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

Pei Lin sat on the sofa, his eyes lowered, his expression revealing nothing, but his voice was soft and slightly hoarse.

"We'll discuss this matter after the results are in."

Zhang Xu swallowed the rest of his words.

Some things are clear to outsiders, but not necessarily to those involved. Zhang Xu didn't continue.

The living room remained quiet for a long time. Pei Lin sat motionless on the sofa, but finally reached out, took out a cigarette case from the coffee table drawer, put one in his lips, and lit it.

The flames danced on his fingertips, and a wisp of bluish-white smoke slowly rose, enveloping his silhouette and blurring the emotions that shouldn't be seen.

The cigarette butts piled up one by one in the ashtray. Pei Lin leaned back on the sofa with his eyes closed, wondering if this seed had sprouted in his heart, wrapping around him like a vine, making it hard for him to breathe.

He thought he was probably really sick.

Pei Lin opened his eyes and stubbed out the burnt-out cigarette in the ashtray. He turned his head, his voice hoarse as if it had been smoked.

"Zhang Xu".

"Give me the medicine."

...

"Are you fucking crazy?!"

In the tightly closed study, Chu Haonan held an empty medicine box, glaring intently at the man sitting at the desk. For the first time, the usually good-tempered man swore.

"I specially prepared several months' worth of medicine for you, and you finished it in less than a week?!"

His angry expression contrasted sharply with the seated man. Pei Lin's face was expressionless, but his brow showed obvious fatigue, as if he hadn't rested well; his voice was somewhat hoarse.

"Get another box, lately..." He paused before changing to a more suitable word.

I've been thinking about things a lot lately.

Chu Haonan slammed the empty medicine box on the table with annoyance. "Are you overthinking it? You might as well just tell me who you suspect."

"I told you, he's innocent, and the investigation found nothing wrong." Pei Lin frowned, seemingly displeased with the other party's suspicion.

Chu Haonan said angrily, "You say he's innocent, and I believe you! After all, the results are there, and it really has nothing to do with him. Then let me ask you, dare you say that you took the medicine not because of him?"

Pei Lin remained indifferent as he spoke, "It's just that I've been under a lot of work pressure lately."

"Swear it."

"I swear," Pei Lin said without hesitation.

"Swear on Shi Jiaming that you didn't take the medicine because of him. If you did, then he—"

"Enough." Before the curse could be finished, Pei Lin interrupted him sharply.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he closed his eyes.

"I'm just being paranoid."

"It has nothing to do with him."

Chu Haonan never expected that Pei Lin's illness would flare up and cause trouble for those around him. After all, being with someone with PPD personality disorder means being constantly monitored, controlled, and suspected, which is unacceptable to anyone.

He was originally worried about Shi Jiaming, who was with him.

But seeing Pei Lin's current condition, he is more worried about Pei Lin himself.

If he hadn't been worried about Shi Jiaming getting hurt, and hadn't come to check on the situation today, he would have learned from Zhang Xu that Pei Lin hadn't been sleeping separately from Shi Jiaming these past few days, and hadn't even checked the surveillance footage, so there was no way he could control the situation.

All of this shows that Pei Lin is using medication to control himself, to avoid doubting, and to avoid being affected by his illness.

He couldn't even imagine what would have happened to Pei Lin if he hadn't come today.

Chu Haonan took a deep breath before slowly saying, "I don't care what you did before."

"From now on, I will not give you any more pills."

He warned Pei Lin seriously, "Unless you really don't value your life."

"If you're looking to kill yourself by buying medicine through other means, then I have nothing to say."

Pei Lin remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly and softly.

"Let's take the last one; it's his birthday tomorrow."

"I don't want to spend my birthday with suspicion and distrust."

Chu Haonan laughed angrily, "Is your life more important or his birthday?!"

"life."

Chu Haonan relented, saying that it wasn't hopeless yet.

next second.

"I have to stay alive to celebrate his birthday."

Chu Haonan: "..." He thought he understood Pei Lin well, but now he couldn't quite figure him out. He looked at Pei Lin with a deep gaze and asked seriously, "Are you still the Pei Lin I know?"

"When have you ever cared more about others than your own life?"

Pei Lin also lowered his eyes, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, he gave his answer.

"First meeting brings joy, and long-term companionship also stirs the heart."

"He is none other than himself."

Chu Haonan was completely at a loss. Frustrated, he scratched his hair and paced back and forth in the study. In the end, he finally gave in to Pei Lin's request and said irritably,

"I can't give you the medicine."

"If you value your life, you should know the consequences of taking too much of this medicine. If you want to live and be with your baby normally, you shouldn't rely on medication."

Chu Haonan ignored Pei Lin and walked straight out. His hand was on the doorknob, and then, as if remembering something, he earnestly gave a few instructions.

"Pei Lin, sometimes having doubts isn't a bad thing."

"What you think will ruin a relationship, have you ever thought that any relationship that can be ruined actually has a problem?"

After saying this, Chu Haonan left and closed the door.

The study fell silent again.

Pei Lin lay on the chair, not getting up for a long time.

His mind seemed to be pondering Chu Haonan's words, and he murmured softly, "Is that so...?"

But at this moment.

The phone started vibrating.

He glanced at the contact name, then swiped to answer. He listened to what the other person was saying, and Pei Lin's brows gradually relaxed.

Are you sure?

"Isn't Pei Shuli hooking up with Shen Mingxiao?"

A definitive answer came from the other end: "Yes, it has been confirmed that it is not the eldest young master of the Shen family. As for who the other party is, we will need more time to find out."

Pei Lin hummed in agreement, and after hanging up the phone, he felt a subtle sense of relief.

Not good.

Otherwise, he was really afraid that his precious child might have some connection with the Shen family.

For some unknown reason, Pei Lin opened the drawer and took out a small amulet pouch. It was small and delicate, with a brand-new red thread, as if it had just been made.

His child wants everything that others have.

I've heard that Baiguo Temple is very efficacious, and many people in City A go there to pray for peace charms. Those who go must be sincere and kowtow. In all these years, this seems to be the first time he's knelt down.

Oh no.

He also kowtowed and knelt when his mother passed away.

There is nothing else.

It's not necessary to kneel. Another way is to donate more incense money, and you won't have to kowtow to receive the amulet. But he was afraid that this wouldn't work, so he still knelt and donated a lot of incense money.

Although there were many twists and turns and it took a lot of time, we finally got it.

His child suffered a lot from a young age, living under the roof of others and enduring hunger and cold.

He hopes that he will be safe and healthy in the future.