The Domineering CEO's Vain Trophy Husband 23

Unlike the wooden floors of the fourth floor, the fifth floor was laid with marble.

The intelligent wheelchair produced by the Ming Family's subsidiary had a silent locking function that could fix the wheelchair in place, preventing it from sliding.

Lin Zhi was pressed between the door and Ming Yao, his back against the cold surface.

His body was slightly lifted by Ming Yao's embrace, maintaining some distance from Ming Yao's legs.

"Ming Yao!"

Even a meticulous predator could be caught off guard occasionally. Lin Zhi was accustomed to conducting covert activities in his nest—at minimum, in absolutely sealed and safe spaces—not in empty corridors.

Even though this was the fifth floor and no servants would come up to disturb them, soundproofing was relative to individual rooms, not the vertical spatial dimensions between floors.

This made Lin Zhi somewhat uneasy, yet trapped in Ming Yao's embrace, he felt a strange and paradoxical sense of safety to escape into.

"Don't worry."

Ming Yao brushed aside the soft fringe of hair on Lin Zhi's forehead and pressed his forehead against his, looking into his eyes.

Ming Yao had beautifully shaped phoenix eyes, but on his face they held a cold and sharp quality.

At this moment, those eyes that were usually as glacial as a frozen river wavered, filled with a gentle and tranquil devouring sensation that made one feel suspended in the center of a deep blue ocean—windless and waveless around them, yet with a vertiginous pull downward.

Their breathing intertwined, creating a sealed space between them.

Lin Zhi initially thought Ming Yao was reassuring him about not being discovered, but later realized that wasn't it.

Overlapping friction slipped through the gaps, occasionally brushing against sensitive spots.

Lin Zhi wrapped his arms around Ming Yao's neck and unconsciously closed his eyes.

Among adults, there could sometimes exist a rational kind of madness—a state different from indulgence, which makes all sensations clearer.

It carried social awareness and basic shame, yet perhaps because of this, everything sank deeper into a silent but tacit understanding.

Actually, it didn't have to be this way. Lin Zhi was clear about that—this wasn't in his plan.

What did that matter anyway, right? What did it matter?

Lin Zhi bit Ming Yao's shoulder. The man's muscles were somewhat firm, and he only left shallow tooth marks.

"Lin Zhi," Ming Yao's voice was hoarse: "can we kiss?"

Ming Yao always had a kind of stubborn earnestness. Hidden within his coldness was flame.

In the end, Lin Zhi fell asleep in Ming Yao's room. Ming Yao wiped his legs clean with a hot towel, then carefully applied medicine to the places rubbed red, including areas where Lin Zhi had already applied medicine himself.

Lin Zhi didn't go to work the next morning. Ming Yao had taken leave for him.

Ming Yao's tablet was in his hands. The gallery contained several exquisite exclusive design drafts, along with some finished pieces including various diamond photos.

Lin Zhi flipped through them with little interest. Actually, he had no real feeling about these things. Compared to the diamonds themselves, he preferred Ming Yao's attitude of pairing the finest diamonds with the finest designs for him.

System No. 01 chattered excitedly in Lin Zhi's mind: [Host! The Mission Target went to a specialized rehabilitation training center! It feels like we're not far from completing the mission! You're really amazing! He's let go of his emotional knots!]

Lin Zhi shook his head: [His emotional knots haven't completely untangled yet, and moreover, he's not doing this entirely for me. He's also doing it for himself.]

System No. 01 was confused: [Isn't that the same thing?]

[How could it be the same?]

Lin Zhi set aside what he was holding and lay back on the bed.

The bedding carried Ming Yao's scent. Lin Zhi couldn't articulate this scent precisely, but he didn't reject it—in fact, he found it quite pleasant.

[He's just waiting for an opportunity.]

In Lin Zhi's view, Ming Yao had always been self-saving, just in a concealed and struggle-filled way.

Ming Yao didn't despise or even hate his legs, nor was he sensitive about them. He had accepted his incompleteness, even coexisting with it peacefully. Based on what Lin Zhi knew, he even suspected Ming Yao might simply treat it as some kind of symbol.

Perhaps it was just a knot from youth that he couldn't overcome and eventually became accustomed to.

He'd seen the album Old Master Ming gave him. Ming Yao used to have a happy family—a somewhat strict grandfather, a doting grandmother, a mother and a caring father. When that happiness shattered, it was natural that one couldn't come to terms with it.

Ming Yao danced on the edge of 'his fault' and 'not his fault,' and no matter which mindset he chose, he seemed unable to fully accept it, thus forming a strange coexistence.

System No. 01 became somewhat confused: [So you're saying he didn't decide to live better because he likes you?]

That was impossible. If not for liking him, how would he have silently endured the censored parts yesterday? The System even played an animation for System No. 01 because the censoring lasted longer than ten minutes.

Lin Zhi: [System No. 01, as a Redemption System, you should understand the nature of redemption better than I do. Every person who can be redeemed is a potential self-rescuer.]

As for rubbish, it will always be rubbish.

System No. 01 nodded like a pecking chick: [Exactly! Host, you're so capable. The first rule in The System Handbook is just like this.]

Lin Zhi was somewhat surprised. Apparently, this system's creator shared his philosophy. For a moment, he even wondered if he had some connection to the designer, but immediately dismissed the thought as impossible.

If it were him, he definitely wouldn't design such a naive system.

