Since their reunion, Sui Yuesheng had always called Tao Fengche by his nickname. But now, he called him by his full name, indicating his genuine anger.

For Sui Yuesheng, the opportunity to study was a rare and precious one. He was like a dry sponge, eagerly absorbing nutrients from the sea of knowledge. Because of this, he couldn’t understand why Tao Fengche treated his studies so lightly.

If it were a matter of inability and copying answers was the only way to learn, that might be forgivable. But with Tao Fengche’s intelligence… he simply didn’t want to learn!

During his university years, Sui Yuesheng had encountered classmates who copied others’ answers for group assignments. Those students genuinely wanted to do well but lacked the ability. He often saw them in the library, struggling with their computers, and when the deadline approached, they would come to him for help with their assignments. He was always forgiving—those students tried hard but didn’t have the capability, and it wasn’t their fault. He couldn’t just watch them fail and retake the course.

Besides, they wouldn’t learn even if they retook the course!

“Wanting to do it and trying hard but lacking ability” and “having the ability but not willing to try”—though both resulted in copying assignments, they were completely different matters to Sui Yuesheng.

Sui Yuesheng sighed deeply, his tone a mix of sorrow and confusion. “You can copy answers now, but what about the exams? After all, what you copy isn’t your own…”

Sui Yuesheng genuinely didn’t understand Tao Fengche’s motivations.

Although he hadn’t attended school before university, he had studied high school biology with a tutor. Among the three science subjects, biology was the easiest. Compared to the other two subjects, high school biology was more like a liberal art, requiring more memorization and recitation rather than understanding. As long as one studied diligently, it wasn’t difficult to achieve good grades.

Moreover, Tao Zhixing had always hoped that Tao Fengche would join Tao’s research institute after graduation and become a researcher. But looking at Tao Fengche’s attitude towards biology now, he would only be able to scrape by.

Tao Fengche could sense the regret in Sui Yuesheng’s voice.

He was already ashamed of being caught with his biology homework, and Sui Yuesheng’s regretful tone made him feel like a spoiled rich kid who relied on his family’s wealth without any skills or knowledge.

But that wasn’t the case at all. Sui Yuesheng didn’t know anything, so what right did he have to say that?

Tao Fengche wanted to explain, but he didn’t know where to start. The fact was, he did copy his biology homework. Could he say that it was the only subject he copied? Would Sui Yuesheng believe him?

Sui Yuesheng had already made up his mind.

The young alpha was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He arched his back, his fur standing on end. “You just want to say I’m a useless piece of trash, don’t you?”

Sui Yuesheng was stunned again. The hostile teenager seized the opportunity, snatching his biology homework from Sui Yuesheng’s hands and putting it back on the table.

Sui Yuesheng watched the homework get taken away but didn’t react—Tao Fengche had misunderstood him completely. He needed to think carefully about how to explain.

But Tao Fengche continued to vent, “If I’m a piece of trash, shouldn’t you be happier?”

Sui Yuesheng: “…”

A familiar desire to hit someone welled up within him again.

He squeezed his palms, repeatedly telling himself not to get angry. His phone had received a notification from a search engine after work today, quoting an education expert who said that using violence to educate children was not the answer…

“Why would I be happy?” Sui Yuesheng took a few deep breaths, barely calming the volcano inside him. “Have you thought about your future if you continue like this? Mr. Tao has always hoped you could study biopharmaceuticals and become a researcher in the institute…”

Sui Yuesheng remembered that when Tao Fengche was younger, he idolized his father. If he didn’t respect his authority, he should at least respect Tao Zhixing’s. Sui Yuesheng tried to mention his name, but he inadvertently stepped on a landmine.

The night before Tao Zhixing’s car accident, he and Tao Fengche had a heated argument about his college application choices, leaving them on bad terms.

Sui Yuesheng knew nothing about this.

He couldn’t possibly know about Tao Fengche’s emotional burden.

During the three days he knelt at the mourning hall, a thought kept circling in Tao Fengche’s mind: why was his father at the cemetery so late?

Could it be that… he was leaning on the tombstone, talking to his mother, saying that his son had grown up disobedient and always went against his wishes…

Could it be that their argument caused his father’s accident?

Rationally, Tao Fengche knew it wasn’t his fault. Half of Tao Zhixing’s death was due to the traitorous actions of a backstabber, and the other half was the doing of the ruthless Red Gang. They were like vultures, watching Tao Zhixing closely, waiting to kill him. If it hadn’t been this time, there would have been another time, and another… there were countless ways they could have harmed him.

But emotionally, he couldn’t stop fixating on it. If… if he hadn’t argued with Tao Zhixing that day, if he had agreed to his wishes, would his father have left the cemetery earlier and avoided that damn truck? Would everything be different now?

Maybe Tao Zhixing would still be a busy, flying businessman, and they would rarely see each other, but at least he would still be alive.

Sui Yuesheng’s words at this moment were like hitting Tao Fengche’s deepest, most painful wound, repeatedly cutting with a rusty blade — 

It hurt too much, really too much.

Tao Fengche’s breathing became rapid.

Why did you have to mention him at this moment?

You clearly know how important he was to me, yet you took over his authority, put on that signet ring, and acted as if you completely forgot about that terrible car accident, swiftly getting involved with Jiang Jingyun.

To you, what do those past times really mean?

