What’s wrong with me?

Tao Fengche’s face was full of genuine confusion. He really didn’t understand what Wang Yuan was talking about.

The two remained silent for a while, staring at each other. Wang Yuan, seeing the perplexed expression on Tao Fengche’s face, realized belatedly that he might have misunderstood something.

He blinked a few times, chuckled awkwardly, trying to ease the tension.

But his attempt clearly didn’t work. All around them, their classmates were playing and laughing, yet their area was enveloped in silence, as if isolated from the world, but not in a serene way.

It was Wang Yuan who couldn’t bear it anymore. He was somewhat surprised. “Tao Ge, you really don’t know?”

He had thought Tao Fengche was teasing him on purpose.

“No.” Tao Fengche was completely puzzled. “Should I know something?”

Facing Tao Fengche’s bewildered expression, Wang Yuan found himself momentarily speechless. Tao Fengche was really sheltered by his family… too innocent.

Poor Wang Yuan, who was actually a little over a month younger than him, now felt strangely like he was about to corrupt a child. But seeing Tao Fengche’s eyes full of curiosity and eagerness to know, he couldn’t bear to hide it from him.

He confessed inwardly, “Heaven above, I didn’t mean to tell Tao Fengche about this! He brought it up himself, I couldn’t help but tell him! I didn’t mean to corrupt the pure alpha!”

After this silent confession, Wang Yuan cleared his throat and began cautiously, “Um… Tao Ge, let me tell you…”

They were still in class, and Wang Yuan was mindful of Tao Fengche’s ability to accept this information. He leaned in close and whispered in a subdued voice, using vague terms that almost sounded like they were from a middle school biology textbook. Despite this, Tao Fengche’s eyes widened more and more.

As Wang Yuan continued, a door to a new world slowly opened before Tao Fengche’s eyes.

Even in the most bustling places, there were areas of decline and poverty, and Jingpu was no exception. If one stood on the peak of the mountain near Tao’s ancestral home and looked northeast, there was a noticeably impoverished area, notorious in Jingpu as a slum.

It was also famous as a red-light district, where many omegas, desperate and with no other choice, resorted to selling their bodies to survive.

An alpha senior Wang Yuan knew had once visited out of curiosity. Contrary to his expectations, the omegas there didn’t care if their clients marked them during their heats.

“Those street omegas often use a banned drug circulated in the black market, specially made for omegas,” Wang Yuan’s voice was filled with mystery, “This drug is expensive and needs to be taken periodically. But if they take this drug, even if they are marked by an alpha during their heat, they won’t be marked permanently.”

“However, with repeated use of this drug and continuous sexual relations with alphas, the scent of omega pheromones gradually fades.”

Holy shit.

Tao Fengche’s pupils almost trembled.

Things were rushing towards a conclusion he had never imagined, bringing with it a result he absolutely didn’t want to accept. He was sure Wang Yuan wasn’t lying, and as Wang Yuan explained, all the doubts suddenly found answers, forming a perfect logical loop.

But this was something that absolutely no one should know, not even Wang Yuan.

Tao Fengche closed his eyes, hiding the impending shock, and quickly regulated his breathing. In an instant, he put on a perfect mask. By the time he spoke again, he had formulated his response.

At this moment, Wang Yuan must have been very curious about why he had asked such a question. But in reality, Tao Fengche didn’t need to give him an answer.

“I see.” he nodded, appearing satisfied with his curiosity. Then, he suddenly changed the subject, his voice tinged with teasing, “But… Xiao Yuan, how do you know all this in such detail?”

He looked remarkably composed. “Tell me, is that alpha senior you’re talking about actually you?”

Now, it was Wang Yuan’s turn to be taken aback.

With a bitter melon face, he pleaded desperately, “Tao Ge, you’re my best friend. I really just went to take a look out of curiosity after listening to that alpha senior. I didn’t do anything else! I just took a taxi around, didn’t even dare to get out of the car. Please don’t tell my parents!”

He looked pitiful, clasping his hands together in a gesture resembling a prayer. Tao Fengche teased him with a smirk, pondered for a long while, then nodded benevolently, took out a textbook from the drawer, gesturing for him to leave quickly, while he himself began early reading.

Wang Yuan felt as if granted amnesty, and quickly slipped away like greased lightning. Tao Fengche achieved his goal, lowered his eyes, opened the book, his long eyelashes hiding both his eyes and the storm in his heart.

···

It had been nearly a week since he had gotten the answer from Wang Yuan, but Tao Fengche’s mood still hadn’t settled.

This exclusive black-market drug Wang Yuan mentioned sounded familiar to him as soon as he spoke of it, and as he listened further, Tao Fengche became more certain that his suspicions were correct—it was indeed part of his family’s covert business.

