Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Shen Muyun looked up, his gaze meeting that of the man before him. There was an uncanny seventy percent resemblance between them. He couldn't help but offer a faint smile—this must be the eldest young master, the center of everyone's attention. He certainly appeared gentle and refined, yet the original host's memory held almost no information about him, for reasons unknown.

Seeing Shen Muyun remain silent for a while, Shen Liuyun placed the clothes he was holding on the nearby sofa. He gently touched Shen Muyun’s forehead, and finding nothing amiss, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Mu Yun, what's wrong with the clothes? Are you feeling unwell, or do you need to rest?"

Shen Muyun immediately averted his gaze, but when he had looked into Shen Liuyun’s eyes, he'd felt an inexplicable sense of pressure, though it vanished quickly.

"Um, it's nothing. The clothes are just too wet and sticking to my skin—it's uncomfortable."

"Alright. If there’s anything you need, feel free to reach out to me anytime."

Shen Muyun nodded politely at Shen Liuyun. Not knowing whether he was friend or foe, it was best not to act recklessly for now. He smiled, picked up the clothes from the sofa, and slipped away through a side passageway.

Shen Liuyun stared intently at his retreating figure, pursed his lips, and curved them into a meaningful smile.

Once he reached his room, Shen Muyun locked the door securely. He took off his soaked clothes and glanced at the spare set nearby. After a moment’s hesitation, he unfolded the garments and inspected them carefully. They carried only the crisp scent of cedarwood. Was Shen Liuyun a friend or an enemy...?

Scattered memories flashed through Shen Muyun’s mind: during high school, he was isolated because of Shen Liuyun, yet he foolishly defended him, only to face even harsher exclusion; there was that contract where Shen Liuyun made a mistake, but to protect his image, Shen Muyun took the blame, only to be betrayed in the end...

He couldn’t dwell on it now. The sticky, wet feeling on his skin was too uncomfortable. He turned and stepped into the bathroom. Through the glass porthole, the sea view stretched out, and a school of fish happened to swim by—carefree, shimmering with silvery light, moving with the rise and fall of the ship. Occasionally, he could even see clams struggling to swim upward.

The quiet calm soothed his nerves. He closed his eyes, processing it all.

Thinking of the system that had shut down, he mused that in other transmigration novels, systems were supposed to be helpful tools, guiding the host to the peak of success. Why did his have to have a shutdown mode? Giving it a try, Shen Muyun called out softly, "System, are you there?"

A pair of faint blue wings unfolded, and a lazy voice sounded, "Huh? What is it, Host? It’s the middle of the night—staying up late isn’t a good habit. Proper sleep keeps you in good spirits and better equipped to complete tasks."

"Enough nonsense. I want to know Shen Liuyun’s basic information and the exact signing time of that contract."

Reluctantly, the system flickered with blue light, and soon an electronic screen materialized before them. "Shen Liuyun, eldest son of the Shen family, the apple of everyone's eye, designated heir to the family business, currently 35 years old. No scandals, no prior misconduct. Relationship with the host is unclear, with hidden storyline outcomes. Good luck, Host Master. So tired... being a system really means having no rights."

Shen Muyun pondered this. Hidden storylines? What did that have to do with him? All he wanted was to eat well, live well, and enjoy himself.

"Alright, what about the contract?"

"According to the system, the contract is scheduled to be signed tomorrow morning at the Shen Corporation headquarters. I’ll send the address to your phone shortly. However, I should remind you—the original host disliked meddling in company affairs. You’ll need to think carefully about this."

Shen Muyun knew his luck had never been great, but now he seemed to be a top-tier VIP player. "So what? The contract involves my family. I’ll do as I please—no need to seek others’ opinions. Stop wasting words. If you don’t cooperate, I won’t hesitate to take you out."

"You—you—! Respected Host Master, you can’t be so violent! It’s already 3 a.m.—you should be sleeping. Staying up late increases the risk of sudden death."

"Shut up. I ended up in this damned place because of sudden death. Now disappear."

The little system vanished instantly—a special off-duty skill, never lingering a minute longer.

Watching the little thing fade from sight, Shen Muyun took a quick shower to wash away the fatigue and unease. He slept dreamlessly through the night.

When he woke, sunlight streamed in. His phone screen glowed with a message the system had sent after he fell asleep—the address of the Shen Corporation. Checking the time, he scoffed. The meeting had been rescheduled—how unreliable.

Shen Muyun tidied himself up briefly in the mirror. He didn’t know when the ship had docked, but last night’s chaos felt like a dream. He quickly hailed a cab at the pier and headed to the Shen Corporation.

Relying on the host's memory, Shen Muyun made his way to the conference room. The system had said the meeting was in the afternoon, but it had been moved to the morning. Without time for formalities, he decided to gamble boldly—for the sake of survival.

The bodyguards outside the conference room saw Shen Muyun charging in and quickly blocked his path. "Second Young Master Shen, the meeting is in session. Whatever matter you have, please discuss it later."

Shen Muyun had no patience for their useless talk. He slapped the bodyguard’s hand away, his gaze sharp. "Don’t flaunt your authority here. Step aside!"

