Tao Fengche had never visited the Tao family’s production lines.

At Tao Zhixing’s request, he had been sitting in on Tao Corporation’s group meetings since he was fourteen. It was also at this time that he began following Jing Ning to the research institute, initially just observing but gradually helping out. Now, he had grown to the point where he could handle the full workload of a researcher.

However, Tao Zhixing had never taken him to any of Tao Corporation’s production sites, even though the nearest one was only an hour and a half drive from the Tao residence.

Because of this, when Tao Fengche saw in the newspaper that Jiang Jingyun had visited Tao Corporation for an inspection and was taken by Sui Yuesheng to see the production lines, he felt a subtle sense of jealousy—it was, after all, his family’s business, yet he hadn’t even seen it, and an outsider like Jiang Jingyun had beaten him to it.

Tao Fengche always thought he would have to wait until he officially joined Tao Corporation to get a chance to see the production lines, but to his surprise, Jing Ning had unexpectedly brought it up this time.

Although on the surface, Tao Fengche remained calm and simply nodded at Jing Ning, only he knew how excited he was inside.

Despite the fact that this summer vacation was only a month and a half long, the schoolwork assigned was not reduced at all. In recent years, Kyushu has been advocating quality education, so in addition to various exercise books, there was also a comprehensive practice report to write.

Since Tao Fengche started high school, he had received such a special assignment every summer and winter break. Over time, he got used to it and would always choose some of his internship experiences at the research institute to write about in the report. This year was no exception.

But this year, there were some differences compared to the past.

Tao Fengche’s workload had increased significantly. He found himself resonating for the first time with the people who criticized the “996” work culture. After returning home from the research institute, he would just want to collapse onto his bed and sleep. Only on weekends did he have time to do his homework.

He was the type of person who lived a very structured life. From the first day of summer vacation, he had divided his homework into seven weeks’ worth of work, completing it steadily each weekend. However, this time, he couldn’t help but feel distracted.

On Saturday afternoon, when Xu Song came to deliver fruit for afternoon tea, Tao Fengche suddenly stopped writing and casually asked, “Where’s my brother now?”

Xu Song thought for a moment. “He just arrived in H Country the night before last.”

H Country was 12 hours behind Kyushu… Tao Fengche quickly calculated the time difference in his head and nodded at Xu Song.

At midnight on Sunday, he could no longer contain his excitement. After calculating the time difference, he impulsively sent Sui Yuesheng a text message.

【Tao Fengche】: [Ge, I’m going to start visiting the Tao family’s production bases in Jingpu next week.]

Although the Tao family’s ancestral home was located on a mountain peak, there was a signal tower nearby specifically for the Tao family’s use, so the signal in the area was excellent. The message was sent in less than half a second, but even after waiting for five minutes, Tao Fengche still hadn’t received a reply from Sui Yuesheng.

It was noon on Sui Yuesheng’s side; he should have finished work by now. Why hadn’t he replied? Surely he hadn’t forgotten to activate international roaming?

Tao Fengche shook his head, dismissing that unlikely thought.

He tossed and turned in bed for a while, and suddenly a bold idea crossed his mind.

—Could it be that his phone was out of credit?

Tao Fengche had only seen such a situation on TV, never experienced it himself. But now, this situation of “not receiving any messages” was somewhat similar to what was shown in TV dramas.

Although Sui Yuesheng had limited his allowance, he should still be recharging his phone credits… right?

Tao Fengche hesitated, growing more uneasy as he thought about it.

He hadn’t added Sui Yuesheng on any social media, so he could only contact him via text message. In this day and age, very few people would choose to send text messages.

The Tao family’s ancestral home and the research institute both had WiFi, so if it was really a case of forgetting to pay the phone bill and his phone being out of credit, it wouldn’t affect his use of social media. That’s why he hadn’t noticed… This hypothesis seemed possible.

He made a snap decision, found Wang Yuan’s phone number in his contacts, and sent him a text message.

【Tao Fengche】: [You there?]

Wang Yuan replied instantly.

【Wang Yuan】: [Yeah, yeah. Tao Ge, why did you suddenly text me?]

