“Tao Ge, why didn’t you come to class yesterday afternoon?”

The next day during lunch break, Tao Fengche and Wang Yuan went out of the school together to find food on the commercial street. The little shop selling clay pot rice was bustling, and the two barely found a seat. As soon as they sat down, Wang Yuan started talking.

Tao Fengche pulled out a napkin to wipe the table and said lightly, “During lunch, Cai Hong found some people to block me.”

He clearly didn’t want to say more, but Wang Yuan wasn’t willing to let him off so easily. He boldly guessed, “And then you got into a fight with them?”

Tao Fengche nodded.

Wang Yuan: “…”

He was stunned, not expecting that Tao Fengche really went to a brawl. He quickly looked Tao Fengche up and down, seeing that apart from a scratch on his neck, there were no other visible injuries. Only then did he feel relieved.

Tao Ge is indeed Tao Ge; those people probably didn’t get any advantage from him.

Confirming that Tao Fengche wasn’t seriously hurt, Wang Yuan felt much more at ease. He boldly switched to gossip mode, “Judging by the look of it, the fight was pretty intense?”

His whole face was filled with eager curiosity. Tao Fengche replied with a deadpan look, “Yeah, I even ended up in the police station.”

Wang Yuan: “?!”

He almost fell off his seat, barely maintaining his balance. Tao Fengche didn’t offer a helping hand, instead pulling out his phone and casually browsing social media. Within five minutes, their clay pot rice was served.

Tao Fengche hadn’t eaten at this shop for a while and had missed it. He poked the soft-boiled egg nestled on the beef with his chopsticks and patiently stirred the egg yolk evenly. Opposite him, Wang Yuan quickly ate a piece of braised pork rib to calm himself down and finally regained his ability to speak, “So… care to elaborate?”

Tao Fengche: “…”

“Something’s off, Tao Ge. Your face looks so stern. Were you tortured by the police?” Wang Yuan teased dangerously.

Tao Fengche resisted the urge to knock him on the head with his chopsticks, “Are you trying to mess with me while I eat?”

“Come on, tell me.” Wang Yuan begged, making it clear that he wouldn’t let Tao Fengche eat in peace unless he spilled the details.

Unable to resist him, Tao Fengche briefly summarized the events, omitting the part where he provoked Sui Yuesheng and got slapped. Wang Yuan listened and nodded, feeling both satisfied and somewhat angry.

“Seriously, is Cai Hong really an alpha? He’s always playing dirty tricks. He got himself beaten up and now he’s hiring thugs?” Despite his gossiping, Wang Yuan was loyal to Tao Fengche, quickly becoming indignant on his behalf. “Tao Ge, you’ve been too lenient with him. If it were up to me, I’d get some guys to teach him a lesson when he gets back to school. Show him what it means to be a decent person instead of a sneaky worm.”

Tao Fengche instinctively wanted to refuse. For him, dealing with Cai Hong in such a grand manner seemed beneath him. But just as he was about to speak, he remembered the particularly awkward dinner from the previous night.

It was the first meal Sui Yuesheng had at the Tao residence after many years. By all rights, it should have been a grand affair, but with only Tao Fengche and Sui Yuesheng as the hosts, neither had any intention of inviting guests or dining out. The two of them sat at a large mahogany dining table, with the kitchen putting in its best effort to prepare ten dishes to symbolize a perfect ten, filling the table to the brim.

The dishes were prepared according to their tastes, but the two diners wore equally grim expressions. Initially, Tao Fengche planned to apologize and ask for more details, but he first saw Jiang Jingyun’s car leaving the Tao residence. Upon asking a servant, he learned that it was Jiang’s driver who had returned Sui Yuesheng’s suit jacket.

What other explanation could there be?

They must have slept together!

Tao Fengche completely lost the desire to speak. He mechanically ate his food with his head down, but the lavish feast tasted like bland whole wheat bread to him, completely flavorless.

However… his previous words had indeed been somewhat harsh… He struggled internally for a long time before finally pulling out his phone and sending a few words under the cover of the tablecloth to Sui Yuesheng.

—He had just recently gotten this phone number from Xu Song.

[Tao Fengche]: [I’m sorry.]

Sui Yuesheng’s phone lit up beside him. He glanced at it but didn’t respond as Tao Fengche had hoped. Instead, he returned his attention to the table.

He seemed to have a good appetite but wore a stern face throughout, exuding a cold aura. The only words he spoke during the entire meal were to Xu Song.

“Uncle Xu, I’m full.”

Then he turned and went upstairs. Tao Fengche sneaked a glance, figuring he was heading to the study to work.

The two of them had sat face-to-face at the round dining table, eating a meal without saying a word from beginning to end, and Sui Yuesheng had treated him like air, even more annoyingly, Xu Song also went to the other side, went to the study together, and locked themselves in the room, without knowing what they were discussing.

