Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After great difficulty, the driver finally rescued the last unconscious person from the car. Just as he was about to ask Qin for the next steps, he turned around and caught sight of the scene not far away, his heart pounding in alarm.

"Qin, be careful!"

Before this warning, Qin You had already noticed something suspicious in the bushes.

With the streetlights gone, the shadows became more menacing.

A hunched figure suddenly lunged from the bushes, swinging a knife as he charged!

"I'll kill you!"

The voice rang familiar.

Under the moonlight, Qin You recognized the contorted face—it was the same Mr. Li who had harassed Yan Tingshen at the Qin residence.

Compared to their last encounter, Mr. Li had clearly lost it even more.

Qin You pulled the man closer and took a step back.

Feeling the man's sluggish movements, he realized the man was still injured—let alone subduing the attacker, even self-defense would be difficult.

He tried reasoning: "The person you're looking for isn't here."

Unfortunately, Mr. Li wasn't listening to reason. Hearing Qin You's voice, he charged straight at him, wildly swinging the knife with both hands, muttering, "...None of you let me live, so come to hell with me! You all deserve to die!"

Qin You frowned.

The assailant was mentally unstable and armed with a knife, while he had someone to protect—inevitably putting him at a disadvantage.

After dodging a few strikes, the sharp blade suddenly swung toward the throat of the man in his arms.

Feeling the man tense up again, likely from fear, Qin You held him tighter to keep him steady. "Don't move."

The man paused, as if turning to look at him.

Qin You had no time to spare, pulling the man closer to avoid accidental injury during the struggle.

He raised his left arm to block the knife, then seized the opportunity to grab Mr. Li's wrist and landed a solid kick to his chest.

Mr. Li staggered back, clutching his chest, before collapsing to the ground.

The guards finally showed up, immediately pinning him down despite being hurt themselves.

The driver, who'd been following, didn't dare interfere. Seeing Qin You, he panicked even more: "Qin, you're bleeding badly!"

A translucent panel appeared, showing the next line.

"A Sheng, are you alright? Were you scared? Don't be afraid, I'm here with you. I'll always protect you!"

"..." Qin You pressed a hand to his wound and glanced at the man beside him, asking bluntly, "You okay?"

The man was also looking at him, his dark gaze unreadable under the dim moonlight. Hearing the question, he seemed to refocus, his gaze dropping to Qin You's left arm. His tone remained calm, showing no panic: "You're hurt."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about me. As long as you're unharmed, I'm satisfied! Otherwise, I'll make them all pay!"

Qin You fell silent again.

He turned to ask the system, "Are you sure these are the original character's lines?"

"..." The system stalled for a beat before answering truthfully, "The lines are adapted and generated by the system based on the original character's past speech patterns and word usage in the book."

Qin You put his foot down: "Stop making them up from now on."

"..." The system gave in reluctantly, "Fine, but you're being too cold. At least add a form of address—and it can't be changed again. Otherwise, calling someone by their full name kills all intimacy, which would deviate from the character's persona and harm the mission..."

Then, throwing in the towel, it sighed, "Ah! If you really dislike 'A Sheng,' you can choose from the original character's terms of endearment in the book, like 'Sheng Sheng' or 'Sheng'er.'"

Qin You: "..."

Forget it. 'A Sheng' it is.

The brief mental back-and-forth ended just as the driver spoke up, "Mr. Qin, I've got a med kit in the back. I'll go get it now!"

"I'll come with."

Qin You glanced at where the bodyguard was still wrestling with the attacker, then said to the man, "This place isn't safe yet, and your wounds need treatment. I'll help you over."

The man replied indifferently, "No need. I've got some things to handle. Please go ahead."

Qin You caught the brush-off in his words.

Yan Tingshen's assistant was obviously focused on handling the unconscious Yan Tingshen first.

Since the target couldn't be bothered about his injuries, there was no need to insist.

Playing his role as the 'admirer,' he left one last remark before departing.

"Be careful."

—

The bodyguard was entirely focused on taking down the violent Li Jianhang. Only after dripping with sweat and finally hogtying him with his own tie did he notice that Mr. Qin, who had intervened, had already left.

He immediately turned to his boss, who stood with his back to him, and panted, "President Yan, we've got him!"

Yan Tingshen's gaze remained fixed on the retreating figure, his gaze inscrutable. "Hmm."

Qin You—the Qin family's emergency recall heir, urgently groomed to take over.

The dossier had landed on his desk just yesterday.

A worthless hedonist, just a party boy with no substance.

Yet, unexpectedly, this very person had saved him twice.

