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

The vase tipped over from its base, crashing heavily to the floor and shattering into several large pieces. Sharp shards of porcelain scattered and flew, making a jarring sound in the quiet night.

Shen Jicheng stood there stunned, his drowsiness instantly dissipating.

Before he could react, footsteps approached from afar. Almost instinctively, he reached out to collect the broken porcelain shards, but he was stopped by another hand that quickly reached out.

Pei Lin gripped Shen Jicheng's wrist tightly. Seeing that the hands before him hadn't yet touched the sharp porcelain shard, he subtly relaxed, but his expression remained cold.

"What? Trying to cover up the fact that you broke the vase?"

Caught red-handed, Shen Jicheng pursed his lips, withdrew his hand, and spoke stiffly.

"I'll pay whatever it costs."

Pei Lin's gaze fell on his sweaty collarbone. He looked at it a couple more times, then looked away. "How much it costs depends on my mood."

"If I'm in a good mood, it's free."

"If you're in a bad mood... it's priceless."

Shen Jicheng: "..."

Pei Lin spread his hands and said slowly, "Unfortunately, I'm not in a very good mood right now."

To avoid being tricked, Shen Jicheng pursed his lips and asked, "When will you be in a better mood?"

This question made Pei Lin ponder for a moment, thinking about how to torture him, but when his gaze fell on Shen Jicheng's sweaty forehead, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his tone finally became more impatient.

"Go back to sleep. If you dare disturb my rest again, I'll throw you into the sea."

Shen Jicheng didn't understand why he suddenly got angry, but looking at the other person's expression, he figured he probably didn't care anymore? Thinking this, he turned and ran away.

Pei Lin: "..."

When that figure disappeared into the distance, Pei Lin lowered his head and picked up the broken porcelain bottles one by one from the ground.

Although he didn't want to admit it, when he saw the person in the surveillance video rubbing his eyes and stumbling around, completely unaware of the celadon vase placed at the corner, his heart was in his throat, fearing that the vase would fall and hit him.

Without a second thought, he hurriedly came out of the room. Fortunately, it only fell and didn't hit anyone.

He threw all the broken porcelain shards into the trash can, stood there for a while, and then, as if remembering something, a self-deprecating smile appeared on his lips.

...

"President Pei, this is the latest information we've gathered. It concerns the two staff members who were being embraced by Mr. Shi on either side..." Zhang Xu carefully chose his words before reporting to his superior.

Pei Lin glanced at the information on the document, but he wasn't interested and looked away. "Send someone to inquire. There's no reason why someone could sleep with my people and get away unscathed."

Zhang Xu silently mourned for the two of them for a few seconds, then said, "Yes." Then, remembering something, he added...

"Young Master Pei is making a scene downstairs, demanding to see you, saying he wants his ten million back..."

Indeed, the lies were all exposed, and they ended up losing ten million for no reason. No matter how you look at it, this deal seems like a loss. No wonder Young Master Pei has been staying and refusing to leave.

Pei Lin snorted coldly, "Since he dared to do it, he should be prepared to take the risks. Ignore him. Consider this ten million a lesson for him."

"Yes."

"By the way, where is he?" Pei Lin glanced down at the living room but didn't see the familiar figure, so he asked another question.

It was obvious who "he" referred to. Zhang Xu reported truthfully, "Mr. Shi got up late, so the servants made breakfast, and Mr. Shi went to feed the fish himself."

Upon hearing "feeding fish," Pei Lin's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. "He feeds fish?"

Zhang Xu touched the tip of his nose. "With servants watching over us, the situation from last time shouldn't happen again."

Pei Lin glanced at Zhang Xu indifferently. "The servants are just watching?"

"?"

"Not going to help? Are you trying to kill him by making him feed the fish all by himself?"

Zhang Xu: "..." Feeding fish, how tiring could it be? It's much better than making someone mop the floor, right?

But he only dared to complain in his heart and didn't dare to show it.

"Yes, Mr. Pei."

Little did Pei Lin know that Pei Lin had this idea because the night before, he saw Shen Jicheng so tired that he didn't even pay attention to where he was going and almost got hit by a vase.

This made him realize that there should be a limit to this "punishment," otherwise it could cause additional losses.

That would be a loss rather than a gain.

Beside the fishpond.

Shen Jicheng frowned, staring at the servants around him who were watching him intently. Every time he threw in a handful of fish food, their eyes would focus on his hand, as if he were throwing in poison instead of fish food.

However, recalling the mistakes he had made, he wasn't too surprised. It was highly likely that Pei Lin had arranged for someone to monitor him, fearing that he would kill his fish again.

Thinking this way, he didn't care about those stares.

I was just focused on feeding my fish, but there were always some annoying people who would come looking for trouble.

Just like...

"Oh, still alive?" Pei Shuli teased, standing not far behind Shen Jicheng with his arms crossed.

"I thought you were dead, so I came to visit you."

If you were to ask Shen Jicheng who he dislikes the most, it would probably be Pei Shuli. He turned his head and gave him a cold glance before turning away and ignoring him.

He is in this predicament because of him. Now that he is under someone else's roof, he has no choice but to bow his head. He will not hold it against him.

Waiting for him to return to the Shen family...

Humph.

Pei Shuli, like Shen Jicheng, was the youngest in his family, and they shared similar personalities, probably both being proud at heart.

He considered himself the third young master of the Pei family, while the person in front of him was nothing more than a pitiful wretch living under someone else's roof. Even if he had fallen to this state because of his targeting, it was still his good fortune.

This is something others would beg for; he should be grateful.

Why does he act like he doesn't care when I see him?

Pei Shuli was unconvinced, walked over, and arrogantly kicked the fish food at Shen Jicheng's feet.

"I'm talking to you, did you hear me?"

Shen Jicheng ignored him.

His current task is to feed the fish; everything else is none of his concern.

Pei Shuli's expression darkened when he saw that Pei Shuli was ignoring him. With so many servants watching, he felt embarrassed and immediately became displeased. His gaze fell on the ornamental fish in the pond, and he scoffed.

"So you've been sent here to feed the fish. You'd better take good care of them. These are Second Brother's favorite fish. If you accidentally kill one, he'll probably throw you into the snake pit, right?"

Shen Jicheng finally turned around and glanced at him, coldly uttering two words.

"ill!"

Pei Shuli was slightly taken aback, but after realizing he had been insulted, he immediately became furious. "How dare you insult me!"

"You wait!" His gaze fell on the fish tank, and an idea instantly formed in his mind. He turned and went to the kitchen.