The room was icy, and Yu Tan's hands were colder still.
Had Hu Xiaoyu been in his fox form, his fur would have puffed up instantly at the brush of those frigid fingers. But he forced himself to stay composed. Yu Tan, after all, was only human now—he had no memory of the past. Otherwise, Hu Xiaoyu's instincts might have betrayed him, revealing his true form without thought.
Once, his pelt had been thick, silken, snowy white—the pride of his clan, both in beauty and in warmth. Ten times the cold of this night would never have troubled him. But that was only memory now.
Here, in a world that still feared demons and spirits, he dared not transform. Terrifying Yu Tan was the last thing he wanted. And truth be told, things were already better than he'd ever hoped. To borrow a mortal saying: what more could you ask for?
From Yu Tan's perspective, the skin beneath his fingertips was smooth, warm, without even a sheen of sweat. Odd. It was midsummer, and the boy had just been frightened half to death. Shouldn't he have been flushed, damp with fear?
He rose, caught the boy's cheek between his fingers, and said with cool amusement,
"You say you've bathed already? Good. Wait for me."
Hu Xiaoyu bobbed his head eagerly, his sharp little chin bouncing up and down.
When Yu Tan turned toward the bathroom, Hu Xiaoyu hopped up and trailed after him like a tail.
Yu Tan glanced back, eyes narrowing. "Planning to join me?"
Caught, Hu Xiaoyu looked from the window to the bathroom, then blurted the safest excuse he could find:
"N-no! I'll go fetch your clothes!"
Yu Tan's mouth curved faintly. Tempting, but not tonight. The boy was clueless, naïve—perhaps untouched. If it came to that, he supposed he could be… gentler. Maybe even keep to something more conventional.
He slowly unfastened his shirt, then with a flick of his wrist, tossed it over Hu Xiaoyu's head. The boy, caught staring wide-eyed, nearly toppled backward.
The faintest smile ghosted Yu Tan's lips as he disappeared into the bathroom.
Hu Xiaoyu stood frozen in the dark, nose full of sandalwood and cool earth. Pulling the shirt away, he blinked, dazed.
So that's what Yu Tan looks like without clothes...
Skin pale as carved jade. Shoulders broad, waist narrow, abdomen sculpted into six—no, eight—hard ridges of muscle.
Unlike his own slim stomach, which at best showed two faint lines if he flexed.
And that waist… trailing down…
Hu Xiaoyu licked his lips without realizing. He didn't quite understand the feeling. He only thought those sleeppants were terribly in the way.
Outside, the storm raged. The wind howled like some great beast.
He didn't dare stray far, but Yu Tan's room was a sanctuary, untouchable.
Pulling Yu Tan's shirt back over his head like a makeshift cloak, he dragged his blanket to the bathroom door, curled up, and settled there.
Wrapped in Yu Tan's lingering scent, peace came easily.
Fox demons could go sleepless for days if they wished. But now, enveloped in warmth and safety, Hu Xiaoyu let his eyes drift shut and slipped quietly into dreams.