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Qin You said, [Don't rush.]

The system said, [...]

Qin You turned and went back to his room. Only after a quick wash did he head downstairs.

The system was so anxious its circuits were smoking. [Host, look at the time! How can you still worry about that stuff?!]

Qin You didn't think much of it.

The target was injured. Without Qin You at his side, and unwilling to let anyone help him downstairs, he was bound to move slowly.

Sure enough, when Qin You reached the bottom of the stairs, a group of people were gathered at the entrance.

Still in the entryway, he saw Yan Tingshen standing in front of the car.

The driver, who was carefully holding the car door, saw his boss stop and hurriedly asked, "President Yan?"

Yan Tingshen stood where he was.

Behind him, familiar-sounding footsteps were approaching.

"Why are you leaving in such a hurry?"

Yan Tingshen's hand clenched abruptly at his side.

He turned and saw Qin You approaching with a smile.

Last night's accident hadn't affected Qin You in the slightest.

Yan Tingshen raised a hand and gave a small wave.

The assistant and driver exchanged a glance and each took a step back, tactfully returning to the car to wait.

Qin You had already reached the car.

He gestured behind him as well, and the butler and servants all returned to the villa.

"Leaving without even saying goodbye?"

There wasn't a hint of anything in Yan Tingshen's tone. "There's something I need to handle at the company. You were still asleep."

Qin You raised an eyebrow. "Does it need your personal attention?"

"Yes," Yan Tingshen said.

"Will you come back when you're done?" Qin You asked.

Yan Tingshen said nothing.

Qin You suppressed the smile on his lips. "Because of what I said last night?"

Yan Tingshen pressed his lips together. "I don't remember what happened last night. You don't need to take it to heart either, President Qin."

Qin You laughed. "You don't remember again?"

Yan Tingshen glanced at him. "And please don't bring it up again, President Qin."

Qin You met his gaze and said meaningfully, "You can't pretend something never happened when it already has."

Yan Tingshen was silent for a moment, then changed the subject. "I have a meeting."

As he finished speaking, he noticed Qin You's thin, wrinkled shirt. A crease briefly appeared between his brows. "You came out dressed like that. You should go back inside."

"It's fine," Qin You said. "The weather's nice today."

At that, Yan Tingshen stopped just as he was turning away.

He looked at the warm sun shining high in the clear sky, a rare sight these days, then lowered his eyes, remembering something. Two seconds later, he walked toward the open car door.

Qin You watched his retreating figure.

He stood straight and tall, his steps steady, no different from usual, but—

Qin You chuckled at the thought of what the system had said that morning.

That's right.

No matter how he looked, his target was fleeing in defeat.

Yan Tingshen had already gotten into the car. Hearing the laugh, he turned to look at Qin You.

Qin You smiled at him and raised a hand. "Goodbye."

Yan Tingshen fell silent for another second. "Goodbye."

The car door soon closed.

The car started.

Its rear gradually disappeared from view.

The system's voice was full of despair. [Host! The target's run away! How can you still laugh? Hurry up and think of something!]

The smile on Qin You's lips didn't fade.

The target didn't like men, just like him. Why wouldn't he laugh?

As for the mission—

Qin You opened the panel. When he saw the value displayed on it, the smile finally fell from his lips.

He frowned.

Favorability: 20% → 23%

The system was still complaining. [Right, there's this mission too! Host, I haven't even had a chance to tell you. It's too much! For a Mainline Favorability Task, the increase should normally be at least five percent. You completed it so perfectly this time, without even getting stuck at any point, but it only rose by three percent. That's just bullying!]

Qin You said, [The target rejected my confession. His favorability should have dropped. Why did it rise?]

[Oh, host, you don't understand!]

Now that they were talking about this, the system stopped worrying. [This is called playing hard to get!]

Qin You: "..."

He took the coat the butler handed him and turned to go inside.

The system continued confidently, [Look, host, the evidence is right there! The target ran away on the surface, but secretly his favorability was rising inside. If that isn't playing hard to get, what is?]

Qin You paid no attention to its nonsense.

The target had chosen to distance himself after hearing the confession, which meant he had no special feelings for Qin You.

But it was an indisputable fact that his favorability had risen. There had to be more to it.

He asked, [Does the Main Quest forcibly increase favorability?]

[That's impossible, host. The target's favorability comes from his heart and represents how he currently feels about you. If it could be forcibly increased, there'd be no need to do missions. We could just force the protagonist's favorability toward the target to increase.]

