Chapter 35

I've been feeling like my eyesight isn't working very well lately.

"The Wu family?" Hao Jingshi pondered as she spoke. "Impossible. I've met the owner of the Wu family a few times, and I seem to remember him as an honest and upright person. He probably wouldn't dare to do such a thing."

Lu Qin remained silent for a while, thinking to herself, "Isn't that right? Everyone who sees him is so kind and gentle; naturally, they all look like good people."

“Perhaps it’s true that you can know a person’s face but not their heart. I’ve met quite a few people like that, but only my husband is a truly good person who is tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and has never had any bad intentions.” Lu Qin leaned against him and said, “I will send someone to find out tomorrow and then make a decision.”

Hearing his wife praise him again, Hao Jingshi naturally didn't refute it, and said indifferently, "Do whatever you want. Anyway, with me here, I will never let anyone bully you."

Lu Qin smiled and looked up at his profile.

My husband's mouth, which is harder than poison and harder than a stone slab, has now actually managed to say some nice things.

It seems that all her previous attempts at being cute, throwing tantrums, and acting spoiled weren't in vain.

Despite Hao Jingshi's forceful persuasion, Lu Qin didn't return to the clothing shop; instead, she rested in his arms.

The midday sun was so bright that it made people feel dizzy. Lu Qin dozed off for a while, but suddenly felt Hao Jingshi's arm moving, so she opened her eyes groggily.

Hao Jingshi was holding the paper on which she had written her promise a few days ago, examining it carefully.

He looked at it for a while, folded the paper, and put it inside the ledger. After a while, seemingly still not quite sure, he took it out and held it in his hands again.

After a while, he put it back, as if he was still worried.

After seeing him go back and forth like this several times, Lu Qin couldn't help but sit up straight from his arms, still sleepy, and muttered, "My husband seems to be getting younger and younger. He's like a child now, so concerned about a piece of paper."

Hao Jingshi sensed the teasing tone and tapped her forehead with his finger, saying, "You love to cheat. If I don't keep this piece of paper safe, I'll have nowhere to reason with you and end up getting nothing in return."

Lu Qin tilted her head in disdain: "Since my husband is so worried, I'll just copy it a hundred times. You can take it and put one on every piece of clothing, along with some on the bedside table, the desk, and under the vase, okay?"

"That's too much trouble." Hao Jingshi shifted his eyes. "How about you embroider another sachet for me? I can put this paper in the sachet and it will be safe."

"So my husband has already planned this all along." Lu Qin snorted. "Fine, I'll go back and embroider them slowly. This time, I'll embroider a pair, one for each of us."

Upon hearing this, Hao Jingshi curled the corners of his mouth and proudly imitated her by shaking his head, his handsome eyebrows and eyes shining as if they contained stars.

"Then I will design a new outfit for myself tomorrow to match my wife, so as not to waste this pair of sachets."

After saying that, he pressed Lu Qin back into his arms and said, "I'm not moving anymore, you can sleep a little longer."

...

As instructed by Lu Qin, Xuan Lan specially brought several capable bodyguards with him, hiding them in the trees near the clinic, and also sent an inconspicuous servant to keep watch near the Wu family shop.

In the following days, the thieves did not come again, but the servant who had been gathering information returned and said that the Wu family shop had indeed received new products, and the styles were exactly the same as those designed by Hao Jingshi.

Now, Wujia Clothing Shop has become the star of the show. Customers flocked to the store to snatch up the new "exclusive" design, almost wearing out the doorstep.

The news spread quickly, and the other franchise stores were unhappy. They came together to find Lu Qin and ask her what was going on.

Lu Qin was also very angry, but before she could confront Boss Wu, she was surrounded by a group of franchise owners in the clothing store.

One person asked first, "Wasn't it supposed to be a unified launch? Why is the Wu family's shop a few days earlier than ours?"

The others chimed in, "They've already sold the latest styles, how are we supposed to sell anything else?"

"Boss Lu, everyone paid the same amount of money, why are you treating them differently? Did they give you a bribe?"

The crowd was talking all at once, like a swarm of bees, and for a moment it was impossible to tell who was speaking.

Lu Qin stood there helplessly, watching everyone's lips move, and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

And here they are again, surrounding her and demanding an explanation?

Unjust Disaster 2.0!

"Please calm down, everyone! Please calm down!"

Lu Qin stepped back, raised her leg and stood on the small stool, trying to make herself visible to everyone.

"I understand how you all feel! But please let me explain, things aren't as you think..."

At this point, Lu Qin's mind went blank. What was there to explain? She was also at a loss, after all, the thief had not yet been caught.

She has no solid evidence. If she insists that the Wu family stole the items, no one will believe her, and it will cause another uproar.

Looking at the pairs of burning eyes below, Lu Qin tensed up for a moment, her hands clenching until they were sweating.

She forced herself to remain calm, spreading her palms out and gesturing downwards to soothe everyone's emotions, fearing that the situation would spiral out of control again like last time.

After all, it took quite a while to repair this clothing store, and it's peak season now, so it can't afford to break down again.

"Actually, this is a misunderstanding. Everyone has misunderstood me. Everyone has really misunderstood. Please don't misunderstand..."

While racking her brains to keep talking and buy time, Lu Qin was also trying to sort out her chaotic thoughts.

These people came to her simply because they misunderstood her and thought she was getting special treatment, and felt that their family was losing money.

They usually get the same design drafts, but now there's a sudden exception, so they're naturally feeling resentful.

So now we need to find a way to balance things out...

Yes.

Lu Qin had a sudden inspiration and immediately straightened her back and became calm.

