Liu Jinfei opened his mouth to say something, but he found himself speechless, unable to rebut any of Shen Lingqing’s words. Never in his life did he depend on someone’s help or allowed people to get involved with him on a personal level.

He feared that despite the fact that he wasn’t part of the Liu family anymore, his relatives would only cause trouble to those who were close to him to spite him. Ever since he was twelve, he had relied on himself and made sure that he wasn’t indebted to someone.

However, as he looked at Shen Lingqing’s serious face right now, he couldn’t find it in himself to deny her. In fact, more than anything, Liu Jinfei didn’t want to fail her or to disappoint her.

But why? He wondered. How come Shen Lingqing could evoke such emotions from him that he wasn’t aware he had in the first place?

‘It feels weird but heartwarming at the same time,’ Liu Jinfei thought as he smiled at Shen Lingqing who was waiting for his response.

“I appreciate your willingness to help me, Director Shen. I’ll do my best to cooperate with you,” he answered.

Shen Lingqing hummed and gave him a curt nod. It’s good that Liu Jinfei understood what she was saying. There was no way she would admit defeat this early. She only needed to play and use the cards in her hands well.

“As for things like this, you shouldn’t keep them to yourself. Don’t be ashamed to ask for help. I know men could be prideful at times, but this isn’t the right time for that. Recognize reality and accept it. It isn’t too hard to admit that you need help.”

“I understand. Then, do you have a plan, Director Shen? Have you given it a good thought?” Liu Jinfei asked.

Since Shen Lingqing was already aware of the problem, there was no way she would have prolonged and waited for it to get out of hand.

“I’ve already tested your sense of taste during our first day here, and I can tell that you are having issues not only with the tasting saltiness. Even your ability to taste sweetness is starting to diminish.”

Liu Jinfei wasn’t expecting to hear that from Shen Lingqing. He had thought that only his ability to taste saltiness was the problem.

“H-how can you be so sure?” He asked in disbelief.

It wasn’t like he didn’t trust Shen Lingqing, but the idea that his inability to taste was progressing faster than he expected… how would he be able to deal with it? It only made him aware of what could happen once all the taste was lost to his palate.

Shen Lingqing eyed the slice of cake in front of her, which she specifically asked to bake for this meeting with Liu Jinfei.

“Take the cake and have a good taste of it. Then, tell me what you were able to taste.” She gestured at the cake, her eyes never leaving the man seated in front of her.

Liu Jinfei swallowed the invisible lump in his throat and eyed the slice of moist chocolate cake that was waiting for him to try. He eventually picked up a fork next to the plate and took a bite from it.

He expected it to be overly sweet, but it wasn’t. What’s more, it was almost too bland for his liking. Like the person who baked this cake had somehow forgotten to use sugar to sweeten it. Even the slight sweetness from the milk… he couldn’t taste a hint of it.

“There’s sugar and milk in it. You couldn’t tell?” Shen Lingqing voiced his thoughts.

The fork on Liu Jinfei’s hand fell and made a loud clunk sound. He stared in shock at Shen Lingqing who already expected this to happen.

“How… how could this happen to me?!” He gripped the side of his head as he bent forward.

No wonder Shen Lingqing couldn’t set it aside. The problem was more serious than he expected it to be!

There was momentary silence between the two as Shen Lingqing gave Liu Jinfei enough time to collect his thoughts and calm down. To lose one’s ability to taste, it only made her realize that her absolute tongue might not be much of a curse as she thought it was.

For years, her superb palate had made her unable to enjoy foods her peers had made for her. It also made her sensitive to the food she was eating, missing its fun experience.

Shen Lingqing was bothered by her ability, but to see Liu Jinfei’s reaction as he realized that he was slowly losing his sense of taste had somehow created turmoil in her heart.

She shouldn’t be bothered by it. It was Liu Jinfei’s problem—not hers, but why couldn’t she look away and terminate the contract just like he said earlier? It would save her a lot of trouble in the future if she cast him aside now before he could affect her future plans.

One had a superb palate, the other one was losing his ability to taste. Wasn’t this too unfair on Liu Jinfei’s side? If only Shen Lingqing could pass her ability to him, Liu Jinfei would surely be able to take the same path her mother had.

He wouldn’t need to run away and avoid the family where he came from once he made a name for himself. He was a great chef to begin with, but if he were to lose his sense of taste, it would be detrimental to his career.

If she was in his shoes, what would she do? Shen Lingqing wondered. A prideful woman like her would never allow herself to show weakness in front of everyone.

She was a businesswoman, after all. So long as her mind worked and she wasn’t physically disabled, she could function and fulfill her responsibilities at the company. If she was to lose her absolute tongue, then so be it.