Chapter 36: Adding fuel to the flames
He didn’t say anything else, but he still looked pale and downcast, occasionally glancing at his own hands and body. Xu Si saw his despondency and thought it was the trouble of growing up. It’s okay. Growth is like that. She can give him time to grow slowly.
「Before March arrived.」
The precipitation increased. The entire Hong Kong Island was in the midst of wind and rain. The streets’ drainage systems malfunctioned, causing water to congest to a high level.
Merchants in the old Xu Family mall were injured by falling building materials due to their own cost-cutting and improper construction. They bled profusely on the ground. After a hospital examination, it was determined they only had superficial wounds.
The mall’s management was clever, representing the mall by sending condolences and gifts.
However, someone had greased the palms of the media, which sensationalized the incident. Many people were superstitious that year, so the rumor that someone had died in the Xu Family’s mall quickly drew widespread public attention.
Despite the mall issuing a notice and the company immediately sending a lawyer’s letter to warn the press, their reputation still took a hit. Public opinion continued to ferment.
The incident was neither big nor small. It was just disgusting.
When Anshi mentioned it, he pushed his glasses up heavily, his tone somber.
"Miss, I’ve asked reporters. It was done by the young master of the Xie Family. He also opened a mall this year, right opposite us. He copied our model completely, even poaching our veteran employees. Speaking of which, he is your classmate, named Xie Ming. If this continues, our mall losing customers will be a small matter. But with endless troubles, no one will want to come in, and it’s the reputation of the brands that will suffer."
Xu Si sat on the second-floor terrace, painting a bustling building. Holding her paintbrush, she dabbed a touch of red paint and applied it to the building’s main entrance, contemplating each stroke carefully.