Chapter 2 A Questionable Woman

• "What the heck? Madam, are you kidding me?" Ben immediately lost his cool.
• The woman explained, "It's not a joke. I just came out in a rush and forgot to bring my purse."
• "You don't have your purse? It's not a problem. You can pay using your phone. Here is my stall's QR code for payment. You can pay with any e-wallet by scanning here." Ben pointed to the QR code on his barbeque rack as he explained.
• The woman shook her head and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't bring my phone."
• Ben widened his eyes and said, "Madam, you are the one who knocked me down. If you had knocked down someone else, they would have forced you to compensate thousands. I am kind and only want you to compensate for the few things you damaged. It is your duty to pay. That is not too much to ask, isn't it?"
• "No, it's not. I'm at fault, so I should pay." The woman nodded.
• Ben said furiously, "I believe I have done above and beyond what is expected of me. Furthermore, I have dealt with you honestly, which would make my elementary school teacher proud. How can you trick and bully an honest man like me? I'm warning you, madam. If you don't pay up today, don't even think of leaving. I know your car plate number, and I will call the police if you dare to escape."
• The woman explained again, "I'm not trying to trick you. I have an emergency. My purse and phone are all in my handbag, and I must have forgotten to bring them when I was rushing out. It's probably in my office because I can't find it anywhere in the car. What about this? I will get the money tomorrow and send it to you myself. Is that okay?"
• "Do you think I am a fool? Can you stop trying to trick me? You want me to believe that you will pay me tomorrow if I let you go now? Even a three-year-old kid would know not to trust this."
• "Don't worry. I promise I will bring the money to you tomorrow. I won't break my promise."
• "Promise means nothing these days. Madam, I'll have you know that I never take even a cent of what is not mine. However, I will not let anyone cheat me of what is rightfully mine. This is the principle I live by. Therefore, you must compensate me today or don't even think of leaving." Ben went to the front of the car and sat on the hood firmly, refusing to leave. That was his temperament. Once someone angered him, he would turn extremely stubborn.
• The woman frowned and considered for a long time before approaching Ben. She took something shiny off her ring finger and gave it to Ben. "I'll leave this with you as security. Is this good enough for you?"
• "What is this? A ring? Is that diamond?" Ben asked as he checked the ring.
• The woman answered solemnly, "I have no intention of not paying, but I don't have any money or phone with me. Furthermore, I need to rush to something urgent. This ring is important to me, and I value it more than my life. I have nothing else of value with me, so I can only give you this as security. You must take good care of it. I will look for you tomorrow and pay you in exchange for this ring. Is this good enough for you?"
• "For real? Why would someone unwilling to pay five hundred give a real diamond ring? How would I know that you didn't buy a fake ring from somewhere to scam me?" Ben looked at the ring doubtfully before looking at the woman again.
• The woman replied coldly, "Even if you think the diamond is fake, the platinum ring is real. That should be worth at least five hundred."
• Ben said, "I'm not so sure about that. Who knows if the platinum ring is fake too? I have no way of telling whether it is real."
• "You… What do you want me to do? Fine! Since this is the case, you can report to the police that I hit and run. Get off my car! I need to leave now. My daughter is in critical condition in the hospital. I can't afford to waste any more time here." The woman finally burst into fury.
• Ben did not expect to hear that from her. "Your daughter is in the hospital? Really?"
• "Why else would I be in a rush?"
• The woman's anxious expression looked real. Ben hesitated for a moment before clenching his teeth and nodding. "Alright. I'll believe you this time. I have only my soft heart to blame."
• "Okay. Can you give me your number? I'll contact you tomorrow." The woman finally breathed a sigh of relief.
• "No, give me your number instead. If you tricked me, I still have a way to call and look for you. If only you have my number, what am I to do if you don't call." Ben was being cautious.
• "Whatever." The woman recited her phone number and said, "You can try to call it. It is mine if your call gets through, but no one answers. My phone is on, and I left it in my bag in the office."
• Ben keyed in the number in his phone and pressed to call. As she said, the call got through, but no one answered. Ben was still unconvinced and called it three more times and received the same results.
• The woman asked, "Does this calm your concerns?"
• "What can I do? I can't help being kind. I'll believe you this time."
• "Can I leave now?"
• "Sure." Ben nodded.
• "This ring is important to me, and you must take good care of it. I will hold you responsible if you lose it."
• After warning Ben, the woman turned around and rushed back into her car. The car soon sped away. It seemed the woman was not lying about being in a rush.
• As the car passed by Ben, he noticed the symbols at the back and realized it was the latest BMW 7 Series sedan. Ben knew quite a bit about cars and estimated the car to be worth more than 1.5 million.
• "What a nice car. She must be wealthy!" Ben was shocked. He quickly took out the diamond ring, looked at it closely, and mumbled, "Does this mean this ring is the real deal? I've struck gold. How much would I get if I sold this? Rich people are so careless. How can she give a diamond ring to a stranger? This ring is probably worth more than ten thousand."
• "She must be doing some questionable business. Otherwise, how would she have so much money? No wonder she is beautiful and has such a nice figure."
• Ben muttered to himself as he rubbed his sore bum and picked up his things from the ground.