What exactly was happening?

Did Sui Yuesheng go out to drink with someone, or did he go to bed with someone?

…Or was it both?

The immense amount of information hit Tao Fengche like a tsunami, leaving him feeling as helpless and confused as a small, pitiful cabbage, his face full of bewilderment and fear.

Before he could answer these questions, his body acted faster than his mind—he took a quick step forward and swiftly snatched Sui Yuesheng from Jiang Jingyun’s hands.

A drunk person’s muscles are all relaxed, and their body becomes very heavy. However, although Tao Fengche was supporting all of Sui Yuesheng’s weight, he still felt that he was very light.

Sui Yuesheng was like the moon in the sky, or like a cloud, or a breeze—always out of reach and elusive. But at this moment, he was quietly leaning against Tao Fengche’s chest.

As if the wind had settled on the treetop.

In that second of holding Sui Yuesheng, all of Tao Fengche’s earlier anxiety and tension seemed to disappear in an instant.

He cleared his throat, pretending not to notice the shock on Jiang Jingyun’s face, and quickly put on a business smile: “Thank you, congressman Jiang, for bringing my brother back. It’s getting late, so you should head home now. I’ll take care of my brother.”

He made no mention of the safety concerns of driving on mountain roads at night or suggesting staying overnight and leaving the next morning.

Fortunately, Jiang Jingyun had no intention of staying. With Sui Yuesheng safely in Tao Fengche’s arms and surrounded by a circle of servants, he let out a sigh of relief: “Then I’ll leave him to you.”

It was a perfectly normal statement, but to Tao Fengche’s ears, it was anything but.

Jiang Jingyun’s words made it sound like he was the closest person to Sui Yuesheng, advising this outsider to take good care of him.

Tao Fengche’s heart roared like a fierce tiger, feeling so angry he wanted to pin Jiang Jingyun to the ground and beat him up, but he showed no sign of it on his face, maintaining a polite and respectful demeanor: “Of course. It’s really late now, so congressman Jiang, you should head back.”

Tao Fengche frowned and awkwardly added: “Be careful on the road.”

That was the clear dismissal.

If someone else had said this, Jiang Jingyun might have picked up on some underlying meaning, but it was Tao Fengche who said it.

Having just had a rough night and now facing a minor Alpha, Jiang Jingyun’s sharp mind was completely off-line. He nodded, got into the driver’s seat, and thought that Tao Fengche was surprisingly considerate.

He didn’t leave immediately but stayed a while longer, watching Tao Fengche slowly carry Sui Yuesheng into the house. He felt a bit emotional—what he had thought was a reckless and immature Alpha now seemed quite reliable.

Leaving aside everything else, just the fact that he had waited for Sui Yuesheng until now and carried him up the steps was enough to show he was a good kid.

Jiang Jingyun sighed, and after a look back at the back seat where an alpha was still shouting “Jiang Jingyun, you bastard!” he felt inexplicably weary.

He took a deep breath and quietly raised his evaluation of Tao Fengche.

Compared to his own alpha, Tao Fengche was almost too well-behaved. There must have been some hidden reasons behind the police station incident.

—Yu Hebai had been absent from work all afternoon, not answering calls or responding to texts, and even turned off his phone. If Sui Yuesheng hadn’t sent Jiang Jingyun a message before leaving, saying he was drinking with Yu Hebai and including his location, Jiang Jingyun wouldn’t have known how to find him in Jingpu.

He sighed, turned around, and pinched Yu Hebai’s face, gently persuading: “Alright, don’t be angry. They just asked you to introduce me to an omega. You didn’t agree, you didn’t tell me, and now you’re sulking about it?”

The logic was clear, and Jiang Jingyun was genuinely innocent.

But if only you could reason with a drunk.

Yu Hebai’s eyes were red like a rabbit’s. He glared at Jiang Jingyun for a moment, slapped his hand away, and turned his head in the opposite direction.

Very cold and very heartless.

His strength was quite forceful, leaving Jiang Jingyun’s hand back red instantly.

Jiang Jingyun: “…”

Alright, this little troublemaker is a result of my own indulgence. I have to pamper him even if it’s on my knees.

Jiang Jingyun sighed, turned the wheel, and slowly drove down the mountain.

…

If not for the previous intense worry, this night would have been a pleasant surprise for Tao Fengche.

He declined the servants’ offer for help and personally assisted Sui Yuesheng into the house.

His hand that had been resting on Sui Yuesheng’s shoulder hesitated for a moment, then slid down to his waist, held it briefly, and then quickly moved back to its original position as if nothing had happened.

But even that brief moment was enough.

