After returning to his bedroom, Tao Fengche suddenly remembered he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet.

Feeling too lazy to go downstairs again, he took advantage of the fact that he was home resting on orders, and simply sent Xu Song a message asking him to bring breakfast to his room. After that, he aimlessly wandered around the room for a bit, considering it his exercise for the day.

Eventually, he sat back down at his desk and flipped through the practice book in front of him, lacking any desire to write. He stared out at the autumn scenery from the balcony for a while, and before he knew it, he was lost in thought.

Since leaving the Fuyuan Processing Plant Factory, he had almost been inseparable from Sui Yuesheng these days, resembling a conjoined twin, and his entire being was clouded by the sweetness of being in love.

But once Sui Yuesheng left home for work, and he found himself alone, his frenzied thoughts began to cool, and soon, the rationality that had been offline for so long quietly resurfaced.

…What exactly was his situation with Sui Yuesheng now?

Tao Fengche wondered uncertainly.

Logically speaking, since Sui Yuesheng had accepted his confession, kissed him, and wasn’t shying away from other intimate actions that surpassed social norms, they should be considered in a relationship. But…

Tao Fengche frowned, feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

After returning to the mansion on Friday evening, he had tentatively suggested to Sui Yuesheng that he wanted to sit in his room for a while.

There were two motives: first, he wanted to avoid the servants and have a moment alone with Sui Yuesheng; second, Tao Fengche had a bit of a selfish desire—Sui Yuesheng’s room was like a magical realm for him, holding a natural allure, and he truly wanted to see the place filled with traces of Sui Yuesheng.

Sui Yuesheng had remained silent.

After a while, he flatly rejected Tao Fengche’s suggestion.

Perhaps feeling that he had refused too quickly, Sui Yuesheng frowned, trying to say something to ease the awkwardness, but he was really not good at handling such situations, leaving him at a loss, his expression somewhat distressed.

Tao Fengche couldn’t bear to see him struggle any longer and quickly swallowed his pleas, obediently changing the subject.

He knew how important personal space was to Sui Yuesheng, but he hadn’t expected that even now, he would react so strongly. Since that was the case, Tao Fengche felt even less inclined to bring up an increasingly excessive request: he wanted to occasionally sleep together with Sui Yuesheng in the afternoons, just like they did when they were younger.

It was no longer ten years ago; even though they had confirmed their romantic relationship, it was still a bit too fast for an A and O to share a bed. Maybe it would be better to wait a while. Tao Fengche tried to comfort himself.

Also, the past Saturday afternoon, Feng Hui’s call came while they were watching a movie together.

After lunch, Sui Yuesheng had sent Feng Hui a message in front of Tao Fengche, saying that Tao Fengche had been feeling unwell lately and needed to take a week off. Given Feng Hui’s sense of responsibility, it wasn’t surprising that she called Tao Fengche to inquire about the situation.

Sui Yuesheng paused the movie and gestured for Tao Fengche to take the call.

As expected, the conversation went just as Tao Fengche had anticipated. Feng Hui first asked about his specific condition, and upon learning that he was fine, she launched into a long-winded explanation, saying that they had started the final review, the pace was fast, and there was a lot of content, with many classmates feeling like they were falling behind…

Her words implied that he should return to school as soon as he felt better, so as not to lag behind in his studies.

Tao Fengche felt a headache coming on, but he knew Feng Hui meant well, so he patiently replied to everything.

After finally enduring Feng Hui’s lengthy call, Tao Fengche let out a long sigh of relief.

“What’s wrong?” Sui Yuesheng asked.

Tao Fengche recounted the content of the call, complaining somewhat unsatisfied: “Feng Hui is really something, she even said that Tang Wanxin—the class monitor—would send me the lesson content every day after school and absolutely won’t allow me to miss classes. When will it end…”

He had only meant to express a little grievance, hoping to get some comforting words from Sui Yuesheng, but Sui Yuesheng’s expression grew increasingly serious.

“It’s my oversight,” Sui Yuesheng said earnestly. “I was only thinking that you had been frightened and needed to rest at home for a few days, but I forgot that you’re in your senior year, which is the most critical time…”

He paused for a moment, “How about I hire a short-term tutor to come to the house and help you with your studies for a few days?”

Tao Fengche: “?!”

At that time, he didn’t yet know that before long, Sui Yuesheng would leave him at home alone while he went to work. He had planned on spending a week alone with his brother, and now how could he tolerate having a tutor intrude on their time together?

What was the point of taking a leave then?!

