Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Qin Xiuchen clearly saw Qin Ling open a game icon, and then press down a bunch of codes in a familiar, quick way.

The phone was already connected, but he stayed silent for a long time.

Butler Qin’s voice sounded: “Sixth Master? Are you there?”

“Yeah.” Qin Xiuchen slowly opened his mouth. “Butler, I have some matters to attend to. I’ll call you later.”

He hung up the phone and walked behind Qin Ling, his long eyelashes hanging down. “Xiao Ling, what are you playing?”

“It’s a little programming game.” Qin Ling glanced at him without hiding anything. “Uncle, do you want to play?”

Programming… a little game?

Qin Xiuchen squeezed his phone with his jade-like fingers, trying his best to restrain his emotions.

He always thought that Qin Ling just liked to play games, especially those difficult games, so he had asked the people in the studio to collect all kinds of games for him. There were game consoles and smart game apps… but he never thought he would play such games?

“Continue playing, let me watch.” He barely managed to suppress his shock.

Qin Ling glanced hesitantly at him, then sat up straight and continued tapping the keyboard. Typing in line after line of code, he was so absorbed that he forgot he was being watched.

He even took out a thick book called “Introduction to Hackers” from his school bag.

Qin Ran had given him this book. He had searched it on the Internet but hadn’t managed to buy it, so Qin Ran had given it to him. Out of all the books she gave him, this was his favorite.

He sat in his seat, and because of his good memory, he flipped directly to the page he needed. Then, he compared the program intrusion code and typed a line of characters on the keyboard.

He was completely unaware that Qin Xiuchen took a long time to return to his senses behind him.

Instead of disturbing Qin Ling, he put on a coat, walked outside with his phone, and returned the call to Butler Qin.

“Butler Qin.” He walked to the empty corridor and stared at the sparks outside the window. His dark eyes were moistened with fine desire, and he seemed to be smiling. “Our Qin family has a future.”

In Beijing, Butler Qin suddenly sat upright in the car. He rarely heard Qin Xiuchen make such a gaffe. Other than the time the Old Master died, and when he hit a wall in the entertainment industry, Qin Xiuchen had never shown such a loss of composure.

“Future?” Butler Qin’s heart skipped a beat.

Covering his eyes with his other hand, Qin Xiuchen looked out the window and slowly said, “Xiao Ling.”

He talked about how Qin Ling knew how to program.

The two of them were silent for a long time before Qin Xiuchen cautiously said, “You must conceal this matter. Before you train Xiao Ling, you can’t utter a single word, or he might be put in danger.”

Qin Hanqiu’s existence had long been found out by the Fourth Master, but because Qin Hanqiu didn’t pose a threat, he couldn’t convince the crowd even if he was brought back to the Qin family.

But Qin Ling was different.

At the age of nine, he already had such a high comprehension of computers. He was a direct bloodline of the Qin Family, and directly threatened the Fourth Master’s status. The Fourth Master was sinister and cruel…

Qin Xiuchen tightened his grip on his phone, and his eyes narrowed piercingly. He didn’t want to repeat the annihilation scene of the entire lineage decades ago. The only thing he was afraid of now was that he couldn’t protect him nor Qin Ran…

On the other end, Butler Qin was shocked at Qin Ling’s talent.

Initially, he had only found out that Qin Ling didn’t study hard, liked to skip classes and play games, and didn’t like interacting with his peers. He was very antisocial, so Butler Qin had paid more attention to Qin Hanqiu after picking up the two of them, despite him being very difficult to teach.

Upon hearing Qin Xiuchen’s words, his fingers shook involuntarily.

Could the Qin family… possibly restore the prosperous age of the direct line 20 years ago?

He couldn’t help but look out the window…

“Why did you call me just now?” Qin Xiuchen asked, temporarily concealing the surge of emotions in his heart.

“I just wanted to tell you about Miss Qin Ran.” Butler Qin pursed his lips. “I wonder if she’ll be willing to return…”

“Don’t even think about it.” Realizing what he was about to say, Qin Xiuchen directly interrupted him and vetoed it. “Ran Ran is in a very good situation now and doesn’t need to go back to the Qin family.”

The Qin family was in shambles. He didn’t want to drag Qin Ran into their mess, and he knew very well that the struggling Qin family would only drag her down.

Even if the Qin family wanted to rise, it must rise in an upright and justified manner. It shouldn’t make use of Qin Ran’s friends’ connections, as it would bring a burden to her friends as well.

