Taohuaxi Street.
Inside the Pixie Pet Store.
Customers had arrived one after another to pick up their pets. Su Ping received many positive reviews. One-third of those customers placed another order on the spot for another round of training for their pets.
The other two-thirds stated that they would return when they saved up enough money.
With the release of the new advertisement, the number of customers going to the store increased drastically. By noon, the store and the street outside became fully packed.
Luckily, the street was in a remote area. Therefore, huge crowds would not impact traffic.
“You have offended many people this time.”
Tang Ruyan looked at Su Ping, confused. She found him scheming and crafty back when she met him in the Mysterious Realm. She had suffered a great loss. But here, Su Ping was resolving this matter by impulse, like any average young man would.
Su Ping replied, “I am merely informing the public about something I can do.”
“There are some things that can only be done, not spelled out.”
“You are talking about crimes. I’m not committing a crime.”
“You’re not, sure. But you’ve angered the public.”
“I won’t fear public anger when I am not guilty.”
Tang Ruyan darted him one final gaze and went to greet the customers without saying anything else.
Her eyes were glowing as she looked at the people coming in.
Su Ping called Mu’s Star Entertainment Agency. “Help me release the name of the would-be champion. I will give you the name later.”
“Well, Mr. Su…”
“Yes?”
“Here is the thing. Miss Mu is going to cancel the contract. Do not worry. We will compensate you for the liquidated damages according to the contract.”
“
“
Su Ping did not know what to say.
He would have never imagined that at this critical juncture, the first to hurt him was not someone from his enemies, but the spokesperson he had hired.
Canceling the contract would become another trending topic, which would cause many negative reviews about his store.
Never mind.
Su Ping did not comment on it further. “Then, about the advertisement…”
“Mr. Su, rest your mind. About the advertisement, if needs be, we will finish it according to the contract. We are sorry that we are forced to cancel Miss Mu’s contract. She is not feeling well and cannot show up in public recently. I am so sorry…” On the other end of the call, Song Lu apologized politely. Su Ping curled his lips. Not feeling well?
That excuse was so far-fetched that he was unable to complain. “It’s ok. Just follow up on the advertisement as usual.”
With that said, he hung up.
On the other side, as soon as the call ended, the apologetic smile on Song Lu’s face disappeared immediately. She would have never apologized to a wacko if she didn’t know that this Su Ping had some strong connections and assets, like Venerable the Blade and the Inferno Dragon, which spoke volumes about Su Ping’s strength.
By canceling this contract, her company would fail to make money. To make it worse, they would lose money. They had to hire some PR partners to help them restore their reputation and deal with the aftermath. Most of this expenditure would be deducted from her salary. She believed she was heading to some hard days this year.
“I no longer have a spokesperson. Lucky for me, my store has become well known and I can do without a spokesperson. The Inferno Dragon is my best asset.”
Su Ping didn’t worry too much about Mu Shuangwan canceling the contract. He just felt sorry. When he first met that girl, she seemed to be kind. However, even before a major disaster, she would rather cut ties with him and pay for his damages.
Were they so doubtful of him?
Su Ping shook his head. He went back to tend to the customers coming to his store.
A young man came to the counter and said politely, “Sir, I’m here for my Flame-tail Hound.”
He had been the first to show up and purchase the Top 100 package from Su Ping. Back then, he was offended by Su Ping’s confidence, so he deliberately gave Su Ping a third-rank Flame-tail Hound for the training.
Not long after the young man left, he learned about the Inferno Dragon and the series of contests between him and the Primo stores that went down since the night before. Only then did the young man realize the strength of the store.
This store couldn’t compare to Primo but it was much better than other pet stores. The young man regretted having acted in such a domineering manner the other day.
“Yes.”
Su Ping remembered this young man who had engaged him with some trash talk the day before.
He saw from his notebook that the young man’s name was Feng Yifeng.
Su Ping told Joanna to pick up the Flame-tail Hound.
When Peng Yifeng saw Joanna walking toward him, he was unable to peel his eyes off from her. He had never seen anyone so beautiful.
