Chapter 24

“Please supervise.”

The flashlights flickered on the screen.

After a year and a half, the apologizer had changed, but the real-time rolling evaluations weren’t as bad as before.

For ordinary people, financial fraud was too distant from them, not affecting their immediate interests. They discussed it casually, with most of the real-time discussions revolving around how handsome “Prince Youcheng” was or irrelevant entertainment chatter like “Honey, I forgive you because you’re so handsome.” 

Outsiders watch the excitement, insiders are the ones truly in the fight.

Heda instantly turned against Youcheng, announcing the termination of their collaboration. They turned from friends to enemies in an instant. This time, Heda was determined to sink Youcheng’s ship completely. Otherwise, with three thousand nails in the broken ship, the troubles would continue once Youcheng caught his breath.

Pei Mingshu fought hard, sleeping only three to four hours a day, flipping day and night, and often visiting the hospital to check on Pei Jingyou’s condition.

Fortunately, Pei Jingyou recovered well after the surgery. Pei Mingshu wanted him to prioritize recovery and not worry about company matters for now. However, Pei Jingyou couldn’t swallow this anger. He had always been tough and decisive. Suddenly being stabbed in the back like this, how could he accept it?

A few days later, Pei Jingyou asked the doctor to transfer his hospital bed and facilities back to the Pei residence for easier management of the situation.

Yue Xiyun used to recuperate on the fourth floor when she was seriously ill. The fourth floor had been renovated and was suitable.

Pei Jingyou lay on the bed where his deceased wife had lain, feeling a sense of desolation surging in his heart. Tears silently fell from his eyes.

Pei Mingshu wiped his face with a handkerchief, noticing that Pei Jingyou’s hair had turned mostly white.

“Dad, don’t be too sad,” Pei Mingshu whispered, “This is just a small setback. It will pass.”

Pei Jingyou covered his face with the handkerchief and shook his head gently.

He had been strong for most of his life, but starting from two years ago, he gradually found himself faltering. While physical discomfort was secondary, the company’s affairs troubled him more, forming a vicious cycle of mental and physical strain. He felt a downward force pulling him, trying to make him fall. After Pei Mingshu returned to the country, he felt somewhat relieved.

But unexpectedly, the buried mine eventually exploded.

Pei Jingyou calmed down after a while and slowly came to terms with it.

Sometimes, one must break to rebuild, just like his body. There was no benefit in enduring the discomfort. Instead, taking this opportunity for surgery could truly help him recover.

Putting down the handkerchief, a glint appeared in Pei Jingyou’s eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m not too old to get back up.”

Pei Mingshu knew that Pei Jingyou wouldn’t be defeated so easily, so he stopped persuading him to rest.

“What about Qing?” Pei Jingyou asked. After the operation, he had seen Pei Qing a few times in the hospital, but they hadn’t spoken much as father and son.

“He’s resting downstairs,” Pei Mingshu added, “He’s been handling internal affairs of the company these past few days and is quite busy.”

Pei Jingyou nodded, his expression turning sad again, but after the sadness, he smiled faintly. “With two such capable sons like you, I’m not afraid of anything, not even ghosts and demons.”

In the end, there was a hint of ruthlessness and depth in his words.

Pei Mingshu understood what he meant.

Financial fraud was a deadly trick. It was impossible for ordinary people to access those confidential documents. Calculating it, there were probably less than ten people who could leak information.

Furthermore, with Heda’s immediate attack, they seemed to have no fear, as if playing a coordinated game.

Without a doubt, someone inside had defected to the other side.

And this person’s rank must be quite high.

Pei Jingyou had always been a decisive figure in the business world. All of his top executives were handpicked and trained by him, and they had weathered many storms together. Among them were some “old comrades.” Betrayal from any of them would be a big blow to Pei Jingyou. That’s why when he saw the news, he was so furious that he fainted.

Now that he had finished the surgery and returned home to recuperate, Pei Jingyou couldn’t rest easy. He was determined to root out the person who stabbed him in the back. Pei Mingshu also wanted to find this person, but with the situation so tense, whoever it was had probably gone even deeper into hiding.

