Lin Zhi stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a glass of milk, gazing out at the small garden below.

The dark night obscured the beauty of the blooming flowers, blurring everything at the edges of his vision.

Still, in Lin Zhi's eyes, the view was quite lovely.

System No. 01 chattered away happily: [Great, there's been progress! Though the Mission Target refused your request — how cold!]

Lin Zhi smiled but didn't respond.

He had already achieved his goal. He hadn't really wanted more money — it was just a small trick.

The next morning, Lin Zhi woke up to find that a hundred thousand yuan had already been transferred to his account.

Given how efficiently Ming Yao handled things, Lin Zhi naturally clocked in on time for his paid visits to the Old Master.

Of course, the Old Master didn't need him around every moment of the day. Dropping by every few days counted as companionship; staying all the time would be annoying. Lin Zhi had always known where to draw the line.

On his later visits, he stopped merely keeping the old man company.

Old Master Ming noticed Lin Zhi seemed to be studying something intently and couldn't help asking out of curiosity.

"I want to do something with myself. Idling around the house all day isn't a solution. I'm thinking about whether I should go out and find a job."

Lin Zhi wore the casual air of someone chatting with an elder, tossing out the opening line.

The Old Master's mind began to turn in circles. His first instinct was that finding a job was simple enough — he could arrange something easily. But then he reconsidered, unsure of where his grandson's wife wanted to work. Was it the group headquarters? Was he waiting for him to offer?

Before the Old Master could speak, Lin Zhi continued: "But then I think about how exhausting it would be, and the salary wouldn't be much — after all, I'd just be working for someone else."

He sighed lightly: "I know this way of thinking isn't right, but I've probably been spoiled by Ming Yao."

Someone who had just graduated and landed their first job in the capital at an intern's salary of five thousand yuan a month, only to suddenly marry into wealth and earn two hundred thousand a month without lifting a finger — living in a luxury villa, chauffeured around in expensive cars — very few people could keep their heads clear in such circumstances. The original owner was not among them.

What Lin Zhi had figured out, Old Master Ming had naturally figured out as well. His clouded eyes grew complex as he weighed his words carefully, considering the implications of what Lin Zhi was saying.

He wasn't senile. There was no way he'd arrange for Lin Zhi to parachute into a management position. That said, it wasn't impossible to place him somewhere unimportant to lead. He was simply weighing whether he should do so, and what his grandson would think if he did.

Then Lin Zhi added: "So I've decided to start a business — though 'start a business' is a bit of a stretch. I've spotted a small company on the verge of collapse, and I'm thinking about whether to acquire it and build something from it. I don't need financial support from you, Grandfather, but I'd love your advice on whether it's a good idea."

The Old Master's thoughts had truly been taken on a rollercoaster ride by Lin Zhi's words, and by the last sentence, he felt a pang of guilt for having entertained such uncharitable suspicions.

"Come, let me see. What company are you planning to acquire? If a poorly managed business is salvageable, that's one thing — just don't go cleaning up someone else's mess."

Every industry ran deep with hidden currents, and business losses meant real money down the drain.

After looking over what Lin Zhi had in mind, Old Master Ming was practically speechless.

"This? Ice cream?"

A failing little ice cream factory — once a humble brand found on every street corner — had long since been squeezed out of supermarkets due to its outdated packaging and price point, surviving only in small convenience shops. But as its market share was steadily eaten away and its revenue declined, even the factory had shrunk, and now it was nearly gone.

The Old Master thought to himself: no wonder his grandson's wife could afford to talk about acquiring it — at this price, he could swallow it up on his own easily enough.

"I wouldn't recommend it. There's no real money to be made here. You'd be better off going to work at the company — I'll have someone arrange a position for you where you can actually learn something."

The Old Master could think of several marketing strategies for the factory, and with enough capital investment it could even reclaim market share, but there was simply no point. Besides, if it kept going down the budget route without reinventing itself, launching other product lines later would be difficult. And if the plan was to play the nostalgia card, they couldn't afford to let that nostalgia be diluted.

"Grandfather, the fact that you're saying this means it could work, doesn't it? Thank you for thinking of me, but I still want to try my best."

This had been Lin Zhi's plan all along. To enter Ming Yao's world, he needed to catch his eye, and no roundabout approach was as direct as this — after all, Lin Zhi wasn't truly a business novice.

Putting on this performance in front of the Old Master was, of course, meant to earn the Old Master's support once he produced results, and to gain an extra measure of approval in Ming Yao's eyes.

The closer you got to someone, the more secrets you could learn — like Ming Yao's legs, his missing father, the knot in his heart that kept him from wanting to stand up again. These were things that couldn't be glimpsed from a distance.

He knew that even if the ice cream factory made a comeback, it would never produce any truly remarkable results. But this was merely a stepping stone. The lower you set everyone's expectations, the more striking the turnaround would appear. And since the Old Master already had a soft spot for him, any achievement would be viewed through a favorable lens.

Old Master Ming looked at the bright gleam in Lin Zhi's eyes and felt the determination of youth.

He was suddenly reminded of Ming Yao from many years ago — though that child's eyes had already lost their light, the resolve to shoulder a burden had been unwavering.

"All right, give it a try. You're still young — there's plenty of room to make mistakes. Without trying, there's no chance of success at all. It'll be good for you to experience it firsthand."

A hundred lessons from others may not teach you a thing, but a single lesson from life is usually enough.

