Leaving the Fuyuan Processing Plant didn’t mean everything was settled.

The police wanted to take Zhao Jiayang’s body back to the morgue for an autopsy by the forensic team, then send it to the crematorium for cremation. Upon hearing the plan, Sui Yuesheng frowned. When he turned his head and saw Tao Fengche, who insisted on being present, looking pale, he sighed.

He then gave Yu Hebai a glance. The latter widened his eyes in protest, exaggeratedly mouthing, “Why is it always me?!”

Despite his complaint, Yu Hebai still stepped forward to pull the SWAT team leader aside for a quiet negotiation.

The body of the main suspect in such a high-profile kidnapping case was no trivial matter. The team leader was visibly troubled. They argued back and forth for a while, neither willing to compromise, and the situation reached a stalemate.

It was only when Jiang Jingyun stepped in to vouch for the matter that things took a turn—

This operation was ultimately classified as a “special anti-crime crackdown based on an informant’s tip.” The Jingpu City Police Department took it seriously and cooperated closely with the SWAT unit, engaging in a fierce gunfight with criminals who threatened social stability at the Fuyuan Processing Factory. In the end, they emerged victorious.

After a difficult negotiation, they finally reached an agreement regarding Zhao Jiayang: the cause of death was officially listed as cardiac failure, and the Tao family was allowed to take his body for a secret burial. There would be no public funeral for the time being, nor would his death be announced.

The new confidentiality agreement was meticulously reviewed clause by clause by Yu Hebai and Assistant Zhou during a video conference. Everyone involved in the case, from Jiang Jingyun down to the technical investigation team members, had to sign it. The case files were destroyed without leaving any trace.

“It’s like a ghost operation,” Yu Hebai remarked before the meeting ended.

Assistant Zhou simply smiled and nodded without responding.

Yu Hebai studied him through the video, suspicion flashing in his eyes. “You’ve done things like this before, haven’t you?”

Assistant Zhou smiled faintly but didn’t confirm or deny it. “Secretary Yu, until next time.”

Then he pressed the button to end the call.

The police had temporarily wrapped up their side of the case, but the Tao family still had much to do privately. As Sui Yuesheng’s right-hand man, Assistant Zhou had a mountain of work ahead of him.

Zhao Jiayang had admitted his involvement in Tao Zhixing’s death, but the official cause of death had been reported as a brain hemorrhage, unrelated to the car accident. Moreover, the incident was tied to the Tao family’s vast underground operations, making it impossible to involve the police. The Tao family had to investigate on their own.

Luckily, they weren’t entirely without leads.

Sui Yuesheng had confronted Zhao Jiayang’s men at the factory, and they were all swift and highly skilled marksmen. He had some guesses about their identities: either they were hardened criminals, or mercenaries hired by Zhao Jiayang for a hefty price.

—After all, ordinary people wouldn’t possess such skills, nor would they be capable of biting down on poison capsules hidden in their mouths once they realized all hope was lost, quickly dying from the poison and leaving no survivors.

The police’s plan to bring them back for questioning fell through. The team leader was furious, but with the dead beyond resuscitation, they could only bring back the bodies to identify them through the public security system’s records.

What the police didn’t know was that the Tao family had already obtained information ahead of them and had no intention of sharing it.

Although the Tao family bodyguards hadn’t participated in the rescue operation, they did help clean up the scene and transport the bodies.

That night, Sui Yuesheng received a message from the bodyguards.

[Boss Sui, a few of the bodies look familiar. If I’m not mistaken, this is tied to the Red Gang.]

Sui Yuesheng hadn’t stayed at the scene for long. After making the necessary arrangements, he took Tao Fengche to a private hospital owned by the Tao family to get checked out.

He hadn’t slept in a long time, and his nerves had been stretched to their limit. Now that the weight on his heart had lifted, and with the car driving smoothly, he fell asleep without realizing it. By the time he saw the message, he was already sitting in the examination room with Tao Fengche.

He glanced at the screen, and an idea began to form in his mind, but he said nothing, nor did he reply to the message.

Sui Yuesheng swiped his thumb across the screen, deleting the message, then looked up at the doctor sitting across from him with concern in his eyes. “What do the test results say?”

It was already midnight, and the elderly chief doctor had been woken from sleep to rush to the hospital. After accompanying Tao Fengche through a series of full-body examinations, he showed no signs of impatience. He adjusted his glasses and slowly said, “His blood sugar is a bit low, and his heart rate is elevated, but all within the normal range. Other than that, everything is fine. He’s just been startled and is hungry…”

Tao Fengche, feeling Sui Yuesheng’s gaze on him, quickly explained, “Yes, it’s true, I haven’t eaten in over ten hours.”

“Then there’s no problem,” the doctor said as he jotted down a few notes in the medical record. He then opened a drawer, pulled out a piece of bread, and placed it on the table, pushing it toward them. “Eat something and get a good night’s sleep.”

