This Bad Luck is Awesome!

The store manager’s expression grew uglier and uglier.

The more details she examined, the more she felt there was something wrong with the bag in front of her.

She had said earlier that she knew a little about authentication, but that was just her being modest.

If nothing else, she knew all the anti-counterfeiting features of every bag from her own brand like the back of her hand.

But right now, she would rather her own skills be flawed and all the details she found be wrong than believe the current result.

The 84,000-yuan bag a customer bought from their official counter was actually a fake!

Yes, she was now basically certain. The bag before her was a counterfeit.

’What the hell is going on?’

Once she confirmed this in her heart, the store manager almost fainted.

With such a work-related blunder and massive scandal, she felt this was the end of the line for her as store manager.

’Which bitch is trying to screw me over!’

She was so angry her entire body began to tremble.

"Manager?"

The sales associate beside her saw the manager shaking with a terrible expression and couldn’t help but worry. Was something wrong with her health?

The manager took a deep breath, calming her inner turmoil.

"Sir, Ma’am, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Could we speak in the break room in the back?"

She forced an apologetic smile, apologized to Chen Mo and Xia Shiqing, and then invited them into the break room.

It would be bad if another customer came in and saw this. The fewer people who knew about a scandal like this, the better.

Hearing the manager’s words and recalling her awful expression just now, the faces of all the sales associates in the store changed slightly.

Did the manager mean... the bag really had a problem?

How could there possibly be a problem with the bag?

It was a bag from their own counter!

But if that wasn’t the case, why was the manager acting like this? And why did she specifically invite the two of them into the break room to talk?

There must be something she couldn’t say out here.

As for what she couldn’t say, everyone had a pretty good idea.

If a new customer overheard that a fake was sold at an official counter, it would all be over.

Xia Shiqing also understood the meaning behind the manager’s words and guessed that the bag might actually be a fake.

She glanced at Chen Mo in surprise, her eyes filled with astonishment as if to say: ’Dude, you really know your bags?’

Chen Mo, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised at all. He knew something was wrong with the bag the moment it fell.

Noticing Xia Shiqing’s surprised gaze, Chen Mo offered a faint, calm smile.

He didn’t know bags, but he knew ’Ding!’

"Did you find something, Manager?"

Chen Mo wasn’t in a hurry to go to the break room. He wanted the manager to admit it in front of everyone first.

"This was a mistake on our part. For the trouble this has caused you both, I apologize on behalf of CHNALE."

"We can discuss the rest in detail in the break room. I guarantee a satisfactory resolution for you both."

The manager understood what Chen Mo wanted. She bowed deeply to Chen Mo and Xia Shiqing, offering a solemn apology and a promise.

If Chen Mo had taken the bag out of the store for even a minute, she could have claimed it wasn’t from their store and that he had swapped it himself.

At worst, they’d end up in court, and after a year or two of delays, no one would care or pay attention anymore.

But Chen Mo hadn’t even left the store. The bag had been sitting right here the whole time.

There was no way it could have been swapped.

As for denying there was a problem with the bag, she didn’t even consider it.

That argument wouldn’t hold water. Chen Mo could either find a third-party appraiser or call the police; a simple inspection would reveal the truth.

Doing so would only infuriate Chen Mo, leaving no room for negotiation.

The only wise course of action was to sincerely admit fault, offer compensation that would satisfy Chen Mo, and minimize the impact of the whole incident.

"Fine, but we’re bringing the bag with us."

Chen Mo wasn’t being aggressive. He simply nodded in agreement.

The manager’s attitude was decent. Although she didn’t explicitly say the word "counterfeit," she had essentially admitted to it.

Still, you could never be too careful. They had to take the bag with them to prevent it from being swapped.

"This way, please."

Seeing Chen Mo agree, the manager finally breathed a sigh of relief and led the way.

She had been terrified that Chen Mo would refuse and insist on making a huge scene in the store for everyone to see.

That would have been a disaster with no way to recover.

As for his demand to bring the bag, that was perfectly normal.

Once Chen Mo and Xia Shiqing were inside the break room, the forced smile on the manager’s face vanished completely.

"Find them! I want to know who did this, and I want to know now!"

The manager’s icy gaze swept over every sales associate in the store. In her eyes, every single one of them was now a suspect.

If there was a counterfeit in the store, it had to be a mole among the sales staff or in the supply chain.

This rotten apple had to be found. Otherwise, this would happen again.

After saying this, the manager called her superior and quickly explained the situation.

They discussed it and roughly settled on a compensation plan.

After the call, the manager took a deep breath, put her smile back on, and walked into the break room.

Meanwhile, all the sales associates, their expressions grim, sprang into action. They started combing through records, checking serial numbers, inventory information, and so on.

They even began to look at their colleagues with a hint of suspicion.

At the same time, they were all silently cursing the mole. ’They must be crazy for money to dare pull something like this!’

「Inside the break room.」

"Mr. Chen, Ms. Xia, please allow me to once again extend my sincerest apologies to you both."

The manager bowed deeply to them again in the break room, apologizing once more.

Then, after careful consideration, she presented the compensation plan.

"While we never wish for something like this to happen, now that it has, the responsibility is ours, and we will not shirk it."

"According to consumer protection laws, we offer triple compensation for counterfeit goods. We will refund your 84,000 yuan and also compensate you three times that amount, which is 252,000 yuan."

"Finally, to make up for the poor shopping experience, our store will offer you 200,000 yuan as compensation for emotional distress. We hope this matter can be concluded within this store."

The manager laid out her proposal and looked at Chen Mo and Xia Shiqing. "What do you both think of this?"

Her gaze was fixed mainly on Chen Mo, as he was the one who bought the bag.

Xia Shiqing blinked but said nothing.

Chen Mo was the one who bought the fake. She had no right to an opinion; it was all up to him to decide.

Hearing the offer, Chen Mo stroked his chin and thought it over seriously.

He was quite satisfied with the manager’s attitude. There were no excuses, no attempts to argue.

He could see her sincerity; she genuinely wanted to resolve this issue.

In that case, he naturally wouldn’t be overbearing or make an outrageous demand.

But he still had to get what he was owed. He wasn’t some saint who’d let it slide just because she had a good attitude and apologized.

That was impossible.

The compensation plan she offered wasn’t bad, either. The standard triple compensation was a given, but she had also added 200,000 yuan for emotional distress.

’Compensation for emotional distress? It’s just hush money.’

Chen Mo chuckled internally, knowing full well what this so-called "compensation for emotional distress" really meant.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have added that she hoped the matter would be concluded within the store.

She was hoping that after he took the money, he wouldn’t publicize the incident.

However, he couldn’t just accept whatever she offered. This was a negotiation.

He believed she definitely had more room in her budget, just waiting for him to negotiate.

She would start with a slightly lower offer, then wait for him to ask for more.

When her budget finally aligned with his demands, the negotiation would be complete.

It was all part of the usual routine.

"I think for an incident as egregious as this, the public has a right to know."

Chen Mo didn’t mention money; he just made a casual remark.

But to the store manager, his words came across as three simple words.

Add more money!