This floor was one Yu Tan had personally inspected twice before choosing.
He walked through the TwinStar Entertainment building with the familiarity of someone who owned it, went straight into Hu Xiaoyu's private lounge, and sank onto the sofa. Rubbing the bridge of his nose to ease the fatigue, he turned to deal with the unplanned matters himself — hands-on, as always. No wonder he was tired.
After the big boss gave the word, Xin Shibai quickly explained how the studio worked. In summary, Fish Leap Studio was technically under TwinStar Entertainment, but in practice, it existed for one person only — Hu Xiaoyu.
The best part? If there were problems, TwinStar would take the fall; if there were profits, they were all Hu Xiaoyu's. A perfect "benefit-alone, burden-shared" arrangement.
Of course, Xin Shibai didn't mention that part to Hu Xiaoyu.
Fish Leap Studio had basically carved out a small kingdom within TwinStar, and such favorable conditions were the result of a private deal between Yu Tan and TwinStar's CEO, Shi Jingyang. Not something to flaunt.
And being a man with a professional sense, Xin Shibai knew when to speak — and when to shut up.
Once Xin Shibai's crash course was done, Hu Xiaoyu went to find Yu Tan.
When he pushed open the door, Yu Tan opened his eyes from what had seemed like a moment of rest. He didn't speak — just gestured. When Hu Xiaoyu came closer, Yu Tan pulled him onto his lap and kissed him, breathing in that familiar, tranquil scent. Perfect.
Hu Xiaoyu's heart was bursting with happiness, his imagination already running wild — full of spiritual energy, unstoppable confidence.
His eyes sparkled as he looked at Yu Tan. He couldn't hide the excitement or the joy — and didn't want to. Again, he felt that Yu Tan was simply too good for him.
But "thank you" never came. He still hadn't mastered human niceties, and saying thank you to Yu Tan felt distant and wrong.
A nine-tailed celestial fox could trade a single tail for a life — in some sense, their fates were already linked. Closer than "thanks" could ever express.
He tipped his head up and kissed the corner of Yu Tan's mouth. "I really like this place."
Yu Tan made a low hum — almost indifferent — but he was pleased nonetheless.
He'd lived too hard a life to ever float away in joy. Maybe somewhere deep down, he still believed that kind of happiness was dangerous. His voice came out cool:
"Liking it doesn't feed you. This is your place now. Starting next month, it's self-sustaining. If it loses money, don't come crying for me. Pack your things and go home. Got it?"
He didn't tell Hu Xiaoyu that he'd already paid the rent for the entire floor — one full year, including utilities and management fees. Even if Hu Xiaoyu gave up after three months, not a cent would come back.
As for the mobile home for outdoor shoots and the resources he'd wanted, those had already been negotiated with Shi Jingyang. Hu Xiaoyu could pick what he liked first — Yu Tan would review, and anything he didn't approve of would be tossed.
What counted as "unapproved"?
Projects with long shooting cycles, or those involving kissing or other intimate scenes.
For the rest, he'd see when the time came.
Truth be told, Yu Tan had first considered buying the whole floor.
But that would have been like nailing a permanent flag inside TwinStar's headquarters — a bit much, even if Shi Jingyang didn't object. He wasn't the kind of man to sabotage a friend, so he'd dropped the idea.
In short, all Hu Xiaoyu had to do was pay his staff's salaries.
Hu Xiaoyu didn't take his warning seriously. Instead, he promised, "I'll treat you to dinner soon."
He still remembered his first time treating Yu Tan — the meal had cost a third of his monthly pay. He wasn't upset about the price; he was upset about realizing just how poor he was.
Being poor didn't matter. A yao could endure hunger. But letting Yu Tan go hungry? Unthinkable.
Yu Tan knew Hu Xiaoyu never boasted. His brows lifted slightly. "So confident you'll make money as a star?"
Hu Xiaoyu waved a hand grandly. "Don't worry about it. I've got this."
For a yao, security came only from spiritual energy. And now that he had enough to draw charms and read fortunes, the nine-tailed fox was already calculating backup plans — like "wandering the bridges" if money got tight.
Yu Tan couldn't help but smile, rare amusement flashing in his eyes. "Mm. You're starting to sound like a little boss."
He still had mountains of work waiting. Managing to carve out half a day to come here was already a stretch. Before leaving, he reminded the little fool, "Shi Jingyang's office is upstairs. If you need anything, go find him."
Hu Xiaoyu walked him to the elevator and stood there until the doors closed.
He lingered a while longer, looking around. Strange — Yu Tan had only taken A Jiu with him, but somehow, the whole floor suddenly felt empty.
Down in the parking garage, A Jiu was about to start the car when Yu Tan said, "Wait."
Wait for what, he didn't even know. He just turned his head to glance at the empty seat beside him and fell silent for a long moment.
A Jiu didn't understand what was going on with his boss, but he'd long since learned to follow orders without question.
Still, he couldn't help thinking — if Hu Xiaoyu were here, he'd definitely have asked directly, "Boss, what's wrong?" The air would've been alive again.
The car was dead silent.
After a few minutes, Yu Tan's low, cold voice finally broke, laced with something like wistfulness. "Drive."
