Zhao Jiayang was using a 9mm caliber Glock G17, a gun with tremendous bullet impact.

Bright red blood mixed with yellowish brain matter erupted from the bullet hole, with some even splattering onto Tao Fengche’s face, leaving a few strikingly glaring marks.

Zhao Jiayang’s body swayed back and forth twice before collapsing with a loud thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Imperceptible specks of dust gathered together, floated briefly in the air, and slowly settled, with some landing on Zhao Jiayang’s body. Blood and brain matter pooled together, flowing freely across the ground.

The sudden turn of events was completely beyond Sui Yuesheng’s expectations. He stared in shock at what had just unfolded before his eyes, his left hand trembling slightly, almost dropping the gun.

He holstered the Desert Eagle at his waist, utterly confused as to why Zhao Jiayang had suddenly chosen to shoot himself—after all this time, he ended it by suicide. What was he trying to accomplish?

Could it be that he knew there was no way out and decided to die and escape future punishment?

But from what he knew of Zhao Jiayang, the latter didn’t seem like someone who would do that.

So why did he do it?

Instinctively, Sui Yuesheng cast his gaze toward Zhao Jiayang, but Zhao Jiayang would never give an answer again.

Zhao Jiayang lay quietly on the ground with his eyes closed, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. If one could overlook the chaos around him, his death seemed peaceful.

Tao Fengche stood nearby, staring blankly, his expression shifting from shock to emptiness.

At that moment, it felt as if his soul had suddenly left his body. He staggered forward in a daze, slowly making his way to Zhao Jiayang’s corpse, and as he knelt down, his body wobbled.

Under Sui Yuesheng’s complicated and concerned gaze, Tao Fengche shakily extended his hand toward Zhao Jiayang’s nose to check for breathing.

Nothing.

The bullet had entered through Zhao Jiayang’s right temple and exited through the left, completely penetrating his skull. Not far away on the ground, the bloodstained brass bullet casing lay quietly.

It was a fatal wound, beyond any chance of saving.

Tao Fengche knew this all too well, yet he still found it hard to believe.

Even though Zhao Jiayang showed no signs of life anymore, Tao Fengche couldn’t bring himself to accept the truth.

There were still so many questions he hadn’t asked, too many doubts left unanswered. How could Zhao Jiayang do this? How could he dare…?!

Why did you kill Tao Zhixing?

You said you just gave a push, but what did you really do?

Why were you so obsessed with artificial pheromones?

What really happened back then? How is Chu Yin connected to all of this?

Too many questions clogged Tao Fengche’s throat, but he would never have the chance to ask them again.

Feeling lost and helpless, he withdrew his hand, and the iron links of the handcuffs clanged together, producing a piercing sound.

But Tao Fengche remained oblivious to everything around him. It was as if he had suddenly gone deaf, and he hung his head in despair.

Fate weighed heavily on his shoulders—too heavy, almost crushing him.

When a person dies, the light goes out. Zhao Jiayang left this world with countless mysteries, leaving Tao Fengche with nothing but confusion, shock, and bitterness.

Even now, after everything, he still had some attachment to Zhao Jiayang.

…In truth, Zhao Jiayang had never really harmed him.

Though Zhao Jiayang had kidnapped him and taken him hostage, if he had truly intended to use Tao Fengche as leverage to negotiate with Sui Yuesheng, he could have inflicted suffering from the start: cutting off one of his fingers and sending it to Sui Yuesheng as a threat, warning that if he didn’t agree to the terms, more would follow, or perhaps draining some of his blood…

But Zhao Jiayang never did any of that.

On the contrary, Zhao Jiayang hadn’t physically harmed him at all and even remembered to have the mute man deliver food to him. And in the moment when Sui Yuesheng’s bullet flew at them, Zhao Jiayang had actually pushed him out of harm’s way.

Tao Fengche didn’t blame Sui Yuesheng for shooting Zhao Jiayang. If their roles were reversed, he would have done the same. Besides, Zhao Jiayang had shot himself, and Sui Yuesheng’s bullet hadn’t actually caused him any harm.

