Chapter 10

After spending several days with him, he had come to understand the target's personality well.

He spoke little and did much. Since he hadn't asked, he was sure to do it himself.

He hadn't asked for help, so how could this count as breaking the rules?

Chapter 10

"Mr. Yan, we've gotten to the bottom of it. It was..."

The assistant on the other end of the call hesitated. "It was your father, Mr. Yan, who ordered it."

Yan Tingshen said evenly, "Resume cooperation and assess the losses one by one. Notify everyone that all the senior executives involved in the decision will compensate the losses from the past few days in proportion to their involvement."

The assistant knew his boss's style well and handled the merciless order with ease. "Understood."

Everyone knew that although Yan Lihui held shares in the company, he had no management authority and held no position. Strictly speaking, he had no right to interfere in any business.

The only reason people deferred to him was his title as Mr. Yan's father. As long as he didn't harm the company's interests, Mr. Yan usually couldn't be bothered with whatever he did.

This time, by rights, his actions weren't all that serious either. Besides, Mr. Yan had been working remotely lately and had limited time. The assistant didn't know which fool had bothered him with such a minor matter.

Still, Mr. Yan had shown Yan Lihui no mercy this time. From now on, the people below would understand that using their connections to Yan Lihui wouldn't win them Mr. Yan's favor.

Never mind them—even Yan Lihui himself wouldn't have an easy time of it.

"By the way, Mr. Yan, your father came to the company again today asking where you were."

The assistant continued, "You're coming to the office tomorrow, and we... might not be able to stop him."

"Is the company's security just for show?"

Only then did the assistant begin to feel surprised.

Although Mr. Yan had always been cold toward Yan Lihui, he had handled things strictly as business and had never been as heartless as he was today.

What's gotten into the boss today? Is he unhappy?

The assistant wondered but didn't dare say it outright. He simply replied respectfully, "All right, I understand."

After asking for instructions on the contents of several more documents, he ended the call.

Yan Tingshen put down his earpiece and was about to stand when his left leg brushed against the side cabinet. A familiar ache and numbness pulled at his nerves, reminding him of the accident that morning.

Several images, old and new, flashed through his mind. Yan Tingshen tightened his left hand on the armrest, closed his eyes to clear his thoughts, then pressed a hand against the desk to stand and walked toward the bed.

He had already guessed that the minor problem Qin You had deliberately mentioned that afternoon was connected to Yan Lihui.

What he hadn't expected was for Yan Lihui to be so brazen, openly using the company's name to suppress Qin You over a mere quarrel.

Once such parasites proliferated, those below would follow their superiors' example, and the company would never know peace.

Besides, Yan Lihui held a grudge against Qin You because of him. Naturally, he couldn't stand by and do nothing.

With that, Yan Tingshen checked the time, got into bed, and went to sleep.

The next day, he had breakfast with Qin You. Not long after he returned to his room, there was a sudden knock at the door.

"It's me."

Yan Tingshen said, "Come in."

He looked at Qin You as he pushed the door open. Meeting his smiling face, he looked away and continued browsing his emails.

"Busy?" Qin You said with a smile. "Have some fruit. Get some vitamins."

He really hadn't expected the target to resolve the friction between the Qin and Yan families so quickly. It seemed the target truly held a special place in Yan Tingshen's heart.

Yan Tingshen glanced at the fruit platter he had placed on the desk. "I don't eat sweets."

"You don't eat sweets?" Qin You looked troubled. "I can't get my hands on any coptis root on such short notice."

Yan Tingshen's typing hands paused.

Qin You chuckled, walked over to him, and sat casually on the edge of the desk. "Then what do you like to eat?"

"I don't have any particular preferences when it comes to food or daily necessities," Yan Tingshen said.

The minor problem had been resolved the night before. He could tell why Qin You had come today, but since Qin You didn't bring it up, he didn't spell it out either.

"What about recreation?" Qin You asked. "You work so long every day. Don't you get tired? Should I have someone come over and give you a massage?"

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

Yan Tingshen gave nothing away. Qin You had no choice but to raise his wrist and check his watch, then change the subject. "What time are you going to the office today?"

"Two this afternoon," Yan Tingshen said.

"Then once you're done with work, let's finish your training at ten," Qin You said. "There definitely won't be time when you get back tonight."

"All right," Yan Tingshen said.

Qin You got up from the desk. Before leaving, he casually picked a pale strawberry from the fruit platter.

The strawberry looked less like fruit than a work of art, translucent, plump, and round. It was refreshing and juicy too, and tasted good.

He was about to take another when he caught Yan Tingshen's gaze out of the corner of his eye. His right hand stopped.

Yan Tingshen looked at the fruit platter, now missing a strawberry from one corner at the top, then raised his eyes to Qin You.

Without changing expression, Qin You smiled, picked up a fruit fork, and handed it to him. "I tried it for you. It's not very sweet. Want to try one?"

Yan Tingshen didn't take it.

Qin You cleared his throat, set it down, and said, "I'll be back at ten."

Yan Tingshen watched him turn away, then lowered his gaze to the strawberries remaining on the platter. A moment later, he looked away.

