Chapter 73

Chapter 73

When Qin You pushed open the door and saw Yan Tingshen, he immediately understood.

After several interactions, he knew Pei Sheng was detail-oriented and wouldn’t have staff bring him to Yan Tingshen’s VIP lounge without giving a heads-up first. Nor would the staff make that mistake.

Hearing Yan Tingshen’s words, Qin You shut the door behind him without ceremony.

Yan Tingshen watched his movements, his grip on the phone tightening slightly before he turned his gaze back to the window. “Qi Yan set this meeting here. He had something to discuss.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang.

Yan Tingshen answered Qi Yan’s call.

Qi Yan sounded genuinely apologetic. “Tingshen, Lao Tang has an urgent matter, and I really can't break away. Just hang tight—I’ll come find you as soon as I’m done here.”

Yan Tingshen glanced at Qin You's reflection in the glass before replying, “Where are you?”

“Uh…” Qi Yan hesitated. “I’m still with Lao Tang.”

Yan Tingshen asked, “Which VIP lounge?”

“…Huh?” Qi Yan’s voice fluctuated. “Must be the altitude messing with the signal? Tingshen? Tingshen—”

The call dropped.

Yan Tingshen slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned to Qin You.

Qin You smiled. “Not coming?”

Yan Tingshen gave a slight nod.

The meeting location had been set yesterday, but Qi Yan suddenly changed it to the ski resort this morning. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time.

But now, seeing Qin You here, Qi Yan’s intentions were painfully obvious.

Qin You walked to the window and stood beside him, taking in the snowy view. “Then he’s probably with Pei Sheng.”

Yan Tingshen’s gaze darkened slightly as he scrutinized Qin You's impassive face. “Pei Sheng?”

Qin You also looked at him. “Bingo. I came today to take Pei Sheng out to eat.”

Yan Tingshen deliberately looked away and walked to the nearby table. “If you’re looking for Pei Sheng, as you can see, he’s not here.”

Qin You said, “If he doesn’t want to see me, why bother chasing him down?”

“He doesn’t want to see you, so you come to see me?”

Yan sat down with his back to him, his tone cooling. “What, Qin, do you still not recognize who I am?”

Hearing this, Qin You followed him to the table and sat down, smiling. “How could that be? Yan, even if I forgot everyone else, I’d never forget you.”

Yan Tingshen glanced at him before tapping at the ordering screen on the table.

Qin You continued, “I invited Pei Sheng to discuss something. Coincidentally, since you grew up with him and know him well, care to weigh in?”

Yan Tingshen replied, “That’s between you and him.”

Qin You said, “Now you're involved too.”

Yan Tingshen frowned.

"Hear me out first."

Qin You interrupted and got to the point, "You must’ve looked into the Cehai Group case back then. Was there more to it?"

Yan Tingshen turned his gaze back to him.

Qin You raised an eyebrow. "Sensitive?"

Yan Tingshen lowered his eyes and turned back to the screen. "Why bring this up?"

Qin You said, "While I still can, I want to help him."

Yan Tingshen caught the key point in his words. "Still can?"

"Mhm."

Qin You didn’t hide it from him. "The old man’s still on the fence, and I still have resources. Once things are finalized, if I leave later, I probably won’t be able to help him much."

Yan Tingshen’s movements abruptly stopped.

A beat passed, then he asked, "You’re going?"

Qin You glanced at his back before turning his gaze to the distant scenery outside the window. "Haven’t decided yet."

Another brief silence.

Yan Tingshen only asked, "Why?"

Qin You smiled. "You already know why."

Yan Tingshen pressed his lips together slightly before adding, "There are plenty of ways to distance yourself from the Qins—"

"This is the cleanest way."

Qin You said, "You also understand that staying here, my plans will never happen."

Without thinking, Yan Tingshen turned around, meeting Qin You’s steady, unwavering stare before averting his eyes again.

Qin You said, "You—"

"If you want to leave,"

This time, Yan Tingshen cut him off, "what happens to Pei Sheng?"

Qin You was surprised. "Pei Sheng?"

Yan Tingshen turned his back to him again, browsing the unchanging menu. "He’d never leave Junmin, much less follow you. If you leave, aren’t you worried you’ll lose him for good?"

