Everyone present fixed their gaze intently on Mrs. Chen, their expressions taut with tension.
Jiang Yutong was the sole exception; she sat calmly, savoring her dessert and sipping red wine.
Mrs. Chen gripped the microphone and announced loudly, "To be honest, the reason I am wearing this veil is that my face has not fully healed."
The hearts of the wealthy socialites sank with a dull thud, plunging once again to rock bottom.
They had initially felt a glimmer of hope upon hearing Mrs. Chen's earlier remarks, but it seemed there was no recovery after all...
The two reporters also whispered amongst themselves. "So, she hasn't recovered. That means the ointment is useless."
"Too bad. The traffic for a recovery story would be much higher than a failure."
Everyone felt that recovery was impossible.
If she had recovered, it would be a massive twist, guaranteed to generate explosive web traffic.
"Just keep filming. Some traffic is better than none," one reporter said.
Yet, he had a hunch that Mrs. Chen would not disappoint him.
Mrs. Chen listened to the murmurs around her and smiled.
Let them misunderstand.
The deeper the misunderstanding, the more powerful the impact would be when the reversal came.
Jiang Yutong's company had done her a massive favor, and she was determined to repay it properly.
A minute later, Mrs. Chen finally spoke again.
"Now, I will remove my veil and let everyone see the results of using these skincare products."
The chattering voices ceased instantly.
Once again, all eyes were focused on Mrs. Chen's face.
Although Mrs. Chen claimed her face hadn't healed, she was among the first batch of victims to develop skin issues.
Everyone wanted to see the current state of her face.
Mrs. Chen placed her hand on the edge of the silk scarf covering her face.
She didn't remove it immediately.
Instead, she said, "I'm going to count down from ten. After ten counts, I will remove the scarf."
"Ten."
"Nine."
"Eight."
"..."
As the countdown progressed, the tension in the room mounted.
Jiang Yutong raised an eyebrow.
Mrs. Chen's family was indeed in the tech and media business; she certainly knew how to build hype.
"Three."
Mrs. Chen continued counting.
"Two."
"One."
As the last number fell from her lips, Mrs. Chen gripped the edge of the scarf and pulled it away with a flourish.
Her face was revealed to the crowd.
"This—"
Everyone present widened their eyes in disbelief.
"Am... am I seeing things?" someone stammered, shocked beyond coherence. "Has Mrs. Chen's face actually recovered?"
"It looks like it. I saw her a week ago; her face was festering and rotting. Now, there isn't a single trace of it left."
"Th-this is absolutely incredible."
"I've asked almost every famous doctor in Yundu, and they all said there was no cure. Could Mrs. Chen really have recovered just by applying that ointment?"
Hope reignited in the eyes of the wealthy ladies.
"Wait, could she just be wearing makeup to make her face look this good?" one lady questioned skeptically.
To have a rotting, festering face recover in just one short week was simply too unbelievable.
"I doubt it. With a face like that, wearing makeup would ruin any chance of recovery. Besides, her face was festering so badly; even heavy makeup wouldn't be able to cover that kind of damage."
"That's true."
The reporters were equally astounded.
Recovering from their shock, they couldn't help but ask, "Mrs. Chen, didn't you just say your face hadn't recovered?"
"I said it hadn't fully healed," Mrs. Chen clarified.
The wealthy ladies and the reporters recalled Mrs. Chen's earlier words.
She had indeed said... it hadn't fully healed.
"Mrs. Chen, hasn't your face completely recovered?" Mrs. Fang stared at Mrs. Chen's face and asked curiously.
"No, not completely. There are still quite a few marks. Mrs. Fang, you can come closer and take a look," Mrs. Chen invited.
"Let me see."
Mrs. Fang stepped closer and indeed saw that there were still faint traces on Mrs. Chen's face that hadn't completely faded.
"It really hasn't fully recovered!"
Mrs. Fang couldn't help but ask, "Mrs. Chen, will these marks on your face really disappear completely?"
Even if it was impossible to restore her face to its original state, she would be satisfied if she could just reach Mrs. Chen's current condition.
Mrs. Chen smiled. "It should be able to be restored as good as new. It's just been a short time. In another week or two, it should be perfect."
A wave of excitement washed over Mrs. Fang and the group of wealthy ladies below the stage.
"Wonderful! This is absolutely wonderful! I never thought recovery was actually possible."
"Yes, yes, exactly! The famous doctors said there was no hope for my face, but to think it can actually be cured."
If she recovered, her husband wouldn't run off to find other women.
She wouldn't have to worry about a mistress taking her place in the household.
"Mrs. Chen," Mrs. Fang asked, suppressing her inner agitation, "may I ask what method you used to restore your face? Was it Jiang Tong Company's ointment, or did you find a specific doctor?"
The wealthy ladies pricked up their ears, listening intently.
Mrs. Chen smiled and replied, "I didn't use anything else. I only used the ointment provided to me by Jiang Tong Company."
"It was Jiang Tong Company's ointment that gave me a new lease on life. I came to this banquet specifically to promote my benefactor, and of course, my most important goal is to recommend this ointment to all of you."
The wealthy ladies discussed excitedly among themselves.
"Thank goodness! That ointment really works. My face can be saved."
"Right? I thought I was going to be like this for the rest of my life. I didn't expect Jiang Yutong's company to actually have such capabilities."
"Since the ointment works, their other skincare products must be safe too."
"This Jiang Yutong is truly impressive. To develop such effective skincare products at such a young age... her company's products are going to sell out instantly."
Hearing their discussions, Jiang Yutong curled her lips in a proud smile.
How could it not be impressive?
This skincare product was developed by her own cousin.
He had created the ointment as well.
"Today, I take full responsibility for my words. I guarantee that the ointment developed by Jiang Tong Company can indeed treat the damage caused by the Lin Qingwan Supreme Series skincare line."
Mrs. Fang said gratefully, "Mrs. Chen, thank you for telling me all this."
Mrs. Chen smiled and said, "Mrs. Fang, you'd better hurry and buy the ointment. Once this gets reported, you might not be able to get your hands on it."

with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!