CHAPTER 469: CHAPTER 469: COPIED OR NOT COPIED

The Aldrin Clan’s office building isn’t easy to barge into. Rhonda Sullivan had been waiting downstairs for two days, hoping to catch Tyler Aldrin coming to work. Finally, she saw him and charged out of her car, splashing a bottle of hot sauce mixed with chili water in his face, only to be immediately subdued by Tyler’s bodyguards.

Tyler screamed in pain, unable to open his eyes, "Lock this bitch up!"

At that moment, Henry Linden stood to the side shouting, "Let her go immediately, or I’ll call the cops!" He was recording them with his phone, clearly scared but not backing down.

"You’ll call the cops? Hell, I’ll call them first! What are you idiots standing around for? Call the cops!" Tyler shouted in a rage.

An hour later, Henry got Rhonda out of the police station, settling the matter privately by compensating Tyler two thousand yuan.

Rhonda, her face cold, got into the car with Henry, slightly turning toward the window. After the car had driven a while, she hoarsely said, "I don’t want to go home." She no longer had a home.

Jack hadn’t filed for divorce, suggesting they take some time to cool off, but he had blocked all communication with her and vanished from her life. How was that different from a divorce?

"To the office?" Henry tested the waters.

Rhonda sneered, "You want me to go to the office and become an exhibition panda? Did you enjoy munching on the gossip about me?"

Henry sighed, knowing explanations were useless, so he said nothing more, aimlessly driving around the ring road until he heard Rhonda’s breathing deepen. He glanced sideways, "Mr. Sullivan?" With no answer, he finally exhaled a long breath.

These days, Rhonda had been unable to sleep peacefully. If she could get some rest in the car, that would be great.

Later, Rhonda locked herself at home, refusing to see anyone. Henry checked on her health daily, suggesting yoga to help her adjust. A cushion hitting him as a response quickly dismissed the idea.

She was perfectly healthy. She didn’t need any exercise; she was just missing her husband, just that!

As the days went by, Henry worked from her home, bringing along all the documents that needed her signature, pushing Rhonda back on track. Initially, she wanted to throw those papers at Henry’s head, but gradually, she got accustomed to it, the daily business keeping her mind off missing Jack.

In no time, it was summer, the day Nirvana’s "Sweet Lovers" series perfume collaboration launched. On the release day, a popular internet influencer, Nox, promoted it via livestream, drawing in an enthusiastic crowd and far exceeding the day’s expected sales.

In the following days, the perfume and game products had a perfectly reciprocating effect. Many gaming girls fell in love with Nirvana’s perfume, while many of Nirvana’s fans became interested in the romantic game.

With perfume purchases, players received in-game items, and game downloads came with perfume coupons. Many girls, who never played games before, got hooked, enchanted by the virtual characters.

Even though the collaboration initially sprang from the Ops Director’s partiality towards Nirvana, it was an unprecedented success.

Ruby Sullivan credited half the achievement to Luke. If not for his last-minute bold redesigns that avoided plain visual overlaps, they might have faced criticism on launch day.

She officially promoted him to the head of the design team. Though Belle and Cici were initially sour, they eventually accepted his promotion.

This experience led Ruby to rethink how to manage a business and its staff, presenting a small personal advancement.

Another delight was Serena Jansen.

Ruby had presumed Serena to be a brainless athlete type at first, knowing Serena majored in criminal investigation, a field seemingly distant from perfumery. Yet, Serena quickly mastered the foundational tasks Ruby gave her, and even the basics she needed to memorize. Her analytical approach, drawing from psychological dialectics, to guess preference by smell was impressive—a veritable treasure hunt of a girl.

Ruby’s days were full of surprises during this period, except for one small letdown: Ethan was still on a business trip to Bellaza. Their recent contacts were through video calls, adjusting slightly for the time difference.

Perhaps with her workload eased, her longing for Ethan grew as if a seed planting in her heart turned into a towering tree daily, though she dared not tell him, lest he get too smug.

Yet, amid all this harmony, discordant notes surfaced online with a video comparing Miss "Sweet Love" and Nirvana "Sweet Lovers" series, pointing out that Miss’s five perfumes smelled almost identical to Nirvana’s five corresponding character perfumes, just cheaper.

The blogger wasn’t really bashing either but noted scent overlap wasn’t unprecedented, with luxury brands sometimes mimicking known scents.

Subsequently, explainer posts highlighted how top perfumers could determine a perfume’s core ingredients at first scent. Although the launch times differed by a month, someone of Ruby’s caliber could replicate it if she wanted.

Moreover, many noted that of Nirvana’s series, only "Cupid’s Arrow" maintained the brand’s unpredictable signature quirk, spiraling theories if they only crafted that one and copied the rest.

Ruby was furious at the nonsense articles, while Howard’s investigation showed no orchestrated campaign behind the plagiarism accusations, only spontaneous netizens’ opinions.

"Should we release an official statement?" Howard found the situation absurd, initially not caring,

but seeing the voices growing, and fearing damage to Nirvana’s reputation, he reconsidered.

Ruby helplessly murmured to think about it but tweeted later that night, "Are you forcing me to become a science blogger?"

It was meant casually, but unexpectedly, it incited a buzz, forcing demands for the truth—if copied, admit it; if not, explain it clearly and boldly.

Ruby was amused and exasperated, recalling one perfume employed various materials to mimic tuberose while avoiding causing sleep issues for sensitive individuals. Would that count as her copying tuberose?