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

"At that time, my father's career was on the rise, and my mother was pregnant with me and about to give birth. But just then, rumors started circulating that my father had an illegitimate child." Pei Lin's voice was very calm, so calm that it sounded like he was telling someone else's story.

"My mother loved him. To protect his career, she publicly acknowledged that illegitimate child, the one I later sent to prison. In name, he was my older brother. He was less than three months younger than me."

"My mother treated him very well." Pei Lin paused, his voice lowering an octave, "She treated him like her own son."

Shen Jicheng didn't look up, but his hand had somehow gripped Pei Lin's clothes. He remembered some things about Pei Lin's family; Pei Lin's mother had died of illness.

Could it be...?

He dared not think any further.

"My mother never told me about Pei Jing's background, only that he was adopted. I have always treated him like my own brother."

Pei Lin's voice was very soft. His chin rested on Shen Jicheng's shoulder, and his breath brushed past his ear, carrying a slight warmth.

"When we were eight years old, my father's career was hindered, and he needed someone to help him rise to the top. So he decisively abandoned my mother and married a woman who could help his career, namely Pei Shuli's mother. In order to prevent the outside world from knowing that he was married and had children, he abandoned the three of us, including Pei Jing. Everyone who knew that he was married was silenced."

Shen Jicheng pursed his lips, not interrupting him.

"Later, my mother took me and Pei Jing to live with her. To ensure we could go to school, she took on three jobs. She worked as a sales assistant in a shopping mall during the day, washed dishes in a restaurant at night, and did some handicrafts at home on weekends. She worked so hard because she hoped that Pei Jing and I could both study well."

Pei Lin paused for a moment.

"But Pei Jing is different. He's used to a life of luxury and can't stand this change. He wants to go back, he wants to go back to the Pei family. So every week he would secretly go to the Pei family mansion to inquire about news."

"When he was thirteen, Pei Jing went to the Pei family again. His mother asked him where he was going, and he said he was going to the beach to collect seashells to sell at a tourist attraction. That night, Pei Jing did not return. His mother was worried and went out to look for him. It was already dark, and the tide was high, so she could not see anything."

Pei Lin's voice sounded as if it had been soaked in seawater, carrying a thin layer of coldness.

"That day, I came back from a math competition and waited for a long time. Pei Jing didn't come back. Nor did my mother, who was supposed to come home, come back."

Shen Jicheng felt as if something was blocking his throat.

"Pei Jing got his wish and was recognized by Pei Yunlang, who had seized power, becoming the eldest young master of the Pei family. My mother never knew any of this until her death."

Pei Lin gently stroked the back of Shen Jicheng's head with his palm, his voice low and hoarse, "She sank to the bottom of the sea, her remains never found."

Shen Jicheng's eyes suddenly stung with tears. He couldn't say anything, and could only hug Pei Lin tightly, his arms clenching around her.

"My mother could have avoided this. It was Pei Jing's lie that caused me to lose my dearest person."

How can I not hate you?

"I hate him to the core. I hate him to the bone. I hate Pei Yunlang for not knowing how to cherish, for seducing one woman after another, for his fickleness, and even more so for his heartlessness. I hate Pei Jing for being ungrateful, and for lying that caused my mother's death."

Pei Lin chuckled softly, a laugh devoid of warmth, filled only with self-mockery.

"There's no reason for bad people to live forever while good people sleep in the darkness. So, along this journey, I took everything they wanted. There has to be a price to pay, right? Otherwise, how can my mother's soul rest in peace?"

Shen Jicheng buried his face in his chest and mumbled something.

"You... are right."

He didn't know what to say. All comfort seemed pale and powerless in the face of such a heavy past. He could only tell him that his decision was right.

Pei Lin remained silent for a moment. Then he slowly straightened up, looked down at Shen Jicheng's face, and his gaze held a seriousness that Shen Jicheng had never seen before.

"Jiaming," he said, "I love you very much."

At that moment, all the excitement and heartache in Shen Jicheng's heart disappeared with that address.

Pei Lin rarely called him by his name. Most of the time he called him "baby," and occasionally teasingly called him "little puppy." But now, he was calling him Shi Jiaming... this pseudonym.

Shen Jicheng pursed his lips and remained silent. The complex emotions that surged within him in that instant rose like a tide, then receded.

Pei Lin noticed his silence and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Shen Jicheng shook his head and forced a smile. "It's nothing. It's just... I prefer hearing you call me 'baby'."

Pei Lin looked at him for two seconds, the scrutiny in his eyes slowly turning into tenderness. He chuckled softly and indulgently ruffled his hair, "Okay, my darling."

As the sun sets, the wind on the viewing platform carries the salty smell of the sea, causing people's clothes to flutter.

Shen Jicheng leaned on the railing, watching the sun gradually sink below the horizon, and sighed for the thirty-seventh time that night. Song Yiyang sat beside him, chewing gum and taking pictures of the sunset, and finally couldn't stand Shen Jicheng's sighing anymore.

"Ancestor! Don't sigh! If it really doesn't work, we'll go to 'Full Moon' again, and I'll order you another ten or eight!"

Shen Jicheng glanced at him sullenly, "To hell with the full moon. If Pei Lin really finds out, I probably won't even know how I died."

Pei Lin despises fickle people the most. So, does his tendency to fall in love with every woman he meets count as fickle? Even though he was just touching his abs and didn't do anything else…

Song Yiyang roughly understood what he was thinking. He put away his camera, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't overthink it. You're not like Pei Lin's dad. His dad deceived people's feelings, deceived marriage, and deceived them into having children. You're just a little playful and indulging in your hand fetishes. There are plenty of people in this world who are into hands, voices, and looks. It's perfectly normal for you to be a bit into abs!"

Shen Jicheng's mood improved somewhat after hearing his words, "That's true..."

Just as he was about to say something, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. It was a new phone, a new number, and he'd only been using it for a few days.

He took out his phone; the screen displayed an unfamiliar message with only one sentence.

"Pei Shuli secretly exchanged people with Pei Lin at the South Road seaside."

Shen Jicheng's pupils suddenly contracted.

Without thinking twice, he straightened up from the railing, said nothing to Song Yiyang, and ran away.

Song Yiyang was admiring the sunset he had photographed, clicking his tongue in praise, "It's really well done. Let me tell you, in the future—" He turned his head, but the seat next to him was already empty.

Where are they?!

Shen Jicheng dialed the unfamiliar number as he ran, but no one answered. He had no idea who had sent the message. The number was newly registered; even Pei Lin didn't know it. Had his family found out? Or was it Pei Lin himself?

No matter who sent the message, he had to check it out.