The electronic scoreboard continued its diligent work, with the mechanical beeping echoing through the room, but at this moment, Tao Fengche could hear nothing.

His heart was pounding intensely, making a deafening noise.

Sui Yuesheng was just standing at the entrance of the shooting range, giving him a casual glance, and Tao Fengche felt his fingertips go numb.

…What a strange feeling. He instinctively moved his hand behind his back, clenched his fist, and scrutinized Sui Yuesheng from head to toe again.

Wait a minute. Tao Fengche realized something subtle was wrong—why was Sui Yuesheng dressed like this and wandering around?!

An omega dressed so tightly, wandering around in a place full of alphas like the Tao family, wasn’t he afraid of trouble?!

Tao Fengche’s pupils seemed to shake with disbelief.

The shooting range was always staffed, and the bodyguard responsible for the statistics, seeing that Tao Fengche had removed his headphones, intended to approach with a tablet to show him the comparison of rounds. But when he looked up, he noticed the atmosphere between the two was indeed strange, so he quickly lowered his head, trying to make himself invisible.

But this was clearly futile—just the glance he gave Sui Yuesheng was enough to make Tao Fengche unhappy.

He discreetly stepped aside, making sure that Sui Yuesheng was no longer visible from the bodyguard’s perspective, sighed in relief, and asked, “Why did you come here, Ge?”

Tao Fengche was genuinely surprised. For someone like Sui Yuesheng, who was a workaholic, there was no distinction between workdays and rest days. At this time, it was clearly his work period, and he had seen Sui Yuesheng’s study door tightly closed when he passed by the third floor before coming to the training ground.

“I came to see you.” Sui Yuesheng took a few steps forward, glanced at the numbers on the electronic scoreboard, and complimented, “Good score.”

A simple action, but it exposed Sui Yuecheng’s body back into the guard’s line of sight. Tao Fengche’s previous efforts were completely in vain. He was so frustrated that he didn’t even realize he was being praised by Sui Yuecheng, and reflexively began moving to block Sui Yuecheng again.

Tao Fengche was busily trying to cover up, but Sui Yuecheng suddenly said, “Do you want to have a match with me?”

Tao Fengche instantly stopped in his tracks, his eyes shining brightly: “Yes!”

Since reuniting with Sui Yuesheng, he had been eagerly looking forward to having a match with him, just like when they were kids.

At first, due to misunderstandings, he and Sui Yuesheng had been at odds, naturally losing the opportunity to invite him. Later, realizing that his previous behavior was excessive and seeing Sui Yuesheng busy with work, he didn’t want to add to his burden, so he buried this wish deep in his heart and never mentioned it.

But unexpectedly, Sui Yuesheng took the initiative to invite him. It felt like a rain of sugar-coated pies from the sky, and Tao Fengche was practically over the moon, bubbling with happiness.

The bodyguard beside them wisely presented Sui Yuesheng with a brand new set of gear.

Sui Yuesheng had been busy with company matters recently and hadn’t touched a gun for a few days. As soon as he picked up the M9, he disassembled and reassembled it out of habit, regaining some feel for it, then turned to Tao Fengche and asked, “What do you want to compete in?”

Tao Fengche blurted out, “How about the 50-meter moving target?”

At this moment, he had been waiting for a long time.

Since Tao Fengche was ten, Tao Zhixing had required him to practice with moving targets. In Tao Zhixing’s words, in real combat, enemies would never stand still like fixed targets waiting for you to aim. In a fight, situations could change rapidly, with opponents even attempting to grab your gun. Compared to this, moving targets were just an introductory mode.

Over the years, Tao Fengche had done targeted practice in this area. Although fixed targets were simpler, he inexplicably wanted to challenge himself with a higher difficulty in front of Sui Yuesheng, like a peacock spreading its feathers, eager to show him his achievements.

It was as if he was saying to Sui Yuesheng… I’m not a child anymore; I’ve been working hard to grow up even when you weren’t around.

…I’m capable of protecting you now.

Sui Yuesheng, however, was unaware of this convoluted mental process and readily nodded, “Alright.”

“Do you want to warm up with a machine gun first?”

Sui Yuesheng shook his head, “Let’s start directly.”

The bodyguard, standing nearby, pressed the switch to start the moving target.

Sui Yuesheng put on noise-canceling headphones, took a few steps back, and stood outside the shooting line.

He was highly talented in shooting, and years of intensive training had ingrained muscle memory, so it didn’t matter whether it was a moving target or whether he warmed up; he was confident in his performance. Comparatively… he was more interested in Tao Fengche’s results.

How much of a surprise will you give me? he wondered, uncertainly.

Sui Yuesheng hadn’t stepped into this shooting range for nearly ten years, let alone stood side by side with Tao Fengche on the shooting line. Facing vicious adversaries, he could maintain his composure, but now, standing in a strictly secured shooting range with the non-threatening moving target, he found himself trembling slightly when he raised his gun.

How the times have changed. Sui Yuesheng’s mood was complex; he laughed at himself and quickly adjusted his state, aiming and taking a single shot at the target.

