Chapter 20 (continued)

Cui Ling stopped in his tracks, instinctively thinking Qin You had something to add. "Young Mr. Qin?"

Qin You said, "Have a car ready for me in two hours."

"Are you going out?" Cui Ling asked. "Where to? I'll have the driver familiarize himself with the address as soon as possible."

"The hospital."

"Once this is taken care of," Qin You said, "I need to recover from my injuries."

"..." Cui Ling's fists clenched again. He looked at Qin You's perfectly functional hands and took a deep breath. "All right."

Remembering Peng Ying, he simply pushed the invitation beside him forward.

"This is an invitation to the Liu Family's second son's wedding. The Chairman asked you to attend tomorrow night on time."

A wedding invitation?

Before Qin You could speak, the system hurriedly said, [Host, don't refuse! That's the mission location. You have to go!]

Cui Ling was still explaining. "The Liu Family and the Qin Household have always been in contact. The relationship needs to be maintained."

Qin You simply said, "Leave it here."

Cui Ling didn't hesitate. He said goodbye, then turned and left.

After he left, Qin You reopened the system panel.

The system said, [Host, I've finished looking. This mission has no time limit because it's been divided into two parts.]

Qin You looked at the two lines it had enlarged.

[Go to the Liu Family and attend the wedding banquet. Obtain important information 1]

[Go to the Pei Family Former Residence on Qingning Road. Obtain important information 2]

On the details page, beside a map showing the coordinates, was a floor plan of a villa.

There was also a detailed description of the mission and the reason the target had misunderstood the protagonist.

It concerned the Pei Family's bankruptcy.

A misunderstanding caused by that?

Since it was a misunderstanding, that meant the protagonist had nothing to do with what happened back then. In that case, the information he needed to obtain for the mission should clear the protagonist of suspicion.

After looking over the map, Qin You frowned. [The information is in the study?]

The system said, [Judging by the coordinates, yes.]

Qin You said, [Think carefully before you answer me.]

The wedding banquet was being held at the Liu Family's home, and getting to the floor where the study was located wouldn't be difficult.

But a sensitive area like a study couldn't be left unguarded. Even setting everything else aside, if he was caught on even the most basic surveillance cameras, he'd inevitably face a lawsuit.

[...] The system felt aggrieved. [Host, that's just how the mission is... Oh!]

It suddenly realized what he meant. [If you're worried about security, host, don't worry. I can temporarily disable all electronic devices for a full ten minutes!]

Disable all electronic devices.

Qin You looked at the floor plan on the panel again.

With ten minutes and the precise coordinates, that was indeed enough.

At two thirty that afternoon, Qin You sent the target a message.

Qin: At the hospital?

He no longer had to wait for a reply.

.: Mm.

Qin: Wait half an hour for me.

Qin: We'll start at three sharp.

.: You're coming back?

Qin You smiled when he saw the message.

Qin: Of course.

Qin: You don't want me to come back?

.: You can stay at the office.

Qin: Then why have you waited until now?

Qin: Weren't you waiting for me?

Only then did his messages meet the familiar silence.

Qin You chuckled. Knowing the target wouldn't reply again, he put his phone away.

After confirming that the other man was still at the hospital, he took a car back, arriving at three on the dot.

After finishing the rehabilitation session, he returned to the ward and immediately spotted a familiar invitation on the desk.

"You're going tomorrow night too?"

Yan Tingshen followed Qin You's gaze. "Mm."

He wasn't surprised that Qin You had received an invitation too.

But compared with the friendship between the Qin and Liu families, the Yan and Pei families were closer to the Liu Family.

Qin You didn't think much of it either and simply asked, "Shall we go together?"

Yan Tingshen glanced at him. "No, I'll go from the office."

At that, Qin You looked at his suit. He was fully dressed except for his jacket. "You're being discharged now?"

Yan Tingshen had already walked over to the wardrobe. He took out his jacket and draped it over his forearm. "Mm."

If Qin You hadn't insisted on the rehabilitation session, he wouldn't have waited until now.

Qin You said, "Going to the office?"

Yan Tingshen said, "Mm."

"Let's go. I'll see you off."

Qin You went out with him. "Once you're discharged, remember to rest. Given how far you've recovered, you're still not fit to work for long periods."

Yan Tingshen looked at him and didn't refuse. "I know."

As they went out, Qin You looked around. "No one's picking you up?"

"Downstairs," Yan Tingshen said.

Ever since Yan Lihui had burst into the hospital ward, he knew Qin You had tightened security at the hospital. His people had been stopped when they first came, and since there were no special circumstances this time, there was no need for them to come up.

"Never mind."

Remembering the incidents Yan Tingshen had been involved in, Qin You said, "I'll take you there."