Woof, woof! While his mind was lost in Joanna’s beauty, he felt something had bumped into his chest. The Flame-tail Hound threw itself at him; he could see the excitement in its doggy eyes.
“Take him to the test room,” Su Ping said.
Joanna said to the young man coldly, “Follow me.” Then, she turned around and left without waiting, as if the young man were merely her minion. Peng Yifeng hurried to catch up with her.
A moment later, when he came out of the test room, Peng Yifeng was filled with admiration.
He regretted his decision from the day before. If he had known about this impressive effect, he would have given Su Ping his strongest pet. If he had done so, he would have a bigger chance of making it to the Top 100.
“Sir, thank you. I am sorry about yesterday.” Peng Yifeng came to the counter and apologized. Su Ping replied, “Since you remember what you said yesterday, then do it.” Peng Yifeng appeared to be reluctant. He claimed that he would apologize in public if the effect turned out to be outstanding and that he would smash the store if not. At the moment, he could not be happier about the effect. That being said, to apologize in public…
He wanted to save face.
“Sir, well…” He took a look. Since more customers were coming in, his face blushed even more. Su Ping cast him a glance but said nothing. He was busy with other customers. “Sir, do you still have the championship package? I want that.”
Several people ran to the counter, led by Zhou Chuan who had just left Su Ping’s store. On his way, he saw the new advertisement Su Ping had posted and he hurried to drive back.
He would rather have the championship than the Top 10.
To become the champion, he would have to spend one hundred million, which was a bit much for him, but he could make it happen.
Su Ping said, “You are too late. Someone has booked it.”
Zhou Chuan did not expect this. “Who is it?”
“I won’t tell you right now,” Su Ping refused to give a name.
“Can you tell me the surname at least?” Zhou Chuan was not giving up.
“Su,” answered Su Ping.
“Su?”
That was unexpected.
He had thought it would be someone from the other store, but no.
That was a bit of a relief. That person surely was a child of some common rich and powerful group.
“Sir, you did not lie to me, did you?” Zhou Chuan wore a straight face on purpose, trying to sound him out.
Su Ping remained calm. “You will see the name later. Or maybe, the name is already out on the internet.”
Zhou Chuan searched the internet in a rush.
Soon, he saw the latest update from the Pixie Pet Store. It was the name of the would-be champion!
-Su Lingyue!
He had never heard of it before.
He didn’t remember seeing this name amongst the famous young talents in the Longjiang Base City.
The person had to be a girl, judging by the name.
“Sir, are you serious?” In disbelief, Zhou Chuan looked up at Su Ping from his phone screen.
“When she wins the championship, you will most certainly verify her identity. I cannot change other people’s names, can I?”.
That was reasonable. Both the Pixie Pet Store and Primo played high stakes in this gamble. The names on the lists they had posted would be searched by the public. It was unlikely that they could lie about the identity of those people.
Zhou Chuan inwardly sighed but said no more. He felt sorry but that was all. He wasn’t disappointed. After all, whether he could make it to the final round was still in question. For him, making the Top 10 cut was a more reliable deal.
“I understand. Bye. I will come back to pick up my pet tomorrow.” Zhou Chuan waved his hand and left without wasting another second.
Not long after he left, more customers arrived. Some wanted the general training, while others wanted the Top 100 package. Several customers, out of curiosity, asked about the championship deal. They all received the same answer, that it was no longer available.
Peng Yifen was still standing there, seized with complicated feelings. Eventually, he worked up the courage and apologized in a loud voice when the store was less packed.
Blushing, he bowed to Su Ping and then ran away.
After this, Peng Yifeng became a more prudent person. Su Ping did not mind if Peng Yifeng meant his apology or not. However, since he had promised that he would apologize, he had to deliver on that promise. People had to be accountable for their words and that applied to everyone. Soon, Liu Ping also showed up for his pet.
Su Ping told Joanna to get the Shadow. The test blew Liu Ping’s mind. He was sincerely convinced.
Liu Ping had experienced many stunning events thanks to being part of the Liu family. Still, the training speed and effect had astounded him.
