The Domineering CEO's Vain Trophy Husband 9

Lin Zhi noticed Ming Yao's physical reaction and continued with a smile on his face: "Don't worry, Mr. Ming. I won't cross any lines. Until I change my mind, I will remain faithful to our marriage."

Lin Zhi didn't want to work through gradual influence — that was too slow.

The young man's eyes seemed to speak for themselves, brimming with sincerity and affection.

Ming Yao looked at his face, and the atmosphere around him suddenly grew a little heavier.

The ambiguous words, the polite form of address, and the dissonance with their current situation left Ming Yao feeling somewhat irritated.

He could truly feel Lin Zhi's fondness for him, yet he also knew clearly that Lin Zhi didn't genuinely like him.

He only shallowly liked his appearance, vainly liked the money he provided, upheld their agreement in words, but didn't truly care about him in his heart.

All that talk about faithfulness in marriage — he just loved spouting these high-sounding words that Ming Yao didn't need to hear at all. It would be far better if those feelings simply disappeared, letting his life return to the peace it once had. He couldn't care less who Lin Zhi was with.

As long as things didn't spiral into divorce or cause any kind of trouble, as long as Grandfather wasn't hurt — that was all that mattered.

With these thoughts, Ming Yao's heartbeat gradually returned to its normal rhythm.

"Mr. Ming, may I keep a dog?"

Ming Yao refused without a second thought: "No."

Too noisy. He didn't like it.

"But I really want to keep one. Please, Darling."

Lin Zhi grabbed Ming Yao's sleeve and swayed it gently, his eyes glowing with pleading brightness.

Ming Yao knew he was doing it on purpose and kept his expression cold, saying nothing.

"I know you're going to say I'm not allowed to call you that. Promise me, and I won't call you that anymore. I'll try my best not to let it disturb you."

Ming Yao looked down: "No."

"Then can I move out?"

Ming Yao frowned and reminded him coldly: "Remember what we agreed in our contract."

It was precisely because they had to be married and living together that the so-called fate suppression would take effect — that was why he had allowed Lin Zhi to appear in his home.

Lin Zhi sighed softly: "Is it really non-negotiable?"

A refusal he had anticipated. That was how the baseline was tested — it was better to consider other things instead. He needed to create a memorable point, to become a symbol of himself, to appear at Ming Yao's side so that whenever Ming Yao saw it, he would think of him.

"It's not entirely out of the question. As long as you stop saying all that nonsense to me, I can allow you to keep one — but it can't be too noisy."

Ming Yao felt this was a good opportunity to return everything to how it was before. Lin Zhi only needed to take the money, accompany Grandfather, and do his work. They didn't need to have much overlap in daily life.

Seeing the hesitation that appeared on Lin Zhi's face, Ming Yao felt an inexplicable surge of irritation rise within him.

Whether he was annoyed that Lin Zhi was actually hesitating between him and a dog, or vexed that Lin Zhi was taking too long to decide — only he himself knew, though in this moment Ming Yao arbitrarily decided it was the latter.

System No. 01 was feeling a little dejected: [It seems the Mission Target is truly resistant. Is our love-and-redemption route not going to work?]

Lin Zhi's face showed hesitation, but inwardly he replied lightly: [I think it's going quite smoothly.]

If it was complete aversion, things wouldn't be this way.

Lin Zhi made his decision, and his eyes curved into a smile: "Alright. Mr. Ming promised, so tomorrow I'll bring the pup home. Can I also hire a dog trainer? I won't reveal our relationship."

Ming Yao's voice was cool and firm: "Fine."

Everything was as he wished. There would be no more annoyances.

However, the fingertips gripping the edge of his wheelchair armrest tightened without him noticing, pressing so hard that the color drained from them.

He couldn't help but mock inwardly — so easily swayed. It seemed he would need to evaluate Lin Zhi's performance at work more carefully.

Unwilling to dwell any further on matters unrelated to the things he cared about, Ming Yao changed his clothes in the bedroom and went to the second-floor gym.

Since his legs couldn't move, he naturally focused on strengthening his upper body — particularly his arms, core, and other areas that could support his movement and exertion when necessary.

When the elevator reached the second floor, Ming Yao found a servant just coming out of the gym.

Seeing their employer, the servant immediately explained: "Madam wanted to swim, so I just replaced the water in the pool."

"When did the pool start being used?"

