Early in the morning.
Ms. Tang heard a noise coming from inside her home.
Her heart skipped a beat.
A burglar?
She slipped out of bed barefoot, held her breath, and cautiously opened the door.
A tall, dark figure had just glided past the living room.
It vanished in an instant.
How daring of this burglar!
Ms. Tang looked around and pulled out her phone to call the police.
The next second, she heard footsteps approaching her.
Ms. Tang’s heart skipped a beat!
Had she been discovered?
No!
She couldn’t let anyone in right now!
She lunged forward, trying to slam the door shut.
Outside, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
“You’re awake?”
Ms. Tang froze.
Huh?
Oh, it’s just that kid, Zongcheng.
She chuckled to herself and opened the door.
Just as she thought.
Who else could that big guy outside be but Zongcheng?
I knew it.
Ms. Tang muttered to herself. These days, where would you find a burglar built that solidly?
“I’m awake. Since none of you were home, I slept really well last night, so I naturally woke up early.”
Ms. Tang’s tone carried a hint of disdain before she asked.
“What’s going on? Coming home at this hour?”
That’s unusual!
Besides, shouldn’t Zongcheng be in the middle of a heated argument with his boyfriend right now?
What’s he doing running back home for?
As Ms. Tang pondered this, she suddenly choked on her words.
She looked up at Zongcheng suspiciously, sizing him up from head to toe, a bit uncertain.
“You didn’t… have a fight with your boyfriend, did you?”
Zongcheng also choked up.
He stared at Ms. Tang for a long moment before she waved her hand.
“All right, all right, I spoke out of turn. You and your boyfriend are all lovey-dovey and sweet as can be—you’ll never break up.”
Only then did Zongcheng look away, satisfied.
Ms. Tang rolled her eyes inwardly, yet felt a tinge of relief.
Judging by the look on Zongcheng’s face, bringing someone home in the future might actually work out?
But then again.
Since Zong Cheng and his boyfriend are doing just fine, then what?
Ms. Tang looked up at Zong Cheng suspiciously.
“Then why are you back? It’s not a holiday or anything.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Zong Cheng cleared his throat.
“I’m back to pick up some things.”
“Get something? What do you need that we don’t already have?”
Ms. Tang said, heading toward the storage room.
“What are you looking for? I’ll find it for you.”
Zongcheng quickly grabbed her arm: “I can do it myself…”
Ms. Tang patted his hand.
“Trust me, you can’t.”
Zong Cheng tried to resist, but Ms. Tang walked to the storage room.
She flung the door open with a bang.
……
She slowly closed the door.
Ms. Tang gave a sheepish laugh and turned to look at Zong Cheng.
“How about you tell me what’s in there, and I’ll clean it up when I have time? You can come back in a few days?”
How could she have forgotten? During the New Year’s holiday, she’d crammed everything in there just to get the cleaning done quickly.
Although Ms. Tang moved quickly,
Zong Cheng still saw it.
He fell into an eerie silence for a moment, his lips twitching slightly.
“What is it?”
Ms. Tang looked completely bewildered.
Had Zong Cheng actually spoken?
Zong Cheng stared at her expressionlessly.
Ms. Tang glared back at him with a stern face.
……
Never mind.
Zongcheng sighed.
“I was saying, I’m looking for my childhood photo album.”
“That? Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
Ms. Tang chuckled when she heard that.
She could definitely find that!
Ms. Tang quickly went back to her room and came out holding a thick photo album.
“Here you go, but what do you need this for?”
Before Zongcheng could say a word, she burst out laughing herself.
“I get it—your boyfriend must want to see it, right? Take it, take it. It’s good for him to get to know you better.”
So, it seems Zongcheng and his boyfriend have a pretty stable relationship after all.
That’s great!
Lately.
Lately, has something been off with Zong Cheng?
Yin Chen pondered this as he reached out to wrap his arm around Zong Cheng’s neck.
I’m a little tired.