Before hearing about Qin Ling, Butler Qin thought that the only person who could take over the Qin family was Qin Ran.

At this time, after hearing about Qin Ling… he wasn’t so persistent towards Qin Ran anymore. Since Qin Xiuchen opposed it, he wouldn’t think about it for now. The most important thing at hand was to protect Qin Ling. Before he could spread his wings, he couldn’t be discovered by the Fourth Master.

However… Butler Qin was a little hesitant at the thought of “Xiao Cheng,” according to Qin Hanqiu. Looking at Qin Hanqiu’s notes, he realized that this “Xiao Cheng” wasn’t simple.

Qin Xiuchen hung up the phone.

The manager happened to come upstairs with a bowl of seasonal fruit for Qin Ling. “Why are you outside?”

He opened the door directly.

“I was on the phone with Butler Qin.” Qin Xiuchen kept his phone, his handsome face radiating light.

He smiled and then walked towards the room as if something good had happened.

The manager handed the fruit to Qin Ling and was surprised to see Qin Xiuchen’s expression. “Why are you so happy?”

“Something good happened.” Qin Xiuchen closed the door and pressed his cell phone, slowly thinking of how to train Qin Ling.

As soon as the manager came in, Qin Ling changed to an easy game that the manager still couldn’t understand.

“Emperor Yan just left the production crew today.” The manager stared at Qin Ling as he finished fruits, and then sat down opposite Qin Xiuchen. “Speaking of Emperor Yan and President Jiang… don’t you think your niece is a little unusual?”

Qin Xiuchen glanced at him, poured himself a glass of water unhurriedly, and remained silent.

“I originally thought you couldn’t find her address because her location was blocked.” The manager lowered his voice. “If that’s the case, then it’s very likely that 129 doesn’t have records. But from the current situation, do you think this is the reason?”

No matter what, they couldn’t possibly have missed Qin Ran’s name.

Qin Xiuchen’s hand paused.

He turned to silently look at the manager, then at Qin Ling.

The manager looked at him and uttered two words calmly, “Restraining fear.”

Combined with her performance in the production group over the past two days, he couldn’t think of a better description.

“Your niece is very familiar with Yan Xi.” He leaned back in his chair and looked at Qin Xiuchen’s direction. “I also learned from Boss Wang that Yan Xi has the Yunguang Consortium’s backing.”

“The Yunguang Consortium?” Qin Xiuchen’s eyes undulated a little when he heard this.

“The God arranger Jiang Shanyi is a member of the Yunguang Consortium. I know the Qin family is a sore point to you, but your niece is the Qin family’s key person.”

Qin Ran’s connections were a little frightening.

Looking out the window, Qin Xiuchen pursed his lips upon hearing this. “She has already come to where she is today, everywhere else will be easy.”

**

It was a Tuesday.

It was almost mid-November.

After finishing her midterm exams and taking a few days off, Qin Ran finally returned to Beijing University and entered a new round of revision.

On the second floor of the Physics laboratory, the person-in-charge was checking the application list.

“The application is due today. Has the last non-disclosure agreement and application by Principal Zhou arrived yet?” He pushed his glasses and reached out for the application. “This is the Freshman King this year, right?”

Applications for the laboratory assessment of the four major departments from Beijing University and University A had to sign confidentiality agreements and applications.

Only the last application had not arrived yet.

The assistant had already called to confirm it and hesitantly glanced at the person-in-charge. “I heard that she seemed to have taken two days off to visit City C…”

“She went to City C at this juncture?” Surprised, the person-in-charge laughed. “Why does this student sound even more arrogant than Song Luting.”

The assistant shook his head. “Did she not sign it because she’s not planning on participating in the December assessment? The confidentiality agreement will be closed today.”

“Maybe. After all, Song Luting only participated in the assessment the following year.” The person-in-charge locked all the confidentiality agreements.

Less than a month was left till the December assessment. Most of the people who participated in the assessment did various experiments and researched professional questions. The laboratory assessment was extremely difficult. Otherwise, more people would be selected every year.

To take time off and go out to play at this time, Beijing University must have been duped into thinking that the Freshman King would participate in the December assessment…

As the two of them were talking, a person wearing a lab coat came in and handed them a letter as well as an envelope. “Principal Zhou sent someone over to give this just now.”

The person-in-charge took it and opened it. It was a confidentiality agreement and an application form, with two words arrogantly signed on top—

Qin Ran.