When he had originally purchased this house, it had come fully fitted. There was a pool beside the gym, but because of his legs, it had always been left unused. The housekeeper had once suggested filling it in, but Ming Yao hadn't minded and had simply left it as it was.

The servant answered carefully, watching his expression: "Madam has been using it since a week ago."

In the end, Ming Yao said nothing and dismissed the servant.

With the recent work demands, he truly hadn't come downstairs in over a week. And Lin Zhi couldn't possibly have known he would come to exercise tonight — that was why he had come to swim.

Ming Yao wondered whether he should come back to exercise another day, but then thought — why should he hide from Lin Zhi? This was his home. Why should he abandon his own plans just because Lin Zhi wanted to swim?

While Ming Yao was wrestling with these thoughts, he heard a voice from behind him:

"Mr. Ming, what a coincidence — you're here to exercise too?"

Lin Zhi greeted him and walked past to the front.

He had simply come for a swim, and had already asked a servant to change the pool water before coming back. Who could have predicted they would run into each other like this tonight? It could only be called fate.

When Ming Yao heard Lin Zhi's greeting, his instinct was to deny it — but then he saw that after greeting him, Lin Zhi walked straight through the equipment area toward the poolside without sparing him another glance. Ming Yao felt there was no reason to avoid him either.

Lin Zhi had already agreed. Things between them had returned to what they once were.

Yet, when he reached out to touch the equipment, Ming Yao hesitated again.

His lower legs couldn't move. Compared to an able-bodied person, the way he exercised must look rather ungainly.

He glanced toward Lin Zhi by the pool, then looked away as though his eyes had been burned.

In that brief glance, he had caught sight of the young man pulling off his oversized hoodie and bending down to stretch.

A healthy, beautiful body, radiating vibrant vitality in the shimmering light of the pool water.

Ming Yao told himself he simply preferred to be alone in situations like this.

System No. 01: [Host, Host — the Mission Target left!]

Lin Zhi surfaced from the water, caught a glimpse of Ming Yao's retreating figure, let out a quiet laugh, and turned back to swim.

The next day, Lin Zhi messaged Guan Yi, the pet shop owner, to say he would be picking up the dog today.

[Guan Yi]: Mr. Lin, where are you staying? Our shop offers a delivery service.

[Lin Zhi]: No need, I'll come and get him myself. Do you have any reliable dog trainers to recommend? I might not be able to stay with Nuonuo all day, so I'd like someone to come and work with him on some training.

[Guan Yi]: May I put my own name forward? These past few days I've already been doing basic target training with Nuonuo, and he's quite comfortable with me.

[Guan Yi]: You’ve also purchased quite a lot of pet supplies from us. I can offer a discount on the training fees.

Lin Zhi thought this arrangement was ideal and sent Guan Yi the address.

Guan Yi arrived quickly. Lin Zhi asked the servants to help carry the pet supplies to the back courtyard on the ground floor, which could serve as Nuonuo's play area.

The wide lawn was a paradise for a dog. Nuonuo, who had grown up in the pet shop, romped about to his heart's content. His adorable, dopey little face and his slightly tilted head made everyone who saw him break into an involuntary smile.

Guan Yi patiently demonstrated and explained to Lin Zhi how to give commands followed by rewards, training Nuonuo to walk alongside people.

"Dogs need patient, consistent training. If it's convenient for you, we could set a regular schedule..."

Ming Yao heard an unfamiliar man's voice from the living room. As he made his way toward the courtyard, he saw a young man standing very close to Lin Zhi.

Guan Yi felt the gaze on him and noticed the man in the distance — sitting in a wheelchair, watching him with a icy expression.

"Mr. Lin, who is this?"

The man looked wealthy and powerful, and his stare made Guan Yi feel somewhat unwelcome.

"That's a friend of mine. I'm staying here for the time being."

Lin Zhi spoke up, smiling as he greeted Ming Yao.

He then said quietly to Guan Yi: "He doesn't really like having outsiders around, so he looks cold like that. Don't mind him."

"Of course, of course."

Guan Yi gave that gentleman a friendly smile. After all, he was a friend of Lin Zhi's — and a friend Lin Zhi was staying with, no less. Their relationship must be quite good.

Ming Yao looked away and lowered his gaze as a strange, dark bitterness rose from deep within him.

<A friend?>

<The kind of friend who grabbed his sleeve and called him darling? The kind of friend bound to him by marriage?>