Page 46

When had Qin You grown so close to Yan Tingshen?

Meng Yunzhe had been watching his expression. Seeing that the surprise on his face did not look feigned, he asked as though curious, "I didn't expect your cousin and Yan Tingshen to be so close. But didn't you tell me he only came back from abroad recently? How did he get so close to the Yan Family so quickly?"

No one in the Yan Family had ever been so physically close to Yan Tingshen, not even Yan Lihui.

This Qin You...

Qi Xinwei was still looking downstairs. By the time he heard the question, he had already recovered and replied with a smile, "Yes, my cousin did just come back from abroad. He spent twenty-two years overseas. Apart from a handful of visits home, each lasting only a day, he was out of the country the whole time."

He associated with Meng Yunzhe because, although this man surnamed Meng had obscure origins and no known family background, everything he had enjoyed growing up, from food and clothing to all kinds of resources, had been better than Qi Xinwei's. He also always had insider information that Qi Xinwei could never get his hands on.

Qi Xinwei had privately started a company and did not dare make too much of his connection to the Qin Group, so he was happy to provide Meng Yunzhe with a little information for their mutual benefit.

Qin You's return was no secret. Since Meng Yunzhe wanted to know, he would give him a more detailed account.

"As for why he's gotten close to the Yan Family, I don't know. But the old master and Elder Yan used to be comrades-in-arms. I don't know if that has anything to do with it."

Meng Yunzhe listened and looked at Qi Xinwei again.

If he had a choice, he would never have given someone like this a second glance.

What could one expect from the child of a minor actor who had latched onto Qin Yi?

His father had said that Qin Yi had never cared about her family, and that her reason for marrying a nobody was so she could

after marriage

go on living as she pleased. She had two children to shut Qin Hengzhong up, then simply had Qi Hailiang get a vasectomy. But she never looked after the children either, leaving them with servants or tutors and putting Qi Hailiang in charge of everything. It did not take much thought to know what sort of person she was.

If he had been able to get into the real circle, and Qi Xinwei had not been half a member of the Qin Household, he would never have bothered with him.

"Yunzhe, why are you suddenly interested in my cousin?"

Meng Yunzhe took a sip of wine. "I saw how close he is to Yan Tingshen and got curious. Doesn't everyone say Yan Tingshen is ruthless and recognizes no family ties? Your cousin should be careful making friends with someone like that."

Recognized no family ties?

Qi Xinwei could tell he seemed to have a prejudice against Yan Tingshen, but he did not say so outright. He merely smiled.

Meng Yunzhe added, "By the way, didn't you mention before that your cousin likes to have fun a little too much?"

Qi Xinwei's eyes flickered. "Yes. My cousin grew up abroad and got used to a hedonistic lifestyle. Xiang He used to be close to him, and they went out together all the time. I didn't expect them to have a misunderstanding and stop seeing each other."

Meng Yunzhe asked, "What did they do for fun?"

"Well..." Qi Xinwei pretended to hesitate, then lowered his voice as though reluctant to refuse him. "They're men. What else would they do for fun? Why are you asking?"

Meng Yunzhe held his wineglass. "Naturally, I want to get to know your cousin. When you meet a new friend, you have to appeal to their interests to have something to talk about."

Qi Xinwei frowned and cautioned him, "My cousin still doesn't pay much attention to serious matters these days, but he lives a much simpler life than before. The old master may have talked to him after his birthday banquet in particular. He hasn't gone out to play in a long time, so I doubt you could get him to come out."

If Meng Yunzhe wanted to go after Qin You, he would be delighted to watch the two of them fight. But Meng Yunzhe wanted to use him as a stepping stone to get to know Qin You, and that was not what he wanted to see.

Meng Yunzhe said, "Have you ever heard a saying?"

"What saying?" Qi Xinwei asked.

Meng Yunzhe said, "It's easier to change rivers and mountains than a person's nature."

At those words, Qi Xinwei's knitted brows relaxed. He turned to look downstairs, smiling. "My cousin just likes having fun. He's still young. He'll get better in time."

Smiling, Meng Yunzhe also looked at the two figures getting into the car.

The last time they met, he had seen that Qin You was nothing like the brainless playboy Qi Xinwei had described, so he had made a point of looking into him. To his surprise, what he found matched Qi Xinwei's account.

Looking back, perhaps it was just Qin You's seemingly unflappable face that had led him to the wrong judgment.

After all, someone who did nothing but play games at a charity dinner could hardly be called intelligent.

And now this brainless playboy had stumbled into a connection with Yan Tingshen. It was a heaven-sent opportunity, and he had to seize it.

A hedonist who could even have fun with an idiot like Qi Xianghe, a person of rock-bottom intelligence but endless desires.

To befriend someone like that.

Who said "asking him out" was the only way?

Downstairs.

Inside the car.

Qin You shut the door and glanced at Yan Tingshen beside him. "Address."

Yan Tingshen turned to look at Qin You as well.

Apart from his housekeeper, driver, and Pei Sheng, no one knew his address.

