A few days later, a subsidiary of the Brown Group got trapped in a scandal.
There was a storm of boycott against Splendidflowers Brown on the Internet.
Splendidflowers Brown, short as SF, was a luxurious female clothing brand that the Brown Group had
developed in recent years. The design of Nathan Murphy, the chief designer of SF, was so audacious
and chic that it magnetized celebrities.
SF’s sales had been increasing while the Brown Group’s had been spiraling downwards.
At the beginning, all the staff in SF assumed that the protest would cease soon, but it only intensified.
The demonstration blocked their stores, and their sales plunged down consequently.
And the Brown Group’s reputation was tainted.
The boycott set the whole Brown Group in a pandemonium.
Noah rushed to the company for a board meeting even though he’s not fully mended. “Rita, Zoe, I can’t
have dinner with you, I gotta go to the company.”
“What happened? You aren’t recovered yet, why do they summon you?” Zoe sat in the sofa, her eyes
thick with concern.
“It’s SF, a subsidiary. Just some problem that needs me to handle. Don’t worry, it’s no big deal.” He left
hurriedly then.
Rita’s eyes glimmered when she heard her father mention Sf.
She had changed the fate of Hers and Charlotte’s. But still, this scandal of SF still happened in her
present life.
She’s been trying to find a way to enter the board in Brown Group, now the opportunity presented itself.
She could demonstrate her ability to the cranky old men in the board by handling the scandal, and then
she may be granted a seat in the board.
“Mom, I have an appointment with a friend. I’m not having dinner at home tonight.” She got to her feet.
Grabbing a coat just anyhow and left the house.
“All gone?” Zoe glanced down at the dough she’s kneading. “Whatever, guess I’ll have the dumplings
with mom.”
Rita went to the nearest SF store after she left home.
She found the store immediately when she got in its vicinity thanks to the protesters at its doorway.
She found some reporters with cameras among the congregation.
“Boycott Nathan! Boycott SF!” A girl bellowed.
“Boycott Nathan! Boycott SF!” the rest of the crowd echoed.
A protest intense like this was unprecedented, and it all stemmed from the adultery between the
designer Nathan and a female celebrity called Bella Colt. They were spotted making out in a fitting
room.
The girl was not so famous, but her husband was the most popular soap opera star at present.
His name was Raymond Colt. He had a huge fanbase, most of which were students.
The fans were enraged when they found out their idol got cheated on.
They rallied to block SF stores and boycott Nathan while cursing Bella on the internet.
“Girls, new leaks!” a girl yelled as she looked at her phone. “This user says that Bella and Nathan still
went out together after they got caught.”
“Disgusting.”
Another girl cursed, the anger in her eyes blazing so fiercely as if it were to burn the whole store to the
ground.
“Hey! Check it out! Bella just held a press.” Some said hastily.
And then for an instant, all the fans clicked on the video to see what the press was about.
In the video, Bella was all tears. She claimed that Nathan took advantage of her while she was
changing clothes.
And the fans bought it. Now all the attacks were aiming at Nathan.
It was only an online boycott at the beginning, but now it had escalated. More and more people join the
protest be they a fan or not.
“We’ll just stay here. I want to see who buy a cloth form SF now that everyone knows how disgusting
they are.” A fan said as she raised the board in her hands, on which wrote slogan boycotting SF.
Rita frowned as she looked at the agitated fans.
She than raised her eyes to look at the second floor. And for the first time, she understood why would
Nathan end his own life at such a young age.
A lie, once told too much by too many people, might become a truth.
Rita sighed, and then she bypassed the demonstration and came to the rear door of the store.
Meanwhile on the second floor, someone was standing by the window. His face, handsome, looked
miserable in the dimness. And when he saw the slurs on the boards outside the store, his fists
clenched.
Then his phone rang, intruding on his brooding. “Hello…”
“Nathan，did you see Bella’s press?” on the other side of the phone, his assistant sounded rattled.
Frowning, Nathan searched for the press online and clicked on a video.
When he heard how Bella pin all the faults on him, anger flared in his eyes. “Bullshit!”
“Nathan, the board has decided to suspend you from work.” The assistant chewed her lips. “Stay at the
studio, Nathan, don’t go anywhere. Let me know if you need anything, I’ll bring it to you.”
“Alright.”
Nathan replied curtly. But then he smashed the phone onto the wall.
Suspension?
Funny. It’s likely that the board would hold a press tomorrow and fire him to appease the protest.
Those cranky old fools would not try to defend him. The only thing they cared about was money.
A few days had passed since photos of him and Bella were released on the internet. And those crazy
fans had been stalking him and cursing him, his life was a total mess now. Under such great pressure,
he began to depress.
And Bella’s press was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
All his explanations would be to no avail now, he knew it, nobody would trust him.
Despair and wrath planted the thought of suicide in his mind.
He reached for the knife on the table and attempted to cut his own wrist.
But a shadow ran up to him and grabbed his knife-hand. “Death indeed could end this. But you won’t
be freed, it’s going to sail your sin.”
A girl’s voice, clear, rang beside his ear. Nathan paused.
Then he laid his eyes at the girl talking to him. He snorted. “At least, it’s better than to live with such
humiliation.”
“I believe you, I will prove your innocence and redeem you as a designer.”
Once again, Nathan paused.
Rita snapped the knife out of his hand and threw it in the dust bin before he came back to himself.
He studied Rita in disbelief. “You?”
“Rigth, me.”
“Stopping kidding, girl. Even the law team of the company can’t help me, how are you going to help
me?” he did not believe a girl around twenty would do better job than those professionals.
Rita had anticipated such reaction from him.
She straightened her back and insisted. “I know you don’t believe me. But why don’t you give it a shot.
There’s nothing else you can do anyway. Maybe I can pluck you out of this morass, who knows?”
Give it a shot?
“Don’t yield so soon. Maybe there will be a miracle.”
The positivity of hers infected Nathan. For the first in these days, he laughed. “For real?”
Rita smiled. “Real or not, just give it a shot, and you’ll see. I believe one can control his own fate.
“Why would you help me?” confused, Nathan asked.
Rita faded her smile and got serious. “Because I want to get into the head office.”
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