Cheng Huanzhen: “?”

Be his Little Uncle’s eyes? How? Was he supposed to connect his optic nerves to his uncle’s?

Cheng Huanzhen immediately rejected his Little Uncle’s proposal. “Little Uncle, I’m the one looking after you right now. I have to be responsible for your health and safety. Your current condition is completely unsuitable for being outside…”

Before he could finish, he saw his Little Uncle’s shoulders tremble slightly as his head drooped in disappointment.

His Little Uncle was a bit thin and frail. It was still summer, and he was dressed in thin silk pajamas, his hair disheveled. With his head down and his eyes vacant, he looked like a broken, life-sized doll.

Cheng Huanzhen hesitated for half a second. “…”

“Is it really not okay?” his Little Uncle asked sadly.

“It’s not appropriate, Little Uncle,” Cheng Huanzhen replied very calmly.

A lock of hair fell onto his Little Uncle’s leg. He hooked the end with his finger, twisting it anxiously.

His Little Uncle’s voice was very low. “When I was abroad, my condition was much more serious than it is now, so my family never let me go out to have fun. I could only stay at home or in the hospital. It was hard to meet people my own age, and I never really had any friends.”

“Now I’ve finally turned eighteen, my health has mostly recovered, and my symptoms are much milder. I was finally able to return to the country, and Dad finally allowed me to go out alone, even to live with your family and have you hang out with me.”

Cheng Huanzhen pressed his lips together tightly and said nothing. His brow, however, remained furrowed, even more deeply than before. Little Uncle… so that was the reason he had no friends to play with?

His Little Uncle’s vacant eyes stared into some unknown point in space. He said slowly, “I know you’ve probably never traveled before, Nephew. To be honest, I haven’t either. This is the first time I’ve ever had this much freedom.”

“My illness is almost completely better; this temporary blindness isn’t serious. I’ve waited eighteen years for this day, to finally get a little freedom to go out and have fun. Are you really going to send me back to the capital, Nephew? If Dad finds out I had a flare-up while I was secretly traveling…”

His Little Uncle’s head drooped completely.

His words sounded incredibly sad. The phrase “waited eighteen years” followed by “are you really going to send me back” left Cheng Huanzhen speechless.

…He couldn’t act like his grandfather!

Cheng Huanzhen was silent for a long time.

Finally, he sighed and said, “I understand, Little Uncle.”

He placed the comb in his Little Uncle’s hand and freed his own to contact the old butler. If his Little Uncle wasn’t returning to the capital, then the old butler would have to deliver the medicine to City X within the day.

That part was easy.

But another matter was a bit more troublesome—he had to advance the money for his Little Uncle, having the old butler purchase three months’ worth of medicine on his behalf. It was over a million. That shouldn’t have been a huge sum. However…

Cheng Huanzhen stared numbly at the number in his bank account.

It started with a one, and had seven digits.

How could it be… so little?!

He had worked for the family company for so many years, taking charge of at least one project every winter and summer break, and he didn’t have any expensive habits. How could his savings be this small…!

…Wait.

He remembered.

The family rule was that you only started receiving dividends after you came of age. He had been an adult for over two years. Last year, his mother’s husband had borrowed over a million from him, and he had spent a large sum the year before that as well.

…Oh. Okay. So he really did only have this much saved.

Cheng Huanzhen cleared up the matter of his remaining balance. For the first time, he frowned with worry over money.

He could cover the cost of the medicine for his Little Uncle this time, but what about the doses after that? If he had the money, he would of course continue to advance it for his uncle, especially since his Little Uncle had argued with his grandfather for his sake and was now staying at his home.

But after this payment was made, what would happen in three months? Would his Little Uncle have to bow his head to his grandfather then? And his Little Uncle was in this situation because of him…

Cheng Huanzhen thought anxiously for a long while, then suddenly remembered something and immediately searched his phone for the dividend contract he had signed.

