When Tao Zhiyan saw the scene inside the room, his pupils contracted and his heart raced. Only by forcing down his emotions did he stop himself from charging over and punching Feng Yan.
In the dim room, a slender young man lay curled up on the floor.
Humiliated, degraded, utterly wretched...
His eyes and mouth were covered. He could not even cry out.
The iron collar had rubbed the skin of his long, beautiful neck raw, and it rattled whenever he moved.
His hair was disheveled as he sobbed in muffled whimpers.
Feng Ze did not linger. He turned and headed downstairs.
Though Feng Yan resented it, he did not dare defy Feng Ze. He lowered his head and followed the man out.
"Bai Ruan!" Tao Zhiyan rushed over, took off his jacket to cover Bai Ruan, and crouched down to remove his restraints. "...Are you all right?"
"Mm..." With the gag removed, Bai Ruan could finally speak. "B-Butler Tao...?"
"Yes, it's me..." Tao Zhiyan pulled the strip of cloth from Bai Ruan's eyes.
Heavy curtains blocked out the light, leaving only a faint glow in the room.
Even so, Bai Ruan needed a moment to adjust.
His handsome eyes stayed half-closed beneath his beautiful brows. Only after a long while did he slowly lift his eyelids.
Those eyes were terrified, wet, and bloodshot.
Like a frightened little animal.
"Does it hurt?" Looking at the chain around Bai Ruan's neck, Tao Zhiyan flushed with anger. "That bastard Feng Yan. I'll go get the key from him!"
But Bai Ruan suddenly grabbed Butler Tao. His breathing trembled, and he bit rows of teeth marks into his lips, his eyes reddening with pain. "Butler Tao... please help me..."
"I hate him. I want revenge. Feng Yan... he doesn't treat me like a person at all!"
At the thought of how Feng Yan had forced himself on him, Bai Ruan could not stop shaking.
He had tried to run, only to be dragged back. In the end, Feng Yan had chained him here like a dog, no matter how much he cried and begged.
"Butler Tao, teach me. Please help me... I want revenge." Fierce hatred welled up in Bai Ruan's bright, round eyes. "I don't want an amicable breakup anymore. I want him to suffer so much he wishes he were dead...!"
Tao Zhiyan paused as he looked at Bai Ruan. After a long moment, he crouched back down in front of him.
Bai Ruan's gaze was completely different now. Those once-bright, innocent eyes had changed so utterly that he no longer seemed like himself.
His eyes were red, the hatred in them almost spilling over.
"Bai Ruan, I'll help you." Tao Zhiyan wiped the tear tracks from his face with the back of his hand. "But Feng Yan is scum."
Tao Zhiyan thought for a long time before finally saying, "Don't let scum destroy you."
A bad relationship could truly cut deep, even leave someone feeling as though they had been stripped raw.
Growing was a good thing. Hatred was not.
Bai Ruan froze for a moment. When he realized what Tao Zhiyan meant, his nose suddenly stung.
"I, I..." Tears poured out uncontrollably. Then Bai Ruan threw himself into Tao Zhiyan's arms and sobbed.
Tao Zhiyan sighed and rubbed Bai Ruan's hair.
Love really could hurt people.
Even when someone knew their partner was no good, leaving them could still feel like having their skin peeled off and their tendons torn out.
"I'll help you," Tao Zhiyan soothed Bai Ruan. "I'll teach you how to make him suffer so much he wishes he were dead."
Making someone's life a living hell through love was simple. All it took was getting them to depend on you completely, trust you, and start building a future with you, then leaving them for good.
But... how should Bai Ruan leave to make Feng Yan hurt twice as much?
Tao Zhiyan sank into thought.
When Tao Zhiyan came out of the room, Feng Ze was still sitting on the living room sofa.
Seeing Tao Zhiyan emerge alone, the man paused and raised an eyebrow. "Where's Bai Ruan?"
Tao Zhiyan hesitated.
One look at his expression was enough for Feng Ze to understand. He drawled, "Looks like our Butler Tao has more plans in store."
Tao Zhiyan was stunned.
How was he so smart?
How had he figured out that Bai Ruan and I were planning to team up to get revenge on Feng Yan?
Tao Zhiyan pressed his lips together and stepped closer, stopping in front of Feng Ze. He asked tentatively, "Will you tell the Second Young Master?"
