After hanging up with Liu Luanzhou, Hu Xiaoyu stripped down and got ready for bed.
Changing into pajamas? That step didn't exist in his routine. If not for the fact that he still looked human, he wouldn't even bother with underwear.
That said, this room was huge, and the bed was delightfully soft.
Hu Xiaoyu rolled around happily on the mattress. Just thinking about Yu Tan sleeping right next door filled him with contentment.
When his phone rang again, he rolled from the foot of the bed to the head, grabbed his phone—and to his surprise, it was Yu Tan calling.
Yu Tan stared at the computer screen, phone in hand, lips tightly pressed.
So did he like Liu Luanzhou that much? Just one phone call from the guy, and he was rolling around on the bed in pure joy?
His voice was flat and calm: "Come over."
Hu Xiaoyu licked his lips. "I'm asleep. Didn't hear you."
He had no intention of going. Yu Tan had taken a liking to biting him lately. He'd bitten him in the car that morning, again during their nap in the office, and again after dinner while walking in the garden…
Who knew what he'd want to do this time—especially at night. Hu Xiaoyu felt he was in danger.
He wasn't ready yet.
The call ended abruptly.
A minute later, there was a knock on his door.
Hu Xiaoyu scrambled to throw on his pajamas, then opened the door.
As expected, it was Yu Tan.
Yu Tan's fingers flicked at the crooked collar of his pajamas. "Asleep?"
Hu Xiaoyu faked a big yawn. "Mhm."
"Then who was just talking to me on the phone?"
"Sleepwalking me," Hu Xiaoyu blinked innocently.
Yu Tan was so mad, he actually laughed. With a swift motion, he scooped Hu Xiaoyu up into his arms. "Well, now you're awake. Want to do something interesting?"
His face was handsomely defined, but his eyes were dark, and his arched brows gave him an air of dangerous temptation.
Hu Xiaoyu instinctively clung to his neck, then reached up to touch Yu Tan's face. "I have a condition."
Yu Tan was serious this time. He'd made up his mind to sleep with Hu Xiaoyu—body and soul, he wanted him to belong entirely to himself. He even had a nasty thought: No matter how much Liu Luanzhou tried in the future, all he'd ever get would be leftovers.
Because of the surveillance in Hu Xiaoyu's room—granted, it was under his control—Yu Tan didn't like the idea of being watched. So, he carried Hu Xiaoyu back to his own room.
As for the condition, Yu Tan narrowed his eyes. "Speak."
It was something Hu Xiaoyu had thought about for a while. He asked Yu Tan to raise the temperature in his room to a normal level, saying only that he was afraid of the cold.
In truth, low temperatures had been damaging Yu Tan's health for some time.
Hu Xiaoyu could help temporarily, but he couldn't stay by his side forever. The root problem had to be addressed.
Yu Tan's eyes turned icy. He didn't like being told what to do. He pinned Hu Xiaoyu beneath him and murmured into his ear, "You won't feel cold. In fact, you'll feel very, very hot."
And then—he was kicked off the bed.
Hu Xiaoyu, whose shirt had slipped halfway down to his waist, froze.
He'd just been struggling because they hadn't agreed on the condition. How did it escalate to this?
Yu Tan wasn't weak, of course. But he hadn't guarded himself against Hu Xiaoyu—something he hadn't realized until now.
Also, the spot Hu Xiaoyu had kicked… if it were just two or three inches lower, he might never have father a child. He'd had to dodge.
Now one was on the bed, the other on the floor.
Hu Xiaoyu looked guilty… and a little amused. His shoulders shook with silent laughter.
He'd gotten used to seeing Yu Tan cold and stern. But now, seeing him sitting on the floor, caught between disbelief and fury… he looked kind of silly.
"Get out!" Yu Tan growled, face darkening.
"Oh." Hu Xiaoyu admitted fault and bolted. As he closed the door, he peeked his head back in. "Yu Tan, I mean it—if your room's warm enough, I'll let you sleep with me."
Once the door shut again, Yu Tan exhaled a long, deep breath.
The next morning, Hu Xiaoyu waited by Yu Tan's door.
