"Alright."

Lin Shen didn’t try to haggle and agreed readily.

His right hand, which was already around Lin Ping’s slender waist, slipped under her arm and gave her a squeeze, causing her pretty face to flush red.

But she understood Lin Shen’s meaning. She took out her phone and spoke softly to Qi Hao, who was sitting on the other side.

"Why don’t you add me on WeChat? President Lin is quite busy, and I’m the one in charge of the Cat Cafe."

’President Lin?’

Seeing how intimate Lin Ping and Lin Shen’s physical contact was, Qi Hao had assumed they were just a couple in a May-December romance.

He never expected them to be a superior and her subordinate.

’Could it be that the Cat Cafe is just one of the businesses under his control?’

This immediately piqued Qi Hao’s interest. After adding Lin Ping on WeChat, he asked Lin Shen curiously.

"What kind of work do you do?"

"A bit of everything, but mostly in the pet industry."

Lin Shen gave a vague answer, clearly not wanting to discuss the matter.

However, Qi Hao’s emotional intelligence was obviously not very high, and he kept pestering him with questions.

This made Lin Shen a little irritated, so he quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, if you don’t run a cat cafe, what do you plan to do next?"

"Hmm... I’ll probably just find a pet hospital and work as a vet."

Qi Hao sighed softly.

"After all, a man’s got to eat. My whole family is counting on me. They never supported me opening the Cat Cafe in the first place, and now that it’s closing, they argue with me every day. It’s so frustrating."

"Then why don’t you come work for me?"

Lin Shen suggested with a smile.

"My new cafe is opening, and I happen to need staff. Not just you—if your other employees are willing to come, I can offer them a salary they’ll be happy with too."

"Oh?"

Qi Hao’s eyes lit up when he heard Lin Shen’s words.

’What a great idea!’

Not only would he find someone to take care of the cats, but he could even continue to be with them himself!

Of course, working at a cat cafe would certainly pay less than working at a pet hospital.

But according to Qi Hao’s own preferences, he valued a free and relaxed work environment more than a high salary and complicated office politics.

A cat cafe fit his requirements perfectly!

However, given the pressure from his family, Qi Hao still had to think it over.

"I’ll go back and discuss it with my family. Can I give you an answer in a little while?"

"No problem. The base salary is ten thousand a month, with the rest depending on performance and bonuses."

’Ten thousand?!’

Qi Hao looked at Lin Shen again, his face full of astonishment. Seeing that he didn’t seem to be joking, he was shocked.

In Modu, a good cat cafe employee’s salary was usually around six or seven thousand.

Qi Hao only paid his own staff six thousand.

But Lin Shen’s cat cafe hadn’t even opened yet, and he was offering ten thousand right off the bat?

And that was just the base salary?

This surprised Qi Hao with Lin Shen’s generosity, but it also left him a bit confused. He immediately asked tentatively.

"Are you sure about offering such a high salary? There aren’t any other extra duties, are there?"

"Nope. Just the usual serving customers and taking care of the cats. If you want to earn bonuses and performance pay, I’ll have a fair evaluation system. That’s all."

Lin Shen patted Qi Hao’s shoulder.

"You’re a talented individual. Later on, I want to establish a pet medical services business, and I hope you can help me run things then."

’So that’s how it is!’

Although Qi Hao’s emotional intelligence wasn’t high, anyone who could earn a Ph.D. was certainly no fool.

By analyzing Lin Shen’s way of speaking, he could tell that this young man in front of him most likely wanted to make a big splash in the pet industry.

’He’s probably a rich second-generation kid trying to start his own business, using his wealthy family’s backing as a safety net.’

’Though, the pet industry isn’t exactly a promising field...’

But regardless, even though he had only known Lin Shen for less than an hour, their interaction made Qi Hao feel very comfortable and pleasant.

He couldn’t sense any of the arrogance or conceit typical of the wealthy second generation from Lin Shen.

His personality was humble and polite, and his speech was gentle and affable.

’He clearly comes from a good upbringing.’

This made Qi Hao entertain the idea of following Lin Shen and building a career with him.

After all, talent is common, but a good judge of talent is rare.

So after some consideration, Qi Hao nodded.

"Alright, working for you shouldn’t be a problem. As for the pet hospital, I’ll have to think about that a bit more."

"Of course. After all, the plans for the pet hospital are still just in my head."

Lin Shen pointed to his own head, half-joking, which made Qi Hao smile as well.

"Then I’ll be waiting for your good news. As for the other employees at my cafe, I’ll tell them about this. I’m sure that with the high salary you’re offering, they’ll be very willing to work for you."

"Mm, but I’ll still have to evaluate them."

Lin Shen tightened his arm around Lin Ping, who had been listening quietly beside him.

"You’ll be in charge of coordinating with Boss Qi."

"Okay."

"Um, President Lin... may I ask a presumptuous question?"

Qi Hao felt that Lin Shen was easy to get along with, so he copied Lin Ping’s way of addressing him and, unable to suppress his nosy side, asked.

"Are you two a superior and subordinate? Or a couple?"

"What? We don’t look like a couple?"

Lin Shen raised an eyebrow and pulled Lin Ping into his embrace, making her face turn bright red and her heart pound.

’President Lin... he actually admitted in public that I’m his girlfriend!’

’This is pure bliss!’

Seeing Lin Ping’s shy expression, Qi Hao scratched his head, looking a bit awkward and confused.

"It’s not that you don’t, it’s just that the age difference between you two seems... Ahaha."

’Hmph!’

’This guy really doesn’t know how to talk!’

Even with Lin Ping’s gentle and good-natured temper, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of resentment.