Chapter 70

At these words, Yan Tingshen looked at Qin You for a beat too long before speaking. "You... don't blame me?"

Qin You glanced at him. "Blame you? Why would I blame you?"

Before Yan Tingshen could answer, he saw Qin You sit up halfway, and his brow furrowed reflexively as he stepped forward to return to the bedside.

He settled the blanket around Qin You's shoulders but paused briefly when he noticed Qin You's unchanged expression. Then he continued the motion.

Qin You let him adjust the blanket before saying, "Why would I blame a fellow victim for something that wasn't your fault? Do I strike you as someone who can't tell right from wrong?"

Yan Tingshen replied, "When it comes to personal safety, no one judges things purely by right and wrong."

If not for him, Meng Yunzhe wouldn’t have targeted Qin You.

He wasn’t the perpetrator, but he was the catalyst for what had happened.

If Qin You had blamed him, or even cut ties over this, he wouldn’t have been surprised.

The one thing he hadn’t expected was that Qin You not only showed no concern about such a dangerous threat but even had the mood to joke about it.

Yan Tingshen's lips thinned.

The incident in Cangbin had been sudden. Fortunately, Qin You had reacted quickly, barely dodging catastrophe.

Even now, recalling the situation still made his blood run cold. Qin You, who had personally faced death, must've known the danger more intimately than he did.

"That makes sense too."

Yan Tingshen was reaching for the call button to ask the butler to bring up warm water when he heard this, his thumb bearing down harder.

Qin You leaned against the headboard, fiddling with the fringe of the blanket as he watched Yan Tingshen with amusement. "But considering how long you took care of me afterward, your good deeds cancel out the bad."

Yan Tingshen paused.

The butler's tinny voice crackled through the intercom. "Is there anything else you need?"

No response came for a long time.

Hesitating, the butler wondered if he should ask again when he caught the muffled sound of his employer laughing on the other end. Before he could make out the words, the line went dead.

The water was already prepared. After a moment’s thought, the butler took it up and knocked on the master bedroom door.

"Come in."

The butler entered and saw that his employer had woken after all.

He glanced at Yan Tingshen by the bed, carefully replaced the water, and made himself scarce.

Qin You looked at Yan Tingshen’s right hand. "Quit hovering. I’ve taken medicine—the fever should lift soon."

After wringing out the towel, Yan Tingshen stopped by the bed and thrust it toward Qin You. "Wipe off the sweat."

Qin You could only accept it.

Seeing Yan Tingshen clamp shut again, he patted the edge of the bed. "Sit."

Yan Tingshen didn’t move. Instead, he said, "I've said my piece. Once there’s news about Meng Yunzhe, I’ll contact you again."

Qin You didn’t insist.

He wiped his hands and looked at Yan Tingshen: “Don’t read too much into it.”

Yan Tingshen said, “I—”

Qin You said, “When it comes to the Qin family, you don’t need to worry about me either.”

Yan Tingshen met his gaze, then looked away: “The Qin family’s affairs are not really my place to worry about you.”

“Then call me presumptuous.”

Qin You smiled. “To me, you’re the only one who would worry about me.”

Hearing this, Yan Tingshen felt a sharp pang in his chest.

Qin You was indeed trapped in a tight spot.

With his father unconscious, Qin You's only ally in the Qin family was Qin Hengzhong.

Having returned to the country not long ago, he had neither the time nor the means to strengthen his position. Without Qin Hengzhong’s support, what else did he have to turn things around?

Just then, another knock came at the door.

When it opened, the butler entered with the doctor.

Yan Tingshen stepped aside, watching as the doctor examined Qin You.

The doctor, under scrutiny, quickly finished the checkup and confirmed the employer’s fever was breaking before letting out a relieved sigh. As he turned to leave, the employer called him back.

“Dress his wound.”

“…” The doctor glanced at Yan Tingshen.

Before Yan Tingshen could speak, Qin You said, “If you get an infection here, your injury becomes my responsibility.”

The doctor and butler shared a glance, then silently followed Yan Tingshen, who appeared convinced, to the sofa.

After the wound was dressed, the two slipped out quietly.

Yan Tingshen looked at the fresh bandage on his hand and spoke again, his tone calm: “If you’d like, I can help.”

Somehow,

the words sounded almost scripted.

Qin You looked at Yan Tingshen and suddenly smiled: “I know.”

Yan Tingshen remained seated on the sofa.

Across the room, he heard Qin You’s laughter but avoided looking at eyes that surely held amusement: “Call it compensation.”

Qin You’s smile held: “I know.”

At that, Yan Tingshen furrowed his brow slightly and finally met Qin You’s eyes.

He saw Qin You already knew.

A deeper smile lit Qin You's eyes. "You really get me."

Yan Tingshen’s brow furrowed. "Why?"

He sat up slightly, locking eyes with Qin You. "Because of Pei Sheng?"

If Qin You had meant to accept, he wouldn’t have reacted this way.

His response made it clear he didn’t care about reclaiming the Qin inheritance.

But something must’ve led to this.

At the name, Qin You froze—genuinely caught off guard. "Pei Sheng?"

Yan Tingshen said, "I already know why Mr. Qin acted against you."

Qin You’s gaze wavered.

Yan Tingshen knew about this?

Qin Hengzhong thought they were dating, and Qin You had played along.

Leveraging Yan Tingshen’s name to resign as GM only harmed his own interests—it didn’t affect Yan Tingshen at all.

