Chapter 35 The Uninvited Guest: It seems Qin Weijin is in love with him. ...

On the way back, Mo Ningzhi sensed that something was off with Qin Weijin. The car was quiet; Zhang Yuyu was asleep in the passenger seat, and Xiao Guo was also dozing off in the back. He lowered his voice and whispered, "Brother Jin, is there something on my face?"

After leaving the film set, Qin Weijin looked at him seven times, passing four intersections.

"No." Qin Weijin's face was obscured by the dim light, with only the occasional streetlights outside the window illuminating his blurred vision. "What do you think of the job of an artist's assistant?"

Mo Ningzhi: "..."

Working overtime until late at night every day, don't you have any self-awareness?

It seems like bosses all over the world like to press employees about their passion for their work, which is essentially an indirect way of asking if they feel a sense of belonging to the company. However, most bosses are more subtle, usually starting with things like "Are you used to the work?", "Are you encountering any difficulties?", or "Don't hesitate to tell us if you have any problems," showing concern and making themselves seem more humane, thus building closer relationships with employees. It's rare to see someone like Qin Weijin who is so direct and undisguised.

However, Qin Weijin was direct, and Mo Ningzhi was even more direct, answering calmly and bluntly: "It's alright."

Just okay?

Qin Weijin lowered his eyelashes slightly, indicating that he still intended to resign. He curled his fingers slightly and asked calmly, "Do you have any suitable positions or careers in mind?"

Mo Ningzhi: "No."

"What about the company?"

"No."

"..."

Mo Ningzhi seemed to realize something, and hesitated for two seconds: "Brother Jin, are you planning to ask about my future career plans?"

Qin Weijin nodded: "I guess so."

"I don't have such plans, nor do I have any particular favorite industry or position." Mo Ningzhi shrugged, appearing quite frank, showing no intention of cultivating a good working-class image in his boss's mind. He rested his chin on his left hand, leaning lazily towards the aisle, a very relaxed and carefree posture: "If I say this, will Brother Jin think I'm not doing my job properly, just getting by?"

Qin Weijin paused for a few seconds, then gently shook his head: "No."

Mo Ningzhi nodded with some satisfaction: "That's good. However, I'm a novice when it comes to assistant work. What if one day Brother Jin doesn't need so many assistants anymore..."

"What if I keep needing it?" Qin Weijin suddenly interrupted him somewhat urgently, "Will you leave?"

Mo Ningzhi was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at him.

"Will it?" Qin Weijin stubbornly wanted to know the answer.

He turned his head slightly closer to the boy beside him, his gaze moving slowly and gently from the other's eyes to the tip of his nose, and then to the corner of his mouth. A familiar scent lingered in his breath, the same scent that Mo Ningzhi carried, like some kind of mark.

The quiet car moved smoothly forward, the streetlights outside the window flickering, casting ambiguous shadows in the cabin. In a daze, Qin Weijin seemed to feel a wicked impulse.

Mo Ningzhi's fingers gripping the armrest slowly tightened. Qin Weijin's face was too deceptive. The light shone on his brows, making his eyes appear even more profound. Mo Ningzhi felt as if she were right in his eyes.

His gaze lingered on Qin Weijin's for a moment before he remembered to lower his eyes, his unfocused gaze landing on his legs, looking somewhat lost in thought. This enclosed, ambiguous environment was simply too much, Mo Ningzhi thought. The light, the atmosphere—it felt as if a window could shut out the noise, as if this road would never end, as if Qin Weijin was falling for him.

Mo Ningzhi suddenly didn't know what to say.

He watched as two figures intertwined and separated beside him, his mind blank, yet his heart pounding.

Qin Weijin's question, "Will it?" floated lightly before her eyes, around her ears, and only settled into Mo Ningzhi's heart much later.

Just as he finally remembered to answer, Xiao Liu slammed on the brakes, breaking the hazy atmosphere between him and the others. "Brother Jin, Ning Zhi, we're downstairs in the apartment complex."

Qin Weijin looked up with some disappointment.

As soon as Xiao Liu turned around, he met two unreadable gazes that chilled him to the bone: "..."

Some things seem more natural when said in the right atmosphere; bringing them up again after the opportunity has passed feels abrupt. Mo Ningzhi didn't say anything, simply opened the door and got out of the car.

