The Gift (2)

Perhaps the words that Lin Kang told her during his confession gave Xiu Ling more confidence than she initially believed or perhaps she was done taking grief from random stranger, Xiu Ling placed the blouse down and she turned to ask the sales promoter sweetly, "Is that so? In that case, what do you think I can afford here?"

Xiu Ling saw the woman's face slowly twisted ugly as she submitted to the rising anger due to Xiu Ling's provocation. However, instead of getting satisfaction out of the woman's reaction like other people would in her situation, Xiu Ling just felt sad and pity. Pity for the woman due to obvious reason and sad because she had allowed her emotions to take over, causing her to stoop to such a low level.

Xiu Ling never saw the purpose of taking a rise out of others for the sake of own's sadistic enjoyment. Yes, it might lead to a certain degree of satisfaction but the satisfaction would only be temporary. The more permanent method was not to work on others but on ourselves, if you are self-assured enough, you would not have bothered with what others think about you.

In other words, Xiu Ling was not one for pointless face-slapping. She found that to be an overly emotional response and oftentimes would be a huge waste of not only money but also one's energy. All that to prove a point, it was not worth it. Furthermore, wouldn't it be tired if you need to prove yourself again and again day after day?

There is a Chinese idiom that goes like this, 'If there's a musk, there's naturally a sweet smell, then why would you need to stand facing the wind?'

In English, it would translate roughly as, if you're really talented, why is there a need to go around blowing your own trumpet? After all, the emptiest can makes the most noise. Only those who are not secure with themselves need to one-up others constantly to show others, but mainly to remind themselves, that they're better than everyone else. It was truly an exercise in futility because if you don't have self-assurance and self confidence, no matter how hard or how constant you face-slap others, you will never convince the final judge, which is ultimately... yourself.

Xiu Ling agreed whole-heartedly with that philosophy.

However, make no mistake, she was no saint, Xiu Ling just did not want to exert herself on people that she deemed not worthy of her time. When others go low, you go high.

Cutting through her thought, the sales promoter hissed, "You can afford to leave."

Xiu Ling then turned to look at the sales promoter. She realized the insult did not sting as much as before. She felt at peace with herself. A crabby sales person was not going to ruin her day, Xiu Ling would make sure of that. Xiu Ling smiled once more, with sincerity this time, "You know what, sister. You're right. I'll be leaving in a bit. You have a nice day ahead."

Xiu Ling then turned to leave the store, leaving the sales promoter with the illusion of victory.

'Yes, the shameless woman has finally left! Finally! And don't you ever dare to return to waste my time!' The woman did a silent cheer behind Xiu Ling.

Xiu Ling caught this out of the corner of her eyes but she did not say anything. She was going to let the poor woman enjoy this supposed victory, it was no skin of her back to do so anyway.

However, there was someone else that would not let this slide. As Xiu Ling was going to step out of the shop, a man turned the corner and strode into it. He effortlessly blocked the entrance so Xiu Ling would have no way to leave. Xiu Ling sighed, realizing things were probably going to get frosty.

During the brief exchange between Xiu Ling and the sales promoter, Lin Kang was already at the corner outside of store. The women were close enough to the entrance that the man could hear everything, including the sales promoter's voice that was laced with condescension.

'Someone dared to insult my wife? There will be hell to pay!'

Lin Kang arrived with a dominating presence like a God of War descending on Earth, ready to lay waste to everything and everyone that dared to stand in his way. Even Xiu Ling was slightly fazed by his presence even though she knew his ire wasn't directed at her.

Curiously enough, Lin Kang's presence had little to no effect on the sales promoter. Her eyes lit up with greed when she saw Lin Kang. The man spoke plainly of wealth, there was not one item on him that was not worth more than several thousand. The woman's eyes glowed like she was a miner who had struck the mother load. Her sense of greed granted her an immunity to Lin Kang's intimidating influence.

The woman practically ran past Xiu Ling, shoving her to side while she was at it to get to Lin Kang. Xiu Ling staggered slightly but luckily did not fall. Seeing this, the fire in Lin Kang's gaze burned even brighter. The woman truly had no idea what kind of hellfire she was willingly walking into.

"Sir, I am so sorry for the interruption. How can I help you today? Are you here to shop for a significant other? Would you like to take a look at our latest arrival?" The sales promoter rambled through her sales pitch. A charming smile hung on her face throughout, it was as if she had morphed into the completely different person compared to when she was serving Xiu Ling.

She intended to endear herself to Lin Kang but it only had the opposite effect. Lin Kang felt she was like an annoying fly, buzzing non-stop.

Just as the woman took in a deep breath to continue onto her next set of prepared speech, Lin Kang turned around to level her a fiery gaze. The sales promoter choked on her words.