Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Ye Weian pondered seriously, "Not for now."

"Not for now" implied it would be possible in the future.

This answer was already satisfying enough.

Zhou Huaichen gazed at Ye Weian tenderly, then reached out to stroke the kitten's head, asking softly, "Do you like the names?"

Ye Weian: "They're alright."

Unable to resist, he reached out to play with the kittens.

The two kittens were remarkably clever, seemingly accepting him as their new owner, and allowed him to pet them obediently.

The aloof tabby even flopped down at his feet, rolling over to expose its belly.

The calico followed suit, lying flat on the ground with all four paws in the air.

The maid and Uncle Wang nearby were both astonished.

Stray cats were notoriously difficult to tame, and such open vulnerability was truly rare.

Uncle Wang and the maid had stayed behind, worried the kittens might harm Ye Weian, never expecting these two little ones to be so clever, knowing how to endear themselves to their new owner.

Uncle Wang exchanged a look with the maid.

The two quietly exited the living room.

Ye Weian sat on the sofa, blissfully scratching the belly of the tabby, Wednesday, and then the calico, Thursday.

Thinking of the kittens' names, he couldn't help but shoot Zhou Huaichen a look: "Wednesday and Thursday are workdays—are you trying to mistreat these two little ones?"

—"Not pampering your daughters."

—"Poor little girls."

Zhou Huaichen sat beside him, looking down at the two kittens, who were closing their eyes in enjoyment as they were scratched, and smiled faintly.

...Daughters?

They could dote on their daughters together in the future.

Ye Weian was so completely engrossed in petting the cats that he ended up using both hands.

—"The big girl's belly is soft."

—"The little girl's little paws are soft too."

His interest was entirely focused on playing with the kittens, so the planned walk had to be postponed.

Zhou Huaichen had been watching him intently. Seeing how much he adored these two kittens, he said softly, "Uncle Wang has prepared a room and toys for Wednesday and Thursday. Would you like to go see?"

Ye Weian nodded: "Sure."

The room was on the first floor, equipped with a cat tree, small toys, and little beds and nests.

The door was always left open, so the kittens could come and go as they pleased.

Ye Weian praised: "Not bad."

—"Not mistreating the daughters."

Zhou Huaichen chuckled deeply.

Playing with the kittens like this, it was soon past ten o'clock at night.

Ye Weian glanced at his watch and said, "I should head back."

Zhou Huaichen nodded: "I'll see you out."

The two walked out together.

Ye Weian casually brought up the matter of visiting Yan Qing: "We'll leave early Saturday morning. The scenery there is quite nice. If you're free the next day, we can explore the area."

Zhou Huaichen agreed: "Okay."

Uncle Wang was especially delighted to learn that the two were going on a trip together: "The young master loves work and never takes breaks. It's time for him to relax properly."

Ye Weian turned to look at Zhou Huaichen: "Workaholic."

—"Does a slacker pair well with a workaholic?"

Zhou Huaichen couldn't let him misunderstand and shook his head helplessly, saying, "Uncle Wang is exaggerating."

After a pause, he added in a low voice, "I usually find time to vacation around the end of the year."

Ye Weian: "Really?"

Zhou Huaichen softened his voice, as if coaxing him, and said, "In the future, I'll try to delegate tasks to the team and make time for breaks."

Then, he glanced meaningfully at Ye Weian and added casually, "As you know, the team under me is very capable."

Ye Weian: "..."

—"Hmph, bragging on purpose!"

But he was still very covetous and wanted to find an opportunity to poach them.

However, he didn't show it. Instead, he retorted defiantly, "Sister Long and Brother Zhang are also very capable."

—"My team is great too!"

Zhou Huaichen found his feigned anger utterly adorable.

He immediately complimented, "Of course, Wei An's two Special Assistants are also remarkable."

Ye Weian was pleased by his words: "That's more like it."

As they reached the entryway, Ye Weian put on his coat.

Zhou Huaichen carefully wrapped a scarf around him.

The bright light at the entryway shone on Ye Weian's jade-like fair face, making one's heart flutter.

Zhou Huaichen said hoarsely, "I don’t want to see you leave."

Ye Weian looked up at him.

—"Being coy again."

—"Really don't know what to do about him."

Though the words sounded like a complaint, his eyes sparkled with amusement.

Zhou Huaichen's heart softened considerably.

He gently brushed Ye Weian's scarf, barely touching his cheek, and said, "We're having hot pot at my place tomorrow."

The two met each other's gaze.

Zhou Huaichen's gaze was deep and unfathomable as a pool: "I'll pick you up after work tomorrow, alright?"

