They Humiliated the Wrong Customer

You come here every single day; if I'm not annoyed, I'm certainly annoyed for myself! Haven't you ever seen a decent spa before? You're practically living here, trying to squeeze every last cent out of that card! Look at you, you pathetic cheapskate!

Those were Kyle's exact words, the head technician at the 'Dreamland Premier Wellness & Beauty Spa', as he pointed his finger right in my face.

I'd paid twenty thousand dollars for an unlimited black card.

I'd only used it for less than half a month when he publicly humiliated me.

That's when I lost it.

"Kyle, what do you mean by that?"

I pulled out my phone to message him on SnapChat, but the message just sat there, stuck on "unsent"! He'd actually blocked me!

Pure rage engulfed me. I was trembling, so I immediately stormed back to the spa to demand a refund from the owner.

But Sharon, the owner, slowly pulled out a "special cancellation clause" I'd never seen before.

"Sophia, according to our store policy, if a client voluntarily cancels their membership, the refund must be calculated based on the highest-tier single session prices for our facial anti-aging and full-body essential oil SPA treatments."

"You've visited us 15 times this past half-month. At fifteen hundred dollars per session, that's twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars. Plus, there's a two thousand dollar fee for imported oils, two thousand for the premium room service, and three thousand for equipment wear and tear."

"All told, you don't get a refund; you actually owe us three thousand dollars more."

I almost laughed out loud from sheer anger.

Oh, this is rich. This is really rich.

Leaving the spa, I immediately called Mr. Davis, the property manager.

"Hello, Mr. Davis? That 'Dreamland Spa' on the third floor of the mall? I'm not renewing their lease next month!"

The moment I realized I'd been blocked, a switch flipped in my brain.

I couldn't stand it for another second. I stomped in my heels straight to the spa on the third floor.

Before I even pushed open the opulent glass door, the piercing sound of laughter spilled out.

"That Sophia, she's something else! Acts like she owns the place just because she got an unlimited black card. She practically lives here!"

"Tell me about it! I've seen plenty of women like her. Probably blew her savings or maxed out all her credit cards just to afford that twenty thousand dollar card, all so she could pretend to be a socialite here!"

"Fk! I'm sick of looking at her face! She has me massaging her all day, my hands are going to fall off!"

That was Kyle's voice, full of undisguised contempt and mockery.

A few of the junior beauticians chimed in with snide remarks:

"Kyle's right. Her skin's as rough as sandpaper; even the most expensive oils are useless on her! She should just stop coming and making a fool of herself!"

"I bet she's just desperate for attention, looking for a strong man like Kyle to pamper her!"

"Hahahaha! Basically, just a cheapskate trying to freeload!"

Their piercing laughter felt like needles pricking my ears.

Rage surged through me, threatening to burst out.

I couldn't hold back anymore. I shoved the front door open violently and stormed inside.

*Bang!*

The laughter inside abruptly stopped. The air instantly dropped to freezing.

Everyone stared at me as if they'd seen a ghost.

"What right do you have to talk behind my back? Apologize to me, now!" I screamed, my eyes fixed on Kyle.

The junior beauticians nervously lowered their heads, looking flustered.

Kyle, however, only froze for a second before rolling his eyes dramatically and sneering.

"Nobody was talking about you. What are you going crazy about?"

"That's a lie! I heard everything clearly from outside the door!"

"No one else heard it, just you?" Kyle crossed his arms, wearing a defiant and arrogant smirk. "Are you crazy from all these treatments, hearing things?"

As soon as he said that, a few junior beauticians couldn't help but snicker, covering their mouths. Kyle puffed out his chest, smug as a general who'd won a battle.

I clenched my fists so tight my nails dug deep into my palms, drawing blood.

"Then why did you block me?" I demanded, grinding my teeth.

Kyle eyed me dismissively, looking me up and down.

"Look, lady! I'm so busy every day, I have to attend to so many real high-rollers worth millions of dollars!"

"You keep sending messages to book appointments, it's endless! I'm not your personal chat companion!"

"Then what was that post you made about? What do you mean 'pathetic cheapskate'?"

"My card is unlimited! What right do you have to complain about how often I come?"

"Didn't you say today was fully booked? Why are you just standing here chatting if you're so busy?"

Kyle sneered, walking up to me and looking down.

"Don't I need a break? Get your facts straight, I'm a senior technician, not your slave!"

"You bought a card and now you think you're hot stuff? Who do you think you are, queen bee?"

As he spoke, his chin was raised high, a disgusting look of superiority on his face. The other beauticians no longer bothered to hide their expressions, all casting looks of disdain and amusement.

My temples throbbed with fury, and even my breath tasted of blood.

I didn't want to waste another second talking to this jerk. I turned and rushed to find Sharon, the owner, to get my refund.

Sharon's office was at the end of the hallway.

She was a woman in her forties with heavy makeup, reeking of cheap perfume and shrewd calculation.

After I explained why I was there, she took a slow sip of her tea.