Just as he had imagined, Sui Yuesheng’s waist was indeed slender, feeling almost like it could be held in one hand.

Tao Fengche’s heart suddenly stirred.

He had read in books about the “slim waist of the Chu King,” but none of the ministers and officials could compare to Sui Yuecheng’s grace.

… But did that unfamiliar alpha just now also see Sui Yuesheng’s waist, or even touch it?

This thought suddenly emerged in his mind, and he froze, a wave of indescribable bitterness flooding his heart, as if millions of ants were gnawing at him.

Tao Fengche stood still in the hallway, tilted his head, and scrutinized Sui Yuesheng in his arms.

Some people, after getting drunk, like to act crazy, shouting, singing off-key, and being stubborn… Tao Fengche had seen all sorts of strange behaviors, but he had never seen Sui Yuesheng like this.

Sui Yuesheng, after getting drunk, was quiet as a doll, with a layer of pink on his cheeks. He looked very obedient and kept snuggling closer to him, like a sticky malt candy, making Tao Fengche feel completely disoriented.

But thinking that Sui Yuesheng might be like this with others, or even better, made Tao Fengche unable to smile.

He stood there silently for a while and couldn’t help but ask seriously, “Do you still remember who I am?”

The bitterness in his words was impossible to hide.

Sui Yuesheng, upon hearing the sound, looked up in a daze and carefully examined Tao Fengche.

Under the influence of alcohol, his gray-blue eyes were completely out of focus, shrouded in a fog. After a while, his gaze finally refocused on Tao Fengche’s face.

Sui Yuesheng blinked his long, thick eyelashes, like raven feathers brushing against Tao Fengche’s heart. After a moment, he finally spoke slowly.

“Alright, don’t be angry. Have a drink.”

Sui Yuesheng even wanted to reach out and pat Tao Fengche’s head, but the latter quickly turned his head away to avoid it.

…Just as he had expected!

Not only did he not recognize him, but he also mistook him for someone else!

Tao Fengche’s heart sank to the bottom. He stood in the entryway, holding Sui Yuesheng in his arms, his face changing expressions rapidly, the atmosphere around them almost freezing. After a moment, the servant could no longer stand it and timidly approached, tentatively reaching out a hand.

“Sir, should I help?”

“No.” Tao Fengche tightened his grip on Sui Yuesheng’s shoulder, as if afraid someone might take him away.

This was a possessive gesture, something Tao Fengche wasn’t even aware of, done out of instinct. But Sui Yuesheng only frowned in pain, and he quickly loosened his grip, even awkwardly patting Sui Yuesheng’s shoulder a few times, as if to comfort him.

Then he turned his head, his gaze full of impatience: “I can handle it. You all can leave.”

“Yes, sir.”

After this, no more overstepping servants dared to offer their help. Even Xu Song just stood quietly by, letting Tao Fengche slowly assist Sui Yuesheng back to his room.

As he stepped through the door, Tao Fengche reflexively glanced around.

The medicine bottle and photo frame originally on the bedside table had vanished, presumably moved to a safer place by Sui Yuesheng. He wasn’t surprised by this. After all, he had already taken care of the melatonin issue and seen the photo in the frame, so he didn’t dwell on it.

Sui Yuesheng had a cleanliness obsession. If he had to sleep in such a dirty state for a night, who knows how distressed he would be when he woke up the next morning. However, he was an omega, and AO differences aside, Tao Fengche thought for a long time but still didn’t dare to wash Sui Yuesheng himself.

Besides Sui Yuesheng, there were no other omegas in the Tao family. Calling a beta servant to help seemed like a good idea, but Tao Fengche wouldn’t even let them help Sui Yuesheng upstairs, so how could he allow them to help him bathe?

He pondered for a long while and ultimately decided to just put Sui Yuesheng on the bed.

Sui Yuesheng was probably too drunk to notice, clinging to Tao Fengche like a koala hugging an eucalyptus tree and not letting go.

Tao Fengche was still angry with him and, in a fit of temper, considered just tossing him onto the bed. But in the end, he still endured it, slowly pulling him off him and carefully placing him on the bed, his attitude as if he were handling a precious and fragile porcelain.

Before withdrawing, Tao Fengche suddenly paused.

There seemed to be a burning fire in his eyes as he stared at Sui Yuesheng for a long while, then suddenly reached out, his touch unexpectedly gentle.

—He lightly rubbed his thumb against Sui Yuesheng’s cheek.

If only he saw Sui Yuesheng as just his brother. Tao Fengche thought to himself.

A seed buried deep in his heart for a long, long time finally started to quietly sprout.