In just five minutes, Cheng Huanzhen had figured out the criteria. Theoretically, if the new product launching in November could make a splash in its first month and the sales volume doubled the initial projections, not only would he get the top-tier dividend, but he would also receive a special bonus from the family.

After a rough calculation, it would add up to nearly a million!

But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, Cheng Huanzhen felt a huge wave of pressure. Doubling the projected sales.

It was very difficult; he had never managed it before. In fact, it was rare for anyone in the entire Cheng family to achieve it.

But this pressure was different from the suffocating pressure he felt when his grandfather gave him project requirements. This seemed “gentler,” yet also more urgent, making him want to think day and night about how to achieve it.

If possible, he wanted to start researching how to accomplish this goal right now.

…

System: “Host! The hair tie is 12.3 centimeters to the left of your left hand… a little to the right, a little up, a little down… Oh dear, Host, Cheng Huanzhen isn’t looking at you right now, why don’t you take a quick peek!”

Lin Chen was direct. “Be quiet.”

The System sullenly shut up.

After a moment of silence, seeing that the Host still hadn’t found the hair tie, the System couldn’t help but mutter, “Host, being blind is just so, so, so hard for you. Do you really have to be blind?”

Lin Chen replied, “Yes.”

He paused, then explained further to the System, “If I’m not blind, he’ll just follow me around recording ‘beauty’ instead of discovering it for himself.”

The System understood. “Oh, oh, oh! Host, you want to complete his automation into a fully living person!”

Lin Chen found its choice of words amusing and didn’t object.

Lin Chen smiled faintly. “I’ve given him a short-term reason to work hard and earn money. Next, as long as I can transform him from a half-living person who only follows along to experience life into a fully living person who actively experiences it, everything will be a success.”

This was Cheng Huanzhen’s first time taking care of a blind person. He didn’t know what he should do, so he just followed his Little Uncle’s instructions. When his uncle told him to get a hair tie, he got a hair tie. When he was told to get a hair clip, he got a hair clip.

He watched as his Little Uncle expertly gathered his hair, combed it, and tied it with his eyes closed, finally using a ponytail clip to secure it from below, which made the ponytail high and full of life.

“It looks very energetic,” Cheng Huanzhen commented earnestly.

His Little Uncle couldn’t see, but he nodded sagely. “Clothes make the man, and so does hair.”

His Little Uncle suddenly asked, “By the way, what did you and Uncle Wang talk about just now? Why did you have to go outside to make a call behind my back?”

Cheng Huanzhen said, “It was nothing, Little Uncle, don’t overthink it. I was just confirming your situation with Uncle Wang.”

His Little Uncle pressed, “And then? That’s all?”

Cheng Huanzhen thought for a moment. If he told his Little Uncle about advancing the money, would he feel guilty? Or would he choose to bow his head to Grandfather to avoid using his money?

He didn’t want his Little Uncle to bow his head to Grandfather.

So he said, “Yes, that was all.”

His Little Uncle let out a slow “Oh,” and didn’t seem to doubt him. He then had him find a pair of sunglasses and a red shirt in his suitcase, asking expectantly where they were going in the afternoon.

Cheng Huanzhen wasn’t too keen and felt a bit nervous. He asked tirelessly, “Are you sure you don’t feel unwell in any other way? Are you sure you can go out? Can you walk outside? Do I need to get a wheelchair?”

His Little Uncle was deeply shocked. He immediately climbed off the bed on all fours, tested the empty floor with his feet, and then hopped around a few times.

He said indignantly, “Why would I need a wheelchair? It’s not like I don’t have legs, I just can’t see the road clearly!”

Cheng Huanzhen thought to himself, It’s not that you can’t see clearly, it’s that you can’t see the road at all.

Cheng Huanzhen tried to dissuade him. He failed and sighed in frustration.

His Little Uncle, victorious and overjoyed, had changed into a red outfit that, paired with his high ponytail swaying in the air and the happy smile on his face, made him seem not much different from his usual self.

