Chapter 632: Chapter 632: Reversal
When some of her genuine fans saw the flood of negative comments under the video posted by ’Vanilla Honey Peaches,’ they started to have second thoughts.
"No way. With so many people trashing it, could there really be a problem?"
"Is this influencer just shilling for money?"
Just then, one of the paid trolls posted a link: "Everyone, look! Ding’s shampoo is trending! A consumer used it and lost a huge chunk of hair the same day, you can even see their scalp. Now they’re getting ready to sue Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory. There are pictures to prove it."
That did it. The fans were completely swayed.
"Oh my god, that’s horrifying."
"Unfollowing! Unfollowing! This influencer is shameless."
"How can you promote something that harms people just for money? Doesn’t your conscience bother you?"
Watching the fans who had once supported her turn against her, ’Vanilla Honey Peaches’ felt so wronged she was on the verge of tears.
’What do I do... What do I do...’
Suddenly, she had an idea.
’If you don’t believe me, then I’ll let you try it for yourselves.’
She posted a giveaway announcement in the comments: "To prove my innocence, I’ve decided to pay out of my own pocket to select 10 fans. Each will receive a free bottle of Ding’s shampoo. You can be the judge of whether it’s good or not."
...
「Feng City. Inside a coffee shop.」
Qiao Sen sat awkwardly by the window, fiddling with his suit and tie from time to time.
For today’s blind date, he had woken up early to shower, put on new clothes, and even spritzed on some cologne.
Across from him sat a girl with exquisite makeup, nonchalantly stirring her coffee.
"Mr. Qiao, you work in IT?"
the girl asked.
"Yes. I work a lot of overtime, but the pay is decent."
Qiao Sen tried his best to appear confident.
However, he noticed the girl’s gaze wasn’t on his face. Instead, she was staring at his shoulders with a hint of disgust.
Qiao Sen subconsciously followed her gaze.
On the shoulders of his dark blue suit, a dusting of something white had appeared at some point.
It was—dandruff.
There wasn’t a lot, but against the dark suit, it was especially conspicuous.
Qiao Sen’s face instantly flushed beet red.
He hurriedly tried to brush it off, but the more he brushed, the more flakes appeared, some even landing on the table.
The girl’s brow furrowed, her eyes betraying an unconcealed disgust.
"Um... Mr. Qiao, I don’t think we’re a good match."
The girl picked up her bag and stood up. "Sorry, I have something else to do. I have to go."
The blind date was a bust.
Qiao Sen walked out of the coffee shop, utterly dejected, and called the matchmaker.
The matchmaker was helpless. "Qiao, my boy, the young lady said she thought you were unhygienic. All that dandruff on your shoulders... it just looks... Ai, just be more careful next time."
Qiao Sen looked to the heavens, speechless.
He had clearly washed his hair.
He had just washed it that morning, in fact.
But he just had that kind of unlucky constitution.
He had terrible dandruff, and it seemed to get worse the more he washed his hair.
When other people washed their hair, it got rid of dandruff. When he washed his hair, it was like he was loosening his scalp; as soon as it dried, the flakes would just pour off.
He’d tried several kinds of anti-dandruff shampoo, from Head & Shoulders to Nizoral, but nothing worked.
Back home, he was gloomily scrolling through his phone when he happened upon that review video from ’Vanilla Honey Peaches’.
’An amazing product for oil control and dandruff?’
Qiao Sen was intrigued.
He was about to order a bottle to try, but when he looked at the comments, it was nothing but hate.
Then he checked the trending topics. Yikes.
#DingsShampooCausesHairLoss#
#PharmaCompanyCrossoverFlopsWithShadyProduct#
#BoycottDingsGiveMeBackMyHair#
Qiao Sen was so startled his hand shook.
’Is this shampoo or a depilatory cream?’
’Forget it, forget it. My dandruff is bad enough. If I wash all my hair away too, I’ll never be able to show my face in public again.’
He was just about to close the page when his phone suddenly vibrated.
A private message popped up: "Congratulations! You have been selected by the influencer ’Vanilla Honey Peaches’ as a lucky fan. You will be sent one free bottle of ’Ding’s Natural Botanical Shampoo (Regular Formula)’. Please fill in your shipping address..."
Qiao Sen froze for a second.
’Is... Is this fate?’
’Fine, might as well take what’s free.’
He casually filled in his address, but thought to himself, ’There’s no way I’m actually using this. When it arrives, I’ll just use it to scrub the toilet or wash my shoes.’
...
「Li’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.」
In between seeing patients, Li Xu was also keeping a close eye on the situation online.
The situation was even worse than he had anticipated.
Ever since Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory started promoting the shampoo, a deluge of negative reviews had poured in.
It was as if the entire internet had turned against Ding’s overnight.
At first, it was just paid trolls hired by a competitor stirring up trouble, but their opponent had deep pockets and a lot of influence, creating a massive uproar.
Repeat a lie a thousand times and it becomes the truth. Many uninformed onlookers started to believe it, and even joined in on the jeering.
This was a huge blow to the reputation of Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory.
But there was little Li Xu could do to help. He could only focus on making a good product and leave the rest to time.
Early one morning, he checked his system’s intelligence as usual.
[Today’s Intelligence: Three days ago, Wang Lifa, warehouse manager of Warehouse No. 1 at Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, accepted a one-million-yuan bribe from an agent of the Procter & Gamble Company. He secretly stole and provided shampoo samples to a competitor...]
’A mole, just as I suspected!’
The realization dawned on Li Xu.
Everything made sense now.
Why did the competitor react so quickly?
Why were they so confident in launching an all-out blockade?
It was because they had gotten their hands on the samples long ago. They knew their enemy.
A warehouse manager was indeed in the easiest position to access the samples, and also the most easily overlooked link in the chain.
Li Xu couldn’t just tell Ding Kaifang, "I know the mole is Wang Lifa," because he couldn’t explain the source of his intelligence.
But he could give him a hint indirectly.
He picked up his phone and dialed Ding Kaifang’s number.
"President Ding, I’m certain our samples have been leaked. Think about it, who has the easiest access to the sealed products? Besides the executives, isn’t there also... the warehouse?"
"The warehouse?" Ding Kaifang was taken aback. "Are you saying..."
"I suggest you look into any recent anomalies in the warehouse."
After hanging up, Ding Kaifang immediately summoned his secretary. "Go, run a check on the people in Warehouse No. 1. Has anyone resigned recently? Has anyone suddenly come into a lot of money?"
The secretary was highly efficient and returned with the results quickly.
"President Ding, something did come up. A veteran employee from Warehouse No. 1, Wang Lifa, suddenly submitted his resignation a couple of days ago, citing the need to go home and care for a sick family member. But the reason is a bit flimsy. His wife is in perfect health."
Ding Kaifang’s face instantly turned ashen.
A veteran employee who had worked for decades, who hadn’t left during the company’s toughest times, was now leaving when things were looking up and salaries had increased?
It was too much of a coincidence!
"Bring him to me. Now."
Ten minutes later, Old Wang was brought to the general manager’s office.
Seeing Ding Kaifang’s grim expression, the tightly wound string in Old Wang’s heart finally snapped.
He already had a guilty conscience, and the last two days had felt like years.
Ding Kaifang hadn’t even started interrogating him. He just slammed his hand on the desk and asked, "Old Wang, have I not treated you well? Why would you betray me?"
Old Wang’s psychological defenses completely crumbled. With a THUD, he fell to his knees, weeping uncontrollably.
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