I only opened it because I knew it was you

The shove sent Feng Yiqian stumbling half a step, and he nearly landed on the floor. He watched in surprise as his older brother headed upstairs.

"Butler Tao?" Feng Ze knocked on the door and listened for a few seconds, his brows slowly drawing together.

"Tao Zhiyan?"

"Tao Zhiyan, open the door." Feng Ze pressed down on the handle, but the door was locked from the inside. His frown deepened, and he knocked several more times.

"Tao Zhiyan, if you don't open-"

The door suddenly opened.

Seeing the door open, Feng Ze was about to ask whether he was all right, but the next second, the man before him went limp and collapsed into his arms.

Pressed against him, Tao Zhiyan was clearly far too hot.

"You're burning up."

Feng Ze helped Tao Zhiyan upright, but he kept trembling.

The young man was clearly barely conscious now. His cheeks were unnaturally flushed, his eyes were tightly shut, and even his breathing was uneven.

"Young master..." Tao Zhiyan kept his eyes closed, his lashes wet with tears and clumped together. "I don't feel well..."

Feng Ze tilted his head to look at him and said quietly, "I'll call the doctor. He'll be here soon."

The man in his arms gave a soft, nasal hum, then lost consciousness completely.

Feng Ze carried him into the room, then turned to call Doctor Shen.

Doctor Shen was the Feng Family's private physician, as well as one of Feng Ze's few friends.

Perhaps because they were on good terms, whenever Feng Ze called Doctor Shen at night, the doctor would invariably take a few jabs at him.

But today, when Doctor Shen heard that Feng Ze was asking him to come treat someone else, he didn't waste a single word. He grabbed his medical bag and rushed over.

He was even grinning when he arrived, his face full of anticipation.

But when he saw Tao Zhiyan on the bed and realized he had merely passed out from a fever, his grin instantly vanished.

"I thought you'd finally found yourself some romance." Doctor Shen rolled his eyes at Feng Ze. "When my other employers call me at night, it's always to treat their little lovers."

"But you? You call me for your butler."

"You're a CEO, for crying out loud. Can't you do better than this?"

Feng Ze wasn't in the mood to joke. He hadn't so much as glanced at Doctor Shen the entire time.

He felt Tao Zhiyan's forehead, his expression grave. "He has a fever. He's burning up."

Doctor Shen grew serious and walked over. "Let me see."

The doctor placed his hand on Tao Zhiyan's forehead and clicked his tongue. "He's this hot? Why didn't you call me sooner?"

"I only just got home," Feng Ze said.

"Wasn't anyone else home?" The doctor took out a thermometer and placed it in Tao Zhiyan's mouth to take his temperature. "How long has he had a fever?"

Feng Ze turned to look at Feng Yiqian.

Feng Yiqian, who had been standing in the doorway without daring to enter, finally took a step forward. "I don't know either. I haven't seen him come out all day."

Doctor Shen's brows knitted even tighter.

Unable to hold back, Feng Yiqian rushed over and clutched Doctor Shen. "Doctor, Butler Tao isn't going to die, is he?"

Doctor Shen was startled by his sudden movement. "...Die?"

"I-I really didn't know he was sick!" Feng Yiqian's eyes reddened, his voice turning nasal. "I was wondering how he could sleep so much, from morning till night. I was even going to tell him how damn impressive that was!"

"Doctor! Is Butler Tao going to die?"

"...Who said he was going to die?" Doctor Shen pushed Feng Yiqian away in utter disgust, stood up, and began shooing them out.

"A fever won't kill him. At worst, it'll leave him with cerebral palsy. Out, out, out! You two have nothing to do here. Stop getting in my way!"

Doctor Shen drove them out, then slammed the door shut with a bang.

Feng Yiqian was stunned by the mention of cerebral palsy. "Cerebral palsy?"

He stood rooted to the spot for a long while before something seemed to occur to him. He looked at Feng Ze. "Big brother, if Butler Tao really ends up with cerebral palsy, can he still be our butler?"

Feng Ze stared at him. "...?"

When Feng Ze said nothing, Feng Yiqian automatically conjured up an entire drama in his head. Then he silently turned back and wiped away the tears he had forced out with the back of his hand.

He looked at the bedroom door and clenched his fist. "It's all right, Butler Tao. Even if you get cerebral palsy, you'll always be my butler in my heart!"

Feng Ze took a deep breath and began seriously considering whether to kick Feng Yiqian.