Cheng Huanzhen: …

Fine. Fortunately, his Little Uncle had given him complete control over choosing the location.

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t dare take his Little Uncle to popular, crowded attractions, so he searched through all the sights and found a smaller one that looked like it would have fewer people.

A trip where he was leading his Little Uncle around should, by all rights, follow his pace and plan, right?

Who would have thought that just ten minutes after they got in the car, his Little Uncle started feeling around in the back. “Nephew, where are we now? What is this place? Let me get out and see!”

Cheng Huanzhen: “?”

Cheng Huanzhen said patiently, “Little Uncle, we’re not there yet.”

His Little Uncle was self-righteous. “So what if we’re not there yet? Let’s open a blind box! A random blind box along the road, don’t we do this all the time?”

Cheng Huanzhen: …

Just because you do it all the time, does that give you the right to ruin the travel plan I worked so hard on?!

His Little Uncle decisively told the driver to stop and excitedly tugged on Cheng Huanzhen’s sleeve, asking him to lead him out.

After getting out of the car, his Little Uncle stood in place, opened his arms, and took a deep breath. “The fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds—did we stop in a park?”

Cheng Huanzhen looked around and saw a stone monument that read “XX Park.” He said, “Yes, Little Uncle, this is an open-access park.”

His Little Uncle was thrilled. “Ooh!! What’s it like? Is it beautiful? How does it compare to the park near our house?”

Cheng Huanzhen hesitated. “Beautiful? I… I’m not sure. This park looks bigger than the one near our house, and the crowd density is about 30% lower.”

His Little Uncle was not satisfied with his answer. “Stop reciting numbers to me!”

His Little Uncle pointed randomly in a direction in front of him. “Take me over there—walking in this direction, how far is the nearest tree? Is it a single tree or a grove? Are they arranged nicely? How nice? Why are they nice? Are there many different kinds of trees? Are there flowers nearby, what color are they, and are they beautiful?”

So this was what he meant by being his eyes.

Cheng Huanzhen was a bit troubled, but he tried his best to answer. “About five meters. It’s a grove of trees, arranged very neatly. Neat… should be considered beautiful. They’re all the same type of tree. The flowers…”

He answered haltingly.

His Little Uncle listened to his answer without judgment and continued to ask, “How many people are here? What are they doing? Do they look happy? How are they different from the people you see in the parks in the capital?”

“Besides the flowers and trees, are there any other beautiful things in the park? What about fun things, or tasty things? What do they have? Take me to see some beautiful things, Nephew.”

These were all “meaningless” questions. If he were traveling alone, he would never pay attention to these details. But who told him to be his Little Uncle’s “eyes” now?

“Most of the people are happy, because they have smiles on their faces. But some are crying, and some are arguing. This tree is beautiful, and that tree is also beautiful… They are all very tall. At the end of the path to the west, there’s a very large two-person swing. It looks newly made, very new and shiny. Does that count as beautiful, Little Uncle?” he asked his Little Uncle, vexed.

His Little Uncle laughed and chided him, “How can you not even know if it’s beautiful? If you think it’s beautiful, then it’s beautiful.”

After saying that, he didn’t comment further and urged him to take him to “see” more beautiful things, asking about their shapes, their details, his feelings, and his experiences.

Cheng Huanzhen’s brain spun rapidly as he haltingly tried his best to answer.

“…To the left front of the path is a public restroom, with blue bricks and green tiles, which is somewhat beautiful. About ten meters away, there are two statues…”

As he answered, Cheng Huanzhen suddenly thought—why did this scene look just like the first time his Little Uncle took him to that “No Black, No White” clothing store to figure out his preferences?

He looked back in a daze.

The dappled shadows of the trees fell across his Little Uncle’s cheeks. His Little Uncle maintained a constant smile, his head tilted slightly as if he were listening intently to him speak. His expression was serene, completely blending in with the park’s leisurely atmosphere, showing no anxiety or fear from his inability to see.