"Those who don’t want to meet might as well be strangers, no matter how close they are."

Qin You watched his movements and chuckled. "As for those I do want to see, distance doesn’t matter."

Yan Tingshen’s eyes narrowed, but before he could speak—

"So, Yan Tingshen, whether I end up staying or going, don’t lose touch."

Yan Tingshen went still, his chest tightening.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

Qin You said, "Come in."

A staffer entered with a wine cart. "President Yan, President Qin, Mr. Pei sent this for you both."

After presenting the wine, the staffer was about to open it.

Qin You waved his hand. "Don't open it."

The staffer paused.

Qin You said, "No drinking today. Get us some tea instead."

As he spoke, he glanced at the screen in front of Yan Tingshen and asked, "Or would you prefer something else?"

Yan Tingshen had come back to attention. Noticing his gaze, he closed the page. "Tea's fine."

Qin You signaled to the staffer.

The latter inquired about the type of tea and immediately retreated, hurrying back with the tea.

Once the door closed again, Qin You looked at Yan Tingshen. "We've talked for so long. Aren't you going to give me a straight answer? Will you help me or not?"

Yan Tingshen took a sip of the fresh tea before replying, "The bankruptcy of Cehai is related to Pei Sheng’s parents. There’s no smoking gun."

Qin You understood and then asked, "What are his plans for the future?"

Yan Tingshen said, "After Old Mr. Pei passed away, he wasn't hung up on reviving Cehai. Even if he starts anew, it would be to establish his own company—unrelated to the Pei family."

He considered this.

If Pei Sheng only wanted to start his own company, with Yan Tingshen around, there wasn’t much Qin You could do to help.

Besides, Pei Sheng was still sticking with Yan Tingshen in Junmin and wouldn’t go solo anytime soon.

"Host, the most important thing is the mission!"

Seeing that the host had paused in conversation, the system broke in. "Helping the target with these things might contribute to raising his favorability, but the effect is too slow. It’s not suitable as a strategy. I suggest, as before, that you turn on the charm—own him with some smooth talk."

Qin You said, "Enough advice."

His help for Pei Sheng had nothing to do with raising favorability.

Coming to this world, he was living as the original persona. Since he enjoyed the conveniences brought by the original identity, he naturally had to own everything that came with it.

Beyond the mission, Pei Sheng had saved the original persona’s life. Repaying this debt on behalf of the original was only right.

"...Got it." The system could only change the subject. "But host, if you want to help the target, shouldn't you say these things in front of him? It could cover the penalty—kill two birds with one stone. And five minutes have long passed. Host, you're due for your date."

Qin You said, "Not now."

"..." The system's eagerness was deflated by these all-too-familiar words. "Then the mission..."

Qin You said, "Not now."

If Pei Sheng didn’t want to see him, reaching out again would yield just another excuse. There was no need to go through the trouble.

He still had some energy left in the account to cover the penalty.

We’ll deal with the rest when the next task unlocks.

"..." The system went quiet.

Qin You continued discussing Pei Sheng's current situation with Yan Tingshen. By the time the tea had steeped pale, another knock came at the door.

This time, it wasn’t a staff member—it was Qi Yan’s voice.

"You free?"

"Come in."

Qi Yan finally pushed the door open.

Qin You looked at him, then at Pei Sheng behind him.

Meeting his gaze, Pei Sheng looked a little uncomfortable.

Faking acceptance of Qin You’s invite to lure him here—Qi Yan’s so-called 'harmless lie'—was still something he wasn’t quite used to.

But being unaccustomed didn’t mean he regretted it.

They’d spent over half an hour alone together, even ordering a pot of tea—it seemed they’d gotten along just fine.

Qi Yan’s gaze also drifted to the tea. He cleared his throat and committed to the act: "Hey, Tingshen, my bad. Pei Sheng and I got held up at Lao Tang’s and kept you waiting so long."

Pei Sheng also apologized to Qin You: "Sorry, Young Master Qin. My mistake."

After speaking, he met Qin You’s faintly amused gaze—one that seemed to see right through him from head to toe. Pressing his lips together, he added, "This place has decent food too. Dinner’s on me—my treat for the trouble."

