Tao Fengche had lived for eighteen years, and this was the first time in his life that he had seen a black card with a limit of only one thousand yuan.

He was completely stunned, engulfed in shock. For a moment, he was speechless, until after a good while, he finally reacted to the hidden implications in Sui Yuesheng’s words. What followed was an uncontrollable tingling sensation all over his scalp.

— Was Sui Yuesheng planning to completely monitor and control his life through controlling money?

With Tao Fengche’s strong sense of pride, he knew he could never bring himself to ask Sui Yuesheng for money, whether it was for buying a pair of shoes or a birthday gift for a friend. Unable to increase his income, he would have to cut back, resorting to frugality to achieve his goals.

If Sui Yuesheng’s words were to become reality, Tao Fengche would definitely find himself in deep trouble in the future. His living standard would be described not just as a “sharp decline,” but something much worse.

Yet, he was unwilling to bow down or argue with Sui Yuesheng over such a trivial amount of money. Arguing with Sui Yuesheng for this tiny sum… would really cheapen him.

But other than that, he had no other options.

He subconsciously glanced at Xu Song, hoping that this old man who had always cared for him would stand up for him and argue with Sui Yuesheng. Instead, Xu Song stood smiling beside the table, even nodding in apparent satisfaction with Sui Yuesheng’s words.

Tao Fengche: “…”

Damn you, Uncle Xu! I never expected even you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, to collude with Sui Yuesheng and betray me!

Tao Fengche’s vision went black, overwhelmed by a sense of betrayal. He couldn’t even utter a word.

Faced with authority, Tao Fengche couldn’t resist. He remained silent, lowered his head, finished his meal in three or two bites, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and then hurried upstairs to his room to do his homework.

Sui Yuesheng maintained a calm expression throughout. Only after noticing that Tao Fengche had truly been upset and stormed off did he turn his head. He silently gazed at Tao Fengche’s stubborn figure as he went upstairs, feeling a hint of resentment for no apparent reason, his eyes quickly filling with amusement.

“Young master…” Xu Song’s expression contrasted sharply with Sui Yuesheng’s. He hesitated, lowered his voice, and suggested to Sui Yuesheng, “How about I have the kitchen prepare some fruits and take them up to him?”

Sui Yuesheng shook his head with a smile. “I understand your concern for him, but intervening now would only make things worse. Let him cool down on his own.”

Xu Song’s eyes showed 60% worry and 40% disagreement. Sui Yuesheng ate his dinner leisurely, but after being stared at in silence for a long time, he could not stand it any longer and quickly pleaded, “I’ll go see him myself later.”

Only then did Xu Song nod satisfactorily. He felt resentful, as these two used to get along well when they were young, so why were they having a falling out now that they were grown up? He had to step in himself, especially since…

Thinking of this, he lowered his eyes, quietly retreated a half step, and joined the other servants in pretending to be sculptures.

···

Once Sui Yuesheng became busy, he focused solely on his tasks. After dinner, he returned to his study to work. As soon as he opened the files, he completely forgot his promise to Xu Song. Besides, he had been mostly evasive with him—Tao Fengche needed to learn a lesson; if he didn’t experience pain, how would he remember?

Just thinking about the angry figure heading upstairs, Sui Yuesheng couldn’t help but feel in a particularly good mood. Driven by this pleasant feeling, he worked straight through to nearly ten o’clock, reviewing the documents he had brought back. He rubbed his forehead, feeling somewhat tired.

He hadn’t eaten much dinner, and the high-intensity mental labor not only caused his head to ache but also brought on a wave of hunger.

The study originally belonged to Tao Zhixing. There was a call bell on the side of the desk, within easy reach for Sui Yuesheng. Pressing it would summon Tao Family servants within two minutes to help him with any problems.

But after a moment’s thought, he didn’t press it.

Since returning to the Tao Family, apart from Xu Song, who had witnessed his heat period ten years ago, this batch of servants working in the ancestral mansion knew nothing about his past. Apart from the concept of “the current ruler of the Tao Family,” they vaguely knew from Xu Song’s attitude that “he used to know the young master.”

Even what dishes he liked to eat was something Xu Song personally informed the kitchen about.

Since returning to the Tao Family’s residence these past couple of days, the servants were all somewhat nervous, worried that they might displease him or serve him food he didn’t like. But in reality, he wasn’t as delicate as they imagined; as long as it could fill his stomach, it was good enough.

After stretching his neck and waist, Sui Yuesheng decided to go downstairs and find something to eat in the kitchen.

But halfway there, he unexpectedly found Tao Fengche in the gym, drenched in sweat after lifting weights and pedaling furiously on the exercise bike.

Tao Fengche was facing away from the door at this moment, giving Sui Yuesheng a good opportunity to sneak a peek. He quietly approached the doorway and silently watched for a while.

