Chapter74 You're Not Qualified
Three thousand?
Miranda sneered inwardly, remembering when her mother had softened and brought the homeless Ariana to the Lancaster home. At first, she'd put on this pitiful, cautious act.
But before long, her appetite grew bigger and bigger, from dresses worth a few hundred dollars at first, to bags worth tens of thousands later, and then coveting everything that should have belonged to her.
Three thousand dollars wasn't much, but it wasn't little either.
Miranda wouldn't look down on any job's salary, but she knew very well that every word of Ariana's sentence carried malice and naked insult.
The curve of Miranda's lips turned cold. She looked at Ariana's face, somewhat twisted with smugness, her voice cool.
"No thanks."
She paused, her gaze slowly sweeping over Ariana, as if appraising a cheap commodity.
"After all, with your father in prison and your mother missing, being all alone must be quite pitiful. Unlike me, even with nothing, I still have Mom, Dad, and my brother backing me up. Keep that three thousand for yourself."
These words were like needles stabbing Ariana's most painful wound.
What she hated most was her background, what she hated most was Miranda's air of nonchalance, as if she possessed everything no matter what!
"You...!" Ariana trembled with rage. Just as she was about to curse, her wrist was grabbed forcefully by Harrison beside her.
"Enough." Harrison looked at her disapprovingly, his brows furrowed. "What you just said was too much."
He knew all too well how privileged Miranda's life had been growing up. The figure of three thousand dollars coming from Ariana's mouth was blatant humiliation.
Being publicly reprimanded by Harrison, the grievance and resentment in Ariana's heart nearly burst through her chest, but she didn't dare say another word. She could only clench her fingers tightly, swallowing all her unwillingness.
Just then, another uniformed server carrying a tray covered with red velvet cloth quickly walked over, stopped in front of Miranda, and respectfully bowed.
"Miss, your auction items, please review them. If there are no problems, we'll pack and deliver them to your home immediately."
The items on the tray were clearly not any of the pieces that had appeared at the auction.
Ariana's eyes lit up instantly. Like grasping at a lifeline, she let out a shrill question without thinking: "This can't be paid actors you hired for appearances, can it?"
Before her voice even faded, as if afraid others couldn't hear, she raised her volume sharply, addressing Miranda with disdain in her tone.
"Miranda, even if you want to save face, you can't get people to pretend you bought something at auction. There's no need for that. Everyone can understand your current situation."
Her outburst successfully drew curious and probing looks from guests who had already started dispersing.
The professional smile on the server's face stiffened. He quickly explained: "Miss, you're mistaken. I'm not an actor. These are indeed items from tonight's charity gala."
But Ariana acted as if she hadn't heard, still staring at Miranda relentlessly, pressing aggressively: "You're lying without even checking the facts. These items didn't appear on stage at all just now."
"Ha."
Miranda finally let out a scoff, unable to bear it any longer.
She raised her eyes. In those cool pupils, only undisguised pity and mockery remained.
"Ariana, when you have time, broaden your horizons."
"The VIP area on the second floor has auction catalogs specially provided for important guests. Many items are bought in advance before they even make it to the auction stage. If you haven't seen them, it only proves you're not on that level, not qualified to see that catalog."
As soon as Miranda finished speaking, a voice from the crowd chimed in.
"That's right. My wife and I were just in the second-floor lounge. She liked an emerald necklace, spoke with the organizers, and bought it directly. It would never go on stage for auction."
As the man finished speaking, embarrassment, inferiority, humiliation... countless emotions like rolling magma instantly flooded Ariana's entire body.
She felt everyone's gazes turn into swords, mercilessly piercing through her, mocking her as an unsophisticated country bumpkin.
Ariana bit down hard on her lower lip, almost drawing blood. Unable to endure this public execution any longer, not daring to meet anyone's eyes, she suddenly turned around and squeezed through the crowd in near-humiliation, running off in a huff.
A wealthy young man familiar with Harrison walked over, patted his shoulder, and raised his chin ambiguously in the direction Ariana had fled.
"Harrison, your taste... you better sharpen it a bit. Women without any status or background are fine to play with, but don't take it seriously."
Harrison's expression instantly turned cold. He said in a deep voice: "Shut up."
He turned to look at the indifferent Miranda, opening his mouth as if wanting to say something.
But before the words could leave his mouth, Miranda coldly interrupted him.
"Your girlfriend left. Aren't you going to chase her?"
Harrison's throat caught. In the end, he only managed a dry sentence: "Miranda, what Ariana said about the salary was indeed too much. Don't take it to heart."
After speaking, he stopped lingering, turned, and strode off in the direction Ariana had left.
"Self-righteous enough." Castillo stood beside Miranda, curling her lips disdainfully. "What makes him think you have to accommodate Ariana in everything?"
Miranda smiled faintly, though there was no mirth in her eyes: "You're right. Ariana saved him once. If he feels he owes her a life debt, fine, but he insists on dragging me along to repay it too. Talk about self-righteous."
An extremely light sound of wheels sliding on the floor came from behind.
Clifton had somehow appeared beside her. Sitting in his wheelchair, he looked up at her slightly, his voice as cool as ever.
"Let's go. Where's the restaurant you reserved?"
Castillo instinctively turned her head, meeting the man's bottomless black eyes hidden behind his mask. Her heart skipped a beat.
Those eyes were cold, sharp, carrying an oppressive force.
A thought instantly popped into her head: This man... looks exactly like the cold-blooded person from the rumors. Where on earth did Miranda see that he was "very good"?
However, thinking about Miranda bringing Clifton to meet her parents, Castillo's curiosity instantly conquered that bit of fear. She immediately shamelessly moved closer, intimately linking arms with Miranda.
"Miranda, I'm hungry too. You don't mind bringing me along for dinner, do you?"