The business world was dark and treacherous, and Pei Jingyou had experienced much of it. The more challenging the situation, the more spirited he became. He was a natural fighter in the business arena. Even though he was still recovering, just a moment ago he had been deeply emotional; now, his entire expression displayed a fierce eagerness.

Pei Mingshu comforted him a few more times. At this moment, Ding Mohai entered. Pei Mingshu stood up from beside the bed, quietly reminding Ding Mohai to be careful not to overly stimulate or tire Pei Jingyou. Ding Mohai nodded respectfully, “Alright, Young Master, rest assured. You’ve been exhausted these past few days. Go and rest for a while.”

Pei Mingshu glanced back at his father.

Pei Jingyou lay on the bed, looking weak from a distance, no longer the incredibly strong father he remembered.

Pei Mingshu averted his gaze.

The servants had already prepared hot meals. Pei Mingshu went downstairs, and the food was immediately brought out.

Pei Mingshu waved it off; he had no appetite now.

“Has Pei Qing and Xiao Yin eaten yet?”

The servant hesitated, “They haven’t come out yet. We delivered it to Xiao Yin’s room. I’m not sure if they’ve eaten.”

Pei Mingshu nodded and looked towards Mo Yin’s room.

With the current situation being so stormy, he didn’t have the mood to think about private matters. Mo Yin must be feeling anxious. It was better for him to have Pei Qing’s company. They could comfort each other.

Pei Mingshu lowered his head, his mood still complex.

He never knew he could be so indecisive about certain things.

Without appetite and without sleepiness, Pei Mingshu decided to continue working upstairs. Heda was holding on tightly, showing no signs of relaxing. Obviously, there would be no chance for cooperation anymore. Actually, when Heda suddenly showed goodwill before, Pei Mingshu found it strange. But intuition couldn’t replace experience in making decisions. Now it seemed that Heda must have contacted someone back then, deciding to lay low first and then counterattack.

So, who could that person be?

Furrowing his brows, Pei Mingshu examined the documents in his hand, deeply inhaling the smoke from the cigarette between his lips.

After some time, someone knocked on the door.

Pei Mingshu raised his eyes and saw a young-looking servant. His brows furrowed even more. “What’s the matter?”

Generally, servants weren’t allowed on this floor without permission.

The servant brought a cart from behind and cautiously said, “Xiao Yin cooked some porridge.”

Pei Mingshu’s expression froze for a moment before he said, “Come in.”

The servant quickly pushed the cart in.

The porridge was just plain vegetable porridge, with white grains of rice and green leafy vegetables mixed in, giving it a refreshing taste. Pei Mingshu chewed on a piece of crispy sweet chestnut, his expression visibly relaxing.

“Hasn’t he slept yet?”

“No, he should be in the garden now.”

Pei Mingshu put down the spoon. “It’s late at night. What is he doing in the garden?”

“He said it was too hot in the kitchen, so he went out to let off some steam before sleeping.”

Pei Mingshu inquired further, “And Pei Qing?”

“The Second Young Master went upstairs in the morning.”

Pei Mingshu fell silent for a moment. He immediately realized that Mo Yin had cooked porridge after finishing dinner with Pei Qing. After Pei Qing went upstairs, Mo Yin came out to cook porridge, and then went to the garden.

Pei Mingshu said to the servant, “You can go and rest.”

The servant glanced at the bowl of porridge on his desk.

“It’s alright, I’ll clean up myself.”

After the servant left, Pei Mingshu walked to the terrace. The garden was blurry in the darkness of the night, even the colors of the flowers were shrouded in shadow. Pei Mingshu couldn’t see the situation downstairs, nor did he know if Mo Yin was still in the garden. Was he waiting for him?

Placing his hand on the cool railing, Pei Mingshu gazed into the endless darkness of the garden. After about ten seconds, maybe even less, he turned back into the room, picked up the coat nearby, and entered the elevator.

