Chapter 154

Page Eleven No Transformation Back

“Alright, that young master… really loves maids!”

I sighed, “I didn’t expect that Young Master Lin was into maids… (stare)”

Linhua chimed in, “Yeah, quite a rare interest. (stare)”

Feeling uncomfortable with our stares, Xiao Lei immediately protested.

“Hold on! Why are you all looking at me!”

I clapped my hands, and a white mist erupted from Xiao Lei’s body before she changed into the familiar maid outfit.

I asked, “So, Miss Xiao Lei, the famous maid, have you heard of anyone like her in the maid world?”

“Don’t suddenly change my clothes! And what’s this maid world! I don’t know any high society people, but if we’re talking about maid lovers, there are always plenty coming to the store every day, right?”

That’s true, Sister Qinglan is also a maid lover.

But she doesn’t control the two professional maids at home; instead, she frequents those媚宅 shops, which greatly upset Miss Fànnī and Miss Margaret.

“Do you mean Lin Ziyeh hasn’t been to your shop?”

“Mm, at least not according to my memory.”

“Could it be the opposite of Sister Qinglan? He likes real maids?”

Sister Qian denied, “No, it’s more like the kind of shop where they open one because they like maids. Just like how Lei-chan works.”

“… He owns a maid café himself?”

“Yeah, a very famous maid café located on the fifth floor of the commercial area, between Building A and Building B.”

With this hint, Xiao Lei finally remembered something.

“Oh! Is it Peach Cat?”

I felt like I had heard this name somewhere before.

“It seems so… Lei-chan, do you know anything about it?”

“Of course! Even though I don’t know Lin Ziyeh, I know about this ‘Peach Cat Maid Café.’ It’s a new competitor, no matter how you look at it… Chairman, don’t you think our shop’s prices are already quite high?”

To her question, I answered straightforwardly.

“Yeah, they’re expensive and hard to eat, it’s just plain bad.”

“You’re not holding back, let me tell you, the consumption level at Peach Cat Maid Café is two to three times higher than ours. Their motto is to provide the highest quality service to every customer. The quality of their maids and chefs is astonishing… Of course, our maids aren’t bad either.”

She took pride in her work even while working part-time.

I asked skeptically, “Three times is too much, can they make money?”

Xiao Lei shrugged, “Chairman, your perspective is too narrow. Do you think tripling the price would stop people from spending? You can’t guess what rich people are thinking.”

… True.

While there are people like Zhao Zhao working hard to spend money, regular customers at the manga tea shop mostly belong to a certain consumer class, elite otaku. These people have income and no other interests, so as long as the quality meets their expectations, they won’t hesitate to spend even if the price triples.

In other words, “it’s easy to make money off otaku.”

“But it’s strange, why would Lin Yuhuang allow his successor to spend money like this — uh!”

“That doesn’t count as spending money recklessly, does it?”

Linhua covered my mouth with a cookie.

She said, “You think he’s just playing, but it’s also an opportunity to develop business skills. According to Lei-chan, the café still has customers and income. Even if the café fails, he can learn from the experience. From a nurturing perspective, Lin Yuhuang has no reason to stop him.”

“Even if everyone knows he’s a maid lover and might be seen as a pervert?”

Xiao Lei spread her hands, “Unfortunately, for the wealthy, people only call them eccentric.”

Tsk, can money really be forgiven?

This world is truly cruel to the poor.

“But isn’t this good?”

Miss Linhua seemed to have some ideas. She looked at Xiao Lei’s maid outfit.

“Thanks to this interest, we have a way to get close to him.”

I asked, “Are you going to send the idiot as a spy?”

Before Linhua could say anything, Xiao Lei protested loudly.

“No way, I won’t betray us!”

“Of course not, if the ACE of Kamahameha goes to work at Peach Cat, it would cause a huge problem.”

Hearing this, Xiao Lei breathed a sigh of relief. She continued, “Ultimately, as long as they’re maids, anyone here could go. Check if Peach Cat Maid Café has any job postings. Since the maids are young girls, there should be plenty of part-time high school students…”

“Why me?”

“Isn’t this usually your job?”

“There must be someone better!”

“Look around, who else can take on this task? Fēi Jiě is preparing for exams; Qian Jie, as Sister Miāomiāo’s agent, is somewhat of a public figure. As for me, just my surname ‘Huángfǔ’ would attract attention.”

“What about Cherry Sauce?”

When I mentioned her, Cherry Sauce raised an eyebrow and asked, “Oh? Are you trying to separate me from you now?”

If we maintained this fusion state to infiltrate and investigate, I’d feel much safer. After all, Cherry Sauce could handle many situations… But with my current appearance, I’m just a child!