Hearing his voice suddenly trail off, his Little Uncle waited for three seconds. When nothing followed, he asked, puzzled, “Two statues, and then what?”

Cheng Huanzhen snapped back to reality and wracked his brain for a comment. “They look like statues placed there to create a photo spot… If you don’t consider the surroundings, they could be considered beautiful.”

By this time, he had already led his Little Uncle through half the park.

His Little Uncle finally offered an evaluation of his many comments. “It seems this is a very beautiful park—Nephew, I want to pick the most beautiful spot to take a picture as a memento. Quick, pick one for me!”

Although Cheng Huanzhen had introduced many “beautiful” things to his Little Uncle along the way, these were all conclusions he had reached by desperately trying to apply the evaluations his Little Uncle had made when they went out together in the past few months. As a result, when his Little Uncle asked this, he couldn’t recall at all which spot was the “most beautiful.”

If he had to choose one, he only felt that the way the dappled tree shadows happened to wrap around his Little Uncle was very beautiful.

So he asked his Little Uncle, “Can the most beautiful place be right here?”

His Little Uncle shook his head, his ponytail swinging. “Of course, anywhere is fine, since I can’t see anyway. As long as it’s the place you think is the most beautiful, then it is the most beautiful place.”

Cheng Huanzhen seemed to understand, but not fully. He made a mental note of it.

…

Half a day passed in a flash.

By dusk, Cheng Huanzhen felt that his brain was three times more tired than when he usually went out with his Little Uncle.

One-third of that was because he had to keep a constant eye on his Little Uncle for the entire outing, to prevent him from getting lost. However, this was not as difficult as he had initially imagined. His Little Uncle’s red clothes were so bright that often he didn’t even need to turn his head; the splash of bright color in his peripheral vision was enough to highlight him. On top of that, his Little Uncle’s perfume was particularly strong today. Even from a few steps away, he could smell the familiar scent of tuberose.

The remaining exhaustion was entirely due to the reversed roles in today’s sightseeing.

For the first time, Cheng Huanzhen realized just how exhausting and brain-draining it was to take someone else out to have fun! Thinking about it, the past few months must have been so hard on his Little Uncle…

The medicine sent by the old butler had arrived. Cheng Huanzhen took his Little Uncle to the hotel to collect their luggage, checked out, and found a homestay to move into. This way, the doors wouldn’t be locked, and his Little Uncle could call him more easily if he needed anything.

He first helped his Little Uncle settle into his room before going back to organize his own.

Upon entering his room, he suddenly noticed a blue flower on his windowsill. The flower itself was ordinarily vibrant, but its long, slender leaves were quite distinctive. The combination could be considered beautiful, something he could show his Little Uncle.

The moment he had this reaction, Cheng Huanzhen felt something was wrong. The day’s trip was over, why was he still here judging beauty? His Little Uncle’s instructions were truly ingrained in his brain, beyond cure.

Cheng Huanzhen found this rather amusing.

Just then, his Little Uncle shouted from the room across, “Nephew, I want some water!”

Cheng Huanzhen came to his senses and immediately replied, “Okay!”

After some searching, he found the bottled water provided by the homestay. He twisted one open, entered his Little Uncle’s room to hand it to him, and watched him take his medicine.

As he was leaving the room, Cheng Huanzhen thought for two seconds, then couldn’t resist saying to his Little Uncle, “By the way, Little Uncle, there’s a very beautiful plant in my room. The flower is blue, and the leaves are very long and thin, quite distinctive. Do you want to go take a look?”

His Little Uncle paused, then smiled. “You’re learning fast today, Nephew. Let’s go. Since you’ve judged it to be ‘distinctive,’ I must certainly go and see it!”

…

The chess room.

Old Mr. Cheng was playing a game of chess against himself. The sound of the pieces being placed was incredibly clear in the silent room.

Suddenly, after two knocks on the door, the old butler entered to prepare tea.

Old Mr. Cheng looked up at him and suddenly asked, “I heard Huanzhen went on a trip? And that he left right at the beginning of the summer break.”

