Chapter 7

Cui Ling: "..."

Then don't admit it!

Qin You added another condition. "Preferably within three days."

Cui Ling: "..."

Within three days?

Fall in love?

With Yan Tingshen?

Not even in three years.

Try three lifetimes...

Author's note:

Cui Ling: "You might as well fire me..."

Chapter 7

Seeing Cui Ling's troubled expression, Qin You said, "You don't have to answer right away. Write me a proposal tonight."

Cui Ling: "..."

A proposal?

Was he supposed to treat this like a serious assignment? You've got to be kidding...

Besides, get Yan Tingshen to like him in three days?

He couldn't do it.

It was a complete fantasy!

But before he could figure out how to refuse, the hospital room door opened.

Yan Tingshen came out.

Cui Ling stole a glance at him and was immediately driven back by that merciless face.

He looked again at his own carefree boss, a tangle of emotions rising in his heart.

Of all the people the second-generation heir could have fallen for, he had to pick Yan Tingshen. The man was strong and handsome, but he was truly ruthless too!

Wasn't he just asking for trouble?

"Finished the handover?"

Qin You looked at Yan Tingshen in his wheelchair inside the hospital room. Hearing the target's affirmative answer, he then said, "Let's go."

Cui Ling followed the two of them, watching them from behind as his grip on his phone tightened again and again.

After much hesitation, he remembered Qin You's warning and slowly loosened his grip, deciding not to tell Qin Hengzhong about it.

With Yan Tingshen and the second-generation heir recuperating together, security would only be tighter. Besides, few people knew Qin You lived in Zeshui Bay, so it was highly confidential.

If nothing else worked, he could simply be more vigilant over the next few days.

The chairman had let Qin You leave the hospital to recuperate. If Cui Ling's "snitching" made Qin You resistant, it wouldn't be worth it either.

Having thought it through, Cui Ling gave instructions to the people around him and carried on.

Fortunately, a rehabilitation team was already available.

When Qin You's group arrived at Zeshui Bay, the medical equipment was being set up and tested in the villa. Yan Tingshen was invited over to try it.

Mindful of Qin You's ulterior motive, Cui Ling shamefacedly arranged for Yan Tingshen's bedroom to be next to Qin You's.

Seeing Qin You lingering in the guest room to look around, Cui Ling suppressed his discomfort, pulled a document from inside his jacket, and changed the subject. "Young Mr. Qin, you left this at the office, so I brought it back for you. This document is important. Please don't leave it lying around again."

Qin You casually took it.

Seeing that he still wasn't leaving, Cui Ling scratched the folder and searched for something to say. "The people at home won't look through it, but now you've brought an outsider in. The consequences of leaving documents lying around could be serious."

Qin You gave a perfunctory response. "Mm."

The Qin Group's collapse was inevitable. Sooner or later made little difference.

If the "outsider" he'd brought in could deliver the document straight to Yan Tingshen, it would save him quite a bit of time.

Just then, a caregiver poked his head through the doorway.

Seeing Qin You, he carried a medical kit inside. "There you are, Mr. Qin. It's time to change your dressing."

Qin You nodded, put down the document, and went to sit on a nearby sofa, undoing his cuff—

"..." Cui Ling avoided the key word and put it tactfully. "Young Mr. Qin, this is the guest room."

Reminded by that, Qin You remembered why he was there.

He got up and returned to the desk, looked over the layout of the entire suite, and said to Cui Ling, "Find a few people to install assistive equipment here before A-Sheng moves in."

Cui Ling looked at the places he had briefly pointed out.

The study and living area were places Yan Tingshen would frequently use.

He'd heard that Yan Tingshen's spinal cord was injured, affecting his ability to walk, sit, and lie down. Having equipment to support himself in places he often passed through would indeed be more convenient.

The second-generation heir was thoughtful after all.

That made sense.

After all, this was someone he liked. That kind of heartfelt concern was hard to fake.

As Cui Ling was thinking, he heard footsteps approach his side.

Qin You looked around but couldn't find anything else that needed changing. He turned to Cui Ling. "You have experience. What do you think of this way of improving his favorability?"

"..." Cui Ling was expressionless. "...Very good."

Qin You said, "Anything to add?"

"..." Cui Ling was speechless and simply shook his head.

Qin You said, "Then go make the arrangements."

Cui Ling turned and left.

Qin You returned to his bedroom as well.

After having his dressing changed, he went downstairs and ate with the target. When he went back upstairs, a worker reported to him.

"Mr. Qin, everything has been installed."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Qin You said, "Where's Cui Ling?"

The worker said, "Mr. Cui gave us the plans and went to the company."

Qin You raised his wrist to check the time. "You can all get off work too."

"All right."

Qin You and Yan Tingshen continued upstairs.

When they reached the bedroom, Yan Tingshen immediately saw the equipment at varying heights inside the door.