Tao Fengche couldn’t bring himself to eavesdrop, and besides, the study was soundproofed so well that even a gunshot wouldn’t be heard outside. After standing at the door for a few seconds, he held his breath and returned to his bedroom.

The cold night air brushed his face. Completely excluded, Tao Fengche felt truly hurt.

If it weren’t for Cai Hong’s provocations, he wouldn’t have gotten into a fight, wouldn’t have faced Sui Yuesheng covered in cedar scent, and wouldn’t have had this series of chaotic events follow.

Just thinking about last night’s dinner gave Tao Fengche a stomachache.

After a moment’s contemplation, he nodded slowly.

“Really, Ge?!” Wang Yuan was shocked.

Tao Fengche had never taken Cai Hong seriously and naturally wouldn’t consider him a worthy opponent. Wang Yuan had prepared for Tao Fengche to refuse his suggestion and was ready to secretly find people to deal with Cai Hong himself. To his surprise, Tao Fengche agreed this time.

Overjoyed, Wang Yuan confirmed, “Tao Ge, you agree? I’ll get the guys then!”

The other day he had met some athletic students from a neighboring school while playing games. What were their names again…? As he recalled the contacts of those tall alpha guys, he mentally lit a candle for Cai Hong.

Poor guy, rest in peace.

“Just scare him, don’t go too far,” Tao Fengche advised.

High school was the time when alphas were most impulsive. A rush of adrenaline could easily lead to heavy-handed actions, and if things went wrong, Wang’s family would undoubtedly protect Wang Yuan, but those he recruited might not be so lucky.

It wasn’t worth ending up in a juvenile detention center over trash like Cai Hong.

“Got it, Ge.” Wang Yuan nodded and quickly changed the subject.

Both of them were alphas in their teenage years, still growing, and they ate quickly. In less than ten minutes, they had devoured their meals, then wiped their mouths with napkins and called the waiter for the bill.

The Tao family was wealthy, but the Wang family wasn’t short of money either. The two had known each other since elementary school, and after so many years, they had always split the bill. This time was no different.

However, when Tao Fengche opened his payment app and showed the merchant the QR code, it suddenly displayed “Payment Failed.”

What’s going on? Could it be a lack of funds? But no, there should still be at least six figures in this account… Tao Fengche frowned and switched to another card, but the payment still failed.

He slid his thumb across the screen a few times, feeling somewhat annoyed. Eventually, he decided to select the card that received annual dividends from Dow Chemicals, but still, that familiar alert tone rang out.

How could this be? The money in this card had hardly been touched!

Tao Fengche widened his eyes. Nearly eighteen years old, he had never experienced the taste of being short on cash. Despite swiping three times in a row without success, not only did the attendant in front of him struggle to maintain a business smile, but Tao Fengche’s own face also turned completely dark.

Minors like him couldn’t apply for credit cards. In the past, even if he didn’t have enough money in his own savings card, he could directly use Tao Zhixing’s credit card as a supplementary card. But now that Tao Zhixing had passed away, all the bank cards in his name had been cancelled, including the supplementary card.

Sui Yuesheng’s assistant had sent over a Sui Yuesheng supplementary card when delivering clothes to the Tao family ancestral home not long ago. Tao Fengche had casually tossed it onto the table upon receiving it, never bothering to put it in his wallet or link it to any payment apps.

Seeing his sudden change in expression, Wang Yuan quickly settled the bill for him, unable to suppress his curiosity — it was just over forty yuan, after all. What could possibly be wrong with Tao-ge?

But of course, he didn’t dare to ask.

In an instant, Tao Fengche pieced together the whole situation in his mind and cursed angrily to himself. He almost couldn’t control his facial expression — judging by the current situation, all his bank cards should have been frozen.

Except for judicial departments stipulated by law, only guardians had the authority to request banks to freeze his bank cards.

Damn it, Sui Yuesheng!

···

Tao, Chairman’s Office.

Assistant Zhou carried a stack of documents that needed Sui Yuesheng’s approval. With one hand, he exerted force to push open the heavy walnut door.

Behind the desk facing the door, Sui Yuesheng, wearing blue light-blocking glasses, raised his head and glanced at him with an indifferent gaze.

Even though Assistant Zhou had been with him for so many years, being looked at like that still made his heart race. However, he quickly adjusted his mood and understood the implied “speak quickly” in Sui Yuesheng’s eyes. He hurriedly said, “Boss, the task you assigned me this morning has been completed.”

Sui Yuesheng nodded. Assistant Zhou handed over the documents that required his approval, reported on his next stage of work, and prepared to leave. Suddenly, he hesitated as if wanting to say something.

Having worked alongside Sui Yuesheng for so long, he was accustomed to restraining his curiosity at all times. Anything he shouldn’t know or inquire about, he wouldn’t. But the task Sui Yuesheng had specifically instructed him to carry out this morning seemed unusual.

“You’re curious why I asked you to stop Tao Fengche’s cards this morning?” Sui Yuesheng cut to the chase.