296 Kitchen Knife for Protection

“Minor issues?” Ye Lingchen looked at Zhang Yunxi, then took out his phone and showed that TikTok clip to her. “That’s the compet.i.tor you mentioned right?”

Seeing that TikTok clip, Zhang Yunxi turned pale, as though she were a cat with its wounds exposed, feeling insecure.

“Yunxi, I’m the boss of Y Cosmetics. You just let me know if there’s any problem. You don’t have to handle it alone,” Ye Lingchen said. He felt hurt seeing Zhang Yunxi in such a distressed state.

“That caused quite an impact on our store’s reputation right?”

“It did cause quite an impact.” Zhang Yunxi bit her lips, then sighed as she continued, “At first, our store was growing slowly, and many people from the university town came over. However, another cosmetic store opened up across ours. The owner was an internet celebrity. That internet sensation store has many customers coming in and out daily, causing a long queue outside their store. Some of them that couldn’t wait would come over to our store. Recently, the number of people coming over started declining.”

Zhang Yunxi had no time to browse through TikTok. After watching the clip Ye Lingchen showed her, she finally understood the reason for the decline.

At the same time, she felt that it was unfair. It was fine for that store to compete with them normally, as it was mostly competing in terms of offers and promotions. But to think that they would resort to slandering on TikTok. It was no wonder that fewer customers showed up recently. At times, she might even hear some horrible rumors.

Ye Lingchen nodded as he had a rough understanding of the situation.

The internet sensation store’s customer flow was saturated, and some customers came over to Zhang Yunxi’s store, but that was seen as Zhang Yunxi stealing their customers. That was the reason for their vengeance.

Even when oversaturated with customers, they would not leave them to other cosmetic stores. That was just petty. Furthermore, to think they would use his popularity and slander it as they like, that was a low blow.

“I’ll come over tomorrow and recover our dignity!” said Ye Lingchen calmly as he narrowed his eyes.

At first, he wanted to stay out of it. After all, he had enough on his plate, and opening the cosmetic store for Zhang Yunxi to manage was a decision he made on a whim. However, since this issue came up, it was time for him to be involved.

Since the store was up, then he had to make it the best. Furthermore, cosmetics were considered as a high return business, an excellent moneymaker!

‘Is it that hard to be an internet sensation store?’

“Lingchen, you don’t have to worry about this incident. I can handle it,” said Zhang Yunxi. “Our products are flawless. For them to slander us like that, they will eventually be exposed. Authentic items will stand on their own!”

“You’re being naive. Nowadays, you can’t reason with them online.” Ye Lingchen shook his head. He had seen and also been through many cases of cyberbullying. Haters were everywhere. With their market limited to the university town, it would make the future of the business a struggle if their reputation was ruined.

If Y Cosmetics went under, it would no doubt be a heavy blow to Zhang Yunxi.

“Relax. I’ll go over and settle this matter for you tomorrow. It won’t be complicated,” Ye Lingchen said with a laugh. The easiest way to settle this type of problem was through a show of strength!

In comparing strength, a prodigy like him feared no one.

He had mastered Transfiguration. Some simple makeup would just be like playing house with kids.

After some chitchat with Zhang Yunxi, Ye Lingchen retired upstairs.

Meanwhile, Miyako was lying on Ye Lingchen’s bed alone. Her face turned redder as she heard Ye Lingchen’s footsteps approaching, her heart pumping faster.

‘If that monster has any unruly thoughts later, I will fight him with my life!’

Countless scenarios flew by Miyako’s mind. She steeled her eyes and tightened her grip under the sheets. She was holding a kitchen knife in her hand!

The lights in the room were lit. Ye Lingchen stared at Miyako laying in the bed. Her body was all covered under the sheets, leaving only her head out, staring right back at him.

“You’ve done well. Off you go,” said Ye Lingchen.

“Hm?” Miyako was caught off guard. She had run through various possibilities in her mind, but never did she expect Ye Lingchen to ask her to leave. ‘Shoudn’t he stay around and tease me a little first?’

“You’re letting me go?” Miyako asked.

“You want to stay back and serve me in bed?” Ye Lingchen laughed.

“Dream on!” Miyako harrumphed and quickly jumped out of bed. At the same time, out came the bright gleaming kitchen knife.

“You f*cking brought a kitchen knife into my room?!” Ye Lingchen was dumbfounded.

“It’s just a weapon I carry with me all the time. I keep a knife with me at all times. Sorry for the surprise,” Miyako scoffed as she walked out of Ye Lingchen’s room proudly.

The next day, Ye Lingchen got out of bed early in the morning and took Little Green and Little Grey to the park for morning exercise.

Maybe it was due to their training with Ye Lingchen, the two wolf pups had developed strong physical attributes and were growing exceptionally quick. They were already at Ye Lingchen’s calves’ height. Furthermore, due to their fight with the six hyenas in the safari park, their battle l.u.s.t started to grow. They would often scare and disturb the animals in the park. Recently, even the number of birds resting in trees were reduced.

Finally, Ye Lingchen just had them fight each other. They were deeply engrossed in the fight, exchanging bites and claws, showing an impressive fight, matching the ferocity of a tiger fighting with a lion.

Ending their morning routine, Ye Lingchen headed straight for Y Cosmetics.

It was a Sunday, and students were out of their cla.s.ses. The only thing that a university town had in abundance was students. They were all walking in groups, chatting happily and laughing as they walked along the way. Snack bars, street foods, hawker stalls, internet centers, and arcades were everywhere, all filled with people. There were also several couples shopping for clothes and accessories, making it a bustling scene.

Students were definitely one of the biggest consumer groups.

As he neared Y Cosmetics, he could hear a loud argument happening further upfront.

Ye Lingchen tried to focus his eyes, just to see that Y Cosmetics’ door was surrounded by people. The arguments originated from that crowd.

He immediately broke out of the group he was walking with and headed over.

The crowd had somewhat blocked off the entrance to Y Cosmetics. In the middle stood a man with a big head and huge ears. Beside the man was a middle-aged woman that was shouting scathing remarks as she pointed at the storefront.

“Scam. This store is a scam!” shrieked the middle-aged woman. “I just had my makeup done here yesterday. After going home for the night, my face itched all night long. When I got up this morning, my face was ruined! Look, my face is showing signs of allergies. Even my neck is all red! The cosmetics used in this store are low-quality products. They are all fake!”

“I saw this store yesterday when I browsed TikTok. They said that this store uses fake products. Seems like it’s true!”

“F*ck! That’s just too much. This store is evil. The boss is a sc.u.mbag!”

“Cosmetics are sensitive items that could ruin one’s appearance if anything goes wrong. This is way too important for a girl. How can they do this?”

“Luckily we were warned to not have our makeup done here. How fortunate of us!”

“Guys, we must warn and share with those around us to stay away from this place. It’s a scam!”

“Close this place down!”

…