The lights downstairs were dim, and the servants were either sleeping or hiding. It seemed like no one was there. Pei Mingshu walked slowly to the garden. He followed the garden path slowly, looking around. He couldn’t call out; he could only silently search to see if there was the slender figure he was looking for.

Along the way, Pei Mingshu didn’t see anyone. There was only the cold fragrance of flowers and the fragrance of grass. As he walked, he felt a bit regretful, feeling that his actions seemed impulsive and wishful thinking.

In the darkness, Pei Mingshu paused and glanced around. It was all black, without wind, and the trees stood still. Only his heart was in turmoil.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly and slowly turned around.

At that moment of turning, the faint sound of objects rolling on the ground entered Pei Mingshu’s ears subconsciously, and he instinctively turned back.

Mo Yin was not far away from him, surrounded by winter snow plum blossoms. Long slender green leaves adorned the surroundings, and with one hand, he pushed the wheelchair while using the other to push aside the green leaves and white plum blossoms in front of him. His eyes were fixed on Pei Mingshu’s direction in the darkness.

It had been a long time since they faced each other like this.

For a moment, both of them just looked silently at each other, as if neither had expected the other to suddenly appear in front of them.

Mo Yin was the first to look away. He lowered his head, letting the dark green leaves cover him, and his head drooped slightly.

Pei Mingshu stood still for a moment before slowly walking over.

Mo Yin kept his head down. Although there were ground lights in the garden, it was still very dark, darker than the moonlight in the sky. The silver moonlight fell on Mo Yin’s head, casting a hazy veil over his black hair.

Pei Mingshu sighed softly in his heart as he reached out to cup Mo Yin’s ears and whispered, “Your ears are going to fall off.”

Mo Yin trembled all over, gently turned his face away from Pei Mingshu’s hands, and remained silent, still not looking at him.

To preserve the original appearance of the garden, the pathway was not very wide, barely enough to accommodate each other.

Pei Mingshu leaned down slightly, his palm covering Mo Yin’s hand again.

Mo Yin’s hand was cold and thin.

He didn’t struggle or make a sound.

Pei Mingshu held onto it for a long time before saying, “The porridge was delicious.”

Mo Yin still didn’t speak. He kept his head down and hadn’t looked at Pei Mingshu since their initial eye contact.

Pei Mingshu suddenly wanted to see Mo Yin’s current expression.

He tightly held Mo Yin’s hand and said, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing major.”

Mo Yin finally raised his head, his expression mirroring the calmness Pei Mingshu was trying to convey, along with a thick barrier. “Take care of yourself.”

His words were polite and unassuming, without any overstepping, but they stirred up waves in Pei Mingshu’s heart. He knew that for Mo Yin, every initiative was not easy.

Mo Yin slowly withdrew his hand.

Pei Mingshu watched him leave.

The last time at school, he watched Mo Yin leave like this.

That had been months ago.

During this time, he had been busy with the cooperation case. After the financial fraud scandal broke out, he had been busy cleaning up the mess. He had been too busy to think about anything else. But why hadn’t those complicated emotions faded away? Instead, they only grew stronger.

Mo Yin returned to his room and took off his thick coat, and the room was warm. He rubbed his hands and pushed the wheelchair to the window, pulling back a corner of the curtains.

Pei Mingshu was still standing in the garden.

His figure was tall and aloof.

The two brothers seemed completely different, yet in some ways, strangely similar.

Mo Yin’s lips curved into a faint smile.

Self-control was also a consumable.

Especially in such a turbulent environment, controlling one’s emotions became even more difficult.

Sometimes the more you tried to restrain yourself, the harder it became.

It was like when a part of your body was uncomfortable; the more you focused on it, the more intensely you felt it.

Mo Yin lowered the curtain, and the smile on his lips gradually disappeared.

——It was time.

He dialed a number on his phone.

“Zhang, are you still awake?”

“I don’t need your help for that.”

“Of course, I have something to discuss with you.”

Mo Yin twirled the black and white card in his fingers, and said nonchalantly, “Actually, besides the financial issues, Youcheng has also done some things that are not quite legal or compliant. I wonder if you’re interested in helping an innocent citizen solve a case?”