As Sui Yuesheng walked into the dining room and saw Tao Fengche for the first time, he immediately noticed something unusual about the latter’s expression.

The young man sat with a darkened gaze, staring at his phone. His face was more serious than usual, his swiping motions forceful, and his lips were tightly pursed in a stern line, with a slight downward curve at the corners, making him look awkward.

It was as if he were secretly fighting with someone or throwing a silent tantrum.

Sui Yuesheng understood the reason for Tao Fengche’s attitude very well—this weekend, he had forced him to stay at home and even assigned bodyguards to protect him closely during school commutes. For a naturally free-spirited, space-needing young Alpha like Tao Fengche, this was practically imprisonment.

But with dangers lurking everywhere, Sui Yuesheng couldn’t think of any other way to ensure his safety.

When he made that decision, he had already anticipated Tao Fengche’s displeasure. On his way home from work today, he had even considered how best to deal with it.

When Tao Fengche was younger, he rarely threw tantrums. However, when Sui Yuesheng first returned to the country, Tao Fengche was sulking for quite some time. In his anger, Sui Yuesheng had even harshly disciplined him a few times.

But as time passed, Tao Fengche gradually calmed down, cautiously approaching him to make amends. Sui Yuesheng would then lightly smooth things over, turning big issues into small ones, and small issues into nothing. Therefore, he hadn’t paid much attention to the current situation, thinking that once they were home, he would just coax Tao Fengche with patience. But what he hadn’t anticipated was that Tao Fengche would explode like a lit firecracker, suddenly and aggressively “demanding” answers.

Unfortunately for Tao Fengche, he only appeared fierce—his tone was full of poorly hidden concern, his whole demeanor practically screaming, “tough on the outside, soft on the inside.”

…He was just like a marshmallow burnt on the outside, with a hard shell that, once bitten, would reveal a sweet and soft center.

Teenage Alpha rebellion always made communication difficult. Sui Yuesheng thought he had gotten used to Tao Fengche’s attitude over the past few months, but after being caught off guard by this sudden outburst, he realized he wasn’t nearly as prepared as he had thought.

Right now, he had the overwhelming urge to walk over, ruffle Tao Fengche’s hair, and pinch his cheek.

They had only been apart for two days—how did Xiao Che become so prideful all of a sudden?

Sui Yuesheng inwardly laughed, his eyes filled with amusement, but he still refrained from acting on his thoughts. Instead, he teasingly said something to shift Tao Fengche’s focus.

He had only meant to divert Tao Fengche’s attention, but to his surprise, the boy’s reaction was unexpectedly entertaining.

— Tao Fengche looked completely flustered, jerking his head up abruptly, his face flushed red like a ripe tomato.

Sui Yuesheng’s mischievous side was immensely satisfied, the curve of his mouth widening so much that he could hardly contain his laughter.

Meanwhile, Tao Fengche felt like he had just been hit by a hurricane. It swept through him with overwhelming force, leaving chaos in its wake and rendering him completely dumbfounded.

Chinese is such a rich language, and Sui Yuesheng’s words had been spoken so quickly and lightly that Tao Fengche couldn’t grasp the focus—was it the “warm milk” or “Xiao Che”?

As a young Alpha just beginning to experience romantic feelings, Tao Fengche was determined to get a clear answer from his crush—what lingers in your thoughts and gives you a good night’s sleep, me or the milk I warmed up for you?

The more Tao Fengche thought about it, the redder his face became, and his mind wiped clean of all other thoughts except for this one bold, tantalizing question, written in bold letters in his head.

…No, he couldn’t just ask that. It was too direct and too stupid.

Tao Fengche kept warning himself to swallow the words, but another question slipped out uncontrollably: “How did you know?!”

Oh no.

He should’ve just asked the previous question; this was even dumber.

Tao Fengche inwardly wailed, feeling too embarrassed to face himself, and almost wanted to cover his face.

But there was a silver lining—at least he was maintaining his high school persona in front of Sui Yuesheng, who had no idea about his suspicions or the careful investigations he had been conducting in secret.

Tao Fengche tried to comfort himself, but after getting through his embarrassment, curiosity began to sprout again—how exactly had Sui Yuesheng discovered the truth about the milk?