It seems it was not a bill issue… Tao Fengche pouted and quickly typed a reply.

【Tao Fengche】: [Just doing a test.]

【Wang Yuan】: [Huh? Test for what?]

【Tao Fengche】: [Nothing. ]

【Tao Fengche】: [The completed exam paper photo x5]

【Wang Yuan】: [!!!]

【Wang Yuan】: [Tao Ge! Thank you so much! You’re really like my second parent!]

【Wang Yuan】: [I’m eternally grateful! I’ll be your servant in the next life!]

Wang Yuan quickly got distracted, thanking Tao Fengche profusely while leaving with the homework answers. Tao Fengche, holding his phone, lay disheartened on the bed, sighing.

The phone wasn’t broken, nor was there a bill issue… So why hasn’t Sui Yuesheng replied to his messages?

…Wait a minute.

He lifted his phone, scrolling up their message history, which consisted of just two pitiful messages—besides the one he sent today, the other was an apology he sent the day he left the police station.

More than two months had passed, and Sui Yuesheng had neither replied nor sent any messages.

Could it be that Sui Yuesheng had blocked him?!

Tao Fengche completely forgot that he had actually called Sui Yuesheng during Old Master Zhu’s birthday party. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was probably the truth. He lay flat on the bed like a salted fish, emitting a sense of lifelessness.

Rationally, he knew he should go to bed since he had to get up early for the production base tomorrow, but emotionally, he wasn’t willing to sleep until he received a reply from Sui Yuesheng.

In fact, he didn’t even know what he hoped Sui Yuesheng would reply with.

But when something made him happy, his first reaction was to share it with Sui Yuesheng, to let him know about it, and to share the joy.

Moreover, Sui Yuesheng had been away on a business trip for over a month, and he finally found a legitimate reason to talk to him…

Even a simple reply would be fine. Tao Fengche thought dejectedly.

At 1:30 AM, just before Tao Fengche was completely defeated by sleepiness, Sui Yuesheng’s reply finally arrived.

【Sui Yuesheng】: [I was in a meeting just now and didn’t check my phone.]

【Sui Yuesheng】: [Jing Ning said you should go check the production line?]

Tao Fengche’s eyes lit up as he picked up his phone and began typing, his fingers flying across the screen so quickly they almost created afterimages.

【Tao Fengche】: [Yes. Director Jing said some researchers were recently sent to the base, and I took over one of their tasks. After completing the project, he said I should go to the production line.]

There was a hint of secretive pride in his words, and Sui Yuesheng received the implied message.

【Sui Yuesheng】: [Great. Remember to be safe on the production line.]

【Tao Fengche】: [You too, be safe outside.]

He hesitated for a long time before typing out a sentence one word at a time.

【Tao Fengche】: [Texting isn’t very convenient. Let’s add a social account?]

He held his breath, waiting for Sui Yuesheng’s reply. After a moment, Sui Yuesheng sent a QR code.

Tao Fengche quickly scanned it, filled in the verification information, and then opened Sui Yuesheng’s profile picture, studying it carefully.

…It turned out to be Sui Yuesheng’s own photo.

Seeing it wasn’t a couple’s photo with Jiang Jingyun, Tao Fengche finally felt relieved.

···

H Country.

After receiving Tao Fengche’s verification information, Sui Yuesheng approved it and sent a message reminding him to go to bed early. Then he tossed his phone to Assistant Zhou beside him.

The assistant hurriedly caught the phone, while Sui Yuesheng rotated the silver-white gun in his hand.

He was dressed entirely in black, his hair tied in a ponytail at the back of his head. Sitting on a chair with his legs crossed, he looked very relaxed, a sharp contrast to the disheveled person on the floor.

He spoke casually: “So, how do you explain this account discrepancy? Where did the money go?”

“I suggest you think carefully before speaking. You may have H Country citizenship, but you should know that in this country, the law is just a piece of paper.”

He smiled slightly, looking almost as delicate as a willow in the wind, but his words made the company executive kneeling on the ground under the bodyguard’s restraint feel like they had fallen into an ice pit.

“Choose. Will you tell the truth now, or do you want me to break both your arms and then talk?”