the first time you met in person?"

Sarah nodded obediently.

Cecilia let out a small sigh of relief. If it was their first meeting, it meant nothing serious could have happened yet. But then a new wave of anger washed over her. "And you let him buy you such expensive things on your first meeting? Don’t you know that accepting his gifts puts you in his debt? Once you take these things, what are you going to do if he makes an inappropriate request? Will you say yes or no?"

"Oh, come on, Sis. I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. He was the one who offered to bring me here. Besides, he said that if we hit it off, he’d ask me to be his girlfriend. He’s a civil servant here in Lorcain, a section chief."

"A section chief?" Hearing this, Cecilia laughed out of sheer anger. "In Lorcain, if a flowerpot fell from a window, it’d hit a director-level official or higher. And you were impressed by a mere section chief?"

"And using a low-class tactic like buying luxury goods... that’s a classic move to prey on naive young girls like you who see these brands through rose-colored glasses! If I hadn’t found you today and something had happened, how would I explain it to your mother?"

"Your aunt started cooking your favorite foods at two in the afternoon, and what were you doing? Sarah, do you still think you’re a child who can be so selfish and do whatever she wants?"

As she spoke, Cecilia glanced at the flight attendant uniform Sarah was wearing. "And this outfit. The flight attendant profession is already ’special.’ If someone took a picture of you in this uniform going into a luxury store with a man and posted it online, do you have any idea what you’d face? Losing your job would be the least of it. Can’t you use your head when you do things?!"

Cecilia was clearly beside herself with anger—worry for her sister, and concern for her aunt and uncle.

In truth, she completely understood a young woman’s fondness for Chanel and designer brands. It was normal. Having a bit of vanity was normal, too.

But you couldn’t just act recklessly, without any thought for the consequences, just for a moment of pleasure.

Scolded into silence, Sarah sat there for a long moment before tears began to stream down her face. "I’m sorry, Sis. I know I was wrong. I won’t do it again..."

Seeing her pitiful expression, and having said everything she needed to say, most of Cecilia’s anger dissipated.

She started the car and said, "I won’t tell your mom or my mom about this, but you have to take what I said today to heart. In the future, if you want or need to buy something, you can come to me. Don’t go getting any funny ideas, understand?"

Sarah nodded, her eyes red.

Cecilia added, "You’re an adult now. You have to learn to be responsible for yourself. When you’re out on your own, whether you’re dating or anything else, you must remember to protect yourself. Do you hear me?"

Sarah nodded obediently again.

Just then, the car’s navigation system chimed in: *"Navigating to destination Lorcain Film Academy. Route guidance will now begin. In twenty meters, turn right..."*

"Sis, aren’t we going home?"

Cecilia glanced at her and said softly, "Lily heard you were coming and wants to see you, too. We’ll go pick her up first. It’s on the way."