Then, she leisurely pulled out a contract from her drawer, one I'd never seen before.

"Sophia, calm down. But, you see, according to our store policy, if a client voluntarily cancels their membership, the refund must be calculated based on the highest-tier single session prices."

"You've visited us 15 times. At fifteen hundred dollars per session, that's twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars. Plus, there's a two thousand dollar fee for imported oils, a thousand for utilities, a thousand for equipment wear, and a thousand for service fees."

"All told, not only do you not get a refund, but you actually owe us three thousand dollars more."

I was so angry I laughed, then slammed that flimsy contract onto the table.

"Sharon, are you serious? Is this a robbery? I never saw this contract when I bought the card!"

Sharon's face subtly changed, and her eyes hardened.

"Sophia, it's all in writing, our store policy. Go ahead and ask around, all the high-end places do this."

"Fine, then I'm not canceling. I want a different technician." I said coldly.

According to their store's rules, if a customer demanded a different technician, Kyle's commissions and bonuses for the month would be out the window, and he'd even get docked pay.

Sharon's face instantly turned ugly.

"All our other technicians are fully booked, their schedules are packed."

"Kyle has always been our most outstanding head technician; no customer has ever complained about him. It must be a communication problem on your end!"

"How about this, I'll go talk to him for you later and ask him to continue doing your treatments. And you, well, you should try to control your temper and not always act so high and mighty."

My brain felt like it was about to explode from anger.

So, it's all my fault now?

I took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to smash up the office.

Finally, I said nothing, just pulled out my phone, snapped a picture of that ridiculous contract, and turned to leave.

Behind me, Sharon snorted disdainfully, "Who does she think she is, trying to act like a big shot when she's broke?"

For the next few days, I deliberately didn't cancel the card and kept booking appointments.

Since it was unlimited, I wanted to see what other tricks they had up their sleeves.

Kyle outwardly resumed giving me treatments, but in reality, he was maliciously retaliating.

Under the guise of a "deep detox," he put me in the hottest sauna room.

Normally, I'd steam for twenty minutes at most; he kept me in there for a full hour.

I was also forced to drink scalding "detox tea."

I couldn't stand the heat anymore and got up to leave.

But then I discovered the sauna door was locked from the outside!

I pounded on the glass door, shouting for help.

Kyle stood just outside the door, watching me through the glass, sipping iced watermelon juice and smiling maliciously.

"Sophia, you have too many toxins in your system; you need to sweat it out more!"

"Didn't you insist on coming for treatments? Take it or leave it!"

He mouthed an insult at me.

My head was spinning from the heat, my vision started to blur, and my heart pounded uncontrollably.

He gave me the middle finger from outside.

"You pathetic cheapskate, I'm doing this for your own good! To cleanse you of your poor vibes!"

I finally endured until the time was up. When the door opened, I was completely drained, collapsing onto the damp floor, unable to get up.

Just then, a few VIP clients walked in.

I weakly tried to ask them for help.

They were all Kyle's regulars and had always resented me for "coming every day to take advantage."

They watched me coldly, making no move to help, instead covering their mouths and snickering.

"Oh, isn't that Sophia, the one who's always clinging to Kyle? She really knows how to take advantage. Just because she bought a year pass? She has no sense of propriety!"

"Exactly! Because of her, Kyle was upset, and he wasn't even in the mood to chat when he was giving us our SPA!"

"Heh heh! Serves her right! Must be crazy with poverty!"

After that, they disdainfully walked past me, strolling smugly into the changing room.

I bit my lip until it bled, forcing myself to stand up.

Good. Very good.

You all just wait.

One evening, Kyle, claiming he was too busy during the day, deliberately scheduled my appointment for ten p.m.

That was almost closing time.

After the treatment, I was completely exhausted.

I dragged my wobbly body to the shower.

I had just lathered shampoo into my hair when, suddenly, the water stopped!

Then, *click*, the bathroom lights went out.

The entire space plunged into dead silence and darkness.

I yelled for a long time, but no one answered.

I had no choice but to haphazardly wipe the soap off my body with a towel, fumble in the dark to put on my clothes, and rush out.

The huge spa was completely dark and empty.

Kyle stood outside the glass front door, illuminated by the faint corridor light, grinning chillingly at me like a demon.

A bad feeling instantly washed over me. I hurried towards the front door.

Suddenly, my foot slipped!

I fell hard onto the unforgiving marble floor.

"Ah!"

A piercing pain instantly shot through my entire body. I cried out in agony, tears streaming from my eyes. In my panic, I reached out to feel the floor, only to discover it was covered in slippery massage oil!

Not only that, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through my palm.

I used the faint light from my phone to see: the oil was scattered with countless thumbtacks!

My palms and knees were covered in blood from the punctures!

Furious and in pain, I trembled as I looked up.

Kyle stood outside the door, watching me with a smug, gloating expression, and mouthed, "Serves you right! Go to hell!"

