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

After Shen Yue left, Shen Mingxiao knelt in the ancestral hall for two hours. When the incense burned out, he struggled to stand up, turned around and walked outside. His expression was unreadable, but his steps were much slower than usual.

As I walked out of the ancestral hall, I looked up and unexpectedly bumped into Shen Yanhe.

Shen Yanhe noticed Shen Mingxiao's unusual behavior at a glance, and hurriedly went over, reaching out to support Shen Mingxiao's arm, his brows slightly furrowed, "Big brother..." he called out.

Shen Mingxiao shook his head to indicate, "It's nothing. Father still showed leniency."

It was already very late at night.

Shen Yanhe helped Shen Mingxiao into his room, then closed the door and sat opposite him. His usually gentle smile now showed a hint of seriousness.

"What's wrong?" Shen Mingxiao asked when he saw his expression.

Shen Yanhe remained silent for a moment, then skillfully took out a tube of ointment from the medical supplies next to her, unscrewed the cap, came up behind Shen Mingxiao, and lifted his clothes, revealing two shocking bluish-purple bruises.

Shen Yanhe applied the ointment, lowered her eyes, and asked softly, "That day on the rooftop, we both heard it clearly. Why was Father so averse to same-sex relationships?"

Shen Mingxiao did not answer, but listened to Shen Yanhe continue.

"Shen Quan is a sworn enemy of my father, who killed his father and mother. So my elder brother and I both know that no matter what, my father will not compromise when it comes to matters of the heart."

As he spoke, he squeezed the ointment from his hand onto the affected area and spread it out.

"I know what you're worried about." Shen Mingxiao rubbed his tired temples. "I'll find a way. I won't let Shen Jicheng's relationship suffer any more setbacks."

Shen Yanhe screwed the cap on and gently put it back in its original position.

He sat down again in the opposite seat. "That's good. Right now, Chengcheng's situation is the most dangerous."

Shen Mingxiao did not refute this, but for some reason, he looked up at Shen Yanhe.

"And what about you?"

What are you thinking?

When asked about this, Shen Yanhe paused slightly, then chuckled softly.

"I didn't think much about it. He's slow to catch on, which is a good thing for him."

Shen Mingxiao remained silent in response.

Shen Yanhe countered with a question, "And what about my older brother?"

A faint smile played on his lips. "What will my older brother do?"

The agreement was that once the person behind the scenes was caught, Shen Yu'an would be allowed to leave. Now that Shen Quan has been arrested, and Shen Yu'an had also contributed to the arrest, he wanted to know if his older brother would change his mind.

Shen Mingxiao paused for a moment after hearing this, then replied coldly, "As usual."

Shen Yanhe simply smiled and said nothing more.

He sat in Shen Mingxiao's room for a while, then got up and went back to his own room. After closing the door, Shen Mingxiao sat there for a long time before finally opening his phone and sending a message.

See you tomorrow.

The reply came almost instantly.

--it is good.

Shen Mingxiao turned off his phone, walked to the bedside, opened the bedside table, unscrewed a white medicine bottle, poured out two pills, and swallowed them directly.

The lights went out.

After finishing her phone call with Shen Jicheng, Pei Lin went back to her room to sleep, but unexpectedly, her phone vibrated again a few hours later. It was a message from the other party.

Pei Lin glanced at the message Shen Jicheng had sent.

After reading it, Pei Lin frowned instantly. Without much thought, he called Shen Jicheng.

It rang for a while before the other end answered.

Shen Jicheng's voice sounded somewhat frustrated, "Feed..."

"What's wrong?" Pei Lin asked worriedly. "Did you suffer at home?"

The thought of this possibility made Pei Lin's face darken. He knew that Shen Jicheng's brothers were not good people.

"No..." Shen Jicheng sighed, a rare occurrence for him. "Pei Lin, am I really that much of a worry..."

These words worried Pei Lin, but he still gently coaxed her, "How could that be? My darling is the most sensible."

"What happened? Tell me about it."

On the other end of the phone, Shen Jicheng sat cross-legged on the bed. He pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and said softly, "It's nothing... I just have a bad feeling, like it'll be hard for us to be together..."

These words made Pei Lin stiffen slightly, his eyes darkening. After a long while, he asked softly, "You... don't love me anymore?"

Shen Jicheng was stunned when he heard this.

He didn't understand how this involved whether he loved her or not.

However, during his moment of stunned silence, Pei Lin took it as a tacit agreement. Instantly, his fingers clenched until they turned white, and complex emotions surged in his eyes.

"How could that be!" Shen Jicheng immediately retorted after realizing what Pei Lin meant.

"Stop slandering me!"

That's not what I meant!

At that moment, Pei Lin was finally able to breathe normally, and he exhaled heavily.

"What I mean is... what if... what if someone doesn't let you be with me..." Shen Jicheng asked after a moment of silence.

At this moment, Pei Lin probably understood what Shen Jicheng was worried about.

After all, Shen Yanhe had told him about the Shen family before, and the Shen family's rule was that there could never be people of the same sex, which their father minded very much.

He couldn't guarantee anything else, but he was very certain of his own feelings.

He assured Shen Jicheng,

"Honey, no matter what, I won't give up." He would try his best no matter what.

Relieved by this assurance, Shen Jicheng felt a sense of relief and his mood improved compared to the beginning. "Okay."

He firmly believes that as long as he doesn't compromise, no one can stop him.

-

Lunar New Year's eve.

The heavy snow has stopped.

Shen Jicheng was in a good mood. The family sat around the table for a meal, just like in previous years.

During dinner, Shen Mingxiao and his father sat on the sofa talking. Shen Yanhe went out to answer a phone call.

Shen Qingcheng and Shen Jicheng sat around a round table, each holding a few playing cards. They exchanged a glance and immediately turned over the cards that Shen Yanhe hadn't had time to look at, each exchanging a few cards.

Shen Qingcheng: "You changed two of them, Second Brother will definitely find out later!"

Shen Jicheng glanced at his sister with a sly look. "Why didn't you say you changed five tickets?"

Shen Qingcheng smiled shyly, "Then... shall we each exchange half?"

Shen Jicheng's eyes darted around for a moment, then he nodded emphatically, "Done!"

After Shen Yanhe returned from her phone call, she casually asked, "You didn't change the cards, did you?"

Shen Jicheng and Shen Qingcheng shook their heads simultaneously, their innocent expressions mirroring each other's words, "How could Second Brother think so badly of us?"

Shen Yanhe raised an eyebrow, remaining silent, but her expression nearly crumbled after she flipped over the playing cards.

"Could you guys be any bolder? The largest number I have is nine?"

Shen Qingcheng and Shen Jicheng simultaneously pointed fingers at each other.

"Chengcheng changed it!"

"My sister changed it!"

Shen Yanhe: "..."