Stunned by his wrist being grabbed, Su Duan blankly stared at Qin Zhi's pained expression, thinking he had hurt the other person. He instantly became even more flustered and didn't dare move a muscle.

"I'm sorry, I...I'll call a doctor for you..." Su Duan stammered, so nervous that cold sweat beaded on his forehead and his eyes glistened with worry.

He anxiously asked the system: "System, system, how should burns be treated?"

The system replied: "Immediately rinse or soak with cold water. If it's severe, get medical attention as soon as possible."

"Cold water, there's no cold water...will ice work?" Su Duan thought for a moment before asking.

The office only had a small faucet in the corner for making coffee, positioned very high with a thin stream of water. The location of Qin Zhi's burn was on his abdomen, so that tiny faucet definitely couldn't reach it.

The system said: "Ice will also work, host."

After getting confirmation, Su Duan felt slightly more at ease. But for some reason, whether due to pain or something else, Qin Zhi's grip on his wrist was exceptionally strong, like an immovable iron clamp. He wanted to pull his hand back but couldn't budge it at all.

Afraid of hurting Qin Zhi again, Su Duan didn't dare struggle forcefully. Instead, he gently persuaded: "Let go of me, I'll get some ice to put on it for you, then we'll call a doctor."

Qin Zhi closed his eyes and took a few breaths, suppressing the darkness flashing in his gaze. He said hoarsely: "Don't worry Duan Duan, I'm really fine. The coffee had ice added so it wasn't scalding, I was just startled. No need to fuss, I'll go change clothes in a bit."

Su Duan didn't really believe his words and said with concern: "No, untreated burns can become very serious!"

As a spirit herb that had lived for several thousand years, Su Duan had experienced all kinds of accidents. He had once seen the earth's crust split open right before his eyes, spewing scorching lava. Some beasts were caught off guard and devoured by the crevice, melting into a puddle of flesh and blood in the blink of an eye.

Although he had used all his spiritual power to uproot himself and flee at the time, some lava still splashed onto his leaves, causing them to curl up in pain. It burned a small hole that took a very long time to heal, not mending until he had accumulated spiritual energy for over a hundred years.

This experience left a deep impression on Su Duan. Recalling his own past pain, he couldn't help but worry even more about Qin Zhi.

Qin Zhi gave him a reassuring smile: "Don't worry, why would I act tough in this situation? I still need to help Duan Duan with work, I won't let myself get injured."

However, Su Duan insisted unusually: "Let me take a look."

Qin Zhi: "..."

Although he was gratified that Su Duan cared so much about him, the timing was really a bit awkward. Qin Zhi felt he might embarrass himself in front of Su Duan at any moment. He wished he could quickly find something to cover up, and of course was unwilling to voluntarily expose the area for Su Duan to see.

His young master was very dense when it came to feelings and probably didn't have much experience with this kind of thing. If he scared him off this early, it would be a losing proposition.

There was still some time, they could take it slow. There was no need to rush-

The next second, Qin Zhi felt a strange sensation on his body.

He was holding one of Su Duan's hands, while Su Duan used the other to try unbuttoning his shirt.

But it was obvious Su Duan's one-handed unbuttoning skills were very unpolished. His slender fingers fumbled there for a long time without managing to undo a single button, instead tormenting Qin Zhi quite a bit.

"..." Qin Zhi gave in. He slowly released Su Duan's wrist that he had been gripping and gently but firmly moved away the other hand that had been carefully trying to unbutton his shirt without success. He said hoarsely: "I'll do it myself."

He couldn't let Su Duan continue on his own anymore, otherwise something really would happen.

Su Duan made an "oh" sound and obediently withdrew his hands, but his eyes remained unblinkingly fixed on Qin Zhi, not showing any intention of relaxing his vigilance.

Under the gaze of those jet-black eyes, Qin Zhi's fingers trembled spasmodically as they pressed against his soaked shirt. He took a deep breath before undoing the buttons.

He closed his eyes briefly, trying not to let the greed in his gaze show too obviously. He said to Su Duan: "Look, it's really nothing."

So Su Duan began to examine him carefully.

The area splashed by the dark brown coffee was slightly red, but other than that, no blisters or ulceration could be seen. It seemed...it really wasn't very serious?

To be cautious, after consulting the system, Su Duan still checked it over meticulously.

Qin Zhi couldn't help sharply inhaling: "..."

