Evan Yates shook his head. "I don't buy it," he said honestly.
"What kind of person is Sonia Quincy? She didn't treasure you when you had money, but now that you're broke, she's suddenly full of regret? That's like a fox guarding the henhouse—she's clearly up to no good."
"Hmph." Felix Preston let out a soft laugh but didn't say anything.
The light ahead turned red. Evan Yates slowly brought the car to a stop and turned to look at Felix Preston. "Preston, when something is this out of the ordinary, there's always a catch. There's definitely something fishy about Sonia Quincy suddenly playing this remorseful act. What's your plan?"
Felix Preston's tone was indifferent as he looked down at the documents in his hand. "No plan. Let's just see what she's trying to do. She's not the patient type. She won't be able to keep up the act for long."
Evan Yates asked, "What if she's conspiring with someone again, trying to pull some dirty trick on you behind your back?"
Felix Preston replied, "I know what I'm doing. She won't succeed with the same dirty trick twice."
Only then did Evan Yates feel a little relieved. "As long as you've got it handled."
After Felix Preston left, Sonia Quincy opened the bedroom closet and pulled out all of the original owner's designer bags, clothes, and jewelry.
Felix Preston needed money more than anything to make a comeback. The ninety thousand on his card had to cover both his work expenses and their living costs, which was a pitiful amount. So, Sonia Quincy decided to sell all of the original owner's treasures.
Whatever she could get for them was better than nothing.
The original owner was an extremely vain person; even her slippers had to be designer. Sonia Quincy rummaged through the entire closet and found quite a few sellable items.
She organized the items one by one, then found a contact named Holly Hayes in the original owner's WeChat.
This Holly Hayes dealt in second-hand luxury goods and had several stores in Aethelburg. Before Sonia Quincy transmigrated, the original owner often did business with her. The two were in frequent contact and on pretty good terms.
Sonia Quincy sent Holly Hayes a message on WeChat, stating plainly that she wanted to sell some things. Holly Hayes agreed readily and arranged to come over at three in the afternoon.
With that settled, Sonia Quincy went back to her room and set up a workstation for herself.
Yesterday, she had told Felix Preston that she had a special skill. That wasn't just an empty boast; she really did have one.
Before she transmigrated, she was a reasonably well-known jewelry designer who made a living by drawing design sketches. Her drawings had a distinct style and had garnered her over a million fans online.
Several studios had tried to recruit her, but she had turned them all down. She didn't like the routine of punching a clock at a nine-to-five job; she loved working from home full-time. She'd draw when she felt like it and rest when she didn't. It was freeing, and the money came in fast.
Now that she was reborn in this world, she decided to stick to her old trade—designing!
She searched online for this world's famous jewelry brands and found no designs in her style at all. A confident smile touched her lips as she opened her tablet and got right to work!
'I've been reborn into another world, so the copyright restrictions on my previous works should be gone.' To make a name for herself in one fell swoop, she planned to redraw several of her most prized designs.
'The worlds may not be connected, but aesthetic tastes should be more or less the same. I have a lot of confidence in my work!'
She drew for over two hours straight. By the time Sonia Quincy looked up again, it was already three in the afternoon.
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK..."
"Darling~! I'm here."
Holly Hayes was punctual. The three o'clock alarm had just gone off when she knocked on the door of the rental apartment.
"Coming!" Sonia Quincy called out, quickly pushing her chair back and running to open the door.
"Darling, long time no see."
The moment the door opened, Holly Hayes swept in with a wave. She was exquisitely dressed, covered head to toe in designer brands, and looked somewhat out of place in the shabby rental apartment.
"My god, you guys really did go bankrupt!" She scanned the spartan apartment, her gaze toward Sonia Quincy tinged with obvious pity.
"You think bankruptcy can be faked?" Sonia Quincy herself wasn't too bothered. She poured Holly Hayes a glass of water and, after she finished drinking, led her straight into the bedroom to see the items.
"I want to sell all of these bags and jewelry. Take a look and see how much they're worth."
"Sell them all?" Staring at the bed completely covered in luxury goods, Holly Hayes's eyes went wide with shock. A moment later, however, she squinted and smiled at Sonia Quincy.
