Chapter 145: Yinling Wellness Center (11)
Perhaps because she had gotten a taste of the benefits, Madam Ji couldn't wait for her husband to experience it too, so the very next day she brought Mr. Ji to Chongsheng Club.
Through her well-behaved performance, Ji Ning again managed to tag along for the outing.
From the couple's conversation, Ji Ning pieced together that, to secure this queue-jumping slot for Mr. Ji, Madam Ji had paid the manager double the money.
She secretly clicked her tongue—this maintenance fee was far too steep.
Leaning against the passenger-side window, Ji Ning shielded her phone screen and reported her whereabouts in the group chat ahead of time.
Lemon Cake: I didn't expect them to be this eager. I'll be getting another massage service soon.
Jiang Ting: Yanshu is free.
Number 9 Poker-faced Technician: Has anything unusual happened?
Lemon Cake: Yes, I feel like Madam Ji got younger again this morning. Even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes are gone—the change is so drastic it's a bit eerie.
Lemon Cake: It really is like time flowing backward.
As it turned out, what Ji Ning saw was nothing compared to how bizarre the truth really was.
When the private car arrived at the club again and Madam Ji stepped out, her hand merely brushed against the hard edge of her bag, and a patch of skin immediately tore off.
And it wasn't a superficial scrape on the epidermis—it was more like a flap of flesh had been peeled straight back.
Like using a chopstick to poke through the paper-thin skin glazing the surface of a whole stewed chicken that's been cooked to the point of falling apart.
"Ah!" After a closer look, Madam Ji shrieked in fright, gasping in shock and nearly fainting.
Mr. Ji supported her as he strode into the building, loudly demanding answers: "Where's your project manager? Come and see what's happened to my wife!"
Following behind, Ji Ning's gaze tracked Madam Ji's hand, and she then noticed that the skin all over her body seemed to have become plump and translucent, increasingly resembling a child's skin.
Mr. Ji was making such a scene that people were staring, and the manager hurried over very quickly, ushering the couple into a private reception room. Once again, Ji Ning was left outside.
Before they moved out of earshot, Ji Ning caught the manager explaining that this was a sequential effect of the maintenance program, which would make the skin extremely delicate, so soft a puff of breath could break it.
Ji Ning felt that the manager's explanation was entirely made up to placate the customer—and he was brazenly lying through his teeth.
Afterward, during the interval while Ji Ning waited in the lobby, several more waves of customers arrived in succession. Among them were players, some with a child identity like hers, and others who were themselves high-tier customer identities.
In each instance, players receiving different identities meant they would come into contact with different clues.
For example, in this instance, a player with a customer identity who could access the fifth floor would easily learn the content of the services, whereas Ji Ning and Jiang Ting's group had to go through considerable effort to investigate before finding out.
But that didn't mean the former would have an easier time clearing it.
Based on Ji Ning's experience, every instance was like a math problem with numerous possible solutions—all roads lead to Rome. The only catch was that players needed to dig out clues thoroughly, untangle the connections, avoid misdirection, then pair all of it with puzzle-solving imagination, plus course correction from hint clues—and, a little bit of luck was required as well.
As these thoughts ran through her mind, she sent everything that had just happened into the group of three.
At the same moment, the private room door was opened and Qin Yanshu walked in.
The instant she saw his face, Ji Ning remembered that mis-sent voice message from the day before.
Making sounds during a hands-on massage was one thing; having someone hear a naughty voice clip she sent behind her back was another entirely.
Ji Ning immediately lowered her head, not daring to meet Qin Yanshu's eyes.
The soft sound of footsteps reached her, and soon his feet stepped into the scope of her floor-directed vision.
"Miss Ji has ordered 'Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon' today. Is it because you were not satisfied with last time's 'Floral Squirting'? May I trouble you to answer? We have a follow-up survey for switching services that needs to be recorded and submitted."
Ji Ning never imagined that her attempt to switch to a service that looked more innocent, in order to reduce intimate contact with Qin Yanshu, would land her having to answer such a question.
That promotional video for "Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon" began with peach blossoms blooming in snow; it must be some sort of peach blossom essential oil massage, she figured.
Of course she couldn't say anything about dissatisfaction, lest it affect Qin Yanshu, so she could only answer him simply: "No, that's not it. I was very satisfied. I just wanted to try out a few more services."
Head lowered, Ji Ning didn't see the faint trace of helpless helplessness that flickered through Qin Yanshu's eyes.
In that case, he couldn't be blamed.
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