Tao Fengche really couldn’t come up with an answer.

He thought about directly going to ask Sui Yuecheng for clarification, but his sixth sense told him that Sui Yuecheng definitely wouldn’t provide an answer. He had no choice but to keep pondering the matter in his mind. By the time of the exam the next day, he was still a bit distracted.

According to the educational regulations of Jingpu, even if students attend an international high school, they still need to take the Jingpu college entrance examination (gaokao) in order to obtain their high school diploma. For this reason, to help students quickly adapt to the format and volume of the gaokao, from the second year of high school onwards, the monthly exams at Tao Fengche’s school aligned with the gaokao format, consisting of four subjects over two days.

The first exam subject was Chinese. There were no issues with the earlier questions, but when Tao Fengche reached the essay section, a problem arose.

His mind was full of thoughts related to Sui Yuecheng. Although the essay prompt clearly asked, “Among Qi Huan Gong, Guan Zhong, and Bao Shu, which one do you resonate with the most? Write a speech combining your reflections and thoughts on the material,” Tao Fengche glanced at it confidently but nearly ended up writing a typical elementary school essay—”My Brother.”

He had even planned the essay outline: just over 800 words, starting with 200 words describing his brother’s appearance, followed by 500 words on “My brother and I’s daily life filled with sibling affection,” then 150 words on “My brother has been having some insomnia lately, which troubles me greatly,” and ending with 50 words to elevate the theme, “This is my brother, no one else has one like him”…

…He was really going crazy.

Realizing what he had been planning, Tao Fengche found it both laughable and frustrating. He lightly tapped his forehead with the pen, crossed out the outlined plan on his draft paper, and quickly began working on the material.

The two hours of exam time flew by, and soon it was lunchtime. After a morning apart, Wang Yuan came into the classroom, sighing deeply as he plopped down next to Tao Fengche.

Seats during the monthly exam were assigned based on the ranking of the last exam. Tao Fengche’s grades had always been in the top five of his grade, so he remained in the first exam room of Class 1. Wang Yuan, on the other hand, was placed in the fourth exam room, separated from Class 1 by an entire corridor, and hadn’t even had lunch with Tao Fengche.

The seats during lunchtime were freely chosen. As soon as Wang Yuan entered, he started comparing answers with Yan Yi. As he did, his face began to turn pale, feeling that he might be in for a serious scolding.

Maybe Yan Yi made a mistake? Renewing his hope, he cast a pleading glance at Tao Fengche, but Tao Fengche was frowning slightly, deep in thought, as if facing some monumental problem.

Wang Yuan exclaimed, “No way, Tao Ge?! Did you make a mistake too?”

If even Tao Fengche made a mistake, it clearly meant that very few people got it right. Wang Yuan felt a bit of secret joy, thinking he might avoid a scolding.

He looked at Tao Fengche with anticipation. After a long moment of contemplation, Tao Fengche finally responded.

“…Huh?”

Tao Fengche was completely absorbed in his own thoughts and hadn’t heard the conversation between the two.

He had excellent sleep quality and was never troubled by “insomnia.” Earlier, when he went to the cafeteria for lunch, he had specially asked a researcher from the Tao family about it. The information he received said that taking too much melatonin was bad for the body, and some people even got headaches from it.

After thanking him, Tao Fengche began to ponder. He thought that since Sui Yuecheng was already receiving scent-blocking injections, it was best to minimize taking other medications. But…

How should he persuade him? Tao Fengche had no idea.

His visible distress was too apparent. Wang Yuan quickly exchanged a glance with Yan Yi and cautiously asked, “Tao Ge, are you facing some issues?”

Under the intense gaze of the two, Tao Fengche slowly nodded.

Wang Yuan immediately put down his mathematics textbook, and Yan Yi quickly set aside her mistake collection. Tao Fengche spoke slowly and deliberately, “Besides taking sleeping pills, are there any other good methods for insomnia?”

Yan Yi: “…”

Wang Yuan: “…”

The two fell into silence.

Come on, it’s just a monthly exam, why was Tao Ge suffering from insomnia? Is there something special about this exam? Did I fall asleep when Feng Hui was talking? Wang Yuan cursed internally, then tentatively suggested.

“Maybe try reading a math book? Or find an online math course to watch?”

Tao Fengche: “…”

Even without mentioning Sui Yuecheng’s passion for learning, considering that he was studying business abroad, listening to a math lecture wouldn’t be of any help and might even make him more alert.

Moreover… The thought of going to him in the middle of the night and saying, “Ge, let’s watch a math course together,” felt suffocating. Given Sui Yuecheng’s personality, he would most likely refuse and then hire a private tutor for him.

Just thinking about it made Tao Fengche feel suffocated.

