In fact, due to Tao Fengche’s earlier extremely polite “Ge,” Sui Yuesheng was in the best mood he had been in days. He even had the leisure to slowly clear things up with Yuan Hui rather than directly sentencing him.

Unfortunately, Yuan Hui was clearly not equipped to handle this VIP treatment. To him, Sui Yuesheng’s words were nothing short of the devil’s whisper.

“I, I, I…” He was at a loss for words.

As soon as Tao Fengche called Sui Yuesheng, Yuan Hui wanted to leave, but was stopped by Wang Yuan, causing a commotion and drawing the attention of many people. Sui Yuesheng’s words at this moment were like a stone dropped into a pond, creating ripples immediately.

Whispers filled the air. Yuan Hui looked around in confusion and noticed that among the onlookers were many business partners. His face instantly turned pale.

— This is truly over!

He shivered, seizing the opportunity when Wang Yuan wasn’t paying attention to slip into the crowd and quickly head towards the exit.

The birthday gifts had already been given, and with the Zhu family, who was preparing to enter the hotel industry, having no connection to his business, it was hard for them to notice his departure among the many guests. Besides, even if discovered, he could make up a temporary excuse.

Compared to staying in the banquet hall and being pointed at like a joke, he couldn’t stand it anymore!

Yuan Hui wanted to run, and Wang Yuan didn’t really stop him. Tao Fengche remained where he was, enjoying the sight of Yuan Hui fleeing, then slowly turned off the speakerphone and brought the phone back to his ear.

“Ge, he’s running away.”

He oddly didn’t tell Sui Yuesheng that he had turned off the speaker, and Sui Yuesheng, just as he vaguely expected, continued to follow the script of brotherly respect.

“Let him run if he wants. It’s not a big deal. Has the banquet officially started?”

“No, Old Master Zhu hasn’t arrived yet. We’re waiting for his speech. There are only some cold dishes on the table right now.”

“Old people are always like this.” Sui Yuesheng stopped there and then asked, “Are you hungry?”

Tao Fengche instinctively nodded, realizing Sui Yuesheng couldn’t see him, he quickly spoke up: “Mm!”

He hadn’t had time to lower the call volume after turning off the speaker, and since Wang Yuan was close by, he overheard their conversation clearly. After realizing what Tao Fengche said, his face was filled with disbelief.

No way, Tao Ge?

If I remember correctly, Tao Fengche just ate half a plate of beef five minutes ago?!

Wang Yuan’s eyes were as wide as bells. Tao Fengche glanced at him and, with no change in his expression, turned around, took a few quick steps in the opposite direction, and used his back to block the burning gaze from behind.

“Have you eaten yet, Ge?”

“I already ate,” Sui Yuesheng pondered for a moment and then remembered, “I’m talking business outside now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go in. Remember to have the driver come pick you up early.”

“Oh right, underage alphas shouldn’t drink outside. I’ll have Uncle Xu check.” He added.

“…Mm, you too, drink less.”

Perhaps it was because he was used to the acting, or perhaps for reasons even Tao Fengche himself couldn’t figure out, despite Sui Yuesheng imposing such constraints on him, he didn’t retort sharply but responded in a very agreeable manner, as if he were a fierce beast with its claws pulled out, left only with soft paw pads when trying to strike.

Sui Yuesheng was clearly pleased with his obedient response. He smiled again, this time even laughing out loud, and his voice traveled through the electromagnetic waves to Tao Fengche’s ears, making them tingle slightly.

Tao Fengche quickly switched the phone to the other side, just in time to hear Sui Yuesheng’s closing line: “Then I’ll go in. Good night, Xiao Che.”

His voice was soft, like a whisper, evoking memories of a birthday song from years ago.

On the early morning of December 24th of that year, Sui Yuesheng had sung him a whole birthday song with that very voice and then said — Xiao Che, happy birthday.

“Son, grow up quickly and be happy every day.” Tao Zhixing, whose temples hadn’t yet grayed, said beside him.

The whole house was dark, illuminated only by the flickering candles on the cake and the street lamps in the yard. In the dim light, eight-year-old Tao Fengche made a wish with his hands clasped, wearing a somewhat comical handmade paper hat — one he made with Sui Yuesheng that afternoon.

That year’s cake was large and sweet, and Tao Fengche remembered it for many years.