But he still felt somewhat…unable to adapt.

Everything had happened too fast.

Over the past year, it was as if an invisible hand had pressed the fast-forward button, sweeping him into the torrent of time, rushing him forward. He wanted to resist, but in the face of such overwhelming power, no matter what he did, it was futile.

Even though Xu Song, the butler who had watched him grow up, was still by his side, it wasn’t quite the same.

Zhao Jiayang’s death was the last straw that broke Tao Fengche.

From the mother he had never met, to his grandmother, Chu Yin, Tao Zhixing… and finally Zhao Jiayang.

Tao Fengche had experienced too many separations due to death, and after Zhao Jiayang’s departure, he no longer had any true elders left.

Tao Fengche stared blankly at Zhao Jiayang’s corpse, a bit dazed.

Suddenly, Zhao Jiayang’s body appeared to have multiple overlapping shadows. Tao Fengche wondered if Zhao Jiayang had taken some kind of drug, causing his body to gradually disappear. But when he tried to reach out and touch those shadows, his hand grasped nothing.

He finally realized that his vision had become blurry, and his face felt a bit damp.

… What happened? Did it suddenly start raining?

Tao Fengche couldn’t make sense of it.

A faint sandalwood scent suddenly appeared beside him. The smell seemed familiar, but it was as though his mind was clouded by something thick, making it hard for his thoughts to flow.

After Zhao Jiayang’s death, the familiar scent of white tea had disappeared from his body. Tao Fengche sniffed uneasily, unable to recall what it was, nor did he remember ever encountering such a scent before.

Sui Yuesheng, watching Tao Fengche’s disheveled state, couldn’t help but feel moved.

—His hair was a mess, hands cuffed together, kneeling on the dusty ground next to Zhao Jiayang’s gradually cooling body, his face full of panic, like a lost little puppy unsure of how to find its way home.

Sui Yuesheng had complicated feelings about Zhao Jiayang: his habitual care for Tao Fengche was genuine, but Tao Fengche was in danger because he had kidnapped him as a hostage.

Sui Yuesheng was furious about this—no matter Zhao Jiayang’s reasons, they couldn’t justify hurting Tao Fengche.

But to Tao Fengche, Zhao Jiayang was his uncle, his last remaining family member.

Sui Yuesheng could understand Tao Fengche’s grief and reluctance to let go, but he couldn’t feel the same. Seeing Tao Fengche like this, he even felt a bit frustrated, wanting to scold him.

But when he saw Tao Fengche’s cuffed hands and his tears… Sui Yuesheng’s anger vanished.

He silently sighed and bent down to wipe Tao Fengche’s tears.

With his injured right arm, he reflexively used his left hand, but his strength was a bit too much.

Tao Fengche winced in pain and frowned slightly, suddenly realizing that he had been crying.

He felt embarrassed, turning his head slightly to avoid Sui Yuesheng’s hand, sniffled, and tried to wipe his tears—only to remember he was still wearing handcuffs. His movements were awkward, the clinking of metal accompanying each action.

“Tsk.”

Sui Yuesheng rummaged through Zhao Jiayang’s body, finally pulling out a key from his pants pocket, along with the handkerchief Zhao Jiayang had used to wipe his hands earlier.

The handkerchief didn’t seem to match Zhao Jiayang’s style, with a plum blossom pattern in the corner. But what caught Sui Yuesheng’s attention were the bloodstains dotted across it.

… Zhao Jiayang had been coughing up blood earlier?

Sui Yuesheng’s gaze sharpened, but he said nothing. He quickly put the handkerchief back, then calmly turned and unlocked Tao Fengche’s handcuffs.

Tao Fengche’s wrists bore deep marks from the cuffs. Sui Yuesheng found the sight unpleasant, so he reached out and gently massaged them.

Sui Yuesheng’s hands were usually cold, and Tao Fengche had always been warm, but now, Tao Fengche’s hands were ice-cold.

