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

Pei Shuli was still basking in the joy of victory when he was caught off guard by the question and paused for a moment. He smiled subconsciously, his tone tinged with smugness, "It's alright. I just happened to run into them and snapped a few pictures."

Pei Lin nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing with the answer. "Oh, I see." He placed the phone back on the coffee table, turned to Zhang Xu, and gave him an instruction.

"The Third Young Master seems to have a lot of free time lately. Let him go and spend some time in the snake pit too."

Pei Shuli's smile froze on his face instantly. Before he could react, someone stepped up from behind and grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing!" Pei Shuli struggled, his voice rising eight octaves. "I helped you! I showed you that person's true colors! How can you repay kindness with enmity!"

Pei Lin didn't even lift his eyelids, and waved his hand.

"Don't touch me! I don't want to go!" Pei Shuli's struggles were even more intense than Shen Jicheng's earlier. His hair was completely disheveled, and his suit jacket was wrinkled beyond recognition. "Pei Lin! How dare you treat me like this! I'm going to tell Father—"

His threat was abruptly cut off by the person dragging him out. Seeing that he was about to be pulled out of the living room, Pei Shuli finally panicked. With his last ounce of strength, he clung to the doorframe and screamed hoarsely, "I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Pei Lin raised his eyes and gestured. The person holding Pei Shuli released his grip and took a step back.

Pei Shuli was panting heavily, his chest heaving, his hair disheveled and plastered to his forehead, completely unlike his usual aristocratic young master. He stood there, clutching his heart, calming his breathing for a long while.

Pei Lin walked up to him, looking down at him with his eyes lowered, his tone flat.

"Tell me. Who transferred that ten million?"

...

Shen Jicheng once again stepped into the path leading to the snake pit in the backyard.

His legs were trembling. He desperately wanted to run, but the bodyguards on both sides held him tightly, forcing him to move forward with every step. He clung to Jiang Jin's arm, tears welling in his eyes, his voice urgent and soft, clearly pleading.

"Brother Jiang Jin, please have mercy! Talk to Pei Lin and ask him to be lenient. Don't really throw me in there to get bitten by snakes..."

Jiang Jin withdrew his arm expressionlessly, as if he hadn't heard, and walked straight to the iron gate of the snake den, deftly unlocking the first lock.

The action was so swift and decisive that Shen Jicheng felt his heart stop as he watched the iron gate slowly open.

He had been to the first floor before. It was surrounded by thick glass walls. Snakes crawled inside, and people could see them from the outside. Although the visual effect was enough to make one's scalp tingle, at least there was glass between them, so they couldn't bite anyone.

But he quickly realized that today was different. Jiang Jin didn't stop on the first floor; he walked straight into the depths and stood in front of the door to the second floor. Behind that door was an unobstructed, veritable snake den.

Shen Jicheng's pupils suddenly contracted. Through the iron bars, he saw countless snakes coiled and wriggling inside, their tongues flicking out, and the hairs on his body stood on end in an instant.

He almost instinctively turned and ran, not caring about his image or begging for mercy, just wanting to get as far away from that door as possible.

Before he could take two steps, he crashed head-on into a wall of people. His forehead slammed heavily against a hard chest, causing him to gasp in pain. He clutched his forehead and looked up, meeting Pei Lin's dark, indifferent eyes.

Shen Jicheng ignored the pain in his forehead. As if grasping at a last straw, he suddenly threw himself into Pei Lin's arms, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist, burying his face in his chest, his voice trembling with sobs, incoherent, "Pei Lin, please don't choose the snake pit... I'll be bitten to death... I really will be bitten to death..."

His tears quickly soaked the fabric of Pei Lin's shirt, leaving a small, dark patch. Pei Lin looked down at the fluffy head in his arms, his expression unwavering, his voice as cold as ice.

"Do whatever you want? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

When Jiang Jin saw Pei Lin arrive, he stepped forward to pull Shen Jicheng away. But as soon as he reached out, Pei Lin slightly raised a finger, signaling him to step back.

Jiang Jin paused for a moment, then withdrew his hand and silently stepped aside. He understood that he probably wouldn't be able to enter the snake's den today. He didn't waste any more time and turned to do his own thing.

Shen Jicheng didn't notice these details. He held Pei Lin tightly, his whole body trembling, and his voice came out intermittently from Pei Lin's chest.

"Go ahead and say what you want... as long as you don't throw me into a snake pit or feed me to sharks in the sea... I'll do whatever you say, okay?"

This was the biggest concession he could make. But Pei Lin didn't budge. He looked down at the person in his arms who was quite frightened, his gaze falling on Shen Jicheng's pale face, noticing his tear-streaked eyelashes and the pink blush on his nose. His hand almost involuntarily lifted slightly, as if wanting to pat his back, to comfort him as he had done countless times before.

But just as the hand was about to fall, he stopped.

He remembered what Shen Jicheng had done, and the words "I don't like it." His fingers curled up, clenched into a fist, and then slowly fell down.

Pei Lin's lips curled into a cold smile. "What makes you think I'll listen to you?"

His voice was icy cold, all traces of his former casual teasing had vanished. He reached out and grabbed Shen Jicheng's arm with such force that Shen Jicheng had no chance to resist.

"Today," Pei Lin's voice carried an undeniable resolve, "you won't be leaving here unscathed."

He personally pushed open the iron gate leading to the snake pit. The sound of the hinges turning was particularly jarring in the quiet courtyard. Shen Jicheng looked at the snakes inside, their heads raised and their tongues flicking at him. Fear and sorrow surged up simultaneously, pressing against his chest, and he couldn't tell which was stronger. He glanced up at Pei Lin's face, which was devoid of any emotion, exceptionally cold.

Shen Jicheng shut his mouth.

He didn't beg for mercy again, nor did he shed any more tears. He simply stood there quietly, watching the snakes swim towards him along the ground. His lips turned deathly pale in an instant, and his body tensed like a string that might snap at any moment.

Then the string broke.

Shen Jicheng swayed and fell straight to the ground.

Pei Lin reached out almost instinctively, even faster than his conscious reaction. He steadily caught the falling figure and pulled him into his arms. The snakes that had been swimming towards Shen Jicheng stopped halfway, as if held back by some invisible thread, halting their advance about half an arm's length away from him.

Pei Lin looked down at the person in his arms. Shen Jicheng's eyes were closed, his face as white as paper, tear stains still clinging to his eyelashes, his breathing shallow and rapid. Pei Lin stared at that face for a few seconds, his thin lips pressed into a straight line, and finally, he coldly squeezed out two words.

"waste."

He bent down and lifted Shen Jicheng into his arms. The person in his arms was so light it felt like he weighed nothing, his head softly resting in the crook of his shoulder, his whole body curled up in a ball. Pei Lin turned around with him in his arms and walked step by step towards the villa.

The courtyard gate closed behind him.

The autumn wind swept up a few fallen leaves, brushed past his feet, and then fell back to the ground.