She held up her lipstick and asked the sales assistant.
The saleswoman glanced at her up and down, but seeing her poor student-like appearance, she lost interest in greeting her. She rolled her eyes and continued playing on her phone, saying insincerely, "Sorry, this is one of our popular items. It's not sold individually; it needs to be sold in a 2:1 ratio with other items."
Goods distribution?
An Ning didn't understand what it meant at all, and thought she was too old-fashioned. Her face turned red instantly, and she was at a loss for what to do.
But the next second, she suddenly smelled a faint and familiar fruity fragrance.
Ji Mingshu appeared beside her at some point, snatched the sample from her hand, and threw it directly at the saleswoman.
The voice was cold and sarcastic, "Selling it as part of a package deal? Selling it as part of your stinky face? Do you think you're some Hermes bag that needs to be bundled with other products?"
Even the princess herself never had to purchase Hermès items.
Chapter 27
The practice of requiring customers to purchase other items to qualify for a purchase is an unwritten rule. The most well-known example of this practice is the purchase of three popular Hermès bags: the Birkin Kelly and the Constance.
For example, a 1:1 matching system means that for a bag worth 100,000 yuan, you need to purchase other designated products of the same brand worth 100,000 yuan before the salesperson will give you the opportunity to get the bag. Different locations and stores may have different ratios.
Ji Mingshu naturally knew about this, but rules, whether explicit or implicit, are meant to be broken.
When you are a top socialite who wears diamond-encrusted Himalayan jewelry, Chaumet diamond rings, and Chanel haute couture, with annual spending at least eight figures, the sales associates at any top luxury store in the world will welcome you with open arms and smiles.
When Jiang Chun and Ji Mingshu were not on good terms, she heard that Ji Mingshu could buy Hermes without having to purchase other items, and she thought that Ji Mingshu was bragging or secretly buying fakes.
As a result, Ji Mingshu was bombarded with a barrage of information from her "plastic best friend," who launched into a tirade of "science popularization" and criticism, mainly focusing on how privileged Shushu's treatment was, how her limited edition items were all sold at auction, and so on.
Finally, Ji Mingshu concluded with a smile, "There are no luxuries that money can't buy. If you can't buy one, it's because you're not rich enough."
She owns nearly 700 Hermès bags, more than 100 of which are her favorite Birkin bags. She has a more complete selection of bags than most stores. Having been immersed in the world of luxury goods for many years, no tactless sales associate has ever asked her to buy other items in order to match her purchases.
Now that I've arrived in this run-down little place, Xingcheng, I've really seen something extraordinary. A second-tier cosmetics brand, despite not being up to par in terms of quality, acts more formally and imposingly than top luxury brands.
A brief silence fell over the first floor of the mall as customers and beauty advisors from other cosmetics counters turned to look at Ji Mingshu, following the sound.
Standing next to Ji Mingshu, An Ning was completely dumbfounded, even more so than when the saleswoman told her that she needed to buy other items.
She... her sister-in-law is just too... too domineering.
The saleswoman who had her lipstick thrown at her was still in shock and hadn't come to her senses.
Actually, although the lipstick was thrown in her direction, it didn't actually hit her.
The lipstick sample, about an arm's length away, landed right next to her high heels, leaving a rose-red stain on the ground, and the lipstick itself broke in two.
The other woman at the counter, a rather effeminate man, reacted quickly. He stepped forward, looked his colleague up and down, and then rudely questioned her, "Miss, if you have any complaints, you can just say so. There's no need to resort to violence, is there? Why are you acting like this?"
This effeminate man exudes the air of a second-tier city gay woman who's half-baked and loves to look down on others. Like his colleagues, he possesses the brand's three signature hospitality tactics: eye-rolling, sour face, and sarcastic remarks.
Ji Mingshu chuckled, "That's just how I am. I'll treat you the way you are."
