Chapter 22

Up front, the driver asked, "President Qin, are we going back to Zeshui Bay?"

Qin You looked away. "Go to Qingning Road."

After the last accident, Qin Hengzhong had hired this new driver, who spoke little, acted promptly, and was quite reliable.

The driver said, "Okay."

The system could hardly believe it. [Host, are you going to finish the second part of the mission already?!]

Qin You said, [Yes.]

Since he was already out, he might as well get it done and save himself another trip.

The system hurried to flatter him. [Oh my god, host, you're practically a role model among hosts now! One of the top ten hosts—]

Qin You said, [That's enough.]

The system shut up. [...]

An hour and a half later, it finally spoke up. [Host, we're almost there.]

Qin You looked at the map on the panel. On the street before the coordinates, he told the driver to stop. "Wait for me here."

"Okay." The driver looked at their surroundings, pulled over, and opened the car door for him.

The system said, [Host, the mission says we're going to the target's old home!]

Qin You got out and walked toward the coordinates.

The night was silent.

Only the bright streetlights remained on the deserted road.

The shadows of the trees on either side swayed in the chilly night breeze, rustling softly in the cold air.

Qin You reached the street marked by the coordinates and, by the light of the streetlamps, saw that the target's former home was completely dark.

The Pei Family had gone bankrupt, so the house should have been auctioned off and transferred to someone else long ago. Apparently, whoever had bought it had chosen not to stay.

He was about to approach it when he passed the neighboring gate and paused.

Through the gaps in the railing, he saw a plum tree in bloom, standing against the cold wind in the garden.

The house was likewise empty. Only the streetlight mingled with moonlight and spilled into the courtyard, falling on swaying branches half-covered in snow.

The system said, [Host, what are you looking at? Hurry to the mission location!]

Qin You said, [Don't rush.]

[...] Those two familiar words gave the system a bad feeling. [Host—]

Qin You said, [Block the signals.]

The system said, [But you haven't reached the gate yet. I'll turn it on when we get there. We have limited time—]

Qin You said, [Do as I say.]

[...Okay,] the system said. [The surrounding electronic devices have been blocked.]

Qin You turned and walked to the gate by the road. [Open it.]

The system didn't understand, but did as he asked. [Okay.]

Qin You pushed the gate open and walked in, stepping over patches of unmelted snow until he reached the plum tree.

A flowering branch curved downward.

A faint, cool fragrance wafted toward him.

Qin You took off his leather gloves and brushed the snow from the petals in front of him. Whatever he thought of, he chuckled softly.

The system grew anxious. [Host, the countdown has started! Why are you admiring flowers? Hurry up and do the mission!]

Qin You said, [The target doesn't like the past. Do you think that includes things he saw every day in the past?]

The courtyard with the plum tree was next to the target's former home. Judging by its appearance, the tree was quite old and hadn't been transplanted recently. The target had most likely seen it throughout his childhood.

[...] In its anxiety, the system blurted out, [Probably! Host, hurry up and do the mission!]

Qin You said, [That's what I thought too.]

With that, he walked around the branch in front of him, took two more steps forward, and selected several other branches, breaking them off one by one.

The system finally understood. [Host, you're not going to give those plum blossoms to the target, are you?]

Qin You said, [Yes.]

[...] Smoke rose from the system's circuits. It had a feeling something was wrong. [But host, the flowers the target dislikes are wild roses! Not roses or plum blossoms, wild roses! Besides, this isn't even the target's home, it's his neighbor's. Would he remember what flowers someone else grew?]

Qin You said, [How would we know without trying?]

[...All right.] Unable to argue, the system could only urge him again. [Then hurry up, host. The countdown's still going—host, stop picking... If you want the target to dislike them, wouldn't it be more effective to just break off a couple of ugly branches?]

Qin You said, [That would be too deliberate. It could easily backfire.]

The system was beginning to lose track of what he meant, but it still knew how to worry. [...The mission, host!]

Qin You broke off the last branch he had selected, put his gloves back on, and left with the flowers, walking to the gate of the target's home.

The system hurriedly said, [Just open the door and go in!]

With the coordinates and floor plan, Qin You easily made his way to the study, took the documents specified by the mission from the safe, and turned to leave.

When he came out, five minutes remained on the countdown.

The second part of the mission was already marked complete on the mission panel.

Qin You said, [Still in a hurry?]

[...] The system played dumb. [Hehe, host, you're amazing! You've got both sets of documents. Now all that's left is to use them to clear up the target's misunderstanding, and the mission will be complete!]

Qin You tucked the contract inside his coat and retraced his steps.

