Thanks to the controversy, Sophia’s shop received significantly more traffic. Although the conversion rate wasn’t high, the number of livestream viewers continued to rise, peaking at over 50,000 in a single day.
— “I’m here from the Beauty Forum!”
— “I came from the forum too. Oddly enough, I feel like trying the product.”
— “Why do I want to buy it even with negative reviews? So strange!”
Despite the traffic increase, sales remained low—only about a tenth of the first day’s revenue. This made Chloe anxious.
“What should we do, Sophia?”
Sophia pondered. “Livinus said to leave it to him.”
Surprised by her honesty, Chloe hesitated. “He said that? What does Livinus want with you anyway? He shouldn’t just keep dangling you along! Meanwhile, Logan is ready and waiting to woo you!”
“…” Sophia found the analogy amusing. “Alright, Sister, let’s leave it to him.”
Chloe laughed. “I’m more than happy to let him handle it. With Boss Livinus stepping in, what can’t be resolved?”
—
Meanwhile, Scott Corporation’s PR team was stunned. They had been tasked with managing the PR crisis for a small online store. Handling a minor forum post?
This was… such a trivial task it made them want to yawn.
—
That evening, Sophia went to the traditional medicine hospital for Kelvin’s follow-up. To her surprise, she ran into Professor Michael.
Concerned, Professor Michael asked, “You silly girl, if you hadn’t come to the hospital, I wouldn’t have known how you’ve been doing lately. Did your husband break up with that mistress?”
Sophia chuckled. “No, but I’ve turned him into an ex-husband.”
Professor Michael was taken aback. “You got divorced?”
“Yes.”
Professor Michael was shocked. He had thought Sophia, after marrying into such a family, would settle for a comfortable life. Everyone had their own choices, and he wouldn’t interfere. But after enduring over two years, she had chosen to divorce. He hadn’t even heard about it online, so the news surprised him.
“Did you get alimony?”
“Yes, I got some money and plan to buy a house.”
“That’s good. The house on the mountain is too old and inconvenient to live in. By the way…”
Suddenly, Professor Michael remembered something. At that moment, Director Jake arrived, and Professor Michael called out to him: “Director Jake!”
Jake forced a smile. “Professor Michael.”
“Director Jake,” Professor Michael said, looking him straight in the eye. “I recall you saying that if Sophia cured Kelvin, you’d give her your downtown apartment. Now that Kelvin is cured and walking freely, soon to be discharged, isn’t it time for you to fulfill your promise?”
Jake’s expression darkened, and he wished he could fire Professor Michael on the spot.
Unfortunately, Professor Michael had connections—his father had some influence in the region, and Micheal himself had treated several high-ranking officials. Jake couldn’t afford to offend him too much.
Feigning a laugh, he said, “Professor Micheal, did I really say that?”
Professor Michael smiled knowingly.
“Director Jake, your memory seems to be failing you. Think about it—what illness did your grandson have? Polio! It’s not just any illness. Even cancer can sometimes be cured abroad with a million or two, but the aftereffects of polio? To this day, there’s no effective global treatment. Yet, Dr. Smith cured it with traditional medicine, using acupuncture and late-night treatments. And now, you’re pretending you never made such a promise? That’s not very honorable, is it?”
Professor Michael’s words were sharp, making Jake’s face turn an ugly shade.
But Professor Michael was a tough nut to crack, and since he wasn’t technically employed by the hospital—only collaborating—Jake couldn’t retaliate easily.
With a cold laugh, Jake replied, “Professor Micheal, you’re making it sound so dramatic. Do you think I’m that kind of person? But really, I don’t recall making such a promise. Besides, as doctors, aren’t we supposed to have benevolent hearts? Dr. Smith clearly had the ability to cure him, yet she waited and made me anxious—wasn’t that just a ploy to raise her value? And now you’re suggesting that curing polio is worth a five or six million Dollars apartment? Wouldn’t accepting that make her a greedy doctor?”
One sentence pinned her down: if Sophia accepted, she was greedy; if she refused, she was selfless. It all came down to which reputation she preferred.
Sophia stared at Jake, her expression turning icy.
The house? She genuinely didn’t care about it. In her past life, she had plenty of money, and the prescriptions she held could easily be sold to major corporations like Scott Corporation, earning royalties akin to collecting rent. She had numerous other formulas for beauty products—spot removal, acne treatment, whitening—she could develop them herself or sell them to cosmetics companies. In short, as long as she wanted to, there were countless ways for her to make money.
