Lin Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief after leaving Fu Xiaoqing’s apartment. He had successfully passed the first hurdle. As long as Huo Qijun did not suspect his affections for Fu Xiaoqing, she would eventually seek his help. He was the only friend who was somewhat familiar with Fu Xiaoqing and had good intentions toward her.
Fu Xiaoqing’s predicament needed urgent improvement. Huo Qijun had no other options besides listening to his suggestions. In the original plot, the female lead had gone to the male lead’s house to work as a maid out of desperation. However, the situation had become quite strained, as the male lead even threatened the female lead using her brother, making the subsequent pursuit of the female lead quite difficult.
Lin Wei had now asserted that he had a plan, so Huo Qijun wouldn’t seek help elsewhere. Using the license plate numbers he remembered, Lin Wei found his original self’s car in the community and drove back home. It should be noted that he and Huo Qijun lived in the same villa area. In the original story, he played the role of the male lead’s ever-available family doctor, but because of his unremarkable family background, he was deemed unworthy to compete against the male lead. While the Ho family was all-powerful in this world, Lin Wei’s family was still considered prominent, and his pursuit of a medical career was merely a hobby.
One could say that Lin Wei’s tool-like character had been set up from both skills and family background to serve the love story of the male and female leads with utmost dedication.
Just as Lin Wei easily found his home door according to the details provided in the original work, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.
[Master, I’m back!]
The lively electronic voice, seemingly untouched by intelligence corruption, belonged to his auxiliary system. Lin Wei had become accustomed to these unexpected sounds. He opened the door and took off his shoes without pausing.
[Everything handled?]
[Yep! I’ve submitted the summary of the previous worlds’ tasks to headquarters! By the way, Master, you seem to have arrived in this world a little late. There were no issues, right?]
[…There weren’t too many problems; they have been resolved.]
Lin Wei briefly recounted earlier events, and the system was taken aback by how unfortunate its master was. He had just arrived and was already caught in a treacherous situation, ultimately needing to pretend to be gay to dispel the male lead’s suspicion. Before the system could prepare a flattering consolation, it was interrupted.
[As usual, you handle the situation, and as soon as you notice Huo Qijun showing any signs of extreme behavior or tendencies, notify me immediately.]
[Understood, Master!]
Lin Wei instructed the system to monitor the male lead’s movements before heading back to his room to catch up on sleep. This seamless transition had exhausted him.
Meanwhile, Huo Qijun initially planned to wait until Fu Xiaoqing woke up to ask her if she would be willing to come work as a maid in his home. However, not long after, he received a work-related phone call and had to return to the office. By the time he dealt with everything, it was already dark outside, close to eight o’clock in the evening.
At this point, Huo Qijun, who suffered from stomach ailments, had smoothly missed both lunch and dinner, and his stomach ached slightly. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a deep breath as he leaned back in his office chair. He hesitated for a moment before opting to text Fu Xiaoqing instead of calling her.
He figured that since they had part ways on a sour note the previous day after he offered her money and was rejected, Fu Xiaoqing might not answer his call. Moreover, he intended to follow Lin Wei’s advice to show weakness regarding his stomach issues, instead of directly asking for her help, which was hard for him to articulate.
After sending the message “Stomach pain,” Huo Qijun grimaced slightly. Even with him lowering his posture, Fu Xiaoqing still responded coldly, not displaying any warmth through the screen. They were always like people from two different worlds. If she were to feel sorry for Huo Qijun’s small ailments, that would have been pathetic! Thus, all he received was a blunt reply: “If you’re sick, go see a doctor.”
Huo Qijun felt his heart drop at her reply, and the words he wanted to say next about inviting her to care for him at home were blocked. After staring at her response for a long time, thoroughly tasting the hidden anger and mockery within her message, Huo Qijun finally admitted his failure in pursuing her. Remembering Lin Wei, he absentmindedly tapped his fingers.
Lin Wei had just woken up from his nap, preparing to grab a bite to eat when his phone vibrated. Upon checking, he was surprised to find a message from Huo Qijun, raising his eyebrows. He had expected Huo Qijun to take at least a day or two to adjust his mindset!
After opening the message, he saw the dry statement “Stomach pain.” For some reason, Lin Wei felt something was off. The system then chimed in to inform him that this message was originally intended for the female lead. Unsurprisingly, it was returned before being recycled and sent to him.
This behavior was awkward and left one speechless at once. Fortunately, Lin Wei wasn’t genuinely concerned about Huo Qijun’s feelings towards him. After replying with “Where are you?”, he quickly received the reply, “At the office,” and then changed clothes to head out. Stopping by a convenience store, he bought two packs of soda crackers.
With the system providing navigation, he no longer had to strain to recall where Huo Qijun’s office was, saving him a lot of effort. Following the system’s directions, Lin Wei arrived at the door of Huo Qijun’s office. Although the door wasn’t closed, he still politely knocked twice, waking the pale-faced president, who was trying to relax with his eyes closed despite the pain.
Huo Qijun had heard Lin Wei’s footsteps long ago but instinctively closed his eyes, unsure how to face him. Pretending to just notice Lin Wei’s arrival, he coughed lightly and said, “You arrived quite quickly.”
Even though Lin Wei was psychologically prepared for Huo Qijun’s silence, this remark caught him off guard. He tossed the bag of soda crackers towards Huo Qijun while speaking normally, “Eat something first.”
Huo Qijun looked at the dry and plain crackers in his hands with disdain. This guy traveled all this way just to give him this?
Lin Wei poured a cup of warm water and placed it in front of him. Noticing Huo Qijun’s reluctance, he sighed and explained, “Alkaline food can alleviate stomach pain caused by hunger. Just eat a little to tide you over; we can go out for something else later.”