"I'm very sorry, Madam," the receptionist's smile was flawlessly perfect, "We cannot accommodate you without an appointment."
Cen Ya caused a scene several times, but the receptionist blocked her with the same, as if recorded, attitude.
Cen Ya had no choice but to leave in frustration.
However, leaving like this felt incredibly unfair.
As she was brooding, her phone suddenly rang. Cen Ya glanced at the caller ID; it was Lin Shuangshuang.
Since her return to the capital, Lin Shuangshuang was the most enthusiastic among her friends.
Although Lin Shuangshuang had been indifferent when Cen Ya was confined by the Ou family, she had since sincerely apologized. Moreover, Lin Shuangshuang had explained that she hadn't refused to help, but rather hadn't found a suitable opportunity.
Therefore, Cen Ya had magnanimously forgiven her and they had become friends again.
Cen Ya pressed the answer button, and Lin Shuangshuang's excited voice came through the receiver, "Qinya, I saw a dress in the central plaza that's perfect for you. Come over quickly and take a look!"
Cen Ya, feeling dejected, replied, "I'm sorry, Shuangshuang, I'm not in the mood right now."
Lin Shuangshuang's heart skipped a beat. Had she been dragging Cen Ya around shopping for days and making her pay each time, causing Cen Ya to become displeased?
"Qinya, what's wrong?" Lin Shuangshuang asked tentatively. "You're always so kind and generous. Are you still angry with me about what happened before?"
"No, it's not that, Shuangshuang," Cen Ya unhappily told her about being turned away at Taoxun.
Lin Shuangshuang was utterly speechless. Although Ye Qinya had changed her identity, her mind was still the same! Why would Ye Qinya be so foolish as to cross Ye Zhi?
She had proactively provoked Ye Zhi last year and even caused trouble for her. However, after suffering a loss at Ye Zhi's hands, she knew that Ye Zhi was not to be trifled with. Therefore, even when her family's Yunhan Trading faced difficulties, she never dared to target Ye Zhi again.
But things were different now.
The current Ye Qinya had transformed, becoming wealthier than before and spending more lavishly. With Ye Qinya's help, their family's company had been directly saved, and she had also benefited considerably.
Now, Ye Qinya was her patron, and she could definitely keep Ye Qinya happy!
"Ye Zhi is going too far!" Lin Shuangshuang said indignantly. "Qinya, you are a Duke's daughter now, with a noble status! You were being considerate of your past sisterly bond and wanted to give her a chance to meet your family, but she is ungrateful!
Don't worry, I'll help you get revenge! I'll find someone to write an article right now, exposing her arrogance and how she missed out on attending the Duke's banquet, and post it online! Let's see if her company can still operate!"
Cen Ya was very pleased with her words, but she said with some hesitation, "Shuangshuang, isn't that bad? I don't want to affect her career..."
Lin Shuangshuang rolled her eyes speechlessly. She immediately said, "Then let's focus the article on the receptionist, saying she lacks professional ability and looks down on people. We'll let Ye Zhi understand what she missed out on!"
Cen Ya's previous troubles immediately vanished. "Then let's do as you say, Shuangshuang, but don't go too far."
"Qinya, don't worry!" Lin Shuangshuang sneered. She wasn't stupid; why would she really escalate the situation and offend Ye Zhi?
Afterward, Lin Shuangshuang quickly found someone to write an article, using subtle language to tell the story of an arrogant receptionist who refused a visitor, only to find out that visitor was a Duke's daughter, and the company missed out on a big business deal.
Only at the end did the article name the receptionist in the story as belonging to Taoxun Company.
Lin Shuangshuang had someone post this article on a small forum with very few users and then hired many internet trolls to collectively mock Taoxun in the comments section.
Afterward, she showed this post to Cen Ya, thus not offending Ye Zhi while making Cen Ya happy.
However, Lin Shuangshuang didn't expect that after reading the post, Cen Ya would indeed be happy. But she then took screenshots of the post and submitted them to gossip accounts on Zhiwei, paying them to promote it.
Soon, the post became popular on Zhiwei.
In the evening, just as Ye Zhi had brought Zhao Cai back from Qi Xuan's house, she received a call from Zhan Ruoqing.
"Ye Zhi, Cen Ya came to see you today. Did you deliberately avoid her?" Zhan Ruoqing asked, gloating.
Ye Zhi looked bewildered. "She came?"
Zhan Ruoqing: ...
The whole world knew, but Ye Zhi, the person involved, didn't?
She speechlessly told Ye Zhi about the post online.
"I think I understand what's going on..." Ye Zhi said, suddenly realizing. "Last year, I gave the receptionist a photo of Cen Ya and instructed her not to let her into Taoxun. I didn't expect the receptionist to remember and block her today.
The receptionist probably didn't take it seriously and didn't report it, so she did a great job. I should give her a raise. By the way, what are people saying online about this?"
"What else could they be saying?" Zhan Ruoqing scoffed. "Of course, they're all mocking that Duke's daughter!"
After a brief chat, they hung up. Ye Zhi opened Zhiwei to see what people were saying online.
【Wait! This story is wrong! The receptionist in the story followed company policy, she clearly did nothing wrong!】
【Clearly, that so-called Duke's daughter didn't make an appointment in advance. Does she really think she's so noble that she can get to see Mr. Ye by throwing a tantrum? Ha, if you want to meet, did you launch a satellite?】
【Exactly! What's so great about being a Duke's daughter? She's not even from our country! When the Prince and Princess of the L Kingdom divorced, the crown that had been passed down for years was divided by their daughter-in-law! The royal family is like that, what's a Duke? I even have a title from the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; I can buy one for a few hundred on Taoxun, am I showing off?】
【If throwing a tantrum really worked, I'd definitely go to Taoxun and throw a tantrum to get a job there! I don't need anything else, just the front desk position!】
【If no one wants the front desk, I'll take the security guard position!】
【If none of you are competing, then the security guard is mine!】
...
Ye Zhi looked at these comments with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. If Cen Ya saw them, she would probably cry.
Cen Ya did see them, and she did cry.
Lin Shuangshuang called her late at night to comfort her, "Qinya, they're all lying to you. Those are all paid trolls from Taoxun. Who wouldn't admire a Duke's daughter and instead want to sweep the floor at a company..."
She continued to comfort Cen Ya for a while before convincing her that what was online were all Taoxun trolls.
"Shuangshuang, do you think Ye Zhi will definitely not come to my banquet?" Cen Ya asked, distressed.
ps
My computer is broken, suffering, so there's only one chapter today, sorry.