The chef at home knew very well how much food he and Su Duan ate. Their family had no habit of wasting food, so unless instructed by the master, the chef would definitely make the exact amount for their appetites.

So there was no possibility of "making too much" by accident. It could only be that Su Duan had planned in advance and specifically asked the kitchen to make an extra person's portion.

This was clearly calculated to invite someone to eat.

Realizing this in just a few short seconds, Su Zheng was momentarily at a loss for words with complex emotions. Although he had felt that Su Duan seemed to have some dependence on Qin Zhi the day he was released from prison, he didn't expect the situation to be much more serious than he had anticipated.

Thinking of his younger brother's past issues with Qin Feng, Su Zheng's heart couldn't help but sink.

But since Su Duan had already invited the person to stay for a meal, he certainly couldn't slap his own brother in the face. Su Zheng's expression stiffened for a moment, preparing to perfunctorily invite Qin Zhi along with his brother's words.

In any case, the person couldn't be driven away today, the depressed Su Zheng thought.

However, before he could open his mouth, Qin Zhi had already agreed with exceptional readiness: "What a coincidence? Then I won't refuse, thanks Duan Duan."

Su Zheng: "......" You're really so pure and unaffected.

Qin Zhi turned to look at him and politely said, "Thank you too, President Su."

Su Zheng replied expressionlessly: "...No need to thank me, it's what I should do." No thanks, get lost.

After saying that, Qin Zhi nimbly locked his computer, showing no intention of dealing with the so-called "little thing" he had just mentioned, looking like he would starve to death if he didn't eat right away.

Su Zheng closed his eyes for a moment, his eyes aching. Facing Qin Zhi's face all day these past few days, he estimated that even his vision had worsened by several degrees.

Frowning, he looked at the butler standing beside Su Duan, a hint of scrutiny flashing in his eyes. It was one thing for Su Duan to have his own little thoughts, but the butler clearly knew yet didn't even notify him, making Su Zheng feel very displeased.

As for this butler who had worked for the Su family for more than twenty years, Su Zheng actually had quite a headache. Although the butler never disobeyed his orders and had kept a close eye on Su Duan recently, the butler's biggest problem was that as long as it was Su Duan's own request, he would indulge him without any bottom line.

For example, bringing Qin Zhi in behind his back two and a half years ago, and now directly playing dumb and taking Su Duan to the company to meet Qin Zhi without any notice.

The butler gave him a very respectful smile, the traces left by the years becoming more obvious on his face. Su Zheng had no intention of making a scene here. After staring at the butler for a few seconds, he shifted his gaze away. Besides—

Before he noticed, Qin Zhi had already taken the initiative to sit down beside his brother, and so close at that!

They even started chatting!

Qin Zhi lowered his head slightly, asking Su Duan in a gentle tone, "After getting so tanned last time, did you feel unwell after returning home?"

Su Duan shook his head and replied obediently, "No."

Qin Zhi chuckled and asked softly, "Then what has Duan Duan been doing at home recently?"

"Nothing much." Su Duan pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "There's nothing to do at home, it's very boring." Perhaps he himself didn't even notice, but when he said these things to Qin Zhi, there was actually a hint of complaint in his tone.

Su Zheng felt indignant. Why didn't his brother tell him if he was unhappy, but instead went to complain to an outsider?

Qin Zhi said, "Is that so? If there's a chance..."

The two chatted very naturally, clearly used to talking often. After listening for a few sentences, Su Zheng felt smoke rising from his head. He walked over and mercilessly asked Qin Zhi to move aside, then plopped down between the two, only then feeling a bit more at ease.

The cooking skills of the Su family's chef were as good as ever, not to mention that there were a few dishes that Su Zheng used to love to eat the most. But Su Zheng felt that this meal could be counted as one of the most unappetizing meals he had ever eaten in his life.

He didn't want to recall the process. In short, after finishing the meal, he had the butler take Su Duan back.

Even though Su Duan very obediently expressed his desire to stay and help, the hard-hearted President Su was not moved in the slightest, and refused to let Su Duan stay no matter what.

Looking at his brother slowly shuffling away, dejected like a pickled cabbage, Su Zheng couldn't help sighing in his heart.

After Su Duan left, the expression on Qin Zhi's face also cooled down as he neatly continued with his own work.

In the silence, Qin Zhi suddenly asked, "Come to think of it, Duan Duan is already twenty years old, right?"

Su Zheng gave a cold "hmm" and said, "Why is President Qin asking this?"

"I believe that a twenty-year-old adult should have the right to choose their own life." Qin Zhi smiled and politely asked, "What does President Su think?"