The old butler’s tea-making movements were fluid and uninterrupted as he replied, “Yes, Mr. Cheng. I also just found out today that Young Master Huanzhen was taken on a trip by Young Master Lin.”

“Hmph!”

Old Mr. Cheng slammed his hand on the chessboard, his face flush with anger. “A trip? Does Lin Chen even remember the goal he promised me he would achieve! Taking Huanzhen on a trip during such a prime time like summer break, what about his work? What about the projects? What about the new products for the second half of the year?! He thinks he can make Huanzhen improve just by playing around all day? Isn’t that just complete nonsense!”

The old butler looked hesitant. “Well… Mr. Cheng, perhaps the trip is just part of Mr. Lin’s preparatory phase?”

Old Mr. Cheng shot him a fierce glare. “What preparation? Even if it’s about balancing work and rest, no one does it by only resting and not working like him!”

Furious, Old Mr. Cheng stood up and paced around the chess room. The more he thought, the more he felt he shouldn’t have listened to that fellow Fang Yecheng’s irresponsible bragging in the first place. If it weren’t for the fact that the Fang family’s boy and the Qi family’s kid had indeed changed a lot recently, he would have suspected this “True Young Master Acting Studio” was a business trap set up by the Fang and Qi families to ruin his heir!

Old Mr. Cheng thought it over and over, growing angrier. “I can’t let them mess around like this! If the contract isn’t fulfilled, so be it. But what if he leaves me with a huge mess, and all the effort I’ve put into cultivating Huanzhen for the past twenty years goes down the drain?!”

Faced with Old Mr. Cheng’s anxiety, the old butler thought of the phone call that Young Master Lin had him coordinate with Young Master Huanzhen today. He wasn’t foolish; he could naturally see the subtle connection between this event and achieving Old Mr. Cheng’s goal.

He hesitated for three seconds, then bent down to pour a cup of tea for Old Mr. Cheng.

He said with a smile, “Mr. Cheng, please calm down. Young Master Lin’s chess moves are very steady, though he takes his time to make a powerful move. Why not give him a little more time and observe?”

The old butler smiled. “After all, Young Master Huanzhen has been playing around with him for so long, yet the company’s opinion of Young Master Huanzhen has hardly changed—Mr. Cheng, I think this might be a very interesting point.”

…

A subsidiary of the Cheng Group.

A tall executive finished his busy day of work and was finally able to head home. In the elevator, he ran into a short executive. They smiled and nodded at each other, casually chatting about the development of a new product.

The short executive made small talk. “How’s our new proposal? Did President Cheng approve it?”

The tall executive laughed. “What are you thinking? You can guess when President Cheng approves proposals with your eyes closed! It’ll definitely be at the next regular meeting, not a day earlier, not a day later.”

The short executive sighed. “President Cheng has a lot of great ideas, but you can never find him. He’s less enthusiastic about work than we are!”

The tall executive muttered, “And as long as a proposal scores 80 points, he never nitpicks the details… I’d rather he nitpicked for us. Think of how much bigger our bonuses would be if we made the product better…”

The two of them chatted and laughed as they exited the elevator.

Suddenly, two phones rang at the same time. They looked at each other, stunned, and simultaneously pulled out their phones.

The short executive’s eyes widened in horror. “Holy crap, it’s President Cheng!”

The tall executive’s face turned pale. “Holy crap, it’s President Cheng!”

They looked at each other again, then tacitly took a small step away from each other and answered their phones.

—It was a temporary small group conference call.

The young President Cheng’s voice came from both of their phones at the same time, calm and cool. After greeting them with a “Good evening,” he cut straight to the chase.

The young President Cheng: “I just looked at the new proposal you submitted. There are quite a few problems. Is it convenient to discuss them now? After the discussion, I hope to see an updated draft of your proposal before work tomorrow.”

Short executive: ?

Tall executive: ?

Wait, what possessed President Cheng today? How did he suddenly become so proactive?