Qi Yan nodded. "Right, Pei Sheng and I got it. It’s time to eat anyway."

As he spoke, he and Pei Sheng stepped inside, pulling up the menu on the table. "Let’s just order and dig in."

Pei Sheng got pulled to the table and seated directly across from Yan Tingshen.

Qi Yan, meanwhile, took the seat opposite Qin You. "Don’t hold back, guys."

At this point, Qin You didn’t refuse either, casually picking a few dishes without much thought.

Later, as the waiter served the food, Qin You picked up his napkin when a flicker of light from the side made him pause. He turned to look and stopped.

Yan Tingshen noticed his gaze and glanced down as well, his expression darkening slightly. On reflex, he twisted his wrist to hide the watch.

Seeing this, Qin You raised his eyes to meet his.

Yan Tingshen averted his gaze, fingers tightening slightly.

Qin You let out a low laugh. "I gave it to you—it’s yours to do with as you please. If you don’t like it, just take it off. I’m not gonna hold it against you."

Across the table, Pei Sheng had already noticed Yan Tingshen’s movement. His stomach dropped, and he blurted out, "It was sent for repairs."

Qin You looked at him. "Repairs?"

Pei Sheng opened his mouth.

But the words were already out—there was no taking them back. He could only continue, "...The date was acting up. No big deal."

Qin You eyed his expression, then glanced at the silent Yan Tingshen, asking only, "Is that so?"

Yan Tingshen remained silent for a long while.

Qin You let out a soft chuckle and was about to look away—

“Hm.”

Qin You hesitated again.

Yan Tingshen didn’t look at him. “It’s still getting fixed.”

Pei Sheng exhaled quietly in relief.

Seeing Qin You still watching Yan Tingshen, he picked up his chopsticks.

After getting kicked under the table again, Qi Yan took the hint and dutifully changed the subject. “The food’s going to get cold if we don’t eat soon. Come on, try it—how does it taste?”

Qin You finally averted his gaze.

The meal was a quiet affair.

After dinner, Qi Yan pressed them eagerly to go skiing. They didn’t go their separate ways until 4 p.m.

Since Yan Tingshen had his driver, Qin You didn’t offer him a ride. They parted ways in the parking lot, and Qin You drove back to Zeshui Bay.

By nightfall,

he went to wash up in his bedroom, taking off his watch as he did so. Something occurred to him, and he sent Yan Tingshen a message.

—

In the study.

The lights were bright.

Yan Tingshen sat behind the desk, gazing at the solitary watch box placed neatly on its surface.

After a long pause, he picked up the box and was about to return it to the drawer when a ping sounded—one he never expected to hear again.

Qin: *Want me to get you a new watch?*

Yan Tingshen stared at the message for another long moment before replying.

.: *You care that much about this watch?*

Qin You’s reply came swiftly.

Qin: *If a gift from me breaks this fast, it makes me look bad.*

Yan Tingshen’s lips thinned.

His eyes darted between the watch box before him and the words on his screen, his fingers typing before he could stop himself.

Before he could think better of it—

A question he shouldn’t have asked had already been sent.

.: *Do you care about this watch, or is it because it was originally meant to be a gift for Pei Sheng?*

A ping sounded. Yan Tingshen stared at the chat screen, his grip on the phone tightening against its edge.

He gripped his phone tightly, about to unsend the message when Qin You's reply came through again.

*Pei Sheng?*

Yan Tingshen's breath caught for a moment.

He started editing again, determined to drop the subject.

But Qin You had different plans and continued answering the question.

*What are you overthinking?*

*You’re the one who likes plum blossoms. My gift to you has nothing to do with Pei Sheng.*

Yan Tingshen’s movements had unconsciously stopped.

As he read the message, the unexplained unease buried deep in his heart had already quietly vanished.

—*You’re the one who likes plum blossoms.*

He still remembered what Qin You had said when giving him the plum blossoms.

*‘I just thought it suited you.’*

This watch was never Pei Sheng's.

Yan Tingshen opened the watch box.

Through the watch glass, his fingers traced the delicate plum blossom engraving.

This was his, and his alone.