Rising Tide

"...Near Orange Town?"

"Near Orange Town."

"Where did you get a gun?"

"Are you coming?" Lin Jiao asked. "If you come, I'll tell you; if you don't, I won't. But I can state in advance that the methods involved are legal and compliant."

"Fine, I'll go," Hesta looked at her. "Now you can tell me."

"Wait until Friday—meaning tomorrow night—when we're on the road. Otherwise, who knows if you'll suddenly have something come up and run off."

Hesta shrugged gently. "Then I suppose I'll think about it a little longer."

Lin Jiao laughed. "No problem, take your time."

"Right," Hesta added. "Has the poetry society been investigated for external outreach recently?"

"You mean that business with Madam Kaja?"

"Mm."

"She did take the initiative to come to us, but we've never taken a single cent from her," Lin Jiao replied. "So we don't have any issues."

Hesta raised her head. "Did you notice something as well?"

"It's very simple. Although we lack money, we don't lack it to that degree," Lin Jiao said. "Besides, I personally feel there's a risk in taking her money—I went to that café of hers once before she moved. Although she provides a free venue for students, the second-floor dining area makes people very uncomfortable. Of course, if it were only that, I wouldn't turn down donations; money is always innocent. But she keeps claiming that she focuses on women's development, and that's just..."

"Just what?"

"Entrepreneurs who genuinely care about women's development don't run themed restaurants like that," Lin Jiao said. "I feel like she just needs to find some communities with a large female membership to expand her influence, and then use those groups to endorse her 'women-friendly' image. That's what's most fatal."

"Then do you know how she gets her money?"

"How