Hearing the gasp above his head, Su Duan instantly became as alert as a cat smelling dried fish. He raised his head and asked Qin Zhi: "Are you feeling pain?"

Qin Zhi gritted his teeth and said softly: "No pain, just a little itchy."

"Oh." Su Duan blinked and assured him: "Then I'll be very gentle."

Qin Zhi: "...Alright."

After inspecting Qin Zhi's reddened area several times and confirming it didn't even count as a mild scald, Su Duan finally set his heart at ease.

Of course, during this process, who knows how many sharp breaths Qin Zhi took.

He felt he must have lost his mind. He knew he should maintain some distance from Su Duan right now, but the feeling of being close to the person he liked was addictive, making him truly reluctant to send the other away.

But he had obviously indulged too much, unconsciously even loosening control over his body. If Su Duan's observation skills were a bit keener and his gaze shifted a little lower, Qin Zhi would probably be facing the risk of getting fired on the spot.

Of course, that was assuming Su Duan understood what his reaction represented.

Seeing the young master acting without any wariness like this, it was as if he was a blank slate when it came to this aspect. The hints Qin Zhi had shown were already plentiful. Yet Su Duan still seemed oblivious, making one worry about when he would finally catch on.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down uncontrollably several times. Qin Zhi reined in his thoughts, using the last shred of his willpower to keep the urges within his body from continuing to swell. He asked with difficulty, voice carrying an undeniable thick hoarseness: "Duan Duan, are you done checking?"

Only then did Su Duan seem to react, withdrawing his hands as he nodded: "Mm, done checking."

Qin Zhi moved his fingers, wanting to let go of the shirt hem he had crumpled into a mess. But Su Duan called out to him again: "Wait, don't put it down yet."

Qin Zhi froze for a moment, letting out a long sigh in his heart, and asked with mixed feelings, "What's wrong?" What was this dull little young master planning to do to him now?

Su Duan earnestly suggested, "Although the scald isn't severe, let's apply some ice just in case." What if it suddenly became serious later on?

After staring at the well-behaved Su Duan for more than ten seconds, Qin Zhi nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll listen to Duan Duan." But there seemed to be a hint of solemnity in his eyes, as if he had made some major decision.

Of course, Su Duan couldn't see it. He turned around and diligently took out the remaining ice cubes from the small refrigerator, along with the box, then ran back to Qin Zhi's side, holding them. He pinched out a few pieces and carefully placed them on the scalded area of Qin Zhi's skin.

The frosted ice cubes landed on the slightly reddened skin. In just a few seconds, they began to melt due to the temperature difference of more than thirty degrees. The transparent ice water flowed along the contours of the muscles, eventually dripping to the ground.

Qin Zhi closed his eyes briefly.

After just two minutes, in order to avoid secondary frostbite, Su Duan, under the system's command, picked up all the half-melted ice cubes and put them back in the box. Then he asked Qin Zhi with full concern, "How do you feel? Does it hurt?"

Qin Zhi was silent for two seconds, then showed Su Duan a faint smile and said, "I'm fine, it doesn't hurt. Thank you, Duan Duan."

Su Duan said with relief, "It's good that you're okay."

- It was indeed quite good.

The body that was hot and agitated just a second ago was forcibly calmed down with the help of the ice cubes in just a few seconds. So now he was not at all worried that he would embarrass himself in front of Su Duan.

Qin Zhi exhaled and thought calmly.

......

Because of this little accident in the morning, Su Duan observed Qin Zhi from various angles throughout the day. As soon as he frowned, Su Duan would come over and ask if the scalded area was starting to hurt, simply being a very caring good boss to his subordinate!

However, the little assistant who was cared for by the boss all day had mixed feelings. When he returned home to deal with his company's affairs, it even leaked out a bit on his face.

His friend, who was video chatting with him, keenly noticed his unusual state today. He teased him with a wink, "What's wrong with our President Qin? Frowning and not smiling, didn't you throw all the company's affairs to this poor man in order to pursue the young master of the Su family? What setback did you suffer? Hurry up and tell me so I can be happy."

Qin Zhi flipped through the documents in his hand without raising his head, and said coldly, "Since you are so self-aware, starting from tomorrow, I can really hand over all the affairs for you to handle."

His friend's expression changed, "...I was just joking, don't take it seriously."

"But what's wrong with you? You're full of low pressure, as tense as if you haven't had sex for hundreds of years and are unsatisfied." His friend continued to mutter.

