“The events that followed, young master, you should already know. The human trafficking business was completely halted, and all those involved in the abduction of omegas were executed. Liu Tianlei was the person in charge of a district in Jingpu at the time. Although the investigation showed he wasn’t involved, the fact that his subordinates caused such a huge scandal without his knowledge made the master deem him incompetent. He was then casually assigned to a production base.”

Xu Song calmly concluded this long story.

“That scar on his temple, was it caused by the old man back then?” Tao Fengche suddenly asked.

“How could that be?” Xu Song replied with a wry smile. “The master’s personality is well-known to you, young master. He either doesn’t act, or when he does, it’s a fatal strike. Liu Tianlei climbed his way up from the bottom, and that scar has been there for years, likely from a fight in his youth.”

…So, people really can’t be judged by appearances. That man looked honest and upright, but in reality, not a word from his mouth was true. He even swore that he “accidentally fell down the stairs while drunk.” Thinking back now, even the statement “I met you once when you were young” was questionable.

According to Xu Song, he was just a district leader before, which made him at most a mid-level figure in the Tao family. Perhaps he did meet him once by chance, but it was impossible for him to be as close as he pretended to be.

Tao Fengche narrowed his eyes slightly, mentally noting down another detail about Liu Tianlei.

The matter concerning Liu Tianlei served as a perfect buffer, allowing him to process the doubts in his mind. Only then did he finally prepare himself mentally to face the vast amount of information in Xu Song’s words.

He slowly reviewed what Xu Song had said in his mind, finding it a bit unbelievable. “Uncle Xu, how do you know all this?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Xu Song, but the latter’s recounting was so detailed, as if he had experienced it firsthand.

Apart from the involved parties, no one would know these things so clearly. But according to Xu Song, those alphas who caused the trouble were long dead, and Sui Yuesheng…

Given what Tao Fengche knew about him, his elder brother wasn’t the type to talk about his past sufferings to gain sympathy. No matter how many hardships he had endured, he would remain silent, bearing these memories on his shoulders like a bamboo standing proudly in a storm.

“After all, he was meant to be your companion. That night, before the Master brought Young Master Sui home, he questioned him thoroughly,” Xu Song provided an answer that was both unexpected and reasonable.

“Young master Sui didn’t say much at the time, only that he was an orphan raised by his grandmother. After she fell seriously ill, he agreed to come to Kyushu to marry someone to raise money for her treatment, but ended up being abducted. The more detailed parts were uncovered bit by bit by the master’s people, and only after confirming that his story was true did they allow him to stay with you.”

As he finished speaking, Xu Song secretly observed Tao Fengche’s expression. Seeing him lost in thought, he explained further, “The master did it out of concern for you; he had no choice…”

“Uncle Xu, I know,” Tao Fengche interrupted him.

Xu Song misunderstood him. He wasn’t shocked by Tao Zhixing’s excessive interference; he just felt…

These things, which were painful to even hear, had actually happened to Sui Yuesheng, yet all these years, he had known nothing about them.

A surge of bitterness suddenly welled up in Tao Fengche’s heart. His nose tingled, as if he had just taken a big gulp of vinegar or fallen into the deep sea, his lungs devoid of air, and he was about to cry.

Sui Yuesheng would never cry over these things, but now that Tao Fengche knew about his past, he wanted to cry for him.

He was never someone who liked to dwell on the past, but at this moment, he couldn’t help but recall that night after the snowstorm and everything that happened after.

Sui Yuesheng was so thin then, shivering slightly in his down jacket, as if a gust of wind could blow him away. The next day, he had a fever, and the doctor secretly told Xu Song that he was malnourished. His eating habits didn’t match his appearance; he always ate ravenously and would finish even the food he didn’t like…

It was like watching a movie. Tao Fengche’s mind was filled with images of Sui Yuesheng from those years, finally settling on a morning scene—Sui Yuesheng lying in bed with an IV, his face pale, the back of his hand where the needle was inserted turning blue, while the doctor frowned and spoke to Xu Song. Sui Yuesheng, however, looked indifferent, slightly tilting his head to seriously watch the clouds outside the floor-to-ceiling window by the bed.

Tao Fengche was still young then, only thinking that his “immortal brother” didn’t seem like a person of this world, as if he might fly away on the clouds at any moment, returning to the heavens. So, he always clung to him, wanting to ground him with some earthly smoke so he wouldn’t fly away, wouldn’t leave.