Having planted the seed with the Old Master, Lin Zhi set about preparing in earnest.

He had been investigating for some time before bringing it up with the Old Master. There are no walls without cracks, and he wasn't about to act prematurely out of confidence — only to perform for an audience that felt uncomfortable watching.

These days, nobody wants to go to great lengths for a small return. When Lin Zhi went to negotiate, the owner thought he'd found a fool with more money than sense.

Lin Zhi could tell the asking price was inflated and intended to wear him down.

At the turn of spring into summer, Lin Zhi signed the contract. The impatient owner had come down to a fair price and even thrown in a small discount. Lin Zhi had no intention of being a cutthroat capitalist, so they closed the deal.

The first summer rain arrived without warning. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the weather station issued a heavy rain alert. Before long, the rain came pouring down.

The temperature plummeted through the night, a cold that seemed to seep into one's very bones.

Lin Zhi thought of Ming Yao's legs and sent a message to the Old Master:

[Lin Zhi]: Grandfather, it's pouring tonight. Remember to pull your blanket up properly.

[Grandfather]: I know. I haven't gone senile yet.

[Lin Zhi]: Will Ming Yao's legs hurt in weather like this? Is it serious? Should I go check on him?

[Grandfather]: That child won't want you to come.

[Lin Zhi]: Mm.

Which meant they would hurt.

Lin Zhi, still in his pajamas, stepped out of his room and climbed the stairs to the fifth floor.

He had only confirmed what the Old Master said. He hadn't said he wouldn't go.

System No. 01 grew anxious: [Host, are we going to get thrown out?]

Lin Zhi: [Unless his legs were fully functional... um... What I mean is, no.]

Lin Zhi assessed the situation from a practical standpoint and made his judgment.

If Ming Yao had any other ailment, it might have been different — but given that he had limited mobility, well, that was simply how it was.

The knock on the door was muffled by the heavy rain. Ming Yao lay in bed, reviewing the documents in his hands, and glanced toward the door.

No one would disturb him without good reason. Ming Yao turned a page and said: "Come in."

The young man who entered was dressed in light summer pajamas, the loose trousers doing nothing to hide the straight lines of his legs.

Ming Yao didn't ask why he was there. He looked up and said: "Get out."

Lin Zhi didn't retreat — he stepped further inside and closed the bedroom door behind him.

"It's raining. Your legs might be hurting. Grandfather asked me to come check on you."

"You've checked. You can leave now. Don't set foot on the fifth floor again."

The dull, aching pain in his legs had already put Ming Yao in a foul mood, and having a stranger intrude on his private space made it worse.

"I'm here on assignment. You won't give me a raise, so don't get in the way of me earning what I'm owed."

Lin Zhi made no deliberate attempt at warmth — he simply sent a signal that he had no ulterior motives.

His words were deliberately vague. Ming Yao would naturally interpret them to mean he had come under the Old Master's instructions, motivated by the reward his Grandfather had promised.

When Ming Yao saw Lin Zhi pull back the covers and lie down on his bed, his expression turned frightfully cold.A vein pulsed at his temple, and only his properness prevented him from bracing himself up and physically shoving the man off.

System No. 01 trembled: [Host, are we going to be okay?]

By any measure, it felt like they were about to be assassinated.

Lin Zhi replied calmly: [A calculated act of impudence can close a distance.]

When it came to a target who absolutely had to be redeemed, boundaries needed to be tested — and tested repeatedly, to allow for timely adjustments in planning and direction.

The human heart was complex and hard to read. Testing might lead to mistakes, but one couldn't let the fear of mistakes prevent the attempt.

The atmosphere settled into a stalemate — though half a minute later, Ming Yao realized it might have been a one-sided stalemate.

Lin Zhi wasn't even looking at him. This baffling man who had inexplicably climbed into his bed hadn't taken his eyes off his phone screen, hadn't spared Ming Yao so much as a glance.

< Simply shameless > Ming Yao thought, seething.

Too tired to bother ordering him out again, Ming Yao decided to simply call a servant up to escort Lin Zhi away.

"I'll leave in a bit. No need to chase me out — I won't overstay."

Lin Zhi tossed out the words as if they were an afterthought, eyes still fixed on his phone.

Outside, the rain intensified, hammering against the windows.

Ming Yao's expression remained as cold as frost. Even without Lin Zhi speaking, the mere presence of another person at his side unsettled him — so much so that he couldn't even bring himself to read the documents in his hands.

A fine, relentless ache radiated from his calves below the knees, a sensation Ming Yao had long since grown accustomed to. In weather like this, his mood always turned bleak, and old memories would rise up unbidden, beyond his control — though tonight, his train of thought kept getting interrupted.

The faint tapping of fingers on a screen was a small sound, yet in the silence of the room it seemed strangely conspicuous.

Just as Ming Yao was reaching the limit of his patience, Lin Zhi spoke: "Three more minutes. Grandfather is worried about you. Find time to have dinner with him."

At the mention of the old man's concern, Ming Yao found himself with nothing to say.

The moment the three minutes were up, Lin Zhi threw back the covers and left.

Before going, he didn't forget to snap a photo of Ming Yao.

"Proof of completion."

Lin Zhi waved his phone without the slightest trace of reluctance and walked out.

After he left, Ming Yao's brow remained tightly furrowed.

The bed had been left with the scent of another person — a sweet, cloying fragrance that was impossible to ignore.