Shen Lingqing narrowed her eyes. She suddenly felt like something was wrong, while Liu Jinfei was still oblivious to the problem that was about to make itself known to the two of them.
Liu Jinfei was briefly preoccupied with their conversation, and it took him a moment to notice that Shen Lingqing wasn’t moving and opening the door in front of her. He looked over her shoulder and saw that she was still holding the doorknob.
“Director Shen, is there something wrong?” He asked.
“Yeah, it seemed they locked the door from the outside. We are trapped in here.” Shen Lingqing didn’t dare to lie to him. There was no point in hiding it anyway, as they were both trapped inside the diner until Qiao Lian and the rest opened the restaurant in the morning.
Liu Jinfei’s eyes widened. He then glanced at his boss’s face, wondering what they should do then. It was already midnight, and he understood that most of the staff were too tired to notice that he and Shen Lingqing hadn’t gone out yet.
Anyway, he couldn’t blame the others for not making sure everyone was out. It was Qiao Lian who was assigned to lock the door, after all. Moreover, even if they managed to open the main door, they would still need to open the steel sliding shutter from the outside.
It also didn’t help that the snow was falling hard outside; hence, no one would want to stay outdoors at this time of the day.
As he glanced at Shen Lingqing’s form, Liu Jinfei felt guilty for wasting her time with him earlier. They wouldn’t be in this situation had he left the kitchen with the others.
“Do you have your phone with you?” He heard Shen Lingqing ask.
“Sorry. No. I don’t keep my phone with me while working. I left it in my dorm room today,” Liu Jinfei replied.
“Mine’s with Qiao Lian at the moment.” Shen Lingqing rested a hand on her hip and pondered about their other choices. “Let’s see if we can open the office upstairs to give Qiao Lian a call,” she suggested.
They took the stairs, with Shen Lingqing leading the way. However, as they tried to open the door, they found out that it was already locked. Looking at the fingerprint scanner, she knew it wouldn’t give her access to get inside.
‘I should have agreed with Qiao Lian when she told me to register my fingerprint to get access,’ she muttered to herself. The only one who could unlock her office right now would be her assistant. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
That wasn’t surprising because there were important documents inside that Shen Lingqing and Qiao Lian left in the safe. Because Shen Lingqing was always with her assistant, she didn’t bother with those things as the security team from SY Holding installed new locks and devices within the restaurant.
‘Stupid,’ she chastised herself inwardly.
Shen Lingqing groaned and leaned at the wall across the door, while Liu Jinfei checked the automatic lock that was installed inside. The fingerprint scanner was on, and the other options to unlock the door were either using a key card or the key itself.
“We could try the back door, Director Shen.”
“You can check, but I wouldn’t be so hopeful.” Shen Lingqing sighed and followed him down the stairs and then to the kitchen.
Suddenly, just as Liu Jinfei was about to unlock the door, the lights flickered and turned off, indicating a power outage in the restaurant. As the darkness engulfed the two of them, they stayed still. Their eyes then started having a hard time adjusting to their surroundings within the black-out.
Shen Lingqing groaned behind him, knowing fully well that it would take half an hour before the generator could power up the security locks because it would prioritize the pantry and the walk-in freezer where their supplies were kept.
Shen Lingqing sat in her usual seat in the kitchen and sighed. She could only hope that Qiao Lian would notice that she was missing anytime soon. Anyway, this would be a good opportunity for her to test the newly installed security measures of the restaurant. She just didn’t expect that she would be trapped inside, along with Liu Jinfei.
The snowstorm outside didn’t seem like it would stop anytime soon, and Liu Jinfei was worried that Shen Lingqing would catch a cold from this bad weather. He could only hope that the power would return soon, so he could adjust the heater inside the diner.
Shen Lingqing rested her head in one hand, while her arm was propped on the small table next to her. She glanced at Liu Jinfei’s face. Half of it was covered by a dark shadow.
“Calm down. If I am right, Qiao Lian will notice that I am missing in an hour.”
Because she had known her assistant for years, Shen Lingqing was aware of Qiao Lian’s nightly routine. After a long day at work, Qiao Lian loved to take a warm bath, dress up in her favorite pair of pajamas, and drink warm milk… before checking on Shen Lingqing for the last time before she went to bed.
Qiao Lian would rarely break this routine, so Shen Lingqing was confident that she and Liu Jinfei wouldn’t have to spend the night freezing inside the restaurant. Now, the only problem she needed to deal with was keeping herself awake until her assistant came back to save her and Liu Jinfei.
Shen Lingqing wasn’t a night owl because she was more of an early bird, just like her father and her elder brother, Shen Zichen.
When Liu Jinfei noticed that she had fallen silent after a few minutes, he carefully strode and took a seat across the one she was in. He tried to give her a good look, but with the darkness within the restaurant, it was hard for him to see her clearly.
“Director Shen?” He called out, but he didn’t hear a response from her.
