Anderson Tina, filled with gratitude, nodded slowly.
Sophia wrote out a prescription
The formula consisted of over 20 herbs, primarily for clearing heat and detoxifying, with some to boost immunity. Within a week, the condition should resolve.
“Take this twice a day, morning and evening. Use the leftover dregs from boiling the medicine to wash the affected area.”
Anderson Tina hesitated. “But I’m in a film crew. If I start boiling medicine, it’ll definitely raise suspicion…”
Sophia considered this and then said, “Alright, I’ll prepare the medicine for you and mix the wash as well.”
“Thank you!” Anderson Tina was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Nancy patted her shoulder. “See? It’s not a big deal. Look how much you scared yourself!”
Finally relieved, Anderson Tina repeatedly thanked Sophia, even offering several thousand Dollars as payment. To her surprise, Sophia only accepted a hundred Dollars.
This made Anderson Tina feel awkward. Modern healthcare isn’t cheap—even a basic cold checkup costs a couple of hundred Dollars, and pharmacies rarely recommend truly effective medicines. Yet Sophia charged so little, making her services practically philanthropic.
As they left, Anderson Tina turned to Nancy and said, “If Dr. Smith ever needs help with anything, let me know.”
Nancy thought for a moment. “Actually, there is something. She’s working on developing a beauty cream. When it’s ready, could you promote it on your social media?”
“Of course! That’s no problem. By the way, what kind of beauty cream is it?”
“Wait, I’ll go get you a jar!”
—
That evening, Sophia checked the Beauty Forum post. The thread had been bumped thousands of times, clearly by hired trolls steering the narrative.
She planned to track the person’s address via the package she sent. However, she didn’t have time that day, so it had to wait.
Just as she was preparing to act on it the next day, a strange number called her.
“Hello?”
“It’s me.” Livinus’s voice was low and steady.
Recalling their kiss, Sophia pressed her lips together, feeling inexplicably parched. “Hmm?”
“Did you eat dinner?” Livinus knew she often got so busy she forgot to eat.
“I did. Nancy brought me some food.”
Livinus paused for a moment before saying, “I heard about the post online. You don’t need to handle it. I’ll take care of it.”
Sophia froze for a moment, completely unprepared for the fact that he knew about this matter. Her online store wasn’t widely known—how did Livinus find out? This man’s information network was almost too efficient.
“You…”
“Leave it to me!” Livinus declared with his characteristic authoritarian tone. “Scott Corporation has a dedicated PR team that specializes in handling online incidents. They’re very skilled at dealing with situations like this.”
Since he insisted, Sophia had no reason to refuse. After a pause, she coughed lightly and said, “Thank you!”
“Of course, my help isn’t unconditional.”
“Hmm?”
Later that night, as Sophia lay in bed, she couldn’t help but recall Livinus’s words: ““”Sophia, I want you to thank me with a kiss!”““
The thought irritated her. When had their relationship become so strange? They weren’t officially together, nor had they said they weren’t. Yet, she didn’t dislike Livinus at all. Thinking about how Henry might react to their relationship brought her a strange sense of satisfaction—it was exhilarating!
She didn’t know how Livinus handled the matter, but by the next day, the forum post was filled with positive comments. Some even speculated that the original poster was a competitor trying to sabotage the business, as the before-and-after photos didn’t match.
The first photo showed the poster’s face without acne, while the second was a close-up of skin, making it impossible to see any identifiable features or proper comparison.
— “It does look fake. And the poster said they had issues right after buying the cream? That’s too quick.”
— “This makes me want to try it out. Anyway, it’s a seven-day no-questions-asked return policy. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just return it.”
— “Seven days, no questions asked? Then why didn’t the poster request a refund or try to resolve it?”
— “Which store is it? I want to check it out!”
— “I watched the live stream, and honestly, the real-time trials showed results. Now I’m doubting this poster because the scabs in the second photo look older. The store hasn’t even been open that long, so the timeline doesn’t add up.”
