My Queen, My Rules - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Bundling" or "tying" sales is something of an unspoken industry rule. The most widely known instances of this in luxury goods are with the three popular Hermès bags: the Birkin, the Kelly, and the Constance.

For instance, a 1:1 ratio means that for a bag priced at one hundred thousand yuan, you must purchase one hundred thousand yuan worth of other designated products from the same brand before the sales associate will even give you the opportunity to buy the bag. The required ratios vary depending on the location and the specific store.

Ji Mingshu was naturally aware of these practices, but rules—whether overt or covert—are meant to be broken.

When you are a top-tier socialite—one who wears diamond-encrusted Himalayas, dons Samer diamond rings, sports Chanel haute couture, and has an annual spending floor in the eight-figure range—the sales associates at any top-tier luxury boutique in the world will throw their doors open and welcome you with a smile.

When Jiang Chun and Ji Mingshu were still on bad terms, she had heard that Ji Mingshu didn't need to bundle products to buy Hermès, and she assumed she was bragging or secretly buying fakes.

As a result, she was bombarded and fiercely debunked by Ji Mingshu’s "plastic" gal pals, who went on and on about how prestigious "Shushu's" treatment was and how all her limited editions were sourced through auctions, blah blah blah.

In the end, Ji Mingshu had smilingly concluded, "There is no luxury good you can't buy with money. If you can't buy it, it’s only because you aren't rich enough yet."

She owned nearly seven hundred Hermès bags, more than a hundred of which were her beloved Birkins—a collection more comprehensive than most boutiques. Having been immersed in the world of luxury for so many years, not a single clueless sales associate had ever dared to suggest she "bundle" her purchases.

To encounter this now in a podunk place like Star City was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was a second-tier makeup brand; the prestige wasn't up to par, yet their airs and rules were grander than those of a top-tier luxury house.

A brief silence descended upon the first floor of the mall. Customers and beauty advisors from other cosmetics counters turned to look toward Ji Mingshu upon hearing the commotion.

An Ning, standing beside Ji Mingshu, was completely bewildered—even more so than when the sales associate had told her about the bundling requirement.

Her... her little sister-in-law was just too, too domineering.

The sales associate whose lipstick had been thrown was also frozen in shock.

In truth, although the lipstick had been thrown in her direction, it hadn't actually hit her.

The tester landed exactly at the edge of her high heels, about a hand's width away. It left a rose-red smear on the floor, and the lipstick bullet snapped into two pieces.

However, a rather fast-reacting, effeminate man at the counter stepped forward to size up his colleague, then unceremoniously demanded, "Miss, if you have any complaints, you can just say them. There's no need to resort to physical actions, right? What is wrong with you?"

This effeminate man radiated the specific energy of a second-tier city "queen" who was half-baked, loved to look down on others, and shared the same three treasures of customer service as his colleague: rolling his eyes, giving a nasty look, and speaking in a catty, sarcastic tone.

Ji Mingshu chuckled, "I’m just this kind of person. Whatever attitude you show, you get right back from me."

The man hadn't looked closely before, but now he scanned Ji Mingshu from head to toe. His attitude shifted significantly, though he still stood in solidarity with his colleague, adopting a strictly official posture.

"Miss, bundling is our brand's policy. If you have a grievance, you don't need to vent it on us. We’re just lowly employees; we can't influence decisions from the top!"

"Brand policy? Come on then, I’m turning on my voice recorder. Say exactly what you just said one more time."

Ji Mingshu was almost amused, "Ning Ning, look up the Consumer Association’s phone number. Ask them which brand our country has authorized to force tie-in sales and engage in coercive trade. You’re really letting a little power go to your head, thinking you’re something important just because you work behind a counter."

The man had spoken without thinking, and the moment the words left his mouth, he knew he’d messed up. Seeing how serious Ji Mingshu was, his face turned deathly pale.

After all, even at a store like Hermès, if you walk in and ask about the quota for a certain bag, the sales associate will only smile and say they don't require bundling, then vaguely hint that you might want to look at jewelry or ready-to-wear instead.

It is safe to say that no brand dares to explicitly state that their policy mandates forced tie-in purchases.

More importantly, bundling was merely a recent trend among counters. These beauty advisors made up these rules to meet their own sales targets. If this were to actually reach corporate, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Ji Mingshu saw right through their guilt and scoffed, "Being a beauty advisor has really spoiled you, hasn't it? Who are you catting at and giving nasty looks to? I think your delusion that the brand belongs to you just because you stand behind the counter should be listed among the world's three great misconceptions."

She swept back her hair, folded her arms low across her chest, and continued, light as air, "I don't want to waste any more effort on people like you. Apologize to my sister. If she’s satisfied, I’m satisfied."

An Ning was baffled once again.

She hadn't thought to ask for an apology, but now, if she were to act cowardly and say, "It's fine, it's fine," wouldn't that be slapping her sister-in-law in the face?

So, she could only watch as the man and woman, after exchanging hesitant glances for a long moment, bowed to her with extremely ugly expressions and said, "Miss, we are sorry. Our service attitude was poor. It won't happen again. Please forgive us this one time. If you still want the lipstick, we can help you wrap it up."

An Ning didn't know whether to speak.

Ji Mingshu stood to the side, indifferent, and said, "My sister isn't quite satisfied yet, so I’m not quite satisfied either."

Before she had finished speaking, the two bowed even deeper. If their previous apology had been through gritted teeth, this one felt like the resignation of someone who realized, "Forget it, there’s no good outcome to be had if we provoke this woman."

