“The specialist we’ve been waiting for to check on you has arrived yesterday. On your next day off, Director Shen and I intend to bring you to the hospital to have an overall check-up, but there’s something I want to ask you, Chef Liu.”

“What is it, Miss Qiao?” Liu Jinfei stiffened in his seat. Shen Lingqing and Qiao Lian had only been missing for a couple of hours, so what could have happened to make Qiao Lian act this way towards him?

Qiao Lian looked at him dead straight in his eyes.

“I want you to be truthful. Never lie to Shen Lingqing.”

“W-what?” Liu Jinfei couldn’t understand why she was telling him this, but he could tell how serious Qiao Lian was, just by calling their boss by her full name.

“Qingqing is willing to help to this extent. I’m not sure why she was doing this; neither do I care what kind of agreement you made with her. But please, never lie to her,” Qiao Lian said with all seriousness. “I suppose you know that she’s in a precarious position by allowing you to stay here and work with us.”

Liu Jinfei’s jaws hardened at that. Qiao Lian didn’t need to remind him. Of course, he had considered this before. Initially, he wanted to work under Tian Lingyu’s supervision, so the Shen family wouldn’t be implicated too much or get involved with his issues with the Liu family.

“Your Liu family might not be on the same status as the Shens, but I will only warn you once, Liu Jinfei. If something wrong happens to my miss, I will hold you accountable for it.”

“I understand.” Liu Jinfei made up his mind. If this was Qiao Lian’s way to assure Shen Lingqing’s safety, then he could only promise her this. “I give you my word, Miss Qiao. I will never lie to Director Shen and won’t hide anything that may put both of us in a dangerous situation.”

Qiao Lian nodded before she rose to her feet and extended a hand to him.

“Then, we have a deal. You better hold on to your promise,” she said. “I’ll dispose of you myself if something bad happens to Shen Lingqing in the future.” This time, her eyes flashed murderous intent that sent shivers down Liu Jinfei’s spine.

Even if Qiao Lian was born to the Qiao family, the blood of the ferocious wolves was also running through her veins. She was also raised by the wolves, so it only made sense if she was able to intimidate Liu Jinfei or anyone like this.

How could he forget that Madam Shen and Shen Lingqing’s bodyguards were not-so-ordinary people? There used to be a rumor about Lu Xinyi hiring a bunch of assassins to protect her from her husband’s enemies.

Liu Jinfei stood up and gave her a handshake. If this would make Qiao Lian feel better, then he didn’t mind making a promise to her.

Although he was taller than the woman in front of him, Qiao Lian’s domineering aura right now made her suitable to be the demon princess’s right-hand man. As expected, her jolly and cheerful facade hid the vicious and dangerous nature that had been there from the very start.

He could feel the immeasurable strength on Qiao Lian’s grip. He was briefly reminded of the day he first met Shen Lingqing and Qiao Lian. Wasn’t it the same day he witnessed how Qiao Lian easily broke Zhang Yong’s bones when the latter dared to lay a hand on Shen Lingqing that day?

Qiao Lian released his hand and sighed. She didn’t mean to intimidate Liu Jinfei, but if he was to stay by Shen Lingqing’s side, he should be aware of the circumstances Shen Lingqing was under.

“Now that it’s settled, I suppose I can only trust Qingqing to be safe tomorrow.” She muttered in annoyance.

Liu Jinfei raised a brow on that. “Tomorrow?”

Was there an important occasion tomorrow that he wasn’t aware of?

“Ah, you still didn’t know, right? Director Shen is supposed to accompany Madam Shen tomorrow night for the annual banquet where the five big families of the capital will meet. I’m expecting that she will meet your uncle and your cousins during the occasion.”

Liu Jinfei opened his mouth to say something, but he found himself speechless. What was he supposed to say over the matter? The meeting had nothing to do with him, but why did he feel worried about Shen Lingqing meeting his scheming relatives personally?

“You are worried, aren’t you?” Qiao Lian asked, which earned a nod in response from Liu Jinfei.

It was pointless to lie in front of her, anyway. There were things she had seen and noticed that Shen Lingqing might have overlooked since they took over the management of Savory Alley and met the exiled prince of the Liu family.

“I’m not sure how your relatives will react once they find out that Director Shen took you under her wing, but they won’t dare to harass you as long as you are here with us.”

“I appreciate your concern, Miss Qiao. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting that I would be indebted to Director Shen and be in her favor. I wouldn’t wish for her to be on bad terms with the Liu family because of me.”

He never had a good relationship with his estranged uncle. Ever since his family’s death decades ago, Liu Jinfei made sure not to cross paths with the old man, but it didn’t mean that his uncle would want him to lead a peaceful life.

“Whether they make an enemy out of Director Shen or not is not for you to say, Chef Liu. They should know by now that the Shen family wouldn’t turn a blind eye if your relatives dared to offend our young miss.” Qiao Lian assured him with a wicked smile. It would be really foolish for the Liu family to offend Shen Lingqing.