The next second, he cruelly pulled down the rolling shutter, locked it, and walked away, completely satisfied.

My insides trembled with rage. Enduring the intense pain, I forced myself to get up.

I shouted for help, but after a long time, only dead silence echoed back.

I wanted to call the police, but when I picked up my phone, I realized there was no signal! They had installed a jammer!

Desperate and helpless, I used my phone's flashlight, limping to the front desk, and grabbed a heavy metal bar stool. I swung it violently at the expensive tempered glass door.

Once! Twice! Three times!

*CRASH! BANG! SMASH!*

Glass shards flew everywhere, and the sound of shattering echoed throughout the entire floor.

Dragging my injured body, I scrambled out of the spa in a mess, ran outside the mall, and immediately called 911 and an ambulance.

The process of removing the pins at the hospital was agonizing.

The doctors looked at my multiple injuries, shaking their heads with sighs.

By the time I left the hospital, it was already dawn.

Without even changing my clothes, I went straight to the police station.

"Officer, I want to report a crime! Someone illegally detained me and intentionally harmed me!"

Half an hour later, Kyle arrived at the police station, his face tight.

The moment he saw me, he pointed his finger at me and started yelling curses, his tone arrogant and vicious.

"Are you sick? Reporting the damn police in the middle of the night! You fell down yourself by accident, and you're blaming me? Don't you sleep, but everyone else does!"

Sharon, the owner, also arrived.

She looked bleary-eyed, her hair disheveled, and her words were full of bias and blame.

"Sophia, you're aggressive in your speech, and you deliberately make things difficult for our Kyle. He's already being generous by not bothering with you!"

"And what about you? Reporting the police in the middle of the night over a trivial matter, causing trouble for people, it's too much! I haven't even charged you for smashing our store door yet!"

I coldly swept my gaze over them.

I pointed to the injury report on the table, then rolled up my sleeves, revealing the dense pinpricks and bruises on my arms and knees.

"Trivial matter?"

"Just because I bought an unlimited year card and came a bit more frequently, he got resentful and maliciously subjected me to physical punishment, locking me in a high-temperature sauna!"

"Last night, he was even more insane, locking me in the store and deliberately pouring oil and scattering thumbtacks on the floor to harm me!"

"You call this a trivial matter? This is attempted murder!"

Sharon looked at me indifferently, a mocking smirk even playing on her lips.

"Do you have any proof of what you're saying?"

"The surveillance footage is proof! Officer, I demand you check their store's surveillance cameras!" I shouted.

Sharon rolled her eyes and spread her hands. "Oh, how unlucky, our store's surveillance system just happened to break yesterday afternoon. It's still being repaired."

"You...!" A vein throbbed on my forehead, and I trembled with anger.

Kyle, hiding behind Sharon, defiantly raised an eyebrow at me, flashing an extremely irritating smile.

The next second, he pulled out his phone and, right in front of me, started fabricating stories in the VIP client SnapChat group, whining about what happened.

He sent a voice message: "Ladies, you all see how it is every day, please speak up and clarify things for me! That Sophia went crazy, smashed up the store, and even called the police to arrest me!"

The few wealthy clients in the group who had bought session cards and always disliked me quickly replied:

"She's lying! She clearly had malicious intentions towards Kyle, touching him inappropriately during her oil massage. She held a grudge after Kyle firmly rejected her, and that's why she's trying to frame him!"

"Exactly! She clearly hid in the store on purpose, trying to prevent Kyle from leaving work, that's why she got locked in. Those thumbtacks? She must have deliberately pricked herself, it's a sympathy ploy! The whole thing is her own doing, that woman is truly evil!"

"Kyle has always been so good to her, often sending her fruit and snacks. Not only is she ungrateful, but she's also turning on him! She's an absolute ungrateful wretch! They should arrest her instead!"

Listening to those voice messages, my blood rushed to my head. I wanted to smash the phone in their faces.

Sharon patted my shoulder, her tone full of a victor's mockery.

"Sophia, be a decent person! Stop causing trouble! You *will* pay for that door!"

Kyle leaned close to me, speaking in a low, biting voice that only I could hear:

"This is just a small warning! If you don't learn your lesson and keep coming here every day, I'll make sure you're bedridden for life! And I'll ruin that face of yours!"

I glared at him. If looks could kill, he would have been sliced into a thousand pieces.

Because of insufficient evidence -- the surveillance was indeed broken, and I had destroyed the scene by smashing the door -- the police could only temporarily not file a case. They treated it as a regular dispute, offered some admonishment, and sent us all home, telling me to compensate for the damaged glass door.

Outside the police station, Kyle and Sharon walked arm in arm, like a victorious pair of scoundrels.

They smirked at me, then got into Sharon's BMW, embracing.

I stood in the cold morning wind, hurting physically and raging inside, having been awake all night, my eyes bloodshot.

But I didn't cry.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Mr. Davis? That 'Dreamland Spa' on the third floor of the mall? I'm not renewing their lease next month!"