And what do I mean to you?

Tao Fengche’s breathing gradually steadied. He sat on the chair, Sui Yuesheng stood at the table, there was a certain height difference between them. At this moment, he raised his eyes, a mixture of crazy calm in his eyes, like stagnant water hiding a vortex.

Sui Yuesheng hesitated, seeing Tao Fengche suddenly sneer, his tone tinged with self-mockery, yet also provocative: “Then I’ll just find an omega with deceased parents, spend some time with him, and then inherit his family’s estate, easy as that.”

“After everything is over, find a new one.”

Sui Yuesheng froze in place, as if staring directly at a whirlpool deep in the sea, leaving him utterly confused.

Tao Fengche’s words were filled with insinuations:—first, implying that Sui Yuesheng had taken away the Tao family’s assets, second, mocking omegas as incapable of achieving greatness, only able to survive by attaching themselves to alphas, and third, once again taunting his relationship with Jiang Jingyun, hitting three birds with one stone.

“Fine, I see.” Sui Yuesheng’s voice even became hoarse, as if he had scraped a rough tabletop with sandpaper. He threw caution to the wind, pointing his index finger at Tao Fengche, “Are you saying you won’t speak properly unless you’re beaten?”

“Oh?” Tao Fengche showed no fear, his tone leisurely.

Sui Yuesheng was clearly on the brink of rage, yet seemed unafraid of death. He calmly opened a drawer beside him, pulled out a small Glock G43, loaded it in front of Sui Yuesheng, and then placed it gently on the table, with the gun’s handle facing Sui Yuesheng.

This was a blatant provocation.

—You want to hit me, right? Well, why not just shoot me right here? I’m giving you the chance. Do you dare to shoot?

From the moment Tao Fengche opened the drawer, Sui Yuesheng’s pupils dilated rapidly, trembling all over. But just as Tao Fengche placed the Glock G43 on the table, Sui Yuesheng snatched the pistol, praised as “almost perfect” and extremely fast, and pointed it directly at Tao Fengche’s forehead.

Even at such a moment, his hand remained steady.

Sui Yuesheng waited for Tao Fengche to back down, for him to apologize, but the latter just stared calmly at him, seeming to disregard life and death.

As if he knew Sui Yuesheng wouldn’t dare to shoot.

Sui Yuesheng wanted to teach him a lesson, his finger continuously rubbing against the trigger. But in the end, he forcefully threw it aside in frustration, the gun hitting the glass heavily, making a loud noise that neither paid attention to.

Then he reached out and slapped Tao Fengche across the face again. Due to the force, Tao Fengche’s head quickly turned to one side, but Sui Yuesheng didn’t look at him. Instead, he grabbed his collar, slamming him hard against the back of the chair.

Then he bent down.

Even though it was after work hours and they were at home, Sui Yuesheng was still wearing his immaculate white shirt, every button done up meticulously to the top, as if ready for a video conference.

Since he came to the Tao family ten years ago, his expenses had always been comparable to Tao Fengche’s. Now, it was even more so. His shirt was made of excellent fabric, tailored perfectly; standing up, he looked tall and straight. Now, as he bent over, the shirt stretched tightly around his waist, outlining a slender and powerful figure, like a bamboo bent by a strong wind.

Tao Fengche’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to the breathtaking curve, but Sui Yuesheng reached out with his other hand, forcibly turning Tao Fengche’s face so that his gaze could only focus on his face.

A burning pain spread across his face, but Tao Fengche couldn’t help his heartbeat accelerating. And this was far from over.

Sui Yuesheng slowly approached, the distance between them so close that their breaths were audible.

“Never let anyone have the chance to point a gun at you, let alone take the initiative yourself.” Sui Yuesheng’s words were deliberate, releasing Tao Fengche’s face, then lightly patting the now completely swollen cheek, “Risking your life as a bet, that’s just stupid.”

After saying this, he quickly stepped back, gripping Tao Fengche’s collar and forcefully pushing him onto the chair, then flipping open Tao Fengche’s workbook on the table, signing his own name with flourishing strokes, and catching up on the week’s signatures. Then he threw the pen onto the table.

“I’ll come back every day to check your work from now on.” He walked away without looking back, his tone unexpectedly grim, “Don’t let me catch you cheating again.”

He didn’t mention the consequences, and Tao Fengche didn’t ask. But suddenly Tao Fengche asked a question that seemed unrelated: “What if you’re on a business trip?”

Sui Yuesheng paused in his tracks. “Then we’ll talk about it.”

He pushed open the tightly closed bedroom door.

Since he heard that deafening impact, Xu Song hurried up. He didn’t dare to go in, anxiously waiting at the door, his eyes full of worry, like an ant on a hot pan. When he saw Sui Yuesheng coming out, he quickly scanned him from head to toe, finding no obvious injuries, and hesitated to ask what happened inside.

How could two good people suddenly fight like this? Xu Song didn’t understand.

Sui Yuesheng closed the door without giving him a chance to peek inside, then sighed and unbuttoned another button on his shirt, exhaling loudly. “It’s nothing, Uncle Xu, just tutoring the kid.”

“But just now…”

“Something fell on the floor.” Sui Yuesheng dismissed it lightly.

On the other side of the wall, Tao Fengche stared at the tightly closed door, his eyes filled with an extreme complexity.