Upon interaction, however, Qin You wasn’t half as bad as the records suggested.

And... Ah Shen?

As far as he remembered, he and Qin You had only interacted a handful of times as children, when their families were on closer terms—not exactly childhood buddies.

*"—I’ve missed you all these years."*

Where'd that come from?

"President Yan, Assistant Pei is still unconscious, but I heard from Mr. Qin's driver that they'd already called the police and the hospital. Want me to call again?"

Yan Tingshen's eyes flicked back.

On the ground, Li Jianhang, forcibly restrained, had his veins bulged on his face and neck as he struggled, his voice hoarse with rage.

Yan Tingshen looked down at him, calmly taking out a handkerchief from his left chest pocket. He dabbed at the stinging wound on his forehead, then wiped away the blood from his fingers.

Li Jianhang knew Yan Tingshen's methods all too well, met that cold, indifferent gaze from above and felt a chill seep from within, fear shadowing him.

He trembled uncontrollably, his teeth chattered as he spat curses.

"...Yan Tingshen... you'll die a horrible death!"

He wanted to say more, but Yan Tingshen had already turned away.

The pristine white handkerchief, now stained with crimson blood, fluttered down and landed on his face.

The sudden darkness choked him, nearly drowning him in terror.

"...I—"

The bodyguard efficiently knocked Li Jianhang out with a precise strike, cutting off his stream of curses. Just as he was about to ask for further instructions, his boss's calm voice reached him.

"No need. Let the Qin family handle this. Arrange for the rest to be dealt with."

The bodyguard gave a curt nod. Remembering the conversation he'd overheard in the car, he scanned the area warily before stepping closer and lowering his voice. "Mr. Yan, could today's incident be connected to the Qin family?"

Yan Tingshen replied succinctly, "Look into both."

Logically, the Qin and Yan families had no grievances, nor was there any bad blood—they wouldn't go this far. Even if they had motives, they wouldn't choose the day of Mr. Qin's birthday celebration, nor would they allow Qin You to be present during the incident.

As for who staged this show—

Yan Tingshen closed his eyes briefly, withdrawing his thoughts.

Unavoidably, the Qin family was going through their own troubles now. Some things couldn't be left to speculation.

His path was dangerous enough—one wrong move could be disastrous.

"Understood." The bodyguard never questioned further. He then asked, "What about Pei Zhu?"

Yan Tingshen looked toward Pei Sheng, who had been quickly patched up by the bodyguards nearby. "How are his injuries?"

The bodyguard replied, "Some surface wounds, none too serious. We'll need a hospital examination for specifics."

Yan Tingshen gave a slight nod.

After a pause, he turned his attention back to Qin You.

The man was slouching against the car's trunk, his jacket already discarded at his feet. He was tending to his wounds himself.

From this distance, Yan Tingshen couldn't read Qin You's face.

But he had seen the wound form—it wasn't shallow.

Had Qin You not made an instant, reflexive move to shield him, that knife wouldn't have caused him much harm anyway.

—What would drive Qin You to willingly get hurt just to bail him out?

Yan Tingshen fixed his gaze on the dim silhouette in the moonlight.

He couldn’t come up with a solid explanation based on their past encounters.

Just then, the bodyguard suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Yan, the Qins’ driver is headed this way."

As he spoke, the driver, jogging toward them, called out from a distance, "Young Master Qin sent me with the med kit!"

The bodyguard looked at Yan Tingshen.

Yan Tingshen said, "Go assist Pei Sheng. Look after him."

The bodyguard wanted to say something but didn’t dare defy him. "Understood," he said.

With that, he walked over to the driver.

Just as he went to take the kit, the driver pulled back.

"Sorry, but Young Master Qin was very clear," the driver continued forward, stopping only when he stood before Yan Tingshen, "it goes straight to you."

The bodyguard hesitated, turning back to seek his boss’s instructions, only to find Yan Tingshen staring at the med kit in the driver’s hands, deep in thought.

"Need help with that?" The driver, now standing before Yan Tingshen, dutifully asked.

Yan Tingshen replied, "Thanks. I’ve got it."

The driver still hesitated, but when he looked up and met the man’s usual commanding, indifferent gaze, he tensed up and automatically popped it open.

Yan Tingshen took a few items, then shot a quick look at the bodyguard.

The bodyguard immediately led the driver over to Pei Sheng.

As the two walked away, the area grew quiet.

For some reason, Yan Tingshen looked again at that near-stranger.

The other man was still sitting on the trunk, as if feeling his stare, and suddenly looked back.

