Chapter 161: How Will You Thank Me? (Transition Chapter)

Chapter 161: How Will You Thank Me? (Transition Chapter)

The stern-faced man didn't answer his question directly, but instead started the car.

For some reason, Lin Huaiqing felt that the Qin Zhizhou he saw tonight seemed different from the one he'd met before.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly was different.

After driving for about half an hour, the car finally came to a steady stop in front of Lin Huaiqing's apartment building.

"How... do you know where I live?" It seemed that since he got in the car, he hadn't told Qin Zhizhou his address.

"Your employee information lists your address clearly. Alright, get out..."

Even if he had left his address in his employee file, the Bureau had at least eight hundred employees. How did Qin Zhizhou manage to remember his home address?

Or had this Qin Zhizhou deliberately looked into him?

Regardless, Lin Huaiqing still said, "Thank you," then closed the car door and trudged upstairs to rest.

Just as he opened the door and stepped inside, Lin Huaiqing's phone received a payment notification.

His bank account had received 600,000 yuan.

As usual, he sent half to the orphanage and saved the remaining half.

His account balance was now at 900,000 yuan. His goal was to donate one million yuan to the orphanage to build a new dormitory for the children.

With the remaining money, he planned to buy an 80 square meter apartment in the city.

Then he would settle down here, get married, and start a family.

This wish would've been a pipe dream before, but now that he had such a unique and well-paying job, it didn't seem so impossible anymore.

With that thought, Lin Huaiqing pulled out his phone, opened his chat with Qin Zhizhou, and typed out a message:

"Thanks for the ride home, Zhizhou. Get some rest."

On second thought, it seemed a bit intimate—mainly because of how he'd addressed him. He deleted the name altogether and sent the message.

He expected such a mundane message to go unnoticed, but to his surprise, it immediately switched to "typing..."

"So how are you gonna thank me?"

???

Was this the same guy who'd just driven him home? Who so blatantly demands repayment for a favor!

But the guy was at least his superior—not his direct boss, but still someone he had to show respect to.

Lin Huaiqing mulled it over:

"How about... I buy you dinner the day after tomorrow?"

"Sure! Where? What time?"

He was really eager, like he was afraid it was just an excuse.

The day after tomorrow was the weekend, and the higher-ups should be off. Still, he scheduled it for after work, at a Michelin-starred restaurant near his home.

Ever since that mission where he'd played a rich heir, he had been wanting to try this restaurant for a long time but had never been willing to splurge. Since he had just received his bonus and was treating his superior to dinner, he couldn't exactly pick somewhere cheap.

He slept at home for an entire day, and before he knew it, it was time to meet Qin Zhizhou.

He didn't need to do much to get ready. Lin Huaiqing simply took a shower, changed his clothes, and headed to the restaurant not far from his home.

Western food was nothing new to him—he'd eaten plenty of it back when he was living as a rich heir. He was just curious whether it tasted the same here versus there.

When Lin Huaiqing arrived, Qin Zhizhou had already been there for a while, sitting alone by the window, giving off a melancholy, mysterious vibe.

Compared to the white lab coat he wore during work hours, the well-tailored casual suit better accentuated his nearly perfect figure and his elegant, lazy charm.

It drew admiring looks from a lot of women in the restaurant.

"Huaiqing! Over here." Qin Zhizhou waved him over.

Qin Zhizhou had clearly dressed up for the occasion. Lin Huaiqing, on the other hand, had just grabbed whatever—even a shirt that had gone slightly faded from washing. He felt a flash of embarrassment.

"How long have you been here?"

"Just got here myself."

After they ordered their meals, Qin Zhizhou spoke up first:

"I heard this mission took you over a month. Did you run into trouble?"

Was this some big scandal at the Time-Space Bureau or what...? Why does even the head of the medical department know about it?!

"Ah... it was fine. I lost some time dealing with personal stuff."

"So after taking the medication, how much do you still remember about the people and events from the mission?"

Lin Huaiqing wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt that when Qin Zhizhou asked this question, there was a hint of urgency on his face.

He was definitely overthinking it. The man was a therapist, so of course he'd want to check in on his condition.

"Probably... about a fifth. Should be completely gone soon! Don't worry, I won't hold up the next mission. What's done is done—nobody dwells on things forever."

Truth was, he hadn't told Qin Zhizhou the real story.

This time might be even worse than the last. Even after taking the medication, his feelings for Qin Li had only gone down by a fifth.

Moreover, everything they had experienced together was still crystal clear in his mind.

Sometimes having too good a memory is a curse.

But he really couldn't let Qin Zhizhou find out about this.

Otherwise, being suspended for three months would be the least of his worries—if they discovered that his condition was no longer suitable for continuing his work, then his hard-won cushy job would be gone!

Where else could he find a job where he could take breaks whenever and still make 600,000 a month?

However, despite his seemingly flawless answer, Qin Zhizhou didn't seem happy for him at all.

On the contrary, he could see a flicker of disappointment and sadness in his eyes.

"I see... guess I was overthinking it."

"The food's here. Let's eat." He'd slept all day and was starving.

After dinner, the two kept chatting about work, and Lin Huaiqing also brought up what had happened in the observation room.

"Zhizhou, have you looked at my test report? Anything wrong with it?"

"The test report only covers your brainwave activity and various physical function checks. As for specific psychological issues, machines can't detect them. That's why our department has a psychological counseling role."

Hearing that, Lin Huaiqing finally relaxed. Since it couldn't be detected, he had nothing to worry about.

"By the way, I heard that besides medication, there's also electroconvulsive therapy that can help clear memories. How well does that work? I've never had the nerve to try it."

When that examiner first brought up the electroconvulsive therapy, it startled him—all he could think of was that "Lightning King" Yang Yongxin. So he'd directly refused.

Qin Zhizhou caught on. "Haven't you already forgotten most of it? Why would you need electroconvulsive therapy?!"

"I'm just curious, asking."

"Electroconvulsive therapy is very effective, basically it's almost like wiping your memory clean. But it has side effects. If you don't want to forget even your own name, I suggest you don't do it." His expression visibly turned serious as he said this.