"Miss Quincy, how did you know I just got my hands on a collector's edition bag yesterday? It's the only one in all of Aethelburg..."
"...Huh? And?" Sonia Quincy didn't understand why she was suddenly bringing this up.
Holly Hayes's lips curled. She opened her phone, pulled up a photo, and shoved it in front of Sonia Quincy. "And then I happened to take a picture when I was heading out. Look, isn't it to die for?"
Sonia Quincy leaned in as prompted but didn't see anything special about the bag in the photo. Of course, that might have been because she didn't know much about handbags.
"...It is pretty amazing." Out of politeness, she forced herself to agree with Holly Hayes.
Holly Hayes blinked at her frantically. "Miss Quincy, doesn't it make your heart flutter? Don't you want it? If you want it, I'll give you a discount."
"I did a rough calculation. The stuff on your bed is just enough to trade for this bag. The collector's edition, mind you~"
"I'm not trading." Sonia Quincy's refusal was decisive, without a hint of hesitation. "I'm selling these things. A pure sale! No trades."
"No trades?" Holly Hayes put her phone away, staring at Sonia Quincy in astonishment. "Then what are you trying to do? Is there another bag you want?"
Sonia Quincy shook her head. "No. I don't want anything. I just want money."
Holly Hayes asked, "Just money?"
Sonia Quincy replied, "Yeah. I'm bankrupt. What else would I want besides money?"
"Well... even if you're bankrupt, it's not like you're the one who has to suffer, right? It's not you earning the money anyway." Holly Hayes wasn't convinced. She put her phone away, her expression turning a bit serious.
"Miss Quincy, we've done business so many times. Don't keep secrets from me. Come on, tell me. Which brand's bag have you set your sights on? Just say the word, and I'll get it for you, no matter what it takes."
"I haven't set my sights on any brand's bag." Sonia Quincy didn't want to get tangled up in this topic with Holly Hayes. She pushed her toward the bed, pointed at the mountain of luxury goods, and said, "Just hurry up and give me a quote. I need the money urgently."
"Really just money?" Holly Hayes was incredulous, but seeing the serious look on Sonia Quincy's face, she felt like she wasn't joking.
"What do you need money for? To skip town?"
"None of your business," Sonia Quincy said, not wanting to elaborate. "You just need to tell me if you'll take these things and how much they're worth."
"Fine, fine." Holly Hayes shot her an annoyed glare before turning to seriously appraise the value of the pile on the bed.
"If you sell everything, it should be worth over eight hundred thousand."
"Deal." Sonia Quincy agreed instantly. "Take the stuff now and give me the money."
Holly Hayes took out her phone to make a call. "Wait for me to get a few people over here. I can't move all this by myself."
Sonia Quincy: "OK."
...
It was already six in the evening when Felix Preston returned. As soon as he walked in, he saw Sonia Quincy handing something to Holly Hayes.
He knew Holly Hayes, too. He knew she dealt in second-hand luxury goods. In the past, Sonia Quincy was always selling her things she got tired of to Holly, using the money to buy new items.
Seeing her at their home today, Felix Preston naturally assumed that Sonia Quincy was selling her bags again to buy new ones.
"You're back?" Sonia Quincy handed over the last bag, then finally looked up to greet Felix Preston.
Felix Preston gave a noncommittal "Mm" and, after changing his shoes, prepared to go wash his hands.
Holly Hayes said, "It's quite a bit of money, so I'll need to go to the bank and do a manual transfer to your card. The banks are already closed for the day, so the transfer will have to wait until tomorrow. Is that okay?"
Sonia Quincy: "No problem."
"Here's the receipt. Hold onto it and double-check the amount."
"Eight hundred sixty thousand, exactly. It's correct."
"As long as it's correct. Well, I'm off. To sell off all these treasures... you really have the heart to do it..."
After washing his hands, Felix Preston had been about to head back to his room, but when he heard what Holly Hayes said, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
'Sold them all? Sonia Quincy sold all her luxury goods?'
'How is that possible!'