It was more comprehensive than the equipment at the hospital, yet it didn't obstruct movement. The arrangement was also clearly thought out, with the most equipment in the areas where he rested and worked. It had evidently been designed.

"What do you think?" Qin You asked with a smile. "We can change it if you're not satisfied."

Yan Tingshen came back to his senses. Without looking at him, he said slowly, "It's very good like this. Thank you."

Qin You couldn't read anything from the target's expression, but the system hadn't announced any data. Apparently, his favorability hadn't risen.

Qin You wasn't particularly surprised.

The target was emotionally closed off, and there had been little change all along. Such a small gesture would probably have a hard time moving that hardened heart.

Fortunately, it had risen by one point at least and hadn't dropped again, which meant the overall approach was right.

However, progress in that direction was too slow. Nearly a third of the three-day time limit had passed, and he still needed a backup plan in case he had no other choice. After all, it was best to be prepared.

Qin You looked at Yan Tingshen beside him. Half a step behind, he looked his body up and down and asked the system, [Does the intimate contact you mentioned count if it's with other body parts, or does it have to be a kiss?]

The system replied, [Sorry, Host. The mission details don't mention which other body parts count as intimate parts. The only examples are kissing and sexual intercourse.]

Qin You fell silent.

The system said, [However, I don't recommend that Host have sexual intercourse with the target. There is a nearly one-hundred-percent chance it will cause the target extreme aversion and lead to mission failure, and—]

Qin You said, [...All right. That's enough.]

The system said, [Okay...]

Qin You asked instead, [Is mission progress recorded in real time?]

The system brought up a panel. [Yes. Current progress is zero percent.]

Qin You said, [I'll try making contact with the target in a moment. Monitor the progress in real time.]

The system said, [Okay!]

Qin You closed the system page and looked back at Yan Tingshen.

Before long, he cleared his throat softly, stepped closer, and reached for Yan Tingshen's waist.

Before his palm landed, he paused. Only when Yan Tingshen looked over did he press it firmly down.

He pulled him into his arms with a little force, made a show of looking at the floor, and said in his usual tone, "Watch the step."

Yan Tingshen's gaze sharpened slightly, and he followed his voice to look down as well.

There was a decorative step at the corner, one or two centimeters high. If not for Qin You's action, he wouldn't have noticed it.

But what made its presence felt more keenly at that moment was the hand on his waist.

Even though he had experienced it once before, he still couldn't get used to being so close to another person, much less to this kind of posture.

Yan Tingshen frowned and was about to move when he felt the hand at his waist suddenly let go.

The hand seemed to brush casually across his lower back, then supported his arm. Before he could respond, warm, strong fingertips forced their way into his left hand and gently closed around it, calmly but firmly leading him one step forward.

Memories of last night suddenly swept back over him.

The same person, the same forceful manner, keeping him close and taking a knife for him.

The difference was that this time, after that one step, Qin You quickly let go.

It was only the distance of a single step, and his actions hadn't been out of line. They had also been well-intentioned, so making an issue of them would seem like making a fuss over nothing.

Yan Tingshen turned to the composed Qin You.

His hand fell back to his side, curling slightly before relaxing. The faint warmth in his palm was like a lingering spark, still burning hot.

Qin You curled the hand he had withdrawn into a fist behind his back and looked at him with smiling eyes. "What is it?"

Yan Tingshen paused briefly and said only, "Nothing. Let's go."

The two continued forward. The room grew quieter still.

The system's voice came through more clearly. [Host, favorability unchanged. Emergency contingency mission progress unchanged.]

Seeing the figures on the panel remain completely still, Qin You felt helpless.

By his reckoning, at the initial stage of the mission, the so-called intimate contact couldn't possibly jump straight to the final step, and the target couldn't possibly accept it. Besides kissing, holding hands and hugging both counted as forms of intimate contact in a relationship.

Unfortunately, his reasoning didn't hold up under the system's judgment.

The system said, [Host, according to the data, human lips need to be uncovered for kissing, and the same applies during sexual intercourse. Could it be that you touched the target through his clothes, so the contact wasn't intimate enough?]

[...I wasn't touching him like that—forget it,]

Qin You said, [I held his hand. That had nothing to do with clothes.]

The system was undeterred by one failure. [Host, then try kissing him. The target didn't refuse when you held his hand, which means he isn't on guard against you. The success rate of a forced kiss is extremely high. Difficulty rating: one star!]

To its discouragement, the host didn't take its suggestion.

Qin You was saying goodbye to Yan Tingshen.

He had already noticed that the other man was clearly on guard because of what he had just done, keeping a step between them as they continued forward.

Since staying any longer would make Yan Tingshen wary, his favorability probably wouldn't increase either. Worse still, if the target read too much into it, his favorability might decrease.

"You've been busy for so long. You must be tired too. Get some rest early."