Back to the rescue day…

When the group of people left the Fuyuan Processing Factory, it was already past eight o’clock, and the sky had completely darkened. The city center of Jingpu was a brightly lit metropolis, but the suburbs were much lonelier, especially in this area, which had long been abandoned.

The lampshades of the streetlights, which had not been cleaned for a long time, were covered in years of accumulated dust. The bulbs emitted a dull yellow light, casting a dim glow around, but fortunately, it didn’t hinder visibility.

Since his blood circulation improved, Tao Fengche had firmly refused the SWAT offecer’s assistance and walked alongside Sui Yuesheng shoulder to shoulder. He was dressed lightly, and the cold wind made his hair stand on end; suddenly, he shivered and stamped his feet.

Sui Yuesheng kept a watchful eye on Tao Fengche with his peripheral vision and then reached out to unbutton his coat.

Tao Fengche quickly stopped him, saying, “You wear it; I’m not cold.”

“Not cold? Then why are you tucking in your neck? You look like a quail,” Sui Yuesheng frowned tightly. “Be good, don’t be stubborn.”

Tao Fengche shook his head firmly.

Guan Hui, watching their interaction, found it both warm and amusing. He had an older brother himself and was all too familiar with this peculiar yet impatient familial concern. Just observing them made him feel warm, like drinking a bowl of hot ginger soup, even dispelling some of the autumn chill.

But since Sui Yuesheng was injured and Tao Fengche had been startled, as a police officer, how could he just ignore it?

“Why not wear mine?” he suggested, trying to mediate.

“No.”

“No, thank you,” both Tao Fengche and Sui Yuesheng said in unison.

Guan Hui smiled and shrugged, feeling no embarrassment. “Then I’ll go report to the leaders.”

He turned and left with a casual movement, leaving the two brothers staring at each other, neither willing to step back first.

The standoff was broken when the Tao family’s bodyguards arrived hurriedly with two thick coats.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Tao Fengche said quietly, nodding in thanks as he slowly put on the coat. But when he looked up again, he was surprised to see someone standing behind the bodyguards.

—An alpha in a suit who looked somewhat familiar.

He was half a head shorter than the bodyguards from the Tao family, having been blocked behind them until now. Once he noticed Tao Fengche’s gaze, he nodded at him, then turned to Sui Yuesheng and winked, his eyes full of playful amusement.

Tao Fengche furrowed his brows immediately.

But Sui Yuesheng didn’t seem angry at all; instead, he let the newcomer pull him aside after putting on his coat and whispered a few words in his ear.

Tao Fengche’s expression worsened. He quickly scanned his vast sea of memories for a similar face—who was this person? He had a vague impression but couldn’t recall where he had seen him before…

A sudden autumn breeze picked up, and a rich rose scent finally wafted into Tao Fengche’s nose.

—The last missing piece of the puzzle had been found.

Tao Fengche widened his eyes in disbelief, turning his head sharply to stare at the newcomer, his eyes almost spitting fire.

Wasn’t this the alpha who had held onto Sui Yuesheng and called him “baby”?

Today, he was dressed differently and had gelled his hair, looking quite presentable, almost unrecognizable at first glance. But the ostentatious rose-scented pheromones unmistakably revealed his identity.

Who was this person? How did he end up here?

Tao Fengche couldn’t figure it out, but that didn’t stop him from wishing he could dig a piece of flesh out of this person with his gaze.

Yu Hebai inexplicably shivered and tightened his clothes.

Sui Yuesheng remained completely unaware of the tension. Yu Hebai was sent by Jiang Jingyun to deliver a message. The matter that needed his attention was indeed quite tricky and couldn’t be entrusted to anyone else. So when he turned to look at Tao Fengche, he seemed a bit troubled.

“Xiao Che, there’s still some business to take care of here; why don’t you wait for me in the car?”

“No.” Tao Fengche replied stiffly.

“It won’t be long; just be good,” Sui Yuesheng patiently soothed him.

“No.”

Tao Fengche would never allow Sui Yuesheng to leave alone with this alpha who had ulterior motives towards him.

Even if Sui Yuesheng were just his brother, he wouldn’t agree. Not to mention that Sui Yuesheng was now his boyfriend—this was a living, breathing rival!

Handling business? Not a chance! Not even for a moment!

Tao Fengche had a sour look on his face, refusing to be swayed by Sui Yuesheng’s sweet words.

His stubbornness was infuriating to watch. After days of continuous work and then being forced to confront his own feelings, Sui Yuesheng turned around to find Tao Fengche had reverted to that childish brat.

A surge of unnamed anger rose in his heart, and his hand itched, wishing he could smack the little punk on the spot.

“Since it won’t take long, let’s all go together,” Yu Hebai said leisurely, having enjoyed the spectacle long enough. Seeing that things were getting out of hand, he quickly pushed Sui Yuesheng to urge him to leave, then turned to Tao Fengche to chat, “You’re Tao Fengche, right? I’m a bit older than you, so I’ll just call you Xiao Tao. The weather has gotten cooler these days; he’s worried you might catch a cold from staying outside for too long. Your brother has this stubborn yet soft-hearted temper, so don’t take it to heart.”

Ever since he learned that Sui Yuesheng showed signs of having romantic feelings, and that the object of affection was the young master from the Tao family, Yu Hebai had been quite worried—social norms dictated that AO pairs were the mainstream; it was already difficult enough for a beta to pursue an alpha, and on top of that, his temper is so bad. Was he planning to be a devoted second male lead who silently sacrifices himself while ultimately watching Tao Fengche marry a more suitable omega?

He was afraid that Sui Yuesheng would upset Tao Fengche, so he hurriedly interjected for the family, but unfortunately, neither of the main characters seemed to appreciate his effort.

