"How about we go to Shanghai International Studies University tomorrow?"
"Okay."
At the dinner table, after Lin Shen and Gu Wanqing had settled their plans for the next day, she suddenly asked with curiosity.
"But brother-in-law, don't you have to work tomorrow? It's Monday."
"I quit."
Lin Shen said it frankly, but his words made Gu Wanqing's heart skip a beat. She asked cautiously,
"Is it… because of my sister?"
"Not entirely."
Seeing Gu Wanqing's reserved expression, Lin Shen placed a piece of beef brisket in her bowl and chuckled lightly.
"You don't have to feel like you owe me anything."
"But my sister really did do something to wrong you…"
Gu Wanqing picked at her rice with small bites, her lively eyes lifting slightly to glance at Lin Shen.
"Are you still mad at her?"
"Yes."
"SOB SOB SOB! I knew it! I'm so sorry!"
"Of course, I'm not as furious as I was at the beginning."
Lin Shen was remarkably nonchalant.
"Life has to go on. There are always good things waiting to happen in the future."
"That's right!"
Gu Wanqing nodded in agreement, and her charmingly cute appearance made Lin Shen's heart waver.
'Oh no!'
'The more I look at this girl, the cuter she gets. What do I do?'
「After dinner.」
Gu Wanqing had been in charge of cooking. Lin Shen originally wanted to do the dishes, but she had firmly refused.
"Brother-in-law, you're already letting me stay at your place. Of course I should be the one doing all the chores!"
Gu Wanqing's reasoning left Lin Shen not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
It was hard to imagine that in the 21st century, there was still such a sensible and well-behaved girl.
Lin Shen almost felt bad for potentially corrupting her simplicity.
'A young woman untouched by the cynicism of society is truly pure,' Lin Shen sighed to himself. 'I hope she can stay this carefree forever.'
While Gu Wanqing was busy clearing the table and washing the dishes, Lin Shen went to get her a new set of bedsheets and a duvet cover, as well as toiletries.
Afterward, he went into the bathroom and took a shower, washing away the day's fatigue and sweat.
"Phew—!"
It was unclear whether it was because the shower was so comfortable or because he was simply distracted.
Lin Shen put on a pair of loose shorts and walked out of the bathroom, shirtless.
This gave Gu Wanqing, who was lying on the sofa reading a book, a huge shock.
"Ah!"
Gu Wanqing covered her face with her hands, peeking through her fingers at the faint outline of pecs and abs on Lin Shen's upper body, her face completely red.
"Brother-in-law, why did you come out without a shirt on?"
!?
Only then did Lin Shen snap back to reality. He hurried back to the spare bedroom to grab a T-shirt and put it on, his expression awkward and apologetic.
"Sorry! I wasn't paying attention."
"It's okay! I'm probably the one disturbing you, right, brother-in-law? After all, it's normal to not wear a shirt at home when it's this hot."
Gu Wanqing understood Lin Shen's side of it, then immediately changed the subject with a grin.
"But wow, brother-in-law, you actually have pecs and abs! That's so cool!"
"I do?"
Lin Shen was secretly delighted.
Although he didn't think a dozen or so days of exercise could build pecs and abs, a 55% boost to workout effectiveness might just do the trick.
'Looks like just doing push-ups and sit-ups is pretty effective after all.'
'But if I want to get more defined, I'll probably have to go to a gym and get more serious about my training.'
"You can go wash up. I've got everything ready for you."
"Thanks, brother-in-law!"
Gu Wanqing stood up, grabbed her clothes, and skipped happily toward the bathroom to take her shower.
Halfway there, she suddenly stopped, turned back, and said shyly,
"Um, brother-in-law… could you maybe wait in your room for a little while?"
"Of course."
Lin Shen knew perfectly well that Gu Wanqing was afraid he might get some improper ideas, but she was too embarrassed to say it outright.
He understood. In fact, he was glad that the girl was wary of others.
That way, when she started university, she wouldn't be so easily fooled.
"Go ahead and wash up."
Lin Shen chuckled and headed for the spare bedroom.
"Come find me when you're done."
"Okay!"
Lin Shen returned to the spare bedroom, lay down on the bed, and started scrolling through his phone.
To his surprise, an unhandled Red Point had appeared on the [Sports Health] app.
[Upgrade Mission: Develop pecs and abs acknowledged by yourself and others (Completed)]
[Reward: Sports Health Lv. 6 → Lv. 7]
[Workout Effectiveness Boost: 55% → 60%]
[Item: Dew (Use to be explored)]
[Upgrade Mission: Read a book that interests you to enrich your inner world]
'The mission is complete?'
Lin Shen couldn't help but fall into thought.
'It was most likely triggered when Gu Wanqing saw me just now, hitting the keyword "acknowledged by others."'
'So that's how it works!'
Lin Shen had an epiphany. What stunned him even more was the reward item.
'Dew?'
Lin Shen curiously tapped it. After a flash of white light in mid-air, a small, unmarked medicine box suddenly fell onto his blanket.
Inside was a small spray bottle and an instruction manual.
After reading it carefully, Lin Shen was completely shocked.
'It's for real?'
"This is a treasure!"
Lin Shen immediately sat up in bed, unable to put [Dew] down.
If he were to rank all the items rewarded by [Sports Health] based on usability, [Dew] would have to be ranked above the [Bone-Enhancing Calcium Tablets]!
The undisputed number one!
Height represents a man's external dignity, but his internal dignity needs protecting too!
"Maybe I can try it tonight before bed."
Lin Shen put [Dew] away safely and began to consider how to complete the next stage of the [Sports Health] mission.
'Read a book that interests me?'
Ever since graduating from college, besides the textbooks he studied for certification exams, Lin Shen had barely touched a physical book.
First, he had no time. Second, he had no interest.
'Besides, reading books falls under [Sports Health] too?'
'Shouldn't that belong to a reading-type app?'
Lin Shen thought about it and figured that in addition to improving physical fitness, enriching one's inner world also fell under the category of "Health."
"Well, time to find a book to read."
Just as Lin Shen opened Xiaohongshu, preparing to search for "must-read books," a message suddenly arrived from Qin Yuenan.
[Qin Yuenan: What are you doing?]
[Lin Shen: Working.]
Lin Shen immediately rolled out of bed, went to his desk, and sent his optimized operational plan to Qin Yuenan.
[Lin Shen: I think we should focus more on operations for pet healthcare. The recent surge in pet ownership has brought in a large number of new customers who don't know how to care for their pets. The information online is a mixed bag, so we need to do a good job with our after-sales service.]
[Qin Yuenan: I see. Is it a good time for a video call?]
'A video call?'
Lin Shen's heart suddenly started racing. After a moment's thought, he decided it was no big deal.
[Lin Shen: It is.]
A few seconds after he sent the reply, a WeChat video call invitation came from Qin Yuenan's end.
When Lin Shen accepted it, his eyes lit up.
In the video, Qin Yuenan was wearing a form-fitting, pale white silk nightgown. Her thick, dark hair cascaded down one side of her face onto her chest, still damp with droplets of water.
Compared to her usual cold demeanor, she now had a particularly languid air about her, as if she were a completely different person.
The faint blush on her cheeks, in particular, made her look exceptionally captivating.