Could it be that Xu Song had let something slip? Tao Fengche couldn’t figure it out.

Sui Yuesheng, smiling but silent, watched Tao Fengche intently. When Tao Fengche finally started feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Sui Yuesheng finally spoke: “I’ve known since the first day.”

Tao Fengche: “?!”

Sui Yuesheng didn’t give a direct answer. Tao Fengche’s curiosity was driving him crazy. But when he pressed further, Sui Yuesheng calmly turned to signal Xu Song to notify the kitchen to serve the food, and then, with deliberate slowness, he said:

“It’s a secret.”

Sui Yuesheng wasn’t intentionally keeping Tao Fengche in the dark or teasing him out of malice—it was just that he couldn’t tell him the truth. After all, how could he explain that it was because Tao Fengche had used the wrong sugar?

That would break Xiao Che’s heart.

Sui Yuesheng suppressed a smile, trying hard not to laugh.

Tao Fengche furrowed his brow, stubbornly staring at Sui Yuesheng as if facing an unsolvable life mystery, determined to get to the bottom of it.

Seeing him like this, Sui Yuesheng finally felt relieved—his choice of topic had been spot on, as Tao Fengche now looked much more lively than when he had first entered the room.

He smiled slightly, abruptly changing the subject: “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

Tao Fengche froze. The flood of indescribable emotions receded like a tide, bringing rationality and caution back to the forefront. Without revealing his thoughts, he responded by playing dumb: “About what?”

Sui Yuesheng didn’t give him a chance to dodge and answered directly: “About assigning more bodyguards.”

Before Tao Fengche could reply, Sui Yuesheng explained: “The current situation is unstable. I didn’t have any other choice.”

It was rare for Sui Yuesheng to show vulnerability, but Tao Fengche wasn’t ready to let him off the hook that easily.

…Was Sui Yuesheng worried about something happening to him, or was he more concerned about him discovering certain things that shouldn’t be uncovered? Was that why he had been keeping such a close watch?

Tao Fengche straightened up slightly and obediently said, “I understand.”

Sui Yuesheng was surprised by Tao Fengche’s compliance today and glanced at him in disbelief. Tao Fengche met his gaze calmly, his eyes clear and steady.

It was Sui Yuesheng who finally looked away first.

He usually preferred action over words and rarely explained his motives. Sharing his inner thoughts with Tao Fengche felt uncomfortable, so he instinctively changed the subject.

“This afternoon, I had someone go to the supermarket to buy you a tub of ice cream. It’s the brand from Country C. It’s already in the fridge, so after dinner, you can ask the maid to bring it to you if you want some.”

Tao Fengche was stunned.

The long-sealed memories of his past were suddenly unlocked by the mention of “ice cream.”

Back in elementary school, Tao Zhixing had always believed snacks were bad for health and rarely let him eat much, instructing Xu Song to buy less. But the more he was denied, the more he craved them.

That winter, Xu Song had taken him and Sui Yuesheng to the city center to buy New Year’s supplies. In reality, they had finished shopping long before; Xu Song had just found an excuse to take the two kids out for a stroll.

Accompanied by plainclothes bodyguards, the group wandered around, eating and shopping. When they reached an ice cream shop, Tao Fengche suddenly stopped, turning his wide, eager eyes toward Xu Song.

The old butler held out for three seconds before caving in to Tao Fengche’s pleading gaze and bought ice cream cones for both him and Sui Yuesheng.

Sui Yuesheng wasn’t in great health back then and ate cold things very slowly. In contrast, Tao Fengche devoured his portion in less than five minutes, then fixed his greedy eyes on Sui Yuesheng’s cone.

Since his brother shared other snacks with him, he’d surely share the ice cream too, right? Tao Fengche’s little mental calculation was clicking away.

Sui Yuesheng looked at his own ice cream and then at the little glutton staring at him expectantly.

“Do you want some?”

Little Tao Fengche nodded eagerly.

Sui Yuesheng was silent for a moment, quickly finishing the ice cream in his hand in just a few bites, not even leaving Tao Fengche the cone.

