Hu Xiaoyu had no idea that Yu Tan was pondering how he could stay on the crew for a few more days.
He handed the jade to Liu Luanzhou and apologized.
Liu Luanzhou accepted it with his usual charm, smiling lightly, but couldn't help asking, "Xiaoyu, why are you apologizing?"
Hu Xiaoyu looked at the bruise at the corner of Liu Luanzhou's mouth: "The jade broke, and you got hurt too."
He felt deeply sorry. Last night, he should have used his spiritual energy to ease Liu Luanzhou's pain, but he had fainted first and then was distracted by Yu Tan, forgetting that Liu Luanzhou was also injured.
Fortunately, Liu Luanzhou accepted the jade. With the jade by his side, the wound would heal at least half as fast as normal.
Liu Luanzhou saw that Hu Xiaoyu didn't understand and shook his head: "I see now. I've lost all my chances, haven't I?"
The situation was clear—Yu Tan had broken the jade and injured him. Yet, the young man in front of him naturally took all the responsibility, without even mentioning Yu Tan's name.
In Hu Xiaoyu's subconscious, he and Yu Tan were one.
Hu Xiaoyu didn't understand.
In his mind, since he had already rejected Liu Luanzhou's confession, he would not let his thoughts linger on it anymore.
Liu Luanzhou had no intention of saying more. A person who has never been involved should maintain their dignity.
It was Yu Tan, however, who had really opened his eyes. Such a reckless and jealous Yu Tan, someone he had never seen in the business world, clearly cared deeply about Hu Xiaoyu.
Although he really disliked and feared Yu Tan, especially in the last month, Yu Tan had ruined several deals for the Liu family, Liu Luanzhou thought, when the two of them finally settled down, he might even be generous enough to give a red envelope.
After Hu Xiaoyu left, Liu Luanzhou quickly left the small town and returned to Shencheng. He had come here with selfish motives, and it was time for him to leave.
After giving the jade to Liu Luanzhou, Hu Xiaoyu didn't go straight back to the hotel.
If he returned, he would face Yu Tan, such a strong presence. Even though Yu Tan spoke little, as if afraid of being kicked out, Hu Xiaoyu occasionally turned around and would catch him staring at him.
It was uncomfortable.
If it were before, Hu Xiaoyu would have loved for Yu Tan to look at him.
Not just look, but talk to him, hold him, even do more intimate things. It seemed that nothing was too much.
But he couldn't forget the words he heard that night. He could even clearly recall the mocking tone in Yu Tan's voice.
It was just one sentence, but it seemed even harder to accept than the incident with Xu Feng.
It was a Yu Tan he didn't understand—one who utterly despised him.
He didn't even have the courage to ask about it and just wanted time to pass faster.
Hu Xiaoyu wandered around the hotel once more.
He hoped that when he turned into a big fox someday, whether in a hundred or five hundred years, when he thought back on things related to Yu Tan, it would only be happy memories.
Hu Xiaoyu didn't linger outside for too long.
Yu Tan's text messages and calls came one after another, almost like a death sentence.
When he went back, he was immediately pulled into Yu Tan's embrace.
Hu Xiaoyu tried to push him away, but couldn't. Yu Tan didn't let go and, as his warm breath brushed against Hu Xiaoyu's fox ears, Hu Xiaoyu stiffened.
He was familiar with this. When the two had been particularly close, Yu Tan would touch his ears and kiss him, his hands would slip into his clothes, and—
Hu Xiaoyu didn't want to think further. He stepped on Yu Tan's foot, and when Yu Tan froze in pain, Hu Xiaoyu broke free.
His eyes were bright and wide, breathing a little faster—he was angry.
It was probably seven parts anger and three parts realization.
His sparkling fox eyes glanced at the bulge between Yu Tan's long legs. It had poked into him earlier.
So that's why he was chasing him—he wanted to sleep with him.
Well, that was not out of the question.
Hu Xiaoyu felt like he had found the key to the issue.
He stepped back, told Yu Tan not to come any closer, then promptly removed his white T-shirt.
His body, pale as jade, slender and flexible, lay in the sunlight that lazily spilled over the windowsill—beautiful to an unbelievable degree.
Yu Tan froze for a moment, then stepped forward and drew the curtains.
However, he didn't approach Hu Xiaoyu. He cautiously asked, "Xiaoyu?"
Hu Xiaoyu climbed onto the bed, lying flat with his limbs spread out in a starfish shape.
He looked at Yu Tan with the same urgency a chef would show when urging customers to finish their meal before closing time.
Of course, this meal was not free.
He emphasized one by one: "The director gave me two days off. Today we can do it twice, but tomorrow only once. The day after, I had to shoot again. You're not allowed to disturb me. Go back to Shencheng."
Yu Tan didn't speak, but if one looked closely, they would notice the muscles on his face twitch twice, unsure whether it was from anger or something else.
Hu Xiaoyu didn't notice Yu Tan's unusual reaction and continued: "Next time you want to, you can call ahead. The director's nice, I can ask for leave. Don't cause trouble. And when we do it, one month before and after, you can't sleep with anyone else. If you do, don't let me know."
When Hu Xiaoyu said the last sentence, his eyebrows furrowed.
Repaying a favor was so hard. He really couldn't back down anymore. Otherwise, it would be disgusting.