He was caught in a terrifying imagination and couldn’t extricate himself. Yan Yi, on the other hand, rolled her eyes without reservation. “Wang Yuan, do you think everyone is as foolish as you?”

As soon as she spoke, she realized it was inappropriate to speak like that in front of Tao Fengche and quickly cleared her throat, expressing concern. “Tao Fengche, have you been experiencing some insomnia lately?”

She noticed the dark circles under Tao Fengche’s eyes, which seemed to have a layer of gray, and grew a bit anxious.

Yan Yi softened her voice, expressing concern for a while, first advising Tao Fengche not to be overly stressed about the monthly exam, then mentioning that while summer camp also considered usual performance, the most important were the mid-term and final exams. Given Tao Fengche’s previous excellent performance, it didn’t matter even if he did poorly this time, etc.

How did this turn into a discussion about summer camp?

Tao Fengche was baffled, seeing that Yan Yi was dragging the topic further and further away. He quickly interrupted, “It’s not me who has insomnia, it’s… a friend of mine.”

He said this slowly, his expression a bit complex, as if he didn’t know how to accurately define this person or their position in his heart, settling for the simple term “friend.”

Yan Yi’s heart skipped a beat, and her surprise was evident on her face.

The term “friend” carried so many implications. It could mean an acquaintance, a close confidant, or someone who is there in times of life and death. And the female intuition told her that Tao Fengche’s “friend” was definitely not the former.

If it were just an ordinary friend, he wouldn’t be so concerned, and it wouldn’t be so difficult to mention.

…Could it be someone Tao Fengche likes? Yan Yi suddenly had a bold guess.

She suddenly wanted to ask, but deep down felt it was unlikely—everyone knew that Tao Fengche was an alpha who hadn’t yet awakened, treating all beta and omega who flattered him with the same indifference, making him both lovable and frustrating.

Although Yan Yi was also one of the many who secretly admired Tao Fengche, and had gotten closer to him due to being in the same class, the more she got to know him, the less she could imagine him falling for someone or being in a relationship.

Except for being provoked by Cai Hong last time, he had always been polite, yet seemed to have an invisible barrier separating him from everyone. Besides his childhood friend Wang Yuan, no one could get close, let alone intrude.

Tao Fengche seemed naturally distant from the word “love.” Betas and omegas in the school pursued him with all their might, determined to win his affection, but most people knew it was a futile effort, merely to prove a point.

But Yan Yi suddenly felt that if Tao Fengche had truly fallen for someone, he would probably look like this—slightly frowning, as if troubled by something very distressing, his expression hesitant but softened by his slightly drooping eyes, giving him a gentle appearance.

Heaven and earth can bear witness; Yan Yi had been in the same class as Tao Fengche for nearly two years, and he had always seemed like a sharp sword. She had always dismissed the saying “a guy with drooping eyes is warm” but only discovered today at noon that it was true.

She had never seen Tao Fengche show such an expression.

Yan Yi was silent for a long time before finally offering a suggestion. “Maybe… sweet milk? When I have insomnia, my nanny makes it for me, and it seems to help a lot.”

She struggled for a long time but still couldn’t bring herself to ask that question.

Although it’s said that it’s better to destroy ten temples than to ruin one marriage, she couldn’t help but think that if Tao Fengche’s “friend” was indeed someone he liked and he hadn’t realized it yet, her suggestion might act as a catalyst.

But she would never want to be the matchmaker between them.

Tao Fengche mistook her silence for deep thinking. Realizing something, he nodded in understanding, and as if his memory wasn’t enough, he pulled out his phone and jotted down a line in his notes, just missing the particularly complex expression on Yan Yi’s face.

How much must you like that person to not even trust your own memory? Yan Yi murmured to herself.

Wang Yuan glanced from one thing to another, not daring to speak. Taking advantage of the brief moment when Tao Fengche was occupied with typing, he quickly asked him several math questions. By coincidence, one of the 12-point questions was set in the exam paper.

Tao Ge really lives up to his name! Wang Yuan nearly blurted this out when he saw the exam paper. He managed to contain his excitement and, as soon as he finished handing in his paper, rushed back to his class, only to find that Tao Fengche was nowhere to be seen.

Where did he go?

Wang Yuan wandered around the teaching building but still couldn’t find his savior. Finally, he ended up sending seven or eight messages to Tao Fengche to express his excitement and gratitude, even sending a big red envelope given Tao Fengche’s recent financial difficulties.

The phone on silent kept lighting up in his pocket, but Tao Fengche, who was being so appreciated, remained completely unaware of it.

He didn’t even wait until the end of the exam. After finishing and checking his work, he handed in his paper early and left. Now he was squatting in the Tao’s residence kitchen, staring at the milk pot in the chef’s hands with the seriousness of someone facing a rare treasure capable of turning flesh into bones.