No one knew what had happened these past two days.

Sui Yuesheng silently sighed.

With only his left hand functioning, he couldn’t warm both of Tao Fengche’s hands at once, so he held them one at a time, kneading gently.

Sui Yuesheng’s strength was remarkable, far from what one would expect from an omega. When Tao Fengche was younger, he used to whimper in protest whenever Sui Yuesheng did this, but today, he stayed silent.

So, Sui Yuesheng also remained silent. He focused on Tao Fengche’s hands, as if handling an important business deal. Only he knew that he was avoiding Tao Fengche’s tears.

—He couldn’t bear to see him cry.

When Tao Fengche’s hands finally began to warm up, Sui Yuesheng raised his head, only to find that Tao Fengche was still silently shedding tears.

It was as if his tear ducts were broken. His face was blank, devoid of emotion, but his eyes had become wells, spilling tears without stopping, as if trying to empty his body of every last drop of moisture.

Sui Yuesheng had never seen him cry like this. Worried, he stared at him for a long while, wondering—had Tao Fengche been scared out of his wits?

Sui Yuesheng had seen corpses far more horrific than Zhao Jiayang’s:

Shotgun blasts that could blow off half a head, leaving shattered bones and brains mixed together in a sight strong enough to make even the toughest person vomit; snipers taking out targets from hotel windows, where the bodies would fall out of windows and splatter into a mess of flesh; or landmines that would blow half a body to bits…

But Tao Fengche, who had been coddled by Tao Zhixing, would never have witnessed such scenes.

Just half a month ago, after shooting Liu Tianlei in the stomach, Tao Fengche had panicked. Now, Zhao Jiayang had died in front of him. For an inexperienced young alpha, the sight of brains and blood was terrifying.

Sui Yuesheng sighed heavily and crouched down in front of Tao Fengche.

He wiped his hands on a clean spot of his coat and gently used his left thumb to wipe away Tao Fengche’s tears.

Sui Yuesheng’s movements were focused and meticulous, but to no avail—no sooner had he wiped the tears than they flowed again, like a dam had burst.

… At least now, Tao Fengche wasn’t staring blankly at Zhao Jiayang’s corpse anymore. He was willing to look at him—that was progress.

With that thought, Sui Yuesheng silently extended his arms, pulling the kneeling Tao Fengche into his embrace. He gave him a firm hug and patted his back.

His fingers traced down the ridge of the young man’s spine, then back up, repeating several times. After a while, Sui Yuesheng gently massaged Tao Fengche’s shoulder blades before slightly pulling away.

Their gray-blue and dark eyes met silently. After a moment, Sui Yuesheng leaned forward, resting his forehead against Tao Fengche’s.

This was his old trick from ten years ago, his secret weapon to comfort a crying Tao Fengche.

But now, Tao Fengche was no longer the little crybaby from ten years ago, and this gesture felt awkward, far too intimate for their current age.

The distance between them disappeared. Their breathing rhythms intertwined, and Sui Yuesheng could feel Tao Fengche’s warm breath brushing against his face, causing a subtle tremor deep within.

A slight electric current seemed to pass through their skin, spreading through his body, even numbing his fingertips. The pain from the gunshot wound in his right arm vanished, as if anesthetized.

Tao Fengche was still crying, his dog-like eyes gleaming with tears. At such a close distance, the effect was devastating.

Sui Yuesheng pursed his lips, feeling an itch in his throat. He wanted to cough and pull away.

… Tao Fengche had grown up, and this intimate gesture felt inappropriate.

But just as he was about to move, Tao Fengche, who had been motionless until now, suddenly acted.

Emotion surged in his eyes, rising like a tide. After a moment, he made up his mind.

Recklessly but determinedly, Tao Fengche leaned forward with courage and kissed Sui Yuesheng’s lips.

Sui Yuesheng quickly turned his head in panic, so the kiss landed on the corner of his mouth.