!?

Lin Shen’s pupils contracted slightly, and his heart skipped a beat.

Zheng Yanfei?

’The little girl is Lin Ping’s niece?’

’In other words, she’s Zheng Yanfei’s paternal aunt?’

’No, that’s not right. Lin Ping’s surname is Lin. If she were Zheng Yanfei’s paternal aunt, they should have the same surname.’

’Maybe "niece" is just a general term...’

Lin Shen drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, a sudden interest piqued.

"What’s her relationship to you?"

"I’m her maternal aunt."

Lin Ping was a little surprised that Lin Shen was interested in this.

"Could it be that you know her, President Lin?"

"I don’t."

Lin Shen lied without hesitation.

After all, he had "overdrawn" his lover’s relationship with the little girl.

’If Lin Ping found out about this... Tsk, tsk!’

An idea stirred in Lin Shen’s mind, and he suddenly felt a strange sense of excitement and thrill.

Lin Ping didn’t notice the subtle change in his expression. Instead, she seemed to be lost in some kind of memory.

"My niece has had a hard life."

"My older sister passed away when she was eight. When she got to high school, my brother-in-law felt he had done his duty raising her and found her a stepmother."

"This stepmother... how should I put it? Since Feifei wasn’t her own child, she was always biased against her."

"On top of that, my brother-in-law doesn’t really have a mind of his own. He’s the hardworking, honest type who listens to pretty much everything his current wife says."

"Especially after his new wife gave him a child of their own, he does whatever she says."

"So the family atmosphere became tense, which caused Feifei to start slacking off and rebelling during her senior year of high school. Her grades plummeted."

"My brother-in-law started to resent Feifei, and with his wife constantly fanning the flames behind the scenes, the relationship between father and daughter hit rock bottom."

"In the end, Feifei decided to get away from our hometown and tested into a university here in Modu."

"She thought there were more opportunities to make money in Modu, that maybe she could change her life and no longer be constrained by her family. It just so happened that I had also settled down here, so I could look after her."

"But unfortunately, I also got divorced."

Lin Ping sighed softly, her hands clenched tightly on her thighs. Her voice even choked up with self-blame.

"If my sister could see Feifei being bullied like this, she would probably blame me."

"She should blame her ex-husband and his current wife, not you, her younger sister."

Lin Shen patted Lin Ping’s thigh comfortingly.

"Don’t blame yourself. You’ve already done a great job."

"Thank you for comforting me, President Lin."

Encouraged and motivated by Lin Shen’s words, Lin Ping pulled herself together. A bold idea suddenly flashed through her mind.

"Before, when I was still married to Shen Mingchuan, my focus was entirely on my family, so I neglected to take care of Feifei."

"Now that I’m divorced, and with the high salary you’re paying me, President Lin... if my life keeps getting better, I want to have her move in with me after she graduates! Let her escape that toxic home environment!"

"Ahem!"

Hearing Lin Ping’s plan for the future, Lin Shen cleared his throat and gave a couple of light coughs, his expression a little strange.

"You’d better think that over."

"Oh, okay."

Lin Ping froze for a moment. After thinking for a second, she suddenly understood the deeper meaning behind Lin Shen’s words.

Although she was divorced and her life was gradually becoming her own again, she still had her secret relationship as Lin Shen’s lover.

If she and Feifei were to live together in the future, it would inevitably lead to unnecessary misunderstandings and trouble.

She couldn’t very well bring Lin Shen home and tell Feifei to go stay somewhere else, could she?

That would be too rude.

"I’m sorry, President Lin. I wasn’t thinking things through."

Lin Ping hurriedly apologized, but Lin Shen just waved his hand dismissively, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

"Perhaps there’s a perfect solution to this."

?

Lin Ping blinked her beautiful eyes a couple of times. A little slow on the uptake, she didn’t quite understand what Lin Shen meant.

But she didn’t feel it was her place to press him further.

"There are a few things I need you to take note of."

After dropping Lin Ping off at Shennan Pet Society, Lin Shen gave her a few tasks.

"There’s no need to have Qi Hao bring the cats over so soon. Have him help look after them for a while longer. That will ease some of the pressure on you. It’s not too late to bring them over after the renovations are done. The cats will have a much bigger and more spacious living area then."

"Second, I’m putting you in charge of evaluating Qi Hao’s employees. I won’t be involved. The main thing to look for is personality. People in the service industry can’t be too prickly; they need to know how to be tactful and patient."

"Finally..."

"Mhm!"

Lin Ping quickly jotted down everything Lin Shen said in her phone’s notes app, her attitude extremely serious.

"I understand, President Lin."

"I’ll have to trouble you during this period before the Cat Cafe opens. Things will probably get a little easier after the launch."

Lin Shen took a step forward, wrapped his arms around Lin Ping’s delicate figure, and leaned in to whisper softly in her ear.

"When all this is over, I can grant you any wish. Think about what you want ahead of time."

’A wish?’

’Anything at all?’

Lin Ping’s heart suddenly started to race. The pleasant scent of Lin Shen’s body sent a wave of desire through her.

"Okay~ Thank you, President Lin."

"I’m never stingy with my lovers."

Lin Shen waved his phone, then smiled and turned to leave.

"I just transferred you ten thousand yuan. Remember to buy Anan something nice to eat."

Huh?

Lin Ping froze. By the time she snapped out of it, Lin Shen had already driven away.

She immediately ran to the shop’s entrance and watched the red taillights of the Jaguar XFL disappear around the bend in the road.

Lin Ping clutched her phone with both hands. After seeing the transfer from Lin Shen, her agitated heart couldn’t calm down for a long time.

She had always thought that being a mistress was a cheap and demeaning profession, one that required selling one’s dignity.