Chapter 2

When he looked up and unexpectedly met the eyes behind Qin You's glasses, which seemed to be smiling, his heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. "...Brother You, why are you looking at me like that?"

"The soup was good."

Qin You chuckled and seemed to take a glass of wine as he withdrew his hand. "Cui Ling's urging me to go. See you later."

His cousin looked around but didn't hear Cui Ling's voice.

But by the time he came back to his senses, all he could see was Qin You's retreating back. He couldn't help frowning.

What the hell?

This idiot's suddenly acting a little strange.

And now that he's changed into a suit, he actually looks presentable.

His cousin took a sip of wine and frowned for a while, then suddenly laughed again.

It doesn't matter. No matter what he's like, an idiot is still an idiot.

In three minutes at most, the show will begin. I can't wait to see it.

Meanwhile.

At the entrance to the front hall.

After seeing to the guest, Cui Ling checked the time and hurried back to the banquet hall.

He found Qin You in the crowd and explained, "That was President Yan Tingshen. He isn't someone we can afford to neglect."

A system notification immediately sounded.

[Plot point triggered.]

[The target will be involved in a car accident in thirty minutes. Host, please arrive in time and rescue the target from the scene.]

Qin You raised an eyebrow.

Yan Tingshen.

Clearly, that name had triggered the mission.

In the book, this man carried far more weight than Cui Ling.

Yan Tingshen, the Male Lead Gong, was the protagonist shou's greatest backer.

He was also the one who ultimately drove the Qin Group into bankruptcy and brought the original Qin You to a miserable end.

From the original Qin You's impressions in the book alone, Qin You had heard that Yan Tingshen was in poor health, but acted decisively, used ruthless methods, and was cold and merciless.

But Qin You went through the information he had organized from beginning to end and discovered that the original Qin You and Yan Tingshen had never even met.

Perhaps, in the protagonist's eyes, the original Qin You, a villain with nothing but lust and no courage, wasn't worth dealing with personally.

Besides, the mission details confirmed that the Male Lead Gong and Shou's feelings for each other weren't deep enough, so it was understandable that Yan Tingshen didn't intend to deal with the original Qin You himself.

But none of that mattered now.

What mattered was that his target, the protagonist shou, was one of Yan Tingshen's assistants.

Since Yan Tingshen's appearance had triggered the mission, that meant the protagonist shou was here today too, giving him a convenient chance to get a look at him.

The man was in the banquet hall, so it would be on his way.

After all, the mission had already been issued.

And this was the best way for him to identify his target.

At that thought, Qin You looked at the translucent system panel that had automatically appeared before him.

The panel displayed the mission details, a countdown that had already begun, and precise coordinates.

Yet it contained none of the most important information: the target protagonist shou's specific details beyond his basic information, or any image of him.

[...Sorry, the system can only provide limited written information. Additional information requires

space

energy to unlock.]

That was the system's answer.

Qin You: "..."

This useless thing.

It was bad enough that the mission only came with information related to the original Qin You, but it didn't even include a photo of the target.

He didn't know anyone present, and the original Qin You had no connections either.

If he couldn't run into the target today, he would have to make up an excuse and ask Cui Ling for information about him.

Judging by Assistant Cui's dismissive attitude toward him, an interrogation would be unavoidable if he wanted to get that information within thirty minutes.

The problem was that there was no telling whether he would get it even after the interrogation. It was far too much trouble, and nowhere near as convenient as taking a look while he was passing by.

Chapter 2

Only after explaining that he had gone to receive Yan Tingshen did Cui Ling notice the wineglass in Qin You's hand.

He tried to hold back, but couldn't help saying in a low voice, "Young Mr. Qin, the chairman has arrived too. The two of you will cut the cake shortly, and then the chairman will introduce you to some friends. It won't take long. Until then, you'd better not drink any more."

Qin You paid it no mind and first swept his gaze around the hall. "Which one is President Yan?"

Now that he had come to this world, the Qin Household was secondary.

Only by securing the target and completing the mission could he be free.

Besides, the Qin Household was such a huge target, and its defenses were as full of holes as a sieve. Even if no one targeted it, it would collapse sooner or later. There was no need for him, an heir regarded as an eyesore, to take the position too seriously.

Moreover, he was a villain who had to compete with the protagonist for his partner. It would be enough if he could protect himself from the ruthless Yan Tingshen in the end.

Manage the company on top of the mission? That would take too much effort and worry. It's not worth it.

He had done enough things that weren't worth it for other people in his previous life.

In this "new life," he might as well take it easy.

Cui Ling clenched his fists, taking Qin You's divided attention as a sign of irresponsibility. His voice dropped another notch. "There's no time for introductions now. It's time to cut the cake."

Hearing that, Qin You had no choice but to walk into the middle of the hall and receive the guests' compliments, some genuine and some not.

Cui Ling walked over with him, then stopped to one side and watched his every move.

