Chapter 649 - 645: I’ll Take It, I’ll Take Them All

The manager and the salesperson, Abby, exchanged an involuntary glance upon hearing Cecilia Sterling’s words.

’This...’

’We were just following procedure. How did this backfire on us and become our fault?’

Most importantly, every word the beautiful woman before them said seemed... completely reasonable.

The manager began to doubt herself. ’How can I prove this customer was the one who scratched the Crystal Coral?’

’Exactly, how can I prove it?’

’I can’t!’

No one was there at the time. They had, in fact, been derelict in their duties and shared in the liability.

Cecilia Sterling returned to her aunt’s side, offering the nervous woman a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry, Auntie. If it’s our fault, we’ll pay for it. But if it’s not, they have to apologize."

Cecilia Sterling was rich, but she was no sucker.

Especially since this involved her aunt, she had to resolve it in front of her. Otherwise, her aunt would surely continue to blame herself and be consumed by guilt.

"Are you going to find a third-party authentication service, or should I? We need to get a definitive answer today. If we drag this out, a new scratch will start to look old, and then no one will be able to tell the difference."

Cecilia Sterling looked at the manager, her expression turning aggressive.

But she had every reason to pressure them. Otherwise, just as she’d said, once the scratch aged, who could possibly tell when it was made?

The Crystal City Mall had only recently opened, and the clerks and manager were all newly appointed transfers. They had barely sold a few crystal figurines, let alone encountered a customer like Cecilia Sterling.

It was the first time they had ever faced such a crisis. Even the manager was momentarily at a loss.

Seeing their hesitation, Cecilia Sterling cut to the chase and pulled out her phone. "I’ll contact a reputable third-party agency. If you don’t trust my choice, you’re welcome to find another."

Without waiting for a response, Cecilia Sterling walked to the side and made the call.

"Manager..."

The young salesgirl looked at the manager, her eyes welling up. She barely earned anything in a month; there was no way she could afford to pay for such an expensive piece of crystal.

It seemed she was only now fully realizing that she was just a salesperson, with a monthly salary that wasn’t even enough to buy a single item in the store.

The manager was panicking as well, completely clueless about how to handle this kind of emergency.

From the moment Cecilia Sterling had arrived, she had seized the initiative with every question and statement. She was so on point that she left them no room to argue.

Just then, Cecilia Sterling finished her call and returned. Seeing the looks on their faces, she let out a soft chuckle. "No need for those expressions. My proposal is the fastest, most effective way to resolve this. You’re free to pray that the scratch turns out to be new. If it is, we absolutely won’t try to get out of it."

"However, right now..." Cecilia Sterling glanced at the time. "We came here to buy crystal, and we don’t have time to stand around waiting. We’ll come back once the authenticators arrive. You don’t have to worry about us running off. We’re just going across the way to Valoria to pick out some crystal."

With that, Cecilia Sterling took Yvonne Sterling’s arm. "Let’s go, Auntie. We came out to shop and have fun today. Don’t let something like this spoil your mood. We’re going to the store across the way."

The manager looked as if she wanted to say something but held her tongue. She was clearly afraid they would run off, leaving her and her staff responsible for the scratched figurine.

As a result, Cecilia Sterling turned back to her and said, "You can follow us."

After saying this, she led her aunt and uncle out of the Lalique flagship store and headed straight for the even more lavish brand across the way: Valoria.

"Welcome to Valoria."

As soon as they entered, a staff member warmly approached them. "Are you interested in purchasing crystal products? Our brand offers decorative pieces, stemware, jewelry, and lighting, all crafted from high-grade, high-clarity natural crystal. What would you like to see? I can show you around."

Hearing this, Yvonne Sterling couldn’t help but ask, "These brands are so expensive, but I’ve never heard of them. I’ve only heard of that... uh... Swa-something-ski."

The salesperson smiled politely and explained, "You must be referring to Swarovski, ma’am. That brand is certainly well-known, but their ’crystals’ are actually glass products—in other words, man-made crystal. That’s why their prices are more accessible."

"Crystal isn’t glass?"

"Of course not. Crystal is a type of stone—more accurately, a mineral. It’s a natural mineral, similar to a diamond. All of our Valoria crystal pieces are made from natural crystal, which is why their color and clarity are superior, and they feel much smoother to the touch."

Yvonne Sterling nodded in understanding. ’Another piece of random knowledge acquired,’ she thought.

"Please take a look at these pieces. They’re all from our new collection for the latter half of the year. These figurines in particular are a designer collaboration, all globally limited editions with significant collector’s value. Our brand’s limited-edition pieces almost always appreciate in value over a few years."

As she spoke, the salesperson produced silk gloves and offered them to the group. "Please feel free to put these on and gently touch the pieces to experience their texture. We just ask that you remove any metal jewelry from your hands first. The crystal is delicate and can be scratched."

The difference in professionalism was immediately apparent.

But Yvonne Sterling, as if traumatized by the earlier incident, immediately shook her head and refused. "No, no, I won’t touch them. They’re beautiful enough just to look at."

Cecilia Sterling glanced at her aunt, then turned to the salesperson. "I’ll take all of these."

She figured she could place a few in her own room and in some of the empty spaces around the house. She pointed to a sealed display case not far away. "I’ll take the two in there as well."

’One for my sister-in-law and one for Mr. Young,’ she thought. "I’ll take those two over there, too."

’My younger brother’s Esports Base will need some decor once the renovations are done,’ she considered, buying two more. "And those two over there."

’Director Lawson is getting married soon, so one for him.’ "I’ll take that one, too."

"Cecilia!" Yvonne Sterling was dumbfounded. Snapping back to reality, she quickly grabbed Cecilia’s arm. "Why are you buying so many? We won’t have anywhere to put them all at home!"

"Don’t worry, Auntie, I have a plan. Some of them are gifts." Cecilia said, then turned to the stunned salesperson and confirmed with a smile, "I’ll take everything I just mentioned. Please go ring it all up."

"O-Okay." The salesperson tried her best to maintain a neutral expression, but she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curling into a grin.

’She bought over a dozen pieces in one go!’

’This is a bigger sale than I could have ever dreamed of!’

"Please follow me to the VIP lounge to wait. Since you’ve selected quite a few items, it may take us some time to prepare everything."

Cecilia Sterling nodded. Seeing that it was already noon, she asked offhandedly, "Do you serve lunch?"

"Yes, of course. We provide meals, beverages, and afternoon tea. Please, follow me."

As they headed to the VIP lounge, their figures flickered past the main entrance. The manager of the Lalique store across the hall hadn’t actually followed them, but her eyes were still glued to the storefront, terrified that Cecilia Sterling’s group would disappear.

Little did she know that in less than half an hour, Cecilia Sterling had already purchased over a dozen crystal pieces from Valoria, with a total value exceeding five million yuan.