Just as Yan Tingshen was about to avert his eyes, he saw the shadow give a slight, casual wave toward him.

A brief pause, then it dropped back down.

Laid-back, but not disrespectful.

Not quite the same as the wild reputation in the files.

Yan Tingshen fidgeted with the medical supplies in his hand.

This Qin heir seemed unpredictable.

So, how much of today was just a spur-of-the-moment thing?

—

Host, why send someone else to give the med kit to the target? Stats say this was prime time to boost favorability.

Qin You said, "Coming on too strong right after meeting someone can easily arouse suspicion. Haven't you heard the saying, 'No one’s that nice without an ulterior motive'?"

The system suddenly understood, "You’ve really thought this through!"

But it still felt it wasn’t perfect enough. "But you’ve been too soft with the target, which deviates from the character's domineering personality. This could screw up the mission. It's recommended to act more forcefully to accelerate emotional progress. Below is the reference text."

Several lines of text immediately popped up on the panel.

[Qin You grabbed Pei Sheng's hand, roughly pulling him into his embrace. Ignoring Pei Sheng’s weak struggles, his expression flickered with a mix of nostalgia, leftover dread, and caution, tightening his arms even more. "A Sheng, stop fighting me. From now on, let me protect you. I promise I’ll never let you suffer such harm again!"]

"..."

"..." After reading the first paragraph, Qin You closed his eyes and dismissed the panel.

Yeah, like this crap would speed things up.

The system was still puzzled. "Host, have you finished reading? I can continue writing."

Qin You replied, "You’re just copying the book—no wonder it’s garbage. Don’t bother with this kind of thing in the future."

The system couldn’t argue. "Understood..."

Qin You set down the gauze in his hand.

If the target was this dumb, the mission would’ve been over already.

You got hurt on the job and still wanna clock in?

You already died once—chill the hell out.

Work ain’t going anywhere, and no one will help with it anyway. Might as well milk the downtime.

Besides, even after taking a knife for the target, they still didn’t give a damn. Clearly, they didn’t take today’s "I saved your ass" too seriously. With someone like this, no matter how much he did now, it would probably just be expected for free.

Thinking of this, Qin You glanced at the wound on his arm and chuckled lightly.

Was the target really cold on the outside but warm inside?

Judging by this, they seemed ice-cold, through and through.

That unreadable face popped into his head. Qin You turned toward where the Maybach had stopped, zoning out.

Or perhaps the target had guessed that even if they tumbled down from here, there wouldn’t be any real danger.

From the original plot of the book, the protagonist and love interest walked away just fine afterward, as if the car accident hadn’t affected them much.

Beyond that, the glitchy system had no intel, and from the original body’s perspective, there were no leads either.

The only thing the original body had heard was that Yan Tingshen was in poor health.

But there were many reasons for someone’s poor health—it couldn’t be no way it was just a coincidence that this car accident was the cause—

Qin You shook his head.

He was overthinking it.

Yan Tingshen’s drama wasn’t his problem. Just focus on the mark.

Before long, the driver came jogging back from a short distance away.

"Mr. Qin, it's Mr. Cui on the phone!"

Qin You took the phone handed to him: "What's up?"

Cui Ling's tone was urgent: "Young Master Qin, the ambulance will be here any minute. Are you alright? How bad are your injuries?"

Qin You moved his left arm slightly: "No big deal. Just some stitches."

Stitches?

Dead air for two seconds.

Uncertain if Qin You's calm tone was putting on a brave face, Cui Ling spoke reassuringly: "I'm still on the way. If all goes well, we can meet in an hour."

"No need to hurry over."

Qin You brushed it off, "There's clean-up work here for you to handle. You'll be busy tonight."

Cui Ling didn’t expect such a response and hesitated before reminding him cautiously: "The Chairman’s birthday banquet is keeping everyone busy. Are you sure you can manage alone?"

Even if Old Man Qin could leave, he wouldn’t bother coming for a minor knife wound. Cui Ling was implying that, given Qin You’s current situation, no one else in the Qin family would likely visit or care for him except himself.

Qin You said: "Yeah."

Cui Ling then replied: "Alright then. Don’t worry, everything's set up at the hospital. Someone will take care of the paperwork once you’re admitted... Just focus on recovering once you get there. And... call me anytime if you encounter any issues."

Qin You’s eyebrow arched slightly: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Given Cui Ling’s attitude toward the original persona in the book, this sudden show of concern seemed out of character.

"..." Cui Ling hesitated again, "...At the hospital, it’s best if you keep your distance from President Yan for now."

