Chapter 136: Captured in the Act

At half past eight in the morning, the tea restaurant was about to open for business.

Compared to before, the outside of the tea restaurant was now decorated with many ornaments—balloons, flowers, and more. A large stage had even been set up outside. For some unknown reason, Lin Zhiling had somehow found a group of sexy, beautiful women wearing bold and revealing outfits, and they were bustling about on the stage, sparking curiosity about whether some famous celebrities would be performing here.

In addition, there were many new signs advertising the tea restaurant’s new features and membership card discounts. Even the waitstaff uniforms had changed—from the original formal white-collar attire to bright red and purple traditional Chinese qipaos. Shui Miao began to feel a bit impressed with Lin Zhiling. She had managed to completely revamp the tea restaurant from every angle in such a short time! It was now the kind of place that made people eager to step inside.

“Alright, Xiao Mi, park the car and do whatever you want. Don’t worry about me—I’m going to take a walk nearby and come back later to check out the commotion when we open,” Shui Miao told Wang Xiaomi before stepping out and heading toward a nearby clothing store.

Wang Xiaomi didn’t think much of it. Since she had nothing better to do, she decided to go inside and check things out first.

Shui Miao entered the clothing store, bought the cheapest casual outfit he could find, and then walked to a quiet spot with his backpack. He activated his immortal powers and slightly altered his facial features. Disguised as an ordinary, unremarkable young man, he started wandering around the tea restaurant. After a while, he couldn’t help but wonder—how had Lin Zhiling managed all of this in such a short time? Sure, the signs and advertisements could be rushed, but where had she found so many qipaos and such attractive women?

Listening closely to the accents of these women, it was clear they all had Taiwanese accents.

Shui Miao had been warned by Huang Yatou that Lin Zhiling might be someone sent by Lin Laoye.

Now, it seemed almost certain.

But then, instead of messing up the tea restaurant, she had actually improved its operations significantly. Why would she do that?

As Shui Miao pondered this, he noticed a job posting.

“Comprehensive Tea Restaurant is hiring elite talent. Gender and age are not restricted. Excluding the restaurant’s regular turnover, candidates who can generate one million in revenue within half a day will be promoted to supervisor, with a monthly salary of 500,000. Those who generate two million will be promoted to manager, with a monthly salary of one million. Those who generate five million will be promoted to deputy general manager, with a monthly salary of three million. Those who generate ten million will be directly hired as general manager, with a monthly salary of ten million.”

Shui Miao was immediately drawn in by the first item on the job posting.

What bold claims Lin Zhiling had made!

His first thought was that she was just messing around. These conditions seemed extremely strict, but they weren’t entirely impossible. If someone actually invested ten million to compete for the position of general manager, wouldn’t the tea restaurant essentially be taken over by them?

Wanting to resolve his doubts, Shui Miao walked directly toward Lin Zhiling, who was busily directing staff at the entrance. However, before he could even ask, a woman quickly approached the door and anxiously asked, “Hello, I have a question. May I ask something?”

Shui Miao turned around and was shocked to see that the woman was none other than his own sister, Chen Meiling!

What was she doing here?

A sense of foreboding immediately arose in Shui Miao’s heart.

At the moment, Shui Miao was disguised as a common, unremarkable young man looking for a job—nothing special to look at.

So naturally, Chen Meiling didn’t recognize him.

Seeing that Chen Meiling had a refined demeanor, Lin Zhiling smiled slightly and replied, “Of course, but I’m a bit busy. Just go ahead and ask—I’m listening.” With that, she continued directing the staff.

Chen Meiling smiled calmly and said, “I’d like to inquire about the deputy general manager position. Five million in revenue is no small amount. I’d like to ask, what kind of spending counts toward this? For example, if I recharge five million into a gold membership card, does that count?”

“Yes, but the money on the card cannot be withdrawn—it can only be used for consumption here.” Hearing that someone might be willing to recharge five million, Lin Zhiling immediately became interested.

Chen Meiling maintained her innocent smile. “Then, if I want to become general manager, would recharging ten million be enough?”

“Of course. Then I would become deputy general manager,” Lin Zhiling replied with a smile.

Chen Meiling narrowed her eyes. “Then what if I bring in one and a half million in revenue? What would you do then?”

“Ha, if you really bring in one and a half million, I can be your assistant,” Lin Zhiling said with a smile. But in her heart, she didn’t take Chen Meiling seriously at all. She thought this girl was just here out of boredom, asking random questions.

Chen Meiling touched her chin thoughtfully. “If I become general manager, the deputy general manager will be my person too. Whether or not I want you as my assistant is entirely up to me. If I fire you right away, what would you do then?”

“I’d just leave,” Lin Zhiling shrugged. “If I could bring in one and a half million in revenue for the company in half a day, my value has already been proven. I’m sure the boss would be satisfied. Of course, the boss still has the right of veto. If the boss thinks you’re not suitable and fires you, there’s nothing I can do.”

Chen Meiling scoffed coldly. “By that logic, you might as well just take down your ad. You’re deceiving customers, swindling money, and then the boss comes in to fire them and keep deceiving people. It’s completely untrustworthy.”

…

At this, Lin Zhiling froze.

Shui Miao also felt that Chen Meiling had a point—it was clearly a scam!

Now it was up to Lin Zhiling, the overseas returnee elite, to explain.

If she explained well, she truly was an elite.

If she couldn’t explain well, then she was just a fraud.

