Chapter 28: But This Card Has Already Expired

Inside the office of the Star Source Beauty Salon's manager.

Bright and simple, lined with cream-colored furniture, a large cloud sofa and a glass coffee table sat in the center.

And right now, the dark-haired, red-lipped manager, Pearl, held a cup of coffee, her face strikingly radiant.

At this moment, she was laughing so hard she was bending over backward.

"Vivian, the staff downstairs just told me that Eleanor Cross was absolutely livid. She was dripping with foot-soaking water and even got hauled in by the police for questioning. How on earth did you come up with this trick? It is absolutely ruthless."

Vivian Hale held a mug of her own.

Her smile remained faint as she took a light sip of her Blue Mountain coffee.

"Compared to the humiliation she inflicted on me in the past, this is only the beginning. Since they refuse to appreciate my kindness, they had better prepare to be stripped back to their original forms."

Hearing this, the smile on Pearl's face faded slightly, shifting into a sense of relief and heartache.

She and Vivian had known each other since childhood. Such a bright, beautiful girl, yet she had been relentlessly ground down into this state.

"True enough. That scumbag and his trash family deserve to be fiercely retaliated against, otherwise I wouldn't have put my entire beauty salon on the line just to play along with you."

Hearing this, Vivian felt immensely grateful.

She set down her mug and said sincerely, "I've really troubled you too much this time. It just so happens that I recently developed a brand-new membership system, so it's yours."

Pearl beamed upon hearing this, "Then I won't stand on ceremony with you, Vivian. You have a real head for business. Seriously, why don't you join the salon and work with me? I can give you a five percent share. You'd only need to handle the regular maintenance of the official website, and I'll give you dividends every month. What do you think?"

Vivian was slightly surprised.

She knew the daily turnover of Star Source, and since it focused primarily on medical cosmetics, there weren't many occasions that required her technical skills.

Pearl's invitation was merely handing her an opportunity to make hundreds of thousands a month while lying at home.

In the past, Vivian would have considered it.

But now...

Her red lips curved up slightly, and a brilliant light danced in her eyes.

"Pearl, thank you for the invitation, but I've decided to go abroad and continue pursuing the dream of my youth."

As the words fell, Pearl wasn't all that surprised.

She had long known that with Vivian's capabilities, she was destined to soar into the sky, rather than remain trapped in such a small place.

"Vivian, the way you look when you're brave is more enchanting than any kind of perfect appearance. I wish you all the best."

...

After finishing the coffee.

It was time for Vivian to head back.

After all, after orchestrating such a massive scene today, she still needed to handle the final cleanup.

Within forty minutes, she arrived home.

Vivian was in an exceptionally good mood, leisurely preparing dinner for herself.

However, just as she opened the refrigerator, the door behind her was slammed open with a loud bang.

As expected, they had arrived.

The corners of Vivian's mouth curved slightly, and she turned around, feigning panic, "Mom, what are you doing here? Why do you smell so strongly of foot-odor medicine, and why are you dragging Miss Rose along..."

Eleanor marched in dragging Tiffany Rose, her teeth gnashing in fury.

She had gone to settle scores with Tiffany, but that tramp claimed that the membership card had been given to her by Vivian.

So, was Vivian the one orchestrating all of this to target her?

Eleanor's voice cut sharply: "Vivian Hale, why did you give me a fake membership card? Do you want to see me make a fool of myself that badly!"

Tiffany was practically driven to tears by this point.

When Eleanor came over today, she had delivered several slaps to her face without a single word.

Only after clarifying the cause and effect did she quickly explain that the membership card had been gifted by Vivian.

Now, she no longer cared about appearances, explaining in a frantic voice, "Auntie, the card really was given to me by Miss Hale. I don't know why she intentionally gave me an employee card to humiliate me, especially when I just helped Mr. Cross win so much appreciation from the industry tycoons at the summit..."

Halfway through her sentence, Tiffany dissolved into frantic sobbing.

Eleanor stared at Vivian with bloodshot eyes.

Just as she was about to lash out.

Vivian put on a look of absolute shock, hurriedly pulling a genuine Star Source VIP card from her pocket.

"I was just looking for you, Miss Rose! I wanted to tell you that you took the wrong card!"

"That employee card belongs to me. Back then, in order to get a Star Source membership card for you, Mom, I went to work there to build connections. The two cards looked so similar that day, I ended up grabbing the wrong one in an instant!"

"But then again, the difference between the two cards is so massive, didn't you recognize it, Miss Rose? And how could you give it to my mother-in-law to use?"

The genuine black-gold card in her hand gleamed with a noble luster, its texture visibly different from the employee card at a single glance.

Eleanor's teeth ground together audibly, and for a moment, she didn't even know whom to blame.

And Tiffany finally realized she had been played for a fool.

Exasperated, she could no longer maintain her pure little white flower facade.

Pointing at Vivian, her voice shook as she shrieked.

"Yo-You did it on purpose! You just wanted to harm me! You can't stand the fact that Aunt Cross likes me!"

Vivian wasn't angered by these words, countering in an unhurried manner.

"Why wouldn't I want my mother-in-law to like you?"

"Besides, this membership card was originally a gift from me to you, I never said it was for my mother-in-law. No matter how you look at it, Miss Rose, you shouldn't use my things to curry favor with someone else, right?"

Tiffany was instantly choked for words, her heart bursting with stifled frustration.

Having dealt with her, Vivian turned her head to look at Eleanor.

"And Mom, I've gifted you membership cards so many times before, yet you never remember my kindness. Now that you've been deceived by someone else, how can you come to blame me..."

As she spoke, her eyes turned red right on cue.

Eleanor was momentarily speechless.

This time, she really had blindly trusted Tiffany, and it didn't have much to do with Vivian.

Even if the employee card really was given by Vivian, it was Tiffany's own fault for not looking clearly, causing her to lose such a massive amount of face.

Furthermore, Vivian truly held a Star Source membership card in her hands.

Eleanor had no choice but to fling Tiffany aside, turning to grab Vivian's hand familiarly.

"Vivian, Mom really did misunderstand you this time, but you're not completely without fault either. If you had been a bit more careful, wouldn't all of this have been avoided today?"

Eleanor took the opportunity to feel for that black-gold card, putting on a generous smile.

"How about this, you give the genuine card to Mom, and we'll let this matter slide."

Vivian couldn't help but sneer in her heart.

Right at the exact millisecond Eleanor was about to slide the card away.

Vivian put on a look of deep regret: "I want to give it to you too, but this card has already expired."

Eleanor's hand froze instantly.

She asked in disbelief, "Didn't you just say you merely grabbed the wrong one? How could it be expired!"

Vivian remained perfectly calm, responding without her face flushing or her heart skipping a beat.

"I used to help out at Star Source just to get this card for you, but my health really hasn't been good lately, and I haven't gone for two months, so they directly deactivated my card."

Eleanor stood frozen on the spot, her entire body trembling with rage.

"Mom, don't worry, my relationship with Star Source is still there. They agreed that as long as I pass the asset verification, I can become a permanent official member. But since the card is under my name, the asset verification must be performed using assets under my name..."