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

Shen Mingxiao hadn't actually gone far.

He called Shen Yu'an several times but no one answered, and he was still worried.

Although he really wanted to figure out what Pei Shuli was up to, Shen Yu'an was someone he had brought up, and he couldn't just leave her at the hotel unattended. He sat on the tram outside the hotel for more than ten minutes, and the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. In the end, he got off the tram and went back upstairs.

The moment he pushed open the door, the scene that greeted him made him frown deeply.

Shen Yu'an leaned against the wall by the door, her clothes slightly disheveled, her collar slightly open, and a few strands of her soft hair falling down and sticking to her forehead.

His cheeks were flushed an unnatural red, his lips were crimson, and his eyes were unfocused, as if he were looking at people through a veil of mist. His breathing was rapid and shallow, and he seemed to be holding on by a thread to keep from collapsing.

"I think I... drank the wrong water..." Shen Yu'an's voice trembled noticeably.

Shen Mingxiao glanced down at the shattered glass on the ground. Before he could ask anything, the person in front of him seemed to suddenly lose all strength and fell straight to the ground.

Shen Mingxiao reacted quickly, catching the man and half-carrying him to the bedside to help him lie down. Just as he was about to get up to check what was in the water glass on the floor, he was suddenly hooked by a pair of burning hot arms.

Shen Yu'an's eyes were red at the corners, and a thin layer of crimson burned deep within his pupils. He seemed to have lost his mind; his voice escaped from deep within his throat, hoarse and fragile, "Hot...it hurts so much..."

Under the bed, Pei Shuli silently clenched his fists: I'm feeling pretty bad too.

The wrong person was given the drug.

But then again, didn't he drop the medicine on the ground? How did the young master of the Shen family end up drinking it?

He felt something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

My head is a little itchy; I feel like my brain is growing.

Before he could think further, another hoarse, broken voice came from above, clearly tinged with a sob.

"…Help……"

Pei Shuli froze. Had he misheard?

Shen Yu'an's arms remained around Shen Mingxiao's neck, even pulling them down slightly. Her eyes, burning red from the heat, stared straight at him, her wet eyelashes trembling slightly. Shen Mingxiao's brows furrowed tightly, his voice deepening, "Wake up. Shen—"

Before she could even utter his name, Shen Yu'an looked up.

Shen Mingxiao's pupils suddenly contracted.

He didn't respond to the kiss, turning his head away to avoid it.

But he didn't push Shen Yu'an away. Those hands were still on his neck, burning hot like branding irons.

Shen Mingxiao's jaw tightened for a moment, and he looked at him for a while, his eyes lowered. He watched as the other man took his hand…

Pei Shuli lay on the floor under the bed, listening to the sounds above him gradually change meaning, his mind blank.

He didn't know what he had heard; all he knew was that he couldn't get out now.

Time seemed to drag on endlessly.

Shen Yu'an's voice grew softer and softer until only a faint whisper remained.

Then, as Shen Yu'an gradually regained consciousness, he panicked and looked at Shen Mingxiao, who was wiping his fingers with a cold expression. His voice was clearly trembling with tears and hoarseness.

"Big brother... I'm sorry..."

Pei Shuli lay expressionless under the bed with his eyes closed.

He felt that the two people outside should apologize to him at that moment.

...

The next morning, when Shen Jicheng woke up, his back ached so much that he gasped for breath. He slowly sat up, supporting himself on the edge of the bed, and cursed Pei Lin a thousand times over in his mind.

Beast! Absolutely a beast!

When he came downstairs, he was surprised to see a figure lying on the sofa. It was Pei Shuli.

Shen Jicheng was somewhat surprised, but what surprised him even more was that Pei Shuli's usually flawless face was now covered with heavy dark circles under his eyes, with obvious bluish-gray under his eyes, making him look like he hadn't slept for three days and three nights.

"What have you been doing?" Shen Jicheng walked over, tilting his head to look him over. "Why are your dark circles so bad?"

Pei Shuli lay motionless on the sofa, his usually arrogant eyes now staring blankly at the ceiling, as if he had experienced some tremendous shock.

He remained silent for a long while before speaking softly, his voice carrying an ethereal quality, as if his soul had left his body.

"Do you think... wealthy and powerful families are really like they are in TV dramas?"

Shen Jicheng: "??"

"What?"

"So melodramatic." Pei Shuli said, enunciating each word clearly.

"Pervert. Rambling...rambling."

Shen Jicheng was completely bewildered, his face full of question marks.

He tilted his head, looking at Pei Shuli's weathered face, and couldn't help but ask,

"Aren't you from a wealthy and powerful family? You're asking me, an ordinary citizen? How would I know?"

Normally, Pei Shuli would definitely take the opportunity to mock him when he heard such words, or at the very least roll his eyes to show his disdain.

But Pei Shuli was acting strangely today. He didn't refute, but instead looked at Shen Jicheng with an almost pitying gaze, his tone carrying an indescribable sense of emotion.

"The people are doing well, the people are doing well indeed."

He paused, then added seriously, "You should be glad you weren't born into the Shen family."

Shen Jicheng's lips twitched. He swallowed hard and cautiously asked, "What happened to the Shen family?"

Pei Shuli opened his mouth as if to say something, but the words caught in his throat and finally turned into a deep sigh, "Alas!"

"Why are you sighing like that!" Shen Jicheng exclaimed impatiently. "Tell me! It's so unethical to keep people in suspense like this!"

Pei Shuli snorted coldly and glanced at him sideways. "Am I being immoral? If you knew that the eldest young master of the Shen family and the youngest young master of the Shen family had that kind of relationship, wouldn't you be shocked to death?"

Shen Jicheng was taken aback. "What kind of relationship?"

Pei Shuli clicked his tongue, then leaned close to Shen Jicheng's ear and whispered a few words.

After hearing this, Shen Jicheng's expression went from confusion to astonishment, from astonishment to shock, and finally froze in a state of complete dumbfoundedness.

"Are you dumbfounded?" Pei Shuli raised his chin smugly upon seeing his expression, his tone laced with a sense of superiority.

"You're so naive, aren't you? Unlike me, I witnessed firsthand the absurd things the Shen family did under the bed."

At this point, Pei Shuli's gossip spirit was completely ignited, and even his dark circles couldn't hide his beaming expression.

He sat up straight and lowered his voice, "Let me tell you, that young master Shen Jicheng of the Shen family is no pushover! That 'brother' he called was even sweeter than when you called me second brother!"

Shen Jicheng: "..."

"Do you know what the most, most, most important thing is?" Pei Shuli became more and more excited as he spoke.