Hu Xiaoyu's last appointment was with an agent named Xu Feng.
Xu Feng was in his early forties, short, round, and bald. The moment he saw Hu Xiaoyu, his eyes crinkled with delight, the kind of smiling face that made him look harmless and jolly.
When Xu Feng reached out, trying to "guide" him by the arm, Xiaoyu sidestepped naturally, so the two of them ended up walking side by side toward the private room upstairs.
Xu Feng didn't mind in the slightest. While they walked, he took a discreet, measuring look at the boy.
Even better than in the commercial. Jackpot.
And look at that temper—he's got some fire in him. I like that.
Xu Feng almost couldn't hold back the heat in his eyes. With looks like this, if he could break him in, the kid would be a money-printing tree. If he couldn't break him in… well, getting to bite the immortal peach even once would still be worth it.
After so many years in the industry, he knew one thing very well—pretty, unclaimed faces had to be taken early. Once the big players caught wind of them, people like him wouldn't even get to touch the fringes.
Hu Xiaoyu didn't know what he was thinking, but he trusted his instincts.
A faint green glimmer flashed in his fox eyes—he could see the murky, gray-black haze wrapped around Xu Feng. That alone told him this man wasn't a good person.
In the past, he would've stayed far away from someone like this.
But right now he needed something. So he decided to wait and see.
Their private room was booked on the third floor. Just as they reached the corridor, Xiaoyu saw Li Yu standing there taking a phone call.
The two of them brushed shoulders. Their gazes touched for a split second, and both made the same choice—pretend the other didn't exist.
Unexpectedly, Xu Feng's eyes lit up when he saw Li Yu. He greeted him warmly, "Young Master Li!"—clearly he knew who Li Yu was.
Li Yu looked down on people like Xu Feng and didn't bother to hide it. Still, he asked lazily, "Brother Xu's signing a newbie?"
Xu Feng was flattered. He glanced at Xiaoyu. "Yes, yes, an artist I'm preparing to sign. We're going to talk contract."
He didn't dare offend a rich second-generation person like Li Yu. Even though he could tell Li Yu was impatient, he forced himself to flatter him a few more times before finally taking Xiaoyu away.
Li Yu watched the two of them walk down the corridor and sneered under his breath. "Idiot."
He was in an excellent mood—there was a vicious, gloating pleasure in his chest as he watched Xu Feng lead Hu Xiaoyu into the second-to-last private room at the end of the hallway.
All of upper society was saying that the head of the Yu family had nearly blown the sky open for the Hu family's little young master—that he'd even crushed the Yang family into bankruptcy for him.
But Li Yu knew better.
He knew Yu Tan and the Yang family—who were clinging to old Madam Yu—had always been at odds.
And now Hu Xiaoyu was sitting in a room with a piece of trash like Xu Feng? That only proved one thing—if Yu Tan really treasured him, would he let him get close to someone like Xu Feng?
From the looks of it, Xu Feng didn't even know who Hu Xiaoyu really was.
If something actually happened… now that would be a show.
Inside the room, things were normal at first.
They talked about contracts, about his goals, about resources.
But the longer they talked, the closer Xu Feng got. He said it was "more convenient to talk this way."
Then he pushed a glass of liquor toward him. "Xiaoyu, I haven't met someone I can really talk to in a long time. You're a good listener. Have a drink with your Brother Xu, and the contract will be easy."
Xiaoyu looked straight at him, the fox's eyes clear and serious. "Brother Xu, can you promise me—if I drink this, we'll sign? I don't need a lot of resources. You can even take a bigger cut. I just want more people to know me."
While he spoke, a thin green thread of light quietly slipped between Xu Feng's brows and sank in—forming a pact.
You don't lie to a fox demon when you're making a deal.
If Xu Feng agreed and didn't deliver, he'd be unlucky. How unlucky depended on how much he'd cheated him.
Meanwhile, down in the underground parking garage, everything in that room was being transmitted, word for word, through a bug into the car.
At the wheel, A Jiu glanced at the rearview mirror. As expected, his boss's face was as dark and hard as stone.
What a mess.
He couldn't help reminding him, "Boss, isn't Little Fish… not supposed to drink? Should I—"
Yu Tan's jaw tightened. He didn't say anything.
Whenever he went drinking for business, or with friends, Hu Xiaoyu would tell him very seriously that he couldn't drink—couldn't even have fruit wine with alcohol in it.
He'd said if he got drunk, the consequences would be very bad.
After a while, even A Jiu and Butler Hong knew—Little Fish couldn't have alcohol. They'd even reminded the kitchen not to use cooking wine.