Qin Weijin watched his retreating figure, his fingers clenching for a moment.

...

While still downstairs, Mo Ningzhi received a call from Old Man Mo. Ever since the family dinner that day, it seemed that he and Mo Tingzhou had returned to a state of cold war. Zhou Yaozheng's inexplicable madness seemed to have brought the father and son back to the state they were in half a year ago. Mo Tingzhou hadn't sent him a single message in the past few days, so Mo Ningzhi was a little confused when he suddenly saw the call notification.

The phone rang incessantly for a long time without being answered. Qin Weijin glanced over from the side, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Mo Ningzhi turned off the screen: "It's a nuisance call."

Mo Tingzhou's call was definitely to explain why Zhou Yaozheng went crazy that day, but Mo Ningzhi was in a good mood and didn't want to listen.

His phone rang again, so he simply turned it off and tossed it into his pocket.

The elevator stopped on the 16th floor, and a man and a woman entered, both wearing masks so their faces were obscured. Mo Ningzhi looked up and noticed that both of their gazes were subtly fixed on Qin Weijin beside him.

Mo Ningzhi quickly canceled Qin Weijin's floor, stepped aside, and blocked Qin Weijin's path.

Qin Weijin also noticed something was wrong. He glanced at the distance between the two people and Mo Ningzhi, frowned, and moved closer to Mo Ningzhi.

The atmosphere inside the cramped elevator car took a sharp turn for the worse.

Upon reaching the 26th floor, Mo Ningzhi glanced back at Qin Weijin as the elevator chimed in, and the two stepped out together.

Behind them, a man and a woman paused for a moment, exchanged glances, and then followed Mo Ningzhi and Qin Weijin into the corridor.

Upon hearing footsteps, Mo Ningzhi's expression turned cold. He grabbed Qin Weijin's hand, intending to shove Qin Weijin into the house before dealing with the two men, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Ning Zhi?"

Mo Tingzhou was standing at his doorstep, his phone screen still lit up and on the dialing screen. Hearing the noise, he turned around in a daze, clearly not expecting such a commotion when his son came home.

Mo Tingzhou didn't come alone. Seeing the two young assistants accompanying him, Mo Ningzhi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that she had never been so looking forward to meeting this old man.

"Why are you so late? No wonder I rang the doorbell for ages and there was no answer. Why didn't you answer the phone?"

Mo Tingzhou arrived suddenly and never expected to witness such a chaotic scene. His son had just returned home in the middle of the night, holding a man's hand, with two unidentified people peeking around not far behind them.

His concern for his son's living environment ultimately outweighed his interest in his son's love life. Mo Tingzhou craned his neck to look around the corner and asked, "Who are you two looking for?"

The two men pretended to look at the floor information, then turned and left, saying, "Oh, wrong floor."

Hearing the elevator leave, Mo Tingzhou looked away, about to say something, when his gaze paused and fell on the clasped hands of Mo Ningzhi and Qin Weijin: "..."

Mo Ningzhi calmly released her hand, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turning down a few degrees, then opened the door, "Come in."

Mo Tingzhou came to deliver some things to Mo Ningzhi. His son had been gone for more than half a year, and the old man only belatedly realized that renting a house was inconvenient. He bought some food and other necessities and sent two assistants to make two trips to move them.

Qin Weijin knew that Mo Ningzhi had something to talk about, so he tactfully refrained from participating. "I'll go call Zhan Linzhou, you two can talk."

Mo Ningzhi led him to another unused guest room. "Stay at my place tonight. I'll get you anything you need from upstairs."

Qin said it was unnecessary for Jin.

Back in the living room, Mo Tingzhou had already finished instructing his two assistants and sent them home. Now, he had taken off his coat and was inspecting his son's private territory with his hands behind his back.

"The place is alright, and the furniture is acceptable, but the floor is too high and the area is too small. There aren't even any decorative items in your house; it looks so empty… The refrigerator is the same; it's full of drinks. This won't do. There isn't even an egg. How do you usually eat? Do you always order takeout? That's so unhealthy. I think we should have Sister Li come and take care of you for a while. You don't mind, do you… Ning Zhi?"

