After sending out this message, there was no response from the other side for a while. Su Duan guessed that Qin Zhi might be busy, so he decided to take a shower first and then come back to see if Qin Zhi had replied to him.

Just as he was about to put down his phone, a reply popped up in the chat window. There was no text, only three very excited punctuation marks.

[Qin Big Zhi: !!!]

A second later, Su Duan's phone rang.

Seeing the video request displayed on the screen, Su Duan hesitated. He hadn't washed up yet, having just returned from a walk outside. He was covered in dust and his hair was a mess...

The pink pig on the screen pouted at him persistently. Su Duan touched his hair and face to make sure there was no dirt on them before accepting the video invitation.

Qin Zhi's enlarged face appeared on the screen, at first only showing a hard-angled chin. As the camera pulled back, it revealed his face and upper body.

The man on the other end had apparently just taken a shower, with obvious dampness at the ends of his hair. He was wearing a loose, deep blue bathrobe, exposing his chiseled collarbones and a small patch of pale chest.

Su Duan's face instantly flushed red, and he didn't hold his phone steady, dropping it onto the soft pillow.

Qin Zhi's deep voice came out muffled, with a hint of urgency: "Duan Duan, what's wrong? Pick up the phone quickly."

Su Duan quietly picked up the phone and met Qin Zhi's gaze on the screen again. His eyes drifted a little as he asked softly, "Did you just take a shower?"

Looking closely, water was slowly dripping from the ends of Qin Zhi's hair, and there were water droplets on the exposed parts of his body, as if he had hurriedly wiped himself down before putting on his clothes.

Qin Zhi laughed softly, "Yes, I just finished. Duan Duan hasn't finished what he was saying..."

Su Duan blinked. Qin Zhi's voice was very magnetic now, making his ears itch even through the phone.

Qin Zhi paused here, his Adam's apple bobbing. He brought his face closer to the screen, the hoarseness in his voice more evident: "Why are you suddenly willing to let me kiss you? Wasn't it not allowed before?"

Su Duan scratched his cheek, suddenly feeling very embarrassed and not knowing what to say: "No... it's just..." His voice got lower and lower as he spoke.

Just now, he was so giddy with happiness that he sent that message to Qin Zhi without thinking. Now that he had to explain, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Wait - hadn't he already decided that he couldn't be Qin Zhi's partner? He had already rejected Qin Zhi before, so what was he doing now?

Thinking of Qin Zhi's healing value that had already risen to 91 points, it was as if he had suddenly been hit by frost, and the whole herb felt a bit dazed.

After completing the task, he could leave at any time. Although he didn't know what the standard for completing the task was, the higher the healing value, the closer he would undoubtedly be to that standard.

Before, Su Duan would be very happy every time he saw the healing value increase by a point. Now, looking at such a high healing value, he suddenly hoped that it could regress.

"Duan Duan." Qin Zhi noticed the change in his expression and his tone became much gentler, with a hint of coaxing: "Duan Duan, be good, speak slowly. What happened just now?"

Su Duan stared blankly at the person on the screen.

After taking a shower, Qin Zhi's temperament had become a bit more languid, his black pupils appearing even deeper than during the day, but looking especially gentle when gazing at him, his pupils focused, reflecting only his shadow.

Su Duan had been a blade of grass for thousands of years, occasionally interacting with passing creatures, but most of the time he was quiet and lonely, growing on the inconspicuous roadside watching other people's lives.

This was the first time he had become a participant in life, placed in the most important position by another person, all his faults tolerated, even the slightest unhappiness sensitively perceived and treated as a top priority with utmost care.

Of course, if put that way, Su Zheng also treated him very well, also regarding him as the most important person. However, he didn't feel as strongly as he did when facing Qin Zhi.

Perhaps it was because some things were always different. For example, he wanted to pollinate with Qin Zhi, but had never thought about pollinating with his brother.

Uh, of course, he didn't want Qin Zhi to pollinate with his brother either-

What was he thinking? How could his thoughts wander to such a strange place? Su Duan grabbed his hair, forcing himself to stop this train of thought that made him break out in a cold sweat.

Su Duan originally felt like he was about to burst into tears, but his thoughts took a turn into a strange direction and he calmed down oddly.

He asked the system in his heart, "If Qin Zhi and I are in a relationship, will the healing value drop?"

The system said, "The key points in the healing target's destiny line have all been reached, so the system speculates that it probably won't drop."

Su Duan: "...Oh." He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

The system quietly reminded him, "Host, this is only the first task world. There will be many more task worlds in the future. Our goal is to pursue faster and higher healing values! So that the host can take human form as soon as possible!"

It shouldn't be its imagination. Its host seemed a bit unmotivated?

The system couldn't help but start to worry. The task process was completely independent. It couldn't contact the research institute now and could only think of ways to encourage the host's enthusiasm on its own.