Yu Tan nearly went upstairs right then.
But he forced himself to stay.
Xiaoyu knew he couldn't drink. If he insisted on doing it anyway—if he didn't even cherish his own life—why should he be the one to stop him?
That's what he told himself.
But his hand was already on the car door.
And the second he heard that familiar, dopey voice over the bug say, "Okay. I'll drink," the car door flew open.
Yu Tan cursed under his breath—something low and vicious—and strode toward the elevator, his face a mask of ice.
He'd really turned the sky over this time, he thought grimly. Once I get him home, I'm going to beat some sense into him.
A Jiu let out a breath of relief and was about to follow—
—but just then, Xu Feng's voice came through the bug, sly and leering. From the way he said it, there was definitely something in that drink.
Then came the crash—shattering glass, chairs scraping violently, like something had blown up in the room.
Then silence.
The line was dead.
A Jiu leaped out of the car. "Boss! I think something happened to Little Fish!"
The elevator was only on the second floor. Yu Tan kicked the doors in frustration. Years of self-control and polished indifference shattered with that one shout.
He ran for the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time.
Upstairs, the room was a wreck.
The lights were out. The place was in darkness.
Every glass object in the room—cups, vases, the decorative lamp—was in pieces.
Xu Feng was on the floor, staring at Hu Xiaoyu like he was staring at a monster.
All he'd done was try to touch the kid's face. He hadn't even made it there yet when a chair smashed into him. Then something—something—burst, and half the room shattered.
That chair was solid wood—normally it took effort to even drag it. But Hu Xiaoyu had lifted it like it weighed nothing.
And just now… were his eyes green?
In truth, nothing had exploded.
The alcohol had hit, his spiritual power slipped, and a wave of uncontrolled fox aura burst out and shattered everything.
Of course, the fact that Xu Feng had started talking about "drugs" and "being good and listening" hadn't helped. That had poked right at him.
A little drunk now, Xiaoyu wobbled on his feet and kicked Xu Feng. "Liar."
His voice was softer than usual, a little sticky from the alcohol—but even so, Xu Feng shivered and didn't dare move.
Partly because he didn't dare.
Partly because the chair was still pressing on his chest. It hurt. He couldn't move even if he wanted to.
Just then, the door swung open.
Light from the hallway spilled in. Xiaoyu squinted toward it—the people coming in looked familiar, but with the alcohol buzzing in his head, he couldn't place them.
It was Liu Luanzhou, with Li Yu behind him.
They'd come to meet an investor for a drama—the very drama where Li Yu was playing the male lead.
Li Yu had been fidgeting all through the meal. When Liu Luanzhou got the reason out of him, they'd come straight over.
Fortunately, they were on time—Hu Xiaoyu's clothes were intact.
Li Yu took one look and thought, Useless, Xu Feng. Can't even get this done.
But this was actually better.
This way, Brother could be the hero.
Li Yu's thoughts were twisted.
He did want Hu Xiaoyu to suffer—but more than that, he wanted to see Hu Xiaoyu leave Yu Tan.
He'd only dropped a hint that Xiaoyu might be in danger, and sure enough, Brother had come over to check.
Now Xiaoyu should be moved to tears, right? Maybe even fall for Brother all over again.
Later, Brother would get bored—he was always like that.
And Yu Tan, that proud, arrogant man, would never take someone who'd tangled with another man.
In the end, Hu Xiaoyu would belong to no one.
And Yu Tan would still be that cold, unreachable blade.
Li Yu didn't want anyone to get close to Yu Tan.
Even if he was afraid of him, even if he had to stay away because of the Liu family, he still carried that mix of fear and worship like a sweet, secret ache.
"Brother, I think Xiaoyu's scared," Li Yu urged.
Liu Luanzhou had already noticed the boy wasn't right. He raised a hand to quiet Li Yu, then said in a gentle, coaxing voice—like talking to a child, "Xiaoyu, it's me. Liu Luanzhou. Don't be afraid, okay? I'll help you out of here."
There was broken glass everywhere. He was afraid Xiaoyu would hurt his feet.
But Xiaoyu's gaze, though hazy, was stubborn.
He shook his head. "No. I want Yu Tan."
He'd gotten drunk once at Mid-Autumn. Yu Tan had been furious. He'd promised him—he would never drink in front of outsiders again.
He'd broken the promise. He couldn't make it worse.
At the same time, heavy, fast footsteps thundered down the hallway.
Li Yu turned his head—and blurted out, "Yu Tan?!"
But the man striding toward them, breathing harsh, eyes stormy—
Was this really the same Yu Tan who was always unreadable, cold, and sharp as a drawn blade?