An Ning glanced at Ji Mingshu before stammering, "Oh, it, it's okay. I don't want the lipstick."

Anyone who could continue to use this brand's lipstick after suffering this kind of petty grievance would have to be a steel-willed warrior on the level of a Ninja Turtle.

Since An Ning had accepted it, Ji Mingshu didn't press the issue further, swiftly ending this small skirmish before security arrived.

Afterwards, the female clerk whose lipstick had been thrown remained sitting at her counter, crying with a miserable face. Ji Mingshu ignored her entirely, linked her arm with An Ning's, and swept through the entire floor, picking out more than thirty lipsticks for her.

By evening, Ji Mingshu and An Ning returned to the Star University faculty apartments.

The thought of climbing to the sixth floor made Ji Mingshu feel like the muscles in her legs were cramping; she was quite reluctant.

So, she told An Ning to take the goods up first, using the excuse that she had a few more phone calls to make.

An Ning didn't think much of it and carried the spoils Ji Mingshu had gathered upstairs.

Once she left, Ji Mingshu sat in the car and sent Cen Sen a WeChat message.

Ji Mingshu: [Are we staying here for dinner?]

Ji Mingshu: [I can't climb the stairs. Come down and pick me up qaq]

She waited for three minutes, but Cen Sen didn't reply.

Just as she was about to grit her teeth and climb up anyway, the car door beside her was suddenly pulled open. She turned her head and met Cen Sen’s gaze.

"You... not staying for dinner?"

Cen Sen hummed a "yes," his expression flat.

Ji Mingshu still clutched her phone, hesitating as she asked, "How did, how did your chat go?"

Cen Sen looked at her.

Ji Mingshu paused, immediately sitting up straight, adopting a serious face that said, "I’m only asking out of politeness; I don't actually care to know."

"It was fine."

He gave another two-word answer.

Ji Mingshu gave a perfunctory nod and looked out the window.

After a while, she suddenly remembered something. It seemed her mission as a spy had reached the crucial moment of reporting her intelligence.

She raised her phone, staring at the WeChat interface for a while. After doing this three times, she finally clicked on Cen Ying-shuang's chat box.

But after typing a few characters, she couldn't remember what she was thinking of, so she long-pressed the delete key and cleared the content.

Snitching on her "sugar daddy" actually made her feel a little guilty. She decided to chat with her girlfriends for a bit first to practice her technique.

After chatting for about five or six minutes, Ji Mingshu suddenly turned and tapped Cen Sen.

Cen Sen was resting with his eyes closed. After two taps with no response, she leaned over and forcibly pried his eyes open with her index finger and thumb.

Who would have thought that the driver for the Star City branch wasn't as used to Cen Sen's preferences as his regular professional driver? Seeing the couple being intimate in the rearview mirror, he lost focus and ended up right in front of a red light, forcing him to slam on the brakes!

Ji Mingshu was already leaning, and the sudden inertia of the braking sent her falling forward. Just as she was about to hit the floor, Cen Sen reached out and caught her.

After a flurry of dizzying movement, she lay on her back across Cen Sen’s lap, staring straight into his eyes.

"..."

Ji Mingshu didn't blink.

Not to mention, this "dog man" was actually quite handsome. Even at this deadly angle, you couldn't see anything like a double chin—that face-ruining weapon.

After looking for half a minute, she finally came to her senses, bracing herself against Cen Sen’s legs to sit up properly. She cleared her throat and brought up the real issue.

"I, I have to tell you something. Actually, it's just that, the little aunt told me that if you have any contact with the An family, I should notify her because the old man is a bit worried. At the time, I thought you wouldn't necessarily be in contact with the An family, and even if you were, you wouldn't necessarily let me know, so I agreed. But I didn't expect..."

She paused, "A person shouldn't break their word, right? So, I’m just giving you a heads-up that I’m about to snitch."

Cen Sen: "..."

Seeing him stay silent, Ji Mingshu peeked at him again, then picked up her phone and pretended to snitch, while in reality, she was crazily chatting with Jiang Chun and Gu Kaiyang in the group chat, distracted as ever.

But suddenly, without warning, Cen Sen snatched her phone and said calmly, "No need. I’ll explain it to Grandfather myself."

He scanned the phone screen. He had intended to message Cen Ying-shuang, but after clearly seeing the content, he paused.

Ji Mingshu: [Should I snitch to the Cen family? If I snitch, will this dog man cut off my financial source? Is it ungracious to betray my sugar daddy?]

Gu Kaiyang: [How about this: you tell your man directly that you’re going to snitch to his grandfather. This way, you appear to be suffering from the pangs of conscience, when in reality you’re just a straightforward, simple girl who doesn't put on airs. If your man has any sense at all, he’ll say, "I’ll go say it myself," so you don't offend either side.]

Jiang Chun: [You can do that... ?]

Jiang Chun: [Stunned.jpg]

Jiang Chun: [Editor Gu is truly Editor Gu. Not in vain the only strong career woman among the three of us. Respect!]

Ji Mingshu: [What if he’s just completely clueless?]

Gu Kaiyang: [Is President Cen's image in your mind really that low? Surely not?]

Ji Mingshu: [He’s always been that low. Whatever, I’ll try it first.]

Two minutes later.

Ji Mingshu: [Woooo! Gu Gu is truly my precious smarty-pants! I love you!!!]

Gu Kaiyang: [Another victory for the pure female college student. /Smirk]

Ji Mingshu: [Skill "Frank and Innocent Little White Lotus" Lv. 1 acquired!]

Cen Sen paused, then glanced at the group name—

"Pure Female College Students Online Chat Group (No Horses Allowed).”