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Yan Tingshen looked at the message Qin You had sent him.

He raised his wrist to check his watch and only then realized it was three o'clock.

He naturally knew what he mustn't forget to do.

By then, everyone else had noticed him checking the time. The discussion paused, and they all turned to Zhang Ming.

"..." Zhang Ming thought for a moment, then asked, "Mr. Yan?"

Yan Tingshen put down his phone, casually closed the folder, and said mildly, "That's all for today."

Though puzzled, no one objected. They all stood, gathered their things, and left.

Zhang Ming stayed until last. Once everyone had gone, he asked tentatively, "Mr. Yan, would you like to rest for a while?"

Very few people at the company knew Mr. Yan was injured, and he was one of them.

The more he learned about the injury, the more alarmed he became. He could hardly imagine what kind of willpower allowed his boss to come and go from the company as usual.

No wonder his boss was the one in charge while he could only be a special assistant. The difference in ability was plain to see, and he had to admire him.

Yan Tingshen said, "No need."

Zhang Ming didn't dare press him. He nodded and added, "The arrangements with Mr. Qi of Runxi have been settled. He's invited you and Assistant Pei to dinner at the Tongsheng Hotel next Tuesday. Would that be all right?"

Knowing that Mr. Qi was a friend of Mr. Yan and Assistant Pei, he hadn't found the invitation strange.

Yan Tingshen said, "Mm."

Zhang Ming stole a glance at him and stood. "All right, I'll contact him right away. Mr. Yan, if there's nothing else you need, I'll be going?"

Only after Yan Tingshen gave his approval did he turn and leave.

After stepping out of the conference room, he saw his boss, who had been sitting alone for a while, pick up his phone again before he closed the door. He seemed to be hesitating—no, deep in thought.

It was probably some important message.

Zhang Ming didn't dare look any longer and quietly closed the door.

Yan Tingshen paid no attention to the movement behind him.

He opened the chat again and, after a little while, typed a reply.

.: I will. Thank you.

Before long, a notification sounded, and a new message popped up.

Qin: The doctor you arranged for me is here.

Qin: [Image]

Yan Tingshen's fingertip paused briefly before he opened the picture Qin You had sent.

It showed a medical kit resting on a piece of equipment he had used before. The doctor stood to one side, removing Qin You's stitches.

The wound wasn't visible in the photo. The mirror in the rehabilitation room reflected Qin You's profile as he casually took the picture, with a faint glimpse of his arm, its sleeve rolled up to the elbow.

Another notification sounded.

Yan Tingshen swiped past the photo and looked at the latest message.

Qin: Thank you.

Seeing those two words, Yan Tingshen pressed his lips together.

He exited the chat, turned his phone facedown on the table, and went back to his emails.

[That's it?]

The system couldn't accept it. [Why did the target stop talking to you, host? He said so much last time!]

Qin You said, [I told you, confessing at that time would do more harm than good.]

[*...*] The system muttered, [But his favorability clearly went up...]

Qin You pretended not to hear.

After the doctor finished treating his wound, he thanked him and motioned for the butler to see him downstairs. As he unrolled his sleeve, he turned to look at the empty rehabilitation room and couldn't help feeling reflective.

It had only been a few days, but he had already gotten a little used to eating and living under the same roof as the target.

Soon, the butler brought his medicine upstairs. Seeing Qin You still in the rehabilitation room, he couldn't help asking, "Mr. Qin, would you like this room and the bedroom that's been vacated restored to their original state?"

The gentleman his employer had brought home had such a commanding presence that they rarely took the initiative to speak to him. Even for routine cleaning, the servants hurried to tidy up while he was out.

Though the butler hadn't asked when the man left today, he had taken his computer with him, something he never usually did when going out. There was no longer any trace of his stay in the villa, so the butler guessed he probably wouldn't be coming back this time.

Qin You looked at the training regimen posted on the wall. "No need. Leave it as it is. Just clean it up."

The target was with Yan Tingshen and suffered from frequent illness and misfortune. It would take a long time for his injuries to heal.

If another mission forced Qin You to bring him home next time, he would have to set everything up again if he dismantled it now. There was no need for that.

"All right."

With that, the butler held out what he was carrying to Qin You. "Your medicine."

Qin You looked away, took the water and his medicine, then turned and went back to his room.

With no mission to attend to, he didn't go out again, apart from one trip to sign a contract.

With Cui Ling acting as his stand-in at the company, several days passed without Qin Hengzhong noticing anything amiss.

Only the system was beside itself with anxiety. [Host, it's been almost a week! What about your plan? Are you just going to forget it?]

Qin You said, [What's the rush?]

The system said, [Everything's a rush!]

It was just short of showing its core programming to the host. [The plot-point mission hasn't triggered, and his favorability has stalled. Host, how can you sit around doing nothing when things are like this?]

Before Qin You could speak, his phone rang.