“Ten rings!”

Tao Fengche, just about to put on his headphones, heard the scoreboard on Sui Yuesheng’s side announcing the score.

Ge is really strong… But I can be stronger!

Tao Fengche’s fighting spirit ignited instantly. He cleared his mind, adjusted his breathing rhythm, and the world seemed to shrink to the irregularly moving target in front of him. Then he gently pulled the trigger—

“Ten rings!”

His own electronic scoreboard lit up.

After emptying a magazine, Tao Fengche removed his headphones, feeling a sense of relief and confident in his victory—his performance felt excellent this time, and the score was even higher than his previous record.

He twisted open a bottle of mineral water on the table, took a sip, and asked, “Who won?”

The bodyguard paused for a moment, struggling to find the right words, “It… it was Young master Sui. Young master Sui was 0.1 rings higher than you.”

Tao Fengche: “?!”

His face was filled with disbelief. Sui Yuesheng rarely saw him fail and couldn’t help but laugh, “Xiao Che, I’ve been practicing with guns too.”

That’s true… Just from that shot at the funeral, it was evident. Losing to him isn’t shameful, and the scores were so close. Just keep working hard. Tao Fengche accepted this explanation, though a bit disappointed, he quickly reassured himself, signaling the bodyguard to press the moving target switch again and shot a few more targets.

Sui Yuecheng stayed and practiced with him for a while, and while Tao Fengche was stretching his wrist, he suddenly said, “Practicing for too long at once is not good for your body. How about going downstairs and doing a few moves to relax?”

Tao Fengche: “?!!”

This this this! Tao Fengche was stunned! Was Sui Yueheng, an omega, challenging him, an alpha, to a fight?!

A person’s energy is limited, and it’s impossible to be perfect in every aspect. Sui Yueheng had obviously put a lot of effort into shooting, but as an omega, he was inherently weaker than other genders. Close combat was definitely his disadvantage.

Tao Fengche had long decided to turn over a new leaf and start anew, and he really didn’t want to engage in a fight with Sui Yueheng. His instinct was to refuse immediately. But then he thought, if he refused, Sui Yueheng would likely choose a random bodyguard to spar with…

Just thinking about Sui Yueheng getting so close to a stranger alpha, with sweat flying in every direction, and the alpha possibly touching Sui Yueheng’s body repeatedly during the match, made him feel suffocated.

… It would be better if I did it. Tao Fengche cleared his throat and nodded.

---

When the two went downstairs together, Tao Fengche started calculating in his mind: Although Sui Yueheng was very good at fighting during his youth, he was not able to last long against alpha bodyguards, and since he was an omega who studied business abroad, while Tao Fengche had been undergoing intense training at home…

His brother wasn’t an enemy, so he had to remember to hold back. Otherwise, it would be a shame for his brother, and if he went too hard, his brother would be hurt.

Tao “Thoughtful Little Cotton-Padded Jacket” Fengche made up his mind.

Since he had prepared himself mentally, he reduced the force of his punches. Sui Yueheng raised his eyebrows slightly, didn’t say anything, and countered the move.

When Xu Song arrived at the training ground after hearing about the match, he happened to see Tao Fengche intentionally making a feint. He felt a jolt in his heart and had a bad premonition.

Tao Fengche was unaware of Sui Yueheng’s experiences over the past decade, but Xu Song, being Tao Zhixing’s confidant, was very clear about it. The young master was underestimating his opponent, and this might lead to a mishap, he thought with concern.

Free fighting has no fixed routines or rules, and Xu Song thought the fight would last a long time. However, as he was thinking, the outcome was decided in an instant—

Sui Yueheng nimbly dodged to the right, moved to Tao Fengche’s side, and then attacked his side with one hand. Tao Fengche instinctively pulled back to defend but was struck in the lower abdomen by Sui Yueheng!

Sui Yueheng grabbed Tao Fengche’s attacking hand, locked it, and then performed a shoulder throw!

With a dull “thud,” Tao Fengche was slammed hard onto the ground.

The mat on the floor made the fall sound dull and didn’t hurt much, but Tao Fengche seemed stunned and took a long time to get up.

Wait, this development is not what he imagined…

As the defeated party, Tao Fengche lay on the ground, contemplating life, while the victorious Sui Yueheng came over to look at him.

After intense exercise, Sui Yueheng’s hair, tied at the back of his head, had become a bit messy, with fallen hair sticking to his sweaty face. His cheeks were slightly flushed, looking somewhat disheveled, and the light in the room cast a golden hue on him. Tao Fengche, in a daze, even thought he saw the Sui Yueheng from his eighteenth birthday.

On that day, Sui Yueheng looked just as sweaty, but there were differences. His lips, once as pale as paper, were now quite rosy, and his features were more refined, looking much more vibrant than that day…

Tao Fengche, unconsciously lost in thought, was brought back to his senses when Sui Yueheng waved a hand in front of him.

Seeing Tao Fengche regain his senses, Sui Yueheng raised an eyebrow and said with a smirk, “Is that all you got?”