“Ah, Qingqing. Are you sure you want to attend the annual banquet with your mother?” Qiao Lian asked her boss once they entered the backseat of the car. Fu Shuren was behind the wheel, while another car with her other bodyguard was following them.

“Whether I want to or not, I can’t deny my father’s wishes,” the demon princess replied. She couldn’t deny that what her father said earlier was right. She needed to improve her socializing skills if she wanted to succeed him in the company.

Just as Shen Lingqing thought that she could relax and focus on her work on the following days, she found herself stuck with a miscellaneous task that she couldn’t escape. She wouldn’t be able to avoid going to the annual banquet that the Tang family was to host for this year.

Thankfully, it would be the Tang family instead. If it was the Liu family who would host this year’s banquet, she might need to convince her younger brother to accompany their mother.

“Lian, can you go to Flair Apparel and ask my Aunt Yuhan to lend me a dress for tomorrow’s banquet?” She asked her trustful assistant.

“Okay. Leave that to me!” Qiao Lian’s smile was unusually brighter this time. Ever since she found out that her boss was to attend the banquet with Madam Shen, she was planning to make sure Shen Lingqing would overshadow all the young misses of the other families.

It was just too bad that she wouldn’t be able to accompany Shen Lingqing at the said occasion. Knowing Shen Lingqing, she would avoid unnecessary meetings and conversations with other guests.

“Thanks, Lian. I know I could always count on you,” Shen Lingqing said as she leaned her head on her seat and shut her eyes. The exhaustion from the first week of Savory Alley was finally catching up with her.

Qiao Lian smiled and silently worked on her laptop. She remembered the time when Shen Lingqing asked her if she wanted to do something else aside from serving her and the Shen family. She was quite shocked upon hearing it from her boss at first, as she had never considered it before until Shen Lingqing raised the issue.

Looking at Shen Lingqing right now, Qiao Lian couldn’t find it in herself to regret her choice. The Qiao family had been serving the Shen family for generations, and that opportunity to leave and have her freedom sounded so tempting. However, she couldn’t leave, knowing Shen Lingqing would be left alone to fend for herself.

She had given that freedom to her younger siblings instead; she chose to follow her father’s path and her forefathers in serving the Shen family. More than anything else, she only wanted to stay next to Shen Lingqing and hoped she would be happy in the future.

“Miss Qing, do you want to go back home, or should we go back to the restaurant?” Fu Shuren glanced at the dashboard mirror to gaze at their young miss.

“Restaurant. I have some unfinished work to do,” Shen Lingqing responded, not bothering to open her eyes. She didn’t want to attend the banquet, knowing she had unfinished work left in her office.

Their ride toward the Savory Alley was filled with silence. Once they reached their destination, Shen Lingqing removed her coat and immediately went to her office without saying a word.

Lin Xiaoyu, who had seen their arrival, grew curious about the matter and asked Qiao Lian.

“Is Director Shen okay?”

“Hmm… her father asked her to attend a banquet tomorrow with Madam Shen. Director Shen hates attending such occasions,” Qiao Lian replied.

“Oh.” Lin Xiaoyu blinked. She supposed that attending parties and banquets were a usual part of the lives of the wealthy families, but she did understand that Shen Lingqing wouldn’t willingly participate on such occasions based on her aloof personality.

“How’s preparation going?” Qiao Lian asked in return.

“Oh, everything is alright in the kitchen while you and Director Shen were away, Miss Qiao,” the younger woman replied.

“That’s good.” Qiao Lian nodded. “That’s one less problem for Director Shen.”

“Ah, then. Is there something else that is bothering her?”

Lin Xiaoyu felt that Shen Lingqing wasn’t in a good mood. Did something else happen during her meeting with President Shen? Did Director Shen fail her assessment?

“I’m sorry, Miss Lin. I cannot answer that question. You would have to ask Director Shen herself if you want to know the answer.” Qiao Lian smiled awkwardly. It was hard even for her to know what was going on in Shen Lingqing’s mind. “By the way, is Chef Liu busy?”

“You are looking for me, Miss Qiao?” Liu Jinfei had just stepped out from the kitchen, wiping his hands dry with a towel, when he heard Qiao Lian looking for him.

“Oh, there you are. Can I have a word with you, then?” She gave him a meaningful smile.

Liu Jinfei knew what she wanted to discuss with him privately at once. He was led to the diner’s area where they could have a word out of everyone’s earshot. It was something he wasn’t ready to disclose with his co-workers.

“So Director Shen told me the problem…” Qiao Lian started, as she brought down her laptop.

“I’m sorry for troubling you, Miss Qiao.” Liu Jinfei lowered his head in apology. Shen Lingqing and Qiao Lian didn’t need to help him to this extent.

“Oh, no. Please don’t apologize to me. I’m merely doing what Director Shen asked me. If you have someone to thank or apologize, you can speak to her.” Qiao Lian brushed off his apology. It was a pity that he lost his status as the young master of the Liu family, or else he would be a suitable fit for Shen Lingqing.

Qiao Lian shook that thought. Ah, it didn’t matter if Liu Jinfei had lost his social standing because Shen Lingqing would still have the last word whether he was suitable for her or not.