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

Pei Shuli sat in the car for a long time until a thin layer of fog formed on the car window.

He stared at the closed iron gate, a suppressed rage churning in his brown eyes. The men in the driver's seat exchanged glances, waiting a long while before one of them cautiously asked,

"Young Master Pei, what do you think we should do now? Perhaps... we should just let it go? After all, he's not your main target."

Pei Shuli gave him a cold glare, his voice laced with undisguised sarcasm, "Let it go? Why should we let it go?"

He looked away, his fingers slowly clenching and unclenching on his knees.

"Because of him, I've failed time and time again. Pei Lin doesn't even glance at the documents I send him now; he just throws them in the trash. When have I ever been treated like this?"

The air inside the car seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

Pei Shuli suddenly narrowed his eyes, a slow smile playing on his lips, a sly, fox-like expression on his face. "Doesn't Pei Lin distrust me? Doesn't he always listen to that Shi Jiaming? Then I'll get Shi Jiaming involved with the Shen family. I want to see if Pei Lin, after all these years of being at odds with the Shen family, can still be so magnanimous as to forgive a wife who's colluding with the Shen family."

His subordinates, puzzled, pressed on, "You mean...?"

Pei Shuli slowly leaned back in his seat, tapping his fingers on the car window.

"Doesn't Shi Jiaming like money? I heard the Shen family has been in some trouble lately. What do you think would happen if the Shen family bribed someone close to Pei Lin to steal a document?"

He paused, his smile deepening. "If the theft succeeds, Pei Lin will lose hundreds of millions, while the Shen family will profit. If the theft fails... ha, do I need to tell you what will happen to the bribed person?"

After he finished speaking, the car fell silent for a moment. The subordinates lowered their heads and asked no further questions. The black sedan slowly started moving and drove away from the iron gate of Beishan Villa.

During dinner, Shen Jicheng was clearly not in the right state of mind.

Sitting at the dining table, he picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks, poking it around on the rim of his bowl, but didn't put it in his mouth. His absent-minded appearance made Pei Lin's brows furrow involuntarily.

"What's wrong?" Pei Lin put down her bowl and looked at him across the table. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Shen Jicheng snapped out of his reverie, shook his head, and lowered his voice, "No. Maybe it's because I've been cooped up at home for too long these past few days, and I haven't had much of an appetite."

He stirred the rice in his bowl again with his chopsticks, his gaze drifting aimlessly across the table. Pei Lin, observing him, didn't press the matter. After a moment of silence, she softly said...

"Tomorrow, I'll take you out for a walk to clear your head."

Shen Jicheng froze. His fingers tightened for a moment in the middle of the chopsticks, and when he looked up at Pei Lin, he asked, "Weren't you busy dealing with the Shen family's affairs lately? How come you have time to go out with me?"

Pei Lin put down his chopsticks and said casually, "I've already arranged for someone to handle things with the Shen family. As long as tonight is over, we can submit the documents tomorrow, and we should see news of the Shen family's losses by tomorrow afternoon."

Those few words, though few, struck Shen Jicheng like a heavy hammer blow to his heart.

Shen Jicheng's fingertips curled into his palms, his nails digging into his flesh, the slight stinging pain keeping him calm. He forced a smile, "Really...that's great."

Pei Lin smiled, stood up, walked around the dining table to his back, and reached out to pinch the back of his neck. "Go to bed early after you've washed up. I'm going to the study to take care of some work. I'll come and keep you company later."

Shen Jicheng nodded, his voice muffled in his throat, "Okay."

He got up and went back to his room, then into the bathroom. Hot water poured from the showerhead, cascading over his head and running down his hair. He stood in the water with his eyes closed, Pei Lin's words echoing in his mind.

Tonight is the final deadline.

He looked up, water streaming down his face, dripping onto the floor tiles. He wiped the water from his face, opened his eyes, and looked at his phone on the shelf.

The screen lit up at some point. A new message notification appeared on the lock screen. He tapped it and glanced at it; ten million had been deposited into his account.

Shen Jicheng's thumb paused on the screen for a moment, thinking it was a message from Pei Lin, and without thinking much of it, he put the phone back.

He turned off the water.

I've already made up my mind.

That night, when Pei Lin returned from the study, he opened the door and saw Shen Jicheng sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for him.

Instead of curling up in bed scrolling through his phone as usual, he was wearing the white bathrobe Pei Lin had bought him, the collar loosely open, revealing a glimpse of his delicate white collarbone. Seeing Pei Lin enter, he looked up, a rare tenderness in his peach blossom eyes, and smiled at him.

"Are you done with your work?"

Pei Lin paused for a moment. He didn't say anything, walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to touch Shen Jicheng's half-dry hair. "Why didn't you dry it?"

Shen Jicheng didn't answer, but simply turned his head slightly, rubbed his face against Pei Lin's palm like a docile cat. Then he raised his head, leaned in, and kissed Pei Lin's lips.

The kiss was awkward and tentative. His tongue lightly traced Pei Lin's lips, while his hands wandered over and untied the ribbons of Pei Lin's robe.

Pei Lin's eyes darkened at his allure, but he didn't move immediately. Instead, he lowered his gaze to the person before him, his voice slightly lower.

"Honey, do you know what you're doing?"

Shen Jicheng didn't answer. He simply leaned closer, his lips brushing against Pei Lin's, his breath warm against Pei Lin's, his voice soft and gentle, "Brother..."

Pei Lin's rationality was burned to ashes.

He rolled over and pinned Shen Jicheng beneath him, his movements anything but gentle, carrying a force that was a mixture of restraint and loss of control after being aroused to the extreme. His lips landed on Shen Jicheng's neck, on the skin slightly reddened by the hot water, his voice unusually hoarse.

"No stopping tonight."

Shen Jicheng tilted his head back, revealing his long, slender neck, his peach blossom eyes curving into crescents. "Okay."

A breeze picked up outside the window, swirling the half-yellowed leaves from the yard past the windowsill. Inside, however, the temperature steadily rose, the air filled with the mingling of scents and soft sounds.

Pei Lin is much gentler than before.

He remembered Shen Jicheng saying that the last incident had left a shadow on him, so he restrained himself with every bit of force, and every touch was a test. He leaned down and kissed away the moisture welling up at the corner of Shen Jicheng's eyes, his voice soft as he whispered in his ear.

"Does it hurt?"

Shen Jicheng covered his eyes to avoid looking at him, and mumbled a reply, "Mmm...it doesn't hurt."

Pei Lin lowered his head, his nose brushing against Pei Lin's earlobe. "Open your eyes and look at me."