Chapter 29

After Pei Jingyou’s death, his will was exposed.

He owned 57% of Youcheng’s shares, with 37% belonging to Pei Mingshu and the remaining 20% to Pei Qing.

Although this proportion couldn’t be considered absolutely fair, it showed his affection for Pei Qing, his illegitimate son. Almost all his movable and immovable property was evenly divided, and even some antiques and paintings, when converted to market value, were actually more given to Pei Qing than to Pei Mingshu.

For Pei Qing, this was a generous yet cruel will.

The more inheritance Pei Jingyou left him, the stronger Pei Qing’s inner guilt would be. And the stronger his guilt, the deeper his hatred towards Pei Mingshu would become.

Youcheng was currently in turmoil, facing a huge funding gap. However, Pei Qing was unhesitatingly using all available cash to buy shares from those small shareholders at high prices. For those shareholders, this was extremely attractive, but such intense trading of shares within a short period also intensified Youcheng’s turmoil.

Pei Qing didn’t care if there would be losses or how much. He only wanted to take Youcheng from Pei Mingshu at any cost, even if such a takeover might hasten Youcheng’s demise. But Pei Qing didn’t care.

In this sense, every penny left to Pei Qing by Pei Jingyou would ultimately become arrows aimed at the tottering Youcheng.

Mo Yin thought so and sincerely felt it was a perfect cycle.

But Pei Mingshu couldn’t just sit idly by.

For Pei Mingshu, it was actually a dilemma.

By quietly being a silent target, he could avoid internal conflicts with his brother, which might give the company some breathing space. But the cost of doing so was equivalent to handing Youcheng over to Pei Qing.

How did Pei Mingshu see Pei Qing? Could he trust Pei Qing with Youcheng?

He could only choose the lesser of two evils.

So, the question became simple.

Who would Pei Mingshu think could handle Youcheng better?

The answer was obvious.

A person as self-assured as Pei Mingshu, who was convinced of his own judgment, indifferent to everything and everyone, viewing everyone as weak, was actually more proud and arrogant than Pei Qing. He took care of everything, arranged everything, controlled everything, believing he wouldn’t make mistakes, and even if he did, he would do his best to rectify them.

Mo Yin sighed softly on the glass, lightly tracing the beautiful flower he had first seen in this world.

He had looked it up later and found that the meaning of this flower in this world was very complex, including one interpretation that it represented ominousness and death. He liked this interpretation the most.

Behind him, Pei Qing was holding him, instructing his agent to buy 3% of a shareholder’s shares at a higher price than yesterday.

If successful, Pei Qing would have over 33% of the shares, giving him absolute veto power and allowing him to directly confront Youcheng and Pei Mingshu.

Mo Yin vaguely heard the words “face-to-face discussion.” Pei Qing’s reply was very firm, “No, if he doesn’t agree, terminate the transaction.”

The voice on the other end of the phone seemed to become more excited, and a louder voice entered Mo Yin’s ears, “But the eldest young master is also trying to persuade him.”

Pei Qing fell silent for a moment, his hand wandering on Mo Yin’s body. Mo Yin felt a bit ticklish and twitched, but Pei Qing pressed him back firmly. Mo Yin hummed softly, turning to look at Pei Qing.

Pei Qing’s face was calm, his shirt buttons slightly undone, and everything else neatly dressed. However, Mo Yin was different. He only wore loose pajamas, and his body was bare underneath. Fortunately, the room was warm, or he would have caught a cold.

Seeing the watery look in Mo Yin’s eyes, so restrained and obedient, Pei Qing placed his hand on his abdomen and gently moved it.

Mo Yin immediately closed his eyes, leaning towards his chest as if he couldn’t bear it.

Compared to the initial panic and confusion when doing such things, Mo Yin had now adapted to Pei Qing’s rhythm and didn’t completely lose his rationality.

For example, at this moment, Pei Qing was slow, and so was his rationality as he listened to the call between Pei Qing and that person.

He heard the person constantly persuading Pei Qing, saying it was a critical moment and they couldn’t afford to miss out on this 3% of shares, as perhaps these 3% would make all the difference in the end.

The hot palm enveloped Mo Yin’s Adam’s apple, and Pei Qing turned his face to kiss the corner of his lips. His Adam’s apple was continuously squeezed in the palm, causing Mo Yin to involuntarily open his mouth. Pei Qing deeply kissed him and replied to the phone, “Tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock.”

The call ended, and Mo Yin was pressed against the glass. His face was against the melting half of the flower, brows furrowed, lips bitten. He seemed to be in pain, but upon closer inspection, he appeared extremely entranced.