Seeing Yu Tan standing still, Hu Xiaoyu urged, "Say something, yes or no?"
Then, he quickly glanced at Yu Tan's bulge. It had been so prominent before but now seemed to have returned to normal.
Yu Tan, hearing the words "disturb," "cause trouble," and "trouble" coming from the bed, felt ice running through his veins, cold and painful.
He was a normal man. When holding the person he liked, of course, there would be a reaction.
But for Hu Xiaoyu to think of him like this—he was just a jerk who cared about nothing but sex!
The two of them locked eyes. Hu Xiaoyu waited, bored and confused. Yu Tan, on the other hand, felt his entire body numb with pain.
After a long silence, Yu Tan walked over.
He picked up the T-shirt on the floor and laid it on the couch. Then, he pulled the blanket over the bed, covering Hu Xiaoyu tightly, and finally squatted at the bedside.
The bed was too low, so he kneeled on one leg to stabilize himself.
Hu Xiaoyu only showed his head, tilting it to look at Yu Tan, his eyes filled with nothing but confusion.
Yu Tan felt pained, and covered his hands over those cold, indifferent eyes: "You're not wrong. I do want to sleep with you, but not now, not like that. I like you, Xiaoyu. I've fallen in love with you. You don't believe me? I can prove it to you. It doesn't matter how long it takes. Just don't let it be like this again."
This was more painful than being slapped.
A person, with such warm and sincere feelings, should have been held in the palm of his hand, but had been worn down to nothing by his own foolishness and cowardice.
It was his fault.
Yu Tan finally left the room and quietly closed the door.
Hu Xiaoyu touched his forehead. Just now, it seemed like Yu Tan had kissed him here, and even said he liked him.
He didn't know if he should believe it, but not believing it seemed safer.
Human emotions are the most unstable thing in the world. Even people who were married could end up divorced. Yu Tan was too bad, and maybe he was just deceiving him again.
Hu Xiaoyu turned over, reached for his phone, and decided to play the game he had downloaded a few days ago.
It was fun and time passed quickly. He could get through Yu Tan's time in the crew this way.
When Yu Tan came back, it was close to dinner time.
He brought food from the hotel, arranged it on the table, and called Hu Xiaoyu to eat. He didn't mention what had happened before.
Hu Xiaoyu told him he had already talked to the director and would move out.
Yu Tan nodded calmly: "You don't have to move out. This is your room. I'll leave."
He already knew about this. It was Director Ren who had brought it up.
Director Ren had a lot of say in the film industry, but in front of the Yu family, he was nothing. After finding out about Yu Tan's identity, he quickly and obediently discussed how to arrange their accommodations.
He didn't want to upset Yu Tan, causing more trouble for the film's release.
Yu Tan no longer cared about interfering with Hu Xiaoyu's work. He was happy to help and had put aside all boundaries and grievances.
He had refused Director Ren's request to move rooms and said that the accommodation would be handled by him.
Hu Xiaoyu didn't know any of this, but he was relieved that Yu Tan wouldn't stay with him.
However, since Yu Tan no longer had the jade, Hu Xiaoyu wasn't entirely at ease and secretly used his spiritual energy to set up a protective array.
Around ten o'clock that night, Hu Xiaoyu was still playing the game.
A staff member from the crew knocked on his door, kindly informing him that his friend seemed to be sleeping in the car and wondered if something had happened.
Friend?
Hu Xiaoyu asked a few more questions and realized that the friend was probably Yu Tan.
But Yu Tan had said he'd take care of his own accommodations—was he sleeping in the car?
It was mid-September now. The daytime weather was pleasant, but the nights had gotten chilly. Sleeping in the car might make him sick.
With some irritation, Hu Xiaoyu went back to get Yu Tan.
Yu Tan just said he wasn't used to sleeping in tents and that sleeping in someone else's room made him restless, so he simply slept in the car.
This is the truth. He had suffered all his life, constantly on the move, bullied by everyone. As he grew up, his standards for his own space and its safety became very high. Tents were too thin, and the smell of other people's rooms was unbearable.
But he definitely wouldn't let Hu Xiaoyu give up his room.
Of course, Yu Tan didn't tell Hu Xiaoyu that the "kind-hearted" staff member was someone he had paid 100,000 yuan to send a message.
He was willing to pay any price to be around Hu Xiaoyu, even if it was just for one more minute. Money was nothing.
That night, Yu Tan slept in the same bed as Hu Xiaoyu again.
While Hu Xiaoyu played his game, Yu Tan carefully asked, "Can we stay here until after my birthday before going back to Shencheng?"
Birthday?
Hu Xiaoyu looked at Yu Tan. He remembered asking Uncle Hong about Yu Tan's birthday. Uncle Hong didn't say when it was, but warned him that Yu Tan hated anyone mentioning his birthday and had never celebrated it.
But now, Yu Tan clearly had expectations for his birthday.
Hu Xiaoyu thought of Yu Tan's past, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Up to you."
If it was his birthday, he probably should get a gift.
Since he had agreed, he didn't hesitate and dragged his suitcase out of the room's wooden cabinet, pulling out a long, narrow wooden box from the bottom.
Hu Xiaoyu handed the box to Yu Tan: "Birthday gift."