Zhong Yi's head buzzed.
He forced himself to calm down before lifting his eyes. "Mr. Yu, you helped me like this… what do you want me to do?"
Those documents were a huge favor.
Without them, his own family might've been hollowed out without him even knowing.
Loving the entertainment industry was one thing.
Letting an outsider take the Zhong family's assets was another.
So the gratitude and humiliation and rage all twisted together inside him.
Yu Tan looked up. "I heard you were going to introduce an agent to my Little Fish?"
Zhong Yi understood at once. "That was presumptuous of me. With you around, of course, he doesn't need me sticking my nose in."
He didn't know that Yu Tan had heard every word of his call with Xiaoyu through surveillance.
He only thought Xiaoyu had told him.
Yu Tan didn't confirm or deny.
He just said, "Xiaoyu's still young. You'll be busy too in the future. After today, go your way. Don't cross his path again. How about that?"
Zhong Yi finally understood.
He was shocked by how possessive Yu Tan was of Hu Xiaoyu, but he still nodded.
Yu Tan waved a hand. "Go."
When Zhong Yi left, he told A Jiu, "Order food. He'll be hungry."
When Xiaoyu arrived, he found Zhong Yi already there.
He thought, thankfully, that Yu Tan had been thoughtful—otherwise he really would've been late.
In truth, he'd slept too deeply.
If his phone hadn't rung, he would've missed the meeting entirely.
He'd never set a ringtone.
So he assumed it was Yu Tan who'd done it for him.
So considerate. I know considered.
Zhong Yi watched the boy walk in, brows like ink, eyes bright, the whole person like a wandering sprite from some old painting.
But somehow, when he saw him, he remembered the man in the private room earlier—
and felt a chill.
He had actually brought something with him today: a folder listing several of the top entertainment companies in the country and a few decent agents in each.
It was nothing rare, but putting it together took time and effort. It was his gift to Xiaoyu.
But now…
Xiaoyu noticed that Zhong Yi kept spacing out.
He thought, Looks like the gift I prepared was just in time.
He took out the charm. "Brother Zhong, thank you for looking after me before. Put this under your pillow—it helps you sleep."
Zhong Yi hesitated, but still accepted it.
There were some people—when you looked into their clear eyes, it was hard to refuse them.
They chatted briefly about Yang Kai.
The scandals had piled up one after another; then the old case was dug up; even though his legs were broken, he was still taken to the police station. A sentence was very likely.
In the end, Zhong Yi couldn't help asking, "You and Mr. Yu…"
Xiaoyu lifted his eyes. "What about us?"
Zhong Yi clenched his fingers to stop them shaking at the thought of that man. "I heard… you live with him. Do you… like him?"
Xiaoyu nodded. "I do."
Of course, what he meant by "like" and what Zhong Yi thought he meant were probably two completely different things.
Zhong Yi didn't think Yu Tan was a good partner.
He could only ask sideways, "Does Mr. Yu treat you well?"
Xiaoyu lowered his gaze, a little embarrassed. "He's wonderful to me. I'm the one who needs to do better."
That was the truth.
He'd come here to repay a debt. He should be the one making sure everything around Yu Tan was good.
But right now, every time they made love, it was Yu Tan doing all the work.
He was the one who always wanted to be held, to be kissed.
He stole food from Yu Tan's plate, made him peel shrimp, made him carry him to the bath—
And this time, even the ringtone was something Yu Tan, who was always busy, still remembered to set for him.
It really did look like Yu Tan was the one repaying him.
Feeling guilty, Xiaoyu silently reflected on himself.
Seeing the boy's eyes light up at the mere mention of Yu Tan, Zhong Yi felt like he had worried about nothing.
Still… that wasn't how normal relationships worked.
Normal men didn't want to lock someone up like a treasure.
He didn't dare say too much, so he just said, "Xiaoyu, I'll be going back to the capital soon. If you ever need help, just call me."
"If we're friends, then, of course," Xiaoyu said. "I don't know what's bothering you, but it'll work out. Trust me."
He'd seen it—Zhong Yi's worries wouldn't last long.
After Zhong Yi left, Xiaoyu didn't leave right away.
He'd rushed out to avoid being late, hadn't had a proper lunch, and now his stomach was empty.
Recently, he'd gotten used to eating regularly, so skipping a meal felt weird.
He was just about to order food when A Jiu appeared beside his table.