Tao Fengche firmly rejected Sui Yuesheng’s proposal and repeatedly emphasized that his foundation was solid and his grades had always been good. Plus, it was currently the review phase; he could completely manage his studies at home without the need for a tutor.

To enhance his credibility, in a moment of impatience, Tao Fengche had blurted out something he would regret for a long time:

“If it really doesn’t work out, isn’t there still my brother? If I don’t understand something, I can always ask you for help.”

“Well, that’s not out of the question.” After thinking for a moment, Sui Yuesheng readily agreed.

Before Tao Fengche could feel happy for too long, that very evening, Sui Yuesheng came to his room with a collection of essays.

He had a servant move a chair near Tao Fengche’s desk, and set up a small table in front of the chair, casually saying, “let me know if you don’t understand any questions,” before sitting down comfortably.

While Tao Fengche did his homework, Sui Yuesheng focused on reading his book, with a pot of tea on the table that he sipped from occasionally. Between turning pages, Sui Yuesheng would occasionally glance up at Tao Fengche to confirm that he was genuinely studying and not slacking off, before returning his gaze to the book.

Being in the same room with Sui Yuesheng while forcing himself to swim through the sea of study was practically a form of torture.

Tao Fengche felt like he was drowning.

He was completely disinterested in studying; he just wanted to snuggle up next to Sui Yuesheng and talk to him or simply sit quietly watching him for a while.

But under Sui Yuesheng’s watchful eye, he simply didn’t have the courage to utter the words that he didn’t want to do his homework.

…Given his brother’s temperament, he would definitely get scolded!

In the past, if Tao Fengche got angry, he might have fought back, but now how could he bear to be rough with Sui Yuesheng?

…He could only resign himself to the punishment.

Tao Fengche shivered inexplicably and forced himself to lower his head and concentrate on his homework.

Halfway through, his patience finally wore thin, and he put down his pen, intending to slip over to Sui Yuesheng’s side.

As if he had a sixth sense, as soon as Tao Fengche stood up, Sui Yuesheng glanced at him: “Are you done with your homework?”

“No.” Tao Fengche shook his head, and seeing Sui Yuesheng’s gaze sharpen, he hurriedly added before he could get angry, “I still have a little left; I’ll finish it tomorrow, okay?”

He tried to negotiate with Sui Yuesheng, his tone filled with pleading.

Sui Yuesheng neither agreed nor refused but stared at Tao Fengche with a teasing expression for a while before finally showing mercy and nodding: “Fine.”

Tao Fengche was overjoyed and hadn’t even had time to say anything before he watched Sui Yuesheng stand up.

“I’ll check your work.”

Tao Fengche: “…”

He stared dumbfounded as Sui Yuesheng picked up his practice book and flipped through it, signing off on it and then casually asking him several key points to assess his understanding, even quizzing him on some English words, leaving him completely stunned.

From that moment on, Tao Fengche’s body and soul were completely divided into two halves—

His body mechanically answered the questions posed by Sui Yuesheng, while his soul floated in the air, weeping—was Sui Yuesheng really his boyfriend?! What was this overwhelming, suffocating feeling of parental oversight?!

…However, it seemed that Sui Yuesheng really was his guardian.

In Tao Fengche’s heart, an inexplicable resentment towards Tao Zhixing arose, but he knew deep down that it was merely a misdirected anger.

Sui Yuesheng was fulfilling his responsibilities as a guardian, and there was nothing to criticize about that. He had once complained to Sui Yuesheng about his lack of attention, and since then, no matter how busy he was, he had never forgotten that “Tao Fengche’s homework needs to be signed.”

In internet slang, this was quite sweet.

Yet, Tao Fengche still felt somewhat awkward—this didn’t seem like how others experienced love.

Although the young alpha had no romantic experience, he had read many books and seen his friends in relationships; romantic themes in movies and TV shows were everywhere, providing him with ample reference material.

When he compared his relationship with others, he realized it was different—

That confession, those kisses, seemed not to have changed the way he interacted with Sui Yuesheng.

Even though Sui Yuesheng wouldn’t reject his affectionate gestures when they were alone now, and would even initiate kisses when in a good mood, it still felt off.

Tao Fengche even vaguely felt that when Sui Yuesheng kissed him now, it was no different from ten years ago; even the expression in his eyes reflected the same helplessness and indulgence. If there was any difference, it might just be a slight decrease in impatience.

But he couldn’t see love in Sui Yuesheng’s eyes, nor that feeling of reckless abandon for love.

He didn’t know if Sui Yuesheng’s way of expressing love was too subtle, or if this relationship was merely another form of indulgence from Sui Yuesheng towards him.

Tao Fengche thought again about that Thursday last week, the day that changed everything.