Seventeen-year-old Tao Fengche tightly closed his eyes, hiding the slight moisture at the corners. When he opened his eyes again, he was once again the flawless young master of the Tao family: “Good night, Ge.”

Then he slowly and firmly hung up the phone.

“Your relationship with your brother is really good, huh?” Wang Yuan’s resentful voice came from behind.

At this moment, Wang Yuan had a million curses to say!

Wasn’t the whole point of stopping the bank card so you didn’t have money to pay?

Weren’t you supposed to dislike each other?

I even gave you so many good ideas!

Why do I suddenly feel that, apart from the guests, I was also tricked by you brothers!

His expression was twisted as if he was constipated, but his words matched exactly what Tao Fengche wanted——with Wang Yuan’s confirmation, the harmonious relationship between him and Sui Yuesheng seemed even more believable.

According to common sense, such a good play should be wrapped up with a touching brotherly scene, but at this moment, Tao Fengche, the scriptwriter and director, suddenly felt like abandoning the ending.

“It’s just okay, average.” he casually brushed off the topic and quickly changed the subject.

Soon after, Old Master Zhu arrived, and the banquet officially began, naturally Wang Yuan lost the opportunity to probe further.

Although Tao Fengche didn’t show it, he internally breathed a sigh of relief. If Wang Yuan had really pursued the matter, he honestly didn’t know how to respond.

Good? Bad? He didn’t know how to sum up the tangled relationship with Sui Yuesheng.

For him, anything even slightly related to Sui Yuesheng was as much a mystery as the man himself. He couldn’t simply analyze it rationally; most of the time, he had to rely on intuition to make the next decision.

This time was no different.

He no longer thought about why he made the call or the content of the conversation but shifted his attention to Old Master Zhu speaking on stage and joined the applause with the other guests.

As it neared ten o’clock, the birthday party finally ended. Wang Yuan, who had chatted with Tao Fengche all night, was taken away by his father. Tao Fengche turned his head and found Zhao Jiayang, who was alone near the banquet hall exit.

It wasn’t exactly accurate to say he was alone; his male companion was still nearby. Tao Fengche didn’t want to disturb him but recalled that Zhao Jiayang had mentioned his driver was on vacation earlier, so he mustered up the courage to walk over and asked if he needed a ride home.

The Tao family had a guest room reserved for Zhao Jiayang. But even if Zhao Jiayang wouldn’t stay overnight at the Tao residence, dropping him off on the way home wasn’t much trouble.

But Zhao Jiayang firmly declined Tao Fengche’s kindness. “Xiao Che, you go ahead. I have some things to do tonight.”

The underage alpha looked at the ambiguous expression on Zhao Jiayang’s face, then at the omega who was almost glued to him, and sensed that something inappropriate for children was about to happen.

Tao Fengche silently stepped back half a step, nodded, and left the banquet hall alone. The Tao family’s driver was already waiting outside. He bent down and got into the car, only to find an unexpected mountain of snacks in the back seat.

The term “mountain” was no exaggeration. Ever since he started middle school, he had been eating fewer snacks, so Xu Song had reduced the frequency and quantity of snack purchases. But now, seeing this huge pile in the back seat…

Tao Fengche couldn’t help but suspect that the driver had emptied the snack storage before coming to pick him up.

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror and, after confirming that Tao Fengche was seated properly, gently pressed the accelerator. The Maybach smoothly moved forward. “Young master Sui was worried you might not have enough to eat, so he specifically asked me to bring you some snacks. They were all specially selected by Butler Xu.”

The driver didn’t understand the past between these two; he only knew that the Tao family now had two masters. As long as these two got along, the servants wouldn’t have to live in fear every day. He definitely didn’t want to experience the tension of the past two weeks again.

When he learned that Sui Yuesheng wanted him to bring snacks over, he was more than willing. Now, he specifically mentioned it, trying to help Sui Yuesheng gain favor with Tao Fengche. 

But Tao Fengche let the driver’s words go in one ear and out the other. He just stared blankly at the mountain of snacks, lost in thought.

These snacks were clearly not chosen by Xu Song—ever since he hit puberty, he had stopped touching milk-flavored candies, thinking they were not alpha-like at all. Xu Song knew all his preferences and would never make such a basic mistake.

Yet, among this mountain of snacks, there were a few milk-flavored lollipops scattered around. Besides that, many of the foods were childhood favorites.

If he wasn’t mistaken, these snacks were likely chosen by Sui Yuesheng.

He actually remembered everything.