Hu Xiaoyu had no idea what Yu Tan and A Jiu had just discussed while he was still tangled up in the blankets upstairs.
By the time he wandered into the studies, more than an hour had passed.
He saw Yu Tan sitting straight at the desk, focused on work, so he didn't bother him. Like he'd done it a hundred times, he went to the snack cabinet and the little fridge, took out a pile of food and drinks, and curled up with them on the sofa.
Originally, there hadn't been a fridge or snack cabinet in the study.
But once, Xiaoyu had been starving while hanging around there, complained a few times, and things magically appeared afterward.
Of course, it wasn't that Yu Tan was easy to talk into things.
It was just that, that time, the little fox had been starving, seeing stars, and he'd been completely naked—because of Yu Tan.
So the boss felt, very reasonably, that he should at least make sure the fox didn't go hungry while being tormented.
Yu Tan had a good hearing.
That rustling sound from the sofa, the soft shifting of a small body buried in snacks—it made him feel like he was raising a little hamster.
A very sentient, very disobedient hamster.
Noisy, yes, but not annoying.
In fact, it brought an odd sense of liveliness to the room—
Like the day didn't really start until that rustling appeared.
Except… this particular hamster always wanted to run outside.
Yu Tan's eyes darkened a fraction. He got up.
He was in loose, pale loungewear today. The soft color toned down some of his usual cold severity, but even so, he still looked composed and distant—down to the temperature of his fingertips.
When his slightly cool fingers brushed the back of Xiaoyu's neck, the boy shrank his head by instinct.
But he didn't dodge. Instead, he tilted his face and rubbed lightly against that cool hand, then lifted the bag of chips toward him. "Want one?"
Yu Tan shook his head and knelt on the sofa.
His knees pressed in between Xiaoyu's legs. He took the chips from his hand and set them on the side table, then pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped the crumbs from Xiaoyu's fingers.
Xiaoyu stared at him for a few seconds, at the unhurried, attentive motions—then his gaze slipped downward and landed on a part of Yu Tan that was clearly not quite so calm.
So…could it start like this?
No, wait. That isn't the point right now.
Xiaoyu flopped like a fish just pulled from the water, suddenly realizing the hook was in his mouth. He flailed and protested, "You said yesterday we should at least skip a day!"
Yu Tan loved it when Xiaoyu was flustered because of him.
As for why—that wasn't important.
He had a temper simmering in his chest, but his face actually grew gentler.
He slid a hand around that narrow, warm waist and dipped his head into Xiaoyu's ear, his breath low and hot: "Little fox… what if I go slow today? However you want it, we'll do it your way. Mm?"
Xiaoyu's ears turned red at both his movements and his words.
He wasn't some pure, unawakened fox anymore—he knew very well how good it felt. Every time, in the middle, he'd regret it and start knocking the drum to retreat, but at the very beginning… he still wanted it.
Just—
Xiaoyu glanced guiltily at the milk carton on the side table. "I… just drank that."
He knew Yu Tan hated milk. If they kissed later…
Yu Tan truly disliked milk. Not because of an allergy.
When he was little, he'd once spilled his breakfast glass. The milk splashed all over the table. He refused to drink milk off the table and was punished—made to kneel in the courtyard until sunset.
The memory flashed by like a cold blade.
When he came back to himself, he realized he was already holding the half-finished milk carton.
… What was he doing?
Acting on instinct, he tipped it—letting the white liquid spill into the shallow notch of Xiaoyu's collarbone, exposed from the half-open bathrobe. He looked at it for a moment, satisfied.
Then he dipped his head and tasted it.
It was good.
That is sour, humiliating memory from childhood was so easily, so cleanly, overwritten—by something warm and bright and alive.
Xiaoyu stared, dazed.
Especially when, after taking a sip, Yu Tan looked up at him—
Those black eyes were burning like there was fire in them.
Foxes followed their instincts.
Xiaoyu lowered his head and pecked him on the corner of the mouth, testing.
Then, in the next breath, he tasted the milk in Yu Tan's mouth.
… Somehow, it really did taste better that way.
An hour later, his arms and legs were limp. Xiaoyu lay sprawled on the sofa, those shining fox eyes still rippling, glaring without much power at Yu Tan, who was calmly cleaning up.
He'd said he'd go slow.
Xiaoyu had said "please" too—several times. But the more he begged, the less merciful Yu Tan became. He got faster, deeper.