Although his attitude was very polite, the question Qin Zhi asked didn't have the slightest hint of politeness.

The air was tinged with a sense of tension.

Su Zheng paused for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "This is my family matter, President Qin doesn't need to trouble himself with it."

Although his possessiveness towards his brother was strong, he didn't completely forbid Su Duan from dating. Su Duan would eventually have his own family and life, separating from his life. He was actually mentally prepared for all of this.

The reason he was so opposed was because of the person in front of him—

Unsuitable, really unsuitable.

The two people who disliked each other didn't speak again. Su Zheng kept flipping through documents, while Qin Zhi did something unknown on the computer. After a while, his complexion looked a bit better than before.

It was the end of summer with some lingering heat, and the sunlight outside the glass windows was gentle and warm, but the office seemed as cold as if the air conditioning was set to sixteen degrees.

......

Su Duan returned home in low spirits.

It was just past lunchtime. The butler asked if he wanted to take a nap. Although Su Duan nodded in agreement, he didn't fall asleep lying in bed, but chatted with the system from time to time.

He said to the system, "System, actually I think I probably know what my brother is thinking."

System: "Eek! The host is so smart!"

Su Duan said, "He doesn't dislike Qin Zhi, he dislikes people who look like Qin Feng."

System: "That's right! The system's data analysis came to the same conclusion! The host is awesome!"

Su Duan suddenly curved his lips into a smile, "Did you forget? It was you who told me this conclusion in the beginning."

Since the system discovered that it seemed unable to help him in any way, it began to seek every opportunity to lavishly praise and flatter him. Su Duan was a bit uncomfortable at first, but after listening for a while, he got used to it. Anyway, the system's flattery was too fake and didn't really resonate with him.

The system's electronic voice stuttered for a moment: "Is... is that so... Ah, it seems to be the case, Host Q_Q"

Su Duan continued, "When you told me back then, I felt that big brother was being unreasonable."

System: "Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly right!"

Su Duan paused for a few seconds before softly continuing, "But now, I can no longer blame big brother."

"The original owner of this body had been hurt by Qin Feng before. Big brother disliked Qin Zhi because he was biased towards me, and at that time, my relationship with Qin Zhi was a bit closer than with big brother, so I thought big brother was bad." Su Duan explained bit by bit, "Now I won't think big brother is bad because of this matter, precisely because big brother and I have also become close, so I'm biased towards both of them."

The system took the opportunity to flatter him: "Being partial to companions that one is closer to is a normal human psychology! It seems that the host has integrated well into the human identity!"

The sunlight sneakily slipping through the gaps in the curtains felt a bit itchy on his face. Su Duan rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand and rolled over on the bed: "Maybe so. I'm going to take a nap now, good afternoon."

The system said, "Good afternoon, Host!"

Although this afternoon nap was a bit later than usual, his internal biological clock still allowed Su Duan to wake up on time at 2:30 pm.

He lay in bed for a while with drowsy eyes, yawned after opening his mouth, and then reached out to grab the phone placed beside his pillow.

However, as soon as he lit up the screen, a message popped up right in front of him.

[New friend request received!]

Su Duan was stunned for a moment before remembering that this was a message from a chat software.

This chat software came pre-installed on the original phone. Before Father and Mother Su's incident, they often chatted and made video calls through this software. He couldn't bear to change phones, so those chat records could still be found in the history.

The original body had never attended school and was tutored by private teachers at home. Naturally, he didn't have any classmates or friends. Apart from relatives, he basically had no social circle, so of course, no one would contact him through social software. As for Su Zheng, he would directly call if there was anything, so after Father and Mother Su left, he basically never opened this chat software again.

He didn't expect it to have been automatically logged in in the background of the phone all along.

Hesitating for a moment with his fingertip hovering over the screen, Su Duan still followed the message prompt and opened the software. A small red dot was popping up in the lower right corner, reminding him of a new friend request.

Someone actually added his long-dormant account?

It should be someone who added him by mistake. He would go and tell them before deleting it, Su Duan thought as he tapped on the small red dot.

However, after opening it and seeing the ID [Duan Duan is the cutest in the world] lying in the friend request list, Su Duan's movement suddenly paused, "..."

After being stunned for a long time, Su Duan felt a hint of heat appear on his cheeks. He softly said in his heart, "System, I think I know who this person is."

Author's note:

Su Zheng: No, no, no, you can't know! Hurry up and refuse, ahhhhh (ノ｀Д)ノ

Su Duan: (〃/ω＼)

Qin Zhi: The pig's guts are as big as the cabbage is tasty! (/ω＼)