Chapter 177: Chapter 177

"I’ve already prepared the medicine. You’re saying you won’t buy it, just like that?"

"You have to pay a service fee!"

An Yan raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that in your store, regardless of whether someone buys anything, as long as you’ve started preparing the medicine, a fee must be paid? Is that it?"

"That’s right! You said you wanted it, so I prepared it. Now you don’t want it, so you have to pay the service fee!"

Mu Enyu was furious. "How can you be so shameless?"

Lin Yueru sneered. "Who’s being shameless here? If you don’t want to pay, don’t enter such a high-end shop! Consider this a lesson. Remember, in the future, don’t go places that aren’t suitable for your status! Country bumpkin!"

Mu Enyu’s face flushed red with anger. She didn’t want An Yan to endure this humiliation. In her view, any problem solvable with money wasn’t a problem at all, so she reached for her bank card again.

An Yan, exasperated, held down her deskmate’s hand. "We can’t give them the money!"

[Right, you can’t give it to them! The clerk is obviously taking you for fools.]

[The young lady in the frame looks quite nice; this is the second time she’s offered to pay for the host.]

[Beautiful people like to hang out with other beautiful people. I’m impressed by Miss An Yan’s looks too!]

[This shop is so shady! They charge a service fee just for preparing medicine? From now on, I’m not even going to look inside. If I do, they might charge a viewing fee!]

[I’m boycotting it; I’ll never go to that shop again!]

While the live comments buzzed with activity, in reality, quite a few people had already started calling Jia Zhangming, the owner.

Jia Zhangming was currently in a high-end hotel negotiating a business deal. His pharmacy had gained many customers after the recent collapse of Lin Medical. With more customers came a greater need for raw materials, especially precious traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. This time, he had finally managed to arrange a meeting with President Ling of Xinyan Group. Xinyan Group didn’t own pharmacies but possessed a mountain rich with medicinal herbs. The herbs from this mountain were all top-tier, high-quality specimens rarely seen on the market.

Previously, these herbs were supplied exclusively to Lin Medical. Now, he felt he could secure a portion of that supply. However, President Ling was very difficult to schedule a meeting with, as he hadn’t been in Luocheng for some time. Having finally secured this meeting, Jia Zhangming was determined to close the deal.

But just as the conversation was flowing smoothly, his phone began to ring—one call after another.

Ling Xiao, clearly annoyed, gestured with a finger. "Mr. Jia, please answer your phone."

Only then did Jia Zhangming quickly pull out his phone, step onto the balcony, and swipe to answer. "President Wang..." New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel(ꜰ)ire.net

"Don’t call me President Wang!" President Wang’s face was livid. "Those Ginseng Qi-boosting Pills I bought from your store last time—did you use ginseng fibers to make them? I should have known! Why else would my health deteriorate daily after taking those pills..."

This was an accusation of selling counterfeit medicine, and Jia Zhangming was terrified. "President Wang, even if you gave me the courage, I wouldn’t dare deceive you! The Qi-boosting Pills we made for you were definitely made with fifty-year-old wild ginseng!"

"Nonsense! Your own clerk admitted that your store uses nothing but leftover scraps!"

"Impossible! Our staff would never say such a thing!"

"You’d better watch the livestream before you say another word!"

After President Wang hung up, Jia Zhangming hurriedly clicked the link he had been sent. Lin Yueru’s young but foolish face appeared on his phone screen. A girl’s voice sounded, "...This service fee you mentioned isn’t in your store’s policy. You didn’t just make it up, did you?"

Hearing the voice from Jia Zhangming’s phone, Ling Xiao paused. He then immediately took out his own phone, searched for Jia Traditional Chinese Medicine Shop, quickly found the link, and clicked on it.

On the screen, Lin Yueru glared at the camera, her expression haughty. "It may not be written down, but that’s how it is! Otherwise, how are we staff supposed to make a living? We provided a service, so you have to pay the service fee!"

An Yan’s voice cut in, "Are you sure? You’re just an ordinary employee, and this service fee isn’t in the shop’s policy. Why should I believe you?"

"Ordinary employee?" Lin Yueru laughed. "Are you blind? Can’t you see I’m dressed differently from the others?"

An Yan looked her up and down. "Are you saying... this shop is... yours?"

"That’s right! I’m the proprietress of this shop! So, do I have the authority or not?!"

Among the viewers watching the livestream, a few who were familiar with Jia Traditional Chinese Medicine Shop were shocked:

[Is this Jia Zhangming’s mistress?]

[Is Jia Zhangming trying to cause an uproar?]

Anyone familiar with the situation knew that Jia Traditional Chinese Medicine Shop was a Jia Family business, and Jia Zhangming was merely a son-in-law who had married into the family. To pursue Jia Min, he had not only agreed to marry into her family but had also changed his surname to Jia. For years, Jia Zhangming had maintained an impeccable public image as a devoted family man. He doted on his wife and child, almost as if he wanted to engrave ’World’s Best Husband’ on his forehead.

Who would have ever thought it was all a facade.

The fans in the livestream got excited:

[I knew it! The host’s livestreams always deliver.]

[Usually it’s either a scumbag man or a scummy woman, but this stream is amazing—it’s got both!]

[Where’s the actual wife? Someone summon the actual wife!]

Jia Zhangming didn’t know who was posting these comments, but he knew one thing: if his wife heard any of this, he was finished.

Jia Zhangming hurriedly called Lin Yueru, but she was on such a roll that the ringing of her phone couldn’t break her stride. He then frantically called the shop. However, no one answered the shop’s phone. Even the manager’s mobile was unreachable.

Jia Zhangming was panicking, sweat beading on his forehead. He had no time for Ling Xiao anymore and gave him an awkward bow. "Mr. Ling, let’s reschedule!"

With that, he dashed out. WHOOSH.

He had to get to the shop immediately. His wife absolutely could not find out about Lin Yueru. But considering the bullet comments, he suspected it was already too late to hide it. He quickly took out his phone and sent a message to his son, Jia Yanxiu. "Get to the pharmacy immediately! If your mother is there, do whatever it takes to make her believe Lin Yueru is your girlfriend!"

He attached a link to An Yan’s livestream to the message.

When Jia Yanxiu received the message, he was comforting Xu Muwei. "Don’t worry, it’s just An Yan. I’ll crush her in minutes!"

Jia Yanxiu had been treated like a prince in his family since childhood. No one ever dared to say no to him, which had fostered his arrogance. Compounded by Xu Muwei’s deliberate omissions, he was utterly unaware of who An Yan truly was.

Xu Muwei lowered her head, dabbing at her tears with a tissue. "Don’t talk so casually about ’crushing’ people. Actually, this is partly my fault. After leaving Class One, I was too desperate to prove myself!"

"Wanting to prove yourself is perfectly normal! She didn’t dare compete with you, so she resorted to bullying you with words. If I, Jia Yanxiu, let this slide, how could I ever show my face in our circle again?"

Just as he finished speaking, Jia Zhangming’s message arrived. Jia Yanxiu’s expression changed the instant he read it. "Weiwei, something’s come up that I need to handle. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about your problem. I definitely won’t let An Yan get away with this."