But it was just a newborn system. Because time was too tight, it hadn't even gone through enough testing before being bound to a host to start work. It lacked experience in many aspects...

Faced with the system's reminder, Su Duan didn't have much of a reaction, only letting out a soft "en".

System: "...Okay, host, you can do it!"

Qin Zhi watched Su Duan go from excited and shy at first to frowning, and finally starting to tug at his own hair. His whole heart tightened along with it.

"Duan Duan, what exactly is wrong?" Qin Zhi asked cautiously, "If there's something making you unhappy, say it and I can help you think of a solution..."

Su Duan withdrew the hand that was tugging at his hair, his brows and eyes relaxing, as if he had figured something out. He showed a small smile at him: "It's nothing."

"Just now, my brother and I were taking a walk in the garden..." Su Duan honestly repeated what Su Zheng had said.

Qin Zhi listened quietly and found it a bit unbelievable. Even though Su Zheng's attitude of opposition had been very resolute during the day, how could such a big change occur in just a short afternoon?

Even though he didn't directly agree to them being together, at least he indicated that he would no longer obstruct them, which was already a very significant softening of his stance.

Although he had some doubts about Su Zheng changing his tune so quickly, the overwhelming joy quickly dispersed those doubts. Thinking about the message Su Duan had just sent asking for a kiss, even with water droplets still clinging to his body from rushing to reply to the message, Qin Zhi felt his entire being burning up with desire.

Especially since... Su Duan was lying on the bed during their video call, his collar hanging down. Although nothing substantial could be seen, just the exposed fair skin was enough to make his heart flutter.

Qin Zhi took a deep breath and surreptitiously moved his phone camera up a bit, making sure Su Duan wouldn't see anything he shouldn't.

He lightly coughed, his voice tinged with a hint of huskiness: "Didn't you say you wanted me to kiss you? Be good, move your face a bit closer."

Su Duan earnestly pointed out: "You can't reach to kiss me."

Qin Zhi said: "If I say I can kiss you, I definitely can. Come, move your face closer to the phone."

Su Duan hesitated for a moment before choosing to bring the phone a bit nearer to his face.

Then he saw Qin Zhi's face on the screen gradually enlarging, his thin lips getting closer and closer until they pressed against the screen, making a "smack" sound.

Su Duan threw his phone again. Just now when Qin Zhi kissed him through the screen, even though he knew it wasn't real, he still felt his cheeks heating up as if he had really been kissed.

Facing the pillow for the second time that night, Qin Zhi let out a disgruntled plea: "Duan Duan, quickly pick up the phone, let me kiss you again."

Su Duan: "..."

......

Early the next morning, although he had promised his younger brother that he would be an open-minded good brother, Su Zheng, who had still spent the night tossing and turning uncomfortably, discovered a strange phenomenon.

Who knows what had stimulated Qin Zhi, but he suddenly changed his original old man's work pace. Before even half the morning had passed, he had already organized and handed over two major projects to him, as efficient as if he had become a different person. If he maintained this speed every day, they could complete the handover within three days.

Moreover, what was even stranger was that Qin Zhi's attitude was very good. This kind of good was not the superficial calm of the past few days when they had mutually hurt each other, but a very sincere friendliness.

Simply put, his entire being radiated a joyous aura, making it hard for Su Zheng to give him the cold shoulder.

Su Zheng was very suspicious. What had gotten into Qin Zhi?

It wasn't until noon that he finally got the answer.

Qin Zhi bent over and placed the last stack of documents on his desk, saying very humbly: "President Su can rest assured, I will definitely treat Duan Duan well."

Su Zheng: "..."

He recognized every word Qin Zhi said, so how come he couldn't understand them when strung together?

Although he had loosened his stance with his younger brother last night, he still planned to keep Qin Zhi in check on this side. After all, the past incident between his brother and Qin Feng was a hidden danger that he hadn't yet figured out how to resolve.

But now, how could Qin Zhi act as if he had already agreed, and start making promises to him?

He certainly didn't remember ever giving Qin Zhi the green light. This person couldn't possibly have mind-reading abilities, right? He could also confirm that Qin Zhi wasn't so well-connected that he would know about every move in the Su residence.

Then could it be... his brother had tipped him off?

Su Zheng: "..."

Thinking of this possibility, President Su felt his already somewhat dejected mood from lack of rest take another tumble.

But words spoken are like water spilled - he had already relented in front of his brother, so he certainly couldn't take it back.

Therefore, after a long silence, President Su snorted coldly and said: "What's the rush, it shouldn't be at the stage of discussing marriage yet, right? President Qin doesn't need to make this promise to me."

Qin Zhi immediately changed his words: "President Su is right, we'll take it slow."

"..." Su Zheng was speechless for a moment before saying as calmly as possible: "However, there are some ugly words I still need to say upfront to President Qin."

