Chapter 21

Zhang Ming hurried up behind Yan Tingshen, his arms and legs moving in awkward unison. "...Mr. Yan."

"Mm."

Zhang Ming stole a glance at his boss.

His expression was as cool as ever.

His tone was just as cold.

That was right.

This was his boss.

Once they entered the company and returned to the office, everyone hurried over to report on their work. Zhang Ming saw his boss pick up his phone again.

Standing right behind his boss, he saw that the messaging screen was open and immediately lowered his head to avoid looking, though his thoughts raced.

They had only just parted.

Had they not talked enough?

...Surely not?

Had Young Mr. Qin been behaving improperly with Mr. Yan??

Yan Tingshen was reading Qin You's message.

Qin: About what you said earlier, you don't need to go to so much trouble. Take care of your own affairs and don't waste your energy.

The message was sent successfully.

Qin You said to the system, [Satisfied?]

The system began flattering him. [Hehe, Host, you're so understanding! There's no helping it. You have to stay in character, and what overbearing villain accepts help from his target? They're the ones who help their targets.]

A notification sounded at the same time.

.: There are many ways to look into someone. It won't take much effort.

Before long,

another message appeared.

.: Don't overthink it.

The corners of Qin You's lips curved slightly.

The system panicked. [No, Host! The target is too kindhearted. This won't work. Reject him again, more overbearingly!]

Qin You had already replied.

Qin: All you need to do now is recover. Don't worry about anything else.

.: I will.

Qin You put down his phone.

The system said, [Host, hurry up and reply!]

Qin You said, [He's already agreed not to worry. What else is there to say?]

The system was bewildered. [...That's true. He agreed.]

Qin You closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat without saying anything else.

After spending two days attending to matters at the company, he went to the Liu family's banquet as promised.

When an attendant led him inside, the banquet hall was already full of distinguished guests.

Not all the guests present were close relatives and friends of the Liu family, however.

For families like theirs, marriage sometimes meant more than a happy union; it could also be an alliance between powerful families. By the time the evening banquet began, socializing took precedence over celebrating.

After entering, Qin You sat alone in an inconspicuous spot for a while, as usual. He only got up and walked over when the bride and groom entered and everyone began cheering and laughing.

On the way, he passed an attendant and casually splashed a glass of wine, wetting his jacket.

The attendant was badly frightened. "I'm sorry! I'm terribly sorry, sir, I—"

"It had nothing to do with you. I was careless."

Qin You said, "Find me an empty room so I can change out of it. Sorry to trouble you, but could you help me dry it?"

The attendant let out a long breath of relief. "Of course. Please follow me."

There were guests everywhere downstairs, so he consulted the butler and took the guest to a lounge on the second floor.

Qin You took off his jacket and handed it to him. "Where's the restroom?"

The attendant hurriedly gave him directions. "Turn left outside the door. It's on your right."

Qin You nodded. "Thank you."

The system waited until he went out before it began praising him. [Host, you're amazing!]

Qin You said, [Block the signals.]

The system said, [Okay! I've blocked the electronic devices nearby.]

Qin You followed the coordinates to the study door, but encountered another problem when he tried to open it.

But the next moment,

the lock that wouldn't open quietly came undone.

[Serves them right for using high-tech equipment. A lock like this can't stop me!]

The system said proudly, [Host, I'm useful after all, aren't I?]

Qin You looked at the doorknob under his hand and paused, but still opened the door gently.

He went inside and walked to where the documents were kept. He took out the file marked by the mission, and only after seeing that its contents were not confidential did he take out his phone and snap a photo.

After putting the file back where it belonged, he turned and walked toward the door.

Just as he reached it, he suddenly heard footsteps outside.

The system hurriedly said, [Host, someone's outside!]

Qin You stepped to the side of the door and heard someone speaking outside.

There was only one person.

"What did you say you saw?"

"So what if I did? I took something out for important business. Anyway, you don't understand. Everything I'm doing is for our sake."

"Oh, come on! Stop saying all that useless stuff. If your identity weren't something that had to be kept hidden, would I have to maneuver at every step like this? My plan is going smoothly now. Sooner or later, I'll take back everything that belongs to me. Just wait and enjoy the good life."

"All right, all right, stop talking. It's inconvenient for me to talk out here. I'm hanging up."

"..."

The footsteps faded into the distance.

Qin You opened the door and looked toward the stairs not far away.

He had heard that voice at the previous charity dinner.

It was Qi Xinwei's friend, Meng Yunzhe.

It seemed his earlier impression had been right. This man was indeed calculating.

[Host, let's hurry and go!]

The system was still on edge. [I can only block electronic devices. If a human comes over, there's no way for me to block them—huh?]

It was suddenly surprised, then grew excited again.

