As expected, when Shen Lingqing stepped out from her father’s office, she found Qiao Lian waiting for her outside. The woman immediately sat up and beamed a smile to Shen Lingqing who still had a slight scowl on her face.
“How did it go?” Qiao Lian asked her boss. She was supposed to be Shen Lingqing’s subordinate as she was a daughter from the Qiao family who’d been serving the Shen family for generations. However, Qiao Lian had a sister-like relations.h.i.+p with the Shen princess. She was two years younger than Shen Lingqing so the two easily understood each other and got along well.
“Hn,” Shen Lingqing regarded her pseudo-sister before stalking her way to the nearest elevator with Qiao Lian following behind her. “As expected, Dad wouldn’t easily allow me to join the board and get a senior executive position.”
The elevator door opened, and the two stepped inside. Since they were on their own, Shen Lingqing didn’t need to worry about people eavesdropping on their conversation. What she didn’t know was that, even if there were people around, they would immediately fly out of the scene—away from her in fear.
“Should I inform them about your inspection? Dad already emailed me the financial status of the restaurant and how it was faring poorly for the past three months since SY Holding’s acquisition. The expenses are exponentially higher than their sales,” Qiao Lian informed the other, swiping over the tablet she was holding.
Shen Lingqing glanced on the screen before turning her eyes to the number indicated on the left side of the elevator. She couldn’t blame her father for making such a decision. After all, the SY Holdings was made possible by Shen Yi, which he started on his own from scratch.
Her father could have just inherited the Shen Group from her grandfather if he wanted to. Instead, Shen Yi had given way to his younger brother, Shen Xue, and decided to start a company on his own.
“No. Don’t inform them. I want to see the real situation out there with my own eyes. If we send a notice now about the inspection, there’s no doubt they would make preparations ahead of time,” she replied nonchalantly to Qing Lian. She decided to make a surprise inspection instead.
Shen Lingqing had to make sure she wouldn’t miss anything about ‘The Savory Alley’. If she would be able to find the root cause of her problem, she didn’t need to wait for two years before she could take her father’s position as the next CEO.
Today, she was wearing a three-piece black business suit for women. Shen Lingqing was rarely seen wearing a dress or a skirt since she hit p.u.b.erty. Most of the time, she was dressed casually in s.h.i.+rts and pants, with her long black hair tied in a high ponytail.
Still, her choice of clothes wasn’t enough to hide her feminine charisma from everyone. Her lean frame reached 179 centimeters. Her h.i.p.s and bust were nearly equal in size, and a well-defined waist was narrower than both. Shen Lingqing had an ideal proportionate figure for most women.
It was no wonder most people considered her as the female version of her father. It was difficult not to notice her in the crowd when she had an ethereal, cold beauty that could put a person in a trance.
Those fools. Did they really think that the upper management was oblivious to what they were doing? Too bad for them; her mother wouldn’t be the one doing the site inspection of the restaurant—but her. Moreover, there was a reason why she earned the nickname the ‘Devil Princess’ and not just because she was Shen Yi’s daughter.
Unlike her mother, it was hard for other people to earn Shen Lingqing’s sympathy. Her impa.s.sive, cold face made it impossible for some people to know what she was even thinking. Even her eyes felt like a mirror, making people feel that they couldn’t hide something from the demon princess.
This wasn’t the first time Shen Lingqing would do an inspection herself, but the times she had done it could be counted in two hands. Most of those times, she was accompanying her mother, watching intently how Lu Xinyi a.s.sessed the kitchen and the overall operation of the restaurants she and Shen Yi acquired. However, all of those were years ago; this time, she would have to do it on her own.
“Alright. We will do it according to your wishes.” Qiao Lian agreed with Shen Lingqing’s plan. Whoever managing ‘The Savory Alley’ right now must be out of their mind. It had been three months since their acquisition, but they should be able to improve the status of the restaurant by now. What the h.e.l.l were they doing to the funds SY Holdings had sent for the past months?
Most restaurants they previously acquired had the same financial problems. SY Holdings usually gave them the grace period of three months to see if they would be able to climb back to their prime.
Once they reached the parking s.p.a.ce below the building of the SY Holdings, they saw Fu Shuren waiting patiently for their return. He immediately straightened his posture upon seeing Shen Lingqing walking towards him.
“Miss…” he greeted her. He’d been the Shen princess personal bodyguard and driver since she was young. He only stopped looking after her for a few years when Shen Lingqing went overseas to finish her studies. Now that she was back, the man resumed his position as her caretaker along with Qiao Lian.
“We’re going home.” Shen Lingqing sighed, and Qiao Lian and Fu Shuren almost heard the groan she tried to suppress. “We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning for an inspection. See to it that we wouldn’t gain unwanted attention.”
“As you wish, Miss Qing,” Fu Shuren said before opening the door of the back seat, letting Shen Lingqing go inside while Qiao Lian didn’t waste her time and slid on the pa.s.senger’s seat, next to the driver’s seat.
“Uncle Shuren, Qingqing wants to make a surprise inspection. We shouldn’t give them an impression that we’re from SY Holdings,” she informed the man once he’d taken his place behind the steering wheel.
“That could be arranged,” Fu Shuren said, adjusting the dashboard mirror and making sure his pa.s.sengers had their seat belts on before he drove away from the company. “I’m sure your mother wouldn’t mind doing some work while doing sightseeing tomorrow.”
“Can’t we just ask Aunt Jiao Jiao or Uncle Rui?” Qiao Lian pouted on that. She hated working alone with her parents because they were too strict—especially her mother, Zhang Qing. Although she had to admit that her mother’s teachings were the best, Qiao Lian would prefer to work alongside her Aunt Jiao Jiao than be with her mother. The others didn’t treat her like a child anymore after all.
“Ah, but your Uncle Rui is in charge of looking after Young Master Lingtian. I don’t think he would be free to join us tomorrow,” Fu Shuren replied, “Jiao Jiao might be able to come with us since the Madam has no plans to leave the estate tomorrow.”
“Then, I’ll tell Aunt Jiao Jiao myself. Don’t go telling my mom, okay? I don’t want her to get involved.” Qiao Lian insisted before glancing at Shen Lingqing who kept her silence.