Qin You said, "Are you so drunk you've forgotten your own address?"

"..." Having spoken up twice to no avail, Yan Tingshen stopped correcting his baseless misunderstanding and simply gave the driver his address.

After hearing it, the driver paid no attention to what was happening in the back seat and steered out of the Liu Family's property.

It was not until the car reached the main road that the system voiced its bewilderment in Qin You's mind.

[Huh? Host, why did the random mission fail?]

Qin You also saw the panel it had opened.

The bright red word "Failed" hung after the mission.

The system protested, [But, Host, you followed the mission requirements! You ignored the target's refusal and forcibly took him away. Why was that judged a failure?!]

Qin You said, [Read the precautions carefully.]

[Precautions?]

The system opened the details page and muttered, [Forceful actions include but are not limited to—huh? No way. Did the mission fail just because you didn't pick the target up and carry him, Host?]

Qin You said, [Maybe.]

The reason the emergency mission had failed applied to the random mission as well.

He had deliberately avoided the methods specified, so of course the mission had been judged a failure.

[Oh, Host, what a shame! You finally did a mission so perfectly this time. You didn't delay, and you stayed in character so well. If you hadn't forgotten the requirements and had carried the target out, your mission completion rate might have been really high!]

After lamenting, the system felt relieved. [Luckily, you don't need favorability points right now, Host, and there's no penalty for a random mission. Otherwise, that would have been such a waste!]

Qin You made no comment. He turned back to Yan Tingshen. "If you're feeling unwell, get some sleep."

Yan Tingshen was silent for a moment before saying, "I'm fine."

Qin You studied him, but could find no trace of drunken sorrow on that face, which did indeed look perfectly normal.

But since the system had confirmed it, there could be no mistake.

Besides, the target and the protagonist had grown up together and had an extraordinary relationship. With this misunderstanding weighing on his heart, he must have been suffering and conflicted, able only to drown his sorrows in drink.

What a waste of that calm, rational-looking face. He was not decisive in the slightest.

If he valued his childhood friend, he should go and ask him for the truth. What was the point of burying his head in the sand?

As though sensing something, Yan Tingshen turned and met his eyes. "Is there something you want to say?"

Qin You raised an eyebrow. "No."

As an outsider, he was not supposed to know about the misunderstanding between the target and the protagonist. Bringing it up would only arouse suspicion.

Besides, this concerned the target's character. Qin You could help him for a while, but not forever. Apart from the missions imposed by the system, he would let the target handle it himself.

He had looked over the document he had obtained in the Liu Family's study. It was a share transfer agreement concerning shares in the Cehai Group that had once belonged to the Pei Family.

The agreement was one of the important documents needed to resolve the misunderstanding between the two men. The shares that had originally belonged to the Pei Family were probably the source of the misunderstanding.

It involved private matters and secrets from the past.

The fact that the target had gotten drunk over it lent further weight to the information the system had provided. The thing the target hated most was that part of his past.

Hearing his answer, Yan Tingshen asked no more.

He changed the subject. "As for Qin Andong, Qi Yan has already found some leads—"

Qin You looked at him and suddenly chuckled.

Yan Tingshen frowned slightly. "What are you laughing at?"

Qin You's voice was still tinged with amusement. "Nothing. Go on."

A drunk man was still so serious, still remembering that he had promised to help him. It had to be said that the target not only held his liquor well, but was genuinely kindhearted too.

Yan Tingshen pressed his lips together and looked away. "If you don't want to hear it, we can talk another time."

Qin You coughed softly, suppressed his smile, and said seriously, "No, I want to hear it. Go ahead."

Yan Tingshen glanced at him and said only, "The outcome isn't clear yet. I'll tell you when there's progress."

Hearing that the target did not want to discuss it anymore, Qin You did not mind. "Thanks for the effort."

Yan Tingshen said, "Qi Yan is the one investigating. It has nothing to do with me."

Qin You smiled. "If you hadn't asked, why would President Qi help me? He and I don't even know each other."

Yan Tingshen had no reply.

After that, the car gradually fell quiet.

Considering the target's condition, Qin You said nothing more and let him rest.

When they arrived, he got out and went inside. Following the butler's inexplicably halting directions, he took Yan Tingshen straight to his room. Only then did he say goodbye and turn to leave.

The butler behind him saw his employer's signal and abruptly came back to his senses. He escorted the guest all the way to the door, the occasional glances he raised still full of disbelief.

"...Take care on your way out."

Qin You was about to get into the car. Hearing his tone, he glanced at him before sitting down inside.

The system said, [The target looks pretty rich to me, living in such a nice house. But his employee is really unprofessional! Doesn't he have the money to hire someone better?]

The car had not started yet.

Qin You also looked at the target's property through the window.

Normally, it would have been difficult for the target, as an assistant, to afford a place like this.

But a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. With help from the protagonist and his former family and friends, he would still have something to show for himself. Otherwise, the target's father would not have asked for five million the moment he opened his mouth at the hospital.