At that moment, someone gasped, "Whoa! Isn't that the Hu family's eccentric... young master?"
The word left unsaid was "weirdo."
The Hu family was one of the most prestigious in Shen City. One of the hottest gossips in the past year or two was that their missing young master of sixteen years had finally been found. Rumor had it he'd been working construction before returning. While he did change his last name, he stubbornly insisted on keeping the childish name "Xiaoyu," which sounded absurd.
And if that weren't enough, he was constantly pestering the heir of the Liu family, Liu Luanzhou.
That obsession—borderline stalker-like, devoid of any dignity—was seen as a complete waste of that otherwise pretty face.
As soon as someone recognized Hu Xiaoyu, everyone else fell silent in shock.
Sure, the boy had always been good-looking. But wasn't he the shy one who couldn't even raise his head in front of others? How could that timid creature be the confident young man now standing before Brother Yu without even a hint of fear?
The contrast was too drastic!
No wonder those who had seen him before didn't recognize him right away.
But regardless of that, the mention of Liu Luanzhou darkened the mood. Most of the people in the room didn't get along with Liu's crowd, and by association, their gazes toward Hu Xiaoyu turned cold.
Hu Xiaoyu, oblivious to all that background drama, responded to Yu Tan's question with delight:
"Can it be food, Yu Tan?"
Yu... Yu Tan?
Shi Jingyang's voice trembled. "What did you just call Brother Yu?"
Hu Xiaoyu looked at him with a friendly expression. "Yu Tan. Isn't that right?"
Shi Jingyang: "..."
Technically correct, but almost no one dared to call Brother Yu by his full name. Those who had tried didn't exactly fare well.
Still, Yu Tan didn't get angry. It was just a name. He wasn't that petty.
Or at least, it was hard to tell when he was.
Yu Tan turned slightly to the manager standing nearby. "Go get it ready."
The manager hadn't even snapped out of his daze when Hu Xiaoyu added matter-of-factly, "There has to be fish."
Wiping the sweat off his brow, the manager nodded quickly and left.
Demons didn't need food to survive, but that didn't mean they couldn't eat. For someone like Hu Xiaoyu, who had a greedy streak, eating was a joy beyond description—like how humans couldn't put down their phones.
Just thinking about fish made his entire face light up, glowing with a vibrant, inexplicable liveliness.
Seeing Yu Tan again, and about to eat fish? Double the happiness. Even the stuffy air around him seemed easier to ignore.
He glanced at the armrest of Yu Tan's sofa, gauging the width, and touched it experimentally. Resisting the urge to crouch on it, he asked politely, "Yu Tan, can I sit here?"
Everyone else was stunned.
Shi Jingyang rubbed his chin, wondering if he should remind the oddly-behaved young master that the last person who tried to get physically close to Yu Tan ended up with a broken wrist—for just brushing his sleeve.
But maybe it was already too late.
Hu Xiaoyu and Yu Tan stared at each other for three seconds. No refusal meant permission.
So, naturally, he perched on the cushy armrest—about the width of two books side by side—and comfortably narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
To Hu Xiaoyu, this behavior wasn't strange at all.
A hundred years ago, if he asked Yu Tan for something and the other didn't explicitly refuse, that was basically a yes.
Sure, a century could be enough to live two whole human lives, but to Hu Xiaoyu, it was just a nap before dropping by for a visit. Their tacit understanding was still there—or so he thought.
To everyone else, though, his intentions were painfully obvious.
Throwing himself at Yu Tan like this wasn't subtle in the slightest. But with that pretty face, even doing nothing was a visual delight.
The next second, Yu Tan reached out and pinched Hu Xiaoyu's chin, pressing his lips into a slight pout.
"This your goal?"
Hu Xiaoyu puffed his cheeks and gave him a disapproving glare. "That hurts!"
Yu Tan withdrew his hand, then casually pulled a tissue from the box and wiped his fingers.
Hu Xiaoyu grabbed the tissue, gave it a squeeze, then sniffed it.
"Smells nice! But I think you'd look even better using a handkerchief."
Yu Tan: "..."
He knew some people were naturally outgoing, but this level of familiarity was unexpected.
Hu Xiaoyu definitely had a screw loose.
No wonder Liu Luanzhou had stayed away.
Yu Tan had heard about how Xiaoyu had been clinging to Luanzhou and had even mocked it. But since they never interacted, he hadn't thought much of it. Now, seeing him in person—what a surprise.
Hu Xiaoyu could sense Yu Tan's detached, even scrutinizing gaze, and a wave of disappointment rose in his chest, slightly dulling his excitement about the upcoming meal.
Right. He kept forgetting—Yu Tan didn't remember anything.