Tao Zhiyan's fever had reached forty degrees Celsius, and he had already slipped into unconsciousness.

Doctor Shen gave him an injection to bring down the fever, then used a damp handkerchief to wipe his cheeks and cool him down. It took over an hour of work before Tao Zhiyan's temperature finally dropped.

37.6 degrees Celsius.

He still had a fever, but it was no longer so severe.

"Does anything feel uncomfortable right now?" Doctor Shen sat beside the bed and asked softly.

Perhaps because his fever had lasted too long, Tao Zhiyan had little strength, and his head hurt badly.

Seeing him frown, Doctor Shen asked gently, "Does your head hurt?"

"Mm..." Tao Zhiyan's voice was very faint. He was curled up beneath the covers with only his hazy eyes showing, looking rather pitiful.

"Do you feel like throwing up?"

Tao Zhiyan shook his head slightly.

"That's normal. It'll get better once the fever breaks," Doctor Shen said. "I'll go get Feng Ze."

Tao Zhiyan could barely keep his eyes open, but he still murmured, "Okay."

Then Doctor Shen opened the door.

He had thought Feng Ze would have gone back to his own room, but the man was still standing outside the door.

When Feng Ze saw Doctor Shen come out, he first glanced into the room, then asked, "How is he?"

"He's awake." Doctor Shen stepped out. "Go take a look."

"All right." Feng Ze walked inside, but just as he entered, something seemed to occur to him. He turned back to Doctor Shen. "Stay here tonight. If his fever comes back, I'll need you again."

"No." Doctor Shen yawned. "I can't sleep in an unfamiliar bed. I need to go home."

After yawning, Doctor Shen raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Unless..."

They knew each other too well. Before the doctor could finish, Feng Ze already knew what he was going to say. "Triple pay."

Doctor Shen's eyes lit up, though he quickly regained his composure.

It's not every day that this bastard Feng Ze cares so much about someone. I can't let this chance slip away.

The calculating Doctor Shen decided to fleece the capitalist. He adjusted his glasses. "Ten times!"

"Regular pay."

"???" Doctor Shen wondered whether he had misheard. "You just said triple!"

"Deal," Feng Ze said.

"Huh?" Doctor Shen was bewildered for a moment. Once he caught on, he furiously flipped Feng Ze off. "You're still just as much of a bastard as ever!"

Utterly unashamed, Feng Ze turned and went into the room, closing the door behind him.

Doctor Shen was so angry that he threw a punch at Feng Ze's retreating back.

A bitter herbal smell hung in Tao Zhiyan's room. He lay quietly on the bed, with only the bedside lamp lit.

Feng Ze walked over, looked at the bowl of medicine on the table, and asked, "Why haven't you drunk it?"

Tao Zhiyan's mind was a little muddled. It took him a while to realize what Feng Ze meant. "It makes me nauseous... The doctor said I could leave it for now."

"Mm." Feng Ze sat beside the bed and looked at Tao Zhiyan.

He was very weak now, with tiny beads of sweat on the tip of his nose and his eyes barely open. He looked rather pitiful.

Feng Ze took a handkerchief and wiped away Tao Zhiyan's sweat. His fingertips brushed Tao Zhiyan's cheek, and the touch of skin against skin inexplicably reminded him of the way Tao Zhiyan had collapsed into his arms.

He couldn't help chuckling, his voice low. "You were burning up like that, but you still knew to open the door."

Tao Zhiyan remained quiet.

Feng Ze had only made an offhand remark. He hadn't expected Tao Zhiyan to actually answer.

But Tao Zhiyan, lying on the bed, seemed to finally process his words and suddenly murmured, "I only opened it because I heard you knocking."

Feng Ze looked up at him. "Why?"

When he was sick, Tao Zhiyan was rather more docile than usual. He answered whatever he was asked, though his responses were a little slow.

Tao Zhiyan thought for a while, then said slowly, "I felt awful... I wanted you to call the doctor for me."

Feng Ze said with amusement, "...Looks like the fever hasn't fried your brain."

Tao Zhiyan's head was swimming, but he still gave a faint huff at those words. "I'm very smart."

Feng Ze laughed. He pulled the covers up over Tao Zhiyan, then gently folded them back down to leave his chin exposed. "Go to sleep."

Tao Zhiyan simply gazed at him with pleading eyes.

"What?" Feng Ze asked. "Do you need me to coax you to sleep?"

At that, Tao Zhiyan rolled over and stopped looking at Feng Ze.

Feng Ze couldn't help letting out another soft chuckle.