Leaning against Zong Cheng’s chest, he exhaled, his mind a blur.
A flash of white light suddenly flickered, and Yin Chen’s toes curled up sharply.
It took quite a while before his pupils gradually regained their focus.
……
What a mess.
He knew he shouldn’t have left Zongcheng alone for too long.
Does that mean even carrying Zao around isn’t enough to burn off this guy’s energy anymore?
Zongcheng placed his limp hand on his back, and Yin Chen rested his chin on his shoulder.
He was already a wreck.
In the bathroom.
Yin Chen was cleaned up and placed back in the bathtub.
He was starting to feel drowsy.
Zong Cheng washed himself while stealing glances at Yin Chen in the tub.
Yin Chen began to feel sleepy.
Yin Chen’s eyelids slowly closed.
Yin Chen’s head was supported, but his breathing had clearly become steady.
Asleep?
Is he really asleep?
Zong Cheng turned off the shower.
He walked over to the side of the bathtub.
Yin Chen’s expression was calm; his lips were slightly swollen, and there was a faint tear stain at the corner of his eye.
Zong Cheng suddenly pursed his lips.
He must have fallen asleep from exhaustion, right?
He quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness!
Thank goodness Yin Chen does get tired after all.
He quietly reached out and pinched his arm.
If Yin Chen wasn’t tired, he wouldn’t be able to handle the next round.
Thank goodness, thank goodness.
Then.
It was time to get down to business.
Zong Cheng took a deep breath.
He slowly knelt down.
Water flowed gently into the bathtub, softly washing away the fatigue from Yin Chen’s body.
Making him even more alert.
That’s right.
Yin Chen hadn’t fallen asleep.
He’d felt something was off about Zong Cheng for a while now.
Ignoring him for several days on purpose, then pushing himself to the limit today—no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like there was something he didn’t know about.
Just as he thought.
So, what does Zong Cheng want to do?
Yin Chen controlled his breathing, feeling an inexplicable sense of anticipation.
The flow of water in the bathtub suddenly shifted.
The next second, Yin Chen felt a familiar, large hand lift his palm.
He instinctively wanted to raise an eyebrow.
Fortunately, he managed to stop himself.
But…
Zong Cheng is holding his hand?
His fingers were gently squeezed. Before Yin Chen could process it, his fingers were suddenly parted.
Huh?
The next second, a thin band wrapped around the base of Yin Chen’s ring finger.
Yin Chen’s heart skipped several beats.
“Like this, should be good, right?”
Zong Cheng marked the measurement.
He picked up the thin string to put it away, but stopped halfway.
“No, let me measure again. Did I measure my left hand or my right? Was it the ring finger?”
He muttered to himself and walked back to the bathtub.
His finger was pinched again for another measurement.
Yin Chen lay in the bathtub, feeling an inexplicable urge to blow two bubbles.
Zong Cheng was, as expected, utterly adorable.
“Okay, this time it’s definitely right. Go send a message to confirm it.”
This time, Zong Cheng carefully checked the finger, glanced at both hands, then walked out holding the thin string.
The moment he left, Yin Chen immediately opened his eyes.
His gaze couldn’t help but fall on his ring finger, which still seemed to carry a lingering warmth. Yin Chen raised an eyebrow, and the corners of his mouth curled upward involuntarily.
So, this was the “conspiracy” behind Zong Cheng carrying him to the point of exhaustion?
Isn’t that just too cute?
Who could resist that?
It was practically a major foul!
Early the next morning.
The moment Yin Chen stepped into Yin Corporation, all the employees immediately sensed something was off.
Something was off.
Something’s seriously off!
Many people immediately opened the group chat.
“Did you see it? Did you see it? Did you see it? Yin Chen actually came to work holding a bouquet of flowers today? Am I going blind?”
“Then I must be blind too, because I saw it too. A full bouquet of ninety-nine red roses!”
