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With business settled, Qin You closed the panel. [What, wasn't the mission's failure entirely my fault?]

[...]

The system appeared to have crashed in a hurry.

Qin You turned to Yan Tingshen, who hadn't said a word since they left their rooms.

They had eaten breakfast together three times, and the table had been quiet every time.

But if the silence continued this time, the target, whose personality was plainly prone to brooding, would probably dwell on what had just happened. It wouldn't be good if he became angry out of embarrassment.

With that in mind, Qin You started a conversation. "I'm going out tomorrow at eight in the evening. There's a charity banquet."

Yan Tingshen paused briefly. Unable to tell why Qin You had brought up his plans, he replied, "I'll be attending too."

The mission was to rescue him from danger, so Qin You wasn't surprised. "Shall I drive you there?"

"No need," Yan Tingshen said. "I'll be leaving from the company."

"The company?" Qin You said. "Your injuries haven't healed yet. There's no need to put yourself through all that."

"It's just a few car rides," Yan Tingshen said. "I'm not that weak."

Seeing that he was insistent, Qin You changed tack. "Then be careful. Tomorrow—"

[Host!]

The system, which had been pretending to be offline, hurriedly popped up. [Have you forgotten? To prevent later events from deviating, plot points must not be changed! You mustn't remind the target that he'll be in danger that day, or it'll be a lot of trouble!]

"Be careful?" After waiting a while without hearing the rest, Yan Tingshen looked at Qin You.

"..." Qin You smiled and changed what he had been about to say. "The forecast says it'll get colder tomorrow. You're not in good health, and it's been snowing these past two days. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Hearing this, Yan Tingshen pressed his thin lips together slightly and hid the look in his eyes by taking a drink of water.

He could tell that although Qin You had proposed a partnership, in their daily interactions he treated him more like a friend, or cared for him as a patient.

Ultimately, Qin You still regarded him as the benefactor who had helped him when he was four.

Yan Tingshen set down his glass, his eyes deep.

What exactly had happened on that snowy night when Qin You was four?

After the meal, Qin You and Yan Tingshen returned to their respective rooms once more.

The system was still shaken. [Host, from now on, please don't interfere in anything related to a plot point, including driving the target to the banquet. It might look like a small thing, but if it takes him off the prescribed route and separates the male lead gong and shou, it might cause a deviation too!]

Qin You only asked, [What exactly does the predicament in the mission refer to?]

The system said, [I don't know. To ensure the authenticity and completeness of the path of love, this type of mission doesn't unlock the entire plot for the host. The host must explore and complete the specific content himself.]

Put bluntly, the host was a stepping stone in the protagonists' love story.

Qin You had long since grasped the system's peculiar understanding of the "path of love," so he didn't pursue the subject.

Just then, the video conference ringtone sounded on his computer. He walked over to the desk and sat down, joined the meeting, and placed his tablet in front of the computer as usual.

An unknown amount of time passed before Qin Hengzhong's voice came from the computer.

"General Manager Qin, tell us what you think."

Qin You looked up.

In the video, Cui Ling sat ramrod straight, his face drawn.

He watched Qin You sit up slightly and operate the computer with complete composure. Qin You had been playing games the whole time; he certainly hadn't even read the materials, so what the hell could he have to say? But if Qin You made a fool of himself in front of so many senior executives now, the one who would lose the most face would be the chairman, who had come to sit in on the regular meeting.

"Chairman, this—"

Qin Hengzhong stopped Cui Ling with a look.

Before Cui Ling could even sigh, Qin You's measured analysis rang out through the conference room.

He thought Qin You was going to spout nonsense and bluff his way through, but after hearing just the first sentence, he widened his eyes and immediately turned to look at the unflustered face in the video.

He was one hundred percent certain that Qin You played games in every meeting and had most likely never listened to a single word of the discussions.

Of all the materials he had sent Qin You, the one the chairman had asked about had only shown as opened a minute ago...

Yet in such a short time, Qin You had only needed a glance or two at the materials to analyze the pros and cons. Even though he didn't say much and it sounded perfectly ordinary, almost as if he were brushing the matter off, everything he said was right.

Under the same conditions, though, even if Cui Ling were asked to be just as perfunctory, he knew he couldn't do it...

And Qin You played games during meetings and idled away his days afterward, yet he still had such a keen business sense...

He wasn't a second-generation heir.

He was a business genius!

The others at the table weren't as astonished as Cui Ling.

Anyone could offer a few insights after sitting in on several days of meetings.

After Qin You finished speaking, he casually flipped through the rest of the materials. When he saw one page, he asked, "Is this a business under the Yan Family?"

Hearing him, Cui Ling suppressed the many speculations weighing on his mind and replied, "That's right. Recently, there have been some problems with the business operations of a few Yan Family subsidiaries."

At the meeting, a middle-aged man remarked, seemingly offhandedly, "It seems it's more than a few problems. I hear they have some complaints about Young Mr. Qin and don't quite trust the newly appointed general manager."