Xiaoyu blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"Boss is here for a meeting," A Jiu said calmly. "The other party just left. Want to go over?"
"Okay!"
Xiaoyu followed him to the private room, glanced at the table full of steaming dishes, then at Yu Tan—and chose the latter without hesitation.
But he still had that tiny guilty feeling from before, so he leaned his forehead against Yu Tan's neck. "You're so good, Yu Tan."
Yu Tan tilted his head. "How so?"
Xiaoyu didn't list the bigger things.
He just leaned down and kissed him. "You set that alarm for me, didn't you? And all these dishes…"
He'd taken one look and knew: most of them were his favorites.
"You knew I was meeting Brother Zhong here, so you arranged your meeting here too—so we could have lunch together, right?"
Yu Tan pinched his cheek, a smile flickering in his eyes. "So clever?"
"Of course," Xiaoyu said proudly, pulling out the chair beside him. "I'll pick out the fish for you, okay?"
"Mm."
He even let A Jiu sit.
The three of them ate like they were at home—warm, relaxed, lively.
By the end of the first month after the ad aired, Hu Xiaoyu's Weibo had nearly three million followers.
That growth was excellent.
But no entertainment company or studio came to sign him.
Not because they didn't want to—but because the crown prince of Double Star Entertainment, Shi Jingyang, had already said publicly: "That kid's mine."
In China, the industry has two big poles—
In the capital, it was Yingsheng Entertainment;
In Shanghai, it was Double Star.
If Shi Jingyang said he'd set his eyes on someone, no one would be dumb enough to poach.
At least not right now.
Because of his endless gossip, some people even guessed that maybe Hu Xiaoyu was his new bed toy—that's why he was being protected.
When Shi Jingyang heard that rumor, he practically jumped up and called Yu Tan.
He confessed everything cleanly, and while he was at it, he felt a little tempted—
With that face and aura, wouldn't it be better to just sign him to Double Star?
Why leave that resource to outsiders?
At the other end of the line, Yu Tan didn't speak.
The silence was so heavy that Shi Jingyang knew it was a no.
He grumbled, "Brother Yu, your boy is too eye-catching. People keep coming to ask about him. If he doesn't sign soon, they'll keep sniffing around. I can't keep blocking them forever. Maybe just tell him straight."
He said that, but in truth, he thought Yu Tan was being a bit much.
Hu Xiaoyu wasn't some nobody.
He'd already been picked up by the Hus, and he was willing to stay at Yu Tan's place every day. That was good enough.
But now he wasn't even allowed to sign freely?
That was… a little too possessive.
After a pause, Yu Tan said, "I'll think about it."
He would think about how to make the little toy willingly stay in his field of vision.
But telling him outright wasn't an option—the brat was stubborn. He wouldn't listen.
Xiaoyu didn't know that the reason no one had contacted him yet was because of Shi Jingyang.
He used the excuse of visiting Granny Cui at the nursing home… and slipped out.
"Slipped out" might not have been strictly accurate.
But if he didn't use that excuse, he and Yu Tan would be together every minute. How was he supposed to job-hunt like that?
He'd sent resumes to a few companies online and heard nothing back.
So he thought—why not go to the film studio and try his luck?
Sometimes actors were just picked up off the street.
He wandered around aimlessly, unaware that A Jiu had already arranged for someone to tail him.
He hadn't been there long before he ran into Shi Jingyang.
Shi Jingyang had come to visit a young actor he'd recently taken a fancy to.
Seeing Xiaoyu wandering around like a lost kitten, he only needed to think for two seconds to understand.
Look how hard they've got the kid boxed in. Kind of pitiful, honestly.
But pity was pity.
He still called Yu Tan first.
Unfortunately, Yu Tan was on another call.
So he got out of the car first, planning to keep the boy occupied.
As for Yu Tan—
He hadn't answered because he was on the phone with his grandmother's nurse.
Madam Yu had once been a formidable businesswoman. After Yu Tan rose to power, she had retired due to illness.
The nurse was his person. Her first words were: "Old Madam is trying to jump."
Yu Tan's face, always dark, grew even colder, like winter settling. "Open the window," he said flatly. "Let her jump."
There was a clatter on the other end—fabric rubbing, people struggling, someone trying to stop her.
Then an old, sharp, venomous voice came through:
"Yu Tan, you heartless bastard! You want me dead, don't you?"