Yan Tingshen glanced at him again.

Qin You noticed his gaze and smiled. "Thinking of refusing? Save it."

Yan Tingshen said nothing.

Only when they reached the elevator did he ask, "How are things going with your business?"

"A minor issue. Don't worry about it," Qin You said.

Yan Tingshen walked into the elevator alongside him and watched him press the button, his gaze deepening slightly.

Qi Yan had already looked into this "minor issue."

It was just a bout of public backlash. In the grand scheme of things, it was insignificant and indeed nothing to worry about.

This minor matter originally hadn't required Qin You, the General Manager, to handle it.

By having Qin You deal with it personally, Qin Hengzhong was probably not only giving him experience and testing his abilities, but also taking the opportunity to show him just how murky the Qin Group's waters were.

Ever since Qin You returned to the country, undercurrents had been stirring.

First Qi Xianghe, and now Kaiqiang Technology—both were merely the prelude.

Qin You was a newcomer with only Qin Hengzhong to rely on. But even with Qin Hengzhong holding down the fort, dealing with the Qin Group's deeply entangled factions wouldn't be so easy.

Was that why he had sought him out as an ally?

Ding—

The elevator doors opened, and Yan Tingshen turned his gaze to the figure walking out ahead of him.

With Qin You's disposition, he couldn't have failed to see the signs beneath the public backlash.

Yet at this critical point in the contest, instead of remaining at the office, Qin You was honoring a small promise.

Helping him with rehabilitation couldn't compare at all with the prestige he could gain from this contest.

Was he certain Yan Tingshen would help him?

Or—

"What are you spacing out for?" Qin You looked back and saw him standing where he was. He raised an eyebrow. "Did you leave something upstairs?"

"No," Yan Tingshen said.

With that, he took a couple of steps forward and returned to Qin You's side.

Never mind.

Whatever the case, Qin You had saved him more than once.

Whether as an ally or simply to repay the debt, he wouldn't stand by and do nothing.

Not far away.

Zhang Ming was about to come over with the others when he saw his boss raise a hand and give a slight wave. He stopped on reflex, then found himself puzzled.

What did that mean?

"Assistant Zhang, who's that?"

Only then did Zhang Ming notice another person whose figure almost completely overlapped with his boss's.

He had never seen him before.

But somehow, a name sprang to mind.

Qin You.

It was a name his boss had spoken aloud at a meeting, one he couldn't forget even if he wanted to.

Although he had never seen him in person, he had long heard about him.

The Qin Group's new General Manager.

Rumor had it he was less than respectable, and Zhang Ming had wondered why his boss would associate with someone like that, even staying at the Qin Group's hospital.

Now that he saw him...

Zhang Ming craned his neck.

Mm...

He certainly had the looks to get away with being less than respectable...

"Assistant Zhang, should we follow them?"

Zhang Ming looked at the new driver beside him.

As expected of a retired special forces soldier, he was well trained and highly alert. One of President Yan's previous personal bodyguards had been killed and another injured, and Zhang Ming had been worried, but the new bodyguard who had taken the post was no less capable.

"That's President Yan's friend," he said. "But let's follow them in the car, in case President Yan has any other instructions."

The driver said, "All right."

The two got into the car and followed the vehicle ahead all the way to their company's front entrance.

Zhang Ming got out carrying the documents. He looked at the company building, then at the car ahead, where there was still no sign of movement. For a moment, he couldn't quite describe how he felt.

He had worked for President Yan since graduating and had never seen anything like this.

He had been waiting downstairs, yet President Yan had still let someone else drive him over?

Forgive his impertinence, but wasn't that a little unnecessary?

And when had President Yan gotten acquainted with this less-than-respectable President Qin? How had they become so close?

Zhang Ming thought it over and over from every angle, only to find that there was still no movement in the car ahead.

What was going on?

They weren't some new couple reluctant to part just because one of them was going to work. Given President Yan's style, what could he possibly have left unsaid on the way over?

He was hesitating over whether to go up and ask when he saw the car door finally open.

Qin You got out.

Zhang Ming saw President Yan open his door too. Perhaps because of his injuries, he moved a little slowly. Before he could get up, Qin You was already in front of him, holding out a hand—

Zhang Ming's steps toward them froze.

Watching President Yan take Qin You's hand was one thing;

Watching Qin You pull and support President Yan halfway out of the car; watching President Yan lose his footing and take half a step forward, nearly falling into Qin You's arms; watching Qin You smile and say something to President Yan, who actually didn't mind at all—

Zhang Ming's eyes were as wide as saucers.

What was going on?!

He turned around, trying to find someone to share his shock.

All he saw behind him was the exhaust left by the driver as he turned the car around.

"..." He turned back again, only to find that President Qin had already gotten into the car and left.