Qin Zhi had a very humble expression: "Please go ahead, big brother."

Su Zheng: "..."

Su Zheng: "No need to call me big brother, we're not that close yet."

Qin Zhi changed his form of address with a very regretful expression: "Alright, President Su."

Su Zheng was silent for a long time before recovering from the impact of being called "big brother". He said in a deep voice: "Duan Duan's health is not good, so in the short term, he probably won't be able to satisfy President Qin's needs. Please carefully consider if you can accept this. If not, it's best to break it off early for everyone's sake."

What he meant by "needs", any man should know. When saying these two words, Su Zheng's tone could almost be described as speaking through gritted teeth.

Although Su Zheng's ugly words could be considered very impolite, Qin Zhi's attitude didn't change in the slightest because of it. He smiled and said softly: "Even if President Su didn't say so, of course I wouldn't disregard Duan Duan's health. I can wait."

Unless they had an innate special physique, for same-sex couples' first time doing that kind of thing, even with ample preparation, it is generally very painful for the receiving party.

Even healthy normal people may feel unwell and feverish afterwards, let alone the innately frail and delicate Su Duan who gets injured at the slightest touch. To be honest, even if Su Duan stripped naked in front of him right now, he wouldn't dare do anything to him.

At the very least, he had to wait until Su Duan's health improved a bit more and he was a bit more prepared...

Although no matter how Su Zheng looked at this person trying to compete for his brother, he found him disagreeable, whether sincere or pretending, in the face of his forceful attitude, Qin Zhi didn't show the slightest bit of impatience, which made him somewhat satisfied.

However, what needed to be emphasized still had to be emphasized. Su Zheng tapped on the desk and added: "If you agree but then fail to do as you say... I won't let the matter rest."

Qin Zhi said: "Of course. If I really make a mistake, I won't forgive myself either."

......

After making things clear, the most notable change was that the speed at which Qin Zhi transferred Su Group's affairs increased exponentially. In just two short days after that, Qin Zhi had completed the handover of all matters to Su Zheng and then decisively got out of Su Group.

In any case, now that the person had finally disappeared from his sight, Su Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since learning that his younger brother had private dealings with Qin Zhi, every time Qin Zhi sat in front of the computer, he couldn't help but suspect that he was slacking off during work hours to hook up with his brother.

There was no logical reason to keep going to the assistant's desk to check on the situation. Seeing Qin Zhi's seemingly focused face, President Su couldn't help but be suspicious, and even got a bit distracted while working.

Now that the person had finally left, at least he could start focusing on work.

He had to say, Qin Zhi's ability to handle affairs was even stronger than he had imagined. Although he had only worked at Su Group for a short month, he had already sorted out most of the internal structure. Su Zheng didn't feel too overwhelmed taking over now, which was indeed unexpected.

In fact, while Su Group had a deep foundation, it had a particularly fatal flaw - the departmental structure was too complex, with overlapping and ambiguous responsibilities between departments, resulting in the company's operating efficiency never improving.

Now, this flaw had been largely corrected by Qin Zhi, with only some finishing touches and small details left to be gradually addressed. Things were much easier than he had imagined. As long as he followed Qin Zhi's line of thinking, the company would soon be able to completely fix this flaw.

Even if Qin Zhi indeed had innate talent in management, to be able to achieve this level in such a short time must have required an unimaginable amount of effort.

Actually, he had also thought about making changes back then, but there were too many things to balance. Before he was ready, he was framed and sent to prison. If it were him, he wouldn't have had Qin Zhi's decisiveness.

Su Zheng rubbed his brow in frustration. As the object of his younger brother's affection, of course the more capable Qin Zhi was the better. He should feel gratified by this.

But his brother and Qin Feng's past still hung over his heart like a ticking time bomb.

Although several years had passed and not many people specifically remembered anymore, as long as Qin Zhi formally appeared in City A's social circles, his face that undeniably resembled Qin Feng's would definitely rekindle people's memories.

By then, there was no way Qin Zhi wouldn't find out that Su Duan had once pursued Qin Feng almost to the point of madness.

A person's character could be glimpsed from their attitude in handling affairs. Qin Zhi's style in dealing with company matters could be described as ruthless and decisive. When handling Qin Feng, he also didn't leave any room for hope, showing that ruthlessness was engraved in his nature.

Qin Zhi liked Su Duan now, so he treated him preciously, afraid of the slightest bump. If one day he stopped liking him, he would also be colder than anyone else.

In any case, before Qin Zhi decided to enter City A's social circles, he had to make this matter clear with him. He couldn't wait until Qin Zhi discovered it himself, or else things would get muddled then.

What a headache.

Sighing deeply, unable to think of a better solution for the time being, Su Zheng refocused his energy on work.

......

