The Domineering CEO's Vain Trophy Husband 24

The amount of information in this sentence caused Guan Yi tremendous shock.

Space seemed to freeze for a moment, and Guan Yi steadied himself, forcing an unnatural smile.

"Is that so? That's really a shame. Then let's make plans for next time when you're free."

Guan Yi looked toward Lin Zhi, working hard to manage his expression.

"Sure, we'll see each other when I have time."

Lin Zhi nodded in response, though they both knew this was just polite social courtesy.

Hearing that Lin Zhi didn't deny it, the light in Guan Yi's eyes dimmed completely.

He was heartbroken before even falling in love. Guan Yi lowered his head and rubbed Nuonuo's head, concealing his disappointment.

It was absurd. He had treated yesterday's man as a potential rival, not knowing that his real love rival had been right in front of him all along, standing above him in absolute victory.

"Nuonuo, I'm leaving now."

Guan Yi quickly composed himself, said goodbye to the dog, and then bid farewell to Lin Zhi.

"Would you like me to have the driver send you home?"

Ming Yao looked at him, asking in the tone of a domain master.

"No need, I have a car. Thank you."

He's going too far, Guan Yi gnashed his teeth internally.

Facing Ming Yao, he couldn't even maintain his forced smile anymore, heading toward the door.

Ming Yao indifferently withdrew his gaze, looking toward Lin Zhi as if he had done nothing wrong, naturally asking: "Have you had dinner?"

Lin Zhi had witnessed this declaration dripping with jealousy. Although Ming Yao's expression showed no obvious change, he could already sense the cold smugness behind Ming Yao's thoughts and couldn't help but silently chuckle to himself.

"I just got back from eating at grandfather's place. Are we going to see the rings the day after tomorrow? Isn't that what you were saying...?"

Lin Zhi steered the conversation toward Ming Yao's earlier comment, showing some hesitation as if wanting to ask something.

"We can go take a look at the designs and see if there are any styles you like."

This was actually an excuse Ming Yao made on the spot, though now that he thought about it, he could use the opportunity to go out with Lin Zhi while also conveniently driving away one suitor—killing two birds with one stone.

Ming Yao was still waiting for Lin Zhi to ask why he had revealed the nature of their relationship, so he could naturally announce the matter.

What did it matter if they broke the agreement? He didn't feel there was any need to keep their relationship secret now. He even felt that announcing their long-standing hidden marriage would make some people back away from Lin Zhi.

But Lin Zhi didn't ask, which left Ming Yao somewhat disappointed. Upon reflection, however, this could be seen as tacit approval, and his mood brightened again.

Even if Lin Zhi didn't completely belong to him yet, there was no denying that he was the closest person by Lin Zhi's side.

The kitchen had prepared dinner. Lin Zhi didn't leave; instead, he stayed by Ming Yao's side, watching him eat dinner and asking about his rehabilitation progress and whether his leg hurt.

In the bright, spacious dining room, with steaming food and his attentive wife beside him, this was a scene of beauty beyond what Ming Yao had ever imagined. Because of this, he also broke his habit of not speaking while eating, swallowing the food in his mouth before answering each of Lin Zhi's questions.

Discomfort certainly existed. His legs hadn't been used in a long time and showed signs of muscle atrophy.

The top rehabilitation team overseeing his recovery had developed a detailed plan for his condition. Initially, they would use massage and acupuncture to ease the muscle condition, starting with basic weight-bearing stretches.

The strangeness of limbs that didn't feel like his own, the pain during rehabilitation, and the not-so-good physical sensation after staged training—these were all at a tolerable level for Ming Yao, so when answering Lin Zhi, he only brushed through them.

After finishing dinner, Ming Yao and Lin Zhi typically didn't stay in the living room but returned to their own rooms to handle matters.

Ming Yao watched eagerly, hoping Lin Zhi would come to the fifth floor with him. Instead, he saw Lin Zhi press the button for the fourth floor and wave goodbye with a smile.

Ming Yao hadn't yet thought of a reason to get Lin Zhi to stay, and Lin Zhi had already left.