The driver, who was still waiting in the same place, saw him but didn't ask about the bunch of plum blossoms he now carried. He simply opened the car door for him and asked, "President Qin, do you need to go anywhere else?"

Qin You said, "Back to Zeshui Bay."

The driver said, "Okay."

"Find a flower shop on the way."

"Understood."

The next day.

At two thirty in the afternoon.

Zhang Ming followed Yan Tingshen, having grown accustomed to the message notifications that had sounded from time to time on his boss's phone over the past two days.

It's Young Mr. Qin again, isn't it?

He had come at this time yesterday and picked President Yan up. Today was probably no exception.

Sure enough, in the next moment, he heard his boss speak.

"You can get back to work."

"Okay." Zhang Ming stopped and watched his boss head for the elevator, then turned toward the office.

As he passed a nearby workstation, he heard a woman suddenly exclaim in a low voice.

"He's so handsome!"

"Right? I told you he was! He's a match for President Yan, and he looks a lot more approachable... I secretly took the photo when I came upstairs. This terrible angle didn't capture even a tenth of his bearing. He's even more handsome in person!"

"Look at his car. Another rich guy. I hate the rich for one second! But he's got flowers. Is he here to pick up his girlfriend?"

"Who picks up their girlfriend this early? And what girlfriend could be lucky enough to have him? Let me have some of that luck—ah! Assistant Zhang..."

As Zhang Ming listened, something felt off. "Who are you talking about?"

The people chatting immediately fell silent like quails.

"Uh..."

"Well..."

"We weren't..."

Zhang Ming looked at the employee hiding her phone behind her back. "Let me see."

"..." The employee had no choice but to hand over her phone as if going to her death. "Assistant Zhang, I just got back from working outside. We only chatted for a minute. I really wasn't slacking off..."

Zhang Ming only looked at the photo on the screen.

He really had guessed right.

It was Young Mr. Qin again...

The photo showed Qin You in profile, leaning against the front of the car beside its side mirror.

His eyes were lowered to his phone, and without the smile he'd worn the last time Zhang Ming saw him, he looked a little imposing.

As the phone's owner had said, the angle of the secretly taken photo was terrible. It was tilted and shot from below, four or five steps away. It captured neither Qin You's height nor his bearing, but even in such an unflattering photo, seven or eight parts of his handsomeness still showed.

Suddenly, Zhang Ming's gaze fell on Qin You's hand, and he zoomed in on the picture.

Today, Qin You was dressed in the same style as last time. Since he was always going in and out of heated places, he wore far fewer layers than most people.

He had on a simple long coat with a shirt underneath. Since both were dark and he wore black leather gloves, the colors of the flowers in his arms stood out even more.

Plum blossoms?

They were a little distinctive and uncommon, but they were still flowers!

Why would he bring flowers when two grown men were meeting?

Could I really have guessed right? Does Young Mr. Qin really have improper intentions toward President Yan??

"...Assistant Zhang, do... do you know him?"

Zhang Ming looked up.

He handed the phone back and said sternly, "Delete the photo. Taking pictures of someone without their permission violates their privacy, and you even showed it to others. Do you think that's right?"

"No..." The employee was ashamed. "It really wasn't. I'll delete it right now..."

Zhang Ming nodded. "Get back to work, all of you. Don't crowd around here."

With that, he turned around. Before leaving, he instinctively looked again in the direction his boss had gone.

President Yan.

This is all I can do to help you...

Yan Tingshen came out of the elevator and headed toward the parking space. When he spotted Qin You, his brows furrowed slightly.

Not far away, Qin You saw him too. He stood up and smiled. "You're here."

Yan Tingshen looked at the thin coat he was wearing, the crease between his brows still there. "Why were you waiting outside?"

Although the parking garage was no colder than it was aboveground, spending too long outside in the depths of winter was still a strain.

Qin You didn't mind. He simply held out the plum blossoms. "These are for you."

Only then did Yan Tingshen notice the plum branches he had been holding all along. He was momentarily startled and paused before raising a hand to accept them.

The driver had already opened the car door.

Qin You was about to invite Yan Tingshen into the car when he saw that he was still looking down at the flowers. Smiling, he asked, "Do you like the flowers this time?"

Yan Tingshen's gaze shifted slightly.

He raised his eyes to meet Qin You's and said nothing for a long time.

Chapter 22

The system didn't have the patience to wait for the target's reaction as its host did.

It hurriedly opened the favorability panel and couldn't help feeling disappointed. [Host, the favorability still hasn't changed. See? I told you, he doesn't remember the flowers at his neighbor's house at all.]

Qin You also glanced at the favorability on the panel. Turning back to Yan Tingshen, he said with a smile, "If you don't like them, never mind. I just thought they suited you better."