Volume One, Chapter 14: Shu Ya, You’ve Lost

After she finished replying, it was like cold water poured into boiling oil, sparking countless sneers.

“Is she crazy? Who does she think she is, daring to compare herself to Zhu Ting? Zhu Ting graduated with straight A’s in Fragrance Chemistry from Kyoto University.”

“Heh, she’s certainly brave.”

“There’s no helping it. Housewives like her have been dumbed down by staying at home too long; they lack any self-awareness.”

No one believed Shu Ya could win, not even Manager Chen.

Manager Chen thought to himself: Miss Shu was personally named by the higher-ups to be treated well. If she leaves on the first day, the leadership might blame him for poor management. But it’s not his fault—Miss Shu insisted on competing against Zhu Ting. He can’t afford to offend either of them.

Shu Ya was naturally upset hearing all this, but she didn’t argue. When everyone thought she was incapable, what good would it do to protest? It would only make them mock her more. Only by defeating Zhu Ting could she gain a voice.

Shu Ya asked, “How shall we compete?”

“I won’t make it difficult for you. Let’s do the most basic test—scent recognition.” Zhu Ting glanced at her disdainfully. “Surely you understand this?”

Of course she did. It was the fundamental skill of a perfumer.

To become a good perfumer, one must have a keen nose, capable of distinguishing subtle differences between various ingredients. A top perfumer can identify how many kinds of ingredients are in a single fragrance.

Her mother had trained her this way since childhood.

“All right,” Shu Ya agreed to this method of competition.

Zhu Ting then looked at Manager Chen. “To be fair, Manager Chen, please mix a perfume for both of us to smell.”

Manager Chen was stunned. “Me? I’m in HR—I don’t know how to do this.”

Zhu Ting was impatient. “You don’t have to make it smell good. Just put the ingredients in randomly. If it smells bad, so be it. We’re just identifying the materials by scent. You’re not making perfume to win awards, so it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad.”

Well, that was true.

Three minutes later, Manager Chen placed the perfume in front of them.

Sniffing it, Shu Ya glanced at him. Not only could he not mix perfume, but his nose must be faulty. No normal person could mix ingredients into such an indescribably foul, pungent stench that not only irritated the nose but seemed to burn down her throat!

An overpowering, harsh scent made it extremely difficult for a perfumer to identify the ingredients inside—a true test of skill.

Before the five minutes were up—about four minutes in—Zhu Ting straightened up.

“I’m done.”

Meanwhile, Shu Ya was still frowning, deep in thought.

Fortunately, once Shu Ya concentrated, she ignored the outside noise and didn’t hear the dismissive remarks: that Zhu Ting finished in four minutes while she was still brooding, the winner was already decided.

Such words would only affect one’s mindset.

There were just a few seconds left before the five-minute mark.

If they went over time, it would be an automatic loss.

Three... two... one...

The pen scratched the paper.

“I’m done too,” Shu Ya said, lifting her head.

“Give me the list of ingredients you wrote down,” Manager Chen instructed.

Shu Ya handed hers over. Since her paper was beneath Zhu Ting’s, Manager Chen took Zhu Ting’s first.

When Manager Chen mixed the ingredients, several perfumers nearby had seen what he used and gathered to check Zhu Ting’s list, offering their comments.

“Zhu Ting is amazing, she got everything right!”

“There were over a dozen ingredients mixed in, and the smell was so pungent, yet Zhu Ting identified every single one. How did she do it? Even my teacher couldn’t.”

“Well, that’s why she’s a top student from Kyoto University’s Fragrance Chemistry program.”

“Is there even a point in continuing?”

“Let’s just call it—Zhu Ting wins.”

Manager Chen had no personal ties to either of them and no vested interests, so he was relatively impartial. Seeing Zhu Ting’s complete accuracy shocked him. These perfumers’ noses were sharper than dogs’.

As for Shu Ya...

From his perspective, she shouldn’t even be competing against Zhu Ting. Not because he looked down on her—he was just a low-level manager who had worked his way up and had no right to judge anyone. He only dealt with facts. A housewife with connections couldn’t compare to a career professional.

She shouldn’t have accepted the bet.

“Now, I announce the result of this match...” Manager Chen declared loudly, “The winner is...”

Everyone held their breath.

Zhu Ting lifted her chin arrogantly.

“Wait!” Shu Ya interrupted indignantly.

“You haven’t even looked at what I wrote. How can you declare her the winner?”

Zhu Ting glanced at her. “Could it be you?”

“Why can’t it be me?” After all the ridicule, now they wouldn’t even grant her the most basic fairness—declaring Zhu Ting the winner without seeing her answer.

She could not tolerate such unfairness.

“All right, all right. Then let’s see what nonsense she wrote. It’s just that I’ll be declared the winner a minute later—I can wait,” Zhu Ting said with an air of superiority, certain of her victory.

Others were displeased too.

“What’s the point? She can’t possibly win.”

“Exactly, wasting our time.”

“Annoying.”

Still, they picked up Shu Ya’s paper.

At first, they looked at it with scorn. A housewife couldn’t possibly list the ingredients correctly; she probably didn’t recognize most of them. Let’s see what she could come up with!

First ingredient—correct.

Second and third—also correct.

It seemed Shu Ya had some skill.

Then...

The sixth, seventh...

The first ten ingredients were all right.

The perfumers couldn’t help but raise their heads and look at Shu Ya. Didn’t they hear she’d been a housewife for six years, a woman who had accomplished nothing? How could her scent recognition be so advanced? Better than most of them.

Could it be she, like Zhu Ting, got everything right?

They swallowed nervously.

No way.

That would be too incredible.

They continued reading seriously.

By the end, their eyes nearly popped out.

What was this?

“What’s with these expressions?” Zhu Ting saw their shocked faces and stepped over, snatching the paper. “Let me see what she wrote that’s got you all so rattled.”

She read the list of ingredients one by one.

Zhu Ting grew more and more stunned.

Yes, all correct!

How could a housewife have such ability to stand toe-to-toe with her?

Until she saw the last ingredient.

Shu Ya had written one more than Zhu Ting.

It was—

Sweat.

Zhu Ting couldn’t help but laugh. Was that even an ingredient? Shu Ya was overdoing it, adding something unnecessary at the end. But that made Zhu Ting sigh with relief; if she tied with Shu Ya, it would be embarrassing.

Luckily, Shu Ya had done herself in.

Zhu Ting raised her chin.

“She added something that isn’t in the perfume, so the winner is me. You may announce it.”

Her position as chief was secure.

And she had successfully driven Shu Ya out of the company.

This woman did have some talent, but she had to leave—the chief position belonged only to her!