Qin Zhi looked up and glared at him, "Why are you talking so much nonsense?"

His friend was shocked, "...It seems that you're really sexually frustrated. Things aren't going well on your side, brother. Sigh, keep working at it."

Qin Zhi: "...Shut up."

......

After approving the last project on the Qin Group's side, it was already close to 11 pm. Qin Zhi rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, stretched his neck that had become a little stiff from looking down for too long, finally sorted out the documents in the study, and went back to the bedroom to get his pajamas and towel to take a shower.

The shower head was turned on, and the hot water spraying from it hit Qin Zhi's body, turning into strings of meandering and delicate water flows, crawling down along the contours of his tight muscles, and finally falling onto the smooth tiled floor, gathering towards the whirlpool-shaped drain.

Hot steam quickly rose, and Qin Zhi's facial features were softened by the mist. His expression appeared a bit blurry in the steamy room. His usually meticulously combed black hair had just been washed, with water dripping from the ends, scattered messily on his forehead and cheeks. It set off his equally dark and deep eyes, unexpectedly giving people a startling feeling.

He reached out to smooth all the wet black hair to the back of his head, and casually wiped the water droplets from his face, making a slight splashing sound.

The path of the water flow changed slightly with his movements, splitting into several streams along the undulating muscles of his upper arms, and finally gathering and flowing down at the elbows again.

Today was bound to be a restless day. As he showered, the heat rose in him. Qin Zhi closed his eyes, his mind filled with the image of Su Duan helping him check the scald today, bit by bit eroding his reason.

With a "click", the metal shower head hit the tiled floor, and the water sprayed obliquely on the frosted glass, washing away the mist on it, revealing a vague tall figure.

......

Who knew how long it took, but Qin Zhi finally bent down to pick up the shower head that had been thrown to the ground, and washed himself again.

......

Early the next morning, Qin Zhi picked up Su Duan as usual to go to work at Su Group.

For some reason, Su Duan was particularly concerned about the coffee spill incident. As soon as he entered the office, he checked on Qin Zhi again, and was only satisfied when he saw that even the slight redness from yesterday had disappeared.

Qin Zhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Fortunately, he had satisfied himself several times last night, so the heat wasn't so intense today. He could withstand Su Duan's inspection without directly embarrassing himself.

After tidying up his slightly messy clothes, Qin Zhi picked up a document from the desktop and said to Su Duan, "I'm going down to deliver a document. This one is quite urgent. I need to personally confirm it with the planning department. I'll be back in about ten minutes. If any documents come up, just leave them here for now."

Su Duan obediently sat in the office chair, "Mm-hmm."

"If anything unexpected happens, call me immediately. The other assistants are also outside." Qin Zhi added, not feeling at ease.

Su Duan nodded, "Mm-hmm."

Qin Zhi took the document and walked out of the office. As soon as he left, he was immediately subjected to the gaze of the assistants outside.

Among these assistants, a few were Su Zheng's confidants. They probably received some instructions from Su Zheng and were watching the office very closely. The frequency of sending documents inside was also unusually high. Every time they went in, they almost wanted to examine him up and down with their eyes, which could be described as glaring.

So Qin Zhi was quite used to their gazes. After all, they were Su Zheng's people, and he couldn't do anything about them. He could only pretend not to see them.

But... something seemed a bit strange.

Forget about Su Zheng's people, but why were the other assistants who shouldn't know his identity looking at him with such eyes?

Feeling the somewhat overly enthusiastic gazes from the two female assistants, Qin Zhi couldn't help frowning slightly and quickened his pace towards the elevator.

The fact that he was a shareholder of the Qin Group shouldn't have spread in Su Group yet.

Initially, he had used some not-so-aboveboard means to wrest control of the Qin Group from Qin Feng's hands. In order to lower Qin Feng's guard, he had never appeared publicly, instead letting his good friend handle everything. On the surface, the management rights of Qin Group were also in that good friend's hands.

Now, there were few people even within the Qin Group who had seen him, only knowing that he was an illegitimate son of the Qin family.

In order to take down Qin Feng, he had planned for a long time and very meticulously. As soon as he had the ability, he immediately concealed all his previous information. So his information was very difficult to investigate. As long as Su Zheng's people didn't leak it, there was no need to worry about someone discovering that he worked at Su Group for the time being.

Walking past the business department entrance and receiving countless stares from female employees again, Qin Zhi: "......"

So what exactly were these people looking at?