Tao Fengche seemed as if he wanted to vent all his grievances and anger on the innocent exercise equipment. His posture on the stationary bike was particularly intense, almost turning the dynamic cycling machine into a spinning wheel.

Without needing to confront him directly, Sui Yuesheng could vividly imagine Tao Fengche’s current demeanor in his mind—slightly pursed lips, stubborn expression, just like when they were kids.

Due to the strict training from the Tao family in his daily life, Tao Fengche shouldn’t have been unaware of his arrival. However, he showed no intention of turning back at this moment, maintaining his rhythm on the bike without missing a beat, fully immersed in his workout.

Sui Yuesheng found this somewhat amusing.

He’s still just a kid, he thought to himself, shaking his head. He also felt a bit childish for reducing his supplementary card limit to a thousand yuan last night after arguing with Tao Fengche.

But if Tao Fengche were to turn around now and say something strange to him again, like something related to Jiang Jingyun or pheromones…

Sui Yuesheng pondered seriously for a while. He decided that if this possibility came true, he would just give him another slap and then reduce the supplementary card limit to five hundred.

What do you do with a disobedient child? A beating should do it. If one beating isn’t enough, then two.

How is this revenge? Clearly, it’s just disciplining him!

When Sui Yuesheng was young, he lived in a slum and depended on his grandmother. Since there was no money at home to send him to school, the old lady sent him to work under the grocery store boss. The street they lived on was plagued by thugs who bullied the elderly, weak, women, and children, demanding money from Sui Yuesheng. Outraged, he one day fought back, resulting in mutual injuries.

When he returned home, his grandmother asked what happened. He told her the truth, and she grabbed a broom and chased them down the street.

Over the years, influenced by his surroundings, Sui’s guardian also adopted a similarly rough and straightforward educational style.

Tao Fengche, unaware that he had narrowly escaped a beating, lay in bed after a shower and checked his phone. Half an hour ago, Wang Yuan had sent him a message.

【Wang Yuan】: [Tao Ge, what’s going on? Do you need my help?]

After some thought, Tao Fengche replied simply.

Tao Fengche: [It’s fine.]

Tao Fengche: [My card was frozen by Sui Yuesheng, so I couldn’t pay at lunchtime. I’ll have to get my living expenses from him in the future.]

Wang Yuan was gaming when he suddenly received a message and quickly checked it. He was stunned, his thumbs swiftly typing a response on the keyboard.

Wang Yuan: [No way! Isn’t that going too far?!]

Wang Yuan: [Tao Ge, are you just going to swallow your pride and endure this?]

Tao Fengche: [What else can I do?]

Wang Yuan sighed, frustrated with his friend’s lack of insight.

Wang Yuan: [If he’s upsetting you, don’t let him get away with it!]

Tao Fengche: [As a high school student, what can I do?]

Tao Fengche forcefully restrained the urge to roll his eyes. Should he disrupt Sui Yuesheng and Jiang Jingyun’s relationship? Should he wield a knife and burst into the adjacent room to sabotage Sui Yuesheng’s plans? Or should he bribe corporate spies to deal with the Taos?

Setting aside the fact that he didn’t have the money to bribe anyone, even though Sui Yuesheng now held both Chairman and CEO positions at Tao’s company, he himself still owned twenty-five percent of the shares. No matter how you looked at it, it was still his own company. Engaging in such self-destructive acts would be foolish, and he wouldn’t do it.

[Wang Yuan]: [You keep saying you’re just a high school student, can’t you cause trouble for him? Use high school methods: skip classes, fight, cheat on exams—full service!]

[Wang Yuan]: [Do what those rebellious alpha teenagers do! As a guardian, is there anything more frustrating than this?]

Tao Fengche: [Get lost.]

With one word, he abruptly ended the conversation, placed his phone on the bedside table to charge, and then turned off the bedside lamp.

In the darkness, he lay on his pillow, replaying Wang Yuan’s suggestion in his mind, then raising his eyebrow dismissively.

Causing trouble for Sui Yuesheng through self-destruction would, in a way, be another form of ruining his own future. Leaving aside other matters, cheating on exams alone would result in a zero and a disciplinary record, which would need to be reported when applying to universities.

While Sui Yuesheng might be momentarily irritated, wouldn’t he be the one to ultimately bear the bitter consequences himself?

If it weren’t for knowing that Wang Yuan meant no harm, albeit limited in intelligence, Tao Fengche would have suspected he was intentionally setting him up.

However… Wang Yuan did have one point.

Leaving other issues aside, within the scope of what he could manage without jeopardizing his future, causing Sui Yuesheng a bit of trouble… didn’t seem like a bad idea at all.