Chapter 311: Chili Pepper
Su Tao caught the explanation with her sharp ears and immediately stopped trying to pry Shi Zijin’s hand away.
Sure enough, there was an old man waiting in the lounge, hoping to lure her in.
It was likely that Jiao Qing had knocked him out in advance and used excessive force. When no one showed up, the old man couldn’t hold it in any longer and came out to find a target himself.
And just like that, a perfectly good banquet was ruined.
In the end, Old Master Kong was tied up and carried away.
After such an embarrassing incident, everyone lost interest and began to leave one after another.
Minister Xu from Changjing watched the fiasco without saying a word.
Ling Tianji felt like he had lost all face, as if it had been thrown into the Pacific Ocean. Embarrassed beyond belief, he kept smiling apologetically at Xu Chang:
“It was an accident… just an accident…”
Xu Chang merely said, “That old man didn’t seem to be in a normal state. You’d better investigate what really happened. The ladies here were terrified.”
What else could Ling Tianji say? He could only agree and promise a thorough investigation.
Then he turned around and immediately questioned Zhuo Ercheng.
Zhuo Ercheng was even more confused than he was. He had been so busy the whole day that he hadn’t even had a sip of water. How was he supposed to know what had happened?
But he was just as frustrated. “Judging by Old Master Kong’s state just now, it seems like Jiao Qing’s doing. Only she could make someone abandon all sense of decorum for their desires.”
Ling Tianji’s blood boiled. “Call Jiao Qing over! If she refuses, bring her husband here! I want to ask them myself—did Dingnan deliberately ruin this banquet? How bold of them! Dingnan had better give an explanation for this, or no one will be allowed to leave Xindu!”
Zhuo Ercheng ran around trying to find her, but all the people from Dingnan said they hadn’t seen Jiao Qing for hours. No one knew where she had gone.
Feeling exhausted, Zhuo Ercheng planned to rest in his office. But just as he lay down, Jiang Jinwei’s call woke him up:
“Ercheng, are you really not coming to see me tonight? What happened today scared me so much, I—”
Before she could finish, Zhuo Ercheng hung up, feeling so irritated he wished he could sew her mouth shut.
Annoyed, he soon fell into a drowsy sleep. When he woke up, he found a small women’s jacket draped over him.
Deng Zilu quietly pushed the door open and, seeing him awake, sweetly handed him a cup of water and a warm sandwich.
“I noticed you didn’t eat much at the banquet, so I brought you something. Are you hungry? Do you want to eat now?”
Zhuo Ercheng felt a rare warmth in his heart. He held her hand. “Lulu, come sit with me.”
Deng Zilu sat beside him and leaned against him. “Ercheng, you’ve worked so hard. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Zhuo Ercheng gazed at her deeply. “Earlier today, you mentioned treating the people from Taoyang to a meal. Someone saw Jiao Qing with them. After that, she never came down from the third floor. Lulu, can you tell me where she went?”
Deng Zilu had already guessed he would ask about Jiao Qing.
“Mrs. Jiao dirtied Miss Su from Taoyang’s clothes and took her to the lounge to change. But then she disappeared herself. Miss Su couldn’t find any clothes, so she had to come back. I later tried contacting Mrs. Jiao, but her communicator wouldn’t connect.”
Zhuo Ercheng’s eyes darkened.
Deng Zilu started sweating nervously, but the more nervous she was, the more naturally composed she appeared.
Zhuo Ercheng studied her for a moment before smiling and patting her shoulder.
“You should go rest early too. Don’t worry about me.”
Deng Zilu let out a quiet sigh of relief and quickly left. On her way back, she ran into Jiang Jinwei, who was rushing in the opposite direction.
It looked like she was also going to find Ercheng.
Deng Zilu didn’t say a word, taking a detour to avoid her.
Naturally, Jiang Jinwei was met with a closed door and had to return in embarrassment. When she got back, she took out her frustration on Su Zhenglan, making a huge mess.
Meanwhile, Su Tao was dealing with a mess of her own—not because of the streaking incident earlier, but because the white cat mama had scratched Rongrong.
There was a deep scratch on her arm, bleeding heavily. In the middle of the night, they had to wake up Jian Kaiyu to stop the bleeding.
Rongrong was terrified, tears streaming down her face in grievance.
“I… I heard Flame meowing in the room and thought they were hungry. I just wanted to go in and open a can of food for them. But as soon as I pushed the door open, she pounced on me and started clawing and biting.”
Su Tao shut the door, intending to scold the white cat mama. But the moment the cat saw they were alone, she darted out from under the bed, circling around Su Tao and meowing, even lightly brushing her feet with her big tail to beg for affection.
Most of Su Tao’s anger was swept away by that fluffy tail.
She picked up the white cat and gently patted its paws, trying to discipline it.
“Look at what you did to the girl outside. You scratched such a big wound on her arm and even bit her. Why are you so aggressive?”
“You know what, I should just call you Chili Pepper from now on—you’re so fiery, even your presence is overpowering.”
The newly named White Chili Pepper seemed to realize its mistake, lowering its tail and staying still.
Black Sesame, perched on the bed, watched and kept meowing non-stop. It was unclear if it was pleading for mercy or making excuses.
Forget it.
Su Tao carried Chili Pepper to the bathroom for a bath. The cat was filthy, with matted fur in some places.
At first, Chili Pepper resisted, struggling to escape from the tub. But after Su Tao pressed her down and scolded her twice, she obediently stayed put.
Su Tao realized that this cat actually understood human speech—but only from her.
To Chili Pepper, everyone else was a dangerous enemy.
After a bath and a blow-dry, Chili Pepper’s stunning beauty was fully restored.
With her striking blue eyes, silky long fur, and especially her swaying, bushy tail, she was mesmerizing.
Qian Rongrong glanced from a distance and immediately chose to forgive her.
Song Yuebin was utterly captivated. Seeing Chili Pepper’s extraordinary beauty, he couldn’t help but wonder—if her kitten, Flame, was already so impressive, what would he grow into?
Like a persistent salesman, he followed Su Tao around and pleaded:
“Boss Su, how about this—I know a great cat trainer who can teach this mother cat not to scratch or bite. Then we can find a high-quality male cat to breed with her for free. I don’t even need the kittens—you just have to sell Huoyan to me. I’m willing to pay three million. What do you say?”
Su Tao shook her head. “I’ll train Little Chili myself. She’s suffered too much in the past and lacks a sense of security. She just needs time. Besides, do I look like someone who lacks cats? Or money?”
Song Yuebin whispered, “Not short on cats, but short on money…”
“Boss Su, are you really not considering it? I saw Manager Ma working so hard lately to bring clients to Taoyang and make money. If three million isn’t enough, just name your price.”
At that moment, Ma Dapao was about to report to Su Tao. Hearing this, he immediately stepped in.
“Get lost! When our boss says no, she means no! It’s just a cat—if she wants to keep it, money doesn’t matter.”
Song Yuebin was promptly chased away.
Ma Dapao sat down with a stack of documents.
“These are the contacts I’ve made in the past two days. Most of them will be placing orders with Fang Zhi after the meeting. It should bring in a considerable profit. Also, tomorrow is the trade fair. I managed to secure a prime spot for our temporary shop. We’ll have to work overnight to prepare the goods.”
Lin Fangzhi handed Su Tao two sheets of paper. “Inventory list.”
Su Tao glanced at them and saw that everything was well-planned, with different stocking strategies depending on the situation.
Fang Zhi was growing fast.
She couldn’t help but ruffle his shoulder-length hair. “You’re amazing, Fang Zhi.”
She never expected him to one day help her solve so many problems—just as he had promised.
