“I’m sorry, Miss Qiao. I didn’t know Director Shen was taking a nap. I brought her refreshments,” Liu Jinfei whispered as they stepped outside to let Shen Lingqing rest for a while. “Is she alright now?”

Qiao Lian brushed off his apology. “No worries. It’s alright. I came here to check on her and to ask if she wanted to eat something. She barely touched the food I bought earlier.”

Well, at least Shen Lingqing finished her workload before falling asleep. She was still the same, Qiao Lian thought. Even when they were younger, Shen Lingqing refused to cause inconvenience and trouble to other people, so she would finish her obligations whether she was in good shape or not.

“Ohh…” Liu Jinfei’s face fell. Of course, he had previously heard from Qiao Lian and Fu Shuren that their boss was a picky eater and rarely finished her meals.

She might have joined them frequently for lunch and dinner, but just like Qiao Lian said, Shen Lingqing only took a few bites of the dishes they made and refused to eat more. Liu Jinfei thought it was like convincing a toddler to eat her least favorite vegetable.

Although he knew that he had an impaired palate right now, that didn’t mean his will to gain Shen Lingqing’s approval and admittance that his dishes were good wasn’t extinguished yet.

“Don’t take it seriously, Chef Liu. It’s been a normal thing for Director Shen,” Qiao Lian said, “but it’s a good thing that she was now willing to try other dishes little by little.”

“Not to me, Miss Qiao. I’m taking this seriously, so I’m sorry. I truly wanted Director Shen to praise my dishes. If one day she ate and finished the meal I made for her, that only meant that I had succeeded and earned her approval. After all, she has the best palate, right?” Liu Jinfei said in defense.

To be acknowledged by Shen Lingqing was way better than earning a Michelin star for him. If he was able to please Shen Lingqing’s palate, then it would be easy for him to gain others’ approval. No one would be able to question him if he had Shen Lingqing acknowledging his abilities in the kitchen.

“I see, then good luck on that, Chef Liu. I look forward to seeing and hearing Director Shen praising you.” Qiao Lian gave him a thumbs-up. “Aside from her mother and Uncle Lingyu, Qingqing hadn’t verbally acknowledged the cooking skills of others that aren’t her family.”

Liu Jinfei hummed and crossed his arms over his chest. If that was the case, then he would need to work harder to improve the quality of his dishes. However, before that, it was important that he regained his sense of taste.

Ah, how troublesome! He couldn’t wait for their day off to come, so he could get to the bottom of this problem! He wasn’t even sure if there was a chance that he would be able to taste normally again.

Actually, it just started a few months ago—before he returned from his trip overseas. He initially thought that he had eaten something that made his tongue numb. If it wasn’t for his co-worker, Liu Jinfei would have never thought that his sense of saltiness was impaired.

However, as the problem persisted and slowly affected his work, he started to become wary of the taste of the dishes he was making. After work, Liu Jinfei started to test his tongue and listed down the amount of salt he needed on every serving of the dish he was making to hide his weakness.

It was just that he didn’t expect that Shen Lingqing was able to see past his mask and uncover the problem with just a few tastes of his dishes and after days of observation. Her palate was just that good, that even a professional chef like him couldn’t hide his flaws from her absolute tongue.

“Miss Qiao, Chef Liu, are you there? We are about to resume!” The two heard Lin Xiaoyu’s voice downstairs, getting their attention.

“I guess we should go down and work.” Qiao Lian sighed. “Let’s leave Director Shen on her own for a moment. She seriously needs to take a break once in a while.”

Liu Jinfei agreed with her and followed her downstairs, but not without giving the closed door of Shen Lingqing’s office one last look. He hoped that Shen Lingqing would feel better soon. Working in the kitchen without her felt different in his opinion. Even the other staff members feel worried about her, although they weren’t vocal with their concern.

As the two returned downstairs to join others at work, Shen Lingqing cracked her eyes open and glanced at the door. She didn’t mean to overhear the conversation between her assistant and Liu Jinfei, but she strangely grew curious as to what they were talking about.

She was already awake when Liu Jinfei proclaimed that he would work hard to earn her approval. Shen Lingqing couldn’t help but furrow her brows at it. She couldn’t understand what made Liu Jinfei think like this… she never even asked him to do such a thing.

Was it his pride as a man and a chef that drove him to prove that he could cook a dish that she would finish and make her approve of his cooking? Shen Lingqing wasn’t sure at all. However, if this was a good reason for Liu Jinfei to strive for the best, then she wouldn’t mind helping him achieve his goal.

Shen Lingqing shut her eyes again, intending to continue her short nap. Since Qiao Lian convinced her to stay in her office to rest while her assistant oversaw the service today, then she would take this rare chance. As for the concerns of others, they were worrying too much. This wasn’t the first time she’d become like this anyway, but she admitted that she felt exhausted ever since she and Qiao Lian started working here.