Even if Qin Hengzhong resented him, given their social standing and the business ties between the Qin and Yan families, he’d have to choke it down and wouldn’t dare openly trouble Yan Tingshen.

On the contrary, Qin Hengzhong was even more eager than him to suppress such rumors.

How the hell did Yan Tingshen find out?

Why bring it up *now*?

Had all his previous guesses been wrong? Was Yan Tingshen here to call him out?

Qin You pondered before asking, "What do you know?"

"You’re into men. Into Pei Sheng."

Yan Tingshen observed his expression, his tone unchanging. "I’ve got the picture."

"Pei Sheng?" Qin You echoed, stunned.

Yan Tingshen said, "You’d throw away the Qin inheritance for Pei Sheng, wouldn’t you?"

Qin You fell silent for a moment.

The room went dead silent. Yan Tingshen stood abruptly.

"Convincing Old Man Qin isn’t my problem," he said, walking to the side. "But there are other ways to take the Qin empire."

Qin You stared at Yan Tingshen’s retreating figure.

He waited until Yan Tingshen was done before saying, "Pei Sheng has nothing to do with this."

He’d ‘come onto’ Yan Tingshen before, so it was natural for Yan Tingshen to think this way.

Yan Tingshen and Qin Hengzhong were on the same page—no point correcting them.

But he had previously mistaken Yan Tingshen for Pei Sheng, and Yan Tingshen was clearly bothered by it.

Moreover, since he had no intention of romancing Pei Sheng as part of any mission, and Pei Sheng hadn't transferred his affection to him to deepen his feelings for Yan Tingshen, there was even less reason to let Yan Tingshen dwell on such a pointless misunderstanding.

Yan Tingshen asked, "If not Pei Sheng, then who else could this be related to?"

"It's related to no one."

Qin You thought for a moment and told him, "You know better than anyone that managing a family business isn't an easy task."

Hearing this, Yan Tingshen turned to look at him.

Qin You continued, "Company matters can be resolved, but external challenges keep coming, and it's hard to truly solve them all."

Yan Tingshen's expression turned serious.

He knew Qin You had always disliked office politics and power plays, but he never expected Qin You would walk away from his inheritance simply because he disliked such machinations.

That inheritance was rightfully Qin You's.

He looked at Qin You and said, "I told you, if you want, I can help you."

Qin You smiled again. "I know. With your help, I could be worry-free, delegating everything to you to manage."

Yan Tingshen asked, "If you know that, why refuse?"

Qin You chuckled. "Because you're already stretched thin enough."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the crease in Yan Tingshen's forehead disappeared. "What?"

Qin You said, "Managing one family business is hard enough. Do you really want to take on twice the burden? Have you considered how much harder that would be?"

Yan Tingshen looked at him intently.

Qin You met his gaze with a smile. "From now on, I'll have no burdens, and you won't have any extra weight to carry. Isn't that better?"

Yan Tingshen studied him for a long moment before finally saying, "What are your plans from now on?"

Qin You looked away and glanced out the window. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Taking things as they come is the best plan."

Yan Tingshen countered, "Have you ever considered that this is just your perspective?"

Qin You replied, "My perspective is enough."

Yan Tingshen said, "You—"

"Enough," Qin You interrupted with a laugh, turning back to him. "We've been focused on me this whole time. What about you?"

Yan Tingshen paused. "Me?"

"Yes," Qin You said. "You want to help me, to go to such lengths for me—have you ever asked yourself what you really want?"

Yan Tingshen simply said, "You're making too much of this."

"It's not that I'm thinking too seriously, it's that you're being too casual."

Qin You said, "Putting yourself first and doing things that make you happy—that's what matters most to you."

Hearing this, Yan Tingshen glanced at him but said nothing more.

The conversation wound down, and after exchanging a few more words, Yan Tingshen checked the time and didn’t stay long.

Leaving the Qin residence, he went straight back to the company.

Upon returning to his office, he found Qi Yan chatting with Pei Sheng on the sofa about Meng Yunzhe.

Seeing Yan Tingshen return, Qi Yan asked first, "No wonder you told me not to come when I called earlier—you went to see Qin You, didn’t you?"

As he spoke, he darted over, giving a knowing wink. "So? Did you patch things up? Did he get all choked up when you visited?"

Yan Tingshen ignored him and simply said, "Meng Yunzhe's files."

"They've been sent to your email," he added.

Pei Sheng said, "He didn’t show up for work today, and there’s no sign of him at any address. The evidence might not be fully gathered until tomorrow. To avoid tipping him off, the police are holding back until then. But don’t worry—there’s no record of him leaving the city."

Yan Tingshen replied, "Hmm."

Qi Yan complained as he watched him open the email and scan the documents, "Can’t we talk about something else first? Lighten things up a little, have some fun."

At those words, Yan Tingshen paused, and Qin You’s voice rang in his ears.

*‘Do things that make you happy.’*

Qi Yan pushed on, "Tingshen, come on, tell us—how did you two make up? Did Qin You say something nice?"

Yan Tingshen put his phone down and took a seat behind his desk.

Hearing this, Qin You’s voice popped into his head again.

*‘—Meeting you is the only good thing that’s happened to me in this world.’*

Qi Yan lost patience and tapped the desk. "Earth to Yan!"

Yan Tingshen lifted his gaze to him.

Qi Yan immediately shrank back, letting out a nervous laugh. "Uh, I was just asking… If you don’t want to talk about it, then—"

Yan Tingshen turned back to his computer.

He said flatly, "There’s nothing to tell."