It's a crush~

Tao Zhiyan hadn't forgotten his promise to Feng Ze.

He found some time to look up Gu Min online.

The page refreshed, and an encyclopedia entry for Gu Min appeared. Tao Zhiyan clicked on it.

Gu Min, male, born in the Imperial Capital, CEO of the Gu Group.

According to the introduction, the Gu Group also focused primarily on the artificial intelligence industry. The world's hottest AI algorithm currently belonged to them. They had effectively maintained a monopoly in the field.

So Gu Min was Feng Ze's rival?

But what did that have to do with him, Tao Zhiyan?

He was just an ordinary The Little Butler.

Tao Zhiyan searched for him on his chat app, too.

Only then did he discover that Gu Min was actually on his friends list, and had called him the night he had a fever.

The voice call log showed thirty seconds.

Tao Zhiyan had already been asleep then. Feng Ze had probably answered it.

So... was that why Feng Ze had gotten angry with him?

The original owner's chat history with Gu Min had been deleted. There was nothing he could glean from it.

Tao Zhiyan pondered for a moment, and an unpleasant possibility occurred to him.

First, the man had called him so late at night.

Second, the chat history had been deleted.

Most importantly, he was currently living in a world of melodramatic CEO romance fiction.

Putting all those conditions together, Tao Zhiyan felt that it fit certain setups in old-school CEO romances perfectly.

Weren't all those CEO romances about runaway canaries like this?

Could it be... he and this Gu Min were having an affair?!

Shocked by his own conclusion, Tao Zhiyan tossed his phone aside. "I can't accept this!"

No sooner had he said that than he paused again. In the interest of being thorough, he searched Baidu for a picture of Gu Min.

The man wasn't bad-looking. He looked refined and wore glasses.

But he wasn't Tao Zhiyan's type. He preferred more aggressive looks-ideally, the sort that could make his knees weak just by standing in front of him.

Definitely can't accept this. I wasn't being unfair to you.

Tao Zhiyan picked his phone back up and set special notifications for Gu Min, intending to have a proper talk with him the next time he sent a message.

If they really were lovers, he would end it.

If their relationship was something else, he would wait and see.

In any case, Tao Zhiyan felt that offending Feng Ze over Gu Min simply wasn't worth it.

Footsteps sounded outside his door, as though someone had come upstairs:

"Third Young Master! Please, just eat something!" Aunt Zhao pleaded earnestly. "Third Young Master! You haven't eaten in three days! Please have something!"

Aunt Li chimed in, too. "Yes, yes, Third Young Master. At least eat a little!"

Then footsteps sounded outside the door again, this time heading downstairs.

With admirable resolve, Feng Yiqian shouted, "Even if I, Feng Yiqian, starve to death! Even if I jump from here! I won't eat a single bite!"

Hearing this, Tao Zhiyan slipped his phone back into his pocket, stood up, opened his door, and walked out.

As soon as Aunt Zhao saw Tao Zhiyan, she shot him a pleading look, frantically signaling with her eyes.

Tao Zhiyan lowered his gaze slightly, signaling for her to stay calm.

"Third Young Master," Tao Zhiyan said as he descended the stairs, looking at Feng Yiqian with a smile. "Why aren't you eating? Is the food not to your liking?"

"No." Feng Yiqian was starving by now, too. He leaned back and lay on the couch with a hand draped over his forehead. "Butler Tao, this is what I deserve. Don't worry about me."

Tao Zhiyan: "."

Not a clue what you're saying, sir.

After a moment's thought, Tao Zhiyan walked over and sat on the adjacent section of the couch. Turning slightly toward him, he asked, "Did something happen? Do you need my help?"

Lying on the couch, Feng Yiqian lifted his eyelids at those words.

Seeing Tao Zhiyan from this angle was rather novel.

Butler Tao had long eyelashes, and his eyes curved when he smiled. Yet the emotion in them wasn't particularly intense. They were calm and understated, gentle yet restrained.

