Chapter 599 - 595: Seemingly a Reminder, Actually a Taunt

"Ah—"

The cry of alarm came from Sheila Hughes.

Seeing what had happened, she quickly got up and went to Cecilia Sterling, pulling a pack of tissues from her pocket to try and wipe the stain.

By then, Cecilia had also stood up. The bright red splash on her cream-colored cashmere sweater was particularly jarring.

Sheila Hughes had bought two cups of artificially colored fruit juice. Cecilia’s was raspberry-flavored, which she found too sweet, so she had only taken a symbolic sip. Now, the rest of it was all over her, a huge patch of crimson.

Sheila wiped at it a couple of times and realized it was hopeless. Between the material of the sweater and the adhesiveness of the dye, it was a lost cause. ’This probably won’t even wash out, let alone wipe off.’

Cecilia’s expression turned cold. Filled with disgust and impatience, she slowly looked up at Elias Warner, who was still reeling from the shock. "Are you sick in the head?"

She knew Elias hadn’t done it on purpose, but her emotions came first. She was going to prioritize how she felt; she was in no mood to consider whether he meant it or not.

Elias was slow to react to the accident and didn’t even offer an immediate apology. But he knew, deep down, that this was definitely his fault and he needed to apologize to Cecilia.

"Sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose," Elias said, his tone stiff. There was a hint of apology in his voice, but not much.

As it happened, Cecilia couldn’t care less about his apology, so she paid it no mind. She just stared at Elias expressionlessly and asked, "And?"

The sweater was clearly ruined. A large red stain on white—not even the best dry-cleaning techniques could restore it to its original state.

A crowd of onlookers began to gather. You didn’t need to ask to see what was going on.

The two people at the center of the conflict were both well-known figures at Lorcain Tech.

Elias Warner was the vice chairman of the student council, and Cecilia Sterling was, in the eyes of many, the undisputed campus belle of Lorcain Tech.

Being stared at by so many people made Elias, who usually enjoyed being the center of attention, feel like he was on pins and needles. His expression hardened as he asked in a low voice, "So what do you want?"

At his words, Cecilia laughed out of sheer anger.

She let out a cold scoff and stared at Elias in disbelief. "What do I want?" she retorted.

Shaking her head, speechless, Cecilia said, "The way you say that makes it sound like I’m making a scene and bullying you. You ruined my sweater like this—you don’t actually think a simple ’I didn’t do it on purpose’ gets you off the hook, do you? Vice Chairman Warner?"

Cecilia deliberately emphasized the title "Vice Chairman Warner," her tone laced with mockery. How could the proud vice chairman of the student council be so unwilling to take responsibility for his mistake?

Sure enough, her words were like a provocation, and Elias was instantly triggered. "That’s not what I meant. I was just asking what kind of resolution you want. I’ll do my best to accommodate you."

"It’s ruined. Is there any other solution besides compensating me for the full price?" Cecilia said mercilessly.

The surrounding students all looked on with growing interest.

Elias’s pride had him backed into a corner. In front of him was Cecilia, refusing to back down, and behind him were the scrutinizing gazes of his fellow students.

He could only nod and agree. "I’ll pay you back."

Cecilia didn’t hesitate. She immediately pulled up the official website page for the sweater and held up her phone. "Don’t say I’m trying to rip you off. I just bought this sweater last weekend at the SKP store. I have the payment record and the receipt. Seventy-nine thousand."

The crowd instantly erupted in shocked gasps.

"How much?"

"Seventy-nine thousand?"

"Seventy-nine thousand could buy my life!"

"All the clothes I’ve ever bought in my entire life combined don’t cost as much as that one sweater!"

"But Cecilia’s sweater does look expensive. You can tell it’s a genuine designer item at a glance, definitely high-end stuff."

Elias was stunned, too. He thought he must have misheard. "How much?"

"Seventy-nine thousand. Brand new," Cecilia repeated, her face a blank mask.

Hearing her confirm the number, the composure Elias had been struggling to maintain finally cracked. "A-a sweater costs seventy-nine thousand?"

Cecilia arched an eyebrow slightly and corrected him, "This isn’t an ordinary sweater. It’s Dior."

Such a famous luxury brand instantly made the price seem reasonable. The onlooking students all showed looks of understanding.

Oh, it’s from Dior. No wonder.

"That brand’s ready-to-wear is on the expensive side even for luxury goods. Over seventy thousand is pretty normal!"

"And Cecilia said she has the receipt. It’s definitely authentic."

"How could he be so careless? Ruining such an expensive piece of clothing... If it were me, I’d make him pay too."

"Of course he has to pay. It’s not just some ordinary sweater."

The whispers grew louder, and as they reached Elias’s ears, his face flushed red. This time, however, it wasn’t from losing face, but from the sheer panic of learning the sweater’s true price.

After all, he had just said he would pay for it.

’I can’t just back out now because it’s too expensive, can I?’

’Not with so many people watching!’

"Cecilia..."

At this point, Sheila Hughes couldn’t help but look at Cecilia. "That sweater is too expensive. Elias probably can’t come up with that much money right now. Maybe you could give him some time?"

There was no point in staying at a stalemate.

Unless a student came from a very wealthy family, who could possibly pull out over seventy thousand yuan just like that?

Cecilia understood this principle perfectly well. She just couldn’t stand Elias as a person.

A guy with such a bizarre, twisted personality... he was a real piece of work.

She looked at Elias, a playful glint in her eyes, and bluntly asked him a question that struck right at his core: "If you had known beforehand that my sweater was this expensive, would your attitude have been a little better when you threw those two workbooks?"

The question was nothing short of a humiliation.

To the onlookers who didn’t know the full story, the jab might not have seemed that potent. But Sheila Hughes, Yates Sanders, and Lee Warner were all there. They knew exactly how Elias treated Cecilia, so when she asked such a humiliating question, a cold sweat broke out on their backs.

The same went for Elias.

He glared at Cecilia, his eyes filled with irrepressible anger and shame.

He had never imagined that he would one day be cornered by Cecilia like this, left speechless and powerless, with a massive debt of seventy-nine thousand hanging over his head.

Seeing that look on his face—seething but unable to speak—brought a satisfied smile to Cecilia’s lips.

This was exactly the expression she wanted to see from him. With a tyrant like Elias, who ruled by his own authority, there was no telling how many people had been forced to swallow their anger in his presence.

Now, it was finally his turn to get a taste of his own medicine.

But that wasn’t enough. Cecilia spoke again, her voice soft. "Then let me give you a little reminder: everything on me is expensive. You’d better watch your attitude around me next time!"

It sounded like a reminder, but it was pure mockery.