“Less talk, hurry up and keep up.”

This was Sui Yuesheng, who had already walked far ahead.

“…Hmph.”

This was Tao Fengche, who coldly scoffed after staring silently at Yu Hebai for a while. The next second, he swiftly quickened his pace to catch up with Sui Yuesheng, leaving Yu Hebai alone in place.

Is he showing off that he knows Sui Yuesheng better than I do?! Is this a declaration of war, or…?

Tao Fengche walked forward, filled with anger, each step heavy and kicking up countless innocent dust.

After sending Yu Hebai on an errand, Jiang Jingyun had been waiting by the command vehicle. Upon spotting Sui Yuesheng, he stepped forward. Sui Yuesheng nodded in greeting as he approached, only to find Jiang Jingyun’s gaze scanning behind him, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Sui Yuesheng turned his head and exchanged a glance with the persistent little tail following behind him, silently sighing as he took on the responsibility of introducing them to each other.

He pointed at Tao Fengche: “This is Tao Fengche; you all know him, so I won’t say much.”

“This is Jiang Jingyun, a congressman from Jingpu City. You should have met him; he’s a senior of mine. The one who just spoke to you is his secretary, Yu Hebai. Although he was in a different major, he’s from the same university as Senior and I.” Sui Yuesheng slowly said, “They are all my good friends.”

He had completely forgotten what happened that night, so he spoke very calmly. Jiang Jingyun and Yu Hebai had no idea what Tao Fengche was pondering, and they kindly greeted him. To show his respect, Jiang Jingyun even reached out his hand to Tao Fengche.

Tao Fengche was dumbfounded, and after a moment of shock, he reacted, stiffly extending his hand and forcing a calm expression as he shook hands with Jiang Jingyun.

Sui Yuesheng emphasized, “They have been a great help these past few days.”

Tao Fengche understood.

He felt like a poorly crafted marionette, forcing a smile as he followed Sui Yuesheng’s lead: “Sorry for the trouble.”

“Not at all,” Jiang Jingyun smiled, “No one expected this to happen. I’m friends with your brother, so it’s just a small favor.”

Despite the words, the dark circles under his eyes and the bloodshot veins couldn’t lie.

If it were truly a small favor, he wouldn’t have to go this far.

Tao Fengche wasn’t someone completely oblivious to social niceties. Although he rarely appeared in social situations, he had been attending group meetings with Tao Zhixing since he was fourteen, and he was fully aware of how much support Jiang Jingyun could provide given his position—just the police force deployed was a clear indication.

Tao Fengche was grateful for this, but at the same time, he felt somewhat conflicted. That night, Sui Yuesheng had been driven home by Jiang Jingyun. He knew these three knew each other, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t understand the nature of their relationship.

Even rabbits don’t eat the grass around their burrows, and yet Sui Yuesheng slept with both; these two were still superior and subordinate. Didn’t that make him feel awkward?!

But why… did their relationship appear so harmonious?

Tao Fengche stared at Jiang Jingyun and Yu Hebai for a long while, uncertain.

He suspiciously accompanied Sui Yuesheng like a dragon guarding its treasure, but the result was again beyond his expectations: the way these three interacted was far too normal, with not the slightest hint of ambiguity or any inappropriate actions, as if they were truly three old friends with a great bond.

Halfway through the discussion, Jiang Jingyun even took the lead in sending Sui Yuesheng away, saying that Sui Yuesheng should quickly take Tao Fengche to the hospital, and he and Yu Hebai could coordinate the follow-up work.

If it weren’t for the sudden disappearance of Sui Yuesheng’s pheromones, the well-hidden secondary gender, and the intimate interactions he witnessed that night, Tao Fengche would almost believe that their relationship was really that simple.

But… was it possible that they were just ordinary friends, and Sui Yuesheng just asked them to help with his pheromones and heat, creating an extra layer of cooperation?

Like the gossip Wang Yuan once shared, those close boarding school alphas would sometimes “help each other out” to relieve physiological needs. It just seemed strange because Sui Yuesheng was an omega…

Tao Fengche tried to convince himself, but he could understand it rationally, yet emotionally, he simply couldn’t accept it.

Possessiveness was driving him mad.

Before the sudden turn of events, he had always been a pampered child, always able to get what he wanted. Once he liked someone, he wished that person belonged only to him.

If he and Sui Yuesheng were truly dating now… could he ask Sui Yuesheng to cut ties with these people?

But omega’s heat occurs once a year. Sui Yuesheng had taken so many random medications; who knows when it would strike? And he himself wasn’t an adult yet, hadn’t even produced pheromones, let alone soothe him.

If Sui Yuesheng happened to go into heat before he turned of age, Sui Yuesheng would still have to find these past partners.

Jealousy and anxiety turned into arrows piercing through his heart, and Tao Fengche breathed rapidly, even feeling somewhat oxygen-deprived.

The scenes he imagined were driving him to madness, but… could this be blamed on Sui Yuesheng?

He had no other options, did he?

At the root of it, it was still his fault for being too young.

Perhaps… When he comes of age, when he has pheromones and can help Sui Yuesheng, Sui Yuesheng won’t have to seek out these others for his physiological needs anymore.

By that time, his relationship with Sui Yuesheng should also be on the right track.

Tao Fengche thought to himself.

Before the tsunami of jealousy completely engulfed him, he pulled himself back from his thoughts and hurriedly flipped through the table calendar, pulled it closer, turned to December, and tremblingly grabbed a red pen, circling December 24th after removing the cap.

When Xu Song came in with a tray, Tao Fengche had just finished marking the last stroke on today’s date, the bright red “×” glaring like some sort of prophecy.