The effeminate man hadn't looked closely before, but now he glanced at Ji Mingshu from top to bottom, and his attitude suddenly became much more restrained. However, he still stood on the same side as his colleague, putting on a very official attitude.
"Miss, the order fulfillment policy is a rule of our brand. You don't need to take your anger out on us. We are just lowly employees and can't influence the decisions made by our superiors!"
“Brand regulations? Here, I’ll record this, and you can repeat what you just said.”
Ji Mingshu almost laughed in anger, "Ningning, check the Consumer Association's phone number and ask which brands our country has approved for forced sales and forced purchases. You think you can fry up something delicious just because you're given a little oil?"
The effeminate man had spoken too quickly and realized he had misspoke as soon as he finished. Hearing Ji Mingshu being so serious, his face turned deathly pale.
Even at Hermès, if you go in and ask about the quota for a particular bag, the sales associate will just smile and say that they don't require a quota, and then subtly suggest that you might want to look at jewelry or ready-to-wear.
It's safe to say that no brand would dare to openly state that its policy requires mandatory bundled purchases.
More importantly, the practice of "pairing goods with customers" is just a recent trend in department stores. These sales assistants are only doing this to fool customers in order to achieve their sales targets. If this were to escalate to the brand, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Ji Mingshu could tell at a glance that the two were acting guilty, and sneered, "Being a sales assistant has spoiled you. Who are you trying to impress with your sarcastic attitude and cold shoulders? I think you two are one of the three great illusions in the world, thinking you own the brand just because you're standing at a counter."
She tossed her hair, crossed her arms low in front of her, and continued nonchalantly, "I don't want to argue with people like you. Apologize to my sister, and if she's satisfied, I'll be satisfied too."
An Ning was completely bewildered once again.
She hadn't intended for anyone to apologize, but if she were to cowardly say "No need, no need" now, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to her sister-in-law?
So she could only watch as the man and woman stared at each other for a long time, hesitating, before bowing to her with extremely unpleasant expressions and saying, "Miss, I'm sorry, it was a problem with our service. It will definitely not happen again. Please forgive us this time. If you still need the lipstick, we can wrap it up for you."
An Ning didn't know whether she should speak up.
Ji Mingshu stood aside and said indifferently, "My sister isn't very satisfied, so I'm not very satisfied either."
Before she finished speaking, the two bowed even deeper. If their previous apology was quite forceful, this time it had a sense of "forget it, I'll get what's coming to me if I piss this woman off" and they were just going to lie down and let her mock them.
An Ning glanced at Ji Mingshu before stammering, "Oh, okay, that's fine. I don't need the lipstick."
If someone can still wear this brand of lipstick after being subjected to such rudeness, they must be an Iron Warrior of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles level.
Since An Ning had accepted it, Ji Mingshu didn't pursue the matter any further and quickly ended the small fight before the security guards arrived.
Afterwards, the saleswoman whose lipstick had been thrown at her sat in her own counter with a gloomy face, crying and sobbing. Ji Mingshu ignored her completely, took Anning's arm, and swept through the entire floor of the counter, picking out more than thirty lipsticks for her.
In the evening, Ji Mingshu and An Ning returned to the Xingda faculty apartment.
The thought of climbing six floors made Ji Mingshu feel a slight cramp in her calves, and she was a little reluctant to do so.
So she told Anning to take the things upstairs first, making an excuse that she needed to make a few more phone calls.
Without thinking much, An Ning took the spoils that Ji Mingshu had collected for her and went upstairs first.
As soon as everyone left, Ji Mingshu sat in the car and sent a WeChat message to Cen Sen.
Ji Mingshu: [Are we going to stay here for dinner?]
Ji Mingshu: [I can't climb the stairs, come down and get me QAQ]
After waiting for three minutes, Cen Sen did not reply.
Just as she was about to grit her teeth and climb up, the car door next to her was suddenly opened. She turned her head and met Cen Sen's gaze.
"You...aren't you staying for dinner?"
Cen Sen hummed in response, his expression indifferent.