Pei Qing continued speaking by his ear, “Do you think this could be a trap?”

“He wants to lure me out.”

Mo Yin replied intermittently, “Lure you out… what’s the point…”

Pei Qing kissed his cheek, his lips trailing down to Mo Yin’s slightly pouted ones. His tone remained calm, “Perhaps he wants to find you.”

Mo Yin bit his lip, forcefully turning his face away.

The black hair at the back of his head was dark, a bit damp, and jumping in clusters.

He didn’t respond, and Pei Qing stopped talking as well.

They remained silent, as they often did, for a long time.

Mo Yin had never resisted; he was almost always compliant, his expression carrying a kind of sacrificial atonement. Sometimes he would apologize, and sometimes he would plead to be let go.

But no matter what he said, Pei Qing would not listen.

It was an isolated cabin, just the two of them. In the evening, Pei Qing cooked for Mo Yin, even having candlelit dinners. He said, “I’ll take you with me tomorrow.”

Mo Yin looked up at Pei Qing. Pei Qing’s expression was calm, with a hint of a smile directed at Mo Yin. “If he shows up, will you go with him?”

Mo Yin’s expression froze, his eyes staring fixedly at the burning candle on the table.

After a moment, he said softly, “My legs are useless. I won’t go with anyone.”

The next day was cold outside, with a gloomy sky. It was unclear whether the weather was originally bad or if the clouds were just too thick, spiraling above the dense forest like a lurking dragon.

Four or five pitch-black cars were parked outside the cabin, with a driver in black waiting in the middle car.

Mo Yin got into the car, and Pei Qing sat beside him, naturally wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “He’s really looking for you.”

Mo Yin remained silent.

“There’s someone guarding the East Lake Highway intersection twenty-four hours a day,” Pei Qing whispered against his forehead, “He’s so concerned about you. Wasn’t that time the first time you met him there?”

Mo Yin guessed that Pei Qing meant “secret rendezvous”.

He was silent for a moment before whispering, “Maybe he’s looking for you, doesn’t want you to make the same mistake again.”

Mo Yin felt the atmosphere around Pei Qing suddenly turn cold.

The car’s heater was on, warming up the atmosphere, and the scent lingering on Mo Yin was gentle. But the atmosphere was so condensed.

As the vehicle left the forest, Mo Yin hadn’t seen the scenery outside for some time. He couldn’t help but look out the window, an action that, in Pei Qing’s eyes, leaned towards Pei Mingshu again.

In fact, Mo Yin really wanted to see Pei Mingshu.

With Pei Qing, he was already confident. But this world was supported by two forces, and he had to defeat both forces to see the beautiful scene in his dreams.

The place where the vehicle stopped was still a private mansion hidden in the jungle. Because they were going out today, Mo Yin finally had a wheelchair again. Pei Qing had things to discuss and couldn’t bring Mo Yin along the whole time, so he assigned two bodyguards to follow Mo Yin from behind. Mo Yin sat in the courtyard’s corridor, admiring the scenery. Two bodyguards were stationed at the end of each corridor, blocking the way.

For someone like him, Pei Qing was indeed very attentive.

It was indeed very strange to request a face-to-face meeting.

Where would Pei Mingshu be?

Would he appear today? If not, would Pei Mingshu be secretly watching him in some way? What would Pei Mingshu think when he saw him again? Even if he couldn’t see him, after he had been “missing” for so long, Pei Mingshu couldn’t possibly be unaffected.

Unfortunately, if he were with Pei Mingshu, he would definitely be able to accurately and naturally guide Pei Mingshu to counterattack like Pei Qing. But he was curious as to what choices Pei Mingshu would make without his influence. Could Pei Qing’s madness force Pei Mingshu into a corner?

Mo Yin sat in his thick down jacket under the eaves, burying his face in the snow-white fluff, his eyes staring straight ahead, seemingly lost in thought.

In the surveillance footage Pei Mingshu saw, Mo Yin was just sitting there, motionless, lost in thought.

He didn’t look particularly good or bad, but Pei Mingshu still felt a pang of heartache.

Pei Qing was very cautious.

The cars waiting at the Donghu Road intersection followed Pei Qing’s car, but eventually lost track.

Fortunately, Qian Cheng informed him of the final location in time. When Pei Mingshu rushed over, he keenly noticed that Qian Cheng had no intention of selling the shares and had already left. He only left behind a few minutes of surveillance footage.

In his study, Pei Mingshu repeatedly watched the footage from the corridor, almost masochistically.

During this time, Pei Mingshu had been busy and hadn’t had time to think about Mo Yin, or perhaps he dared not think about what Mo Yin might have suffered during the time he was taken away by Pei Qing.