Lowering his lashes, Hu Xiaoyu earnestly explained, "I'm... the Hu Xiaoyu you know. I came to be your bodyguard."
"Bodyguard?" Yu Tan's gaze flicked over the boy's slim limbs. This joke wasn't even funny.
Shi Jingyang, now thoroughly entertained, even took a photo.
Better safe than sorry. Maybe he'd show it to Liu Luanzhou's group later—see what they thought of this betrayal.
Was Hu Xiaoyu switching sides?
Amusing.
But what kind of bodyguard did he mean, exactly?
The kind for the bedroom...?
Hu Xiaoyu ignored all the suggestive glances around him and focused solely on his sincere words.
He really was here to protect Yu Tan—his life, specifically.
Born as a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, Hu Xiaoyu belonged to a lineage so rare it hadn't appeared in the fox clan for a million years. He didn't even need to train hard—just growing up would make him a powerhouse.
Naturally, other races saw his birth as a threat.
His clan tried to keep it a secret, but somehow it leaked. The result? A decade of chaos.
That's how Hu Xiaoyu ended up in the human world—more precisely, in Yu Tan's household.
When he left ten years later, he gave Yu Tan one of his tails as a token of gratitude, promising he'd be back soon with gifts to repay the life-saving favor—and to reclaim his tail.
Of course, he never told Yu Tan the second part.
He knew Yu Tan would refuse, so he left it as a surprise. Right before stepping through the portal back to the demon realm, he severed his tail.
Back then, he was a young, not-yet-fully-mature fox—around fifteen in human years.
He hadn't known how painful losing a tail would be, or that doing so without permission would trigger heavenly thunder.
Predictably, he got zapped into oblivion. Barely making it home, he fell unconscious and didn't wake for a hundred years.
As a celestial creature, he could ascend to the heavens once fully grown—without even facing heavenly trials.
The only condition? All nine tails must be intact.
Now he was nearing adulthood. If his tail wasn't restored by then, ascending would call down divine punishment.
And he'd had enough of lightning bolts to last a lifetime.
He had to get his tail back.
But he also owed Yu Tan a life debt—and needed to repay it some other way.
Foxes had a long tradition of repaying kindness. Often, it meant marriage. If that wasn't suitable, they'd offer up their own children instead.
Spending decades with a human wasn't a big deal for a demon with a long lifespan.
However... Hu Xiaoyu was male. That part might complicate things a bit.
From his inherited memory, he knew men could marry in this world. Still, the fox clan only mated between male and female pairs. The idea of two males still felt foreign.
No matter. He'd find a way to repay the debt.
His first step? Protecting Yu Tan.
Once he learned Yu Tan's birth details, he'd do a full reading. If he found any major disasters ahead, he'd wipe them out—debt repaid.
That's how Hu Xiaoyu came up with the idea of becoming his bodyguard. And it had taken a lot of effort to get here.
Effort, because Yu Tan was notoriously hard to approach.
And yet, here he was—watching Yu Tan's skeptical expression, clearly not believing him.
Frustrated, Hu Xiaoyu huffed. His fox-like eyes shimmered under the light with honest indignation.
"You don't believe me?"
Yu Tan's usually neutral lips twitched slightly—maybe a smile. But his eyes remained cold, possibly even harboring a bit of cruel amusement. Like a bored beast toying with a helpless mouse.
"I believe you. Let's spar. If you win, I'll let you be my bodyguard."
Of course, if he lost... well, the consequences wouldn't be so simple.
He might lose a limb or two. Who knew?
After all, self-inflicted trouble couldn't be blamed on others. And no matter how powerful the Hu family was, they were still a step below the Yu clan.
Hu Xiaoyu's eyes sparkled. "With you?"
Yu Tan raised his arm slightly. From the shadows, a young man stepped forward—medium build, clean-cut with a shaved head and a lotus tattoo on his wrist.
Hu Xiaoyu's keen eyes immediately noticed a large scar running through the tattoo.
Scars meant prior injuries. Weak points. Yu Tan had taught him that.
The man was A-Jiu, Yu Tan's personal bodyguard—never left his side.
Yu Tan instructed him, "Just a spar. No killing."
Hu Xiaoyu hopped down from the armrest, gave Yu Tan a look, and said brightly, "Don't worry. I'm really strong."
The MBs standing in the center of the room sensibly stepped aside. Jin Bao, hidden among them, cast a worried glance at Hu Xiaoyu.
Shi Jingyang muttered under his breath, "Biting dogs don't bark…"
Then, reluctantly: "Brother Yu..."
Yu Tan gave him a cold glance, the weight of it leaving no room for argument.
"He's quite willing. Isn't he?"