“Then, you better listen. I am Shen Lingqing, Director of SY Holdings and the manager of Savory Alley.” Shen Lingqing introduced herself to Yang Fangjin. “If you sign a contract with me, as promised, I will arrange for your sister to be sent to a better hospital to get the treatments she needs.”
When He Haotian brought her to the red-light district to meet this young man, she was half-tempted to beat Yang Fangjin beyond recognition for even daring to lay his dirty paws on her. Did he even realize how awkward it was for Shen Lingqing to be seen in a red-light district to fetch a chef she was trying to recruit?
It also didn’t help that she was a looker, and that brought some unwanted attention towards her.
“SY Holdings?” Yang Fangjin blinked. “You mean you’re a relative of President Shen and Chef Lu who own Blue Haven and Grace Palace?” He asked in disbelief.
The demon princess pressed her lips into a thin line. She should have been used to it already, but she couldn’t help but be annoyed by it.
“They are my parents. What about it?” Couldn’t people think of her as her own person first, not the daughter of two prominent figures in the industry?
“You are that person?” Yang Fangjin exclaimed, which only soured Shen Lingqing’s mood.
As if he realized that he had said something wrong, Yang Fangjin immediately apologized to Shen Lingqing.
“Boss, I wasn’t really trying to hit on you earlier. If I knew you were there to hire me as a chef earlier, I wouldn’t have done it.” This time, his complexion was visibly paler than usual, now that he was aware of Shen Lingqing’s identity.
Damn it. Shen Lingqing wouldn’t hold it against him, right? Now that he had a chance to send his sick younger sister to a better hospital that could tend to her, he couldn’t have ruined it by offending the demon princess, right?
Liu Jinfei and Lin Xiao could only watch the two in shock. Neither of them couldn’t believe that a person like Shen Lingqing would agree to go to a place like the red-light district just to see and meet Yang Fangjin. Was she really that desperate to recruit this young man for their team?
Liu Jinfei wasn’t impressed by what Yang Fangjin did to their boss. Their little miss surely didn’t deserve to be in a place like that, and it surely would mar her reputation if people knew about it. If he knew that Shen Lingqing would come to such a place, he would have volunteered to go on her behalf.
Shen Lingqing scoffed and looked away.
“No harm done. I’ll forgive you this once, but if you dare to touch me again, I’ll be sure to break each of your bones to teach you a lesson.”
“I promise never to do it again, Director Shen! Just… just don’t kick me out, please.” Yang Fangjin finally realized that he needed to hug this golden thigh in front of him if he wanted to help his sick sister to get better.
Shen Lingqing didn’t say more to him. Instead, she diverted her attention to Liu Jinfei and Lin Xiao.
“Since the two of you are here, can you taste the rest of the sweets I haven’t tried yet?”
“Sure, Director Shen. No problem,” Lin Xiao immediately agreed. If he was able to help Shen Lingqing—even for just a little, he would willingly do so.
However, that couldn’t be said for Liu Jinfei who immediately stiffened the moment he heard Shen Lingqing’s request. He looked at her and was caught off-guard when he found her staring back at him with such clear eyes that could see past his cold mask.
“Alright.” He conceded, wondering if this was yet another taste test Shen Lingqing was trying to pull to know the extent of his problem.
He and Lin Xiao took turns and tried the sweets Yang Fangjin made for Shen Lingqing to try. Both of them agreed that the quality of the sweets was on par with the popular pastry shops back in the capital. No wonder Shen Lingqing wanted to recruit Yang Fangjin so badly for their team, so bad that she would even step to an unusual place just to get what she wanted.
“This is wonderful. I haven’t eaten such a tasty Egg Custard Tart for some time now,” Lin Xiao admitted, while Liu Jinfei remained silent as he chewed his meal.
At least he was still able to taste the sweetness and the tanginess of some pastries Yang Fangjin made. He didn’t make a comment and only agreed with his fellow chef through nodding, although Liu Jinfei already suspected that Shen Lingqing and Chef He were already aware of his problem.
“I knew you would agree with my opinion towards him.” They heard He Haotian say to Shen Lingqing. “So, are you going to bring him along with you back to the capital tomorrow?”
“We don’t have any choice, right? His sister needed to be transferred to a bigger hospital, so she could get the chemotherapy she needed.” Shen Lingqing then glanced at Yang Fangjin. “We also can’t let her brother roam around and allow him to drown in debt just to make ends meet.”
Yang Fangjin swallowed an invisible lump at that. Well, she was right. He might be able to avoid those loan sharks to whom his father owed money, but the son wasn’t faring better than the father these days. If he didn’t agree with Shen Lingqing’s terms, then he would be allowing his best chance to slip.
“We’re going back to the capital tomorrow afternoon. If you still have unsettled business here, I’m only giving you a day to finish all of it,” she said as she remembered her prior talk with Liu Jinfei last night.
Shen Lingqing was about to leave when Liu Jinfei called after her.
“Director Shen, can I have a word with you? It’s quite important.”