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

What do you mean by "the surveillance camera is broken"?

Song Yiyang stood angrily at the hotel reception desk, hands on his hips, his voice loud enough to be heard throughout the lobby. "This is my hotel! Whether the security cameras are broken or not, others may not know, but do you think I don't?"

The hotel receptionist looked helpless. "Sorry, I don't know... I just arrived too."

Song Yiyang was so angry his liver hurt. He pointed at another employee next to him and said, "Tell me! On the night of the 23rd, didn't no one come to the hotel to claim their belongings?"

Shen Jicheng frowned, waiting for the other party's reply.

The employee glanced cautiously at the corner where a security camera was mounted. Then he lowered his eyes and mumbled softly, "This... I don't know..."

Song Yiyang: "..."

He was almost laughing in exasperation. "You told me this morning that no one had come to claim it, and I've already changed my mind while I was having lunch?"

"I...I had a few drinks that night, so I don't remember much. Maybe I'm mistaken. Please don't worry about it."

Song Yiyang persisted, rolling up his sleeves to forcibly access the surveillance footage, but Shen Jicheng grabbed him.

Shen Jicheng pulled him outside. After they had walked some distance from the hotel, Song Yiyang frowned and said, "They don't believe me, fine, but you don't believe me either? I'm telling the truth, no one came to claim any underwear that night!"

Shen Jicheng stopped and answered with a slight smile, "I know."

"Then why did you pull me away?"

"Because it's obvious," Shen Jicheng turned his head and looked in the direction of the hotel, "that someone was deliberately blocking us from checking the surveillance footage."

Song Yiyang was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant, "So..."

"So, this just proves that there was something wrong that night." Shen Jicheng fell into a brief moment of contemplation, then quickly spoke up, "Can you do me a favor and help me find out the species and habits of the snake?"

As he spoke, he went straight into the convenience store next door, bought paper and a pen, and squatted down by the roadside to start drawing. While drawing, he said, "That snake is clearly so big, but it doesn't bite. It doesn't move very fast either. It doesn't seem like a snake that lives in the wild."

He shoved the crooked sketch into Song Yiyang's hand. "If you find out, just message me. Don't let anyone know about this. Also, keep our relationship a secret. I'm Shi Jiaming, don't let it slip."

Song Yiyang folded the paper and put it in his pocket. "I know, don't worry."

night.

Where are they?

Pei Lin returned from outside, his indifferent gaze sweeping over the empty living room.

The maid replied respectfully, "Mr. Shi wasn't feeling well today, so he went back to his room to rest after returning."

Pei Lin didn't say anything, but lowered his head and unbuttoned his sleeves, slowly rolling them up. At this moment, Zhang Xu leaned closer and whispered a few words.

Pei Lin paused slightly, then narrowed his eyes.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Mr. Pei, should we stop it?"

Pei Lin scoffed lightly, a dark glint flashing in his eyes. "No need. They can't escape anyway. It makes no difference to me."

Shen Jicheng lay on the bed, staring at his phone, waiting for Song Yiyang's message.

But we never got to see it.

He suddenly heard a slight noise from the other side of the door, so he quickly turned off his phone, stuffed it under his pillow, and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

The door was gently pushed open and then gently closed.

He heard deliberately soft footsteps that stopped at the bedside.

Then, a gaze that seemed to have a physical presence fell on his face, pressing down heavily.

Shen Jicheng almost couldn't hold back. His hands clenched tightly under the covers, his palms sweaty.

Pei Lin stared at the person pretending to be asleep with great interest. Shen Jicheng's eyelashes trembled slightly, his eyes rolled restlessly under his eyelids, and his breathing was sometimes rapid and sometimes slow, full of loopholes, but he himself was unaware of them, thinking that he had deceived everyone perfectly.

Pei Lin did not expose him.

He turned and went into the bathroom.

Shen Jicheng finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.

Just then, the cell phone rang.

He was so frightened that his heart stopped, then he realized that it wasn't his own.

Pei Lin's lazy, nonchalant voice came from the bathroom, "Feed?"

"When? Tomorrow?"

After hearing something said over the other end, Pei Lin chuckled and replied, "Okay, I'll go first thing tomorrow morning."

Shen Jicheng frowned, wondering to himself, "Pei Lin is going out tomorrow? Where is he going?"

Just then, the bathroom door suddenly opened. He hurriedly closed his eyes, pretending that he had been asleep the whole time.

The area around me has sunken in.

Shen Jicheng lay there, but his mind was wandering to another question. He didn't consider himself a restless sleeper, yet every morning he woke up to find himself nestled in Pei Lin's arms. Was this his own problem, or was there another reason?

He decided not to sleep tonight and to see for himself what was going on.

Time passed by, minute by minute, and I don't know how much time had gone by.

Shen Jicheng was so sleepy that his eyelids were drooping, and his consciousness was already drifting off. Just as he was about to fall asleep,

Suddenly, a pair of arms reached out and pulled him into their embrace.

Shen Jicheng was instantly awakened from his drowsiness, his body stiff as a stone, letting the other person hold him.

really!

It wasn't that he was restless in his sleep; it was Pei Lin!

Just then, a deep, magnetic voice reached my ears, carrying a faint hint of laughter.

"It's getting late, go to sleep."

Shen Jicheng: "..."

He found out?! Pei Lin knew he wasn't asleep?

Shen Jicheng ignored him, simply closing his eyes tightly and pretending not to know anything. He made up his mind to endure it and find out the answer tomorrow.

And so he kept reassuring himself, and before he knew it, he had actually fallen asleep.

When I woke up again, the seat next to me was empty.

Shen Jicheng sat up in bed blankly, checked his phone—it was nine in the morning. There were no new messages; Song Yiyang still hadn't contacted him. He frowned, but didn't think much of it, and got up to go downstairs.

There weren't many people in the living room, only a few maids mopping the floor.

He stepped forward and asked Pei Lin where he was.

"Sir? He's gone out and won't be back until tonight," the maid replied. "He said if you wake up, you should wait for him at home; he has something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure about that."

Shen Jicheng sat on the sofa, wondering what Pei Lin wanted to say to him. Before long, the servants in the living room also left one after another, leaving him alone in the large space.

He was about to go out to find Song Yiyang when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye: there was an open door in the hallway.

That's the direction leading to the basement.

Pei Lin's words of advice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Please don't go to the basement or the backyard, okay?"

This door is usually locked.

Today, however, it was opened.

A sense of curiosity arose in his heart. Were they really full of snakes? Pei Lin was so rich, why did he insist on living in a place like this? Why didn't he move to a villa without snakes? Were all the servants so brave, not afraid at all?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

There must be a secret down there.

Shen Jicheng clenched his fist and walked towards the door. This was the perfect opportunity; Pei Lin wasn't home, so he could go and find out what was going on.

Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, he slipped inside and quietly closed the door.

Walk quietly down the stairs.

The basement was dimly lit, and the walls were airtight, with only the exhaust fan overhead humming and making a dull rumbling sound.

He walked all the way to the deepest part and stopped in front of a heavy iron gate.

My palms were already covered in cold sweat.

He stared at the heavy iron gate in front of him, took a deep breath, and pushed it open forcefully.