Chapter 4

Qin You looked at his still-impassive profile and smiled. "Being able to help you is enough."

Yan Tingshen's eyes flickered. He turned to meet his gaze and asked evenly, "What do you mean by that, President Qin?"

"Nothing. If you don't understand, you can put it out of your mind."

Yan Tingshen recognized the retreat as a way to advance and looked at him intently. "Please make yourself clear, President Qin."

Qin You's arrival at the scene of the accident might have been a coincidence.

But those words, that embrace, and even the way he had taken the knife for him were beyond the reach of the investigation. Yan Tingshen could only learn about them from Qin You himself.

Now that Qin You had brought it up, whether intentionally or not, it was a chance to find out.

"Do you really not remember what happened when we were kids?" Qin You asked.

Yan Tingshen asked in return, "What does President Qin think I should remember?"

"It wasn't really a big deal. I ran away from home when I was little, and I met you after I got lost."

Qin You glanced at the system panel, where a great deal of information was still missing, and briefly summed up the original owner's hazy memories. "It was winter, close to the new year, and snow was falling heavily. We met at night."

Yan Tingshen lowered his eyes and thought it over.

He truly had no recollection of it.

His contact with Qin You had been limited to the few occasions when he had visited the Qin Household.

"Perhaps it wasn't worth mentioning to you, but to me, it was vitally important."

Qin You looked at him. "I still remember that day clearly. I eventually made my way to Qingning Road, hungry and cold. You took my hand and brought me home."

His peach blossom eyes were deep and smiling behind his glasses, and his low voice was soft and gentle as he told the story. With his gaze so wholly fixed on Yan Tingshen, he looked positively tender.

Meeting that gaze, Yan Tingshen found himself looking away.

Qingning Road.

Yan Family Former Residence.

In that case, it had indeed happened.

But why couldn't he remember any of it?

"It's all right." Seeing that he truly couldn't remember, Qin You said, "You were four. It's normal to have forgotten."

In fact, the original owner's memories of that time were no more than a vague outline. Only after meeting the target had he finally managed to remember it, and even then only barely. It could hardly be called

redemption.

Time had merely embellished the past, adding flowers to brocade.

Love at first sight was often sparked by attraction to someone's looks. Presumably, the original owner was no exception; it had still been the target's face that won him over.

At that thought, Qin You looked to his side and raised an eyebrow.

The original owner liked men, so it made sense that he would fall for a face like that at first sight.

Of course, according to the book's original plot, if the target had known that a moment of kindness back then would bring him such a rotten peach blossom, he would probably have preferred to let the original owner freeze to death on his doorstep.

But—

He studied the target, who looked utterly cold and heartless.

Who would have thought someone like him had been warmhearted enough to save someone as a child?

That was clearly the face of someone who would stand by and watch another person die.

"All you need to remember is—"

Qin You added, "You saved my life too, so you don't owe me anything."

[Host!] The system didn't understand. [How does he not owe you? If the target feels guilty, the mission will be easier! You laid everything out so quickly. What if the target really thinks that way? Won't all your previous work on the mission have been for nothing?]

Qin You said, [Don't rush.]

The target was a smart man and would inevitably question his reasons for approaching him.

The sooner he gave this encounter a reasonable explanation, the easier it would be to develop their relationship later.

There was nothing hard to talk about in the childhood story. Explaining it in person would save him a lot of trouble.

The original owner, on the other hand, had assumed the target remembered it as vividly as he did. As a result, even by the grand finale, the target still thought something was wrong with him mentally.

The system still wanted to protest.

Yan Tingshen's voice interrupted it.

At some point, he had turned back to Qin You. His detached tone carried a firm, unyielding certainty, and every word rang clear. "No matter what, you saved me. Our past dealings can't cancel that out. You needn't give it any more thought, President Qin."

The smile on Qin You's lips did not fade. He was very pleased that the target knew how to take a hint.

The Qin Household was in turmoil, and his situation was less than ideal. Although he could handle it himself, having the help of one of the protagonists would benefit him without any drawbacks. Why not take it?

"Then—"

The system had anticipated this.

[Attention. The host must stay in character, provide the target with help, and cannot accept any help from the target.]

"..." Qin You smiled and changed his tune. "How could I accept? I know things are difficult for you at the company. You're already exhausted enough dealing with your own work every day. Why trouble yourself over this little matter of mine?"

The target had been parachuted into the president's office and was surely the subject of considerable criticism behind his back. Even with Yan Tingshen protecting him, this was a critical period for establishing himself, and it really wasn't the time to invite further complications.

At that, Yan Tingshen gave Qin You another look.

The infighting within the Yan Family was no secret, so it was hardly strange that the Qin Household knew about it. What was strange was what Qin You had said.

'Things are difficult for you at the company.'

Even within the Yan Family, very few people truly understood his situation.