Ye Weian replied without hesitation, "Sure."

—"Eating hot pot gives you a legit reason to drink vinegar."

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

He recalled the half-bowl of vinegar he had consumed during dinner and suddenly felt a sour taste in his mouth.

They walked to the courtyard gate, where the Ye family car had already arrived.

Zhou Huaichen opened the car door for Ye Weian and said softly, "See you tomorrow."

Ye Weian murmured in response, "See you tomorrow."

Only after the car had driven away did Zhou Huaichen turn and head back inside.

Sitting in the car, Ye Weian imagined the hot pot they would have the next day, his mood growing even lighter.

A late autumn evening, with the heater on at home, cuddling a kitten, and enjoying hot pot—sheer bliss.

Unfortunately, this good mood didn’t last long.

As the car arrived at the Ye family mansion, Ye Weian suddenly received a call from Fei Anming of the medical equipment company: "Mr. Ye, we've got a major situation!"

Ye Weian, who had been about to get out of the car, settled back into his seat and asked gravely, "What is it?"

Fei Anming explained hurriedly: "Renxin Hospital had two Level 1 medical incidents today. The hospital claims they were caused by malfunctions in our company’s medical equipment."

Ye Weian straightened up: "Our equipment is substandard?"

"Impossible!" Fei Anming was agitated. "Our equipment meets Chinese national standards! Renxin is a major hospital with chains nationwide and a major client of Kerui. I personally oversee quality control—there’s no way anything could go wrong!"

Ye Weian: "Then why is the hospital blaming Kerui’s equipment?"

Fei Anming murmured, "That's what puzzles me too... I have a good relationship with the vice president of Renxin, but when I called him just now, he didn’t answer."

Ye Weian said after a moment's thought: "Immediately compile a complete report of the incident, as thorough as possible. I’ll wait for you at the company."

Fei Anming responded promptly: "Understood."

Ye Weian instructed the driver to reroute to the company, then contacted Sister Long and Brother Zhang.

Both had also heard about the incident and were already preparing to rush to the company.

After hanging up, Ye Weian mused, asking the system: "This matter likely involves Boqing and Yan Qing."

When Fei Anming mentioned Boqing at the shareholder meeting last time, he had a premonition.

He just hadn’t expected Chi Li to resort to taking lives to target the Ye Group's Kerui subsidiary.

System: "My thoughts exactly. Yan Qing and Chi Li are definitely involved."

System: "But how did Yan Qing and Chi Li connect?"

It had monitored Yan Qing’s online activity but found no communication between Yan Qing and Chi Li.

Ye Weian said coldly, "He must have met Chi Li before joining the movie set."

Previously, when Bai Yuan nearly killed Lin Chang, he thought Bai Yuan was the only unscrupulous admirer among Yan Qing’s admirers.

Now, Chi Li was willing to use human lives as pawns to attack the Ye Group, proving he was also a madman.

He narrowed his eyes, and said, "Are all of Yan Qing’s admirers this insane?"

System: "Actually, in the book, both Bai Yuan and Chi Li were quite polite and never committed any illegal acts."

System: "Each of Yan Qing’s admirers was a noble and upright figure."

In the original author’s depiction, these pursuers were idealized two-dimensional characters.

But the host exists in the real world, where these paper characters have come to life—with flesh and blood comes flaws.

System: "I remember now—the original book did include illegal actions. For instance, Yan Qing used disfigurement to deal with a supporting character."

System: "However, the author favored Yan Qing and pinned the blame on his agent. His admirers only saw his vulnerable and kind side, unaware of his ruthlessness."

Ye Weian: "."

While fictional characters may be perfect, those made real have desires, greed, anger, obsession, arrogance, and doubt.

Bai Yuan committing murder and Chi Li using lives as bargaining chips should come as no surprise.

He sighed: "The original story's influence is more terrifying than I imagined."

Last time, he had jokingly told the system that it seemed he would have to confront each of Yan Qing’s admirers.

His words had proven prophetic.

Whether he completes his mission or not, he would likely have to deal with Yan Qing’s pursuers.

Still, overthinking it now was useless. The priority was to address the current crisis.

The system couldn’t resist complaining: "Yan Qing is truly vicious!"

System: "President Zhou is a thousand, no, a million times better than him!"

Ye Weian felt the same.

The system said: "Maybe we should just abandon the mission and forget about Yan Qing!"

Ye Weian said calmly: "Can you spare us both from punishment, or help me see my parents and brother again?"

System: "...No."

It felt so annoyed.

This wasn’t working, that wasn’t working either—it was about to short-circuit from stress!