[The target's such a cheapskate. He doesn't eat sweets, so the food would just go to waste sitting there. Host, you only ate one, and he still stared at you.] The system found it strange.

Qin You said, [Once I gave it to him, it became his. Of course he has the right to decide what to do with it.]

The platter of fruit had been his thank-you gift to the target. It was a modest gift carrying a great deal of sentiment, so he really shouldn't have touched it.

Qin You shook his head.

Forget it. I'll make it up to him with something else next time.

He gave Yan Tingshen, who had resumed working, one last look before closing the door.

At ten, Qin You finished exercising with Yan Tingshen and escorted him back to his room. As he was about to leave, he happened to notice the fruit platter on the desk, and a smile quietly entered his eyes.

He turned to Yan Tingshen and waited until he had sat down before asking, "Did you like it?"

Yan Tingshen paused and looked at Qin You. "What?"

Qin You raised an eyebrow and gestured toward the fruit platter. "The sweets."

Yan Tingshen relaxed his shoulders and said evenly, "They weren't very sweet."

Qin You laughed but didn't linger. "Get some rest and recharge."

He had to hurry to the office that afternoon.

He would be tied up at the banquet that evening.

The target still had a tough battle to fight today.

Yan Tingshen nodded. "Mm."

Qin You turned and went back to his room.

Unlike the dedicated target, he didn't plan to leave from the office. He only needed to wait at home for the driver to pick him up.

Cui Ling didn't let him down, arriving in a hurry as darkness fell.

Seeing the young master playing games in the living room, he noticed that the young master had even prepared fruit and snacks within reach this time. A surge of frustration at his failure to live up to expectations immediately rose in his chest. He looked even more like a good-for-nothing wasting his life on pleasures!

But when Cui Ling recalled Qin You's performance at the regular meeting the previous morning, he forced his frustration back down.

"Young Mr. Qin," Cui Ling said, unclenching his fist and gesturing for the secretary holding a suit behind him to step forward. "Get changed. It's time to leave."

When Qin You saw him, he put down his tablet, then said to the butler who had come to announce Cui Ling's arrival, "Prepare extra portions of these two tomorrow."

"Certainly."

"..." Cui Ling clenched his fist again.

The secretary had already reached Qin You. "Young Mr. Qin?"

Qin You took the clothes, went to the dressing room to change, and left with the others.

On the way, Cui Ling explained, "Young Mr. Qin, the theme of this charity banquet is nature. The organizers specifically chose a venue in the mountains: a well-preserved ancient wooden pavilion."

Qin You looked out at the huge snowflakes falling outside the car window and thought of the predicament in the mission. "Have the emergency safety measures been checked? How adequate are they?"

Cui Ling hadn't expected him to consider things so thoroughly. "Because of the unusual location, we did check everything. Don't worry, the organizers reinforced the entire pavilion, and the banquet will only be held on the first floor. The second floor won't be open. The response measures for various emergencies are also very comprehensive. Even if heavy snow seals off the mountain, everyone can be evacuated within ten minutes."

[Naive!]

The system scoffed, [If it were really that safe, the target wouldn't be in danger.]

The coordinates marked in the mission were inside the banquet venue, which meant that despite the organizers' comprehensive response measures, there were still oversights.

"Arrange for an emergency medical helicopter to come over," Qin You said.

Cui Ling frowned. "Young Mr. Qin, the organizers have an emergency access route. Is it necessary for us to arrange our own people?"

Qin You was succinct. "I'm afraid of dying."

Cui Ling was at a loss for words. After a long moment, he said, "All right, I'll arrange it immediately."

"Remember, pay attention to safety once we're inside," Qin You said. "Don't let your guard down."

Cui Ling said, "...All right."

After making the call, he couldn't help glancing at Qin You.

The young master had genuinely almost been killed at the company last time, yet he hadn't cared at all then. Only a few days had passed, and now, at a banquet with more professional security than the hospital, he was suddenly afraid of dying?

But the next second, the sound of a game starting up rang out in the car.

He switched games?

Cui Ling looked over just as the game's title appeared in the middle of the screen.

Plants vs.

Zombies

?

He looked again at Qin You, who was more interested in the game than he had been in the meeting, and Cui Ling let out a long sigh inwardly.

There's a long way to go!

The car slowly came to a stop in front of the red carpet.

Qin You swung his legs out and stepped out of the car, looking at the building before him, which occupied a larger area than he had expected.

It was called an ancient wooden pavilion, but by now it bore little resemblance to any of those three words.

Newly built exterior walls surrounded the pavilion on all four sides, with no trace of a wooden structure visible. Farther ahead, before he had even entered, he could see the interior, brightly lit as day. A snow-white dead tree stood in the center of the venue, while celebrities and dignitaries mingled and drank beneath its spreading branches of various colors, chatting and laughing beside the various art exhibits.

Overhead, a massive crystal chandelier shaped like a wave, thick in some places and thin in others, stretched across the entire venue. The light it cast fell almost entirely on the display stands at just the right angles, creating a breathtaking sight.

Cui Ling presented the invitation and followed Qin You inside. Seeing that he seemed to be looking for someone, he stepped forward and said, "Young Mr. Qin, the chairman isn't coming today."