But as an underage alpha, Tao Zhixing had only briefly mentioned the surface details of various illicit drugs produced by the family to him before. The old man always thought there was plenty of time in the future, so he never elaborated on the detailed effects and side effects.

So Tao Fengche hadn’t previously considered this possibility, but Wang Yuan’s words were like a needle, instantly stitching together the entire story. The answer was becoming clear.

—Sui Yuesheng had also used this banned drug!

He had come to the Tao family ten years ago. Other omegas might need to find their way to the black market to buy drugs, but for him, obtaining such drugs was simply effortless.

Thus, Sui Yuesheng and Jing Ning’s unusual friendship also became clear—he had intersected with Jing Ning due to his frequent medication, and their similar personalities had made them friends as a matter of course.

No, it was quite possible that even this medicine was given to him by Jing Ning!

Sui Yuesheng had suddenly left, and Tao Fengche had sealed everything related to him in his memory, only occasionally chewing over it in the dead of night. He had never forgotten that Sui Yuesheng had once said that he thought omegas lived a sad life.

The implication of that sentence was obvious—he simply did not want to be an omega.

Sui Yuesheng was an adult, and it was his own choice. Tao Fengche couldn’t interfere, but he couldn’t help but care about the precondition that would cause pheromones to disappear—continuing to have sex with alphas while taking the drug.

Sui Yuesheng smelled so clean and refreshing, that…

Just how many alphas did he have contact with?

That day was June 10th, Thursday, but Tao Fengche still remembered the news from Tuesday vividly, even the comments from netizens.

On the front page of the Jingpu Daily that day, city congressman Jiang Jingyun visited the Tao family to inspect, and Sui Yuesheng, the new head of the Tao family, went to receive them. The two went to see the Tao family’s production line together and chatted amiably.

This was Sui Yuesheng’s first public appearance in front of the public, and the photo exploded online as soon as it came out. Netizens discussed his age, appearance, and intentions, and even a small wave of people started acting as matchmakers.

【This beta looks a bit familiar, huh…】

【Is he the one who had dinner with Jiang Jingyun a few days ago? He’s really good-looking… Even from this angle, his beauty remains intact. I used to think only Jiang Jingyun could hold up in news photos like this! They look so good together!!】

Some praised, while others refuted.

【Wake up, how could an alpha like Jiang Jingyun possibly be with a beta? Although society values appearances, good looks alone aren’t enough.】

The former confidently argued.

【The one who needs to wake up is you. That’s not an ordinary beta, come on, that’s the current CEO of Tao, wealthy and handsome. What about him doesn’t match up to your city congressman Jiang Jingyun?】

This argument made sense, and the opposers quickly fell silent.

Each comment stabbed Tao Fengche’s eyes.

Even if Sui Yuesheng was a beta, he naturally matched Jiang Jingyun. Moreover, he was actually a guaranteed omega, just because he had taken medication.

But once he thought of that banned drug, Tao Fengche’s heart began to ache faintly.

Why did Jiang Jingyun choose this time to inspect the Tao’s production line, and why did he praise the production’s next stage of research and development? Anyone with a little political knowledge could smell the meaning behind it—he was clearly standing firmly on the side of the new head of the Tao family.

Those who had been constantly predicting Tao’s downfall due to Tao Zhixing’s death would be disappointed, and Tao Fengche should have been happy about this, but he couldn’t understand.

So many people were waiting to see Tao’s downfall. Why did Jiang Jingyun insist on supporting the Tao family? Or… why did he support Sui Yuesheng so much?

Had Sui Yuesheng already successfully boarded his ship, or…

Had they had a physical relationship a long time ago?

Once some ideas started, they were hard to stop, and Tao Fengche followed this train of thought, from Sui Yuesheng’s loyal alpha assistant, to the lawyer Li who announced Tao Zhixing’s will…

Had Sui Yuesheng been the type of omega who used his body to entice alphas?

Tao Fengche didn’t want to believe it, but he couldn’t explain the lingering lychee flavor that had disappeared.

“The more times you sleep with an alpha, the fainter the scent of pheromones,” and Sui Yuesheng was now seen as a beta by the public…

He dared not continue thinking.

Tao Fengche sighed deeply.

Wang Yuan had arranged to have lunch with other friends , and Tao Fengche was feeling irritable, not wanting to eat in the school cafeteria. He simply took a shortcut and headed straight for the claypot rice at the commercial street he often ate at.

This was a road he was familiar with, so he immersed himself in his thoughts. At this moment, he felt uneasy, and when he passed a certain intersection, he keenly sensed the dangerous atmosphere.

He quickly looked up—several unfriendly gazes were staring straight at him, and several people were slowly approaching him. Tao Fengche instinctively turned his head, and other people also emerged from the corner behind him, faintly forming an encirclement.