Half an hour later.

In a pitch-black room, the only sources of light were the moonlight streaming through the window and the warm-colored street lamp outside the yard. They barely illuminated the contours of objects and the bulge on the bed.

Tao Fengche lay flat on the bed, wrapped in a blanket, staring blankly at the ceiling as if there were some urgent problem to solve up there. However, his gaze was unfocused, wandering aimlessly in the air.

Since realizing his feelings, he had maintained the same position on the bed for over half an hour.

Having been shuttling between Jingpu’s two ends and trying his best to outmaneuver two old foxes in a battle of wits, he should have fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. But now, he felt no drowsiness; his heart seemed to be occupied by an overly energetic rabbit, hopping around wildly, causing his heart rate to become irregular and disrupting his breathing pattern.

The air seemed to be filled with a hazy dust, but when Tao Fengche focused, it suddenly vanished, only to be replaced by a sharp, stinging pain that radiated from his eye sockets. His eyeballs felt unbearably dry, and he reflexively shut his eyes, groping on the nightstand until he found a bottle of eye drops.

The clear liquid dripped into his eyes, bringing a familiar minty sensation. The effect was almost instantaneous; Tao Fengche closed his eyes, rolled them around, and let out a long sigh.

…Speaking of which, the first time he used eye drops was when Sui Yuesheng helped him.

A memory suddenly popped into Tao Fengche’s mind, and then he drifted off again.

When he was young, his long eyelashes would easily fall into his eyes. Rubbing them a bit would usually solve the problem. However, that day, despite his efforts, he couldn’t get it out. His whole eye turned red, looking like a pitiful rabbit.

Xu Song, holding the eye drops, anxiously stood by, unable to help. Tao Fengche was particularly resistant to using eye drops. After several attempts, he either reflexively closed his eyes or struggled desperately. He couldn’t get them in, and eventually, the little boy’s eyes were filled with tears, as if he was about to cry at any moment.

Sui Yuesheng stood by, his face cold, and then suddenly spoke, “Let me try.”

Tao Fengche sobbed a couple of times, glanced up at his brother, and after a moment of inner struggle, obediently moved closer.

Two minutes later, Tao Fengche’s head was resting on Sui Yuesheng’s lap, held in his brother’s arms, and he received his first dose of eye drops, which made him shiver with the coolness.

From then on, he used that brand of eye drops for many years. A few years ago, when the company faced scandal and their stock prices plummeted, he even instructed Xu Song to use his New Year’s money to buy their stock, under the pretext of an investment practice. In reality, he was afraid the company might go bankrupt and he wouldn’t have any eye drops to use.

…This can’t go on.

Seeing that his memories were spiraling out of control, Tao Fengche quickly pulled himself out, muttering to himself, and after lying there blankly for a while, he finally decided to follow his heart.

He turned over, reached for his phone on the nightstand, unlocked it using facial recognition, and opened the messaging app. The sequence of actions was smooth and fluid, clearly a result of much rehearsal in his mind.

Next, he faced the chat window labeled “Ge” and fell into deep thought.

[Ge, I miss you so much!]

No, no, that’s too enthusiastic; it seems a bit childish.

Tao Fengche quickly deleted that line, unconsciously biting his lip, and typed again.

[Ge, they’ve delivered new milk at the ranch recently.]

No, no, this also seems a bit odd, and by saying this, Sui Yuesheng would definitely realize that he’s been the one preparing the nightly milk, including the one that went bad…

Tao Fengche’s face was a picture of despair. He rolled over on the bed, cleared the input box again, furrowed his brows, and began typing anew, as if facing not a chat window but a life-or-death battle.

He pondered over his words, aiming to sound more mature, like a reliable man rather than the little kid who used to cry and follow Sui Yuesheng around. He then composed a dignified message.

【Tao Fengche】: [Ge, I have arrived home safely, and work went smoothly. I will continue studying at the research institute tomorrow. How about you?]

The last time he contacted Sui Yuesheng was two days ago—he sent a message updating him about the next phase of his work. That night, he waited nearly two hours for a reply from Sui Yuesheng, which finally came late.

Tao Fengche seized the rare opportunity and successfully added Sui Yuesheng as a friend on a social app. This was their first conversation through the app, and he was prepared to wait at least an hour. However, this time, Sui Yuesheng’s reply came quickly.

Sui Yuesheng: [It’s fine, nothing much happened. Studying at the research institute is one thing, but don’t neglect the school work. How is your summer homework coming along?]

“…”

Tao Fengche’s facade of being a mature man was quickly pierced by this nonchalant comment, and he was immediately brought back to his true self.

The sulking high school boy pressed his lips together.