He remembered Qin You had a thing for Yan Tingshen.

Earlier, upon hearing Qin You had saved Yan Tingshen over the phone, Cui Ling was both astonished by Qin You’s luck—ending up with Yan Tingshen owing him such a significant favor—and newly aware of his new superior’s talent for finding trouble.

Leaving aside the fact that the Qin Group’s newly minted heir had just gotten injured, simply getting involved with Yan Tingshen was unpredictable—could be a blessing or a curse.

The Yan family was already at each other's throats over inheritance even before Old Man Yan had fallen.

While Yan Tingshen, as the big tree, had the ability to remain unshaken, not everyone under his shade shared that capability.

If helping Yan Tingshen now led to other Yan family members targeting Qin You, it'd be more trouble than it's worth.

Even if the playboy heir grew two extra brains, he might still struggle to handle the Yan family drama.

But what’s done was done—he couldn’t turn back time.

Qin You was the future of the Qin Group. The Chairman had entrusted him to Cui Ling, who had to guide Qin You toward the right path.

Given that goal, hard enough as it is following the Chairman’s well-laid path, he didn’t need additional complications.

With this in mind, Cui Ling tentatively asked: "Young Master Qin, you... aren't exactly buddies with President Yan, are you?"

Qin You said: "Something like that."

Something like that?

What kind of answer is this?

Cui Ling was about to press further when Qin You's voice came through the receiver again.

"Alright, you'll find out about these things in due time. We’ll talk later—I have other matters to attend to."

"..." Cui Ling had no choice but to hang up as instructed.

Qin You had already handed the phone back to the driver. "Thanks."

The driver hurriedly replied, "Don’t mention it!"

As he spoke, a deafening roar thundered overhead.

Qin You looked up.

Blinding searchlights swept across the sky as two helicopters, kicking up violent gusts, rapidly descended toward them.

The driver grinned in relief. "Thank god, the medics are here!"

Trailing behind Qin You, he was just about to board the helicopter with his boss when he heard the order.

"Go lend a hand over there."

The driver turned and saw the unconscious man.

Right—he’s unconscious. Could use another pair of hands.

"On it."

Qin You continued toward his destination.

Medics had already disembarked from the helicopters.

Even the burly bodyguard was being loaded onto a stretcher, yet his target refused the wheelchair, nor accepted any assistance. He moved like nothing was wrong.

The medics avoided looking directly at Yan Tingshen’s face, instead cautiously guiding the way ahead with careful expressions.

Only Qin You was watching him.

Earlier, under dim lighting, the signs had been unclear.

Now, under the helicopter’s blinding floodlights, bright as daylight, it was obvious—his tight lips were pale.

Qin You’s gaze swept over his injuries before settling on his left hand, pressed against the wound, knuckles white from gripping too hard.

Clearly, he wasn’t as fine as he acted.

"Host, please speed up the pre-plot romance progress."

The system reminded him, "The original host failed because he barely knew the target, so their bond was weak. This led to the target feeling only disgust toward him, doing nothing to help the main couple’s relationship. Please avoid this pitfall."

Too short an acquaintance led to weak foundations?

Qin You wasn’t sold on the system’s logic.

But since he’d come this far, he wasn’t about to back out now.

Finish fast, get out fast. The sooner he’d be done with this.

If necessary, maintaining a seemingly close relationship had become second nature to him.

Unlike his past life, he now had to disguise his current identity and personality, and the relationships he cultivated were no longer ordinary friendships or family ties—they probably had to be closer.

After so many years of habit, he might never regain real feelings, but fake closeness came easily to him.

Faking intimacy while copying someone else’s act shouldn’t be difficult.

Now, the only problem was:

How do you even get close to a guy?

"…" Qin You pressed the bridge of his nose.

Whatever. He’d start by making a new friend.

As for what came next, he’d think about that later.

With that thought, Qin You grabbed Yan Tingshen’s wrist on impulse.

He understood immediately when he noticed the faint tremor beneath his palm, glancing sideways.

Yan Tingshen hesitated mid-step.

His right hand suddenly restrained, he tensed to fight back but instead found it lifted and placed on the other man’s left arm.

Turning his head, he met Qin You’s flirtatious, peach-blossom eyes.

Those eyes, shining behind his glasses, looked intense—as if gazing intently at everything they beheld.

Qin You had already let go, just lifting his arm to offer Yan Tingshen support.

Meeting Yan Tingshen’s gaze, he curved his lips. "No need to tough it out."

Yan Tingshen’s hand, not yet withdrawn, tightened briefly.

