Grandpa Lu’s curiosity about his grandson and Long Jinjing was interrupted when Giulia Moretti sat beside him and began chatting with him.
Everyone was stuffed with the delicious and hearty food. They also felt happy with their gift packages. Not only were the guests celebrating the grand launch of Orchidia Beauty, but they were also making meaningful and beneficial connections with some of the most influential personages in the country (and abroad, too!). The guests didn’t expect that there would be so many advantages by attending this grand launch tonight.
The atmosphere was very relaxed and informal. Nevertheless, all the guests could sense that the security in the place was tight and strict. Each member of the security looked intimidating. Some even emitted scary aura. Nobody dared to make trouble. They wanted to maintain the cheerful atmosphere. Besides, there were so many important personages present tonight.
Who would want to give a bad impression to the Jins, the Lus, the Fengs (to the handful of people who recognized the real high status of the low-profile cousins, Feng Wan and Feng Jiu), and the impressive students and alumni from Cross Academy?
Not them!
And so the merry-making continued.
Later, the two lovable emcees, Dom and Clover, called for everyone’s attention. Iris Long stood together on the stage with them, looking even more dazzling than she did earlier.
Ever since her first comeback in showbiz, she became the type of person that the more one looked at her, the more beautiful she became. She was already naturally beautiful to begin with, but this effect only increased her attractiveness even more. Too bad that she was already engaged to marry the most powerful businessman in the country of his generation. The males and bent females present could only sigh, feeling a little regretful for not getting to know her before she became engaged.
Dom: “We have some announcements! Ehehehe.”
Clover: “Exciting announcements!”
Clover: “Does anyone here likes perfumes?”
The people felt confused. Perfume? Was Orchidia Beauty going to release perfumes too? So soon?
Dom: “Is anyone here familiar with the perfume brand Sang Bleu?”
His question was met with blank stares. The perfume brand was well-known mainly in Europe and in places where there were still existing royalty and nobility. It wasn’t popular in China or most parts of Asia.
However, some people in the audience reacted by widening their eyes, obviously recognizing the brand’s name.
Feng Wan, her three posh friends, and her cousin Feng Jiu. Everyone from Cross Academy…well, except for Amanpio Kileksy who looked as clueless as the rest of the guests. A few others, especially those who frequently travelled around the world.
Then Clover gave a short summary of the old French perfumery, Sang Bleu. She described its long history of creating customized perfumes for aristocrats and royal families.
The audience listened, becoming even more confused. Why were the emcees talking about an old French perfumery all of a sudden? Wasn’t this supposed to be an event for Orchidia Beauty?
“In short, Sang Bleu is no longer in business,” Clover said.
Dom: “We are proud to announce that Boss—I mean President Iris Long has acquired the old French perfumery, Sang Bleu! Meaning, President Iris Long is the new owner not only of Orchidia Beauty but also of Sang Bleu! Yay yay!”
The people who were familiar with Sang Bleuwere shocked. Feng Wan, her three posh friends, and her cousin Feng Jiu gasped. Even Iris’ friends and mentors from Cross Academy didn’t expect that she had acquired the bankrupt perfumery.
Iris took the mic from Dom.
“To those of you who recognized Sang Bleu, you know that it doesn’t have the a very pleasant reputation among the masses,” she said.
Feng Wan and the others nodded.
“I might now own Sang Bleu but I don’t plan on repeating history and continuing its past discriminating practices. Thus, I am rebranding Sang Bleu and taking it under Orchidia Beauty as a subsidiary company. From today onwards, Sang Bleu is no more. Instead, it is now known as…
“LIBERTÉ!!!”
Jin Liwei, Grandpa Lu and Lu Zihao led the applause for her. The others followed suit.
Iris continued speaking, “Sang Bleu means ‘blue blood’ in French. The name reflected the perfumery’s old practice of catering exclusively to royalty and aristocrats or those with ‘blue blood’. But that was then. Now, under my ownership, the perfumery is renamed Liberté which means ‘freedom’!”
“Just like its meaning, Liberté will be available to everyone who wants to buy it—as long as it’s in-stock.”
The guests chuckled when Iris added the last part of her sentence. She had to mention it, especially since Orchidia Beauty just sold out in five seconds earlier.
“There will be no discrimination! What blue blood? All of us have red blood! Even my mother who is now a viscountess still retained the redness of her blood. And I bet you all that her viscount husband also has blood as red as yours and mine.”
Applause and cheers, led by Jin Liwei again as usual.
“Just like our vision for Orchidia Beauty, all Liberté perfumes will be 100% natural!”
More applause and cheers.
“I will be releasing my first perfume soon under the Liberté brand,” Iris announced all of a sudden.
The Black Stars went crazy. There were secret Black Stars attending as guests in the party who almost jumped on top of the tables in their excitement. Good thing that they remembered their dignity just in time and controlled their urges. Orchidia Beauty’s official livestream was also still ongoing. It now had almost 4 million viewers, leaving the other livestreams of the event in the dust. The live comments exploded.