Before long, he watched the chairman and Qin You cut the cake without incident. Then the chairman gave a speech and went on to announce the general manager position—

Cui Ling breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Fortunately, this second-generation heir might usually be a little unreliable, but he still knew his priorities on formal occasions.

Just as Cui Ling was about to leave for a moment, a sudden commotion broke out in the crowd, and people immediately scattered.

In the hall.

Qin You looked over as well.

The cousin he had met twice was clutching a guest and vomiting violently. As the crowd scattered, he paid no attention to the filth on his clothes. His face lit up with excitement as he shouted something, then unbuckled his belt, pulled down his trousers, and squatted on the spot—

It was a sight one rarely got to see.

Quite a few of the guests nearby enjoyed a spectacle. Since the guest of honor at today's banquet was the well-known Old Qin, the older guests tried to restrain themselves and merely stole glances on their own. The younger ones, however, pulled out their phones, struggling to hold back their laughter.

In a corner.

The people waiting to watch the show all paled at the sight.

One middle-aged man's expression was particularly ghastly. A moment later, he was trembling with fear, not daring to look at Old Qin's reaction. He could only swallow the shame of being utterly humiliated and try to drag the man out.

But his cousin was still in an excited state and refused to cooperate. He laughed and shouted as he resisted, and even two or three people couldn't hold him down.

Nearby.

Old Qin, surrounded by people showering him with compliments, finally frowned.

Before he could speak, the butler had already hurried over and instructed security to carry the man away, handling the aftermath in an orderly fashion.

The people nearby immediately took the hint and changed the subject.

Harmony soon returned to the hall.

Qin You wasn't far away, and he noticed the old master glance at him as well.

Then Cui Ling's voice came from behind him.

"Young Mr. Qin, it's getting late. I'll take you back to rest."

Qin You looked away.

In the book's original plot, the original Qin You had caused a scene at the birthday banquet. Because someone had set him up behind the scenes, it hadn't been so easily resolved.

This time it had ended without trouble, but it seemed the old master was still very worried about him.

Rest?

Presumably, he had accomplished the purpose of making an appearance, and since he was "drunk" too, there was no need for him to stay and risk embarrassing himself like that.

But that was one of the reasons he had turned the tables on them.

He had no interest in staying here to be put on display, nor did he have time to waste.

He only asked the system, [Finished recording?]

[Finished...] The system's tone was still cautious, though its attitude had changed. [But the system space is low on energy, so the video cannot be uploaded to any device. The host needs to get through the plot point and complete the mission to obtain energy.]

Low on energy again?

Qin You said, [Save it for now.]

For the sake of the future, he needed to deal with these unfavorable factors as soon as possible.

Besides, he was now living as another Qin You.

For the sake of the identity he had "occupied" alone, he ought to do something about the schemes the original Qin You had once been destined to face.

This cousin had been the first to target the original Qin You, so naturally he should be the first to pay the price.

Qin You looked toward the entrance, where things had quieted down.

You wanted to use the original Qin You as a stepping stone to make money in the entertainment industry?

Once this video, enough to destroy an idol's image, spreads online, dear cousin, the day your dream shatters won't be far off.

[Video saved.]

With matters here settled for the time being, Qin You raised his wrist to check his watch.

The thirty-minute countdown was still running. He needed to find the target before it ended.

At the very least, he needed to see what the man looked like.

After all, he still had to put on a performance of being "deeply devoted" to this man.

At that thought, Qin You turned to Cui Ling. "Where is this President Yan you mentioned?"

President Yan?

That was the second time he had asked.

Why would this second-generation heir be interested in Yan Tingshen?

Cui Ling looked at him suspiciously and replied, "President Yan has already gone back."

Qin You said, "So early?"

Cui Ling nodded. "He doesn't have much contact with the Qin Household. He probably attended today because it was Elder Yan's wish. You should remember, Young Mr. Qin: the chairman and Elder Yan were comrades-in-arms. I heard Elder Yan hasn't been in good health this year and can't easily make an appearance."

Qin You understood.

It seemed there really was no chance to meet the target in advance. "Then—" Forget it.

He hadn't yet spoken those last two words.

"President Cui, something's wrong! President Yan's car has been stopped outside!" A flustered figure hurried over and whispered in Cui Ling's ear, "I'm sorry. I know this isn't part of your job, but I really couldn't find anyone else..."

Cui Ling frowned at once and was already heading for the exit as he spoke. "What happened?"

He's still here?

Qin You followed without betraying his reaction.

"All I know is that the person who stopped the car seems to be the

president

of one of the Yan Family's subsidiaries. I'm not sure about the rest..." The person who had come over wiped the sweat from his brow.

Cui Ling learned about the situation on the way. Only when they reached the entrance did he notice Qin You was there too. His head throbbed. "Young Mr. Qin, I'm going to take care of business. Please go back and rest first."