Chapter 200 The Second-Generation Heir

Chapter 200: Chapter 200 The Second-Generation Heir

​The store interior was dark and quiet when Veyra pushed open the glass front door.

​Mia was already sitting near the back, perched on a small folding metal chair with a thick spiral notebook resting across her lap. Megan was sitting right beside her on an empty crate, her thumbs moving rapidly across her mobile phone screen.

​Both of them lifted their heads the second the front door handle clicked.

​"Good morning," Mia greeted her, offering a weary smile.

​"Morning, everyone," Veyra replied, setting her leather shoulder bag down on a nearby workbench. She glanced around the open room, checking the corners. "Where is Jade?"

​Mia gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "She is not here yet."

​Megan tapped her phone display and checked the timestamp. "She sent a text saying she was on her way over twenty minutes ago."

​Veyra let out a soft sigh and pulled out her phone to check for notifications. There were no new missed calls or unread text messages from Jade.

​She pulled up a second metal chair, sat down beside them, and prepared to wait.

​As the minutes dragged on, Mia grew noticeably fidgety and nervous.

​She repeatedly flipped back and forth through the blank pages of her notebook, checked the clock on her phone every few seconds, and tapped the plastic end of her blue ballpoint pen against the paper in a rapid, irregular rhythm.

​"She is running really late," Mia noted, her voice rising slightly in pitch.

​"Give her a few more minutes," Veyra said softly, keeping her voice light. "She will be here."

​"What if her updated floor plans are not ready yet?" Mia pressed on, her anxiety getting the better of her. "What if the revised layouts do not look right? What if we end up missing our contractor deadlines and falling behind on construction?"

​Veyra reached over and gently placed her palm over Mia’s shaking hand, bringing the tapping pen to a halt. "Just take a deep breath and relax, Mia."

​"I honestly cannot relax right now," Mia confessed, running a hand through her hair. "We have to get this place fully renovated and open for business before the new university semester begins. We have a strict timeline to follow, a fixed budget to stick to, and—"

​"Mia," Veyra cut in, her tone firm, warm, and steady. "We are going to figure everything out together."

​Mia took a long, slow breath, let it out, and gave a stiff nod. Yet her left leg kept bouncing nervously against the floorboards.

​Before anyone could say another word, the glass front door suddenly swung open with a loud rattle.

​Jade stumbled straight into the room, gasping for air as if she had just sprinted ten city blocks. Her short hair was a total bird’s nest of tangled strands, her linen shirt was visibly buttoned wrong and turned inside out, and her thick rimmed glasses were sitting crookedly on the bridge of her nose.

​"I am so, so sorry!" Jade panted out, clutching her chest. "I overslept... I mean, I stayed up through the entire night working! Working continuously on the store layout and interior concept drawings!"

​She held up a tightly rolled bundle of thick architectural paper in her right hand. Her fingers were trembling violently from pure exhaustion and caffeine.

​Veyra could not help but chuckle softly at the chaotic sight. "You are fine, Jade. Take a second to catch your breath."

​Jade doubled over, resting her palms heavily against her knees while wheezing for air. Megan quickly stood up, grabbed an unopened plastic bottle of mineral water from her tote bag, and handed it over.

​Jade unscrewed the cap, gulped down half the bottle in one long swig, and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. She straightened her posture, pushed her crooked glasses up her nose, and unrolled the thick sheets of paper across the flat top of a wooden crate.

​"Alright," Jade said, her eyes shining with sudden excitement despite her exhaustion. "Here is the master plan."

​She flattened out the large white paper sheets with both hands so everyone could see the detailed pencil sketches.

​The first drawing prominently featured the main service counter on the ground floor. It was drawn with a smooth, elegant curve, positioned directly in front of the entry entrance so that it immediately commanded the entire room.

​"This curved service counter is going to be our absolute centerpiece," Jade explained, pointing her finger at the detailed line work. "It is the very first thing every single customer will see when they walk through the door. It needs to look breathtaking and leave a lasting impression."

​She then moved her finger slightly upward, pointing to the open structural space directly above the service counter.

​"And right above the main counter, I want to construct a specialized design installation called a figure rain."

​Mia tilted her head to the side, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "A figure rain?"

​Jade pulled out a second detailed sketch sheet from the bottom of the roll and laid it over the first. This drawing showcased the high ceiling area, styled to look like a dark, glittering night sky filled with microscopic LED lights. Hanging down from the overhead framework were hundreds of thin, nearly invisible transparent fishing lines.

​"We will take authentic collectible action figures," Jade explained, her voice rising with enthusiasm. "We suspend them individually from those clear lines at completely different heights and varied angles across the ceiling. From a distance, it will look like a literal rainstorm of falling figures. A stunning visual cascade suspended right in mid-air."

​Veyra leaned in closer, staring intently at the detailed pencil drawing.

​She visualized the floating figures, the invisible suspension lines, the starry night backdrop, and the way the overhead spotlights would reflect off the polished plastic and metal surfaces of the collectibles.

​The whole concept was striking, incredibly creative, and completely different from anything she had ever seen in a local cafe.

​"It is absolutely incredible," Veyra admitted, a genuine smile breaking across her face.