She said loudly, "This is actually a benefit I prepared for everyone, but I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. I'm just letting the Wu family test the waters first."

"Welfare?"

Everyone was completely confused.

“That’s right.” Lu Qin raised her small hand and said clearly, “Since I’ve accepted everyone’s franchise fees, I should think about everyone’s interests. Let’s make money together!”

The group looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What does Boss Lu mean?"

“Starting today, I will create an exclusive design for each store as a signature item.”

Lu Qin said sincerely, her eyes shining with an innocent light, "We'll take turns launching new products, so no one will interfere with anyone else, and everyone can have a share of the excitement and make money, how about it?"

Hearing that everyone would receive a share, the crowd was successfully appeased, their furrowed brows relaxed, and their previous resentment vanished.

"We had misunderstood Boss Lu," they said apologetically, surprised by his kindness.

"Yes, thank you so much."

"No problem!" Seeing the others' expressions soften, Lu Qin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, her heart settling down.

Fortunately, these people weren't difficult to deal with and were reasonable enough that the matter was relatively easy to resolve.

This will only make things harder for Hao Jingshi, as he will have to draw different designs for dozens of clothing shops.

She concluded by saying, "Everyone, hurry back and get back to work. Don't delay. I'll send someone to deliver it to each shop in a couple of days."

"Alright, then we won't bother you any longer."

The group politely bowed in greeting.

"Boss Lu, let's get together again sometime."

"Okay, goodbye, goodbye."

Lu Qin stepped down from the small stool and saw them to the door with a smile.

...

The group left the clothing shop satisfied. As they reached the door, they bumped into Hao Jingshi, who was rushing out from next door. They all bowed and greeted him, "Boss Hao."

"...?"

Hao Jingshi paused, stood at the door for a moment, nodded to them, and watched them happily disperse.

Completely bewildered, he turned and walked into the clothing shop, only to bump into Lu Qin, who was standing at the door seeing off a customer, after a few steps.

"Husband?" Lu Qin saw him and happily ran to him. "Why are you here? Didn't you say you were going to make a remedy for Xi Shi today?"

"Ling'er just came to see me and said you were surrounded by a group of people. I was worried you would be bullied." Hao Jingshi looked her over a few times and said, "It's good that you're alright. I'm going back now."

As he turned around, about to take a step, Lu Qin suddenly grabbed him.

Hao Jingshi turned around and saw that she suddenly looked aggrieved, but continued to pull him inside. His heart tugged, and he followed her.

When the two reached the fitting area, Lu Qin lowered her head and snuggled into his arms.

"Waaah, husband, hug me."

"What's wrong?" Hao Jingshi frowned, reaching out to hug her. "Did those people come looking for trouble?"

"Actually... it wasn't really him causing me trouble..." Lu Qin muttered, then raised her head and said, "Husband, you love me the most, don't you?"

Upon hearing this, Hao Jingshi glanced down at her and instantly saw through her.

That expression is all too familiar. Either they need his help, or they've gotten into trouble and need him to clean up their mess.

He hummed indifferently, "Speak, what is it?"

Lu Qin held him tightly, chuckling, "Just now, those shop owners found out that Wu's clothing store had new items and came to me demanding an explanation. In my haste, I promised to send each of them a unique design..."

She blinked and said, "There are forty-nine copies in total, my husband. Thank you for your hard work. Please finish drawing them quickly."

"Hmm." Hao Jingshi glanced at her and said, "You know that I've been troubled, so how are you going to reward me?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Qin readily replied, "I'll kiss my husband."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tiptoed, her soft forearms touching the back of his neck.

Even through the thin veil, Hao Jingshi felt a ticklish sensation in his heart and deliberately scoffed, "You want to take advantage of me while ordering me around? Dream on."

Lu Qin pouted and leaned closer, saying, "Husband, are you really not going to kiss me? It won't be convenient when the people from the clothing shop come later."

Hao Jingshi stared at her lips and said stubbornly, "In broad daylight, what kind of behavior is this?"

After saying that, he lowered his head and kissed her, then casually pulled the curtain of the fitting room closed.

The two secretly entwined themselves, gradually losing themselves in the moment. After a while, Lu Pan'an returned from outside and, seeing the feet under the curtain in the distance, assumed it was a customer trying on clothes.

He approached quietly: "Do you need help? I'll go call..."

He paused halfway through his speech, only to realize that there were two people with four legs underneath.

Startled by the sudden voice, Lu Qin and Hao Jingshi immediately separated and stood ramrod straight.

"Cough cough cough... No need, Brother Lu, it's me."

Lu Qin quickly picked up the clothes beside her, pulled the curtain closed, and went out, dusting them off in a very professional manner.

"My husband and I will tidy up our clothes."

Seeing Hao Jingshi follow him out, Lu Pan'an instantly understood what was going on and gave an awkward smile.

There's only one garment inside, so there's no need for two people.

Seeing this, Lu Qin chuckled and handed the clothes to Hao Jingshi, saying, "Oh right, you've come at the right time. My husband and I are going to the Wu family's clothing shop. Please look after this place for now. We'll be right back."

“Go, go to Wu’s Clothing Shop…” Lu Pan’an hesitated for a moment, “Okay, don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it.”

As he spoke, a bitter smile, unlike anything he had ever seen before, appeared on his exceptionally handsome face.

"Young Master Hao, when you have some free time, could you please take a look at my eyes? I've been feeling like my eyesight isn't working very well lately..."

...

[Author's Note]

Lu Pan'an: I work hard and diligently, but I am abused by my boss... No, no, it's not a real dog, it's just that I'm a single dog... Yes, twice, twice!