Chapter 4

"I won't give you a single cent."

I said calmly, "Not only will I not give you money, I'm going to collect what you owe me."

Hearing this, Sienna's father squatted back down and started wailing again.

"Help! This punk is trying to drive us father and daughter to death!"

"My daughter works so hard to earn money, working early and late every day, exhausting herself. He scammed away all the money she finally saved!"

"And now he's turning it around on us! You heartless scoundrel!"

My colleagues also criticized me.

"Tristan Parker, you've gone too far. How can you ask them for money? Playing the victim!"

"Exactly! Paying back debts is only natural. Have some shame!"

The manager had lost his patience. "Tristan, pay up quickly. Stop embarrassing yourself here!"

I ignored them and held up the itemized list for everyone around to see.

"Everyone, look carefully. This is the bill she wants me to pay."

"Sienna and I met a total of four times. She paid for two meals, and I also paid for two meals. I have payment receipts."

"Why is she calculating all four meals as expenses she paid alone?"

The murmuring stopped, and people crowded over to look.

I pointed at the list and continued.

"To get to the restaurant, she only needed a twenty-minute Uber ride, but she recorded two hundred dollars for the fare each time. Four times makes it eight hundred."

Sienna's father stopped wailing and jumped up, shouting.

"So what if she recorded it wrong! Everyone makes accounting mistakes!"

"You're nitpicking over this tiny error because you want to dodge the debt!"

"My daughter spent so much money on you, and you still have the nerve to find fault? You have no conscience at all!"

But the onlookers' expressions had already changed.

"A few hundred dollars off is a small error? This is obviously inflated reporting!"

"The fare doesn't match up either. A twenty-minute ride doesn't cost two hundred dollars. This is extortion."

"I don't think this is as simple as it seems."

Seeing things going south, Sienna's father rushed forward to grab the list but was blocked by several colleagues.

I simply started reading it aloud.

"Pre-date beauty treatment, two thousand eight hundred. Manicure, eight hundred. Eyelash extensions, six hundred. Uber fare, eight hundred. Cosmetics depreciation, one thousand..."

"Sienna, you treated me to meals, but I also took you to movies and coffee. I never took advantage of you."

"But why should I pay for your beauty treatments, manicures, and eyelash extensions before our dates?"

The crowd completely exploded.

"What the hell? She's charging him for beauty treatments? And manicures and lashes? Is this a blind date or a scam?"

"These prices are wrong too. Beauty treatment for two thousand eight hundred? Do they think we're idiots?"

"This is ridiculous! This is clearly extortion!"

The onlookers all turned against them. Sienna's face turned red and white alternately. In desperation, she raised her voice and shouted.

"Everyone, don't let him distract you! I gave him a twenty-thousand-dollar luxury watch! That was real money!"

I snorted coldly and pulled out an authentication report from my pocket, holding it up for everyone to see.

"I had this watch verified at the official store. The clerk said on the spot it was a knockoff. The same model online costs a few hundred dollars with free shipping."

I handed the authentication report to a knowledgeable colleague nearby. After looking at it twice, the colleague laughed.

"It's definitely fake. Even the movement doesn't match."

Now the crowd was truly furious, pointing at them and cursing.

"She gave him a fake gift and has the nerve to make a scene at the company entrance? This is completely backwards!"

"This is a scammer, isn't it? Call the police!"

I looked at Sienna, my tone ice-cold.

"The watch you gave was a few-hundred-dollar fake, but the gift I gave in return was a brand-new phone worth ten thousand dollars, plus expensive tea and supplements for your father. These items add up to fifteen thousand. Return it to me now."

The onlookers also told her to return the money, and some said they should call the police.

Sienna's face turned ashen as she pulled out her phone and transferred the money.

Sienna's father tried to stop her but was pulled aside by Sienna, who whispered something to him. Her father stopped protesting.

After Sienna transferred the money, she grabbed her father and ran.

Before leaving, her father glared at me viciously.

"This isn't over! Just you wait!"