Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Yannick
But what was a perfectly normal sentence to Cecilia somehow made the other woman fly into a rage.
Her brows shot up as she glared at Cecilia and demanded loudly, "What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying I’m lying? Have you really never seen a two-dollar pair of shoes in your entire life?"
As she spoke, she gave Cecilia and Lily a hostile look, scanning them from head to toe. Their youthful, attractive appearances made her burn with jealousy. She snorted disdainfully. "You two look like college students. Call your parents to come pay for this, or I’m calling the police."
Cecilia couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. The woman’s face darkened at the sight. "What’s so funny?"
"Are you deaf?" Cecilia’s patience had run out. At first, she thought her sister was at fault and that they could resolve this by politely negotiating compensation. But this woman was so completely irrational she couldn’t seem to understand a single word.
So Cecilia’s tone grew cold. "Forget a two-dollar pair of shoes; I can afford to pay twenty or even two hundred. But I need to see a receipt or the official price online. That’s a reasonable request. What are you yapping about?"
"Who did you just say was yapping?"
The woman’s eyes flew wide as if she’d been mortally insulted. She raised her hand to slap Cecilia, but fortunately, the man behind her was quick enough to grab and hold her back.
"Hey, hey, it’s not a big deal! She already said she’ll pay."
"Are you useless or what?! She’s cussing me out right to my face, and you’re holding me back instead of helping me!" The woman shrieked, struggling and pounding on the man’s chest. Her shrill voice was painful to the ears.
Guests at the surrounding tables were all looking over with annoyed expressions. It was only then that a waiter and the manager belatedly arrived.
Just then, at a table in the corner of the restaurant, two young men recognized Cecilia.
"Yannick, isn’t that Cecilia Sterling?"
The young man named Yannick had noticed her long ago but hadn’t said anything, keeping his head down and concentrating on cutting the steak in front of him.
"Hey, you weren’t on campus yesterday, so you didn’t hear. Cecilia Sterling gave Shawn Lane back all the stuff he gave her. They probably broke up."
Yannick paused, his knife hovering over his steak. He looked up at Sean. "They broke up?"
"Yep, that’s the rumor." Sean’s eyes were fixed on Cecilia’s table, but he kept talking to Yannick. "It’s weird, though. Just the day before yesterday, Shawn Lane was still in the dorm bragging about their relationship, and then they broke up the very next day. I wonder what happened."
Yannick finally lifted his head completely, his gaze landing on the girl’s face, softened by the dim light.
Her skin was as clear and white as porcelain, and the warm lamplight cast a halo around her, making her seem even gentler.
His mind flashed back to the hot summer of his freshman year. He had been on the basketball court, sweat pouring off him, when he looked up and saw a girl sitting on the stone steps, her expression serene as she spaced out. The afternoon sun lit up her face, making it shine.
He was completely out of it for the rest of the game that afternoon.
The second time he saw her was on the school forum. Someone had taken a picture of her, causing quite a stir.
And then, she became his roommate Shawn Lane’s girlfriend.
"Looks like she’s dealing with someone difficult. Should we go help?" Sean suddenly asked.
Yannick put down his knife and fork and was about to get up, but then he saw Cecilia suddenly smile.
Cecilia held up her phone, showing the results of her search to the belligerent woman. "Ah, it’s a two-year-old model. No wonder I couldn’t find it on the official website."
The woman’s face flushed with shame and anger. "So what? Is the price 19,888 or not? Didn’t you say you could afford it? Then hurry up and pay!"
"You claim this is the first time you’ve worn a two-year-old model... I won’t bother questioning the truth of that statement. And I can’t be bothered to calculate depreciation. Just show me your QR code."
Every word from Cecilia seemed harmless, yet each one struck a blow to the woman’s pride. Her nonchalant, unfazed demeanor, in particular, made the other woman look like an unreasonable shrew.
The woman looked like she was about to start screaming again, but the man was squirming under the gazes of the other diners. Utterly embarrassed, he quickly pulled out his QR code. "Just transfer it to me."
Cecilia had no objection and transferred 19,888 dollars directly.
Seeing the transfer was successful, the man dragged the woman away without another word, not even finishing their meal.
Cecilia’s expression returned to normal. ’What an unlucky day,’ she thought. ’First one weirdo, then another.’
The restaurant manager came over to placate Cecilia and even sent a complimentary salmon salad to their table.
"It’s okay. Let’s get back to our food." Cecilia gave her sister a small smile, encouraging her not to let it bother her.
It was just a minor incident.
Lily Sterling had never been in a situation like that before and was still a little shaken. But her sister’s composure was reassuring. She nodded and quietly went back to eating.
As if sensing someone’s gaze, Cecilia instinctively turned her head toward the back of the restaurant, her eyes meeting Yannick’s before he had time to look away.
Cecilia froze for a second. ’Yannick?’
She didn’t know him, but she knew of him.
It wasn’t just because Yannick was Shawn Lane’s roommate; he was also the vice president of the university’s basketball society and a pretty big name on campus.
Thick brows, big eyes, tanned skin, and standing around six-foot-one—he was the type a lot of girls went for.
Even Hope Warner, a hardcore homebody who usually just stayed in the dorm watching BL dramas, would often go to the court to watch him play.
’He probably just looked over because he recognized me,’ Cecilia figured. She didn’t dwell on it, simply turning her gaze away and resuming her smiling conversation with her sister.
"Did you hear that? I think Cecilia paid that woman two dollars!" Sean whispered. "Isn’t her family just, like, average?"
As he spoke, Sean’s eyes widened. He looked at Yannick as if he’d discovered an earth-shattering secret. "She and Shawn Lane broke up... It’s not because she found an even richer sugar daddy, is it?"
Yannick’s face darkened. He looked up impatiently. "Stop spouting nonsense without any proof. Are you eating or not? If not, we’re leaving."
"I’m eating, I’m eating." Sean ducked his head with a sheepish grin. "It’s not every day I get to eat at a place this nice. It’s all thanks to you! Just keep hanging out in the background during my stream tonight, and I’ll definitely get more Carnivals."
After dinner, Cecilia took Lily back to school. She watched her sister enter the dormitory building with a pile of things before turning to leave.
Back at her hotel, she took a long bath, then curled up on the sofa and started scrolling idly through Tiktok.
She hadn’t been scrolling for long when she stumbled upon a dorm livestream by Shawn Lane’s roommate.
Sean was sitting in front of the camera with Yannick seated just behind him. The livestream chat was flooded with comments from people who had come to see the "handsome guy," and a stream of small gifts flew across the screen. Sean was grinning from ear to ear.
Yannick just sat there blankly, like an emotionless model.
Cecilia found this rather amusing. She casually topped up her account with ten dollars and proceeded to send twenty Carnivals in a row.
Comments