Mr. Pei! Don't force yourself into circles you can't fit into.

Thinking of this, Shen Jicheng couldn't help but glance at Shen Yanhe with resentment. "It was the same at sea. None of you told me. I was the only one kept in the dark. Because of this, Pei Lin won't forgive me. He won't even let me hold his hand."

Shen Jicheng's complaints made Shen Yanhe laugh, but she still raised her hand and tapped Shen Jicheng on the head, her tone becoming more serious.

"You still dare to bring it up? You jumped into the sea without saying a word? It's your own fault that Pei Lin is ignoring you; it'll teach you a lesson."

Shen Jicheng covered his head in a mournful tone, indignant, "I'm going to introduce Pei Shuli to my elder brother!"

Shen Yanhe: "..." He was so angry he laughed. "Say that again?"

Shen Jicheng's eyes darted around, pretending not to hear Shen Yanhe's words. He lowered his head, shoved the phone into Shen Yanhe's hand, and changed the subject, his voice soft and weak.

"Make a phone call; making a phone call is more important."

Shen Yanhe took the phone, glanced at him, but didn't tease him anymore. She looked down, found her father's number, and dialed it.

The phone rang for a while before it was answered.

"Feed." A deep, steady voice came from the speaker.

"Is it urgent that you're calling so late?"

Shen Yanhe casually pressed the speakerphone button, placed the phone on the coffee table, and spoke respectfully.

"Father. It's nothing serious, just asking when you'll be back so I can arrange for someone to pick you up."

"No need," Shen Yue said calmly.

"You all go about your company business. I have a driver here, so there's no need for you to bother."

Shen Jicheng, sitting beside Shen Yanhe, frantically winked at her from an angle where Shen Yanhe couldn't see: Let's get down to business!

Shen Yanhe glanced at him, as if receiving a signal, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and naturally continued the conversation.

"By the way, Father, there's something I wanted to tell you. There was a small problem at the company before, but I haven't had a chance to mention it to you. I recently found some clues and wanted to ask you about someone."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, as if someone was waiting for him to continue. Shen Yue's voice came through again, "Who is it?"

"We don't know his name yet, we just hear people around us call him Uncle Quan."

The voice just fell,

"The spring of spring water?" Shen Yue pressed.

"No, the right as in rights."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few more seconds.

This silence lasted a little longer than before. Shen Jicheng and Shen Yanhe exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

But they all sensed that something was off about their father's attitude.

Shen Yue spoke, his tone seemingly normal, but he pressed for a few more questions.

"How old are you? What do you look like?"

Shen Yanhe hesitated for a moment, "Around forty years old. Tall and thin, appearance..." He turned his head to look at Shen Jicheng, as if considering his words, "He has a mole under the corner of his eye. Also, he has stubble on his chin."

Shen Jicheng paused for a moment upon hearing this, then blinked.

The scar on Uncle Quan's chin was so obvious, why did Second Brother only mention the stubble? He subconsciously wanted to speak, but was stopped by a very slight look from Shen Yanhe.

Shen Jicheng pursed his lips and remained silent.

There was a two or three-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Shen Yue's voice came again, this time deeper than before. He repeated it.

"Stubble? Are you sure? Anything else on your chin...like a scar?"

Shen Yanhe narrowed her eyes slightly, but her tone remained as calm as ever.

"That's not entirely certain yet; we're still investigating. Does your father know this person?"

The breathing on the other end seemed to slow down slightly, and after a moment, Shen Yue answered in a flat voice.

"I don't know him."

Shen Jicheng, sitting next to him, almost couldn't keep his expression straight.

He pointed at the phone and silently opened his mouth: This is clearly a lie.

"Oh, I see."

Shen Yanhe said calmly, "Alright, Father, you're busy. I was just asking casually."

"Yes," Shen Yue paused for a moment, "I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Tell me immediately if anything happens."

"Okay, Father," Shen Yanhe said, and then hung up the phone.

After the phone screen went dark, there was a two-second silence in the living room. Shen Jicheng pointed to the phone on the coffee table and said in a low, urgent voice,

"This...this is clearly Father lying! He definitely knows that Uncle Quan!"

Shen Yanhe leaned back on the sofa, gently twirling her phone with her fingertips, her tone calm, "Yes. It's now basically confirmed that it's an old acquaintance of my father."

Shen Jicheng frowned, a jumble of thoughts racing through his mind. He pressed on with a troubled question.

"So what do we do now?"

Shen Yanhe smiled and reached out to pat his head.

"There's not much we can do. While Father is still away, and with your older brother protecting you, you can go see Pei Lin if you want. Once Father returns, you won't be so free anymore. Neither my older brother nor I can protect you then."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jicheng's expression became even more complicated.

He slumped back dejectedly into the sofa, his voice muffled.

"It's no use telling me. I'm willing, but Pei Lin isn't. You go and persuade him."

Shen Yanhe chuckled, put down his phone, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly added,

"Okay. Your second brother will help you again."

Shen Yanhe agreed readily, which surprised Shen Jicheng, who seemed not to have expected him to be so agreeable. He sat up straight and gave his second brother a suspicious look.

"Really? You're not kidding me, are you?"

Shen Yanhe stood up, straightened her collar, picked up her coat from the back of the sofa and draped it over her arm, and said with a smile, "Why would I lie to you?"

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the door, adding, "Just wait here."

The door closed behind him, and the living room fell silent.

Shen Jicheng was skeptical that Pei Lin would come to see him, and he waited in the living room with some doubt.

However, not long after, Shen Jicheng heard the sound of the door opening, and he immediately sat up from the sofa.

Then I saw my second brother return.

Shen Jicheng couldn't help but look behind him, but didn't see the person he wanted to see. "Where is he?"

Shen Yanhe was amused by his appearance and couldn't help but tease him.

"And then, my little darling."

Shen Jicheng hurriedly ran over and leaned over the door frame, peeking out and looking around.

Immediately afterwards, he saw Pei Lin standing outside the door, wearing a dark gray coat. The light from the street lamp shone from behind Pei Lin, making his eyebrows and eyes half-lit and half-shadowed, so his expression was not very clear.

Shen Jicheng probably didn't expect Pei Lin to actually come, so he just stood there, momentarily forgetting what to say.

A few seconds later, Pei Lin approached, looking down at Shen Jicheng's fingers still resting on the doorknob, his voice cold.

"Stand at the door like a door god?"

Shen Jicheng then snapped out of his daze, stepped aside to clear the doorway, and said, "Please come in..."

Pei Lin stepped through the door, a cool breeze rising as he passed Shen Jicheng. Shen Jicheng closed the door and followed him inside.

His eyes shone with uncontainable joy.

Pei Lin actually came to his house?

He's already met his second brother?

How is this any different from meeting the parents?