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

Shen Jicheng ignored him and buried his face in the pillow. Pei Lin then deliberately slowed down his movements, keeping him hanging on until Shen Jicheng couldn't take it anymore and grabbed his arm, glaring at him with a mixture of shame and anger. His peach blossom eyes, filled with moisture, were filled with reproach, making him exceptionally beautiful.

Pei Lin chuckled, lowered her head and kissed him, "Good boy."

They did it twice that night. Pei Lin, mindful of his health, wanted him to rest after the second time. But Shen Jicheng wouldn't listen. Every time Pei Lin tried to let him go, he would either look at him with those affectionate eyes and say in a teasing tone, "Brother~ let's do it again," or deliberately provoke him by saying, "Pei Lin, you can't do it."

Pei Lin laughed in exasperation, then leaned down and bit his shoulder. "You need to be taught a lesson."

So we continued.

The night outside the window gradually deepened, and the silvery light fell through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a thin, long, bright line on the floor.

In the end, Pei Lin carried Shen Jicheng to the bathroom to wash up. He was so tired that he didn't even want to move his fingers. He leaned against Pei Lin and let the hot water wash over his reddened skin. Pei Lin dried him off, wrapped him in clean pajamas, carried him back to bed, and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Goodnight, baby." The lights went out. The room was plunged into complete darkness, with only the sound of their overlapping breaths, one deep and one shallow, gradually becoming steady.

Shen Jicheng closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

He listened to Pei Lin's breathing gradually become longer and more even, and felt the arm on his waist loosen from tight to loose, its weight settling on the mattress beside him, becoming steady and heavy.

He waited for a while. Then he waited a while longer.

Time passed, I don't know how much.

He slowly opened his eyes.

In the darkness, he turned his head to look at the person beside him. Pei Lin was lying on his side, his face turned toward him, his breathing even and long. The sharpness between his brows that he usually had faded most of in his sleep, leaving only a faint weariness and relaxation.

Shen Jicheng's gaze lingered in the darkness for a moment.

He slowly lifted Pei Lin's arm from his waist and placed it back on the bed without making a sound. Then he threw back the covers, stepped barefoot onto the floor, and walked towards the door with the lightest of footsteps.

The door to the room was opened a crack, and he squeezed through to the side. The door closed with a barely audible thud.

After the door is closed.

The person sleeping soundly in bed slowly opened their eyes.

Pei Lin did not move, nor did he get up to chase after him.

He simply lay there, staring at the side of the sheet where Shen Jicheng had just lain, where the warm indentation still lingered. His dark gaze was as deep and unfathomable as a frozen pool, utterly devoid of warmth.

Just then, the phone rang. Pei Lin glanced down at his phone, swiped to answer, and said, "Feed?"

He heard something being said on the other end of the phone. Pei Lin slowly closed his eyes, his tone devoid of emotion.

"Got it, arrest him. We don't have time to deal with him right now."

The basement was pitch black, even darker than the corridor, with only a single purple constant-temperature lamp shining beside a huge glass cabinet in the corner. The light was weak, barely enough to illuminate the outlines within a few steps.

Shen Jicheng, with his back against the wall and his footsteps extremely light, walked around the shadow cast by the lamp to the computer desk.

He didn't turn on the lights. The main light switch for the basement was by the door, but he didn't dare press it, afraid that any extra light would give away his whereabouts. He bent down and pressed the power button on the computer tower.

The computer case fan emitted a low hum. Shen Jicheng's heart pounded in his throat along with that hum.

A very faint scraping sound came from the glass case behind him. He didn't turn around, but his ears caught it—the sound of snake scales scraping against the glass wall, as if Little Black had been awakened and was slowly crawling along the inner glass. He gripped the mouse tightly, his knuckles turning white, forcing himself not to think about how far away the snake was from him at that moment; his gaze was fixed on the screen.

The document he saw that day is gone. The folder is empty.

Shen Jicheng's finger hovered above the mouse for two seconds. He immediately understood that Pei Lin had either moved the document or printed it out as a paper archive.

He turned off the computer and turned around to start looking through the documents on the shelf next to him.

He moved as quickly and quietly as possible, but the sound of turning pages was still clearly audible in the silent basement. He turned one page, then another, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, his fingertips slightly stinging as the edge of the paper brushed against them.

Finally, at the bottom of the third drawer, he found a sealed paper document bag. The cover bore the words: "Huanyu Bidding Plan".

found it.

Shen Jicheng's breath hitched for a moment. He quickly pulled out the document bag, not even having time to check its contents, only confirming the handwriting on the bag before immediately stuffing it into his pocket. An irregular bulge appeared beneath his clothes; he pressed it down with his hand, trying to smooth it out as much as possible.

Behind me, a drawn-out hiss came from inside the glass cabinet.

Shen Jicheng's back tensed instantly. He turned his head and caught a glimpse of the jet-black snake raising its head, facing him through the glass, its cold gaze fixed on him.

He didn't look a second time, gripped the file bag in his arms tightly, turned and strode quickly towards the basement exit. When the door was pushed open, he practically squeezed out, crashing into the corridor wall with a dull thud. He didn't bother to rub his aching shoulder blade, but gently closed the basement door behind him and leaned against the wall, catching his breath.

The corridor remained quiet. Shen Jicheng listened to his own violently pounding heartbeat, and only after it gradually calmed down did he straighten up and walk barefoot out of the guest room.

He gently pushed open the living room door, intending to go out, but when he raised his eyes, the familiar back blocking the front of the living room made his breath catch in his throat, and he subconsciously took two steps back.

Pei Lin slowly turned around. His sharp and cold features were now as cold as ice, and his dark eyes were unfathomable, like the calm before a storm.

He just watched Shen Jicheng quietly as he approached step by step. Shen Jicheng subconsciously stepped back until his back hit the door, at which point his hand instinctively loosened its grip on the door behind him.

Unexpectedly, the documents in his arms fell out and landed on the ground.

Shen Jicheng hurriedly tried to cover it up, but it was too late. Pei Lin's gaze had already fallen on the document on the ground. He stared at the document for a few seconds with his dark eyes, his expression deep and gloomy.

He moved closer, his fingers gripping Shen Jicheng's chin, his icy gaze fixed on Shen Jicheng's face, his tone chilling.

"Baby, didn't you say you wouldn't betray me?"