To fish for information, he went along with System No. 01's words: [It seems your designer's thoughts align with mine. What kind of person is he?]

What dimensional world, what technological level could create such a system?

Why would the designer do this? What benefit did it have for them?

System No. 01 answered honestly: [I have no memory of them. I only know my mission.]

System No. 01's voice suddenly became passionate and stirring: [That is - To save every Mission Target with love! Warm them! Give them hope for life!]

Lin Zhi fully felt System No. 01's sense of mission and fell silent.

Lin Zhi: [Then wouldn't we have to stay here for a very long time? After all, to give him hope for life, we can't just leave once he stands up. Do we disappear from his memory when we leave, or do we die? If we die, wouldn't that be a second blow?]

This was actually Lin Zhi's second time asking this question, and System No. 01 gave the same answer as before: [After the mission is complete, the Host will know~]

Given System No. 01's level of intelligence, it was unlikely to be deceiving him. So, it probably didn't know either—like a machine strictly executing its program. In essence, that's all it was.

In the afternoon, Lin Zhi visited Old Master Ming. Today the old man wore a purple-red Tang suit and seemed spirited.

"Zhizhi, come sit, come sit."

The old man gestured with a smiling face. The sickness that had clung to him several days ago seemed to have completely dissipated, and he appeared in even better condition than when Lin Zhi first met him.

"I was planning to have the both of you come over for dinner. Looks like grandfather and grandson are truly of one mind—I hadn't even called you yet, and here you are."

Lin Zhi sat beside him: "Grandfather encountered something good? You're in such a good mood."

He had some guesses in his mind but didn't voice them.

"You don't know?"

Old Master Ming hesitated, unsure whether to reveal the matter.

In his early years, he had made his fortune in medicine, laying the foundation for what the Ming Group is now.

After Ming Yao's accident, he had used the best medical resources and the most advanced medical technology, but none of it could get Ming Yao to stand again.

Without the doctors saying anything, he knew Ming Yao's condition was psychological. He also knew the cause—his own biological son.

Over the years, he and his late wife had tried persuading Ming Yao many times, to no avail. Ming Yao listened but seemed not to hear, and gradually he no longer let them speak of it.

The year his wife passed away, his youngest son returned from abroad—weathered and dejected. This dejection wasn't from financial hardship but from deliberately tormenting himself.

He thought the man might improve after a few years away, but instead, he became even more twisted. During those days of keeping vigil, he didn't speak a word to Ming Yao, treating him like a stranger. Before leaving, he said only one sentence—a hurtful one at that—infuriating the old man enough to want to beat him with his cane.

"Is it about Ming Yao's rehabilitation?"

Old Master Ming nodded happily: "Yes, the boy suddenly understood. Though I don't know how he came to understand it, it's a good thing."

Ming Yao hadn't told him this personally. Rather, his old subordinate had notified him, and since Ming Yao apparently didn't ask him to keep it secret, the subordinate had come to report the good news.

Old Master Ming believed this might truly be related to fate. At least since Ming Yao married Lin Zhi, the boy had been improving steadily.

Now he just hoped Ming Yao and Lin Zhi would make some romantic progress. Having someone caring for him would certainly help Ming Yao get better.

It had been too long since anyone loved him. As his family, there was only so much he could do.

If only men could bear children in this world. If Lin Zhi could give him great-grandchildren, his mouth would smile crooked.

Though on second thought, it was probably impossible. Adoption would also be fine.

Lin Zhi had no idea the old man harbored such impractical thoughts. He didn't mention entering Ming Yao's room on his birthday, only responded: "It's good news. But given his nature, he probably wouldn't come before you until he saw the results."

"Yes, he's always been that way since childhood. Stay for dinner today. I'll have Uncle Jin add to the menu. Though, it's still early. Come with me somewhere."

Lin Zhi naturally agreed. This was part of his purpose anyway.

Intimacy accumulated continuously. It wasn't confined to just the interactions between two people but extended to those in their shared circle, letting everything intertwine and increase in density.

Meanwhile, at the Ming residence.

Guan Yi felt rather disappointed to come up empty-handed. He had expected to see Lin Zhi, but the servants said he had gone out on business.

There was nothing to be done about it. Guan Yi didn't send a message to inquire and focused instead on training Nuonuo in following commands and collision prevention.

Nuonuo was lively and full of energy, but also very obedient.

At the company, the secretarial staff stared blankly at their boss arriving unusually late and leaving punctually shortly after, creating an awkward sense of being out of step with the times.

They couldn't help but ask Special Assistant Gao: "What exactly happened?"

Special Assistant Gao shook his head, indicating he didn't know. Internally, he thought, 'I've already taken leave for Mr. Lin. How could these colleagues not be more perceptive?'

When Ming Yao returned home, he didn't see Lin Zhi, but instead encountered the dog trainer returning with his dog from a walk.

Guan Yi had always felt that Lin Zhi's friend wasn't particularly amicable, creating some discomfort.

Just as he was about to greet Lin Zhi's friend and leave, a car pulled up outside. It was Lin Zhi returning.

Guan Yi smiled and waved hello, extending an invitation once more: "If you're free on the 27th, I can pick you up, wherever you are."

"He's not free."

Before Lin Zhi could respond, a voice came from beside them.

Ming Yao looked coldly at Guan Yi and said: "He's going to look at rings with me."