The bodyguard froze, never having seen Shen Muyun like this.

Without another word, Shen Muyun pushed open the conference room door. Under everyone's stunned gaze, he snatched the contract from the table and tore it to shreds. Watching the fragments flutter in the air, he smiled at the people in the room.

The project manager, who had been delivering a report on stage, stood frozen, staring at the scattered contract fragments, speechless.

The first to react was Shen Wenjin, who slammed the table—BANG! The room buzzed with whispers.

"Shen Muyun, have you lost your mind? This is a conference room, not a casino or bar! Get out—now!"

Shen Wenjin raised his hand, but Shen Muyun caught his wrist mid-air, holding it firmly. Mr. Zhou, visibly uncomfortable, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Father, need I remind you—I hold shares in this company. I have the right to veto any decision. This contract—I say it doesn't get signed. End of story."

Mr. Zhou’s face paled. "Second Young Master Shen, this isn’t child's play—this is a contract signing."

Shen Muyun snorted coldly. "I’m well aware. The tricks hidden in this contract—should I list them one by one?"

"That's impossible, Second Young Master Shen? You haven’t even read the contract. How can you claim there are issues? Besides, your father and I have been friends for over twenty years. Are you still drunk and making a scene?"

Shen Muyun released Shen Wenjin’s hand, grabbed a copy of the contract, and pointed at specific clauses. "Mr. Zhou, here—the first point: if Shen Corporation fails to issue a quality inspection report within fifteen days, the products will be deemed qualified. I’ve looked into this shipment—it takes about twenty days to arrive. The quality inspection report clearly can’t be issued within fifteen days. So if there are actual quality issues, you bear no responsibility."

"Second Young Master Shen, you’ve never been involved in this. How can you blame Zhou Corporation? The goods are inspected on-site. If there are problems—"

Shen Muyun smiled coldly and shoved the contract toward Mr. Zhou's face. "Mr. Zhou, you won't admit it until you're cornered? Let's keep going. There’s no rush to sign this contract anyway."

"And here? 'In cases of force majeure leading to loss or damage of products, Zhou Corporation holds final interpretation rights.' So if your products have quality issues, you can just blame it on 'force majeure.' And what constitutes force majeure? It’s written here—final interpretation rights belong to Zhou Corporation."

Mr. Zhou listened, growing increasingly nervous. These were tiny details. "Second Young Master Shen, that’s not fair—you’re splitting hairs. We’ve collaborated for years. Even if minor issues arise occasionally, haven’t we always offered full compensation?"

Shen Muyun suddenly laughed aloud, toying with the contract's edge before slamming it onto the table with a loud "bang!" Papers flew everywhere.

"Are you trying to take Shen Corporation down with you?"

Seeing Shen Muyun’s confidence, Shen Wenjin found it hard to rebut. Previous collaborations with Zhou Corporation had been smooth—this oversight was his fault. But since when had Shen Muyun started meddling in company affairs?

"As for this shipment, Zhou Corporation is registered overseas. According to international product qualification standards, the pass rate is 98%. The rate Zhou Corporation provided is... oh, right, no less than 97%. What explains the gap?"

Mr. Zhou deflated instantly, lowering his head and constantly wiping sweat. He occasionally glanced at Shen Wenjin’s expression, could only manage weak smiles and nods each time their eyes met. Who was this Second Young Master Shen, and where had he come from? He needed to figure this out carefully.

Shen Wenjin reviewed the contract in his hand. The issues Shen Muyun pointed out—he hadn’t noticed them before. This was on him. After years of cooperation, he'd let his guard down.

Lu Huainan, sitting in a corner, watched the Shen family's young master with interest, casually flipping through the contract. Interesting, truly interesting.

Hearing Shen Muyun’s words, Shen Wenjin’s face darkened.

Shen Liuyun also skimmed through the contract. Shen Muyun had never involved himself in family affairs before—he was always off at bars and dance clubs with Nan Feng, rarely even coming home. Why was he so invested this time? Still, Shen Corporation was his family's legacy too. If the contract had issues, they needed to be resolved.

Shen Wenjin remained silent, as if waiting for Shen Liuyun to speak.

Shen Muyun lowered his gaze, occasionally glancing in Shen Liuyun’s direction, as if looking for an exit strategy.

Shen Liuyun understood Shen Muyun’s intention perfectly and smiled back at him.

Reading Shen Liuyun’s expression, Shen Muyun saw things clearly. Wasn’t he supposed to be universally disliked? Could this eldest brother be a smiling tiger?

With his support, the first task assigned by the system seemed relatively simple.

Shen Liuyun couldn’t stand to see Shen Corporation suffer. He stood up.

"Father, this contract was rushed. Some aspects need further consideration. Besides, the land plot in the northern district isn’t urgent. Mr. Zhou, why not revise the contract? Address the issues, and perhaps we can still collaborate."

Shen Muyun pressed a hand to his chest, his heart pounding as if trying to leap out. Thankfully, thank goodness, someone had backed him up.

"Ding dong! Congratulations, Host Master! The first phase of the task has been successfully completed! Cue the confetti!"