Financial Independence through Cracked Apps-Chapter 78 - 77: First Business

9:00 AM.

Shen Mingchuan pulled up to the entrance of the Warm Claw Nest Cat Cafe in his beloved Mercedes S-Class.

Dressed in a suit and tie, he got out of the driver’s seat, his beer belly preceding him. Clutching a briefcase, he huffed and puffed his way to the passenger side and opened the door.

A pair of legs in white slides emerged, followed by a young, vibrant college student who stepped out of the car.

She looked to be around twenty. Her heavily made-up face was rather plain, but her outfit—denim shorts and a white t-shirt—gave her an energetic vibe. A Loewe straw bag was slung over her shoulder.

This was Xu Fei, Shen Mingchuan’s mistress.

"It’s so hot!"

The moment she was out of the car, Xu Fei eagerly opened a parasol, then linked her arm with Shen Mingchuan’s and asked curiously.

"So this is the cat cafe you were talking about?"

"That’s right."

"Then why did you give it to your ex-wife?"

"Because it doesn’t make any money!"

Shen Mingchuan chuckled slyly.

"By renting it to her, I can still collect rent. Isn’t that better than having it sit worthless on my hands? Once she’s losing so much money she can’t keep it running, I’ll just take it back."

"You’re so clever, honey~"

Xu Fei planted a kiss on Shen Mingchuan’s cheek. The gesture made him feel incredibly smug, but also a little awkward.

There was some white powder on his shoulder, residue from her makeup, which stood out starkly against his black suit.

He didn’t dare brush it off openly, so he had to wait for a moment when Xu Fei wasn’t looking to pat it away.

Then, the two of them walked into the Warm Claw Nest Cat Cafe.

"TING-A-LING—!"

The clear chime of the bell rang out. Lin Ping, who had been wiping down a table, straightened up. She was about to greet the customers, but the polite smile on her face vanished the moment she saw who had walked in, her expression tightening instantly.

"Long time no see."

Shen Mingchuan greeted her first, his eyes scanning the room. Noticing only a few scattered customers, he couldn’t help but add a mocking tone to his voice.

"Looks like business is as terrible as ever. Why don’t you just pack up and get out? Just give up on this whole cat cafe thing."

"Fine."

Lin Ping held out her hand, staring at Shen Mingchuan indifferently.

"Give me Nuonuo’s child support, and I’ll move out."

"Can’t do that."

Shen Mingchuan spread his hands helplessly.

"The divorce agreement was crystal clear. The revenue from this cat cafe constitutes your child support. It’s legally binding, so how can we just change it on a whim?"

"You!"

Furious, Lin Ping slammed the rag she was holding onto the table. This earned her a displeased look from Xu Fei.

"’You’ what? Shen Mingchuan has already been more than generous with you. What else are you not satisfied with?"

"..."

Lin Ping bit her lip, her head lowered, not saying a word.

Faced with the mistress’s blatant taunts, she was completely helpless. All she could do was swallow her grievances.

"Alright, alright, let’s not fight! We’re here to discuss business today."

Shen Mingchuan held up his hands, playing the peacemaker. He pulled Xu Fei into a seat across from Lin Ping, then looked at his ex-wife with a defiant smirk.

"Shouldn’t you make a couple of coffees for your landlord?"

"..."

Lin Ping shot Shen Mingchuan a glare before going to the coffee counter and hastily preparing two cups for them.

"This is disgusting!"

After just one sip, Xu Fei pushed the cup away in disgust and said sarcastically,

"No wonder this place has no business. Who would come here to drink something so awful!"

"Just stop talking for a minute."

Seeing his ex-wife’s expression darken, Shen Mingchuan hastily changed the subject, afraid she might actually start a fight with Xu Fei.

"Didn’t you say someone was planning to take over this cat cafe? It’s already nine. Where are they?"

"President Lin will be here shortly."

"So unprofessional."

Xu Fei snorted again, giving Shen Mingchuan a massive headache. He was starting to seriously regret bringing her along.

’I was hoping to use her youth and beauty to make an impression, but she’s just a damn gossip with a big mouth!’

’She could ruin a deal that’s already been settled!’

Shen Mingchuan sighed internally, then looked at Lin Ping with suspicion.

"Are you sure he’s not just stringing you along?"

"..."

Lin Ping glanced hopefully at the entrance, only to lower her head in disappointment and give it a slight shake.

"I don’t know."

"We’ll wait ten more minutes."

Shen Mingchuan glanced at his watch.

"If he’s not here by nine-twenty, we’re leaving."

In truth, Shen Mingchuan was actually hoping the Warm Claw Nest Cat Cafe would find a new tenant.

As far as he knew, the surrounding storefronts were becoming increasingly difficult to lease out. Even if he took this one back, it would just sit empty on his hands.

The only solution was to find some sucker to lease it to so he could lie back and collect the rent.

Just as Shen Mingchuan was starting to get antsy, the crisp chime of the bell at the door rang out again.

"TING-A-LING—!"

Lin Ping and Xu Fei both looked toward the door at the same time, their eyes lighting up.

However, the emotions in their gazes were quite different.

Lin Ping’s eyes filled with joy and excitement, as if her savior had arrived.

Xu Fei’s, on the other hand, held simple admiration and awe for a handsome man.

’What a handsome guy!’

’That jawline, that height, that build... And he’s wearing all Louis Vuitton. You can tell he comes from money.’

’He’s the perfect man, straight out of a dream!’

"Sorry, something held me up."

Lin Shen smiled faintly as he walked over to Lin Ping, then turned his gaze to Shen Mingchuan and Xu Fei.

