Shen Jin’an remained silent, standing in the moonlight as he fiddled with the small dagger in his hand. His brows and eyes were cold and sharp, and his high nose bridge seemed almost translucent under the light.
After reporting the company’s situation, Assistant Wang offered a solicitous inquiry: “President Shen, is your health feeling better? If you are at ease with it, I can arrange for a private doctor to come over, or rent a high-end residence for you in Lian City. Staying at a stranger’s house all this time, would it…”
“No need,” Shen Jin’an cut him off.
“Right. Right, President Shen. Then I…”
Before he could finish, Shen Jin’an added, “Send all of Qin Zhen’s online information to my email.”
Sitting in the headquarters of the Shen Corporation, Assistant Wang froze. President Shen’s abnormal behavior filled him with anxious panic. He instantly stood up from his chair, testing the waters with unwillingness in his tone.
“President Shen, does that Qin Zhen still need to be dealt with?”
When Qin Zhen came out carrying a pot of mung bean soup, Shen Jin’an was still on the terrace making a phone call, his shadow stretched long by the lights.
“Come over and drink some mung bean soup,” Qin Zhen looked toward him.
Assistant Wang vaguely heard a man calling President Shen over to drink soup. Wanting to prolong the call and just about to change the topic, he heard President Shen’s cold, desolate voice:
“Wang Yao, do your job properly and do not cross the line.”
Click.
Wang Yao stared at the hung-up phone, a trace of cold sweat beading on his forehead. Having lost all strength in his limbs, he collapsed back into his chair.
In the brightly lit office, the chair wheels scraped harshly against the floor.
Looking at the pitch-black interior of President Shen’s office across the room, Wang Yao let his hands hang limply at his sides.
He refused to believe it. He had clearly heard the tone President Shen used to reply to that man, reluctant yet yielding, completely unlike the tone he used when replying to him.
Having followed President Shen for three years, he had unexpectedly never heard or seen a different President Shen.
On the other side.
Shen Jin’an walked up to the dining table, silently staring at the dark green soup in front of him for a moment before frowning and asking, “Why drink mung bean soup?”
Qin Zhen thought to himself that this guy must be an idiot. Didn’t he even realize when he had suffered a heatstroke?
He handed a small spoon to Shen Jin’an. “Do you not know how red your face is?”
Shen Jin’an wasn’t sure, but he did indeed feel a faint lingering headache. He scooped up a spoonful, stared at it for two seconds, and then poured it back into the bowl with uncertain emotions flickering in his eyes. “I do not like eating beans.”
Qin Zhen clicked his tongue. “Then I do not like boiling mung bean soup either. Do you know how hot the kitchen is?”
Shen Jin’an raised his eyes to look at Qin Zhen’s face, noticing a thin layer of sweat covering those well-defined, handsome features. His voice softened by a fraction involuntarily. “You…”
“You what? So picky. If you will not drink the soup, take your medicine instead. Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid. It is bitter.” Qin Zhen leaned back into his chair, crossing his arms with a casual air.
He looked like he was waiting for a good show.
Following the other person’s gaze to a white medicine box on the tabletop, Shen Jin’an instantly grew exasperated. “Who made you drag me to the supermarket, and why did you insist on buying ice cream outside?”
Qin Zhen gave as good as he got. “Nonsense, how was I supposed to know you would get heatstroke after spending just a tiny moment outside? You were wrapped up so tightly with a hat and mask, and besides, wasn’t the ice cream bought for you? I only tasted a single bite. And who was the one who said at first they would not eat it, only to finish the whole thing?”
“I…”
Realizing that such an argument was far too childish, Shen Jin’an narrowed his slightly uptight eyes and glared dangerously at Qin Zhen.
Surrendering, Qin Zhen pushed the mung bean soup a bit closer to him.
“Alright, alright, hurry up and drink it. I put a lot of rock sugar in it. It is sweet and guaranteed to taste good.”
Perhaps neither of them noticed that the usually calm Shen Jin’an could always have his emotions easily provoked by Qin Zhen, yet could just as easily regain his peace under Qin Zhen’s softened, casual tone.
Giving a bit of face, Shen Jin’an tasted a spoonful. Sweet without being cloying and very refreshing, he curved his eyes slightly before immediately returning to his expressionless, cold composure before anyone could notice.
Unfortunately, Qin Zhen’s eyesight was too good. Lazily propping his chin up, he teased, “If you like it, say something nice then.”
Shen Jin’an scooped another mouthful into his mouth, tapped his fingers against the table a few times, and reviewed, “Mediocre.”
It was the cold, ruthless look of a domineering president, yet a tiny grain of bean paste clung stubbornly to the corner of his flushed, thin lips.
“Is that so?”
Qin Zhen suddenly smiled and reached out, using his finger to wipe away the speck of mung bean paste stuck to the corner of Shen Jin’an’s mouth. The movement was entirely natural, as though he had done it a thousand times before.
Shen Jin’an’s mouth was stubborn, never uttering a single soft word, yet his lips were soft, making one’s heart soften along with them.
When the tip of a tongue inadvertently brushed against his finger, Shen Jin’an’s swallowing motion came to a complete halt.
He abruptly flushed at the tips of his ears, staring stiffly as Qin Zhen wiped away the bean residue with a tissue, before narrowing those flirty peach-blossom eyes to ask casually, “Who were you on the phone with just now?”
“I…”
He reacted for a few seconds, failing to understand why Qin Zhen would ask such a question. To him, it seemed more like pure curiosity, yet Shen Jin’an apparently wanted to hear a different answer.
Therefore, without knowing why himself, Shen Jin’an asked, “Do you care that much?”
Qin Zhen shrugged. “I do not care. Just chatting, you know, shooting the breeze and asking casually.”
“Hmph. Take care not to die a miserable death from being too nosy.”
Suddenly turning cold-faced, Shen Jin’an chugged the rest of the mung bean soup in one breath and stalked into his bedroom.
Qin Zhen: “Period.”
999 picked that exact moment to pop out, hovering over Qin Zhen’s shoulder with a blank expression.
999: [What is wrong with him?]
It didn’t understand. Its host was clearly doing a great job, knowing to show concern when the villain was sick. If this were targeted at past subjects, they would have been touched at least a little!
Just like 999, Qin Zhen stared at the bedroom door in utter bewilderment, propping his chin up as he remained clueless. “I have no idea either! I was even getting ready to take advantage of the opening to fish for information about his family background.”
[Did you say something wrong? Should you not have forced him to eat beans when he dislikes them?]
Qin Zhen raised an eyebrow. “Medicine and mung bean soup. Is medicine supposed to taste better?”
999 truly didn’t understand and could only shake its head in exasperation. In truth, it had been punished and sent to undertake the villain-redemption mission precisely because it made mistakes.
All the other systems in the Star Alliance claimed this was the hardest task to execute, given that villains are inherently characterized by gloomy ruthlessness and mercurial moods.
Electronic machines like them simply couldn’t correctly judge humans’ overly complex emotional shifts, nor could they effectively assist their hosts like other missions.
Yet 999 refused to admit the real reason behind it, so it put on a seasoned front. [You are the slowest host I have ever brought along! The slowest!]
Qin Zhen gave a cold scoff. “You are also the most useless sphere I have ever seen.”
Blushing red with anger, 999 sprouted sizzling electric currents right at the top of its sphere. [How many systems have you even seen? What gives you the right to say that!]
“Just you, but I have a brain, so I am certain.”
999: [This host is so annoying.]