Shui Miao was very curious—why had his sister come here? Could she possibly be here to help him? A flood of questions filled his mind, and he urgently wanted to know what these two women were really up to. If only he could read their thoughts! Thinking this, he tried to use his immortal powers to probe their minds, but the power in his dantian was so weak it was nearly nonexistent…

“Haha…”

Suddenly, Lin Zhiling laughed and said, “The word ‘deception’ you used is quite inappropriate. Naturally, the boss wouldn’t want to employ someone incompetent who only knows how to squander money. If you truly want to run this tea restaurant well, you’ll operate it properly and won’t recklessly mess things up. In that case, why would the boss want to fire you? Unless your intention is to spend one and a half million to destroy this tea restaurant, then of course the boss has every right to fire you!”

Lin Zhiling remained calm and composed. After a moment of thought, she used a few simple sentences to completely counter Chen Meiling’s argument.

“Good! Very good!” Chen Meiling suddenly clapped her hands and leaned in close to Lin Zhiling, lowering her voice. “No wonder you were sent by Lin Laoye of the Sanzhu Gang in Taiwan. You have a cool head and are meticulous in your actions. Outwardly loyal, but inwardly as cunning as anyone. How about we find a quiet place to talk?”

“Alright…”

It seemed this person had come prepared. Lin Zhiling didn’t dare to be careless. She glanced around with a frown and then turned to lead Chen Meiling inside the tea restaurant.

Shui Miao’s heart stirred, and he quickly followed them inside, but Wang Xiaomi stopped him at the entrance.

“Sorry, sir, we haven’t officially opened yet.”

“I want to buy a gold card. I have money.”

Shui Miao immediately pulled out a bundle of cash from his backpack.

“Huh, that’s strange. Why does your backpack look so familiar?” Wang Xiaomi looked at Shui Miao and suddenly pointed at his nose, shouting, “Hey, kid! You stole our boss’s backpack!”

Wang Xiaomi’s reaction was quick—she immediately grabbed Shui Miao with a martial arts hold and slammed him to the ground before he could react.

“I…”

Shui Miao was speechless. He never expected to be caught by his own people like this. This was truly an embarrassing downfall!

“No good, Xiao Jin, Xiao Mu, quickly follow them and listen to what they’re saying.”

In desperation, Shui Miao whispered and sent his five little immortal apprentices to follow Lin Zhiling and Chen Meiling. Shui Miao had changed their names slightly—Xiao Jin, Xiao Mu, Xiao Shui, Xiao Huo, and Xiao Tu, in order of seniority, which also matched their five elements.

As soon as the five little immortals appeared and saw Shui Miao pinned to the ground, they rushed toward Wang Xiaomi. She suddenly felt as if five rats were crawling inside her clothes, and she screamed in fear, jumping around wildly.

Taking the chance, Shui Miao grabbed his backpack and fled in a panic.

He ran into a nearby building and quickly changed back into his original clothes in the stairwell, restoring his original appearance. Then, carrying his backpack, he walked downstairs. Just as he came out, he met Wang Xiaomi rushing over. Before she could speak, Shui Miao grabbed her hand and strode toward the tea restaurant. “The bag is back. Don’t chase anymore. Let’s go find Zhiling—we have something important to do.”

“But Boss, I think I just saw something supernatural!” Wang Xiaomi whispered nervously.

She had been screaming and jumping around, making a complete fool of herself.

She had rushed out in such a hurry that she hadn’t even fastened her buttons properly.

“First, button up your shirt. Don’t worry, I’m here. I’ll help you catch those little ghosts now,” Shui Miao said as he walked into the tea restaurant. The staff recognized him and greeted him with “Hello, Boss!” Shui Miao, guided by his little immortals, took Wang Xiaomi straight upstairs to the general manager’s office.

He wanted to catch Chen Meiling inside the office and find out exactly what his sister was planning to do to her own younger brother.

※※※

Inside the office

After closing the door, Lin Zhiling got straight to the point. “Talk. Who are you, and what do you want? Provoking the Sanzhu Gang—you must know how serious that is.”

“Good! Straightforward! I like dealing with people like you,” Chen Meiling coldly smiled and said, “Then I’ll speak plainly. My name is Chen Meiling. I’m Chen Shui Miao’s half-sister from a different mother. However, my goal is the same as yours—I want to take down Chen Shui Miao and claim what I and my mother deserve. So I’m here to propose cooperation. Together, we can defeat him and destroy his business.”

“I’m a bit confused. Was his father really that bad to your mother?” Lin Zhiling found it hard to believe that Shui Miao even had a sister. She even suspected that Chen Meiling might be someone Shui Miao had sent to test her.

Chen Meiling frowned. “That’s my personal matter. For the sake of our cooperation, I’ve already contacted Lin Laoye. He told me to find you. My contact code is ‘Qing’er, Qing’er, Qing’er.'”

…

Upon hearing the contact code, Lin Zhiling’s heart trembled. That was indeed the secret code Lin Laoye had given her. Lin Laoye had told her that after arriving in Hai City, someone would come to assist her. But Lin Zhiling had never expected that this helper would be Shui Miao’s sister. It was completely unexpected.

After a pause, Lin Zhiling asked, “Then, what’s your plan?”

“Hmph! I’ve already thought of one!” Chen Meiling sneered sinisterly. Just as she was about to reveal her plan, loud knocking sounds came from outside the door!

“Who’s being so disrespectful!?” Chen Meiling frowned, clearly annoyed.

Lin Zhiling was also puzzled—who could be so rude at the tea restaurant?

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The knocking became even louder and more urgent!

…

Lin Zhiling quickly walked to the door and yanked it open. Standing there with a serious expression and furrowed brows was Shui Miao himself. She was instantly stunned. “B-Boss…”

“Uh…”

Seeing that the person who had arrived was actually Shui Miao, Chen Meiling was also shocked into silence!