After spending an hour doing passionate things inside the massage room, Mei Ying and Su Yang finally left the store and returned to the hotel.
"Did you accept more customers than usual today as well, Manager?" Mei Xing asked him when she noticed that they'd returned later than usual.
"Y-Yes, something like that." Mei Ying nodded.
"How is your progress with the cultivation technique?" Su Yang asked her a moment later.
"Although I still don't fully understand it, I am starting to comprehend the beginning parts," she said.
"That's great." Su Yang smiled.
Sometime later, the mother and daughter pair went to sleep while Su Yang cultivated in his room.
The following morning, Su Yang and Mei Xing left the hotel while Mei Ying stayed behind, as it was her day off.
Once they reached the massage parlor, Mei Xing mumbled in a dazed voice, "There are even more people today than last time…"
"It will only become more crowded as time passes." Su Yang chuckled.
Mei Xing turned to look at him with a worried look, and she asked him, "Manager, isn't this pretty bad? The waitlist is already reaching half a year. At this rate, it will continue to grow endlessly, and with the number of customers we're accepting per day, we will never be able to clear this queue."
"Even worse, you won't stay in the City of Pleasure forever, so there will be a lot of heartbroken customers when you leave…"
Su Yang smiled and said, "You really care about the customers. Don't worry, I have something in mind. Although it's not perfect, it will definitely fix our problem."
"To be completely honest with you, the business grew quicker than I'd anticipated. I had planned on changing the system later, but since things are like this now, I will have to make some changes to my plan."
Once they entered the massage parlor, Su Yang began writing on a sign.
Mei Xing read the sign once it was complete, and her eyebrows would raise a little with every sentence she read.
"Manager, won't you anger the customers with this? They definitely won't like this change." Mei Xing said to him afterward with a fearful look on her face.
"I will definitely make many people angry, but this is the only way."
Mei Xing swallowed nervously, as she could imagine the mayhem the sign would cause once it's revealed to the public.
Sometime later, Su Yang went outside and placed the sign right beside the door so that it could be seen by everyone.
"Due to the increased traffic and demand, I have decided to make some necessary changes to our business. I hope for your understanding." Su Yang respectfully bowed to the customers waiting outside before returning to the store.
The people outside quickly gathered in front of the sign to see what had changed, and their eyes widened with shock when they finished reading it.
"Important notice: due to the increased demand and the waitlist growing too large, the price for each session has been increased to 100 medium-grade spirit stones. Furthermore, the sessions that used to last for 30 minutes will now only last for 10 minutes."
"As for those that are already on the waitlist, there will be no changes to the price, but the time for each session will be decreased to 15 minutes."
"The priority system will now cost 1 high-grade spirit stone instead of 15 medium-grade spirit stones."
The customers were dumbfounded by the notice that basically increased the price by an insane amount, and they would even receive a shorter session for it.
As Mei Xing had expected, the notice immediately caused outrage among the customers.
"How could you ask for 100 medium-grade spirit stones for a 10-minute massage session?! This is worse than robbery in daylight!"
"No matter how good your massage is, there's no way it's worth 100 medium-grade spirit stones, much less one high-grade spirit stone that's worth 10,000 medium-grade spirit stones!"
"Are you trying to kill your business right after it started getting traction?!"
Unhappy customers flooded the massage parlor, and Mei Xing was immediately overwhelmed by so many complaints.
"I…I…"
For the first time since she started working, Mei Xing felt an urge to cry from the pressure, something she hasn't experienced before even in her previous workplaces.
"Please calm down, esteemed guests. I completely understand your anger, and as much as I want to keep things the same, it simply isn't feasible. The waitlist is already half a year long, and it will only continue to grow longer."
"As grateful as I am that my business found success, I do not wish for my customers to wait years to finally receive my service, nor do I wish to stay in the City of Pleasure forever."
Although the customers were still angry, they couldn't find any faults in Su Yang's reasoning. Certainly, nobody there prefers to wait for years to get a massage from him, but the price was simply too expensive for the majority of them to even consider."
Perhaps they wouldn't have been as angry if the Heavenly Massage existed in the Red Light District where people are used to spending high-grade spirit stones without thinking, but because it's located in the Pink Light District, one of the cheapest areas, the ridiculous price only seemed more ridiculous.
"Hmph! I am out of here! And don't expect me to come back!"
"Me too! This is outrageous!"
The customers began leaving in droves, and within minutes, the long line outside the Heavenly Massage had become empty.
"Hahaha! What a damn fool to destroy his own business because of greed!"
"And here I was starting to think highly of that place! What a joke!"
The other store owners celebrated the Heavenly Massage's downfall.
"M-Manager… What should we do? Everyone left…" Mei Xing looked at him, her urges to cry growing stronger because of the result.
Su Yang showed her a calm smile and said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
