Chapter 31 : Chapter 31

Chapter 31: The Bakery’s Manager

As the baked bread base was placed on a refined, dedicated countertop, Tang Yihan’s fluid movements quickly transformed it into something I could never afford.

I had to admit, Tang Yihan looked incredibly charismatic when she was working seriously.

Ying Shiqian, on the other hand, stood by my side, watching without the slightest intention of helping.

“Why’re you looking at me? I’m the one who’ll have to run errands later,” Ying Shiqian said immediately when she caught my gaze.

“Errands? You’re personally delivering it?”

A flash of confusion crossed my eyes.

I didn’t understand what she was getting at.

For deliveries, wouldn’t a delivery person… oh, I remembered the order’s price.

With that kind of money, it made sense for a senior sister to deliver it herself.

If a delivery person ruined the cake, that’d be a disaster.

At that moment, I still hadn’t grasped the gravity of the situation—until someone walked into the bakery.

“Welcome”

I greeted enthusiastically, a reflex from service jobs.

“Oh, this is the new employee?”

The senior sister who entered acted overly familiar, her eyes gleaming as she grabbed both my hands.

“Yes,” I replied awkwardly, unsure of the situation.

Was she a regular?

“Manager? You’re finally back,” Ying Shiqian said from behind me, her address making me freeze.

“Manager?”

I looked at this senior sister—or rather, manager—in shock.

Her hand was gently rubbing the back of mine, clearly taking advantage.

If she weren’t a senior, I’d have yanked my hand away.

With that lecherous demeanor, could she have been a boy tricked into coming here before?

How could someone like this be my kind, rich manager?

This was shattering my worldview!

“Yup, nice to meet you, my adorable employee A freshman, too,” Xia Li said, reluctantly letting go of my hand.

She seemed quite pleased with me.

“Work hard. Your strength isn’t there yet, but I’m looking forward to your future performance.”

“I’ll do my best,” I replied with a generic response.

I didn’t understand why a part-time job at a bakery required strength.

Was it to guard against shoplifters?

That didn’t seem likely.

I wanted to ask more, but the manager breezed past me to Ying Shiqian.

Tang Yihan, seeing the manager arrive, instinctively stepped back to keep her distance.

“Yihan, are you seriously backing away? I just wanted to check on my hardworking employee,”

Xia Li said in an exaggerated tone before throwing herself into Ying Shiqian’s arms, acting like she needed comfort.

“Poetry’s warm embrace and softness can soothe my empty heart.”

I awkwardly returned to my cashier station.

This manager left quite an impression on our first meeting.

I didn’t know how to judge her.

“Don’t mind the manager. She’s just like that,” Tang Yihan said, approaching to reassure me.

My shocked expression earlier clearly wasn’t an act.

“Uh…”

“Just know she pays you. If she tries to take advantage, you can refuse outright or ask for a raise. She’ll definitely choose the raise.”

“Huh?”

I was stunned by this tactic.

Was there really such a way to make money?

That was incredible—I was learning bad habits!

But Tang Yihan didn’t care if I understood and went back to her tasks.

After all, that big order had just been finished and wasn’t even packed yet.

“Mmm Poetry, I just got word. Is there a big move happening?”

Xia Li said, indulging in another “face-washing” hug in Ying Shiqian’s arms, still not getting up.

Ying Shiqian didn’t resist—maybe that was the power of a raise?

I was suddenly a bit jealous.

“Yup, the order’s with me. Yihan’s finished it, and we’re about to pack it,” Ying Shiqian replied quickly to Xia Li’s question, though I found it hard to follow.

What did a big move have to do with a big order?

It couldn’t be someone ordering a red velvet cake for a birthday party, right?

With that money, a custom birthday cake would be better.

“So fast? You guys are amazing and so efficient. What’s the note for this one?”

“In short, it’s about recruiting someone. They only paid without sharing the benefits,” Ying Shiqian said, throwing her hands up, sounding a bit helpless.

“Delivery address and recipient?” Xia Li pressed.

“Holy Angel Academy, recipient… Tan Han.”

Hearing this, I finally picked up on something, especially the name Tan Han!

If I hadn’t misheard, wasn’t that the top-scoring genius of this year?

Was it a coincidence?

But my gut told me it wasn’t.

Having the same name as a genius would be too awkward.

If the recipient was Tan Han… there was something deeper going on.

A genius like Tan Han didn’t seem like someone who’d join Witch Academy.

She’d have better prospects—like the three great top-tier academies, right?

So how was Ying Shiqian going to deliver this red velvet cake across cities?

And why would Tan Han randomly order from Witch Academy?

A flood of questions hit me, but I couldn’t interrupt to ask.

This was clearly a coded conversation, and as a part-timer, I had no right to pry.

“Huh? Holy Angel Academy? Damn it, this time I’m going with you. I don’t care about the money—I’m going to mess this up!”

Xia Li suddenly burst out with a curse, her expression like she’d been provoked.

Holy Angel Academy.

Ying Shiqian had mentioned it, and the manager got mad.

Note to self: don’t ask the manager about Holy Angel Academy.

“Hey, manager! Don’t be impulsive. Money comes first—charge them more!”

“Right, charge more. Tell them we’re raising the price and I’m coming along!”

“Manager! Are you even listening? Make them pay more. We can’t make this trip for nothing. We’re doing the heavy lifting and leading the charge. If I get taken out, are you covering my revival costs?”

Ying Shiqian exploded after hearing the manager’s words.

She was practically losing it over the manager’s logic.

The shop hadn’t gone under yet, and half the credit went to her for keeping the manager in check!

“Revival costs… oh, right!”

The mention of revival costs seemed to calm Xia Li down instantly.

Those must be expensive, or why else would she cool off so fast?

But… revival?

I didn’t mishear, right? People could come back from the dead?

This… this was the supernatural world?

It was terrifying—playing with death itself!

“Make them cover the revival costs!”

The manager finally squeezed out this line, only to be met with another round of scolding from Ying Shiqian.

Meanwhile, Tang Yihan and I watched the show.

The manager’s demeanor around Ying Shiqian was so submissive could there be that kind of relationship between them?