There was indeed no need to always be together. Ming Yao told himself internally that adults need their own space, and today he had been busy with rehabilitation and had accumulated work that needed handling.

Though he thought this way, Ming Yao's brow still slightly furrowed.

Ming Yao usually handled work in his study, but some documents he would bring to his bedroom in the evening. He needed to get them now.

Before entering his bedroom, Ming Yao thought about how Lin Zhi had slept in his bed last night, and the sheets probably carried Lin Zhi's sweet fragrance. When he entered, he saw that the sheets had been completely replaced with fresh ones.

Ming Yao: …………

It must have been cleaned by the housekeeper. He had a habit of changing his sheets daily.

The clean sheets emitted the fragrance of laundry detergent. Ming Yao picked up his documents and went to the study with an increasingly somber expression.

On the fourth floor, Lin Zhi returned to his room and handled some company matters, playing with a dusty gray plush cat keychain in his hand.

The white fur had become somewhat yellowed and dusty. In fact, it was clean—Lin Zhi had washed and dried it not long ago, but time's wear had prevented it from returning to its original cleanliness.

The place Old Master Ming had taken him before dinner was the house where they used to live—a villa a few blocks away.

However, no one lived there, and with no one to clean it for so long, thick dust covered the white cloth. When Lin Zhi and Old Master Ming entered, the dust was thick enough to show their footprints.

This was where Ming Yao grew up. Old Master Ming told him emotionally what it used to be like, his tone filled with infinite sighs.

Lin Zhi's understanding of Ming Yao's past became clearer. Before leaving Ming Yao's room, he discovered this keychain in the corner.

There was no key hanging from it; it lay alone on the ground.

Old Master Ming was somewhat surprised. In his memory, Ming Yao wouldn't use such cute accessories. However, it had been too long ago, and with his age, he had forgotten many things.

Since this object was found in Ming Yao's room, it must be related to him.

Lin Zhi brought it with him, cleaned and dried it at Old Master Ming's place, and kept it close.

Objects could store memories; this was why Lin Zhi had taken it out from the corner of time.

Lin Zhi squeezed the little keychain in his hand, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

System No. 01, which had been staring eagerly at Lin Zhi's actions, spoke up: [Host, hasn't our mission progressed a step further? Your Mission Target told others about your marital relationship, and you're even getting rings. Doesn't that mean public announcement isn't far off?]

It would be nice if it could take physical form. Being stuck in the Host's mind was getting lonely.

[I never agreed to going public.]

Lin Zhi flicked the cat pendant's tail and slowly continued: [Though I didn't refuse either.]

System No. 01 stammered: [S-so it's like this?]

System No. 01 actually felt somewhat defeated. Sometimes talking to the Host, it always felt its intelligence was insufficient. This made it feel so useless.

Lin Zhi sensed System No. 01's confusion and comforted it: [Human emotions are this complicated. It's normal that AI can't understand. Humans aren't programs—there's often a disconnect between words and heart.]

System No. 01 perked up: [I'll accumulate work experience diligently! If the Host needs anything from me, just say the word!]

Although not quite understanding the Host's plan, System No. 01 knew that trusting the Host was the right approach.

Listening to the silly, sweet system, Lin Zhi swung the plush kitten in his hand and placed it in the drawer.

Although he had never played emotional games with anyone before, it was actually similar to games in the business world.

Everything he had done before was waiting for Ming Yao to respond. He naturally wouldn't strike when Ming Yao showed interest, but he also wouldn't confirm it and let Ming Yao get his way directly.

Without a clear answer, everything naturally remained ambiguous with room for maneuver.

On the 27th, it rained. The plan for Ming Yao and Lin Zhi to see the rings was naturally canceled.

Actually, rainy weather wouldn't prevent visiting jewelry stores, but Lin Zhi said he had seen a designer's work he liked, so there was naturally no need to look at other pieces.

At night, Ming Yao occasionally looked toward the door, but there was no movement there, no knock.

Ming Yao rubbed his slightly aching leg and pressed his lips together.

He habitually opened the home surveillance system. Expecting Lin Zhi to be in his room, he instead discovered his figure in the small hall on the third floor.

The rain pattered outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the air carrying the moist breath of evening.

