I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

Seven o'clock in the morning.

The phone didn't ring with a piercing sound; instead, it vibrated regularly on the bedside table.

When Lin Yang opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was a tingling, oppressive sensation coming from his left arm.

He turned his head to the side.

Chen Wanjun was fast asleep beside him. Her peaceful sleeping face resembled that of a docile cat, clinging tightly to his arm, her body curves pressed perfectly against him.

Lin Yang carefully moved his phone to his right and precisely turned off the alarm.

He dared not make any big movements, for fear of disturbing this rare peace.

He looked at the girl's unguarded sleeping face and quietly, little by little, pulled his arm out of her embrace.

The movements are gentle and slow.

After successfully escaping, he didn't linger for a moment, leaving room 2404 barefoot and tiptoeing away.

Back in 2403, he quickly took a shower and changed into a well-tailored Zegna haute couture suit.

The man in the mirror was tall and handsome, with striking features, completely different from the graduate student who had initially worn a faded white shirt.

He drove his dark blue Cayenne, skillfully exited the underground parking garage, merged into the morning traffic, and headed straight for the Junfu Hotel.

The executive suite on the top floor of the hotel.

Su Man got up and opened the door to the guest room for Lin Yang.

She changed into a smart white suit skirt, her makeup was exquisite, and her long hair was tied up, transforming her back into the aloof director of the Enwei Group's hair care division.

Two breakfasts delivered by room service were placed on the dining table.

"Eat."

Su Man's tone was devoid of emotion.

The two finished their breakfast quietly, went downstairs together, and drove to Enwei Group.

The atmosphere inside the car was, as always, silent and professional.

Office of the Director of the Hair Care Division, Enwei Group.

As soon as Su Man sat down, her entire aura instantly shifted, becoming sharp and focused.

She pressed the internal phone.

"Li Tong, He Xiaoya, Lin Yang, come in for a short meeting."

The three men quickly entered the office and stood in a row in front of her.

"Today is the last day to revise the overseas study tour plan."

Su Man's voice was cold and devoid of any warmth.

"Pass the notice that all departments must submit the final version of the detailed plan before the end of the day. I will personally review it this afternoon to ensure there are no errors. Submit it to the President's Office for approval first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay, Mr. Su."

The three responded in unison.

Without a single unnecessary word, the meeting ended, and everyone returned to their workstations. The entire department immediately tensed up, with only the rapid clatter of keyboards and the hum of printers filling the air.

Lin Yang sat back down at his workstation, turned on his computer, but did not immediately start processing emails.

He unlocked his phone and opened the profile picture of the dark-themed cheongsam.

He edited the information.

Good morning, Shanshan.

After sending the message, he placed his phone face down on the table.

Not long after, the phone vibrated slightly.

Liu Shanshan replied.

【Mr. Lin, we're not that close yet, please don't address me that way.】

Behind the text was a professional-looking smiling emoji.

A slight smile appeared on Lin Yang's lips as he tapped his fingers on the screen.

Okay, Shanshan.

He deliberately sent it again.

This time, the other party responded much faster.

A meme of someone sweating profusely.

Immediately following is a line of text.

[Get to the point.]

Lin Yang stopped beating around the bush.

"So, I wanted to ask if the Harbour Group has any connection with the Hung Society."

He had checked last night and found that Huahai Harbour Group was a giant with official backing, but Chen Jianhong's sudden appearance meant he had to confirm all the potential risks.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

News of Liu Shanshan only came again later.

No, the Harbour Group is a government-owned enterprise.

Lin Yang felt a weight lifted from his heart.

Oh, that's good.

Could it be that Mr. Lin, after offending the Zhang Group yesterday, has now offended the Harbour Group?

Liu Shanshan's writing is clearly satirical.

Lin Yang smiled.

"How could that be? I'm just a kept man."

Hmph, here we go again.

The other party clearly did not believe it.

Lin Yang's eyes darted around, and his fingers flew across the keyboard.

[Shanshan, how about I come over tonight for a service? You'll see then that I'm a real gigolo, and my skills are top-notch.]

After sending this message, the waiting time was rather long.

Just when Lin Yang thought the other party wouldn't reply, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Only two words popped up on the screen.

Go to hell.

Lin Yang put away his phone, feeling much more relaxed.

At least it can be confirmed that Chen Wanjun's father's side does not have any trouble with the Hongmen background for the time being.

A busy day flies by in a tense rhythm.

As darkness fell completely and the city lights outside the window illuminated countless homes, the final revisions to the overseas study tour plan finally came to an end.

People left the office area one after another, until finally, only Lin Yang and the director's office, where the light was still on, remained.

Lin Yang stood up, walked to the heavy oak door of the director's office, and gently pushed it open.

"Mr. Su, can we leave work now?"

Su Man, who was behind her desk, looked up, rubbed her temples, and looked utterly exhausted.

"Okay, let's go right away."

In the underground parking garage, the Cayenne smoothly drove towards the Junfu Hotel.

The car stopped at the hotel's magnificent entrance. Su Man unbuckled her seatbelt but did not get out of the car immediately.

She turned her head, her gaze falling on Lin Yang, finally settling on the faint outline of the bruises visible below his shirt collar.

"Kobayashi, you've worked hard these past few days."

Her voice was soft, devoid of the sharpness of the daytime, and softened.

"It's nothing, President Su, it's all what I should do."

Lin Yang gave a formulaic answer.

Su Man was silent for a few seconds, as if she had made a decision.

"From now on, when we're alone together, just call me by my name."

Lin Yang's fingers, which were gripping the steering wheel, twitched almost imperceptibly.

He turned his head to look at Su Man, whose eyes were serious and showed no sign of joking.

He knew that this woman had psychologically included him in the category of "one of her own".

He nodded.

"Um."

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

The screen lit up, and a message popped up.

It was sent by Chen Wanjun.

Are you going to apply the medicine when you get home tonight?

Su Man's gaze was drawn to the light from her phone screen, and she casually asked, "Who sent me a message?"

Lin Yang's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained expressionless.

He quickly turned off his phone screen and answered naturally.

"It was Zhang Wei. He asked me if I wanted to apply the medicine when I got back."

This is the purpose of having Zhang Wei move to Tianyue Huafu: it both explained the information and reminded Su Man of his injury.

Sure enough, Su Man's eyes immediately softened, filled with a hint of guilt and concern.

"Yes, your injury hasn't healed yet. Go back."

She didn't ask any more questions and opened the car door to get out.

"Well... Suman, you should get some rest."

Lin Yang called her name for the first time.

Su Man paused as she got out of the car, glanced back at him with a complex and unreadable look in her eyes, and finally just gave a soft "hmm" before turning and walking into the hotel's magnificent lobby.

[Inner monologue]: Lin Yang, he called me by my full name for the first time...

Seeing the bubbles on her head, Lin Yang smiled and waited for Su Man to enter the hotel lobby before driving away.

The deep blue Cayenne traced a graceful arc in the night sky as it drove towards Tianyue Huafu.

However, after entering the community, the car parked in the designated parking space for Building 32.

He did not reply to 2403.

His destination was 2404.

He knew that the girl must be waiting for him to cook.