Tao Fengche: [I’ve finished it. Don’t you have anything else to say to me?]

As soon as the message was sent, Tao Fengche felt it might be inappropriate. The message sounded resentful, filled with dissatisfaction towards Sui Yuesheng. He frantically tried to retract the message, but the chat box displayed “The other person is typing…” He closed his eyes, braced himself, and tried to change the topic.

Tao Fengche: [Do you need me to take a photo for you to check?]

“The other person is typing…” continued for a few minutes. Just as Tao Fengche began to doubt whether Sui Yuesheng was writing a small essay, the reply finally came.

Sui Yuesheng: [No need to take a photo. I’ll be back in a few days, and we can check it then.]

Sui Yuesheng: [Do you want anything? I’ll bring you a gift.]

Tao Fengche didn’t expect such a reply at all. It felt like the air was filled with a rich maple syrup scent, sweet and somewhat cloying. He was momentarily stiff, as if he didn’t react immediately, but the next second, his eyes widened, his smile impossible to hide, spreading all the way to his lips.

Tao Fengche: [As long as it’s from you, I’ll like anything.]

Tao Fengche: [Everything at home is fine. You don’t need to hurry. Make sure to be safe when you come back, and let me know. I’ll have Uncle Xu pick you up.]

Sui Yuesheng smiled. His Karlmann King was still parked at the Tao Corporation’s parking lot, so he would have the driver pick him up directly, without bothering anyone at the ancestral home.

However, he was touched by the concern hidden in Tao Fengche’s words, so he didn’t mention this to him. After a moment of reflection, he set aside the financial report he was half-reading and flipped through his notebook.

Sui Yuesheng: [Sure, but there are still some things to do.]

Tao Fengche: [Is it something related to the company? Is there anything I can help with?]

Sui Yuesheng: [This might be something you can’t help with.]

What could be so important?

As the presumptive heir of the Tao family and the only living member of the Tao bloodline, how could he be of no help?

Could it be something related to Jiang Jingyun?

Tao Fengche frowned, and with a frustrated poke at the screen, it felt like he was poking Sui Yuesheng’s face through the screen.

The reply came soon after.

Sui Yuesheng: [I need to come back and attend the parent-teacher meeting for you.]

Sui Yuesheng, in a great mood, typed out this line.

After the start of the school year, Tao Fengche would be in his senior year. After a mock exam, there was going to be a parent-teacher conference for the entire grade. Before the summer vacation, Feng Hui had specifically sent a school message emphasizing the importance of this event.

Since Tao Fengche complained that Sui Yuesheng was not attentive to his matters, Sui Yuesheng had specially noted everything related to him in a notebook. He even made a copy for Assistant Zhou and added it to his phone calendar, striving to be a perfect guardian.

When he suddenly received a message from Tao Fengche today, Sui Yuesheng hesitated for three seconds and quickly misunderstood Tao Fengche’s intention.

— He thought the latter was subtly reminding him not to forget the parent-teacher conference.

But he hadn’t forgotten this time; he remembered everything related to Tao Fengche clearly.

Sui Yuesheng smirked, popped a candy into his mouth, and glanced at his phone, only to find that Tao Fengche, who usually replied instantly, hadn’t responded for a long time.

He glanced at the time, spent half a second calculating the time difference, and thought that Tao Fengche might be asleep. He didn’t worry about it, took off his glasses, put in some eye drops, and picked up the report to continue reading.

---

The next morning, Tao Fengche sat in the back seat of the car with a dark face, staring at the chat history from last night over and over, as if there were a boxing ring in his heart with two little figures fighting fiercely.

One of the little figures sighed and said, “Sui Yuesheng actually just sees you as a child, right? He doesn’t have any romantic intentions. He’s just like the old man being overly sentimental and making a fuss.. Now you’re left here with unrequited feelings.”

Its gaze was full of pity, shining with holy light, like the Virgin Mary reincarnated. In the next second, the other little figure charged forward with great momentum and knocked the first one away with an uppercut.

“How can you think like that?! Sui Yuesheng is so busy with work, yet he still cares about you, even remembering things like the parent-teacher meeting!” it argued.

The bruised figure got up from the other end, annoyedly saying, “Doesn’t this just mean Sui Yuesheng only sees him as a child?!”

“But the parent-teacher conference used to be handled by Xu Song, right? Tao Zhixing has attended parent-teacher conferences fewer times than the fingers on one hand!”

“That doesn’t mean…”

“Shut up! Listen to me!”

The two little figures quickly turned into a tangled mess, and Tao Fengche didn’t know whose advice to follow. His internal balance wavered, and his expression was as colorful as if a paint palette had been overturned.