n

n

n

nEditor: SimoB

nBigshot Researcher Shi Qing took a look around his room.

nAs an aristocrat, his lounge was magnificently decorated even though he was staying at the Institute.

nThere was some incense on the table that emitted a faint fragrance.

nShi Qing picked up the picture next to the incense and looked at it.

nIt was of the original owner and his father.

nIn this world, the author diverged from Chinese history starting from 700 years ago. Instead of shutting down the country, China actively developed itself and explored other countries, so it was able to save itself during the Great War.

nAfter the war, the emperor at the time decided that change was necessary, which is why China became a constitutional monarchy.

nBoth Shi Qing and the protagonist, Qin Yunsheng, were noblemen.

nOne of Shi Qing’s foreign ancestors had been awarded a title, but his father became a Duke through his own merit.

nUsually, only those of the royal bloodline could be granted the title of Duke, so his father was quite an outstanding individual.

nQin Yunsheng, on the other hand, came from the same family as the current Queen, albeit not from the main branch. He could be considered a royal, but because he wasn’t from the main family, Qin Yunsheng could only receive the lowest title of Baron.

nBecause the Chinese royal family voluntarily gave up the right to govern the country, the power they wielded was much greater than the royals of other countries. As a Baron, Qin Yunsheng would receive a monthly stipend for the rest of his life even if he never worked. After all, this country had remained standing for 700 years and counting, so its coffers were not lacking such a sum.

nHowever, Qin Yunsheng chose to join the army like an ordinary person, to fight for honour and glory.

nIf the plot hadn’t fallen apart, the protagonist would’ve been chosen as the crown prince by the elderly queen that had never married and therefore had no heirs because of his military achievements

nBut he had the misfortune of running into the original owner, who ended his life just like that.

nEven though the nobles didn’t have supreme power like before, they were still a level above ordinary people. In fact, the original owner could’ve lived a pretty good life even if he didn’t do anything.

nBut he had lost his mother as a child and his father was too busy with work to deal with him. Though he had nannies who cared for him appropriately, his personality was still somewhat extreme.

nFor example, he was a show off.

nEveryone has some achievements they feel proud of in their heart. It could be something as simple as acing a test or getting into a good university.

nThe original owner liked to brag, but he lacked the ability to back up his words. If anything, he was an expert in how to slack off and have a good time.

nIf you didn’t have the ability to show off, and you really liked to show off, what should you do?

nJust steal someone else’s achievements and claim them as your own. Duh.

nThere were many places in China for him to show off his abilities, but there was a specific reason why he picked the Science and Technology Institute.

nThe woman who had just left was the original owner’s cousin. Her father wasn’t a Duke, but she was still considered nobility and lived a pretty good life.

nBefore the original owner was born, the Duke was wholeheartedly devoted to his work and had no intention to get married. There were even rumors that he would remain a bachelor and childless for the rest of his life.

nAt the time, his cousin’s parents had just brought home her younger brother, and she went crying to the Duke about how her parents wouldn’t like her anymore. She begged to stay at the Duke’s residence, and her parents reluctantly agreed.

n

n

nThe Duke was a shrewd investor, and he was one of the richest men in the country. He thought nothing of raising a little girl.

nShe succeeded in staying, but she didn’t manage to develop a relationship with the Duke like she had planned. He was too busy to spare his niece a single glance.

nAfter his marriage, the duchess took very good care of his cousin. But she would’ve rather the duchess not show up at all, because the duchess gave birth to the Duke’s heir and completely wiped out any possibility of her inheriting the Duke’s fortune.

nThen the duchess died and she saw how the original owner was a bad student that liked to slack off, and her hopes were rekindled.

nWhich leads us to the current situation.

nShe was determined to enter the Science and Technology Institute to show the Duke that she was much better than Shi Qing.

nIf she was a gigantic tree, then Shi Qing was a vine straining to climb up a wall.

nIf you compared her to this good-for-nothing that liked to pretend he was hot **, of course she would come out on top.

nThere was a reason for his cousin to consider this approach. After all, she had grown up in the original owner’s home, and she knew that just because the Duke’s blood ran through Shi Qing didn’t mean that they were close.

nShi Qing even resented his father for how busy he always was.

nAn estranged son with little ability, and a hard-working and motivated niece who admired and worshipped him.