Pei Qing’s frantic acquisition of shares had a clear purpose, something Pei Mingshu understood very well.

He had been thinking about what he should do. Should he follow Pei Qing’s madness and bid for the shares, meaninglessly depleting all their funds? Or should he retreat and hand over Youcheng to Pei Qing? But if Pei Qing got Youcheng, would he really manage it well?

Pei Mingshu knew what Pei Qing was up to in his public actions. If Youcheng fell into Pei Qing’s hands, there would be almost no chance of a comeback.

It seemed that whichever path he chose would be a dead end.

Then there was Mo Yin, who had once promised to protect him, yet had continuously brought him harm…

Pei Mingshu pressed his hand against his forehead, staring fixedly at a certain point in the air. Perhaps it was time to make a decision.

After a while, he picked up the phone and said, “Uncle Ding, come up.”

—

Mo Yin felt that Pei Qing was becoming more nervous. Sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night and find Pei Qing still talking urgently on the phone.

When Pei Qing noticed him watching, his face would strangely soften, and he would lean down to kiss him affectionately.

“Who do you think will win?” Pei Qing asked.

Mo Yin was silent for a moment before saying, “I don’t know.”

Pei Qing’s face gradually turned cold again.

In the darkness, there was an indescribable silence. Pei Qing said softly, “You once said you hoped I would win.”

Mo Yin also replied softly, “Pei Qing, you’ve changed.”

Pei Qing’s heart suddenly clenched. He grasped Mo Yin’s shoulder, looking at him intently in the darkness. “Who made me change?”

Mo Yin quietly looked at him, and finally, with the same four words on his lips, he said, “I don’t know.”

This answer was cruel enough to drive someone insane, but Pei Qing only breathed heavily and said calmly, “Let’s go to sleep.”

“What do you want to eat tomorrow?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t want to hear those three words.”

“Then whatever.”

Pei Qing shook Mo Yin’s shoulder as if he couldn’t bear it anymore. “Are you so unhappy with me?”

It was Mo Yin who first said he loved Pei Qing. Why was the one he couldn’t have now Pei Qing?

Mo Yin also seemed a bit bewildered. He looked at the ceiling for a long time before answering Pei Qing’s question, “I’m not unhappy. I just don’t know what I want to eat.”

Then Pei Qing had nothing more to say.

The next morning, Pei Qing made breakfast for Mo Yin. Their isolated cabin was completely cut off from the outside world, except for the regular delivery of daily necessities. Everything about Mo Yin was taken care of by Pei Qing.

Pei Qing seemed to enjoy it.

According to Mo Yin’s judgment of Pei Qing, he actually seemed to be longing for someone who could rely on him wholeheartedly. Because only in this way could he completely control the person, without worrying about when they might leave. He used this point to gain Pei Qing’s heart.

Mo Yin couldn’t help but think again: Pei Qing and Pei Mingshu were indeed quite similar in some ways, both extremely self-centered.

Mo Yin drank his hot soup one sip at a time, and suddenly, Pei Qing received a phone call.

As usual, Pei Qing didn’t avoid him.

The voice on the other end of the phone was familiar and clear.

“It’s me.”

“Clang,” Mo Yin’s spoon fell into the bowl.

It seemed that the voice on the other end heard this sound.

“Xiao Yin?”

Pei Qing looked at Mo Yin, whose face had turned pale.

Instead of hanging up like he used to, Pei Qing put down his phone and turned on the speakerphone on the table. “What’s the matter?”

On the other end of the phone, Pei Mingshu was silent for a moment before saying, “Pei Qing, are you determined to fight to the end?”

“No need for nonsense,” came Pei Qing’s reply.

Mo Yin could hear Pei Mingshu’s steady breathing.

“Okay,” Pei Mingshu said. “Xiao Yin, eat your meal properly.”

“Pei Mingshu—”

The phone was hung up.

Pei Mingshu faced the darkened phone, Mo Yin’s short call echoing in his ears.

He suddenly became absent-minded: that seemed to be the first time Mo Yin had called his name.

As the phone hung up, Pei Qing stood up abruptly, his chest heaving as he stared at Mo Yin. Mo Yin lowered his head, picked up the spoon from his bowl again, and his wrist was grabbed. Pei Qing held it tightly, causing Mo Yin’s wrist to tremble, but he remained silent. That one call of “Pei Mingshu” spoke volumes. The two remained silent, and the phone on the table rang persistently, disturbing the silence. Pei Qing slowly averted his gaze and directly answered the call, his voice hoarse, “Hello?”

The voice on the other end was urgent and loud, “Youcheng is going to be acquired by Heda!”