Pei Jingdu glanced at his younger brother, whose lips were split and eyes were dark, crazy, and full of hostility.
Then he looked at Qin Mu, whose jaw was swollen and eyes were burning with the fire of justice.
He just felt a splitting headache.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said to Qin Mu in a solemn voice.
"Mr. Qin, thank you for your concern about Zhaozhao."
"But the situation is special now. It's not convenient for you to visit her, so as to avoid greater public - opinion troubles."
"Please go back first. The Pei Group will deal with the false remarks on the Internet."
Qin Mu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and gave Pei Jiangmu a cold look.
After a moment, he turned his gaze to the closed ward door, his eyes full of pain and helplessness.
He knew that with Pei Jiangmu, this paranoid obstacle in the way, there was no way he could see Zhaozhao today.
"Pei Jiangmu."
He finally looked at the man who was like a caged beast, his voice hoarse but clear.
"If you really love her, think carefully about what is truly best for her. Instead of forcing her into a corner in your own way."
After saying that, he didn't stay any longer. He turned around and left this suffocating place with all his loneliness and worry.
In the corridor, only Pei Jiangmu's heavy breathing was left again.
He slid down slowly against the cold wall and sat on the ground, like a broken statue that had been drained of all its strength.
He didn't look at anyone. While raising his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, he stared blankly at the ward door.
Qin Mu's last words echoed in his mind like a curse.
What is truly best for her?
These words were like a dull knife, cutting back and forth on his already battered heart.
It wasn't fatal, but it brought a continuous, bone - deep pain.
He had never doubted that what he gave her was the best.
But why... had it come to this?
The shelter he provided, the path he planned, all the obstacles he cleared... weren't these all for her good?
Could it be... that he was really wrong?
As soon as this thought emerged, it was ruthlessly suppressed by the more enormous paranoia and fear deep in his heart.
No! He couldn't be wrong! He couldn't afford to be wrong!
If everything he firmly believed in was wrong, then what was the meaning of his existence?
Pei Jingdu watched his younger brother looking so lost and dejected, as if he would disappear at any moment along with the person in the ward. His chest felt clogged with a complex mix of emotions - anger, heartache, helplessness, and a faint, almost imperceptible fear.
He stepped forward and looked down at Pei Jiangmu sitting on the ground, his voice filled with uncontrollable anger and disappointment.
"Pei Jiangmu! Look at what you've become?!"
His voice sounded extremely harsh in the empty corridor.
"Depressed, unkempt, sitting here like a useless piece of trash!"
"Are you going to rot away here day by day just because Zhaozhao is in a coma?!"
"What about the company? What about the Pei family? Are you just going to ignore everything? Are you going to exhaust yourself here?!"
In the face of his elder brother's scolding, Pei Jiangmu didn't even lift his eyelids.
He still maintained that position, his eyes glued to the ward door, as if all his vitality was there.
After a few seconds, just when Pei Jingdu thought he wouldn't answer.
He very slowly, almost without any hesitation, nodded slightly.
"Yeah."
His voice was hoarse, but it carried a terrifying calmness and determination.
"As long as she doesn't wake up... nothing else... matters to me."
This simple sentence hit Pei Jingdu's heart like a boulder.
He was instantly speechless, and all his anger was replaced by a deeper sense of helplessness and fear.
He knew that Pei Jiangmu was deeply obsessed with Meng Ruochao, but he never expected it to have reached such an extent.
Meng Ruochao had become the only meaning of his existence, his anchor point, his weakness, and even... the fuse that could drag him into the abyss of destruction at any time.
Pei Jingdu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the choking feeling in his throat.
He knew that at this moment, any more scolding and reasoning would be futile for this younger brother who had got stuck in his own mindset.
He changed the subject, his tone softening a bit but still solemn.
"Okay, let's not talk about this for now. At least tell me, what exactly did you do to those people from the Du family?"
He squatted down, trying to look Pei Jiangmu in the eye, his gaze sharp.
"What's this 'poison' that Du Xixi mentioned in the live - broadcast? What's going on?"
"Give me the truth. There's a huge public outcry out there. The Pei Group's stock price has dropped sharply, and the shareholders are seizing the opportunity to make trouble."
"I need to know the truth at least so that I can figure out a way to clean up this mess for you!"
Especially the charge of "poisoning" was extremely serious.
If it was true, even with the power of the Pei family, it would be very difficult to completely suppress it, and it might even backfire.
Pei Jiangmu seemed not to hear. He was still immersed in his own world, his eyes blank and showing no reaction.
Just then, Qi Yu, who had finished handling the follow - up matters, rushed over in a hurry and happened to hear Pei Jingdu's question.
He glanced at his boss who was like a walking corpse, then quickly stepped forward and respectfully answered on Pei Jiangmu's behalf.
"Eldest Young Master, don't worry. There was no poisoning. How could we really poison them?"
Qi Yu's tone was firm, with a hint of helplessness.
"Those four glasses were just ordinary strong liquor with some unimportant flavorings added to make them look a bit suspicious in color."
"If we had really poisoned them with something that could cause organ failure, how could Du Xixi still have the energy to do a live - broadcast?"
"Back then, we said that just to watch them fight among themselves, expose each other's dirty secrets, and scare them a bit."
Hearing this, Pei Jingdu's tense nerves finally relaxed a bit, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, no one had died. This was the bottom line.
But then he frowned again.
"If there was no poisoning, then why did you just let them go? Aren't you afraid that they would bite back like this?"
Qi Yu glanced at Pei Jiangmu, who still showed no reaction, and continued to explain.
"Eldest Young Master, it was precisely because we didn't send anyone to follow them and completely let them go that they would be more convinced that they were 'doomed'."
"This kind of fear of constantly being on the verge of death is the real torture. And..."
He paused for a moment, lowering his voice with a hint of coldness.
"We didn't really let them off scot - free.
"Regarding Du Feng's embezzlement of public funds and bribery over the years, and Xia Lian's attempt to traffic Miss Meng back then.
"As well as all the dirty things that Du Xixi and Du Changlin have done over the years...
"We've already sorted out all the evidence, including the new clues they revealed while accusing each other to save their own skins in the factory that day, and anonymously submitted them to the police.
"The police have officially launched an investigation. It's estimated that in a few days, they'll be 'behind bars'.
"We just didn't expect that this Du Xixi would still dare to act so brazenly at the end of her rope and spout nonsense on the Internet."