Tao Fengche?!

What is he doing here?!

…Or rather, how is it that he shows up in this house with such a group of armed bodyguards, even having snipers positioned at strategic points?!

And how did he know this address?!

Liu Tianlei could hardly believe who he was seeing. His mind raced with a hundred thoughts in an instant. He quickly forced a flattering smile, his face with a scar running from temple to eye and wrinkles bunching up, looking somewhat comical.

“Oh dear, Young Master Tao, what brings you here?” Liu Tianlei’s face displayed just the right amount of concern and worry; any more or less would seem insincere. “Has something happened to the Tao family? If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know. A text or a phone call would suffice, no need to go through all this trouble…”

He cautiously maintained his smile, while inwardly trying to gauge Tao Fengche’s intentions and observe the bodyguards” positions out of the corner of his eye, hoping to find an opportunity to escape.

But Liu Tianlei’s hopes were destined to be crushed.

The Tao family had been entrenched in Jingpu for nearly a thousand years, and the bodyguards raised generation after generation were more of a private army than mere protectors. Their actions over the years had rarely slipped up. Tao Fengche had meticulously planned today’s operation, memorizing the layout of the entire residential area, positioning snipers at key vantage points, and studying the bodyguards’ placements. Even if Liu Tianlei suddenly grew wings, it would be hard to escape from such a tight encirclement.

Thus, although Tao Fengche noticed Liu Tianlei’s schemes, he didn’t expose him, instead casually playing with the gun in his hand, quietly watching Liu Tianlei’s adept performance.

Unlike the well-prepared Tao Fengche, Zhang Xinyu, who had been curled up on the sofa under strict watch by the bodyguards, was growing increasingly restless.

Since hearing the door open, she had been straining her ears to listen to the sounds from the bedroom.

At first, she had secretly hoped that after Liu Tianlei came out, he would be able to intimidate the visitors, or at the very least engage in an evenly matched negotiation. But after hearing Liu Tianlei’s over the top flattery, all her hopes were crushed.

The man who had always looked down on others, the omnipotent Liu in her eyes, who was almost worshiped, was speaking in such a tone?! He had become utterly humble, almost groveling.

Her mind was a tumult of emotions—pain from her shattered illusions, speculation about this “Young Master Tao’s” identity, and most of all, fear for the future—would she really be able to leave this place alive today?

The two men locked in confrontation had no idea of the psychological turmoil going on in the living room, but even if they did, it wouldn’t matter to them.

Liu Tianlei continued delivering the lines he had rehearsed, his eyes full of sincerity as he looked eagerly at Tao Fengche, trying to win his trust. Tao Fengche, unmoved, watched him for a long while before suddenly smiling.

“Why do you think I’m here? Don’t you already know, Mr. Liu?” Tao Fengche asked.

“Should I… know?” Liu Tianlei’s face showed genuine confusion. “Why would Young Master Tao say that?”

Even Tao Fengche, who had seen much in his time following Tao Zhixing, had to admit that Liu Tianlei’s acting was superb, perfectly integrated with his personal demeanor. If Tao Fengche didn’t have irrefutable evidence in his hands, he might have been fooled.

As time ticked by, Tao Fengche remained silent, and Liu Tianlei said nothing, staring at Tao Fengche with an expression full of injustice, every hair on his head radiating innocence, as if competing with Tao Fengche in patience.

In the end, it was Tao Fengche who couldn’t hold back.

He wasn’t sure when Sui Yuesheng would leave the charity gala, and time was running out. He had no intention of continuing this standoff with the cunning old fox in front of him. Tao Fengche tilted his head slightly, and the bodyguard behind him immediately stepped forward and handed him a few photos.

Tao Fengche glanced at the photos for a moment, then casually tossed them at Liu Tianlei. He had good aim and a strong arm, the bundle of photos landing directly on Liu Tianlei’s bare chest with a loud ‘slap’, leaving red marks and scattering across the floor.

Liu Tianlei, having weathered many storms, barely noticed the pain. However, the disdain in Tao Fengche’s action was unmistakable—it was like a slap in the face, not physically painful, but deeply humiliating.

Liu Tianlei, who had clawed his way up from the bottom, from an illiterate thug to a middle-level figure in the Tao family, had still been flattered as “Mr. Liu” despite being demoted to a production base for poor oversight. He considered himself a winner in life—chauffeured cars, wife and children sent abroad, a stable home life, and mistresses on the side.

But now, Tao Fengche’s light, dismissive gesture suddenly brought him back to his past.

The past where no one looked up to him, where he slept under bridges, went hungry, and lived worse than a rich man’s dog.

Liu Tianlei’s gaze darkened, and his breathing grew heavier.

