Chapter 8

The person on the other end of the call had stopped speaking at some point. Only when the sound of typing resumed did he lower his voice and venture, "...Mr. Yan?"

He didn't know why his boss had taken so long to answer his question. As he hesitated over whether to repeat it a third time, he heard a faint knock.

It was probably on Mr. Yan's end, so he fell silent.

Sure enough, he soon heard his boss speak.

"We'll stop here for now."

"All right."

After ending the call, Yan Tingshen looked at Qin You by the door. "President Qin?"

Qin You walked closer. "I heard you haven't done any rehabilitation training since yesterday?"

Yan Tingshen glanced at him.

At this late hour, had Qin You come over just to remind him of something so trivial?

"Come on," Qin You said. "It's not too late to start now."

Yan Tingshen said, "Sorry for the trouble, but you don't need to worry about my rehabilitation."

Qin You looked at him with a smile. "You can't put it off any longer. You have to do it today."

The past two days had proved that the target wouldn't obediently take care of his injuries of his own accord.

Yan Tingshen frowned slightly.

Qin You went around the desk to the target's side and only then saw the chat window on the screen.

In the reply box, a half-typed string of pinyin had yet to form a message.

Was he replying to his message?

Qin You raised an eyebrow and turned back to Yan Tingshen, the smile on his lips deepening.

Yan Tingshen noticed his gaze and raised a hand to close the laptop. "I'll go. You can go back now, President Qin," he said mildly.

Qin You chuckled, not believing for a moment that he meant it.

He reached out and caught Yan Tingshen's left hand before he could withdraw it, intending to lead him out from behind the desk.

Caught off guard, Yan Tingshen failed to find his footing as he stood and staggered half a step to the side.

Seeing this, Qin You caught him by the shoulder as well and stepped forward, catching him in his arms. He was just about to speak when, unexpectedly, Yan Tingshen looked up in mild anger—

Something seemed to brush the tip of his nose. Qin You stiffened slightly and instinctively drew back.

Yan Tingshen's flicker of anger quietly froze as well.

Only the system was dismayed: [Host, what are you doing?! If you hadn't moved, the mission would have been completed!!]

Chapter 8

The sudden silence lasted a long time.

Qin You recovered first. He cleared his throat and asked Yan Tingshen, "Are you all right?"

Yan Tingshen's left hand was still resting against his shoulder and neck from the earlier movement. Seemingly roused by his voice, he pushed against him, putting some distance between them. "Yes."

Qin You said, "Sorry, I forgot you were still injured."

The anger on Yan Tingshen's face, difficult to discern in the first place, had faded unnoticed long ago. At that, he merely said, "It's all right."

Their exchange was matter-of-fact.

Neither mentioned the slight contact they had deliberately ignored.

The system was still the only one who couldn't let it go: [What a shame, host! It was that close! You wouldn't even have had to make the first move. If you'd moved a tenth of a second later, the target would have kissed you! Host!!]

Qin You glanced at Yan Tingshen's lips.

Indeed, if the target's lips had happened to brush against his just now, completing the act of a kiss, it might have counted as completing the mission.

Since such a chance accident wouldn't have been a real kiss, he didn't feel much about it.

Besides, the target's movement would have caused the accident, so it wouldn't have been his fault, and the favorability rating wouldn't have dropped. It would have been the best of both worlds.

But rational thinking after the fact couldn't change the outcome.

There was no point pursuing a possibility that had already become impossible after what had happened.

"President Qin—"

Yan Tingshen was about to speak when he noticed Qin You's gaze. His thin lips pressed together slightly, and he turned and walked around him. "Was there something else?"

Qin You saw his reaction too and realized he had misunderstood. It would have been awkward to explain, so he simply said, "Of course. The rehabilitation room prepared for you is on the second floor. Come on, I'll take you there."

A faint crease appeared between Yan Tingshen's brows.

Surely Qin You understood what he meant, yet he still insisted on this rehabilitation training?

"Do you really want to be left with lasting complications?"

Qin You took a step forward, putting a comfortable distance between them first to put him at ease. "The training is necessary. You've already missed a day, and missing it again today won't be good for your health."

His nerves seemed to agree with Qin You, clamoring in response.

Compared with the night he had been hospitalized, his condition had indeed worsened over the past two days.

Yan Tingshen lowered his eyes to his five trembling fingers. Before long, he finally changed his answer. "Sorry for the trouble."

After the accident just now, Qin You didn't get too close to him again. He simply slowed his pace to match his. "Follow me."

Yan Tingshen looked at his back and added, "Thank you."

Qin You smiled.

He looked back and met Yan Tingshen's eyes. "Didn't I tell you? You don't have to be so polite with me. Thanking me back and forth over little things like this puts too much distance between us."

Yan Tingshen was silent for a while.

Qin You was right. It seemed that since they had met, the words he had said most often to Qin You were "thank you."

