CHAPTER 470: CHAPTER 470: WHATEVER

Before Ruby Sullivan released her statement, Henry Linden came to Nirvana.

"Mr. Sullivan, I know coming over might be a bit abrupt, but my boss is in a bad emotional state lately. I’m willing to apologize on her behalf, but I hope when you clarify the situation, you might consider... her. I’m afraid she can’t handle any online bullying right now."

Henry Linden was also an old employee of The Sullivan Group, and he had always worked with Rhonda Sullivan. Such loyalty was indeed rare.

Ruby Sullivan thought of Rhonda Sullivan’s condition last time and frowned slightly, but she didn’t show any extra concern.

"To preserve Nirvana’s reputation, I will certainly make a statement without mentioning Miss. However, I can’t guarantee that it won’t incite online bullying. You know how crazy netizens can get..." She shook her head with a bitter smile.

As someone who had benefited from online exposure before, how could she not understand that feeling?

After seeing Henry off, Ruby Sullivan fell into a dilemma about how to explain.

The complications between her and Rhonda Sullivan were numerous, and even if this time Miss wasn’t involved, imaginative netizens might link it to that side.

Ruby Sullivan spent a whole day worrying about the statement, trying to use the incident of her blending the tuberose fragrance as an explanation, but Howard immediately shot it down.

"You say you copied the tuberose scent, isn’t that like saying you copied Miss this time too?" Howard looked at her sideways, with an expression as if implying her intelligence should be taxed.

Ruby Sullivan blinked and suddenly felt Howard made a lot of sense. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"You’d better notify Henry to prepare himself mentally. This kind of thing can be big or small, and if not handled well, it could be Nirvana’s permanent blemish, and in the future, any achievements might be taunted as a copycat," Howard suggested.

Ruby thought that it was Miss’s fault in the first place, and Henry’s plea seemed a bit manipulative. She couldn’t joke about her company to protect Rhonda’s fragile ego.

In the end, they decided to publicly disclose the design concepts of each fragrance and some problems encountered during the blending process, along with solutions, without mentioning Miss. This transparency was full of sincerity and basically gave small companies a blueprint to imitate.

Ruby Sullivan felt this also clarified Nirvana’s stance: not only do we not copy, but we’re also not afraid of being copied, showcasing their confidence.

However, netizens weren’t convinced, feeling these were just excuses. Such reasons could be concocted by the dozens, and they strongly demanded Miss to come forward and defend her rights too.

Recently, Ruby Sullivan watched the drama unfold online and felt that those believed to be titans clashing weren’t even qualified. It was the netizens’ mutual banter that was truly extraordinary, making one feel it wasn’t something ordinary people could achieve.

Ruby Sullivan was frustrated, thinking they were overly concerned with these random online arguments. How many of Nirvana’s audience were even online?

She rolled her eyes inwardly, immediately posted on Weibo: Whatever. After posting, she uninstalled Weibo, feeling thoroughly relieved.

She didn’t realize her rather arrogant response unexpectedly awakened a sense of realization among netizens, thinking that if Wenny were indeed to copy, she’d choose a fragrance of The Lawson Group’s caliber and not something like Miss. Soon, Miss’s supporters disagreed, questioning what’s wrong with Miss. It’s both pleasant and affordable, not to underestimate young girls’ struggles. Miss is the fragrance that allows even poor girls to feel elegant!

Phoebe Lawson, typing a series of comments defending Miss on her phone, felt significantly more at ease.

After being kicked out by Rhonda, she couldn’t find a job. All the resumes she sent to fragrance companies vanished like stones in the sea, knowing she had been blacklisted. For a living, she worked as a waitress in a restaurant, which was tough but paid decently.

She hadn’t given up on becoming a perfumer. Since she couldn’t find opportunities domestically, she planned to search abroad. With her experience at The Lawson Group, she believed she could find a good job, but before that, she needed funds to go abroad.

However, things later turned out not to be as smooth as she imagined. In youth, it’s inevitable to make impulsive mistakes, but some mistakes shouldn’t be made as they might crush your cherished dreams.

*

In the blink of an eye, the talent show Stella Jennings participated in reached its final performance. Aidan Sinclair hadn’t intervened throughout, nor did he stop other agencies from approaching Stella. But the young girl had her own ideas and stubbornly rejected all the signing offers, betting her future on making it to the top seven and debuting.

Stella’s performance hovered between fourth and fifth place, essentially securing her debut barring any surprises.

Aidan Sinclair had already planned that if the young girl was determined to be an idol, he’d focus on working out, anyway, he was still young; he could wait for four or five years, or at least three or four years, maybe two or three.

On the day of the performance, Ruby Sullivan accompanied Aidan Sinclair to the venue for support, witnessing Stella narrowly miss debuting by finishing eighth in the final vote results.

The young girl spoke tearfully on stage, while Aidan Sinclair listened with mixed emotions in the audience.

After the performance, Stella sat crying alone in the dressing room, and her PD brought Aidan Sinclair and Ruby Sullivan over, took a peek inside, and sighed, "You should really comfort her."

After the PD left, Ruby Sullivan patted Aidan Sinclair’s shoulder, "I think it’s your turn to go in."

Aidan Sinclair’s eyebrows twitched, suddenly feeling timid, "What about you?"

"I’ll stay here and watch the show."

"Hey!"

Ruby Sullivan widened her eyes, "Hey what? Our Holly is still a minor, I’ll stay and make sure you don’t commit a crime!"

Seeing her righteously assertive manner, Aidan Sinclair cast her a sweaty glance and pushed the door open to enter the dressing room.

Seeing him, Stella quickly wiped away her tears, "I knew you’d come. Wenny didn’t come?" She tilted her head to look behind him.

Aidan Sinclair, feeling a bit jealous, casually explained, "She went to the restroom, she’ll be here soon. Are you okay?"

"A bit bummed." Stella looked up with a smile, though her eyes were still teary.

Aidan Sinclair rubbed her head, "You don’t have to go back to the base, right?"

She nodded, "I can move around freely. I have to move my luggage out tomorrow." Although she spent three months living with a bunch of girls her age at the training camp, she didn’t really make good friends. While she was a little reluctant, it was still okay.

Aidan Sinclair put an arm around her shoulder, "Come on, let’s go home and celebrate your graduation from the training camp. You’ve worked hard these days."

Stella laughed bitterly, "I didn’t even debut, and you’re celebrating? Uncle, are you mocking me?"

Aidan Sinclair sighed, resigning, "I’m your uncle now, how could I mock you?"

Hearing this, Ruby Sullivan covered her mouth, almost laughing out loud. Nothing is probably more hurtful than "you’re a good person" except maybe "you’re my uncle."