It didn't seem to be excitement generated from his appearance. To be precise, it should be a gaze filled with prying curiosity, not very polite.

——In layman's terms, it was a gossipy gaze.

Actually, in the past few days, he had vaguely discovered some clues in the eyes of some employees who came to the office to deliver documents. It's just that he rarely left the office, so this was the first time facing such enthusiastic... collective stares so directly.

But there didn't seem to be anything gossip-worthy about him. His image in the company was at most a mysterious assistant, and reasonably speaking, it shouldn't arouse this degree of spectating.

However, now was not the time to dwell on these matters. Qin Zhi ignored those gazes, found the planning department manager, confirmed a somewhat ambiguous detail marked on the document with them, urged her to quickly send the revised new document up, then glanced at his wristwatch. Seeing that the ten minutes he had promised Su Duan was almost up, he quickly returned.

To save time, he took the internal passages between the various departments.

It was still while passing by the business department. Walking past an ordinary desk, he suddenly heard someone stretching their head and whispering gossip to a colleague across the desk: "I heard from people in the assistant's room that yesterday, the boss's private assistant came out and changed into a new set of clothes. Apparently, his whole body was wet. Who knows what happened with the boss, hehehe..."

Qin Zhi, who happened to pass by the two heads and heard everything clearly: "......"

So they were gossiping about him and Su Duan?

His footsteps paused slightly, but Qin Zhi didn't waste time and continued walking forward.

The two gossiping employees didn't realize at first that the subject of their gossip had passed by. It was only after Qin Zhi left that someone beside them sympathetically told them what had happened. They then stared at each other with dumbfounded expressions.

The two female employees: "......" felt like their entire bodies were written with the word "awkward".

As the elevator doors closed, a trace of gloom appeared in Qin Zhi's eyes.

He actually couldn't understand how there could be rumors about him and Su Duan in the company.

Although he indeed had impure thoughts towards Su Duan and wanted to take him home and hide him away to "eat", it was just a thought. He had never done anything substantial.

Moreover, he had always been very careful, never saying anything that exceeded a work relationship or making any intimate gestures to Su Duan when a third person was present. He was worried about spreading any rumors that would be bad for Su Duan.

As a result... how could these people's imaginations be so wild?

Qin Zhi thought very unhappily that when there was an opportunity, he still needed to properly clean up the atmosphere at the Su Group. Because the Su Group had been slowly going downhill in the past six months, causing people's hearts to waver, the employee atmosphere at Su Group now was completely incomparable to when Su Zheng was still around.

Not wanting to let these vexing matters bother Su Duan, Qin Zhi focused on work as usual after returning to the office.

Perhaps because he had suffered a bit of "injury" yesterday, Su Duan was especially caring and attentive to him today, completely treating himself as his little assistant. He didn't even sleep much, running back and forth to brew coffee for him——of course, when delivering coffee, Su Duan had learned to be smart and first put it on the desk surface a bit farther from him, then slowly push it in front of him——and doing trivial tasks like organizing documents. He was so well-behaved that Qin Zhi simply wanted to hug him tightly and give him a couple of kisses.

Of course, for now, he could only think about it.

But he could still secretly get a bit of a treat.

Lunch was delivered by the housekeeper, made by the Su family's chef, with flavors completely catering to Su Duan's tastes. Every dish was very light, with a balanced nutritional mix.

Qin Zhi wasn't picky about food. He could eat heavy flavors and also had no issues accepting light ones. Moreover, with Su Duan sitting across from him while eating, even if it was just plain rice, he could eat three bowls in one go.

Qin Zhi carefully picked up a piece of crisp-fried zucchini with his chopsticks and brought it to his mouth. "Good boy Duan Duan, eat one more bite."

Su Duan looked at Qin Zhi, then at the plant-based food held by the chopsticks, and finally chose to eat it in one bite. He politely said "thank you" to Qin Zhi.

Qin Zhi smiled and said, "You're welcome."

Then he withdrew the chopsticks, picked up a slice of zucchini for himself from the same plate, and as he brought it to his mouth, his tongue tip brushed over the chopstick tips and he even slightly sucked on them. The action was very natural.

Author's note:

Su Zheng: ......smiling face gradually disappears.jpg

He never would have thought

It was our cabbage who made the first move :(

#No, I still want to kill the pig!#

Little Black Potato is the true form of Poria, those who say they don't know should go and reflect! ╭(╯^╰)╮