Sui Yuesheng finally relaxed. Tao Fengche accepted the bread, politely bowing his head in thanks. As he was gathering his thoughts to ask the doctor to check on Sui Yuesheng’s hand, the latter spoke up.

“…It seems like Mr. Sui is in worse shape. Your right arm is injured, isn’t it?”

“Hm?” Sui Yuesheng was momentarily stunned but then remembered. “Oh, yeah, just a small injury. Nothing serious.”

He had suffered many injuries over the years, including a broken leg. But being young and not prone to scarring, he healed quickly. Even if you undressed him, there’d be no sign of old wounds. In comparison, this bullet graze was nothing, and he had already treated it. Fatigue had started to overtake him, and his cleanliness habits were kicking in—he just wanted to go home, take a shower, and sleep.

Doctors always exaggerated, he thought, casually brushing it off.

But Tao Fengche didn’t think so.

“Let the doctor take a look, Ge.” Tao Fengche’s face was full of concern.

“I’m tired,” Sui Yuesheng said, trying to leave.

“After the doctor looks at it, we’ll go,” Tao Fengche insisted, unusually stubborn.

“…”

The two stared each other down for a moment, and Sui Yuesheng finally gave in. He took off his coat and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the wound carefully wrapped in gauze.

The doctor didn’t ask how he was injured. He simply cut open the gauze with scissors, disinfected the wound with an alcohol swab, applied medicine, and re-bandaged it.

“I told you, it’s just a scratch.”

Sui Yuesheng expected this to end the conversation, but after finishing, he didn’t get a response. He turned his head, only to find that Tao Fengche’s eyes were already red.

Startled by the sudden tears, Sui Yuesheng didn’t know what to say. He remained silent, allowing the doctor to finish his work.

It wasn’t until the doctor was done that Tao Fengche, with reddened eyes, cautiously reached out his hand as if to touch the bandaged wound. But just as he was about to, he quickly withdrew his hand as if electrocuted. After a moment, he gently approached again, carefully hovering his hand over the bandage.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

His voice was choked with suppressed sobs, and he looked like he was about to cry again.

“I’m the one who’s hurt, why are you crying?” Sui Yuesheng sighed helplessly, “It doesn’t hurt.”

“Impossible!” Tao Fengche glared at him. “With a wound this big, how could it not hurt?”

…I said it doesn’t hurt, but you don’t believe me, and yet you still ask. Really…

Sui Yuesheng felt a strange frustration, unable to find the right words to describe his feelings at that moment.

He couldn’t do anything about Tao Fengche, so he simply reached out with his left hand and lightly patted his forehead, pretending to be fierce. “No crying allowed!”

Then, resigned to his fate, he stayed where he was, listening as the doctor listed a long series of instructions. He also had to endure Tao Fengche, who had asked for a piece of paper and was listening intently while taking notes, occasionally asking questions when something wasn’t clear.

Judging by his enthusiasm, even medical students studying for their finals didn’t put in as much effort as he did.

Sui Yuesheng closed his eyes to avoid any further irritation, but the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly into an almost imperceptible smile.

The check-up took quite a while, and with Tao Fengche’s unexpected diligence, by the time they left the hospital, the moon was already hanging high in the sky. There was still a bit of distance left to the Tao family home, but neither of them mentioned staying the night at the hospital.

Under the bright moon, Sui Yuesheng pulled out his phone to call the driver to pick them up at the hospital’s main entrance. Tao Fengche took a quick glance at the screen and only then realized, with a delayed reaction, that the number “1” was displayed—the Mid-Autumn Festival, which he’d been looking forward to, had already passed.

He couldn’t help but reflect on the tumultuous events of the past couple of days, feeling a deep sense of frustration: this was completely different from his original plans!

But… somehow, he’d ended up spending it with Sui Yuesheng.

…They should be together now, right? After all, they’d kissed. And not just once.

Still, if he were to ask outright, he felt that Sui Yuesheng wouldn’t give him a straight answer.

Caught up in his thoughts, Tao Fengche followed Sui Yuesheng into the car and sat next to him.

Sui Yuesheng had already leaned against the car window and closed his eyes, showing signs of fatigue. Tao Fengche stared at him for a while, then cautiously reached out to touch his hand.

Sui Yuesheng opened his eyes and glanced at him, but didn’t move or resist.

His fingers naturally rested together, cool to the touch. Tao Fengche slowly slid his fingers between them, entwining them with Sui Yuesheng’s.

Tao Fengche held on too tightly, so Sui Yuesheng slightly shook his hand, signaling him to loosen his grip a bit, then shifted into a more comfortable position. Allowing Tao Fengche to hold his hand, he soon fell asleep against the car window.

His breathing was soft and shallow. Though he wasn’t deeply asleep, he was indeed asleep.

Asleep by his side.

Tao Fengche looked at Sui Yuesheng’s peaceful sleeping face and could no longer control the smile spreading across his own lips.