The little crybaby, whose hopes were crushed, had his eyes quickly well up with tears, but he still remembered not to cry out in public. He sniffled hard, wiped his eyes with his sleeve, trying to push the tears back.

Sui Yuesheng shivered from the cold of the ice cream. Seeing Tao Fengche about to cry, he exchanged amused glances with Xu Song and the bodyguards beside him, all of them holding back their laughter.

But unfortunately, teenagers tend to have less patience than adults.

Seventeen-year-old Sui Yuesheng tried his best to hold it in, but in the end, he couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing.

“You’re so mean!”

Tao Fengche, full of indignation, his voice trembling, tried to intimidate Sui Yuesheng, but it only made the latter laugh even more.

Little Tao Fengche made a firm decision—he would stop talking to Sui Yuesheng for a whole day.

But when they were about to leave the mall and Xu Song went to the cashier to pay, Sui Yuesheng winked at the bodyguard. The group quietly sneaked back to the ice cream shop and bought Tao Fengche a mini cone—something an adult could finish in two bites, but to eight-year-old Tao Fengche, it seemed huge.

The delicate-looking teenager pretended to be harsh: “Hurry up and eat!”

Tao Fengche’s tear-streaked face hadn’t even dried yet. He stared wide-eyed, slightly open-mouthed, utterly astonished by what he saw.

“If you don’t eat it, I’ll eat it,” Sui Yuesheng teased, pretending to pull the ice cream back. Tao Fengche quickly stopped him.

“I’ll eat it!” He sniffled, glanced at the ice cream, then back at Sui Yuesheng, hesitantly suggesting, “How about half for me and half for you?”

“…No way.” Sui Yuesheng poked his forehead with disdain, “Who’d want to share it with you? Eat it quickly before Uncle Xu comes back.”

Tao Fengche didn’t care what he said. His brother had always been like this—awkward and difficult—he wouldn’t be scared by that anymore!

The little crybaby happily ate his ice cream, feeling fully content.

…

Ten years later, Tao Fengche pulled himself out of the memory, looking at Sui Yuesheng with a complicated expression. He had a thousand things he wanted to say but didn’t know where to start.

He wanted to say that after he entered middle school, Tao Zhixing no longer stopped him from eating snacks. The storeroom was always stocked with food, and the fridge was constantly filled with various flavors of family-sized ice cream. At first, he craved it and ate like crazy for half a month, but after that, he got sick of it.

Besides, he had his own money now. If he wanted ice cream, he could just buy it himself. There was no need for Sui Yuesheng to make such a fuss.

But Tao Fengche couldn’t deny that Sui Yuesheng’s actions still touched him deeply.

He hadn’t expected Sui Yuesheng to remember these things. He’d always thought that only he treasured these old memories so clearly—eight-year-olds might cling to older playmates, but the reverse seemed much less likely.

…Maybe he really had a chance to pursue Sui Yuesheng?

As this thought popped into his head, Tao Fengche suddenly felt a wave of unexplainable grievance—ten years had passed, and so much had changed between them without the other knowing. They had been apart for far too long.

If they had grown up together, would their feelings have naturally deepened over time?

But if that had happened, Sui Yuesheng probably never would have taken a liking to him in this lifetime.

Tao Fengche felt a strange sense of relief, but at the same time, his rational mind rang alarm bells, trying to pull him out of this whirlpool of romantic fantasies.

—Why had Sui Yuesheng suddenly brought up the ice cream after all these years?

Was he trying to change the subject, or was he playing the emotional card?

Cold sweat slowly started to seep from the pores on his back.

Many thoughts raced through Tao Fengche’s mind, though in reality, only a few seconds had passed. When he looked back at Sui Yuesheng, the latter had already picked up his chopsticks, ready to start eating.

“Sure, I’ll eat it after I finish my homework.”

After saying this, Tao Fengche didn’t speak again, lowering his eyes to focus on the food on the table as if he were very interested in it. But his hand, hidden under the tablecloth, was clenched into a fist, with his nails leaving crescent-shaped marks in his palm.

He struggled to resist the urge to question Sui Yuesheng and the impulse to get up and hug him.