“Damn! I know President Yin has a boyfriend, but does he have to be this flashy? Waaah, doesn’t President Yin ever think about other people? Like me, for example?”
“? Don’t even dream about it. “But am I the only one who noticed that President Yin is wearing a pink undershirt today? Holy crap, I was totally blown away! Is a mature man wearing pink really this charming? I’m back in the game!”
“? Let me correct you—it’s not just a mature man. It’s a mature, domineering CEO :)”
“……A mature, domineering CEO? That’s way too real, isn’t it?”
Just as Assistant A-Mao was savoring this juicy gossip, Yin Chen called him into his office.
He glanced at CEO Yin, whose profile looked even more strikingly handsome, and couldn’t help but agree with the bold comments in the group chat.
Indeed.
Wearing pink today, CEO Yin looked even younger and more charming.
“I want you to handle something for me.”
Yin Chen looked up at him.
Assistant A-Mao quickly averted his gaze.
“CEO Yin, please tell me.”
“I want you to spend more time with Zong Cheng’s assistant lately.”
As Yin Chen spoke, he couldn’t help but let a faint smile slip onto his face.
“As for the specifics, I have a task list here. Just follow the instructions.”
“Understood.”
Assistant A-Mao took the document and nodded.
Once he returned to his seat, he opened the document and glanced at it.
He snapped it shut immediately.
Assistant A-Mao’s heart rate suddenly shot up to 180.
He hurriedly poured himself a glass of water to calm his nerves.
After finishing it, he couldn’t help but want to look at the document.
His fingers itched to reach for it.
No.
Ah Mao pressed his hand down.
He had a premonition.
If he actually looked at it, he’d definitely have no mind to continue working today!
Hold back!
Be strong!
Staring at his restless curiosity, Ah Mao locked the file away and got to work.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, it was time to clock out.
Ah Mao looked around the office, which he had deliberately left empty.
Alright.
Now is the time.
It’s time to open that forbidden file!
He took a deep breath and slowly opened the file.
Item 1: Instruct Assistant Zhong to have Zongcheng strengthen his lower back.
Exercise what?
Lower back what?
What lower back?
Ah Mao read the line with a blank expression.
He didn’t get it.
He didn’t understand a thing.
Alright.
I can skip this one.
Although…
He had a premonition that reeked of dog food.
Item two.
Item three.
Item four.
As Ah Mao read on, his originally expressionless face gradually evolved into one where he didn’t know whether to envy General Manager Zong or General Manager Yin.
He slowly closed the file.
Thanks, President Yin.
Now, if he ever gets a boyfriend, he’ll know exactly how to get him to propose step by step, exactly the way he wants.
Wow.
He could only say, “Wow.”
After thinking it over, Ah Mao immediately picked up his phone and contacted Assistant Zhong.
It’s quitting time—why not start by having a drink to build rapport!
Assistant Zhong received Ah Mao’s invitation and was completely baffled.
Why would President Yin’s assistant suddenly ask him out to dinner?
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Zong Cheng, who was still working overtime, glanced at him briefly.
Assistant Zhong thought for a moment and decided to be honest.
There wasn’t really anything he couldn’t say anyway.
Besides, he couldn’t go anyway!
He’s been working overtime every day lately!
Upon hearing this, Zong Cheng froze.
He suddenly fell deep in thought.
That Assistant Ah Mao?
If he remembered correctly, hadn’t Assistant Ah Mao been working for Yin Chen for quite a few years now?
If that’s the case…
Zong Cheng suddenly pulled out a piece of paper and hurriedly scribbled a few lines.
When he was done, he handed the paper to his assistant.
“You don’t need to work overtime tonight. Go have dinner with Assistant Ah Mao. Also, take the opportunity to probe him and get this information out of him.”
Probe what?
Does he want me to pry into Yin Corporation’s business secrets… or something?
Assistant Zhong looked at the paper covered in question marks about President Yin and felt like a total idiot for having just been so full of conspiracy theories.