Master Pei! Don't force yourself into a circle that doesn't want you to.

Pei Lin stopped.

He looked down at the hands kneeling on the ground, clutching his trouser leg, their knuckles white and trembling slightly. Those peach-blossom eyes were wet, their rims red, looking up pitifully like a puppy trying to get away with something cute after getting into trouble.

The row of basins by the fishpond was still leaking water, and countless precious ornamental fish, their white bellies turned up, occasionally twitched their tail fins in the shallow water. They weren't quite dead yet, but they were close to it.

Pei Lin's temple throbbed.

"Not on purpose?" He repeated those words.

Shen Jicheng nodded vigorously, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I really didn't mean to! I just... I just wanted to—"

He swallowed the words back. Could he say, "I just wanted to poison your fish and escape in the chaos"? That would be suicide!

"What are you thinking about?" Pei Lin narrowed his eyes and looked at him.

Shen Jicheng's mind raced, but his mouth moved even faster than his brain.

"I just wanted to make you some fish soup to help you recover!"

The entire room fell silent.

The servants and bodyguards behind him all lowered their heads, none of them daring to look at Pei Lin's expression.

Pei Lin laughed in anger. He squatted down to be at eye level with Shen Jicheng, reached out and pinched his chin, forcing him to raise his head.

"You're going to make me fish soup?" Pei Lin said, emphasizing each word. "With my fish? To make me drink? And it's an ornamental fish, no less?"

Shen Jicheng felt the pressure on his chin, and it hurt a little. He blinked guiltily, his voice growing softer and softer.

"You know, my family was poor. We used to not even have enough to eat... I saw those fish were so fat, so I thought... to make the most of them..."

"..." Pei Lin took a deep breath and chuckled wryly.

"What a wonderful example of making the most of resources."

Pei Lin released his grip, stood up, and patted off non-existent dust from his trousers. "Since you're so kind, you can handle these fish yourself."

Shen Jicheng was stunned, somewhat bewildered. "What should we do?"

"Kill it, scale it, gut it, and make soup." Pei Lin said calmly, "Tonight, I want to see a pot of fish soup."

Shen Jicheng hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "But I don't know how..." To make fish soup? He was just saying it casually; how could he possibly know how to make any kind of fish soup?

"Oh? No way?" Pei Lin narrowed his eyes. "So everything you just said was a lie? In that case, I think my backyard..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Jicheng hurriedly interrupted him.

"Wait. I suddenly remembered, I can still make fish soup." What a joke, he's not going to throw him into the snake pit in the backyard just because he can't make it. He still has some sense.

Pei Lin snorted coldly, turned around and left.

He took two steps, then stopped, without turning around, his voice drifting over softly.

"Oh, right."

Shen Jicheng pricked up his ears.

"Next time you pour anything into my fishpond..." Pei Lin turned his head, revealing only half of his cold and handsome profile, with a slight upturn at the corner of his lips, "I'll throw you in and feed you to the fish."

Shen Jicheng: "..." He forgot that he could see the surveillance footage.

After a long while, he slowly shifted his gaze to the row of basins filled with fish, and his lips twitched.

"How do I kill this fish?"

The maid silently handed over a pair of scissors.

Shen Jicheng looked at the scissors, then at the fish that was still barely clinging to life, took a deep breath, stood up, and rolled up his sleeves.

"Alright, let's stew it then."

What can possibly stump him!

In the study.

After finishing his work, Pei Lin glanced at the time and realized that two hours had passed.

Surely someone has finished getting it done by now?

He pushed back his chair and stood up. Just as he reached the door, he saw Zhang Xu rushing upstairs in a panic for the first time.

"President Pei, something terrible has happened!"

Pei Lin suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

The next second, Zhang Xu's words confirmed his intuition: "The kitchen is on fire!"

Pei Lin's face darkened, and he strode downstairs, asking as he went, "What happened? How could it suddenly catch fire?"

Zhang Xu hurriedly followed behind and explained, "The maid said that Mr. Shi accidentally bumped the tablecloth while stewing fish, which ignited the curtains next to him. Fortunately, Mr. Shi reacted quickly and ran out to call the doorman to put out the fire, which prevented a major disaster."

Pei Lin paused, turned around, and asked, "You mean, he ran out immediately to call the security guard?"

"Yes...yes."

Pei Lin's face was extremely grim. He didn't go to the kitchen, but instead turned and strode towards the front door.

Zhang Xu was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. He went to the kitchen, but couldn't find Shen Jicheng. This fire was probably deliberately set.

At this moment, Shen Jicheng was bent over, sneaking around in the corner. He was filthy, covered in soot, not only on his clothes, but even his handsome face was a mess of cigarette ash, leaving only his two eyes rolling around.

He hid behind the iron bars, anxiously watching the gatekeeper who was lingering at the entrance.

Honestly, the kitchen's on fire and this guy's still standing here! Doesn't he know to go help? He finally managed to get the other two away, what's he going to do now...?

Why don't we just go out like this? Anyway, with my face all black, who would recognize me?

Just as he was debating whether to force his way in, the security guard who had been standing there suddenly turned and walked in another direction.

Shen Jicheng's eyes lit up.

Isn't this a golden opportunity?

After the security guard walked away, he crouched down and slipped to the gate, only to find it locked. He frowned in annoyance, his dark fingers randomly tapping the combination lock a few times.

The screen displays: Incorrect password.

Shen Jicheng frowned, pondering what the password might be, when a cold and indifferent voice suddenly came from behind him.

"102673".

Without a second thought, Shen Jicheng immediately entered the password. With a click, the door opened.

Overjoyed, he turned around to express his gratitude, "Thank you!"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the face behind him. His smile froze on his lips.

Pei Lin stood behind him, his eyes cold and dark, staring at him expressionlessly.

Shen Jicheng's mind went blank, and he instinctively took off running. However, Pei Lin was prepared, grabbing him by the back of his collar and asking in a icy tone, "Baby, where are you going?"

The force of his hand pulled Shen Jicheng back from outside the door, and he locked the door behind him.

Shen Jicheng's back slammed heavily against the iron railing. Before he could regain his balance, a hand gripped his chin tightly. Pei Lin narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the face smeared with cigarette ash before him, uttering each word slowly and deliberately.

"First they killed my fish, then they burned down my house."

"You've got some nerve, honey?"

Shen Jicheng's cheeks were being pinched, rendering him speechless. He could only gaze at the person before him with misty eyes, a clear pleading look in them. However, Pei Lin ignored him, his voice cold and indifferent.

"Tell me, how should I punish you?"