Star-shaped lights hanging from the ceiling emitted warm light. Lin Zhi had turned on a small cold-light lamp on the nearby table and was sitting in a rattan chair reading a book.

Perhaps having come across something interesting, his lips curved slightly upward.

As he turned the pages, his pale pink fingertips swayed with the movement of his fingers.

A soft, fluffy Samoyed lay at Lin Zhi's feet. Nuonuo's weight had already slightly exceeded the average for dogs of his age, no longer the tiny creature he was when he first arrived—he had grown rapidly.

The autumn night was cool, but the fluffy dog's body was warm. Lin Zhi's feet rested on Nuonuo and rubbed gently. Nuonuo's head moved slightly, lying obediently.

Ming Yao watched with some absent-mindedness, thinking that it would be good if the sky were clear today.

That way he could tell himself that Lin Zhi wasn't coming because of the rain.

Ming Yao enlarged the surveillance image to fill the screen and continued working while watching until Lin Zhi returned to his room and disappeared from the monitoring view.

Ming Yao set the document aside and began searching through the information on Hu Tong that Special Assistant Gao had sent him earlier.

He wanted to know what Lin Zhi liked, so he could have more topics to discuss with him.

Hu Tong and Lin Zhi were quite good friends. They should share common interests.

—Art?

Ming Yao rarely encountered things that posed a problem for him. This was probably one of them.

He had always been more interested in science and engineering. If Lin Zhi liked intelligent machinery, he would definitely know how to win his favor.

Ming Yao even considered asking Old Master Ming for advice on how to appreciate art, but Old Master Ming preferred traditional Chinese painting and didn't seem very knowledgeable about Western art.

In the following days at work, Special Assistant Gao repeatedly discovered that the boss would occasionally frown at something with a serious, solemn expression as if encountering a troublesome matter. Special Assistant Gao couldn't help but suspect internally whether the company had faced an unprecedented challenge, causing the boss to be so attentive.

Then when delivering documents, he saw what the boss was reading and fell into confusion.

‘The Infinity of Lists’?

As a senior employee, Special Assistant Gao couldn't allow himself such a knowledge gap. But after searching, he was even more confused.

Why was the boss researching art history? Was the company planning to develop in this direction?

In mid-October, Lin Zhi received an exhibition invitation—not from Hu Tong, but from Ming Yao.

Lin Zhi raised an eyebrow: "Mr. Ming is interested in this too?"

Ming Yao nodded casually. He had spent so many days reading; he should be able to discuss this with Lin Zhi a bit.

Lin Zhi didn't refuse. This was a small-scale exhibition with a high threshold; these tickets were hard to come by. The fact that Ming Yao gave one to him showed he was considerate.

The paintings displayed were all private collections with great significance.

Ming Yao watched Lin Zhi seriously appreciate the artwork and found it very meaningful himself.

The exhibition lasted an hour and a half. Lin Zhi left happily with Ming Yao.

Lin Zhi didn't say much. Actually, at the exhibition, he had already discovered that Ming Yao wasn't really very interested in these things, but despite not appreciating the aesthetics, Ming Yao still carefully examined them, occasionally offering agreement.

Lin Zhi knew Ming Yao was trying to please him—not very skillfully, but genuinely sincere.

"Does Mr. Ming paint?"

Ming Yao shook his head. He had only drawn experimental data.

"Then I'll paint one for you."

Lin Zhi had the driver go to an art supply store and brought materials home.

Ming Yao's study had a window sill where large patches of moonlight poured in, creating a serene atmosphere.

Ming Yao sat somewhat awkwardly in his wheelchair while Lin Zhi sketched his likeness in front of an easel.

Painting took considerable time, yet Ming Yao was patient. He enjoyed having Lin Zhi's gaze fall upon him.

"Would Mr. Ming like to try?"

Lin Zhi held up a clean paintbrush and waved it at Ming Yao.

Ming Yao: "I probably won't be very good."

"It's fine. Beginners can start with copying. I'm willing to temporarily serve as the artwork to be copied."

Lin Zhi undid two buttons. The clean brush swept across his collarbone, seemingly carrying the gentle moonlight, tenderly intimate.