Qin You was a good-for-nothing whose life story could be filled in on just two sheets of paper, and he had only been back in the country for three days. Even the Qin Household saw him as someone who spent his time drinking and having fun instead of doing anything worthwhile.

What gave someone like that the grounds to judge his situation at the company, and to speak of it with such certainty?

Yan Tingshen lowered his eyes.

Their two encounters were enough to prove that the information handed to him did not reflect the real Qin You.

Then why had Qin You, after years of pretending, exposed himself in front of him?

Just because of a meeting that had taken place when he was four, one he couldn't even remember?

That kind of story was a little too far-fetched.

"Don't overthink it," Qin You continued. "I told you all this because I wanted you to understand that I can help you."

Yan Tingshen looked at him again. "Help me?"

Qin You smiled. "Just as you said, if you run into any trouble in the future and need my help, I'll do everything I can."

Yan Tingshen rubbed his thumb lightly against the armrest.

Before last night, before meeting Qin You in person, he would not have paid any attention to such empty words, unsupported by anything.

But now that the Qin Group's heir had changed from a useless good-for-nothing into the Qin You before him, this bargaining chip had to be said to carry some weight.

The Yan and Qin families had always worked closely together, but he wasn't solely in charge of the related business. If Qin You volunteered to act on his behalf, all the associated problems would naturally be resolved.

Unfortunately, for the time being, Qin You was not qualified to work with him.

Qin You still had a long way to go before he could secure a firm say in the Qin Group—

Suddenly,

Yan Tingshen paused.

Could this be what Qin You was really after?

As for helping him solve his troubles, the only thing the other man currently had to offer was the Qin Group, which wasn't truly in his hands yet.

In other words, only after Yan Tingshen helped Qin You formally take over could this offer of "help" count as a promise.

Although Qin You had turned down his thanks earlier, given the other man's skill at concealing himself, it was understandable that he wouldn't want to show his hand right away.

Finding a mutually beneficial ally was probably why Qin You had come today.

Otherwise, why bring up the "difficulties" he faced, and why offer to help him when he knew he could barely look after himself?

But working with Qin You?

Yan Tingshen didn't look too deeply into that possibility.

He was at a critical juncture and had no attention to spare for anything else.

Before clearing away the obstacles, he had only intended to keep an eye on developments at the Qin Group and help Qin You through his difficulties if necessary.

What was more, whether or not Qin You had an ulterior motive, the order would be the same: Qin You would take control of the Qin Group first, and help him afterward.

No one could guarantee that Qin You wouldn't burn the bridge after crossing it.

After all, they had only had these two brief encounters.

And with the information on him no longer reliable, Yan Tingshen actually knew nothing about Qin You.

At the thought, Yan Tingshen's hand stilled, and he couldn't help looking at Qin You's face again.

The other man seemed to sense it and turned to look at him too, a smile still on his lips. "A-Sheng?"

Yan Tingshen studied his expression, which remained as inscrutable as ever, and inadvertently met his eyes before looking away again.

Those eyes, always alive with laughter, did look as though they had fooled countless people.

"Thank you for your kind offer, President Qin."

"I'll consider it," Yan Tingshen said.

Hearing that, Qin You's smile faded a little.

What was going on?

Wasn't the target supposed to be self-reliant and unyielding?

In the original plot, the target had always turned a deaf ear to the help the original owner offered. How had a couple of polite words from him made the target consider it now?

Judging by how long he had been silent just now, the target's offer to consider it wasn't even something he had said casually.

This wasn't good.

He hadn't actually intended to help—

Sensing a slight movement beside him, Qin You pushed up his glasses. When he looked up again, he smiled and said, "All right."

Yan Tingshen suddenly asked him, "You want to help me. Aren't you afraid of bringing trouble on yourself?"

Trouble?

How much trouble could an assistant bring?

Qin You didn't pay it much mind. "It's all right."

Yan Tingshen's fingers tightened slightly, then quickly relaxed.

Seeing that there seemed to be deeper meaning in the other man's gaze, Qin You added, "I told you before: if you learn to rely on others and relieve some of the pressure, you can have an easier time too."

Yan Tingshen simply looked at him, saying nothing about this theory he had now brought up for the second time.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Young Mr. Qin, it's time for your blood test." It was Cui Ling.

Qin You took the opportunity to say goodbye to Yan Tingshen. "I'm right next door. Come find me if you need anything."

Yan Tingshen made to get up as well.

But as soon as he put pressure on the armrest, he frowned for an instant and sat back down.

Qin You turned toward his seemingly impassive face, his gaze passing over his slightly curled left hand.

He still couldn't accept how badly hurt and weak he was?

Why make things difficult for himself?

"Your injuries are serious. Don't push yourself anymore, or you might be left with lasting effects."

"I'm fine," Yan Tingshen said evenly.

Qin You chuckled, patted him on the shoulder, and turned toward the door.