By the time Shi Jingyang arrived on the sixth floor, he walked over to Yu Tan and asked, "Yu Ge, what happened between you and Xiaoyu?"
He had asked before, but Yu Tan didn't say anything.
Even though he didn't know exactly what had happened, Shi Jingyang felt like it was probably Yu Tan's fault.
Xiaoyu had such a good temper, so obedient and pretty. If he hadn't been pushed to the edge, how could he have kept a straight face whenever he saw Yu Tan, almost as if he was determined never to speak to him again?
Shi Jingyang now understood. His brother Yu had truly made a mistake this time.
Not long ago, he had said such harsh words in the night, and now he was the one running after Xiaoyu, even bringing out a typical idol drama plot with the elevator breaking down.
Yu Tan was silent for a while before muttering, "It's nothing."
He wasn't good at comforting others and didn't have the habit of sharing his feelings, but for the first time, he had no idea what to do.
A few days later, Hong Bo came to the studio, carrying a thermal box.
Xin Shibai had been waiting in front of the elevator, guiding the elderly man to Hu Xiaoyu's office.
Hu Xiaoyu was happy to see Hong Bo. He invited him to sit and went to pour some water.
He had accepted the reality of his relationship with Yu Tan, but he still held a sense of closeness and respect for Hong Bo.
However, when Hong Bo opened the thermal box and laid out the dishes, Hu Xiaoyu fell silent.
He smelled the food and instantly recognized that these dishes were all made by Yu Tan.
Hong Bo noticed that Hu Xiaoyu wasn't saying anything and looked a bit awkward. Although he didn't know what exactly Yu Tan had said to Hu Xiaoyu that day, he could tell that Hu Xiaoyu was hurt.
It was just that, seeing how good the two of them used to be, and now they had so hastily distanced themselves from each other—it was really too bad.
Hu Xiaoyu carefully packed the dishes back into the thermal box. "Hong Bo, I'm not hungry."
He wasn't angry, but his calm and composed demeanor made Hong Bo feel helpless. He stammered, "These dishes... Young Master makes them every day but never eats them. He just leaves them on the table. Today, I secretly brought them over... Xiaoyu, please forgive Young Master. He's been very strong-willed since he was young, but he's easy to coax. Come back home; we all miss you."
Hu Xiaoyu shook his head. It didn't matter what Yu Tan had been thinking when he cooked his favorite dishes. Maybe he was just preparing to spoil him again for a while. Hu Xiaoyu didn't want that kind of indulgence.
It wasn't right to call someone when you were happy, and then kick them away when you weren't. That wasn't fair.
He couldn't bring himself to tell Hong Bo about the words Yu Tan had said to him. It wasn't because he was ashamed, but because he didn't want to speak ill of Yu Tan to others. However, that didn't mean he would forget.
In the end, Hong Bo had no choice but to leave with the full thermal box.
As he rode in the elevator, he could still hear Hu Xiaoyu's words echoing in his ears: "The Yu family is not my family."
The way Hu Xiaoyu had said it, he seemed as though he was standing behind a solid wall, unshaken in his decision.
The Yu family's private car was waiting downstairs.
Hong Bo sat in it, feeling downcast. He didn't know that Yu Tan's car was parked a little further away, where he could clearly see the exit of the Double Star Entertainment building.
A-Jiu, driving, caught sight of his boss's face in the rearview mirror. It was like a mask, emotionless, as if he had lost his soul.
No wonder. Hong Bo had come out so quickly, and clearly hadn't said much to Xiaoyu, let alone eaten the food Yu Tan had prepared.
At the end of the month, the weather forecast issued a thunderstorm warning.
Hu Xiaoyu had been worrying about it since morning. He had initially planned to have a few people stay at the studio and pay overtime.
But it felt a bit awkward to have others stay up with him for the night, even if he paid extra.
That night, Hu Xiaoyu stayed alone in the office.
A day was enough for him to come up with a plan. There was no one at the studio, but the entire Double Star Building was filled with people working late.
His spiritual energy surged from the twelfth floor and quickly settled on the eighth-floor studio.
It was wrong to eavesdrop, especially when he had once overheard Yu Tan... but Hu Xiaoyu had no choice. He overheard some staff members chatting and complaining that they would probably be working until the morning.
After dinner, Hu Xiaoyu quietly slipped to the eighth-floor studio.
He had used his spiritual energy to make himself invisible.
The building had cameras everywhere, so he was extra careful. After becoming invisible in the break room, he slipped out through the window, acting very sneakily.
That night, Shen City experienced the biggest rainstorm of the year.
Later, the news reported that many garages with poor drainage had flooded, and a hundred-year-old tree in the suburbs had been struck by lightning.
Hu Xiaoyu didn't know that, while he was hidden in a corner on the eighth floor, enjoying watching the models shoot, the studio, which should have been empty, was brightly lit.
A man with a dark expression was anxiously searching every corner of the studio, even under the bed and in the bathroom. He couldn't find the person he was looking for.
This anxiety reached its peak when he found a phone under the pillow in the break room.
He called Chu Yin, and the anxious voice on the other end startled her. After recalling, she said, "I saw Xiaoyu before I finished work. He said he was going to... hide, and told me not to look for him."
"Hide?" Yu Tan repeated quietly, his heart suddenly aching.
He regretted it—he regretted it so badly.
If he hadn't kicked that little fool out, he wouldn't be spending this thunderstorm night alone, refusing to come back.
Chu Yin had initially thought that Xiaoyu's "hide" was just a joke, and didn't take it seriously. When she tried to ask again, she realized the call had already ended.
At four in the morning, as the storm subsided and the sky began to brighten, Hu Xiaoyu flew back through the window, only to find that the studio's lobby was filled with people.
Chu Yin, who had been dozing off, Xin Shibai, who was on the phone every so often, and Shi Jingyang, slouched on the sofa, pinching the bridge of his nose.
And there, standing by the window, drenched and with water dripping from his pants, was Yu Tan.
It seemed like he sensed something, as he glanced toward the direction where Hu Xiaoyu had hidden. His pupils were black, his eyes bloodshot, his hair disheveled, and his clothes soaked—he looked more exhausted and disheveled than ever before.
Hu Xiaoyu thought to himself: ...Yu Tan... and these people... They must all be here looking for him, right?