The system explained, [The Mainline Favorability Task only helps advance the conquest. That is, the Main System uses the current favorability level and the plot to help the host win the target's favor faster in a way that fits his personality. It can't directly obtain favorability.]

As it spoke, Qin You went back upstairs.

He glanced at the room the target had stayed in as he passed it.

If the increase wasn't forced, then something else had gone wrong.

Could something have happened this morning?

After watching him for a long while, the system was afraid he'd abandon the mission. It set aside its own feelings and urged him, [Oh, host, I know you're unhappy that favorability only rose by three percent, but we've made great progress now! We've only done two plot-point missions, and the target's favorability has already risen by a full twenty-three percent. Even in a proper Main Quest conquest mission, that's amazing!]

Qin You: "..."

Seeing that its host still wasn't speaking, the system tried again. [Really, host! The Mainline Favorability Task can be unlocked with just a tiny increase after a plot-point mission. I originally thought gaining ten points after two missions would be great, but look, host, you've managed more than twice that!]

It wasn't quite a hangover, but Qin You still felt a headache coming on.

No.

Favorability absolutely couldn't rise any further.

He returned to his room and washed away the smell of a night's drinking, then asked the system, [Is there a way to lower favorability?]

[Huh?]

The system was bewildered. [Lower favorability? Host, did I hear you right?]

Qin You put it another way. [What information do you have about the target's likes and dislikes?]

The system said, [I don't have any, but you received space energy as a reward for completing the mission, host. If you need information on the target, you can spend some of it to exchange for it. Would you like to use it?]

Qin You said, [Yes.]

[Okay. I'll—]

Halfway through, the system belatedly sensed that something was wrong. [Wait, host, if you want to lower the target's favorability, our conquest progress will drop too. What if the mission fails? You can't exchange for it!]

Qin You said, [Hmm? Don't you think we're progressing too fast, and that's bad for the mission?]

[Huh??]

The system was bewildered again. [Progressing too fast can be bad for the mission?]

Qin You said, [Only two plot points have passed, and the target's favorability is already as high as twenty-three percent. If his favorability reaches the maximum at a critical point in the mission and he falls hopelessly in love with me, what do you think we should do?]

The system was instantly stunned. [Oh my god, host, you're absolutely right!]

Qin You's expression didn't change. [You understand now?]

[I do!]

The system felt a lingering fear. [If the target falls in love with you and can't live without you from then on, what about the protagonist? Our mission will be a complete failure. That's terrible. Host, thank goodness for you!]

Qin You said, [Make the exchange.]

The system said, [Okay!]

After sending the request, it asked, [There's enough left to exchange for more, host. Would you like to keep using it?]

Qin You said, [No need.]

There was a risk of mission failure, and space energy could offset the penalty for failure. He would keep some in reserve; in the future, it would also be best used for targeted exchanges like this.

Once he received the information, he opened the panel.

The target's likes and dislikes were divided into two sections.

A little under half the items on the list of likes had a note in parentheses after them: "formerly."

The dislikes were ranked from least to most severe. His parents were on the list too, but the most conspicuous entry was the last line.

[Connections to the past.]

After reading it, Qin You flipped back to the other page.

Those marked "formerly" should be things he used to like.

Since they concerned the past, they should also count as connections to it.

The target's family had fallen on hard times, and there was nothing wrong with his unwillingness to face the past.

The system said, [Host, but the target isn't here right now. Knowing these things won't lower his favorability. Shouldn't you take the initiative?]

Qin You said, [There's no rush.]

[...] The system silently went offline.

But it couldn't help it.

It didn't have its host's self-control. It held out until the afternoon, but then grew anxious again and offered some sincere advice. [Host, it's three in the afternoon. This is when you usually exercise together. Why don't you ask him? Maybe the target's starting to change his mind!]

Qin You said, [He won't.]

The system kept pestering him. [Oh, just try! His favorability needs to come down quickly, or it'll be bad for the mission!]

Helpless, Qin You took out his phone and sent Yan Tingshen a message.

Qin: It's time. Don't forget to do something.

On the desk.

The screen lit up.

Yan Tingshen glanced at his phone, his left hand pressing a little harder on the armrest. Then he looked away and lowered his eyes, continuing to examine the figures in the document.

In the conference room, the discussion went on without pause.

Only Zhang Ming, seated just below Yan Tingshen on his right, also saw the screen, which soon went dark.

He looked at Yan Tingshen. As President Yan's trusted aide, he knew his boss would never let a message interrupt his work.

But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Zhang Ming saw Yan Tingshen reach for his phone and open the chat.