[Wow, Host, what great luck!]

The next second, a system notification sounded.

[Random Affection Mission triggered.]

[The target has become intoxicated. Please use forceful behavior to take him away. Forceful behavior includes, but is not limited to, carrying him in your arms, on your back, or over your shoulder.]

The system added, [Host, a random mission like this only triggers when the target's affection level is at a high percentage in the early stages. It's very rare! Completing it usually grants a small amount of affection, and there's no penalty for failing.]

There was no penalty.

And he had no intention of doing it anyway.

But then,

Qin You looked at the mission details.

The target was drunk?

The system urged him on. [Host, hurry! Let me see a random mission in action!]

Qin You thought for a moment, then retrieved his jacket and headed toward the coordinates after all.

"Pei Sheng, what's gotten into you today? It's Second Young Master Liu's big day, not yours. Why are you drinking so much?"

Pei Sheng was silent for a long while.

Qi Yan looked over at Yan Tingshen. "Tingshen, help me talk him out of it. How's he going to get home later if he keeps this up?"

Hearing Yan Tingshen's name, Pei Sheng pressed his lips together, took his glass back from Qi Yan, and slowly drained it.

"Come on..."

Qi Yan steadied him. "You were fine yesterday. How did you end up like this after just one day? What on earth happened to you?"

Pei Sheng said nothing and simply picked up the wine bottle beside him.

Qi Yan sighed at the sight. "I really give up..."

He snatched the bottle from Pei Sheng's hand and pressed him down onto the bench.

Seeing that Pei Sheng was merely disoriented after getting drunk, with no sign of making a scene, and sat there quietly, he breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up, picked up the bottle, and said to Yan Tingshen, "Look at him. He can't hold his liquor, and he's injured too, but he still drank so much all by himself. This is ridiculous—"

At that point, he saw the person behind Yan Tingshen and froze.

"Young Mr. Qin?"

Yan Tingshen also paused and turned to look.

Qin You was not far away.

He had heard every word Qi Yan had just said to Yan Tingshen.

Qin You glanced at the nearly empty bottle in Qi Yan's hand and frowned.

He continued over to Yan Tingshen's side and caught the smell of alcohol on him too.

It wasn't very strong, but drinking so much was simply reckless.

He turned to Yan Tingshen. "You've been drinking?"

Yan Tingshen said, "Mm."

On an occasion like this, a little drinking for social obligations was unavoidable.

But he hadn't drunk much. One glass of wine had been more than enough to get him through the entire event.

"Getting drunk before you've even recovered—do you think your injury wasn't serious enough?"

Yan Tingshen looked at Qin You too. "I'm not drunk."

"That's what everyone who's drunk says."

Qin You couldn't be bothered to argue with him. He raised a hand and gripped his left hand. "Come on, I'll take you out."

The grip on his wrist left no room to break free. Before Yan Tingshen could speak, he was pulled two steps forward, and then an arm tightened around his waist.

His left shoulder bumped into Qin You's chest. Feeling how close they were, Yan Tingshen's upper body stiffened slightly.

"...Let go."

Qin You said, "All right. We'll talk when we get back to the car."

His presence remained impossible to dispute.

In the space of that brief exchange, they had already walked several meters.

Yan Tingshen pressed his thin lips into a straight line and glanced at him.

Qin You said, "Stop looking. If you don't want this, don't drink so much next time. Got it?"

Yan Tingshen frowned slightly. "I didn't drink too much."

Qin You said helplessly, "Fine, you didn't drink too much. I did."

Behind the two of them,

Qi Yan stood with a wineglass in one hand and a bottle in the other, staring blankly as the two figures, almost a single silhouette, receded into the distance.

"Come on..."

He remained stunned until that silhouette vanished from sight, then finally came to his senses.

He poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip to calm his nerves, then turned and nudged Pei Sheng's shoulder.

"Pei Sheng, stop sleeping. Did you see that? It was better than a movie!"

Yan Tingshen had been forcibly taken away.

How rare was that!

Unfortunately, the drunk on the bench didn't react at all.

Qi Yan looked down at him and let out another long sigh.

He really gave up...

Someone was looking after the one who wasn't drunk, but what was he supposed to do with the one who actually was?

Chapter 21

The villa.

The second floor.

Meng Yunzhe was sitting in the small garden on the terrace with a wineglass in hand when he happened to glance outside. He couldn't help getting up from the table and walking over to the railing.

He narrowed his eyes to make out the two figures below, swirled his wineglass, and looked back at Qi Xinwei. "Your cousin and Yan Tingshen?"

"My cousin?" Qi Xinwei had already noticed his movements. Hearing this, he also stood up and walked over to his side. He looked down and froze for a moment.