Of course, there was.

Not only was there, but there was a lot.

Artificial pheromones, the loss of a father caused by a series of “coincidences,” the backing Liu Tianlei mentioned, the identity-mystery traitor, the love he didn’t know how to express… All these piled up in Tao Fengche’s mind, weighing heavily as they dragged him down, while at the same time pushing him up a steep slope, finally stopping at the edge of a cliff.

A little step further, and he would plunge into the abyss, shattering into pieces. The fierce wind, carrying debris, roared past, making it difficult for him to stand steady. Yet, misfortunes never come alone. At the same time, Tao Fengche sharply noticed the slight loosening of the stone beneath his feet—

Just as he was hanging by a thread, Sui Yuesheng arrived in a rescue helicopter, hovering directly above him and extending his hand toward him.

All Tao Fengche had to do was reach up, clasp his hand, and with his help, escape this predicament entirely.

But under the influence of an inexplicable emotion, Tao Fengche inexplicably shook his head.

“Nothing left.”

He even added another sentence, as if his refusal wasn’t clear enough.

Their gazes met in the air, and Tao Fengche dared not look away, holding his breath and forcing himself to meet Sui Yuesheng’s eyes calmly.

At most, it was no more than half a second, but this moment stretched infinitely in Tao Fengche’s mind.

Then he saw Sui Yuesheng nod and say, “Alright.”

Tao Fengche felt relieved and quickly changed the subject. “I’ll send you the address of the production base later, along with the approximate location of the illegal production line. Will you handle the rest?”

Sui Yuesheng probably didn’t know about the artificial pheromone yet, otherwise, he would have reacted by now. As for illegal production and drug trafficking, while serious, they weren’t grave enough to require Sui Yuesheng’s personal intervention.

Knowing Sui Yuesheng’s style, he would most likely appoint a trusted subordinate to shut down the production line entirely and further investigate the sales channels.

With Sui Yuesheng’s relentless methods, Liu Tianlei wouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble.

…That should solve everything, right?

Tao Fengche felt uneasy.

“Okay.” Sui Yuesheng nodded and used the serving chopsticks to place another dish on Tao Fengche’s plate. “You’ve earned some credit.”

“This counts as a reward?” Though he was already full, since his brother had served it, Tao Fengche put it in his mouth while teasing, “Boss Sui, isn’t this a bit stingy?”

“I never said it was a reward.” Sui Yuesheng raised an eyebrow slightly and smirked, “What do you want?”

I want my brother.

But Tao Fengche knew better than anyone that was just a delusion.

Although he couldn’t have what he wanted most, he would love anything Sui Yuesheng gave him.

He smiled at Sui Yuesheng. “There’s nothing special I want. Anything from you is fine.”

“Really?”

Tao Fengche wiped his mouth with a napkin and, noticing the playful look in Sui Yuesheng’s eyes, his internal alarm bells went off. He hurriedly added, “No prep books for five-year exams and three-year mock tests!”

“No other study materials either,” he muttered quietly, afraid Sui Yuesheng might exploit his words and send him a mountain of textbooks.

Sui Yuesheng chuckled.

That pile of prep books he brought back from the Western Continent and had Xu Song move out of Tao Fengche’s room two days ago was still hidden in his bedroom. How could Tao Fengche think he would give them again?

Sui Yuesheng hadn’t attended school as a child, and after becoming an adult, he cherished every opportunity to learn. Whenever he thought about getting Tao Fengche a gift, the first thing that came to mind was study materials.

But he didn’t expect Tao Fengche to resist so much.

Rejected gifts had no meaning, but to Sui Yuesheng, knowledge was priceless. He couldn’t bear to throw them away just yet.

…Maybe they would come in handy one day? Sui Yuesheng thought to himself.

The topic had finally shifted away from Liu Tianlei, and after a few light-hearted exchanges, Tao Fengche, who had earlier felt embarrassed for crying in front of Sui Yuesheng, began to open up. The two chatted about everything, and the atmosphere became warm and harmonious.

Under Xu Song’s pleased gaze, Tao Fengche secretly wiped the sweat from his brow—was the matter related to Liu Tianlei finally closed… right?

…

The Tao family’s business spanned the globe, and Sui Yuesheng had been on a business trip to the Western Continent for nearly two months. Although the most important documents had been handled remotely, the rest still piled up like a mountain in his study, waiting for his approval.

With other work to do during the day, Sui Yuesheng could only work overtime at home, yet after days of effort, the mountain of paperwork showed no sign of shrinking.

After dinner, Tao Fengche returned to his room to wash up and study, preparing for the upcoming assessment, while Sui Yuesheng continued his battle in the study. When the clock struck midnight, he finally finished his day’s work and headed downstairs to his room.

After stepping out of the bathroom, Sui Yuesheng hesitated for a moment, then chose to turn off the lights in his room.

He had light gray-blue eyes, which allowed him to see better in the dark than those with darker irises. Combined with his specialized training, he could see clearly even on pitch-black nights.