Meanwhile, after Yu Tan left, Shi Jingyang came down for a casual visit.
He hadn't shown up earlier because, well, it wasn't wise to interrupt when Brother Yu was saying goodbye to his little treasure.
With things settled, Xin Shibai took full charge of managing the studio, while day-to-day filming matters would be handled by the agent Chu Yin.
Xin Shibai was already familiar with things. Chu Yin, on the other hand, was a veteran agent of TwinStar — efficient, strikingly beautiful, sharp in all directions. She was one of Shi Jingyang's own recommendations.
Xin Shibai wasn't from the entertainment world, so Chu Yin handled most of the industry side. He, meanwhile, was the "watchdog" sent by the big boss — making sure the little boss didn't get scammed.
That afternoon, under Chu Yin's suggestion, Hu Xiaoyu updated his Weibo.
It was a simple post — a selfie beside the "Fish Leap Studio" sign — just to say hello to fans.
It was only his second post since opening the account.
Compared to other celebrities with tens of millions of followers, his few million seemed pitiful — but they were real, active, new fans. Within minutes, the comment section exploded.
Chu Yin was pleased. It was a good start.
Even better, Hu Xiaoyu was easy to manage. He didn't seem to know much, but he learned fast and actually listened.
All in all, she thought she'd struck gold.
Later, Chu Yin brought up Xu Feng.
She'd met him before — a man without shame or limit. Calling him scum wasn't an exaggeration. In over a decade in the industry, he'd ruined countless people.
His downfall was inevitable, but what happened to happen right after meeting Hu Xiaoyu? That was almost too coincidental.
She had to know the details, just in case Hu Xiaoyu got dragged into something.
That was when Hu Xiaoyu learned Xu Feng had been arrested.
Apparently, one of the artists, Xu Feng, had been coerced into his bed and had committed suicide from depression, leaving a letter exposing everything — including that Xu Feng had forced some to take drugs to control them.
Drugs were a red line. Not long after the letter surfaced, Xu Feng was taken away.
Now the internet was on fire — everyone was speculating on which celebrities he'd "slept" with. The entire industry was scrambling to distance themselves.
Hu Xiaoyu, who'd been dutifully going to work and ignoring entertainment gossip, had no idea until now.
Serves him right!
He knew perfectly well that Xu Feng's swift downfall was at least partly the result of breaking their contract — divine retribution.
And yes, that was the truth. A tiny deviation in fate could lead to a world of difference.
If Hu Xiaoyu's fox-spirit contract hadn't suppressed Xu Feng's last shred of luck, he might've survived the scandal for a few more years.
Of course, Hu Xiaoyu couldn't tell Chu Yin that.
So he left out all the supernatural parts and told her everything else — including how Xu Feng had tried to coerce him and ended up getting smashed in the head with a chair.
Chu Yin eyed his slender frame, doubtful he could've swung a chair that hard — but as long as she knew he'd fought back and hadn't been taken advantage of, she could finally breathe.
She warned him, "Since you black out after drinking, just tell everyone you're allergic to alcohol. In this industry, people will constantly try to toast you. Better to set that boundary early."
Hu Xiaoyu nodded seriously.
Then, out of nowhere, she asked, "You said Mr. Yu came to pick you up that night… you and he…"
Chu Yin had been in the industry for over a decade — she'd seen a lot. And just from a few glances at Yu Tan earlier, she'd known: this man was dangerous. The kind of presence that made people nervous just by existing.
And if the big boss himself called him "Brother Yu," that said everything.
Still, she had to ask. The way Hu Xiaoyu and this man interacted — so close — how should she even define it?
If someone caught a photo, how were they supposed to explain it to the press?
Hu Xiaoyu thought about it and said earnestly, "He's my brother. My Brother."
It was true. Even though he usually called Yu Tan by his full name, that was because, in his past life, Yu Tan had made him. In his heart, though, Yu Tan was his brother.
As for sleeping in the same bed — that was just because Yu Tan liked it.
Well… now he is too.
Chu Yin, clever as she was, could never have guessed that the boy sitting across from her wasn't human — a yao whose logic ran differently from everyone else's.
After hearing about his estrangement from the Hu family, Chu Yin concluded the same thing many would: that the relationship between Hu Xiaoyu and Yu Tan was a comradely bond between two young heirs of powerful families.
And she fully respected Hu Xiaoyu's wish not to expose his wealthy background.
Near four in the afternoon, Hu Xiaoyu skipped out of work early.
He had plenty of free time now — and without calling ahead, went straight to pick Yu Tan up from the office.
That night, before bed, he got a call from Chu Yin. He'd made the trending list.
The headline was blunt and malicious — accusing Hu Xiaoyu of sleeping his way up with Xu Feng.
Marketing accounts had jumped on it, posting photos of the two entering a club together. Netizens, connecting the dots with Hu Xiaoyu's high-end commercials, concluded those were "Xu Feng's resources."
The photos were clear. The evidence looked damning.
His Weibo comment section was a storm of outrage — people lining up to call him the shame of the industry, a sellout, a disgusting pretty face.
Hu Xiaoyu: "…"
No wonder his forehead had felt warm that night when Yu Tan dragged him into the shower. Turns out… he'd been getting roasted online.