After the meeting, everyone felt elated that they would finally be proceeding to the actual production of Jin Chonglin’s men’s line. They were filled with great purpose and felt excited to meet their original plan of releasing the men’s line before the end of the year. It would be a huge deal.
If they were successful, Orchidia Beauty would have truly made its mark in the country’s fiercely competitive beauty industry dominated by well-known foreign companies for many years. Jin Chonglin’s influence as a superstar was no joke. If his image was used effectively, he had the power to make a completely new, unknown brand into a household name overnight.
Orchidia Beauty was certainly a new brand but it was not unknown thanks to its successful and record-breaking grand launch. If Jin Chonglin’s men’s line became a hit, Orchidia Beauty would become a skincare and beauty brand targeting not only females but the male population as well.
They wanted to be a trusted brand of high-quality natural beauty products for all genders and skin types. It was better to set the tone this early so that the public impression of the brand wouldn’t be too fixed on a limited range of products.
Back at the meeting room, the trinity of goddesses left first with Jin Chonglin and Lin Dong. Alric Bauer returned to his lab.
Jin Chonglin walked beside Iris and leaned close before whispering, “Is that my big bro’s shirt that your teddy bear is wearing?”
Iris smiled and nodded. Then her smile froze and was replaced by a frown. “Ugh. What’s that horrid perfume you’re wearing today?”
Dom appeared seemingly from out of nowhere as soon as he saw Iris’ expression change. He immediately blocked Jin Chonglin, allowing Iris to put distance between them in a hurry.
Everything happened so fast that the others who witnessed the scene couldn’t understand what happened. All they saw was Dom blocking Jin Chonglin and Iris escaping as if her future brother-in-law was a plague. Then she plopped down on a nearby sofa with her big teddy bear and pressed her face against it.
Jin Chonglin’s expression also indicated how confused he was at the current situation. His cologne smelled horrid? He sniffed his sleeve and even his armpits but thought that he smelled good, amazing even.
“Do I smell bad?” he asked his manager.
Lin Dong sniffed Jin Chonglin, too. “No, you smell fine.”
Jin Chonglin stared at Iris who looked like she was strangling her teddy bear with how tightly she was embracing it. He wondered if the woman had some sort of grudge against him and this was her way of expressing her anger towards him.
Dom pulled him away from Lin Dong and whispered, “Sorry, Prince Lin Lin. Please don’t think that Boss has something against you. That’s not it at all. I heard that you’re already aware of her condition. As a result of that, she can’t stand a lot of smells right now. That teddy bear is wearing sir boss’ shirt because sir boss’ scent is only one of the very few scents that she’s able to tolerate. Actually, sir boss’ scent is her favourite right now. It’s like her medicine to prevent herself from fainting. I hope you understand, Prince Lin Lin.”
“Ah.” Jin Chonglin finally understood. He nodded as relief flooded him. So it wasn’t because of anything he did but due to her pregnancy instead.
Long Jinjing and Chen Fei hurried to where Iris was sitting. Dom also returned to his boss’ side after giving Jin Chonglin an explanation. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you’re not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It’s very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! Also follow me on Instagram @arriacross]
“What happened?” Lin Dong asked beside him.
“Sister Xiulan is still feeling a little sick, I guess,” he answered vaguely.
Fortunately, Iris recovered rather quickly and assured everyone that she was alright. The concerned employees soon dispersed and returned to their work. Soon after, Jin Chonglin and Lin Dong also left after saying good bye.
The four friends—Iris, Dom, Long Jinjing and Chen Fei—all headed to Iris’ office. As soon as the door closed, Iris headed straight to the biggest couch and made herself comfortable with her ridiculous teddy bear. Then Long Jinjing and Chen Fei watched as Dom pull out a pack of chocolates before handing it to Iris.
“You want some, too?” Dom then asked the two.
In the end, all of them ended up eating chocolates. Iris was back to her normal self, so Long Jinjing and Chen Fei didn’t continue asking what was wrong with her. Dom also covered for her and distracted everyone with his usual lively chatter, so the two didn’t suspect anything wrong with Iris. They figured that it must really just be her fragile health due to the after-effects from the car accident and coma acting up again.
Then all of a sudden, Iris asked Long Jinjing a point-blank question. “Are you really together with Big Brother Zihao?”
Chen Fei’s eyes popped wide open. “Bitch, how did you know?!”
“WHAT?!!” Dom gasped out loud and looked at Long Jinjing with shock. “Is that true?! Uwah! You go, girl! Although my own maiden heart is crying in despair that Mr. Yummylicious Big Brother Boss is taken, at least it’s one of us and not some other hateful witch.”
Long Jinjing turned red and covered her face with her hands.
“You’re really in a relationship with Big Brother?” Iris asked again.
Long Jinjing slowly lowered her hands before nodding.
Dom squealed and starting bouncing on his seat.
“How did you know?” Long Jinjing asked Iris. Then she remembered something. “Oh no. Did you hear it from our employees? Are they still gossiping about what they saw this morning? This is too embarrassing!”
“Yes, I heard it from gossip,” Iris said.
It was true that Iris heard the news from gossip. However, she didn’t overhear it from their employees. The truth was that she heard it from a certain gossip-loving, talkative white cat who told her mommy this morning that she saw her Uncle Haohao kissing her Auntie Jinjing inside the car in front of Orchidia Beauty. Tinted windows were not a hindrance to the powerful surveillance system of Iris’ AI daughter.