...

Ye Weian soon arrived at the company. Not only was Fei Anming waiting on the top floor, but Sister Long and Brother Zhang had also rushed over.

As soon as they saw him, the partially balding Fei Anming wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and hurried over, saying, "Mr. Ye, I stake my life that our equipment couldn't have problems!"

Ye Weian said, "Let’s discuss this inside."

The group entered Ye Weian’s office.

Brother Zhang stared at Fei Anming and said, "Explain clearly: who was Kerui's connection, and which leader at Renxin signed the contract?"

Fei Anming didn't conceal anything and immediately explained the situation.

He had personally handled the connections with Renxin, reaching out to Vice President Jia Pengcheng of the hospital. Various departments across Renxin’s branches had purchased equipment, making them one of Kerui’s major customers.

Fei Anming said, "I’ve known President Jia for over a decade, and we’ve been doing business for just as long. Logically, there shouldn’t have been any issues."

The recent medical accidents were said to have occurred in the cardiology and orthopedics departments. Since the news broke, President Jia had not made an appearance.

Relevant authorities had already gotten involved to investigate the matter. If Kerui didn't quickly identify the cause and provide a reasonable explanation, Fei Anming would likely be taken in, and the company’s reputation would plummet.

Sister Long frowned and asked, "Have you found out who's framing Kerui?"

Fei Anming nodded. "The ones involved are an associate chief physician from cardiology and an attending physician from orthopedics. Both are accusing Kerui’s equipment of malfunctioning."

Ye Weian looked at him and asked, "Have you looked into their backgrounds?"

Fei Anming wiped his sweat nervously. "There wasn’t enough time to investigate thoroughly."

"On the surface, both of them appear faultless. They have no issues with Kerui, so it’s unclear why they’re jointly accusing us."

Ye Weian said calmly, "Keep investigating."

Brother Zhang added, "I’ll have my team take over."

He had a team skilled in conducting investigations.

Ye Weian nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the system alerted Ye Weian: "Host, it’s bad! The internet is flooded with news about Ye’s Group endangering human lives!"

It had been helping Ye Weian monitor public opinion online, keeping a close watch on developments.

The news about endangering human lives reached top search rankings within just two minutes, and within three minutes, articles about it had spread across all major platforms.

The reports claimed that a medical equipment company under Ye’s Group had breached regulations, leading to two Category 1 medical accidents in a single day, resulting in the deaths of two patients.

All the news was targeting Ye’s Group and Ye Weian.

The system said, "This is definitely a conspiracy."

The system added, "It’s probably Chi Li’s doing."

The two doctors from Renxin were likely acting under Chi Li’s instructions.

However, when it searched for evidence online, it found no traces of communication between Chi Li and the two doctors. Their phone data was also clean.

When Ye Weian learned it was looking into this, he couldn’t help but say, "Checking people’s phones is illegal."

The system argued defensively, "Host, you’ve said this multiple times—it’s so annoying!"

The system continued, "I’ve told you, I’m not human. Checking phones isn’t illegal for me."

It added, "Besides, I’m from an advanced civilization. What’s wrong with snooping on human phones?"

Ye Weian said, "You’re quite defiant about it."

The system replied in bold red text: "Of course!!!"

Ye Weian said, "...From here on out, don’t do it anymore. I want to be a lawful citizen. You’re my system, so if you break the law, it’s as if I’m breaking the law."

The system retorted, "...No."

Ye Weian said, "You were the one who warned me to abide by the law."

The system: "..."

It realized it had dug its own grave.

Seeing its disappointment, Ye Weian changed the subject. "Anyway, thank you."

The system immediately cheered up. "You’re welcome!"

It added, "If you really want to thank me, give me a name!"

The system suggested, "I think ‘Weekend’ would be great."

Ye Weian: "..."

Was the system trying to become brothers with the husky or its underling?

Faced with the system’s excited naming ideas, he could only reply with four words: "Let's discuss this later."

He shared the online news to Fei Anming and the others.

Fei Anming’s forehead became even more sweaty.

Brother Zhang and Sister Long also looked serious.

Sister Long said, "I’ll have the PR department release a statement immediately."

Ye Weian shook his head. "We need to establish the facts first."

Sister Long frowned. "But that will take time."

Should they just let the rumors spread unchecked and allow the person behind this to attack Ye’s Group and Mr. Ye?

If Ye’s Group’s reputation suffered, the stock prices of its public companies would also fluctuate.

Unconsciously, Ye Weian had adopted Zhou Huaichen’s mannerism of lightly tapping the desk. He said, "Let’s wait until tomorrow morning and see if Brother Zhang’s team can find any information."