“Kyaaaaaaah! Boss Iris’ perfume! I’m so excited!”
“The perfume should be called ‘Goddess’! Just like her!”
“Her name ‘Iris’ is perfect!”
“No! Her perfume should be called ‘Slippers’—”
“Idiot! Who would want to buy a perfume called ‘Slippers’?”
“Eeeeeh? But aren’t slippers our symbol as Black Stars?”
“…”
“Yeah…you’re right…”
“Oh, I know! ‘BOSS’!”
“Yeah! Excellent idea!”
“I can’t wait to buy Boss Iris’ perfume! I want to smell like her! I want to smell like a boss!”
Iris didn’t know that her announcement sent her fans into frenzy online. However, she was pleased to see the expressions of the guests present.
“For the men, Senior Jin Chonglin will also be releasing his own perfume at around the same time I release mine.”
It was now the turn of Jin Chonglin’s army of fans to go crazy. They took over the livestream and drowned the Black Stars’ celebration. As expected, his influence was still greater than Iris Long’s. The Black Stars didn’t mind, though. Both fan clubs were in a celebratory mood.
“We are still working on Liberté and the perfumes at the moment. Please stay tuned for more announcements. However, we promise that Senior Jin Chonglin and I will release our own perfumes for Liberté within this year at the earliest or next year at the latest,” Iris announced.
Chen Fei’s laser beam eyes shot a glare at Jin Chonglin.
‘You heard her. She said that both of your perfumes will be released either before the year ends or next year. Now stop being an indecisive diva and finalize everything on both your skincare and perfume lines! You better not take more than a year or else…’ her eyes silently threatened him.
Jin Chonglin paled, feeling cold sweat run down his back. He threw a sullen look at Iris Long on the stage before covering it up with his killer smile because he noticed many cameras pointing at him. He almost forgot that there were several livestreams covering the event.
‘Why are you rushing me? If you want to release your own perfume early, then do it! Don’t involve me in your fast-paced timeline!’
But so what? What was wrong with being indecisive? As long as he was satisfied with his final decision, that was what mattered the most. Her decisiveness allowed her to accomplish major things in a short period of time. As for him, he needed some time to mull things over, to make sure everything was as perfect as he could make it.
Nevertheless, Jin Chonglin admitted that Iris Long had a positive influence on him. If it weren’t for her swift rise to fame since her first music comeback, he wouldn’t even think of writing his own music again. And certainly not accomplishing it in mere months to compete against her. But he was able to do it because Iris Long inspired him to challenge himself and do better.
Just like right now. Although he was complaining that they were rushing him on his skincare and perfume lines, he was actually feeling quite motived and determined at the moment.
‘Just wait and see. I’ll sell more perfumes than you,’ he swore silently while looking at the beautiful Iris.
Back on the stage, Iris hadn’t finished all of her announcements yet.
“Next, I would like to inform everyone that I have created my own foundation focused on charity and philanthropy. The idea first came from my mother.”
Everyone turned their heads and looked at Wei Lan who stood up and waved at everyone.
“Before my mother returned to the country, she mentioned travelling with her husband to some of the poorest parts of the world and seeing the sufferings of the less fortunate. My mother, now Vizcondesa Lan, encouraged me to use my celebrity status to give back and share my blessings. After thinking about it, I realized that she is right. Thus, I decided to create my very own foundation to accomplish this. It’s called…
“IRIS OF HOPE!”
“My foundation, Iris of Hope, will support various short-term and long-term causes. The short-term causes would be based on immediate need. I’m only announcing it now but the truth is that you have already begun supporting Iris of Hope by buying Orchidia Beauty products. For every purchase you make through our official Orchidia Beauty store, a small portion will be donated towards helping various causes my foundation is supporting.”
The applause grew louder. The guests even rose from their seats and gave a standing ovation, delighting in the thought that they were able to “give back” without even knowing it.
“In addition, it’s also my pleasure to announce that CEO Hou Liang and CFO Wu Chen of the gaming company Planet Monkey are also supporting my foundation. For more information about how they will do that and which causes they are supporting, please talk to them directly,” Iris said, dumping the responsibility of explaining on Hou Liang and Wu Chen.
Wu Chen waved at everyone while Hou Liang only nodded.
The Black Stars who were watching the livestream went even crazier, taking back the live comments from Jin Chonglin’s army of fans.
“All hail our bros MonkeyFace and iEatSlippers! They have ascended to heights beyond our imaginations!”
“Maybe we’re already supporting Boss Iris’ foundation by playing more ‘Supreme Ascension’! Awesome!”
All members of the Black Stars, especially its sub-unit the Slippers Army, were very proud not only of their Boss Iris, but of their fellow members, Hou Liang (a.k.a. MonkeyFace) and Wu Chen (iEatSlippers).
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