Actually, Yu Tan, with his domineering attitude—one that even Liu Lianzhou would be willing to get beaten up by—would have made Director Ren willing to vacate his own room for him if necessary.
But Yu Tan didn't ask for that; his only request was that everyone else get out of the way.
Hu Xiaoyu, unaware of this, clutched the blanket tightly. "Then go ask for another one."
Yu Tan, who had originally thought he would be kicked out, finally relaxed his tense shoulders. "One's enough, I can—"
Hu Xiaoyu, curling deeper into the blanket, muttered, "I'm hot."
It wasn't that he had given up trying to get rid of Yu Tan, but his anger hadn't completely subsided. Saying that was deliberate.
When Yu Tan had once said he was hot, Hu Xiaoyu had believed him.
But now, after the trust had collapsed, he could no longer be deceived by such a poor excuse. One brief thought, and everything became so clear.
Yu Tan was smart, so he naturally understood the unsaid meaning in Hu Xiaoyu's words.
His face paled for a moment, and he didn't dare to approach the bed anymore. "Then sleep, I'm not tired."
Hu Xiaoyu turned over, facing away from Yu Tan, closing his eyes.
Yu Tan, with a look of longing, gazed at the back of the boy for a while. Eventually, worried that his presence would disturb him, he quietly turned off the light, and then carefully moved to the small sofa by the bed.
There were only two single sofas in the room, and with the armrests, even if they were pushed together, they couldn't accommodate two people.
He didn't mind, though. In the darkness, he stared at the slight bulge under the blanket where Hu Xiaoyu lay.
Hu Xiaoyu, with his keen senses, could never sleep like this.
If it had been anyone else, they might have used their spiritual power to put the person to sleep. But Yu Tan had his tail, and Hu Xiaoyu's spiritual roots could nourish him, but couldn't control his actions.
After twenty minutes of this uncomfortable stillness, Hu Xiaoyu, frustrated, sat up.
Yu Tan jumped up, startled. "What's wrong?"
Hu Xiaoyu's voice was harsh. "Get into bed and sleep."
He was still angry, but while he could ignore Yu Tan when angry, he knew he couldn't let him suffer physically for the sake of their gratitude.
"One thing is one thing," he thought, "I can't leave him lying here and risk his health."
Tomorrow, he could let Yu Tan have the room, and Hu Xiaoyu could request to sleep in a tent instead.
Also, earlier, he had noticed that Yu Tan's palm had a wound—long gashes where the skin had curled up, looking like it had been washed over too many times, pale and untreated, left exposed.
Yu Tan, watching the back of the boy who was facing away, didn't dare touch him. His fingers lightly grasped the edge of Hu Xiaoyu's pillow, suddenly recalling this familiar scene, his heart aching so much he couldn't help but bend his body.
If only he could go back to the past. He would have immediately held the boy in his arms, never letting him drift farther away from him.
Hu Xiaoyu finally waited until Yu Tan had fallen deeply asleep before opening his eyes.
He didn't move, but sent a thread of spiritual power to accelerate the healing of Yu Tan's palm wound.
The next day,
Hu Xiaoyu received a message from Director Ren, giving him two days off.
What he chose to do with those two days was up to him—whether to resolve private issues or deal with the unmanageable "death god" was entirely his decision.
Hu Xiaoyu, in front of Yu Tan, pulled out another piece of jade from his suitcase.
This one was about the same size as the one he had given Liu Lianzhou yesterday.
Yu Tan didn't dare ask, nor did he want to bring up the incident from yesterday. He feared that if he did, Hu Xiaoyu would be angry again and refuse to speak to him. But his dark eyes kept staring at the jade.
Hu Xiaoyu, holding the jade, said, "This one is for Brother Liu."
Yu Tan immediately responded, "No!"
Hu Xiaoyu explained, "He paid five million for it. You broke it, shouldn't it be compensated?"
"Bought?" Yu Tan blurted out. "One million. It's mine."
Hu Xiaoyu ignored him, his mind set. A fox demon would only give jade to someone they acknowledged. No amount of money could buy it.
The one he had given to Yu Tan was already broken; there wouldn't be a second one. But what was owed to Liu Lianzhou, Hu Xiaoyu would repay.
Yu Tan blocked the door. "Xiaoyu, I'll buy it. Anything, I'll pay."
He was still fixated on the jade's mysterious origin. It might even be connected to the one person Hu Xiaoyu occasionally spoke of with such fondness. But no matter his internal struggles, Hu Xiaoyu's belongings should only go to him.
Hu Xiaoyu stared at him, not angry but his gaze icy. His patience had clearly run out. "Either you go, or it goes. You choose."
After two months of being ignored by Hu Xiaoyu, Yu Tan was genuinely afraid now.
He kept telling himself that Liu Lianzhou's jade was bought, that money transactions were more reassuring than gifts, and that it was okay. He wouldn't be angry.
He stepped aside, not daring to follow. He stood there for a moment before pulling the broken jade out of his coat pocket.
He had gone back last night to find it in the trash can of that run-down hotel. Fortunately, although the silver chain had been taken, the jade was still there because of the cracks.
But maybe it was just his imagination—the jade that had once been lustrous and glowing now looked dull, the touch was different, like a dead thing.
But, wasn't jade supposed to be a dead thing?
Yu Tan felt a bit uneasy, but what was even more pressing was how he could stay by Hu Xiaoyu's side a little longer.
He racked his brain, and then he remembered that in a few days, it would be his birthday.
A monster who violated taboos—what reason was there to celebrate such a day?
But if this excuse could get that little one to look at him one more time, or even give him a smile... that would be enough.