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

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Pei Lin's voice came from behind him. He didn't turn around, pursed his lips, and remained silent.

Pei Lin waited a few seconds, only to be met with silence.

He didn't press further, but simply walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, the mattress slightly sunken. He turned his head to look at Shen Jicheng's profile, his tone unreadable.

"Pei Shuli said that the fish in the fishpond and the things smashed in the living room were all your doing. I'm asking you, do you have anything to say in rebuttal?"

Shen Jicheng didn't know what he was thinking. He should explain. But a sentence suddenly popped into his head: If someone doesn't believe you, it's all in vain, no matter how much you talk.

Between Pei Lin and Pei Shuli, isn't it obvious who is closer to whom?

Even if Pei Shuli and Pei Lin are at odds, their blood ties are undeniable. Pei Shuli still freely enters and leaves Beishan Villa, doesn't he? After all, they are brothers. What am I then?

It's nothing at all.

Shen Jicheng was too lazy to waste his breath, so he lowered his eyes and said, "No."

It's already in such a bad state, how much worse can it get? Let them fight or kill as they please.

Pei Lin paused for a moment, then didn't reply. He stood up, but instead of leaving, he pulled over the chair next to him and sat down in front of Shen Jicheng.

He kept his head down, not looking at Shen Jicheng's face, but slowly unscrewed the cap of the iodine bottle in his hand, then took out a few cotton swabs, dipped them in the solution, and moved unhurriedly. He reached out and grasped Shen Jicheng's wrist, which was hanging by his side.

Shen Jicheng then noticed a long scratch on the knuckle of his hand. He didn't know if it was from being scratched by a shard of porcelain while smashing something, or from the scuffle with Pei Shuli. Dried blood was clotted at the edge of the wound.

He was completely unaware of it until his wrist was grabbed, at which point he looked down and saw it, instinctively trying to pull it back.

"Don't move," Pei Lin hissed, his fingers tightening around him, not allowing him to break free.

Shen Jicheng stopped resisting and looked down at Pei Lin's actions.

Pei Lin lowered his head, dipped a cotton swab in iodine, and gently applied it to the wound on the back of his hand. His movements were very gentle, but he didn't say anything kind.

"I was only gone for a short while, and you've already turned the living room into this mess. You're really something."

Shen Jicheng frowned. Hearing these words, he felt something was off, as if they were blaming him. He curled his fingers and tried to pull his hand away again.

Pei Lin clenched his fist, tightening his grip on his hand, and glanced at him coldly.

"What? Can't I say anything to you?"

Shen Jicheng pursed his lips, feeling increasingly suffocated in his chest, but he suppressed it and didn't let it out.

Pei Lin lowered her eyes again and continued applying the medicine, her tone unchanged.

"Putting aside the fact that you also got involved, even if you didn't do those things, don't you bear any responsibility?" He changed the cotton swab, dipped it in medicine, and applied it to another small wound. "I didn't know you had such a fiery temper, so easily provoked."

His fingertips gently brushed against a small bruise on the edge of Shen Jicheng's hand. "You hurt your own hand like this and still go and hit people. You're really something."

Shen Jicheng pursed his lips defiantly, but seeing him lower his head to apply medicine to himself, he ultimately didn't utter the words he wanted to say in response.

Pei Lin then checked his other arm, confirming that there was nothing seriously wrong, just minor bumps and scrapes, but he didn't overlook it either, applying a layer of medicine to it all. Finally, his gaze fell down to Shen Jicheng's legs.

Without hesitation, he half-squatted down and reached out to lift up Shen Jicheng's trouser leg. Sure enough, there was a cut on the inside of his ankle caused by a shard of glass. It wasn't long, but the edge was slightly turned up, and a little blood was seeping out.

Pei Lin half-squatted in front of him, holding his ankle steadily. Shen Jicheng was not used to being looked down at like this, and subconsciously shrank back, but was caught by that hand.

Pei Lin glanced at him, her tone slightly somber, "Try moving one more time."

Shen Jicheng then calmed down, neither moving nor speaking, simply watching Pei Lin apply the medicine to his skin. The only sound in the air was the soft rustling of the cotton swab against his skin.

After an unknown amount of time, Pei Lin slowly spoke while applying the medicine, his voice lower than before.

"You have nothing to say to me, but I have something to say to you."

His hands didn't stop moving.

"The Huanyu project didn't cause the Shen family to suffer heavy losses. Whether someone tipped them off or the Shen family was already on guard against me, they didn't fall into the trap I dug. On the contrary, Huajin suffered a lot of losses."

Shen Jicheng's body stiffened slightly, and he first breathed a sigh of relief; the Shen family was safe. But then confusion arose. Could it be that when he met Xiao Yu'an earlier, he reminded her to tell her older brother to be wary of Pei Lin, so the Shen family had already made preparations before he could even deliver the message?

Although he felt half relieved, he was not at all at ease.

Pei Lin pulled down his trouser leg for him, slowly raised his head, and looked at Shen Jicheng, whose eyes were wandering and who was lost in thought.

"Is there anything you'd like to say now?"

Shen Jicheng clenched his fists, his nails digging into the soft flesh of his palms. His lips moved slightly, "I...I didn't mean to."

He didn't intentionally want Huajin to suffer losses. He only wanted the two companies to coexist peacefully and didn't want to see them fight to the death.

But Pei Lin interpreted these words differently. He thought Shen Jicheng was admitting that he had financial dealings with the Shen family.

Pei Lin chuckled softly, sitting on the floor and looking up at Shen Jicheng, who was sitting on the bed. His tone was cold and indifferent.

"How much money did Shen Mingxiao pay you to be so willing to risk your life for him?"

Shen Jicheng opened his mouth, but choked up for a moment.

His silence made Pei Lin's expression darken, and his tone turned cold. "What? Now that you're in my hands, you still want to go back to work for Shen Mingxiao?"

"Your only way out now is to please me. If I'm in a good mood, I might reluctantly spare your life."

Shen Jicheng was silent for a few seconds, then slowly spoke.

"Ten million..."

Pei Lin didn't say anything more. He took out a black card from the inside pocket of his coat, as if he had prepared it beforehand, and handed it directly to Shen Jicheng.

Spend it however you like.

Shen Jicheng looked up at him, puzzled.

Pei Lin spoke coldly, "Sever all ties with the Shen family. From now on, follow me."

Shen Jicheng did not respond.

"What? You're unwilling?"

"no……"

"Or perhaps—" Pei Lin narrowed his dangerous eyes, his voice icy, "You and Shen Mingxiao, is that kind of relationship too? You've called him 'brother' before?"

Shen Jicheng felt a lump in his throat: I freaking…

"answer."

"No..." Shen Jicheng only dared to answer with the first sentence.

Pei Lin's expression softened slightly. He looked away, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the freshly treated wound on Shen Jicheng's ankle, before forcing himself to look away again. He stood up, his tone returning to its usual cold and aloof manner.

"Giving you a chance to live doesn't mean I've forgiven you."