A moment later, his right hand returned to his side, his voice flat. "Thank you."

With that, he took the headset and walked into the cabin.

Behind him came Qin You’s signature lazy tone, half-hearted.

"Sometimes, learning to lean on someone else is also a way to relieve stress."

Yan Tingshen paused mid-step again.

Lean on someone else?

He turned back to look at Qin You, sizing him up silently.

Qin You raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, he was getting judged again.

But his target was way subtler than Cui Ling, still replying politely despite it all.

"I’ll keep your words in mind, President Qin."

Qin You watched as he entered the cabin, then smiled and followed him onboard.

The engine roared as they flew until they landed on the hospital rooftop.

With Cui Ling having arranged things in advance, the hospital director and a team of staff were already waiting in the gusty wind. As soon as the helicopter stabilized, they hurried forward to assist, quickly assigning them to separate rooms.

Qin You’s injuries weren’t severe. After cleaning and stitching his wounds, he learned that the other three were still undergoing various tests. He decided to wash up quickly and went straight to sleep.

The system reminded him: Data analysis shows that being attentive when they're vulnerable is the most efficient way to complete romance tasks—simple and easy to execute. Host, you could wait for the target to return from the tests, offer comfort, and nurture the budding emotions.

Qin You pretended not to hear.

First damn day on the job, and already pushing for results? Even the most exploitative tech startups aren’t this cutthroat.

Besides, since waking up, he hadn’t had a single minute of rest. Busy until now, the alcohol was still sitting heavy in his gut.

Gotta balance work and play.

He’d already done the work—now it was time for the rest.

Host, I can actually sense that you're fully conscious right now...

Your readings are off. Your host is currently on break.

But—

And this is also your shut-up time.

Soon, the mental chatter finally shut off.

—

The next morning.

After a peaceful night’s sleep, Qin You ate a standard hospital breakfast before turning to the doctor changing his dressing. How’s Pei Sheng?

Pei Sheng?

The doctor paused, unfamiliar with the name, but quickly realized. Ah, Little Master Qin. The three patients brought in with you last night all had similar injuries—spinal cord damage, concussion. Fortunately, all cases are relatively mild. With proper rest, they should recover without high risks of lasting damage. The rest are varying degrees of soft tissue and bone contusions, and all wounds were treated last night.

Spinal cord damage?

Qin You recalled the other’s unusual behavior the night before, arching a brow.

Hurt that bad, yet still refusing to show weakness in front of others?

The doctor continued: I don't have all the details, Little Master Qin. Should I call the attending physician over?

No need.

Host, most failures in role-playing missions stem from breaking character. So until the task is completed, you must maintain your character's personality as much as possible. Two-faced behavior is absolutely unacceptable. Sensing his host’s tendency to slack off, the system had no choice but to issue another warning.

Cut to the chase.

The point is, you need to appear more concerned about the target. For example, just now, you used the wrong form of address again...

For the sake of the mission, the system pleaded in a softer tone: ...Please, Host, just put in some effort. And ignoring this also counts as breaking character. A whole night has passed—you've got to go see him...

"..." Qin You sighed and got out of bed.

After sending the doctor away, he walked out of the ward.

Just then, he ran into Cui Ling, who was hurrying over.

Seeing Qin You, Cui Ling said, "Young Qin, you're awake. When I arrived last night, you were already asleep. About the accident—"

Handle one thing at a time.

Qin You cut him off: "The car accident can wait. I’ll check next door first."

Cui Ling opened his mouth, only to see Qin You walk right past him without hesitation.

Next door?

Wasn’t that Yan Tingshen’s room?

Last night, the director had told him that Yan Tingshen was placed there—at Qin You's specific request.

And now he was visiting so early in the morning?

Just what was this Prodigal Heir up to?

Baffled, he followed. When they reached the open door of Yan Tingshen’s ward, Cui Ling raised his hand to knock politely but noticed Qin You had already entered.

Taking a deep breath, Cui Ling resigned himself and entered.

But he never expected—

The moment he stepped inside, before he could even greet the two people within, he saw Qin You smile at Yan Tingshen on the sofa—

"Ah Shen, feeling better?"

"..." Cui Ling froze mid-step.

Seeing Yan Tingshen's blank expression on the sofa and Pei Sheng’s frown from the wheelchair—

His gaze shifted back to Qin You, acting completely unbothered. Suddenly, his vision darkened.

That once-impressive, upright figure now seemed back to his usual careless self.

Ah Shen?

Dude, seriously, are you two even that close...?