If Xiaoyu hadn't recently built up his spiritual power—and if he hadn't had to meet Director Zhong that afternoon—he really would have been delayed.
Because of that meeting, Xiaoyu ended up being carried back to the bedroom for a second sleep.
Before that, he was washed again.
Seeing that Yu Tan still looked like nothing had tired him out, Xiaoyu wrapped his arms around his waist. "Sleep with me."
That "sleep" had a different meaning in his head.
Even in human form, he still craved the sensation of being stroked—fur smoothed down, bones warmed.
And maybe because, from birth till now, only Yu Tan had ever "smoothed his fur," he felt that only when Yu Tan did it was it truly comfortable.
Looking at the hopeful eyes, Yu Tan indulged him and sat down on the edge of the bed.
That meant yes.
Xiaoyu lay on his side, facing him, letting those long, cool fingers move under the blanket, finally coming to rest on his back and slowly stroking up and down.
The fingers were a little cool, but the sensation—like every hair was being soothed—made his fox eyes narrow in contentment, lashes trembling lightly.
Yu Tan had never imagined he'd one day be doing something so… useless.
But watching the little fool tremble happily in his palm—
That was, unexpectedly, very pleasant.
When Xiaoyu fell fast asleep, he tugged the blanket up and left.
Zhong Yi and Xiaoyu had agreed to meet at a restaurant at two in the afternoon.
But at ten minutes to one, he was already there, and on the hour he was led to the private room.
Zhong Yi didn't really understand why Yu Tan wanted to see him.
Probably something to do with Hu Xiaoyu.
He came from a good family himself. He had the restrained arrogance of someone raised in an old house.
If Yu Tan's message hadn't mentioned a script he was genuinely interested in, Zhong Yi felt they wouldn't have needed to meet at all.
But the moment he entered, his brow twitched.
The Yu Tan he'd seen before always appeared with Hu Xiaoyu.
That man was usually aloof and taciturn, powerful enough to make people wary—but whenever his gaze landed on Xiaoyu, it softened.
That single softness made him look human.
And when a powerful man looks human, people are less afraid.
But today, the man sitting alone by the floor-to-ceiling window, light behind him, features deepened by shadow—
When he lifted his eyes, they were so black they seemed to swallow light.
Cold. Quiet. Dangerous.
The weight of that presence—
Zhong Yi had only ever felt it once before, from Zhou Yunzhi of the Zhou family.
Zhou Yunzhi was notorious—achingly beautiful, heart like iron.
Once, someone had stirred up trouble at Moon Half. Zhou Yunzhi had been there.
He waved a lazy hand, motioning the man over.
He was too good-looking—so good-looking the troublemaker was bewitched and walked right in.
Then Zhou Yunzhi smashed his head into the table.
The sound was sharp enough to make my teeth hurt.
The man stayed there all night, serving as a footrest until Zhou Yunzhi, drunk, finally left.
And now—
The more nervous he was, the messier his thoughts became.
Zhong Yi clenched his hand once, forcing himself to stop thinking nonsense, and approached as if nothing were wrong. "Mr. Yu."
Yu Tan tipped his chin. "Sit."
He was wearing a simple, light-colored casual outfit.
His skin was so pale it almost glowed.
He should have looked gentle, even a little fragile.
But his eyes were dark—so dark they unsettled people.
Zhong Yi had seen a lot, but he still obeyed his tone and sat down opposite him.
Yu Tan leaned back lazily. "At least you know how to listen. A Jiu."
A Jiu, who had led Zhong Yi in, set a document folder in front of him, then stepped back to stand at Yu Tan's side.
Zhong Yi opened it.
Within seconds, the composure on his face shattered.
He flipped faster and faster through the documents, the photos—
And his handsome face filled with disbelief, then drained into helplessness.
Yu Tan picked up one photo at random, glanced at it, and made a mild, almost boring comment:
Your younger brother is quite accomplished. Looks capable, too. The Zhong family won't lack an heir now.
No wonder you're happy to linger in the film industry—you've already handed the family business over. Good for you.
A Jiu almost laughed.
If the boss's intelligence network weren't so tight, Zhong Yi probably wouldn't have known for ages that, while he was chasing his artistic dreams, Old Master Zhong had brought in an illegitimate son—and that illegitimate son had already entered the Zhong family company.