Yu Tan began to speak about something that had happened fifteen years ago.
He had been eleven then. The Yu family was holding a banquet, and all the children of the clan were present—except for him, who had been locked in a storage room on the second floor.
He hadn't eaten for two days. His breathing had grown shallow, his body weak, until a small child had pushed a piece of bread through the crack under the door, allowing him to survive another day.
Li Yu suddenly remembered. His eyes widened. "You… you remember that?"
Yu Tan nodded. "In a way, you saved my life."
Li Yu was stunned—but under that surprise was unease. Because the truth was, he hadn't been acting out of kindness.
Back then, it had been the Yu family's eldest son who told him to go upstairs and play. That piece of bread had been given to him by the eldest, who'd told him to pretend he felt sorry for the locked-up boy and deliver it.
Li Yu hadn't understood why at the time. The eldest young master—half-blind and terrifying to look at—had said that the bread contained crushed peanuts, a "special treat" that would make some people break out in red spots all over their bodies like a spotted dog.
He'd thought it sounded funny. And because that one-eyed boy scared him, he'd obeyed.
Only as he grew older did Li Yu realize what those words had really meant. The boy locked in that room must have been allergic to peanuts.
It had been a cruel prank. And he had played along.
He had long since forgotten the whole thing—until now, when he realized the boy had been Yu Tan.
Yu Tan hadn't died, or maybe he hadn't even known what Li Yu had done. Did he still believe it had been an act of kindness?
Li Yu's thoughts flickered. So that meant… he was Yu Tan's savior?
He nodded slowly. "I… I remember."
Yu Tan's expression didn't change. "Then let's call it even."
Li Yu's fear began to ease. After all, he'd saved Yu Tan's life.
He found some courage. "I don't want us to be even."
Yu Tan looked at him. "Then what do you want?"
What did he want?
Li Yu thought of the way Yu Tan always favored Hu Xiaoyu, his voice catching. "I want you to treat me the same way you treat him."
Yu Tan smiled. "All right."
Li Yu's heart leaped—until he heard the next words.
"But first, you'll need to do what Hu Xiaoyu did: cut all ties with your family. Including that self-righteous cousin of yours."
Li Yu: "…"
He stared. "You're mocking me." Then, unable to help himself: "You really like him, don't you? Just like—"
"Just like what?"
"Like my cousin does."
Yu Tan didn't answer. He just motioned for A Jiu to throw him out.
As Li Yu stumbled toward the door, Yu Tan said coolly, "There won't be a next time."
When A Jiu returned, he saw his boss crushing out half a cigarette, the ashtray overflowing. He looked… unsettled.
Unable to resist, A Jiu asked, "Boss, did that Li Yu really—uh…"
Yu Tan raised his eyes. "What?"
A Jiu hesitated. "He doesn't seem like someone who'd ever do something out of kindness."
Yu Tan shook his head. "He really did save me."
If it hadn't been for that bread, he'd been hurt badly enough then that he might have jumped out the window instead—better to die and drag the whole Yu family's reputation down with him.
Later, Yu Liang, that lunatic, had admitted in the garden that it had all been a prank—and that Li Yu had known it was a prank.
But even if it had been a cruel joke, technically, Li Yu had saved him. So Yu Tan acknowledged the debt.
And now, it was repaid.
After seeing Li Yu, Yu Tan's mood didn't recover for the rest of the day.
It wasn't the memories of the Yu family that bothered him—those people now fled at the sight of him like mice seeing a cat. They didn't matter.
What bothered him was that Li Yu wasn't the first to say it—that he had "fallen for Hu Xiaoyu."
He told himself it wasn't true.
Maybe he really had spoiled that little fool too much, he reflected.
Hu Xiaoyu noticed something off about Yu Tan lately.
He no longer came to pick him up after work.
He'd even started sleeping in a separate bed—claiming it was "too hot."
At meals, he no longer picked food for him. Sometimes the chopsticks would start toward Hu Xiaoyu's bowl, only to veer away midway.
And when asked, Yu Tan just said, "It's nothing."
Soon, filming began for The Light of Heritage. The location was the home of calligraphy master Qi Duan, in the northern capital.
The flight was the next morning. That night, Hu Xiaoyu hugged his pillow and went to knock on Yu Tan's door.
Yu Tan opened it. "What is it?"
Hu Xiaoyu tilted his head up. "I'm flying tomorrow."
Yu Tan said nothing. He didn't quite catch what the boy meant, his hand tightening on the doorframe until the knuckles turned white. He had to stay calm—if he let his guard down, the little fool would wriggle his way inside again.
Hu Xiaoyu looked embarrassed. "I just wanted to ask… what's it like? Taking a plane."
The original host had never flown before. And as for him—well, he'd always flown on his own. Human flying machines were strange and fascinating.
Yu Tan blurted out, "I'll take you."
Hu Xiaoyu's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Yu Tan: "…"
He turned away, annoyed with himself already—but too late to take it back.
Hu Xiaoyu threw himself onto the bed, rolling around in joy, hugging his pillow.
A few minutes later, Yu Tan dragged him off to shower.
And of course, the night ended with Hu Xiaoyu clutching his sleeve and falling asleep by his side.
But when Yu Tan drifted off, Hu Xiaoyu opened his eyes.
It was true he'd never been on a plane—but he wasn't so scared that he needed comfort.
The shoot would take about a week. The capital was far from Dragon City. He worried about leaving Yu Tan alone.
He used a thread of spiritual energy to scan his body. Yu Tan's condition had improved greatly—partly from the constant infusion of his own energy, and partly thanks to the jade.
That was good, Hu Xiaoyu thought.
Still uneasy, he drew a small protective sigil in spiritual light on Yu Tan's chest.
Afterward, exhaustion washed over him. His energy would recover to about a third by dawn, but for now, he felt drained.
The next day, Yu Tan accompanied him to the capital.