Xin Shibai jumped, quickly urging everyone to get back to work.
Yu Tan waited for a while, then knocked on the door twice, but received no response.
After half an hour, he realized today was not going to work. The company still had a mountain of tasks, and lingering here was unrealistic.
He sent a message to Hu Xiaoyu: "I've left the stuff at the door. Please eat, I'll come see you another day."
After sending the message, he waited another ten minutes with no reply, and finally had to leave.
Hu Xiaoyu didn't move the things at the door.
He took them to Xin Shibai, who dared not accept them, but when Hu Xiaoyu said, "For your convenience," he reluctantly took them.
Xin Shibai thought that Hu Xiaoyu was frighteningly clever—not in the ordinary scheming way, but with a kind of insight and tolerance.
And the boss seemed to have exhausted all the tolerance Hu Xiaoyu had given him, which was why, no matter how many apologies he made, Hu Xiaoyu never showed him any kindness.
Since the day Li Yu caused trouble, Yu Tan had been coming to the studio frequently.
He always arrived at mealtime, bringing food he made himself.
Hu Xiaoyu found Yu Tan incredibly annoying. He had already gotten used to eating less earthly food, but Yu Tan kept tempting him with delicious meals.
The day before going to Director Ren's film set, Yu Tan brought a thermos again. Hu Xiaoyu let him into his lounge.
However, when Yu Tan tried to take out the food from the thermos, Hu Xiaoyu stopped him.
He closed the door and sat across from Yu Tan, urging him to sit down as well.
The two hadn't sat down like this in a long time, calmly facing each other. Yu Tan felt a flicker of hope, but also unease.
He placed his hand on the thermos, as though drawing strength from it. "Today, I made sweet and sour fish."
Hu Xiaoyu sighed. "Thanks. If this is our last meal together, I'll eat it with you."
Yu Tan's lips curled slightly, but his eyes grew colder, his tone blending a warning and a plea. "Xiaoyu!"
He could apologize, he could make amends, but he couldn't bear to hear Hu Xiaoyu say it was their last meal together.
Hu Xiaoyu no longer feared him like before. His fox-like eyes were serious and calm. "I don't blame you. I just want to be alone. Can you stop coming to see me?"
To him, Yu Tan was harmless, but the studio staff was always being disturbed, and that wasn't good.
Yu Tan took a slow breath, as though suppressing some emotion.
In the end, he simply said, "I can't," and left the room.
The next day, Hu Xiaoyu boarded the plane heading north.
Chuyu was already waiting for him on the set. He didn't bring Xin Shibai this time, just a small assistant with him.
Director Ren's set was filled with big names, and Hu Xiaoyu, as one of the youngest, was considered a junior.
However, due to Director Ren's favoritism and Hu Xiaoyu's reputation in the industry, no one made things difficult for him. Hu Xiaoyu also didn't want to get too close to the other actors. When not filming, he sat in the woods and zoned out.
Zoning out might not be the right word. In a forest like this, a demon could truly relax.
As for Hu Xiaoyu's reputation, it was likely because his background was solid enough that no one dared to provoke him.
The industry was full of clever people. Who didn't know that since his debut, anyone who caused trouble for Hu Xiaoyu ended up suffering badly?
For example, Yang Kai, who had blackened Hu Xiaoyu's name, was still in jail. Xu Feng, who had tried to take advantage of him, was also behind bars.
The only one with a similar background to Hu Xiaoyu was Li Yu, who had hired trolls to defame Hu Xiaoyu. But he ended up getting hit with his own past scandals and was forced to leave the country.
What the industry didn't know was that while Li Yu's reputation had soured, the public's memory was short, and it wasn't enough to break him.
The Li family couldn't protect him because of pressure from the Yu family.
By September, the weather had cooled.
In the afternoon, when there was no shooting, Hu Xiaoyu sat outside the small hotel rented by the production team, basking in the sun.
Most of the scenes for the crew were filmed in the forest, so staying at the small hotel at the foot of the mountain was considered quite good. Many of the crew members still had to sleep in tents.
He opened his phone, and the pinned contact was still "99+."
Pinned was Yu Tan, a setting Hu Xiaoyu had set up a long time ago. He hadn't removed it, but hadn't checked the messages either.
Below Yu Tan was Chuyu. She had returned to Shanghai for something and was checking in on Hu Xiaoyu, asking about his work, food, and so on.
Hu Xiaoyu replied to her, then responded to a message from Liu Lianzhou: "Brother Liu, I'll send the items to you."
Liu Lianzhou replied quickly: "No need, I'll come pick it up myself."
Hu Xiaoyu replied with a "?"
No further response came, so he wasn't sure if Liu Lianzhou was busy.
At dinner, Hu Xiaoyu finally understood what Liu Lianzhou meant.
Several expensive-looking cars drove into the hotel courtyard, and the first car to stop revealed a man—Liu Lianzhou.
Director Ren had been waiting and introduced Hu Xiaoyu to him.
Only then did Hu Xiaoyu learn that Liu Lianzhou was one of the major investors in the film.
Liu Lianzhou looked at Hu Xiaoyu's calm and peaceful face, feeling a little disappointed, but his longing for their long separation overwhelmed him. He opened his arms. "Xiaoyu, it's been a long time."
Director Ren was stunned. It seemed these two knew each other.
Hu Xiaoyu understood what Liu Lianzhou meant. When humans reunited after a long time, they often expressed their joy with a hug.
However, he didn't want that. He quickly thought of something and pulled out a small cloth bag from his pocket. The kind sold online for five yuan each, small enough to carry small things. "Brother Liu, here's the item you wanted."
Liu Lianzhou didn't insist. He took the small bag and pulled out a small piece of jade, about the size of a quarter of his palm.
It felt cool to the touch, and it instantly made him feel more at ease.
He had originally come to this remote place, his bones aching from the rough ride, but holding the jade made the discomfort vanish like sand blown away by the wind.
Liu Lianzhou couldn't help but exclaim, "This is a good piece! Thank you, Xiaoyu."
Hu Xiaoyu smiled and shook his head. "No need to thank me, you paid for it."
This jade was a piece of green jade that Hu Xiaoyu had recently formed with his spiritual energy. It couldn't compare to the one he had given Yu Tan, but it was far more effective in protecting against disasters and boosting health than a talisman.
He had an abundance of spiritual energy now and had formed three or four pieces of green jade as reserves. He would sell two of them for a bit of extra money.
The reserves were mainly for Yu Tan. If Yu Tan changed his mind and wanted to take back the studio, Hu Xiaoyu was prepared to use money to deal with him.