———————–

[November 20th, Wednesday, 4:52 AM]

I woke up groggily.

The divine power was exhausted, and we were naturally kicked out of the dream.

Struggling to sit up from the mat, I glanced at the electronic clock on the bedside table. It was five o’clock… Hmm, when was the last time I woke up so early?

It was still dark outside. Xiao Lei and Linhua were sleeping soundly, huddled together under the same blanket. Perhaps due to Xiao Lei’s poor sleeping posture, Linhua had her arms wrapped tightly around her, preventing her from moving and kicking off the blanket.

The bedroom air conditioner wasn’t set too high. Without a blanket, wearing only thin pajamas, it was still a bit chilly. Although Xiao Lei wouldn’t catch a cold, Linhua would.

— “Hey, you’re awake?” —

Cherry Sauce sat with her back to the floor-to-ceiling window, letting the silver moonlight bathe her back. She didn’t need sleep, so she sat there all night.

— “Don’t stare at them, take care of yourself. The transformation state hasn’t been lifted.” —

I noticed this when I sat up.

My low height, soft and weak body meant I was still that cute half-elf girl.

Indeed, it wasn’t my subconscious triggering the response of the divine altar. If the divine power was exhausted, why hadn’t I transformed back yet?

— “Since it wasn’t a spontaneous transformation, you clearly fell victim to someone’s spell.” —

Isn’t this related to Heavenly Law’s punishment?

— “Heavenly Law certainly wouldn’t have issues. If it’s supposed to be resolved on the same day, it won’t be delayed until the next day… The person who cast the spell used the Heavenly Punishment to artificially extend the transformation status.” —

The person Cherry Sauce mentioned is likely Mysterious Girl A.

Who else could it be?

But what is she trying to do?

— “She probably did something during our dream. I overlooked it. I should have known she had the ability to cast spells from a distance. Remember the golden light that removed Father’s fear? That was also cast from afar.” —

Long-distance spellcasting, instant teleportation, cognitive interference… The chances of Queen and Lin Shaojie catching each other are slim…

— “But it’s not entirely fruitless. I’ve memorized her scent. If she gets close to us, I can smell her and increase our vigilance.” —

… Are you a hunting dog?

Cherry Sauce explained, — “Although it makes no difference in use, everyone’s divine power or magical energy has its unique characteristics. Memorizing these features can be used for tracking… By the way, our divine powers smell different too.” —

But even if we discover it, we can’t counteract it, right?

— “About that, I need to think of a solution.” —

But if I can’t transform back, then today…

— “Only I (my clone) can go to school. Use this opportunity to gather information from Xiao Shaojie’s aunt.” —

I naturally nodded in agreement to Cherry Sauce’s plan.

After all, not having to attend school was quite enjoyable. But would Aunt Lin really talk to a stranger girl?

— “We don’t need to rush with the information. First, confirm what kind of person Aunt Lin is.” —

Regardless of what kind of person she is, one thing is certain: she ignited Xiao Shaojie’s desire for revenge.

— “But if what she says is true, then Xiao Shaojie indeed has reasons for revenge.” —

To understand what happened ten years ago would be incredibly difficult…

It was early, but I didn’t intend to continue sleeping. Instead, I went to the bathroom for grooming. My pajamas were changed into casual children’s wear by Cherry Sauce’s operation.

— “Thinking about it, we won’t be drinking coffee all day. After spending the morning at the café, we can visit Peach Cat with Sister Shan in the afternoon to see if they’re hiring part-time maids.” —

Even if they’re hiring, they wouldn’t use a little girl, would they?

Leaving the bedroom with Cherry Sauce, I bumped into Father who was walking out of his room. He seemed surprised to see me, and so was I, because he was wearing Mother’s silk sleeping cap.

Noticing my gaze, he awkwardly removed the hat.

He asked, “Xiao Kai, why haven’t you transformed back?”

“I don’t know, it seems like someone cast a transformation spell on me…”

Looking at Father and the stairs, I suddenly recalled what he said yesterday when he went upstairs.

“You look pretty cute like that. If you could maintain this for a few more days, it would be great.”

Wait, could it be that Mysterious Girl A extended the duration to fulfill Father’s wish?!

Could it be that she is our mother?

— “If that’s the case, she must have overheard what Father said to you.” —

But Cherry Sauce didn’t detect her presence.

— “I’ve always found it strange. She knows everything about us, not only tracking our movements but often solving problems before us. How does she do it? It’s like…” —

Cherry Sauce looked into my eyes, and I seemed to understand something.