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

The yard echoed with the sounds of ducks flapping their wings and quacking, along with Shen Jicheng's increasingly distant wailing.

In the study on the second floor, Pei Lin stood behind the window, glancing down through the gap in the curtains. The corners of his mouth curved almost imperceptibly, then quickly flattened. He turned and walked back to his desk, sitting down and reopening the documents, as if the chaos outside had nothing to do with him.

He turned one page, then another, his gaze fixed on the same spot for a long time. The faint sound of Shen Jicheng drifted in from outside the window, sometimes near, sometimes far, mingling with the quacking of ducks.

"Brother Pei Lin~ Help me!"

Pei Lin slammed the file shut and got up to walk outside.

Night fell, and the lights flickered.

"Now, tell me what you like?" The bedside lamp illuminated Shen Jicheng's misty eyes, the corners of his eyes slightly red, his lips a glossy rosy red. His arm was draped over Pei Lin's shoulder, his voice hoarse.

"I was wrong...please forgive me."

Pei Lin narrowed his eyes, looking at the alluring figure beneath him with great interest. "Spare you? How could that be? Come on, let's change positions."

Shen Jicheng was on the verge of tears, "No... this is the third time tonight..."

Before he could finish speaking, his lips were sealed. Time ticked by on the wall, and Shen Jicheng eventually collapsed from exhaustion. Pei Lin glanced indifferently at the man who had fallen asleep, and scoffed, "So delicate."

She spoke in a spoiled tone, but her voice was full of affection, and her eyes were overflowing with tenderness.

However, just as he was about to carry Shen Jicheng to wash up, his phone beside the bed rang. He glanced at the contact name, swiped to answer, and typed, "Feeding?"

He propped his phone up with his shoulder, freeing his hands to carry the person on the bed to wash up. Looking down at Shen Jicheng's sleeping face, he couldn't help but admire him for a while. How could his darling be so handsome, so charming, even in his sleep so alluring?

Just as he was about to pick up Shen Jicheng, the person on the phone said something that made Pei Lin pause, then frowned, "What does that mean?"

He stopped what he was doing, turned and walked towards the balcony, his voice tinged with coldness, "You mean, Shen Mingxiao wants to meet me?"

On the other end of the phone, Zhang Xu reported truthfully, "Yes, President Shen meant that he had something to discuss with you, but he didn't say what it was."

Pei Lin's mind flashed with Shen Jicheng's face almost instantly. The mere thought of the Shen family being connected to his precious child filled him with unease. Without hesitation, he coldly refused.

"Tell Mr. Shen that I'm busy right now, but we can talk about it when I have time."

"Yes."

After hanging up the phone, Pei Lin stood on the balcony for a while in the cold wind, then squinted and fell into deep thought. Shen Mingxiao was always very businesslike and never contacted his personal assistant, so why was he taking the initiative to meet with him now? Was it about Huanyu Entertainment, or something else?

However, I heard that this President Shen recently went to Yuanyue. Why would he go to a place like that? Pei Lin doesn't think Shen Mingxiao went there for pleasure; there must be more to it than meets the eye.

We need to find out the truth.

Although Pei Lin forgave Shen Jicheng, Shen Jicheng was still not free and remained bored at the North Mountain Villa, feeding the fish. However, this was already a blessing in disguise; at least Pei Lin hadn't made him feed the ducks anymore. The batch from a few days ago had finally been sold off; otherwise, he would have gone crazy if they had been kept.

That day, Shen Jicheng was lost in thought in the courtyard when an unexpected person appeared.

"Holy crap, you're still alive?" Pei Shuli looked genuinely surprised when he saw Shen Jicheng through the iron gate.

He thought that after so many days, his second brother should have thrown the man into the sea by now, or at least into a snake pit, right? At the very least, he should have been skinned alive, right? It's so strange that he's just standing here like this, perfectly fine.

Shen Jicheng rolled his eyes at him, "If you can't speak properly, then shut up." He never had a good temper with Pei Shuli.

Pei Shuli didn't mind, and walked in by himself, sitting cross-legged on the stone bench in the courtyard. "Well, it's good that you're still alive. I have something to ask you."

Shen Jicheng tilted his head to look at him, waiting for him to speak.

Pei Shuli seemed to be carefully choosing his words, remaining silent for a while before asking seriously, "After confirming the candidate, what's the first step?"

Shen Jicheng: "?"

Pei Shuli frowned, as if he had really encountered a problem. "I've confirmed the candidate as you said, but I'm having trouble with the coincidence part. I came to ask you if you have any other ideas."

Shen Jicheng immediately perked up.

He hadn't expected Pei Shuli to be such a man of action; in just a few days, he had already decided on the candidates.

He remained outwardly calm, but his heart was already burning with gossip. He leaned closer and asked casually, "Who is it? Tell me, and I'll give you some advice."

Pei Shuli was clearly wary of this matter, giving him a suspicious look and keeping his mouth tightly shut.

Shen Jicheng continued to coax him, "It's fine if you don't tell me his name, just tell me his characteristics so I can analyze him for you."

Pei Shuli thought about it and decided that this was a possibility. So he carefully began, "His family is quite wealthy, but his character isn't great. He frequents Yuanyue."

Shen Jicheng listened, raising an eyebrow slightly. Rich? Of questionable character? Frequently visits Yuanyue Palace? This description sounds vaguely familiar.

"Anything else?" he asked calmly.

Pei Shuli thought for a moment, "It seems he's quite familiar with Boss Yuanyue. I've met him a few times, and Boss Yuanyue always personally received him."

Shen Jicheng had a vague answer in his heart, and tentatively asked,

"His name has three characters, right?"

Pei Shuli nodded.

Is the first letter S?

Pei Shuli instantly became alert, staring at him warily, "You—"

Shen Jicheng quickly covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking as he suppressed a laugh. "I'll keep it a secret! Don't worry! I won't tell anyone!"

Pei Shuli withdrew his gaze with some skepticism. Although he felt it was unlikely that Shen Jicheng had actually guessed correctly, he did not press the matter further.

For the next thirty minutes, Shen Jicheng earnestly offered Pei Shuli various ideas for serendipitous encounters. Pei Shuli listened attentively, nodding repeatedly, and finally patted his knee in satisfaction, "Okay, I'll try it your way."

Shen Jicheng patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, just do as I say, and you'll definitely run into him there!"

Pei Shuli believed him and got up to leave.

As soon as he left, Shen Jicheng squatted down, clutching his stomach and laughing so hard that tears almost streamed down his face.

"What kind of eyesight does she have! She actually chose Song Yiyang!"

"Hahaha, if he knew that Song Yiyang wasn't as rich as him, he'd be furious."

"Hahaha, this is hilarious!"

His unrestrained laughter echoed in the courtyard, while Shen Jicheng was unaware of the immense trouble his good intentions had caused his elder brother, Shen Mingxiao.