Ji Mingshu, still holding her phone, hesitated before asking, "How did your... conversation go?"
Cen Sen glanced at her.
Ji Mingshu paused for a moment, then immediately sat up straight, putting on a serious face that said, "I'm just asking out of politeness; I don't really want to know."
"fine."
He gave a brief two-word reply.
Ji Mingshu nodded perfunctorily and looked out the window.
After a while, she suddenly remembered something; it seemed that her espionage mission had reached a crucial moment where she needed to hand over the intelligence.
She raised her phone, stared at the WeChat interface for a while, and after repeating this three times, she finally clicked into Cen Yingshuang's chat window.
But after typing only a few words, she seemed to remember something and long-pressed the delete button to clear the content.
She felt a little guilty about revealing her sugar daddy's secret, so she decided to chat with her girlfriends for a while to practice her skills.
After talking for about five or six minutes, Ji Mingshu suddenly turned around and patted Cen Sen.
Cen Sen was resting with his eyes closed. After patting him twice without any response, she shifted her body slightly and leaned closer to forcefully open his eyes with her index finger and thumb.
Unexpectedly, the driver at the Xingcheng branch was not as professional as Cen Sen was used to. Seeing the couple being intimate in the rearview mirror, he didn't notice and drove to the traffic light, so he had to slam on the brakes!
Ji Mingshu was already leaning to one side, and the sudden braking caused her to fall forward. Just as she was about to hit the ground, Cen Sen reached out and caught her.
After a dizzying moment, she lay on her back on Cen Sen's lap, facing him directly into each other's eyes.
"..."
Ji Mingshu didn't blink.
To be honest, this jerk is actually quite good-looking; you can't even see his double chin or any other disfiguring features from this unflattering angle.
After watching for half a minute, she finally came to her senses, used Cen Sen's legs for support to stand up, sat up properly, cleared her throat, and got down to business.
"I... I have something to tell you. Well, my aunt told me that if you have any contact with the An family, you should inform her because the old man is a bit worried. I thought you might not actually be in contact with the An family, and even if you were, you might not let me know, so I agreed. But I never expected..."
She paused for a moment, then said, "A person shouldn't break their word, right? That's why I'm letting you know I'm going to tell on you."
Cen Sen: "..."
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Ji Mingshu glanced at him again, then picked up her phone and pretended to tell on him, but in reality she was still frantically chatting with Jiang Chun and Gu Kaiyang in the group.
Without warning, Cen Sen suddenly snatched her phone and said calmly, "No need, I will explain to Grandpa."
He glanced at his phone screen, intending to speak to Cen Yingshuang, but paused after reading the message.
Ji Mingshu: [Should I tell the Cen family? If I do, will that bastard cut off my financial support? Isn't it a bit unethical to betray my sugar daddy?]
Gu Kaiyang: [Here's what you should do: just tell your man you're going to tell his grandfather. This way, you'll appear to be suffering from a guilty conscience, and that you're actually a straightforward and unpretentious girl. If your man is even slightly sensible, he'll say, "I'll tell him myself." This way, you won't offend either side.]
Jiang Chun: [You can do that...?]
Jiang Chun: [Stunned and dumbfounded.jpg]
Jiang Chun: [Gu Bian is indeed Gu Bian, no wonder she's the only one among the three of us with work experience and a strong woman, respect!]
Ji Mingshu: [What if he's completely immature?]
Gu Kaiyang: [Is President Cen's image in your mind really that low? Surely not?]
Ji Mingshu: [He's always been this lowly. Fine, I'll give it a try.]
Two minutes later.
Ji Mingshu: [Waaaaah! Gugu is truly my precious smart darling! I love you!!!]
Gu Kaiyang: [Another victory for the innocent female college student. /Evil laugh]
Ji Mingshu: [Frank, innocent, and pure-hearted—Skill #1 acquired!]
Cen Sen paused for a moment, then glanced at the group name—
A chat group for innocent female college students (no explicit content).