Old Mo peeked out of the refrigerator and found his son sitting on the sofa with his back to him, his silent figure looking rather eerie.

After a long pause, Mo Ningzhi finally spoke: "Are you done? The door is over there."

Knowing he would be turned away before he arrived, Mo Tingzhou had made all the necessary preparations. He was only here to appease his son, and besides, the situation was much better than he had imagined; at least he could get in.

"I've come here to apologize." He lowered his head voluntarily.

"No, no, Mr. Mo is very busy and his time is precious. How could I dare to argue with you?" Mo Ningzhi leaned back on the sofa and said with a slight smile.

Look at that sarcastic tone. Mo Tingzhou took a deep breath, swallowed his pride, and moved closer. "Son, what happened last time was all Dad's fault. It was all Dad's fault. Your Aunt Zhou already scolded me severely. Next time, you can do whatever you want. I won't force you to do things you don't want to do, okay? Forgive Dad this once?"

Mo Ningzhi glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Mo Tingzhou pressed on, saying, "I'm here to return your studio to you and unfreeze your bank account. I won't interfere with your finances anymore. You can even throw money around on the street without me interfering."

Mo Ningzhi scoffed, "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Finally, he spoke. Mo Tingzhou felt greatly encouraged. "So, have you forgiven your father?"

Mo Ningzhi didn't want to talk, so she simply grabbed a cushion and put it under her chin, as if that would stop her from speaking.

Old Mo could tell from his son's actions and expression that he was starting to soften his stance, and he felt a surge of relief. "By the way, that night Zhou..."

"Old man, I'm in a good mood right now, so don't bring up people you shouldn't, and don't force me to kick you out," Mo Ningzhi said coolly.

Mo Tingzhou immediately closed his lips.

Once a person calms down, the images they try to ignore always keep replaying in their mind's eye. Mo Tingzhou didn't know how many times those clasped hands had waved in front of her, but she finally couldn't help asking, "Ning Zhi, the man who was holding your hand just now..."

"What do you mean, 'holding hands'?" Mo Ningzhi snapped, a little annoyed. "Old man, what kind of eyesight do you have?"

"..."

Mo Tingzhou looked at his son with a strange expression.

He wasn't angry when he showed up uninvited, wasn't angry when he apologized, wasn't angry when Zhou Yaozheng was mentioned, but he exploded when someone mentioned another man.

Is this unrelated? It's clearly very related!

"Who was that person just now...?"

Mo Ningzhi said with a sour face, "My friend."

"What friend?" Mo Tingzhou pressed.

Mo Ningzhi patiently replied, "We met through work, why are you interfering?"

"You're my son, if I don't care, who will?" His son's tone softened, so Mo Tingzhou subconsciously raised his voice, "You've been away from home for more than half a year, and I don't even know what kind of friends you've made. How can I not care?"

Mo Ningzhi was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but retort sarcastically, "Anyway, you've never really cared about me, so why are you being so attentive now?"

"..." The old man choked for a moment, "Can't I make amends now?"

“No need.” Mo Ningzhi sneered. “Chairman Mo has another son waiting at home, why bother coming here to be turned away?”

"Didn't you say we couldn't mention Zhou Yaozheng?" Mo Tingzhou's eyes widened. "How come you broke the rules yourself?"

"..."

Mo Ningzhi, enraged and embarrassed, said, "You can go back now."

"No, we haven't finished talking yet." Mo Tingzhou also became stubborn, forgetting Zhou Suiyin's instructions before they came.

The father and son were arguing so loudly and emotionally that they didn't hear the door open from the guest room.

Mo Ningzhi was quite angry after being scolded for a few words. She kept her mouth shut and ignored him. Mo Tingzhou was thinking of saying something to ease the atmosphere when he suddenly noticed a shadow at his feet.

The shadowy figure held a bottle of water, pressed it against Mo Ningzhi's face, and said gently, "Why are you so angry? Do you want some water?"

Mo Tingzhou was about to speak up and remind him not to add fuel to the fire, as Mo Ningzhi hates it when he's angry. But the next second, he saw his son take the water, sullenly take a sip, and although his expression was still tense, he didn't seem so angry anymore.

Mo Tingzhou: "...?"