nThe Duke really might’ve not chosen Shi Qing.

nBesides, as the Duke’s eldest son, Shi Qing had the title of Marquis now and would definitely inherit the Duke’s title in the future.

nBoth of them were raised by his side, so since his position went to his son, wasn’t it fair to leave his wealth to his niece?

nHow could the original owner not notice how his cousin planned to use him as a stepping stone? He wasn’t a good person either, so knowing what his cousin was thinking, he deliberately acted against her.

nHe insisted on getting whatever she wanted and stole whatever she liked.

nWhen his cousin joined the Science and Technology Institute, he had to come too.

nNot only would he come, he would also attain great honour, even if the honour originally belonged to someone else.

nThe reason why the original owner targeted Qin Yunsheng was because he saw his cousin trying to recruit him. Since then, he was very unpleasant towards his bodyguard.

nAnd after this bodyguard exposed how he stole the newcomer’s results, he became even more of a thorn in the original owner’s side.

nAs the future crown prince, Qin Yunsheng wasn’t actually brainless. Of course, he didn’t just come out and say “Yes that’s right Shi Qing stole someone else’s results”, he just mentioned that he saw the newcomer working on the research.

nHowever, the original owner still held a grudge against him for that.

nAfter scanning through the info, Shi Qing took out his watch from his pocket and looked at the time.

nWu…

nQin Yunsheng testified for the newcomer yesterday and the original owner stormed off. He didn’t go home and slept in the lounge instead. Then, early this morning, his cousin came to pour salt on his wounds.

nWhat a tight timeline.

nThe System was still worried about the difficulty: Host, can you really do it? I don’t see a way out since the newcomer has a backup copy of his research…

nShi Qing stood in front of the mirror and smiled as he buttoned up his lab coat.

nTong, you have to trust in my abilities.

nWhen he finished, he thought about it some more and undid the top two buttons idly. Pull up this research and show it to me.

nThe System immediately started pulling up the data and placed it in front of Shi Qing.

nShi Qing: This newcomer really is a genius.

nWhat he developed was a new way to embed computer chips on complex machinery. Although it wasn’t possible to replace humans just yet, robotic pets were one possible application of this technology.

nThey definitely couldn’t replace the real deal in terms of companionship, but it was very good for people that couldn’t keep a real animal due to their own circumstances.

nAnd these machine pets could also act as protectors of humanity.

nShi Qing recalled the original owner’s thought process.

n

n

nOh no, he didn’t have a thought process.

nAfter learning about it by accident, he realized the value of the technology and used various means to make a copy and delete the original file. Then he impulsively made an announcement about it.

nShi Qing opened his laptop and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.

nThe System watched as its Host’s hands flew across the keyboard fast enough to leave afterimages.

nSystem: Trembling.jpg.

nHost, what are you…doing?

nShi Qing: Making a little something.

nSystem: …

nIt couldn’t understand what the Host was doing, but it seemed like it was pretty impressive.

nShi Qing kept up the pace all night.

nHe didn’t show up the next day either, but no one at the Institute came to check up on him, which showed just how popular he was there.

nIn the end, it was the dutiful Qin Yunsheng who came over and knocked on his door.

n“Mr. Shi.”

nShi Qing’s voice came from within, a lazy drawl like he didn’t have an ounce of respect for anyone. “Come in.”

nWith no unnecessary expressions on his face, Qin Yunsheng pushed the door open and walked in.

n“You haven’t eaten all day today. Here’s your dinner.”

nShi Qing raised his eyes. When he saw Qin Yunsheng, his movements paused.

nThe royal family had lasted for 700 years, and there were countless beauties who had married in as concubines and queen consorts. As expected, attractiveness had been engraved in their DNA a long time ago.

nHe had seen Qin Yunsheng’s appearance before in his memory. As the protagonist he was, of course, very outstanding. He was conventionally attractive and his eyes were magnetic. He rarely smiled widely, preferring to quirk the right side of his mouth instead.

nBut now, seeing the real deal, Shi Qing found that Qin Yunsheng’s charm was not in his looks, but in his temperament.

nWhen he was wearing that form fitting and slender military uniform and standing straight like a soldier, the forceful air he projected was almost impossible to ignore.

nChinese military uniforms were famous for being stylish.

nDuring the Great War, some little genius came up with the idea of designing handsome military uniforms to attract citizens to join the army.