Tao Fengche now reflected back and felt that Sui Yuecheng must have been utterly exhausted back then.

He wanted to reach out and hug the Sui Yuesheng of that time, that seventeen-year-old boy who had just escaped a nightmare in a foreign land, all alone. But that was ten years ago.

There is no magic to turn back time, and current technology isn’t enough to pull him out of the timeline. Now, at twenty-seven, Sui Yuesheng no longer needed such fleeting pity.

The jade ring representing authority had long been on his hand. He held 60% of the Tao family shares in place of Tao Fengche. In the public eye, he was President Sui, and in the shadows, he was Mr. Sui. He was already powerful enough.

…But that didn’t mean the past wounds had vanished. Tao Fengche still wanted to do something for him.

He had never felt such violent emotions before. He wanted to drag out everyone who hurt Sui Yuesheng and make them kneel on the ground, crying and reflecting on the crimes they committed, and repay the suffering Sui Yuesheng endured tenfold, or even a hundredfold.

Compared to what they did, death was too easy for them. These ruthless villains, even if torn to pieces, couldn’t alleviate the hatred in Tao Fengche’s heart.

But, unfortunately, this matter was already settled by Tao Zhixing ten years ago.

All those involved were secretly executed, and their remains had long been unknown. With Tao Zhixing’s personality, even exposing their corpses in the wilderness would be considered lenient. Most likely, their ashes were mixed into cement; it would be impossible to collect their bodies, let alone erect a memorial.

It’s true that it was satisfying to some extent, but Tao Fengche, even if he wanted to drag these people out of their graves and beat them, would be powerless.

With his thirst for revenge fruitless, Tao Fengche’s anger had no outlet, and the pain he felt for Sui Yuesheng was hindered by the distance of time and space. His face was filled with ferocity and brutality, something even Xu Song, who had watched him grow up, had never seen before. Xu Song was trembling with fear and didn’t know how to comfort him.

“Those beasts…” Even crushing their bones and scattering their ashes wouldn’t be enough to quell his hatred!

Tao Fengche’s eyes were bloodshot, and he finally punched the desk.

He put all his strength into it, and the wrist where he made contact with the desk quickly bruised. Xu Song was startled and was about to come forward to check, but Tao Fengche shook his head to stop him.

It was painful, of course, but physical pain, no matter how intense, couldn’t be compared to the suffering in his heart.

If he were eight years old today, rather than eighteen, he would have definitely thrown himself into Sui Yuesheng’s arms and cried. If there had been no ten years of lost contact between them, eighteen-year-old Tao Fengche would have done the same. But…

There are no ifs. All assumptions are nonexistent. Tao Fengche was now powerless against all of this.

And he truly hated this feeling.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly asked, “What about the omega who took a bullet for my brother? Where is he now?”

This person could be said to have saved Sui Yuesheng’s life. Tao Fengche wanted to give him something, let him live the rest of his life in luxury, as a way of showing gratitude for what he did back then.

It was a simple question, but Xu Song hesitated for a while before carefully answering, “For all these years, Young Master Sui has had people investigating. After Young Master Sui came to the Tao family, it was investigated that the last trace was at a hidden brothel. A few days after it was put up for sale, it was bought by a middle-aged wealthy businessman. After that, the news broke off.”

Tao Fengche closed his eyes tightly. He understood now.

In today’s advanced technology, everyone’s movements are gathered into a torrent of data, eventually flowing into the sea of the internet. With the power of the Tao family, not being able to find the trace of an ordinary omega for so long meant the only reason left was that the person was no longer in this world.

Sui Yuesheng had endured so much malice, and those who once showed him a bit of kindness, whether it was his grandmother or this unknown omega, were all gone now.

But Xu Song hadn’t finished speaking.

Fearing that Tao Fengche would waste immense resources only to be disappointed, he tactfully added, “In fact, after Young Master Sui returned to the country this time, he continued to investigate this matter, but there have been no results…”

The implication was clear: Tao Fengche shouldn’t waste his efforts.

Xu Song meant well, but Tao Fengche’s heart tightened once again because of his simple words.

In a few words, the answer of “delicate and likely to end badly” was almost palpable, and what he could think of, Sui Yuesheng definitely knew.

But despite all these years, Sui Yuesheng never gave up and continued searching even after inheriting the Tao family…

He never spoke of these things, but he remembered every bit of kindness shown to him.

Tao Fengche felt as if his heart was being gripped by an invisible hand. He thought dazedly, so the pain written about in books really does exist.