Tao Fengche casually glanced at him, not sparing a look for the scattered photos on the ground, as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary. “What, Mr. Liu, don’t you plan to take a look?”

The circle of bodyguards around them kept their eyes down, completely indifferent to the scene unfolding before them.

“Of course.” Liu Tianlei forced a stiff smile, using the act of bending down to pick up the photos to hide the flash of venom in his eyes. “Of course I”ll look.”

Even someone as talented and strategic as King Goujian of Yue had to endure hardships, so how could Liu Tianlei not? He made up his mind that no matter how Tao Fengche might humiliate him next, he would grit his teeth and endure it. When the time comes, he would return today’s humiliation a hundredfold, a thousandfold!

In the few seconds that Liu Tianlei crouched down to pick up the photos, he had already outlined a complete revenge plan in his mind. But when he finally picked up the photos and looked at them closely, his face suddenly changed.

The blood drained from his face, and even the hand holding the photo began to tremble slightly.

He was almost sixty years old. Even though alphas were naturally endowed with heightened senses, aging inevitably brought decline, and Liu Tianlei was no exception. He had mild presbyopia, and when Tao Fengche suddenly did that just now, he hadn’t clearly seen what was in the photo. It was only now that he realized something was wrong—

The content captured in the few photos was different: a traditional Chinese medicine factory lit up in the dark; neatly stacked temperature-controlled boxes; employees moving goods back and forth… and most importantly—

A complete vial of medicine, quietly lying in a strange freezer, with tiny fluorescent spots in the dark green solvent, like stars scattered across the sky.

Liu Tianlei struggled to control his urge to look up, staring fixedly at the photos, his mind in turmoil—it was actually his men that night!

And the next day, this young master still managed to act as if nothing had happened, following Director Wang around pretending to be a student, waiting until today to catch him alone and make a move?

Such deep scheming, such meticulous planning.

He was not even eighteen yet, but given time, his future was bound to be limitless.

Liu Tianlei dismissed the contempt he had for Tao Fengche and quickly came up with a new idea. When he looked up again, his expression had completely changed.

His eyes darted around, as if he didn’t dare to meet Tao Fengche’s gaze directly, and his face was full of embarrassment and shame at being caught: “Young Master Tao, I was wrong. I was desperate. My son is studying abroad, you know, there are many expenses. And my wife has accompanied him to study abroad, so she rarely comes back in a year. I’m alone in Kyushu, it’s too lonely, I lost my head and kept a mistress…”

“Xiao Zhang is young, likes to act spoiled, and has a bit of a competitive streak. When she sees others buying something nice, she wants it too. My annual salary and bonuses are only so much, and there are expenses everywhere. I couldn’t hold back…”

The sorrow on his face was so intense that it couldn’t be hidden, and he was almost about to shed old tears: “This time I really made a mistake, Young Master Tao, I beg you to let me off this time. My child still needs money to go to graduate school, please…!”

Liu Tianlei was gambling.

He was betting that Tao Fengche still didn’t know what the medicine really was and wanted to steer the issue towards embezzlement.

His words were too sincere, his emotions too full and genuine. Even Zhang Xinyu, who was eavesdropping on the sofa, was momentarily puzzled and then angry—did Liu Tianlei mean that he embezzled public funds just to support her, and that her demands were too high?!

It’s true that she was kept as a mistress before graduating, but she wasn’t stupid. For someone as wealthy as Liu Tianlei, the money he spent buying her bags and cars was nothing but pocket change. Given the current situation, it was clear that he had gotten himself into much bigger trouble.

Trying to push all the responsibility onto her, an omega? She wasn’t going to stand for it! Zhang Xinyu even stopped sobbing, and if it weren’t for the armed ‘security’ standing nearby, she would have rushed over to demand an explanation from Liu Tianlei.

But Tao Fengche remained completely unmoved.

He looked down at the photo in Liu Tianlei’s hand from above, the specks of fluorescence in the vial stinging his eyes.

Chu Yin’s gentle smile, Jing Ning’s unusually eerie silence, Zhao Jiayang’s manic behavior, Tao Zhixing’s despair… too many scenes played in his mind, finally freezing on the mess in the study that night and Tao Zhixing’s sigh.

He had finally lost all patience.

“Mr. Liu, stop pretending. After all this time, aren’t you tired of acting?” Tao Fengche sneered, pulling the Glock’s safety and pointing the muzzle at Liu Tianlei. “When I went with Director Wang to inspect the base, I said that I was young, didn’t understand many things, and would listen to all of Director Wang’s arrangements. That was modesty, I was giving Director Wang face. Did you really think you could fool me like a child?”

“If it was just illegal production and selling of drugs, would I have needed to bring so many people here?”

“This thing is artificial pheromones,” Tao Fengche said each word slowly and clearly, exposing the truth.