He believed that with this training and his strength, to make it to the Top 100 was a sure thing. Even making it to Top 10 was a possibility. “Sir, the championship package, will it work?” Curiously, Liu Ping asked. He had seen the name of the person who had bought this package. He wasn’t trying to fight for it. Besides, Liu Ping was fully aware of how angry the Liu family was because of Su Ping’s actions. He would have been beaten to death as soon as he went home if Liu Ping had chosen the championship package.
At the very beginning, it was merely Su Ping and Liu Yuan who were competing. However, currently the entire Liu Family was confronting Su Ping. Liu Ping had decided to cancel the service he had bought there.
Liu Ping was heavily disguised and his entire face had been covered up. At first, Su Ping found it strange. And yet, as he recalled the situation, Su Ping felt he could understand Liu Ping. He admired the latter, as a matter of fact. Liu Ping had dared to go there in the teeth of the storm, so he had to be another dude with no sense of family honor. “You will see when the Elite League begins,” Su Ping answered.
Liu Ping looked at Su Ping solemnly. He felt that this young store owner was not bluffing. Besides, the change in the Shadow had shocked him. He was sorry that he couldn’t go along with the training there. For the first time in his life, Liu Ping felt his family was dragging him down. Previously, he had to rely on his family for protection and benefits. But this time, his family did get in his way.
He knew that canceling the training there would be a huge loss.
Nevertheless, he had no other choice.
Once the family head knew about this, he would be convicted of supporting the enemy, which was not acceptable in the family.
Liu Ping shook his head and cautioned Su Ping, “Sir, you have said words that easily offend people. As far as I can tell, the other major families are unhappy about this. Do… take care.”
He regarded those words as his sincere advice, as a way to repay Su Ping’s kindness for training his pet.
Sure, he did pay for the training. But judging by the effect, Liu Ping knew that he was the winner in the deal.
The family’s connections were one thing. He could leverage that and at the same time, he hoped to develop his own connections, such as Su Ping. Su Ping was an unfathomable man and even Liu Ping could tell that Su Ping’s story could not be simple. That was why the other families did not crack down the store immediately.
If it were any other store, they would have been shut down if they ha dared to be so arrogant.
For those major families, closing a store would be a piece of cake. They didn’t have to take care of it themselves. Urban Management could do it for them.
Liu Ping still chose to cancel the follow-up service. But he explained his reasons politely to Su Ping.
Su Ping understood it and refunded him.
After Liu Ping left, Su Ping went back to attend the other customers.
The advertisement had stirred up a huge sensation. Many people doubted the feasibility of this deal and believed that it was a publicity stunt. Still, many people thought that merely saying those words was a display of the store’s strength.
Whether the store could do it or not was one thing. After all, not everyone had the courage for talking big.
At around two in the afternoon, the store had become overly packed with customers.
Joanna informed Su Ping that all the spaces in the store had been taken.
Su Ping checked his energy points. He had made more today than the day before, totaling around half a million energy points.
Altogether, he had over 1.3 million energy points.
He didn’t spend many energy points on the latest training outing since he had barely died. He had merely paid for the admission.
Counting the admission alone, Su Ping could have visited the Archean Divinity. Unfortunately, he couldn’t because he had no inside man like Joanna in the Archean Divinity. He would do nothing there, other than dying. Finally…. with 1.3 million energy points, he could upgrade the pool! Su Ping was thrilled about the prospect.
“Sorry, all places are full. Please come back tomorrow.”
Su Ping apologized to the customers. The space of the store was limited. He couldn’t take in pets nonstop. That would leave him no time for training.
The customers in line could not believe what they had heard.
Full?
Many customers had learned about Su Ping closing the door, saying that the store was full. They had thought that this was a hunger marketing scheme Su Ping had pulled off on the first day. How could Su Ping remain so arrogant when Primo was cornering him?
Didn’t people say that the store owner had become desperate and decided to claim he could make a champion out of someone?
Why would he close the door when business was pouring in? Was he honestly trying to make money?!