spring bite mark

Chapter 80 Coveting the Long Night

How ugly can the socialite circle, known for its elegance and nobility, be in its eating habits?
Jiang Manman didn't take it to heart.

Until the day the Muchan store opened.

The No. 1 store is located on the luxury shopping street. Early in the morning, the merchandise was already laid out, and the newly recruited store manager and staff were in place. Jiang Manman sat in the rest area, conducting a preliminary assessment of customer traffic with Jiang Rong.

The store's decor isn't particularly outstanding on a commercial street filled with luxury clothing brands, yet every woman passing by will subconsciously glance at the eye-catching promotional photos inside, and then reflexively stop to take a second look.

Once you see it, you'll almost certainly be unable to look away.

Less than an hour after the store opened, Jiang Rong bought two cups of milk tea, handed one to Jiang Manman, and said softly:
"Madam, in just one hour, the store has received 67 visitors, but fewer than five people are actually choosing clothes."

As Jiang Rong spoke, his gaze fell on the glass wall of the store. Several magnificent glass walls were covered with huge photos of the brand's spokesperson, and at that moment, the customers were all standing in front of the photos, gasping and taking pictures, and several of them couldn't resist touching the advertisements.

Many people didn't even go into the store; instead, they stood on the street and stared blankly at Yan Changye's photo.

Jiang Manman asked with a slight trouble: "Mu Chan, has Yan Changye usurped the host's role?"

"It's just two photos. Even if they're good, people will get used to them after a while. Unlike our Mu Chan clothes, which are updated every day to keep things fresh. Don't worry, Madam, it will only take a week at most for customers to shift their attention to the products."

After Jiang Rong finished speaking, he took out his phone and called the employees who remained at the other two stores. A few minutes later, he reported back to Jiang Manman:
"The situation is similar across the three stores, except that our store is located in a commercial center, and our customers are mostly well-off women; while Shanshan's store has more students who have surrounded the store several times over, their eyes bold and enthusiastic, constantly inquiring about the spokesperson's identity."

Jiang Manman nodded and said, "Remind the people in those two stores not to let anything slip."

"Don't worry, Madam, I've already given instructions repeatedly."

As soon as Jiang Rong finished speaking, a luxury car stopped at the door, and two socialites from the capital got out. Upon seeing the endorsement photo, they looked slightly dazed.

Then, the two went into the store, and instead of admiring the photos or choosing clothes like the others, they went straight to the sales assistant and asked:

"What's your spokesperson's name? Which entertainment company do they belong to?"

The shop assistant looked embarrassed: "We are all newly hired and we don't know anything about this."

“If you don’t know, then go check.” One of the socialites said arrogantly, “I need all his information within ten minutes.”

The shop assistant apologized, saying, "We are only responsible for selling Mu Chan's clothes; we are not authorized to inquire about other matters."

“I can pay you, 100,000 yuan, for his name and identity.” The socialite’s expression turned slightly cold. “If the information is detailed enough, I’ll add another 100,000 yuan.”

The shop assistant became even more anxious: "It really can't be done. We have rules, so please don't make things difficult for us."

“My Li family has dominated the capital for many years, and we have plenty of ways to investigate individuals. If you refuse to talk, I’ll make sure your shop can’t stay open on this street.”

Another socialite tugged at Miss Li's sleeve: "Rongrong, don't do this. Muchan is the brand most favored by the Crown Prince. If you keep making a scene, the entire socialite circle in the capital will turn against you."

"Just reveal the spokesperson's information, and nothing will happen. It's just a minor celebrity, is it really worth hiding?"

Beside her, Jiang Manman walked over with a calm expression: "Since you are from the Li family, a super family in the capital, you should be more careful with your words and actions and set an example for all the major families. It is probably not in line with the Li family's way of dealing with people to coerce and entice a small shop assistant like this."

The shop assistant breathed a sigh of relief, stepped aside, and greeted the owner respectfully, "Boss."

"You're the owner of Twilight Cicada?" Miss Li raised an eyebrow and looked Jiang Manman up and down. "Oh, I think I saw you on the Night Chaser cruise ship last time. Are you... from the Jiang family?" Jiang Manman looked at Miss Li: "Jiang family, Jiang Manman."

"The Jiang family is just a minor, insignificant wealthy family, yet their daughter possesses such exceptional poise." Miss Li's tone softened slightly. "Since you're the owner of Muchen, you must know about the spokesperson. Since we're both from the elite circles of the capital, why not do me the honor and introduce me to him?"

Jiang Manman sighed softly, "Miss Li will be disappointed; he is not a person in the entertainment industry."

“It doesn’t matter if he’s not in the industry.” Ms. Li was still determined. “Or you can pass on a message to him for me, and tell him to come with me. I’ll offer him five million a month. If he wants to get into the industry, I can make him a top-tier star.”

Jiang Manman said with regret, "He already has a family."

"It doesn't matter if he has a family, as long as he's willing to divorce, I'll give him another ten million in divorce fees in one lump sum."

"Miss Li, are you determined to have him?"

“Even if you can’t see a man’s face clearly, just his top-notch allure is enough to make you, Miss Jiang, not be tempted.”

Jiang Manman paused for a moment: "I remember that Miss Li is already engaged to the eldest son of the Zhu family. Miss Li suddenly had the idea to raise a canary. Do the Li family and the Zhu family have any objections?"

"Young Master Zhu is a dissolute himself, how dare he tell me what to do? It's an arranged marriage between wealthy families, everyone does their own thing, I don't care about the Zhu family's opinion."

"And what about the Li family?"

Jiang Manman pointed to the entrance, where another luxury car stopped. The second young master of the Li family, with a dark face, led his bodyguards inside, looking aggressive, yet solemnly reminding them not to touch the flower baskets at the store entrance.

Miss Li looked at Second Young Master Li in surprise: "Second Brother, what brings you here?"

"If I hadn't come, the Mu Chan store would have suffered losses, and Yan Changye could have broken my bones." Young Master Li gave her a disdainful look. "You just wanted to go shopping, why did you have to provoke Jiang Manman? And your temper, which explodes at the slightest thing, look at yourself, where is your air of a socialite?"

"I've already toned it down a lot! Today's incident was sudden." Miss Li pointed to the endorsement photo, "Brother, look for yourself, doesn't he look incredibly like Yan Changye?"

Young Master Li scoffed, "Nonsense! You can't find anyone in the entire capital with the kind of wicked and destructive qualities that Yan Changye possesses, like Daji who brought ruin to the country."

After saying that, he casually glanced at the endorsement photo, and the next moment, a "Holy crap" stuck in his throat.

Unlike Miss Li, who had only seen Yan Changye a few times from afar, Second Young Master Li was a regular in Yan Changye's circle of friends and acquaintances, and was extremely familiar with Yan Changye!

He stared blankly at the endorsement photo for a long time, and when he looked at Jiang Manman again, the admiration in his eyes was impossible to hide:

"Jiang Manman, how did you convince him—"

Jiang Manman interrupted, "I asked him to send you a message, not for you to listen to gossip."

Young Master Li coughed lightly, suppressing his immense curiosity but refraining from asking further. He grasped Miss Li's hand: "Come on, let's go back."

"Brother! All I want is a man. Don't you have a whole bunch of women on your side?" Miss Li shook off his hand.

Young Master Li laughed in exasperation: "If you want to find a man, you can find any outside, but not this one."

“But he looks so much like Yan Changye!” Miss Li’s eyes suddenly reddened. “Brother, I’ve been chasing Yan Changye for over ten years. I’m obsessed with him! Now that I can’t have Yan Changye, can’t I find a substitute?”

(End of this chapter)