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

That evening, Shen Jicheng specifically instructed Aunt Chen to make more nourishing soup. Goji berries and astragalus were added to the chicken soup, which simmered over low heat for the entire afternoon. He helped out in the kitchen, bustling around, serving bowls and spoons.

Pei Lin sat on the living room sofa, his gaze passing over the glass partition and landing on the figure in the kitchen. Warm yellow light shone down from above, giving Shen Jicheng's features a fuzzy edge. He was standing on tiptoe in front of the stove, reaching for the seasoning jars, then turned back to talk to Aunt Chen, his eyes crinkling.

Pei Lin stared at it for a while, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips, before lowering his eyes, taking out his phone, and dialing a number.

After the call was answered, the smile on his face faded slightly, and his voice turned several degrees colder.

"Go check who got on that yacht before me."

"Find him for me."

Since they prepared masks in advance, it means the other party was prepared beforehand.

Premeditated schemes don't appear out of thin air; they always involve prior planning and route planning. If that "Shi Jiaming" was just a hallucination, that would be fine. But if not, it meant someone had already discovered the existence of his treasure and was using it as a weapon against him. He had to find that person, otherwise his treasure would remain lurking in the shadows, coveted by others.

Because of Pei Lin's injury, Shen Jicheng has been unusually well-behaved these past two days. At night, he only sleeps close to the edge of the bed, taking up a tiny space, and he is very careful even when turning over, afraid of bumping into Pei Lin's waist and abdomen.

But every morning when he woke up, he found himself nestled tightly in Pei Lin's arms, with Pei Lin's arms wrapped around his waist, and he couldn't break free.

Shen Jicheng felt both annoyed and guilty, simply assuming that he had unconsciously moved closer to the heat source while half asleep. He had no idea that someone had waited until he was sound asleep, then gently scooped him up and pulled him into their arms before closing their eyes with a clear conscience.

Chu Haonan hadn't been able to get a full night's sleep in the past few days. The reason was simple: before he left, he had instructed Shen Jicheng to call immediately if Pei Lin acted strangely at night.

Shen Jicheng truly took those words to heart. Pei Lin would call immediately if anything seemed even slightly off.

the first time.

"Dr. Chu, Pei Lin's lips are so pale! What happened?"

Despite his drowsiness, Chu Haonan patiently explained, "It's normal to be pale after losing so much blood. Just eat more nourishing foods."

the second time.

"Dr. Chu, Pei Lin won't let me see the wound or touch it. Is it very serious?"

Chu Haonan was silent for two seconds. "Not letting you see... that's indeed a bit unreasonable. But not letting you touch... no, why did you touch his wound?"

There was silence on the other end. Chu Haonan, as if remembering something, spoke with a more serious tone, "You can't touch the wound, it'll get infected. And you can't touch the abs either."

Later on, the art style gradually went astray.

"Dr. Chu! Is Pei Lin's wound infected?!" Shen Jicheng's voice was urgent and panicked. "In this cold weather, he keeps taking off his clothes to put on cold things!"

Chu Haonan was taken aback.

Infect?

He had just visited the hospital during the day, and the wound was healing well, with no signs of redness, swelling, or fever.

He softened his voice, "What kind of cold thing is he putting on? Ice?"

There was silence for several seconds. Then Shen Jicheng's voice trailed off, tinged with an inexplicable awkwardness, "...Me after taking a shower."

Chu Haonan: "..."

"Click." The phone hung up.

Of course, this is not the only one.

One morning, Shen Jicheng called right on time.

"Dr. Chu! Pei Lin's lips are so red! I noticed them as soon as I woke up this morning. Does he have a fever?"

Chu Haonan was woken up by the noise. Rubbing his eyes, his voice was still slurred with sleep, "Are your lips red... swollen?"

Shen Jicheng turned and glanced at the person on the bed, then reported truthfully: "...a little."

Chu Haonan yawned. "Feel your own lips. Are they swollen?"

Shen Jicheng was taken aback, then reached up and touched his lips. "Uh... I guess I feel a little..."

"Yes, that's right." Chu Haonan's tone was completely flat. "He doesn't have a fever."

"It's an S."

Shen Jicheng: "..."

In the afternoon, when Chu Haonan arrived at Beishan Villa, he saw Pei Lin sitting on a recliner in the courtyard, holding a fishing rod in his hand, with the fishing line dangling into the pond.

Chu Haonan approached, his gaze sweeping over the fishing rod, and his eyebrows rose. "Oh, your injury's healed? You can even fish now?"

Pei Lin glanced at him indifferently and ignored him.

"What do you know?"

Chu Haonan sat down on the chair next to him and looked closely. The end of the fishing rod was completely clean, without even a hook. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you trying to be like Jiang Ziya? Letting willing fish take the bait? When did you become so leisurely?"

Pei Lin slowly reeled in the line, finally turning her head to look at him with a cool gaze. "You'll have to ask yourself what you said to my darling."

Chu Haonan looked completely innocent. "What can I say?"

Pei Lin said expressionlessly, "After my baby finished that phone call with you this morning, he was sulking and wouldn't let me hug him or kiss him. He even forbade me from fishing with a hook until I caught one with a bare rod before I could sleep with him."

He turned his head, his gaze meaningful. "You dare say you weren't talking about me behind my back?"

Chu Haonan touched his nose and coughed guiltily, "Oh... so that's what it was about."

He chuckled dryly twice. "How can you blame me? I was just telling the truth."

As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of Aunt Chen peeking out of the house. He immediately stood up and walked into the house. "Your little darling seems to need me. I'll go over there first. You can fish slowly."

People can run faster than rabbits.

Pei Lin squinted as he watched him disappear behind the porch, then looked down at the bare fishing rod in his hand, and then at the koi carp swaying leisurely in the pond.

A moment later, he slowly got up, pulled a fishing net from the tool basket next to him, and scooped it into the pond with a clean and decisive motion, catching a plump red carp.

He carefully wound the fishing line into the fish's mouth, tied a tight knot, then released it and put the fish back into the pond.

Pei Lin slowly gripped the rod and reeled in the line. The fish struggled as it was pulled out of the water, its scales shimmering in the sunlight, water droplets splashing everywhere.

A slight smile appeared on his lips.

What is fishing?

This is what fishing should be like.

Tonight, he can sleep with his baby again.

In the living room, Chu Haonan smiled and sat down opposite Shen Jicheng, leisurely crossing his legs.

"You said you had something to ask me? What is it? It's not about Pei Lin's injury again, is it? If you ask me, his injury has almost healed—"

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Jicheng shook his head and interrupted her, "No."

"Dr. Chu, I wanted to ask you some questions about paranoid personality disorder."

He suspects that his older brother has this disease!