It was Cui Ling.

He began with a greeting. "Young Mr. Qin."

Qin You said, "Has it come to light?"

"...No." Cui Ling held himself in check, doing his best not to think about how he was helping a villain do evil, and continued, "Young Mr. Qin, the chairman asked me to pass on a message. He would like you to have dinner at the Tongsheng Hotel at five this afternoon."

The next moment, a system notification sounded.

[Plot point triggered]

[The target will encounter danger in three hours and thirty-six minutes. Please arrive in time and rescue the target from the scene.]

The system grew excited. [It's fine now, host, it's fine! There's a mission!]

Qin You was asking Cui Ling, "Dinner at the hotel?"

"It's with Miss Liu from Kaiqiang."

Cui Ling explained, "The chairman thinks very highly of Miss Liu. He says she's gentle, quiet, and reasonable, and insists that you meet her."

Qin You said, "No."

Before Cui Ling could get anxious, the system was anxious again. [Host, how can you refuse to go? This is a plot-point mission. You really do have to go!]

Cui Ling said, "Young Mr. Qin, the chairman has already arranged a time with Miss Liu. Please don't leave her waiting at the restaurant for nothing."

The system chimed in to persuade him. [Besides, host, don't you want to lower the target's favorability? Think about it: going on a blind date right after confessing—what could lower it more than that?]

Qin You paused.

He had to admit it.

The system had convinced him.

Cui Ling was still talking. "And—"

The words from the other end of the line interrupted him.

"Send the address to the driver."

Cui Ling: "..."

A single sentence had persuaded him.

Since when had the spoiled heir been so easy to talk to?

Worried that Qin You would pull a switch again, he said, "I'll be there in two hours."

If Qin You found someone to take his place at the meeting with Miss Liu, just as he had with the documents, Cui Ling would be the one to suffer when the truth came out.

Qin You said, "Mm."

Hearing nothing unusual in his tone, Cui Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

Two hours later, he picked Qin You up at Zeshui Bay, and the driver drove them to a residential complex.

Cui Ling avoided looking at Qin You's eyes. "Young Mr. Qin, these are the chairman's instructions. Please pick Miss Liu up. It's basic courtesy."

He wasn't lying. The chairman had made it clear that, if necessary, they were to trick Qin You into coming to make sure the two of them met.

But having tricked Qin You into coming, he still felt some inexplicable pressure.

Qin You made no comment.

Seeing how unusually accommodating he was today, Cui Ling breathed another sigh of relief.

When Miss Liu got into the car, he was just about to introduce them.

"Miss Liu, I'm Qin You."

Smiling, Qin You held out his hand to her. "Hello."

At the sight of him, Miss Liu couldn't help clutching her handbag. Once she was settled in her seat, she shook his hand. "Hello."

Cui Ling looked in the rearview mirror.

The spoiled heir

secretly loved

Yan Tingshen—Cui Ling knew that. But he hadn't expected that, despite saying he wouldn't meet her, now that he saw how pretty she was, he actually—

"Miss Liu, I assume you know the old man arranged this meeting."

Qin You withdrew his hand and looked at Miss Liu. "I think I should make things clear before dinner, so there won't be any misunderstandings."

Miss Liu was startled.

"I have no plans to start a family for the time being. I came today to complete a task."

Qin You looked at her. "Of course, I don't mean anything else by that. I just hope Miss Liu won't feel upset about being forced to dine with a stranger because the old man asked you to."

Hearing that, Miss Liu looked at him again.

Old Qin of the Qin Group had taken a liking to her. Even though her blind date looked exceptionally handsome in the photograph, she had indeed felt awkward, and a little sad that she couldn't make decisions about her own life.

When she saw the person before her, saw Qin You in person just now, she found that he was not only handsome but also a little dashing. When he looked up at her with a smile, her ears burned—

But he had made himself very clear, and had been very gentle about it.

She still had a chance to make her own decision about the major event in her life.

She smiled. "I understand."

Qin You nodded and looked away.

The car traveled smoothly along the road.

Cui Ling: "..."

He looked in the rearview mirror again, his feelings complicated.

Could it be that the spoiled heir's feelings for Yan Tingshen were true love?

Half an hour later.

The Tongsheng Hotel.

Qin You got out of the car, buttoned his coat with one hand, and walked around the back to open the rear door on the other side. His lips curved in the same superficial smile he used to wear. "We're here."

Miss Liu responded politely, "Thank you."

Qin You didn't offer her his hand, merely waiting by the door.

Once she had gotten out, he closed the door. He was about to turn around when his gaze swept to the side and met someone else's.

He paused.

"Mr. Qin," Miss Liu asked when she saw him standing still, "is something wrong?"

As she spoke, she followed his gaze and saw Yan Tingshen not far away. His gaze seemed to sweep casually over her, but it was searing enough to make her shrink back, instinctively moving behind Qin You.