​Mia nodded her head in slow, thoughtful agreement. "A unique display like that would definitely draw massive crowds of university students and local shoppers."

​Megan was already typing away furiously on her mobile phone screen. "I am searching for similar creative visual installations online right now. If we build this properly, people will take endless photos and post them on social media. It will go viral within days."

​Jade grinned broadly, crossing her arms over her chest. "That is precisely what I am aiming for.”

​She proceeded to unroll the remaining layout pages, stepping through every square foot of the proposed building plan.

​She showed them the complete floor plan for the ground floor, followed by the secondary upper lounge area, including specific placements for wooden tables, comfortable plush chairs, custom tea cups, matching saucers, and specialized serving trays.

​Every single corner of the building had been meticulously calculated, and every tiny decorative element had a specific purpose.

​"The ground level floor is designed purely for quick walk-in orders," Jade explained, tracing the customer flow lines with her pen. "It caters to people who want to grab a quick drink and head out to work or class. The second floor, however, is designed for long lingering. It is where people can sit down, study, work on laptops, and socialize comfortably for hours."

​She pointed to a series of semi-private seating booths arranged along the far wall of the second floor. "Each of these individual seating booths will feature a completely different pop-culture theme, showcasing distinct fictional characters, unique color palettes, and matching artwork."

​Veyra examined every page of the floor plans carefully. She could already visualize the finished shop, the busy counter, the happy customers, and the lively atmosphere filling the room.

​"I absolutely love it," Veyra said firmly.

​Mia gave an enthusiastic nod. "I love it as well. It is brilliant."

​Megan clapped her hands together in delight. "This entire venue is going to turn out amazing!"

​Veyra turned her eyes toward Jade, her expression full of genuine respect. "You have truly outdone yourself with this work, Jade."

​Jade’s cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, and she rubbed the back of her neck in mild embarrassment. "Well, it is not completely finalized just yet. There are still dozens of tiny structural details to refine, but the core foundation is solid."

​"The foundation is more than solid," Veyra reassured her. "It is perfect."

​With the design approved, the four of them immediately divided up the workload to begin execution.

​Mia agreed to serve as the main renovation manager on site. She would oversee the construction crew, interview local contractors, order the necessary building supplies, and keep the master timeline strictly on schedule.

​Megan agreed to act as the primary administrative assistant. She would handle all the confusing municipal paperwork, file for commercial business licenses, process building permits, and coordinate safety inspections with city officials.

​Jade took responsibility for securing all the specialized collectible figurines required for the ceiling installation. She would reach out to regional collector groups, locate rare items, negotiate bulk purchase prices, and curate the entire visual display.

​Veyra took on the role of general manager overseeing the full venture. She would manage the overall investment budget, coordinate marketing campaigns, organize local publicity, and plan the official grand opening event.

​Within an hour, they had established a clear plan, assigned specific roles, and laid out a firm timeline.

​Jade pulled out her mobile phone from her pocket and scrolled down her list of contacts.

​"I need to place a call to the president of the regional collectible figurine association," Jade mentioned, tapping her screen. "He holds massive influence in the collector community and has deep contacts. He can easily help us source the rare and limited-edition pieces we need for the visual rain display."

​She dialed the number, put the phone to her ear, and waited silently while it rang.

​After a few moments, the line disconnected, and a look of sudden disappointment washed across her face.

​"What happened?" Mia asked, picking up on her shifted expression.

​"A recorded auto-reply message answered," Jade explained, letting out a frustrated breath. "He is currently traveling abroad in Huaguo on business and will not be returning to the city for at least another month."

​Mia’s face instantly dropped in dismay. "A whole month?"

​"We cannot afford to wait a whole month," Megan added, shaking her head. "That would ruin our entire grand opening schedule."

​Jade bit down nervously on her lower lip, staring at her phone screen while scrolling rapidly through her contact list. Suddenly, her thumb froze over a specific name.

​"Wait," Jade said slowly, her eyes lighting up slightly. "There is actually someone else I could reach out to."

​"Who is it?" Veyra asked.

​"Percy Ashford," Jade replied. "He is a wealthy young heir from the Ashford family. A total second-generation rich kid. But he happens to be a massive collector of high-end figurines. He buys extremely rare pieces and possesses endless connections across the entire collector industry."

​Mia raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "A spoiled rich kid?"

​"He is definitely a bit eccentric and strange," Jade admitted carefully. "But he knows practically every major figure trader and supplier in the country." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "I could ask him to step in and help us."

​Veyra looked closely at Jade’s face, sensing her slight hesitation.

​"Do you know him personally?"

​"I met him once in person at an anime and figure convention a year ago," Jade answered, adjusting her glasses. "He is... definitely an unusual character."

​"Unusual in what way?"

​Jade shrugged her shoulders. "He is utterly obsessed with collecting figurines. He thinks nothing of dropping millions of dollars on rare figures, and he honestly does not seem to care about normal business or social rules."

​Mia frowned slightly, looking concerned. "Is he someone we can actually rely on for a commercial project like this?"

​"I cannot make any guarantees," Jade admitted frankly. "But given our tight deadline and the president being out of the country, we do not have many other solid options left."

​Veyra pondered the situation for a long moment, weighing the risks against their strict construction schedule.