As a shop run by thugs, it actually looked pretty decent — minimalist, modern, and there was a Lei Meow Meow promo poster plastered at the door. Even in this tucked-away spot there were a few customers, and the shelves and floor were clean, clearly someone kept the place orderly.

Shan-jie walked straight to the counter and tapped the desktop with a rhythmic code, like Morse. The clerk behind the counter went stone-faced, said nothing, and motioned us through a small door behind the counter.

The back of the shop was a mixed warehouse/office: desks, filing cabinets, an attendance sheet on the wall — and from what I could see, Sharo really wasn’t just using these stores as bases, she was actually running them properly.

“Miss Lingmeng, this way.” Shan-jie knocked twice on a wall panel; it sounded hollow, then the panel clicked inward and swung open. A spiky-haired delinquent with a headband poked her head out and called, “Oh? You’re the ones going with Big Sis to listen to Lu Huangze fart, right?”

Her voice was like a gong and I only half caught it, so I leaned to Shan-jie and whispered, “Lu Huangze? Who’s that again?”

That name sounded familiar but blurry. Shan-jie said, “Didn’t we already say? He’s the nominal leader of Rashomon — the spokesperson at this afternoon’s meeting.”

So Rakshasa’s people didn’t exactly have a high opinion of Rashomon, either.

The girl at the door glanced at my face and went, “Eh — you’re Lingmeng-jie?”

I blinked, “Huh? You know me?”

She was brazenly familiar, grabbing my shoulder and ushering me inside. “Heh heh — know you? I was the one who tied you up and carried you back! I thought I’d never see you again!”

“You did that?!” Turns out she was the one that bagged me that time.

“Don’t blame me — you’re so pretty, that fits what Big Sis ordered us to find perfectly.”

I remembered: she was one of the girls behind Sharo when Meow Meow roughed Sharo up. So Sharo’s image with her people hadn’t collapsed after all.

The room beyond the hidden door was larger than the shop itself and the decor couldn’t have been more different: dark-red wallpaper with faint gold patterns, gilded wood carvings on the waistline, luxurious cashmere carpet, leather sofas and even a plush European-style bed.

A windowless little lair, empty except for snacks spread on the coffee table. The spiky-haired girl invited us to sit on the sofa.

“This base is mainly Big Sis’s lounge,” she said, then introduced herself, “Oh, I’m Lu Tao — Big Sis had me meet you. And this kid is—?”

Shan-jie frowned a little, annoyed, and corrected her: “Lei Shan. And for the record, I’m twenty this year. Call me jiejie.”

Shan-jie’s babyface / huge-bust / short build made Lu Tao blink, then she gushed, “Eh, you’re Xiao Shan-jie? Big Sis mentioned you — you’re cuter than I imagined! No lie — I, a sixteen-year-old beauty, somehow feel rough next to a twenty-year-old. Life’s tough.”

Talkative type. Lu Tao fetched two cans of cold cola from the fridge and handed them over, kicked off her shoes and flopped on the sofa playing with her phone, white frilly socks up on the coffee table almost touching the snacks… I was low-key bothered.

“I’m surprised you both could find our base here,” she went on. I slid the snacks a little farther on the table and asked, “Miss Lingmeng, you don’t know the Tianping district well, right? Surely the process was grueling.”

“I’ve been here quite a lot, just not into alleys like this.”

Even locals avoid these lanes — sketchy, easy pickings for goons; it's mostly tourists who wander in and get themselves snagged.

“Places you can’t find just by address are everywhere here. This shop’s one of them. If you got here just from an address, that’s impressive.”

True — without Shan-jie guiding me I’d have been lost for sure.

“There’s nowhere I can’t find in the Tianping Commercial District,” Shan-jie said proudly, tapping her head, “Maps are all right here.”

Lu Tao fawned, “Wow, Shan-jie is amazing, so great.”

The way she phrased it sounded like praising a child.

I asked, “Where’s Sharo?”

“Oh, Big Sis said the maid cafe’s busy, she went to help out first — she’ll be right back.”

“She’s actually putting in effort despite how awful her cooking is,” I muttered.

Before I finished, the hidden door was kicked open and Sharo barreled in wearing a maid outfit, two big shopping bags in hand. She snapped, “Lingmeng-jie — how do you even know my cooking is awful?”

“Uh, Xiao Lei said so.” I threw the blame at Xiao Lei to deflect — can’t exactly confess I survived the Tomato-Ketchup Hell Omurice.

“That idiot… she’s only a tiny bit better than me,” Sharo huffed, dumping the bags on the table to reveal plastic meal boxes. “You haven’t had lunch, right? I brought food.” She bristled when she noticed me staring. “Relax, it’s the idiot’s cooking.”

Xiao Lei made it? That didn’t exactly reassure me… still, I was surprised Sharo had brought me food. I thought she’d hate me for snatching her into maid work. Maybe she actually enjoyed it?

I cradled a lunchbox and said softly, “Sharo-chan?”

She looked up, suspicious. “What, did I let you call me that familiarly?”

“How’s the maid work going?” I asked.

“…You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Trying to get me to slap you? You really volunteered to come to the meeting — not afraid I’ll sell you to that Lu Huangze trash?”

Sharo’s tone was prickly; I put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from flying off.

“It’s not that I want to — but you not bringing it up, not punching me, and even buying lunch makes me uneasy!”

“She’s being nice to you and you get awkward — that’s called being shameless,” Shan-jie cut in.

Sharo flopped on the sofa, giving up on beating me up. “I’m not saying I don’t hate you, but the maid gig’s actually more fun than I thought — it’s a different vibe from my maids at home…”

Did I just hear something big? “…you have maids at home?”

“Haha, you don’t even know! Big Sis is—” Lu Tao started, but Sharo clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Taozi, pipe down. I don’t want to hand her any more leverage over me.”

Sharo stood and headed to the wardrobe, untying her apron and reaching for the dress buttons, and told us, “You two go ahead and eat. I’ll change first—this maid outfit is way too restrictive.”

“You’re changing here?” I stammered.

“Are you stupid? This is my room — where else? I’m not going out to the warehouse to change, idiot.” she snapped.

Fine. If she didn’t mind me watching, I’d watch — she didn’t seem bothered.

Pink underwear, very girly.

I glanced at Shan-jie; she didn’t flinch, just ate calmly — how gentlemanly.

After lunch Sharo changed into a spy-team outfit and did a quick spin in front of me and Shan-jie, then dragged us over to the wardrobe.

“You two should change too. Lingmeng-jie, that school uniform’s no good — too proper, no personality.”

I raised an eyebrow: mixing dress codes for a gang meeting? Okay. She then turned to Shan-jie. Shan-jie wasn’t in a punk leather jacket like Lü Le; she wore a fresh blue-and-white striped shirt, probably a brand new one bought by Meow Meow.

“Shan-jie, your clothes could use more style…” Sharo said.

“What style? Thug style?” I reflexively answered.

“I told you, Rakshasa ain’t thugs! I’ll smack you, jerk!”

Well, that line sounded exactly like thug banter for sure!