Sitting on the sofa, Feng Ze had to tilt his head back to look at Tao Zhiyan, which was rather tiring.
The man lowered his gaze. Tao Zhiyan immediately took the hint and crouched in front of Feng Ze, looking up at him.
Feng Ze lowered his lashes and his voice. "If I said yes, what would you do?"
Tao Zhiyan answered honestly, "Then I'd have Bai Ruan leave."
Feng Ze chuckled and looked away. "Relax. Feng Yan has been getting on my nerves for ages. Do as you please."
Tao Zhiyan's eyes lit up instantly. His lips curved into an eager smile. "Have you had dinner, Eldest Young Master? What would you like? I'll make it for you."
The incident Feng Yan had caused would reflect poorly on the family, so Feng Ze had told the servants to leave early. He really had not eaten dinner yet.
"Whatever you think is best." Feng Ze was never fussy about such things. He had little interest in food; getting enough to eat was all that mattered.
Tao Zhiyan nodded, got up, and headed to the kitchen to put dinner together.
A butler's duties were many and varied. Besides everyday household matters, he also had to help with certain company affairs.
So Tao Zhiyan rarely cooked.
With no one else in the house now, he had to prepare the food himself.
The refrigerator was full of ingredients. Almost nothing was missing.
Unfortunately, Tao Zhiyan's cooking skills left much to be desired. He could manage soup or a simple stir-fry, but making anything delicious was beyond him.
After clanging and banging around in the kitchen for ages, Butler Tao served up a heap of mixed vegetables of indeterminate identity.
Feng Ze stared at the chaotic, multicolored mess on the plate for several seconds, then silently took out his phone. "Let's just order takeout."
Tao Zhiyan marveled that even CEOs ordered takeout.
At the same time, he eagerly set a bowl and chopsticks in front of Feng Ze. "Don't worry, it's edible. I tasted it."
Feng Ze clearly found that hard to believe.
"It really is edible!" Tao Zhiyan pitched it enthusiastically. "Try some."
Feng Ze hesitated for nearly half a minute before setting down his phone and picking up his chopsticks.
He picked up something yellowish-green and frowned. Even after studying it for a long time, he still could not tell what it was.
Under Tao Zhiyan's eager gaze, Feng Ze finally opened his mouth and put it inside.
"Well? Well?" Tao Zhiyan watched him expectantly and asked with a smile, "It's edible, right?"
Unexpectedly, it was pretty good.
Feng Ze nodded, his expression shifting through a range of emotions. "Unbelievable. This thing is actually eggplant."
"I don't know how I managed to fry it that color either." Tao Zhiyan looked a little embarrassed, then seemed to take it as encouragement and perked up. "Wait here. I made pigeon soup too! I'll go see how it's coming along."
Then he turned and ran cheerfully into the kitchen.
Left sitting alone at the dining table in the living room, Feng Ze continued cycling through expressions.
Unbelievable. This black thing was actually cucumber?
That yellow thing should be egg, right? Feng Ze picked it up, put it in his mouth, and chewed.
He had guessed wrong. It was tofu.
Let's try this red thing next...
A little while later, Tao Zhiyan brought out a pot of pigeon soup and set it on the table.
After the game of guessing food by its color, Feng Ze had developed a rare interest in eating. He was a little curious about what other surprises Butler Tao had in store.
He picked up his spoon, scooped up some soup, and took a sip.
The bad news was that it tasted exactly like pigeon soup.
The good news was that it tasted pretty good.
Feng Ze scooped up another spoonful and drank it.
Beside him, Butler Tao saw that Feng Ze's expression was normal and let out a relieved breath.
Then he began attending to him tirelessly, cutting fruit one moment and fetching dessert the next. Every so often, he even topped up Feng Ze's glass after he had taken only a single sip.
"Butler Tao." Feng Ze suddenly set down his spoon and looked up at Tao Zhiyan.
Tao Zhiyan looked up from his busy work. "Hm?"
Feng Ze asked, "Has anyone ever told you that your way of asking for favors is pretty clumsy?"
Tao Zhiyan had no idea what expression he was wearing. He simply stood rooted to the spot and blinked.
*?*
How had Feng Ze figured out that I wanted to ask him for something???
Before you continue