"You must be the landlord of this shop, correct? And this is?"

"My name is Xu Fei!"

Before Lin Shen could even offer his hand, Xu Fei had already taken the initiative to shake it and introduce herself.

"I’m a junior at the Civil Aviation Vocational Technical College!"

"Hello."

Lin Shen was slightly taken aback by her enthusiastic greeting on their first meeting.

Meanwhile, Shen Mingchuan, sitting beside her, felt his face darken. His hands balled into fists, his heart filling with a helpless resentment.

He had assumed that the person taking over the lease from Lin Ping would be some rich, older boss. After all, with the economy in a downturn, only someone with money to burn would invest in a high-risk, brick-and-mortar business.

He never would have expected Lin Shen to be so young!

His aura and appearance were striking, clearly indicating a powerful family background. He had to be a rich heir!

That would explain why he was willing to invest in an unprofitable business like a cat cafe.

For a rich kid like him, business was probably just a game to prove his worth to his family. He likely didn’t know the first thing about the pet industry.

’In a word: stupid!’

"Hello, I’m Shen Mingchuan."

Feeling he now had the upper hand, Shen Mingchuan extended his right hand.

However, Lin Shen didn’t give him the courtesy of a handshake, instead sitting down directly across from him.

"Lin Shen."

"Hahaha..."

Shen Mingchuan retracted his hand with an awkward laugh, mentally slapping an "arrogant" label on Lin Shen.

’Being late is one thing, but he doesn’t even have basic manners!’

’These rich kids from Modu really are something else!’

"You should sit, too."

Noticing Lin Ping was still standing, Lin Shen patted the seat beside him, motioning for her to sit.

She, however, looked a bit reserved and nervous.

"Um... I’ll go get the contracts first."

"Alright."

While waiting for Lin Ping to retrieve the contracts from the back, Lin Shen turned his attention to Shen Mingchuan.

He rested his elbows on the table, interlaced his fingers, and propped up his chin. His gentle expression suddenly turned serious.

"Let’s talk about the lease. What’s the monthly rent?"

"Twelve thousand."

Shen Mingchuan recited the justification for the price hike he had prepared in advance.

"As you know, this is a densely populated neighborhood, a relatively bustling part of Xuhui. On top of that, all the surrounding shops are raising their rent, so twelve thousand is the lowest I can go."

"That’s not what I’ve heard."

?

Lin Shen’s sudden interjection made Shen Mingchuan’s heart skip a beat. He then listened as Lin Shen calmly elaborated.

"While it’s true the community is large, the population consists mainly of the elderly and young children. They aren’t the primary consumer demographic, so the customer conversion rate is low."

"As for those surrounding shops you mentioned, they’re either going out of business or looking for new tenants. Their rents have dropped to six thousand a month. Did you really think I wouldn’t know that?"

"And another thing..."

Facing Lin Shen’s piercing gaze, Shen Mingchuan broke out in a cold sweat, stammering, unable to get a word out.

’How could he have known? This rich kid wasn’t spending his free time chasing girls and partying—he was actually doing market research!’

’Shouldn’t he be some sheltered kid, clueless about how the real world works, just throwing money around with his eyes closed?’

’Why is he analyzing the local demographics and the state of the surrounding businesses?’

Lin Shen’s sharp, confident discourse completely changed Shen Mingchuan’s opinion of him. Xu Fei, sitting beside them, was even more impressed, her eyes glinting with a peculiar light of adoration.

’So he’s this serious and meticulous about his work?’

’That’s so attractive!’

Suddenly, she found that Shen Mingchuan, sitting right next to her, had lost all his appeal.

’Sure, he’s rich, but he’s old, out of shape, and downright ugly. Compared to Lin Shen, he’s a troll next to a god.’

’If I had known, I wouldn’t have chosen him so quickly!’

’If only Lin Shen were willing... ’

For the remainder of the conversation, Xu Fei looked for every opportunity to shoot amorous glances at Lin Shen, batting her eyelashes and even intentionally brushing his leg with her foot under the table.

But Lin Shen completely ignored her, focusing solely on the negotiation with Shen Mingchuan, who was so flustered he had to keep wiping sweat from his brow.

Just then, Lin Ping returned with the contracts.

"Then let’s proceed as we’ve discussed."

After Lin Ping sat down, Lin Shen glanced over all the contracts and said softly,

"The monthly rent is six thousand. The lease is for one year, starting today. I’ll pay three months’ rent upfront as a deposit."

"I will have full control over any renovations and remodeling of the shop. Any problem with that?"

"N-No problem."

?

Lin Ping looked at Shen Mingchuan and saw him forcing a smile, looking like a man with a grievance he couldn’t possibly voice.

’He agreed to six thousand a month?’

’How did Lin Shen convince him?’

’But since he agreed, it proves that the ten-thousand-a-month rent he was charging me before was intentional!’

Furious, Lin Ping turned her head away, unwilling to even look at Shen Mingchuan’s face.

Lin Shen, meanwhile, took a pen and swiftly began signing the documents.

There were two sets of contracts, one for the cafe transfer and one for the property lease, each in duplicate.

When it was Shen Mingchuan’s turn to sign, he glanced at the transfer amount on the contract in front of Lin Ping and froze.

Two hundred thousand?

’Hold on a minute!’

’You’re just leasing the place, not buying it. Why is the transfer fee so high?’

Shen Mingchuan sized up Lin Shen again, then glanced at Lin Ping. A startling thought suddenly popped into his head.

’Could it be... that there’s something going on between those two?’