Qin You looked away. "If you really want to thank me, take better care of yourself. Train diligently and try to recover your health sooner."

That would also let him repay the favor he owed him sooner.

Yan Tingshen looked at the figure before him, gradually growing familiar.

A moment later, he said, "All right."

[Host, why are you so far away from the target?]

The system began offering suggestions again. [He has trouble getting around right now, so he could fall at any moment. Then, while he's not paying attention, you could pretend to help him and kiss him a few times. Anyway, he doesn't seem to care at all!]

Qin You: [...]

A kiss on the mouth.

A few kisses, at that.

The target had a spinal cord injury, not an intellectual impairment. How could he possibly fail to notice?

The system got its answer from the host's silence and could hardly conceal its anxiety: [There's less than half the time left, host. Do you have another way?]

All it heard the host say was:

[Don't rush.]

The system: [...]

Qin You and Yan Tingshen arrived at the rehabilitation room.

Seeing the equipment inside, he asked, "Do you need a caregiver?"

Yan Tingshen didn't refuse outright.

Qin You said, "You don't know how to do the exercises?"

From the moment they first met, the target had refused to show weakness in front of others. If he could do something himself, he would never ask another person for help. Now he was hesitating, first because of the training methods, and second because there might be movements he couldn't complete on his own.

Yan Tingshen paused briefly and gestured to the side.

Qin You looked over.

The rehabilitation room had been created with every effort by the medical team, with every detail taken into account. A complete set of rehabilitation exercises was posted on the wall, with each step marked in exhaustive detail, from proper form to precautions. The same information was also posted beside the corresponding equipment.

He looked through them in order and found that the final two sets of exercises did indeed require assistance.

The system hurriedly said, [Host, what are you thinking?! Why get a caregiver? If you help him, you might gain favorability!]

This time, it had a point.

Qin You carefully reviewed the instructions again, then said to Yan Tingshen, "There's no need to look elsewhere when I'm right here. I'll help you with these two sets."

Aside from the favorability, since he owed the target a favor, he ought to familiarize himself with these movements in case they were needed.

"Why?"

Qin You turned toward Yan Tingshen's voice.

Yan Tingshen was looking at him too. "Why do all this for me?"

Qin You smiled. "Have you forgotten already? You only made a plan for me last night."

Meeting his smiling, deep-set peach blossom eyes, Yan Tingshen's gaze flickered.

"Besides, you also saved my life—"

Yan Tingshen's gaze sharpened, and his brows drew together slightly.

Qin You continued, "Compared with that, what does doing this for you amount to?"

Yan Tingshen looked away, his tone mild. "I no longer remember what you're talking about, President Qin. Please don't bring it up again."

Qin You raised an eyebrow as he watched him turn away and readily agreed. "All right, I'll do as you say. I won't bring it up again."

With that, he fetched a timer and walked with him to the equipment. "Shall we begin?"

Yan Tingshen nodded.

From then on, Qin You stayed beside him throughout, watching him complete one set of movements after another.

Only when they were halfway through, seeing that his lips had turned slightly pale and fine beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead, yet he continued regardless, did Qin You speak up and call a stop.

"Time to rest."

"There's no need," Yan Tingshen said.

Qin You glanced at him, then bent down and pressed on his shoulder, pushing him back onto the cushion he had been reclining on. "That's enough. You can spare a little time."

Yan Tingshen moved to brush the hand off his shoulder.

But the force he had easily brushed aside before was now as steady as a mountain, leaving him unable to break free.

He frowned. "Let go."

Qin You released his shoulder, only to catch the wrist of the hand he was about to use to push himself up. He sat down beside him and said with a smile, "Overtraining can cause problems."

His less-used left hand was held fast by the seemingly scorching palm, pinned in front of his abdomen. Yan Tingshen looked at Qin You's seemingly gentle, easygoing, smiling eyes, his frown deepening.

Qin You looked back at him. "You're my patient now. I have to take responsibility for you."

After two seconds of stalemate, Yan Tingshen slowly relaxed his clenched left hand. "Let go," he said in a low voice.

Qin You studied his expression, then released him as requested. Seeing that he was no longer determined to have his way, he thoughtfully helped him sit up and handed him some warm water. "Replenish your energy."

But Yan Tingshen didn't look at him. After drinking the water, he was about to get up when a towel was held out beside his hand.

"Wipe off your sweat. Don't catch a chill."

Yan Tingshen paused.

Qin You could tell he was in a bad mood and held the towel a little closer. "Shall I help you?"

Yan Tingshen frowned again and reached out to take it.

Qin You chuckled. "I was joking."

Yan Tingshen ignored him after that.

After resting, the two continued with the second half of the training.

When they reached the two sets of movements that required a partner, the moment Qin You placed both hands on Yan Tingshen, he felt the body beneath his palms instinctively tense.