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

"What I told you before about going to the basement to see Xiao Hei was a lie. I was actually going to find the document Pei Shuli gave you. You should already know that."

"Mm," Pei Lin responded.

"It's true I went to the full moon. But I didn't do anything out of line; I was afraid of getting sick." He paused, his voice lowering even further.

"I just...like touching the abs of male models with great bodies."

He himself felt that it was a little embarrassing to talk about this quirk, and the tips of his ears turned slightly red.

Pei Lin paused for a moment. "Yes. Anything else?"

Shen Jicheng was silent for a moment, then lowered his eyes and said, "That's all."

Pei Lin's fingertips brushed against his cheek.

"Yes. I believe you."

Pei Lin stayed at Beishan Villa for the next few days after being bitten by a snake. Although he didn't go to the company, Zhang Xu still delivered stacks of important documents to him, and the sounds of typing and turning pages could often be heard from the study.

Shen Jicheng knew he was busy, so he didn't disturb him and just wandered around the courtyard to pass the time.

That afternoon, as he strolled to the front yard, he suddenly stopped.

Jiang Jin was lying on the bluestone ground, supporting himself with one hand, doing push-ups.

His T-shirt was already mostly soaked with sweat, and the muscles in his back rose and fell with his movements. Shen Jicheng was quite surprised, walked over, squatted down next to him, and took a few glances.

"What are you doing? Training?" I've never seen him train here before.

Jiang Jin heard his voice but didn't want to speak. He lowered his head, repeatedly pushing himself up and down, and mumbled a single word in response.

"...Yes." He couldn't very well say that he was being punished because he had offended the ancestor in front of him.

Shen Jicheng said "Oh," stood up to leave, but suddenly remembered something and turned back. "By the way, why did you lie to me the day before yesterday and say that Pei Lin wanted to see me one last time?"

He hadn't seen Jiang Jin for the past two days, so he hadn't had a chance to ask him about it.

Jiang Jin was about to look up and answer when he suddenly caught a chilling gaze from behind a second-floor window. He lowered his head even further, his Adam's apple bobbing, "...I misspoke."

Shen Jicheng: "?" He was too lazy to argue, waved his hand, and turned to walk towards the fish pond.

But he had only taken a few steps when he heard a soft rustling sound of fabric behind him. He subconsciously turned around and saw Jiang Jin taking off his soaking wet shirt and casually draping it over the railing beside him.

The late autumn sunlight fell on him, clearly outlining the creases of his abdominal muscles, and sweat slid down his waistline.

Shen Jicheng suddenly stopped walking.

His eyes lit up for a moment, and almost instinctively he turned around and went back, squatting down next to Jiang Jin again, resting his chin on his hands, and speaking with a smile.

"It's a bit hot today. Look how much sweat you're getting on your forehead."

Jiang Jin glanced at him, puzzled.

It's autumn, where's the heat? This sweat is from being punished.

He didn't say anything, thinking the other person would leave after saying a few words, but Shen Jicheng not only didn't leave, he also started counting.

"Sixty-one... sixty-two... sixty-three, wow! Jiang Jin, how come I never realized you were this amazing! You did over sixty with one hand!"

His gaze was fixed on something, and he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth from his mouth.

Jiang Jin finally sensed something was wrong, a chill ran down his spine, but he dared not stop because he was being punished, so he could only grit his teeth and continue.

Shen Jicheng rested his chin on his hand, his eyes sparkling.

"Jiang Jin, how old are you?"

Jiang Jin: "..."

"Who else is in your family?"

"..."

"How much do you get paid per month working for Pei Lin?"

"..."

Have you ever considered going into the sea?

"!"

Shen Jicheng's mouth moved faster than his brain; he realized his mistake as soon as the question left his mouth and quickly corrected himself, "Oh no, I mean, you've been by Pei Lin's side for so long, has he ever thrown you into the sea?"

Jiang Jin: "..." No.

But he had a feeling that it would happen soon.

Shen Jicheng pulled out a duck leg from somewhere and began to gnaw on it with relish, asking indistinctly as he ate.

"Would you like a duck leg? Shall I have the maid get you one?"

"No need. Thank you." Jiang Jin's voice was as stiff as a stone.

Shen Jicheng didn't insist, and said with a smile while gnawing on a duck leg,

"Okay then, I love eating this."

He chewed twice and swallowed, his gaze then drifting back to Jiang Jin's abs.

"I have no resistance to ducks. Whether it's a fluffy little duckling, a crispy roasted duck, or a 1.8-meter-tall duck, I can't resist them."

He was speaking animatedly when he suddenly felt a moment of silence around him. Jiang Jin stopped moving, frozen in place.

Before Shen Jicheng could react, a cool, leisurely voice came from above.

"Yeah?"

"You like ducks that much?"

Shen Jicheng's body stiffened abruptly.

He slowly turned his head and looked up. Pei Lin was standing behind him at some point, looking down at him with a gloomy and ugly expression.

Shen Jicheng blinked, and almost reflexively smiled, "Honey~ you know, the only person I love is you."

Pei Lin sneered, not even sparing him a glance.

He looked up at Jiang Jin, who was still in a push-up position on the ground, and said in a calm tone,

"This weather is perfect for swimming. Since you're so hot you've taken your clothes off, that's perfect. Go swim in the sea for three hours and then come back."

Jiang Jin: "..." He stood up silently, picked up the T-shirt hanging on the railing, and walked towards the sea with a blank expression.

He glanced at Shen Jicheng before leaving.

He thought to himself: What a vicious scheme.

Shen Jicheng shrank his neck, and for some reason, a strange sense of guilt welled up in his heart.

Only after Jiang Jin's figure had disappeared into the distance did Pei Lin finally turn his gaze back to Shen Jicheng's face. He took out a tissue from his coat pocket, bent down, and slowly wiped the oil from the corner of Shen Jicheng's mouth. The movements were gentle, and his tone was cold.

"You like ducks? That's easy."

"As many as you want, we'll have them all."

Shen Jicheng: "..."

He had a bad feeling about this.

three days later.

"Gaga gaga—gaga gaga—"

With tears welling up in his eyes, Shen Jicheng frantically chased after a flock of ducks flapping their wings and running around the yard, holding a long wooden stick. There were more than a dozen of them, brown, white, and gray, big and small, thrashing about all over the yard, sending feathers flying everywhere.

He had just shooed one to the fence when another darted out from the other end, its wings kicking up dust that covered his face.

"Go back! Go back!" He ran while waving a wooden stick, and almost slipped on a duck dropping. He staggered a couple of steps before regaining his balance.

He looked up at the second-floor window and shouted, "Pei Lin! I don't like ducks anymore, okay?!"

The window was flung open with a "whoosh." Pei Lin stood behind the window, looked down at him, and uttered two words.

"No!"

The curtains were suddenly drawn shut.

Before Shen Jicheng could say anything more, the flock of ducks behind him turned around and chased after him in unison.

He turned around, his pupils constricted, and he took off running.

"Honey! Help me—!"