Since there were no particularly urgent matters, President Su, who had already resolved to take more time to accompany his younger brother, still got off work on time today.

But as soon as he got home, he discovered his younger brother no longer needed his company.

Because sitting on the sofa was a familiar figure.

Indeed familiar. In the morning, he had just moved his things out of his office. In the afternoon, he appeared in their home, sitting beside his adorable younger brother. What a delightful surprise.

The two of them seemed to have just had afternoon tea. The plate on the coffee table held only one remaining cookie. The milk in front of Su Duan was almost finished. Qin Zhi took a tissue and lowered his head to wipe the white liquid stuck on the corner of his mouth.

Su Zheng calmly glanced at Qin Zhi's hand on his younger brother's face, feeling the world was not kind to him at all.

After wiping Su Duan's face, Qin Zhi stood up from the sofa and warmly welcomed him, "Big brother is back."

Su Zheng: "..." Who's your big brother? Why is this person calling him that again?

Su Duan also stood up, his crescent eyes smiling as he called out, "Brother is back. Do you want some cookies? Qin Zhi and I baked them together. There are still some in the oven that we specially saved for you."

Hehe, they even baked cookies together. Looks like Qin Zhi had been at their home for quite a while.

Inwardly criticizing, Su Zheng squeezed out a smile, "I'll eat them."

Of course he had to eat the cookies his younger brother personally baked. As for the cookies' other creator, he chose to pretend not to see him.

After stretching his head to let his younger brother feed him the last cookie on the plate, Su Zheng used the excuse of going to change clothes to call the butler to him.

The butler reported the situation, "Mr. Qin came over around 3pm. Since you were working, we didn't bother you with this small matter."

Su Zheng glanced at him, his expression not very happy.

The butler continued, "Mr. Qin spent the whole afternoon baking cookies with the young master. Nothing inappropriate happened."

Only then did Su Zheng coldly say, "Next time Mr. Qin comes over, I don't want to only find out about it after I get home, understand?"

The butler lowered his eyes, "Yes, young master."

Soon it was dinner time. With a guest at home today, dinner was a bit more sumptuous.

According to the rules, Su Zheng sat at the head of the table. No longer able to use his body to separate the two, he could only watch helplessly as his younger brother and Qin Zhi sat close together, putting food in each other's bowls, looking all sweet and affectionate.

Fortunately, Su Duan still remembered to give him food, slightly comforting his cold heart.

Until the meal was finished and his younger brother had gone hand-in-hand with Qin Zhi for a walk in the garden, Su Zheng still couldn't wrap his head around how Qin Zhi could make this series of events seem so natural.

Looks like sometimes being shameless really could achieve many goals, Su Zheng sighed again.

He stood by the living room window, watching the tall and short figures gradually disappear in the distance, feeling he needed some time alone.

In any case, there were security guards in the garden and the lights were on. Qin Zhi couldn't do much out there, so Su Zheng wasn't too worried.

In the garden, Qin Zhi led Su Duan to a hidden spot. This was a blind spot, where the light couldn't reach. As long as one stood in the shadows, even if someone passed by, it would be hard to discover people hiding here. Having worked in the garden for a while, Qin Zhi was very familiar with this place.

Perhaps it was the night that always stirred the deepest desires in one's heart. Even knowing Su Zheng could jump out at any time, he still couldn't help wanting to do some mischief under the cover of darkness.

It had been a long time since Qin Zhi last came to the garden at the Su residence. The changes here weren't big, but there were still some.

For example, originally planted in this hidden corner were delicate butterfly orchids, but now they had been replaced by a tree of glowing red begonias.

The weather today was perfect for a walk. The evening breeze carried a hint of floral coolness. Qin Zhi leaned against the rough tree trunk, encircling Su Duan in his arms. He touched Su Duan's little arm and asked, "Are you cold?"

Su Duan shook his head and said, "Not cold."

Originally he was a little cold, but Qin Zhi's body was as hot as a furnace. After being held, he no longer felt cold.

Qin Zhi chuckled softly, "Really not cold? Let me kiss you to check."

Before Su Duan could figure out what relationship there was between "cold" and "kiss", Qin Zhi's face had already gotten closer and closer.

"Mmm..."

Compared to Su Duan who still wasn't very good at kissing, Qin Zhi's kissing skills had already improved by leaps and bounds before Su Zheng was released from prison. Su Duan was kissed until he was in a daze. Even when Qin Zhi reached out and fiddled with his chest, he only let out a small moan.

Just as Su Duan was getting even softer, a cold electronic voice suddenly sounded in his mind, making him open his eyes in disbelief.

[Ding, the healing value of the healing target Qin Zhi has increased by 2 points. The current total healing value of the healing target is 93. Host, please keep up the good work!]

Author's note:

Su Duan: No no no you can't go up QAQ

System: Ho ho ho—— suddenly excited.jpg