The sight left him with an itch in his heart.

"It's... nothing major." Feng Yiqian licked his lips.

"Didn't I get nominated for the Milky Way Award? I'm going to the ceremony tomorrow." Gazing up at Tao Zhiyan like that, Feng Yiqian counted his eyelashes as he spoke idly. "I saw loads of people talking about me in the trending topics."

"They said I'd definitely win, and they're really looking forward to seeing me onstage."

At this point, even Feng Yiqian sounded a little disbelieving. "And lots of marketing accounts that usually bash me are predicting I'll win, too. They said I've been really popular lately!"

There seemed to be a little pride in Feng Yiqian's voice as he brought it up. After all, ever since his scandal, it had been a long time since he'd heard anyone supporting him.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't happy.

He hadn't originally held such high hopes for this award.

Feng Yiqian had been an also-ran at the Milky Way Awards for two years, making the shortlist each time without winning.

But this time was different. Audiences had responded very well to his nominated production, while the other works released around the same time were only average. He had a real chance of winning.

And on top of that, so many people were paying attention to him this time.

For some reason, Feng Yiqian didn't want to let everyone down.

"But I've gained weight, and I won't look good on camera," Feng Yiqian said quietly. "I want to look my best when I go onstage, so I stopped eating."

"I see." Tao Zhiyan understood.

The camera added ten pounds. It was perfectly normal for Feng Yiqian to be worried about that.

Tao Zhiyan paused briefly, then dipped his chin slightly and looked at him. "But isn't going three straight days without food a little extreme?"

Looking at Tao Zhiyan, Feng Yiqian suddenly felt as though something was wrong with him.

Butler Tao was clearly speaking slowly, his voice low and gentle, yet when it reached Feng Yiqian's ears, it seemed incredibly loud. Even his ears felt warm.

The two stared at each other for several seconds.

"You're right, Butler Tao." Feng Yiqian abruptly sat up from the couch. "I'd better eat. I'm so hungry I'm getting heart palpitations."

Feng Yiqian pressed a hand to his chest and offered, "Want to feel it? My heart's beating so fast right now!"

Without waiting for a response, he reached for Tao Zhiyan's hand.

Tao Zhiyan hastily backed away. "No need. I'm not touching it."

Why was this kid so uninhibited?

"Why not? And after talking to you, it seems to be beating even faster!" Feng Yiqian lowered his head and stared at his chest.

Thump, thump-thump-

His heart really was racing!

Feng Yiqian began to worry in earnest. "Butler Tao, am I starving to death?"

Watching Feng Yiqian, Tao Zhiyan didn't think he was acting. Even his face was a little red.

The third young master had his head bowed and a hand pressed to his chest, his brows tightly furrowed. He looked genuinely uncomfortable.

Tao Zhiyan grew serious, too, for once. He stepped half a pace closer and moved Feng Yiqian's hand aside. "Let me check."

Tao Zhiyan's slightly cool hand brushed Feng Yiqian's skin.

Feng Yiqian's fingers curled, and his whole body went rigid. His heart seemed to skip a beat.

Then Tao Zhiyan pressed his palm to his chest through his clothes.

In that instant, all the blood in his body seemed to surge upward!

Feng Yiqian's temperature rose. Even his neck felt hot.

As though trying to make up for that skipped beat, his heart pounded rapidly like a drum, almost leaping out of his chest!

Now even breathing was difficult. Feng Yiqian felt as though he was going to explode.

"It really is fast." Tao Zhiyan withdrew his hand, his brows drawing together.

His head buzzing, Feng Yiqian looked at Tao Zhiyan and opened his mouth, unsure what to say.

Tao Zhiyan pressed his lips together and looked at Feng Yiqian. "Could it be low blood sugar?"

"...It's not low blood sugar."

Feng Yiqian shook his head. After thinking for a long while, he suddenly declared with absolute conviction, "I think I have high blood pressure!"

Tao Zhiyan: "..."

How on earth did he reach that conclusion?