With every other word being "it seems" or "I hear," it sounded like a rumor. But after listening, the others simply lowered their heads and went about their business, unsurprised. Clearly, they had all "heard" about it.

Qin You swept his gaze over the long table. At a glance, he saw more than five people openly gloating.

Including those who harbored malicious intentions, at least half the people in the conference room bore ill will toward the original owner's presence.

"Don't bring groundless rumors to a meeting."

Hearing Qin Hengzhong's words, the middle-aged man who had spoken nodded sheepishly. "Yes, Chairman."

Qin Hengzhong tapped the tabletop. "Continue."

Qin You had already reopened his tablet.

In his previous life, he had been drawn into these struggles and conflicts of interest because he felt obliged to repay the kindness of being adopted and raised, even if it had all been for show. Naturally, he would not participate again in this life.

When the meeting finally ended, he was just about to get up when Qin Hengzhong called him privately by video.

As soon as the call connected, Qin Hengzhong got straight to the point. "Qin You, haven't you been close to Tingshen lately? How did things turn unpleasant between you and the Yan Family?"

Qin You said, "Maybe it's a misunderstanding."

After all, he and Yan Tingshen weren't close, and things between them were indeed unpleasant.

However, his strategy toward Yan Tingshen had merely been to ignore him. He hadn't expected the man to lack even that much tolerance; he really wasn't very magnanimous.

But of the entire Yan Family, Yan Tingshen was the only person connected to them whom he had met. There couldn't be a second person with enough power to use business dealings to target him.

"A misunderstanding?"

Qin Hengzhong frowned. "Tingshen will be at tomorrow's banquet too. You can talk that evening and clear up the misunderstanding."

Qin You raised an eyebrow. "I'll do my best."

Hearing his lack of concern, Qin Hengzhong looked at the video feed and suddenly softened his tone. "I know you've been cooped up at Zeshui Bay these past few days and haven't been in a good mood. Don't worry, I'll give you an explanation about Xianghe."

The corners of Qin You's lips rose slightly. "All right."

Without a mission, it made no difference where he was. Qin Hengzhong's willingness to investigate Qi Xianghe further suited him perfectly.

On the other end of the video call, Qin Hengzhong gave him a few more instructions before hanging up.

"Bear with it a little longer. I'll bring you home in a few days."

Qin You paused. Looking at the computer screen, which had returned to the desktop, he lowered his eyes for a moment and removed his headphones.

Home.

As Qin Hengzhong used it, the word clearly meant more than a place to live.

Unfortunately, Qin You had never had such a thing.

In his previous life, he had had no choice but to expand his adoptive father's family's interests, only to receive deeper suspicion and wariness in return. That home had seemed harmonious and happy, but it was not a place where he belonged.

Now he was living another life, but the Qin Household didn't truly belong to him either.

[Host, what are you planning to do about tonight's mission?]

Interrupted by the system, Qin You laughed.

Having time to think about such insignificant matters, he really had become a man of leisure.

The system's voice was always full of tireless enthusiasm and energy. [Although you can't tell the target about the danger, you should still prepare early, Host. Your injuries haven't healed yet!]

Qin You said, [I'll play it by ear.]

Apart from the mission's contents, none of the plot was known. Preparing blindly would be a waste of energy, and it wouldn't be too late to make arrangements once he got there.

[Okay.] The system added, [There's also rehabilitation training at three this afternoon. Host, even though there's no mission anymore, you still need to work on the target's favorability. Don't forget.]

Qin You said, [Mm.]

The mention of it reminded him of what Qin Hengzhong had said.

Qin Hengzhong still mistakenly believed he and Yan Tingshen were close. To maintain that misunderstanding, it would be best if he could resolve the minor trouble with the Yan Family's business dealings.

He wondered whether, with the target's favorability now at ten percent, he could help put in a word with Yan Tingshen for him.

Of course, the target was only an assistant, so it would be understandable if he couldn't do it, but there was no harm in trying.

In any case, whether he brought it up or not, he had already intended to help the target recover from his injuries.

At three o'clock sharp that afternoon, Qin You left his room on time.

Before he could knock on the door next door, he saw Yan Tingshen come out as well.

"Let's go."

Mindful of the unexpected failure that morning, Qin You kept an arm's length away from Yan Tingshen as they went to the rehabilitation room together.

He said nothing during the training. When Yan Tingshen took a break halfway through, Qin You handed him a towel and said, as if in passing, "At this morning's meeting, I heard there was a small problem with business between the Yan Family and the Qin Household. Do you know about it?"

The system immediately became alert. [Host! Your character setting! You can't accept any help from the target, much less ask for it!]

Qin You said, [Relax. I'm only asking whether he knows about it. It's just small talk.]

[Oh...] The system relaxed its guard. [Then talk to him some more. Maybe his favorability will go up.]

"A small problem?"

Yan Tingshen looked at Qin You. "I don't know about it. What problem?"

Qin You chuckled. "If you don't know, never mind. It's nothing serious."

Yan Tingshen looked at him but didn't ask any further questions.

Qin You also took a sip of water, his smile deepening slightly.