Moreover, the courtyard of the Tao family’s home was well-lit, and moonlight filtered through the window. The darkness wasn’t enough to hinder him.

Without glancing to either side, Sui Yuesheng walked to the bed, drank half a glass of milk from the bedside table, retrieved a hidden bottle of medication from the closet, and swallowed a pill. He got into bed and stared blankly at a bare white wall.

Time ticked by, but in that room, it felt as though someone had hit the pause button. Who knows how much time passed, but with a faint sigh, Sui Yuesheng finally pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly, and Jing Ning’s disgruntled voice came through the receiver.

“President Sui, do you know what time it is?”

“You woke me up the same way last time,” Sui Yuesheng responded calmly, cutting off any further complaints from Jing Ning.

“…Fine.” Jing Ning sat up in bed, rubbing his face, “What happened?”

“Tao Fengche met with Liu Tianlei tonight without telling me.”

In just a few words, Sui Yuesheng summarized Tao Fengche’s story. “He gave me the exact locations of the base and the production line, but he didn’t tell me they were producing artificial pheromones.”

Jing Ning: “!”

The last bit of sleepiness vanished from Jing Ning’s mind, and he immediately understood why Sui Yuesheng had called.

If the timing were better, Jing Ning would’ve loved to hang up, drive straight to the Tao family’s ancestral home, and wake Tao Fengche up to hash everything out.

It had been nearly a decade since Sui Yuesheng was rushed to the research institute on his 18th birthday to receive a special inhibitor that was still in clinical trials.

The two had known each other for many years, and Jing Ning knew most of Sui Yuesheng’s affairs well. To him, Sui Yuesheng was more than just a “volunteer”; they were close friends.

But as the director of the Tao Central Research Institute and a dual-degree holder in biology and chemistry, Jing Ning had no training in psychology!

Why did he have to be woken up at 1 a.m. to be a personal therapist for a friend?

Even though Jing Ning was internally groaning, he didn’t refuse.

“Sui Yuesheng, listen to me,” he said, dropping the teasing tone and calling him by name. He spoke quickly, as if he could take off at any moment, “When Tao Fengche came to me before, I didn’t tell him you knew about the artificial pheromone.”

“Do you remember? He even told me not to let you know.”

“Yeah.”

“So from his perspective, you don’t know anything about the artificial pheromone. You know how complicated this matter is, and he was likely considering Chu Yin’s situation, so he didn’t tell you. Besides, he hasn’t dealt with this kind of thing firsthand. He probably thought he could handle it himself and didn’t want to drag you in. He’s seventeen, an alpha—you’ve got to understand.”

“Yeah.”

Jing Ning’s mouth was dry from all the talking, but Sui Yuesheng kept giving short replies, making it hard to tell if he was really listening. Nevertheless, Jing Ning pressed on to the main point: “Whatever you do, don’t overthink it. Tao Fengche definitely doesn’t doubt you.”

Sui Yuesheng: “…”

He fell silent for a long time. Both rooms were deathly quiet, and only the ticking of a clock could be heard. Jing Ning, who had previously complained about his interrupted sleep, now waited patiently for Sui Yuesheng’s response. After a long pause, Sui Yuesheng suddenly gave a wry smile, with a hint of self-deprecation.

“I know, but…”

“Sui Yuesheng, do you trust me?” Jing Ning asked abruptly.

“I do.”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have called Jing Ning the moment he realized something was off with his emotions.

“The special inhibitor is a hormone-based drug. Unlike the various types of scent inhibitors on the market, it directly affects the endocrine system. As long as the dosage is sufficient and combined with special medications, it can directly inhibit the formation of O1 and O2. Simply put, it temporarily makes the person injected appear as a beta in terms of scent and is unaffected by heat cycles.”

“But it is an illegal drug that has never been released to the public. Due to its unique nature, the human experiments we conducted back then were far from sufficient. I confirmed this with you ten years ago, and you signed the informed consent.”

“Over the years, the other volunteers more or less had sexual encounters. But you, from your first heat cycle until now, have relied solely on special inhibitors and medications to control it. In other words, you’ve been forcibly suppressing your omega instincts all along. You’ve been using the drug for too long, and in the past two years, both the dosage and frequency have increased. This means your body is starting to protest.”

“The human body is just a more sophisticated machine, and every change leaves traces. Endocrine disorders can have an impact on emotions, which is perfectly normal.”

“Tao Fengche is indeed investigating the matter of artificial pheromones, and he’s growing at a faster rate than any of us expected. I believe it won’t be long before he links the reappearance of artificial pheromones to the Red Gang, and to Mr. Tao’s death. He may have already thought of it by now.”

“But don’t worry, no matter whom he suspects, he won’t suspect you,” Jing Ning said confidently. “We have an old saying in Jingpu, ‘You can see the old in a child by the age of three.’ You two spent six months together every day when he was seven or eight, and after you went abroad, Mr. Tao kept sending you updates about him. In a way, you watched him grow up.”

“You know Tao Fengche best, and he absolutely won’t doubt you.” Jing Ning reiterated his point.