When Yu Tan emerged, Hu Xiaoyu looked up with a grin. "Morning kiss?"
Yu Tan pushed his head aside and headed downstairs without a word.
Hu Xiaoyu followed behind. After what had almost happened last night, he was surprisingly relaxed. He cheerfully pitched himself again, "Want to sleep with me? All you have to do is agree to—"
"Another word and I'm docking your pay," Yu Tan interrupted, eyes closed.
Hu Xiaoyu: "..."
On the weekend, Yu Tan woke up right on time, like clockwork.
But instead of getting up, he stayed in bed a moment longer. The cold, damp feeling in his pajama pants confirmed something inconvenient, if not exactly humiliating.
He'd been sleeping well lately. But that didn't stop him from thoroughly ravishing a certain troublesome fool in his dreams.
A lot of that, honestly, was Hu Xiaoyu's fault. The kid kept nagging him—day and night—about whether they should sleep together.
The dreams felt amazing. But Yu Tan had no intention of caving.
No one could push him around. Not even Hu Xiaoyu, even if he meant well.
There had always been people who wanted to sleep with him.
Over breakfast, Yu Tan told Ah Jiu to find two clean-cut young men.
Ah Jiu glanced reflexively at Hu Xiaoyu.
Uncle Hong also looked at Yu Tan disapprovingly. The two of them hadn't even fought lately—was the young master just bullying him now?
Hu Xiaoyu was busy picking shrimp from his porridge. When he heard it, he looked up. "I'm a guy too. Need my help?"
Yu Tan's lips curled slightly. "You won't be able to help. They're here to serve me."
Hu Xiaoyu tasted the word "serve" in his mind. "You mean… to sleep with you?"
Yu Tan confirmed. "What, you interested?"
He looked casual, but not a single flicker of expression on Hu Xiaoyu's face escaped his notice.
And then—an irrational flame began burning deep in his chest.
Ah Jiu and Uncle Hong silently observed.
Something about this exchange was completely bizarre. Especially Hu Xiaoyu—he looked more curious than anything, like he was watching a seminar.
Finally, Hu Xiaoyu shook his head. "Nope. I only sleep with you."
Then added, "But… I don't have experience. Maybe I can watch them first and learn—"
As a fox spirit, Hu Xiaoyu didn't overcomplicate things. Even if he did over time, it wouldn't be with his own people.
And to him, Yu Tan was his own person. So he spoke whatever was on his mind.
Sex, to him, wasn't a big deal.
He sincerely wanted to make Yu Tan happy.
Since the two of them kept going in circles about whether to sleep together, he was now burning with the thirst for knowledge—hoping he could satisfy Yu Tan.
"—Keep dreaming!" Yu Tan tossed his chopsticks down and stormed upstairs.
"He threw something again," Hu Xiaoyu muttered, then picked up the chopsticks and took Yu Tan's untouched porridge. He carefully picked the shrimp out.
The Yu family wasn't short on food, but he didn't like wasting it.
Still, if it had been someone else's leftovers, he would've turned his nose up at it.
Ah Jiu, tormented by curiosity, finally asked in a whisper, "Xiaoyu, you and the boss… have you two ever…?"
Hu Xiaoyu pouted. "He won't do it."
Ah Jiu: "... And if the boss sleeps with someone else? You won't be mad?"
Hu Xiaoyu: "As long as it makes him happy."
Ah Jiu: "..."
So it wasn't that Xiaoyu didn't like the boss. He liked him too much.
Then Hu Xiaoyu added, "But—if Yu Tan and I ever… sleep together, then he can only sleep with me."
In fox culture, while polygamy existed, those who had awakened their spiritual intelligence typically bonded for life.
If Yu Tan slept with someone else after being with him, it would mean their stable mating bond was over.
Not that Hu Xiaoyu could explain all this to Ah Jiu.
That day, Hu Xiaoyu stayed in the living room all afternoon.
He wanted to see what kind of boys Ah Jiu would find for Yu Tan to sleep with.
He mostly wanted to study what made them worthy—and refine his own… sleep proposal.