nAnd it really worked.

nThen the uniforms were improved for another 200 years. At present, they were almost two to three times better.

nOne look at citizen participation rates in the army was all you needed to verify this.

nAnd now, those good-looking clothes were on such a good-looking person.

nShi Qing: Ao ao ao ao he’s so tempting in uniform!!!

nSystem: C-calm down Host! The most important thing right now is to reduce the animosity value!

nShi Qing: I get it, I get it, I get it.

nCountless images flashed through his mind of this guy in the officer’s uniform, a banquet suit, the crown prince’s uniform, and the emperor’s regalia.

nChina, a rare country where all the uniforms looked great.

nThe only pity was that Qin Yunsheng, who according to his memories was a person who liked to smile, held only cold and emotionless animosity towards Shi Qing.

nEven his lips were pursed in a straight line. It looked like he didn’t care much for the person he was assigned to protect.

nWhen he came in, Shi Qing was lying lazily on the bed. But when he saw who it was, he rolled over and sat lazily on the edge of the table.

n“Open it for me.”

nQin Yunsheng didn’t get angry at being treated like a servant. He obediently took off his leather gloves, revealing his big slender hands, and opened the thermos.

nThe young Marquis was still as lazy and careless as ever. He picked up his chopsticks and poked at the food in the lunch box before suddenly raising his eyes.

nShi Qing’s ancestors had always been nobles, and the attractiveness of successive generations had naturally improved. By his generation, he already resembled a seductive fox demon.

nHe stared straight at Qin Yunsheng with his beautiful eyes while his good-looking lips curled up slightly.

nHe asked in a straightforward manner, “Did Shi Yiyi make you do it?”

nQin Yunsheng frowned slightly, taking in the young Marquis’s disdainful gaze. His tone remained unruffled. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

n“Why bother with this pretence? Your relationship with her is obvious to anyone with eyes.”

nShi Qing dropped his chopsticks. His fox demon face was wearing a sneer.

n“Why go to such lengths to target me? You even got Tan Mingyi to help you with this charade. I suppose I should thank you for thinking so highly of me.”

nQin Yunsheng’s brows furrowed more and more.

nHe looked at the young Marquis in front of him who was talking to himself and only saw an unrepentant wretch.

nHis wrongdoings were already out in the open, but he was still able to play the victim.

nWithout even looking down, he stood sharply at attention and replied crisply, “Mr. Shi may have misunderstood me. I’m not familiar with Ms. Shi at all.”

n“Oh… Unfamiliar, huh.”

nThe young Marquis sneered and slowly stood up, walking over to the man and confronting him.

nOnly then did Qin Yunsheng notice that this young Marquis, who had always been slouched over and lazing about, was actually almost as tall as him.

nPerhaps it was because they had never stood so close together before, or maybe because Shi Qing was just too slender, but Qin Yunsheng had never noticed this before.

n“Qin Yunsheng, do you take me for a fool?”

nShi Qing pointed a slender and long finger at the man in front of him.

nHe sneered and jabbed him viciously in the chest.

nUnfortunately, he had been coddled and protected since childhood. Even if he pushed hard, Qin Yunsheng, who had already been in the military for several years and had developed strong muscles, received 0 points of damage.

nAs a courtesy, he didn’t avoid this absolutely harmless finger.

nCold and aloof eyes locked with Shi Qing’s. A deep voice rumbled, “Not really, Mr. Shi.”

n“Not really?”

nThe young Marquis snorted again. Only then did Qin Yunsheng realize that his lips were very red, like the colour of fresh blood.

nIt was true that Shi Qing’s features were beautiful enough to launch a thousand ships, but unfortunately they were at complete odds with his personality.

nAnd now, Shi Qing, who Qin Yunsheng considered to be an already dead duck stubbornly clinging to life, smirked.

n“I don’t know how you got the data from me, and I don’t really care either. But I can’t let you guys try to tarnish my reputation. Qin Yunsheng, you’re at least a Baron. What exactly did my dearest cousin promise for you to help her frame me like this? Father said you were the best when you were sent to protect me.”

nThe young Marquis withdrew his finger, his words full of contempt, “It seems that even Father sometimes has lapses in judgement.”

nQin Yunsheng’s hands, which were hanging at his sides, moved slightly.

n

n