Fei Anming said anxiously, "I’m just worried the police will come for me tonight..."

Ye Weian glanced at him and said, "If you haven't done anything wrong, there’s nothing to fear."

"I believe in the police's ability; they will definitely uncover the truth and get you justice, as well as for Kerui and the Ye Group."

The System: "..."

"What a sin—it had turned a zombie king who once did whatever he wanted in the apocalypse into a law-abiding, pure-hearted citizen!"

While discussing strategies, Zhou Huaichen suddenly called on the phone: "I saw the news online and just contacted Mr. Lin. He said you're not at home."

Ye Wei'an couldn't help but wonder to himself, *When did Ah Chen become so close with Mr. Lin?*

Zhou Huaichen's voice was soft, as if afraid of startling him: "Are you at the company? I’ll come to you, okay?"

Ye Wei'an thought for a moment and said, "It’s too late. You should get some sleep."

Zhou Huaichen was silent on the other end for a long time.

Ye Wei'an didn’t hang up.

They could hear each other’s breathing over the phone.

After a while, Zhou Huaichen said softly, "Wei’an."

Ye Wei'an: "Hmm?"

Zhou Huaichen’s voice was hoarse and raspy: "How can I sleep?"

Ye Wei’an’s heart skipped a beat.

He said softly, "Then come on over."

Zhou Huaichen replied, "I'll be there."

Just as he was about to hang up, Ye Wei’an stopped him: "I want to eat the fried chilies from Uncle Wang. I finished what he gave me last time."

"I’m bored at night, so it’s a good time to have them as a late-night snack."

Zhou Huaichen went quiet again on the other end.

Ye Wei’an asked quietly, "Why aren’t you saying anything? Is there none left at home?"

He sighed regretfully, "Forget it then. It’s too late; don't bother Uncle Wang."

Zhou Huaichen seemed to laugh softly on the other end, but it was so faint it was hard to tell: "There are some."

His voice grew even gentler, "I’ll bring them to you."

*If he’s still in the mood for a late-night snack, it seems Wei’an wasn't really bothered by the news.*

Ye Wei’an’s mood was indeed unperturbed.

He knew this was Chi Li deliberately targeting him. As long as Kerui does the right thing, they would get through this.

The System, however, didn't feel the same way and worriedly said, "Chi Li must have come prepared."

The System: "If he’s covered his tracks so well that even the police can’t uncover the truth, then Kerui won’t be able to clear their name."

Ye Wei’an: "I believe in the police."

The System: "..."

*If it has sinned, let it be punished, but don’t turn its host into a fool.*

Ye Wei’an was, of course, no fool.

His trust in the police was based on Kerui not being at fault and the Ye family having the capability to compete with Boqing.

While waiting for Zhou Huaichen to arrive, Fei Anming continued contacting the vice president of Renxin Hospital, Long Jie worked on PR, and Brother Zhang worked with his team on the investigation.

Half an hour later, Zhou Huaichen arrived on the top floor with the food.

Ye Wei’an personally met him at the elevator: "Is that crayfish?"

Zhou Huaichen nodded, his gaze locked on Ye Wei’an’s face: "You okay?"

Ye Wei’an looked at the food: "...I'm fine."

—"Crayfish! I love it."

—"Very well."

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

He chuckled softly and gently bopped Ye Wei’an’s nose. "Let’s head inside."

The two walked together into the office.

Long Jie and Brother Zhang weren’t surprised to see Zhou Huaichen, as they were used to the relationship between Ye Wei’an and Zhou Huaichen.

Fei Anming, however, was completely surprised.

He didn’t usually pay attention to gossip and had no idea that his CEO was such good friends with the head of the Zhou Group.

...A relationship where he delivers late-night snacks—this is really something else.

Zhou Huaichen ignored Fei Anming’s curiosity.

He placed the snack on the coffee table and began unpacking it, saying, "I happen to be acquainted with the director of Renxin Hospital. I asked him, and it turns out the heads of the cardiology and orthopedics departments are classmates of Chi Li."

Ye Wei’an: "?"

*He found out already?*

The System: "President Zhou is amazing!"

The System: "I searched for so long and found nothing!"

The System: "Wahhh, what use am I?!"

Ye Wei’an: "..."

Author's Note: Hello, my darlings!

First, I want to apologize to you all. I’ve been feeling drowsy all day due to a cold and staying up late...

I know you’ve been waiting all day, so I spent the whole day writing—nearly 5,200 words. I hope you like it!

Thank you all so much for your support. I’ll keep working hard!