He is Too Stingy, This Sand Sculpture Cannon Fodder

One day, Lin Mingxu unexpectedly caught onto his joke…and even retaliated.

Shu You was taken aback for a moment and suddenly blurted out, “Lin Mingxu, you’ve become my shape…”

He covered his face with his hand and shyly said, “You love me so much.”

Lin Mingxu: …

Here it comes, that familiar pain in his forehead.

He gritted his teeth and said, with clenched fists, “Shu You, is your Chinese teacher still alive?”

“Um…”

Shu You pondered seriously and replied, “I think so?”

“Then what about your physical education teacher?”

“…Seems like they’re still around?”

Lin Mingxu: …Well, that’s a miracle.

At this moment, Shu You quickly realized and hummed, “It took Nuwa more than a day to create humans.”

Before Lin Mingxu could speak, he continued at lightning speed, “Dayu took several years to control the floods, and Bai Suzhen had to wait until the destined person was 1,800 years old!”

“1,800 years, not 1,800 days!”

He emphasized dramatically, “So, you see, time does have significance.”

“I understand.”

Lin Mingxu looked deeply into his eyes and asked, “But you only asked if I wanted you. Would you miss me?”

“Of course!”

Shu You solemnly declared, “I will miss you every day, especially miss you, and only miss you.”

He looked at Lin Mingxu affectionately and said, “After all, you are my boyfriend. Who else could I think of if not you?”

The young man’s tone was sincere, and his eyes were clear and bright, as if every word came from the bottom of his heart.

However, in Lin Mingxu’s eyes, the man’s gaze grew darker and more distant as he said softly, “Alright, I’ll remember your words.”

Shu You: ???

Why does Lin Mingxu seem strange?

But upon careful thought, he couldn’t figure it out.

On Monday morning, Lin Mingxu accompanied Shu You to the airport. Wu Youzhe was already waiting there early in the morning. When he saw the two approaching, he immediately perked up and said, “Shu You!”

“Brother Wu!”

“Shu You!”

“Wu…”

Lin Mingxu’s expressionless face interrupted, “Should I go first?”

“Cough…”

Shu You quickly stopped and teased, “Brother Wu, you don’t have to come to see me off. Besides, aren’t you going tomorrow too?”

“I guess I can do that.”

Wu Youzhe rubbed his face and sighed, “But if I don’t give you a few words of advice, I won’t feel at ease.”

Shu You was puzzled, “Do I look unreliable?”

“No.” Wu Youzhe sincerely said, “You look reliable, but as soon as you open your mouth, you become unreliable.”

Shu You: …

Out of the corner of his eye, Shu You accidentally caught a glimpse of a hint of amusement in Lin Mingxu’s eyes.

…What’s going on?

It must be an illusion!

Otherwise, what could be so funny that even Lin Mingxu finds it amusing?

Shu You resolutely pushed that image out of his mind. At this moment, Wu Youzhe offered to help him with the ticket. Shu You handed him his documents, then cleared his throat and said, “Boyfriend…”

He blinked desperately, his eyes shining like a puppy, eagerly anticipating, “Do you have anything to say to me?”

Lin Mingxu raised an eyebrow, “Stay safe?”

Shu You nodded eagerly, “Mhm, mhm, mhm.”

“Have a smooth journey?”

Shu You nodded again, “Mhm, mhm, mhm.”

Lin Mingxu gazed at him, his tone calm, “Come home early.”

Shu You felt happy, spun in place, made a heart gesture, and said, “Boyfriend, you’ll be at home…”

For some reason, even Lin Mingxu’s breathing slowed down at that moment, as if he was also anticipating something.

Sure enough, Shu You’s eyes and eyebrows curved, and his smile was radiant as he said, “Take care of yourself!”

Lin Mingxu responded with a soft “Mm.”

He watched as Shu You took the ticket and walked briskly toward the security checkpoint.

…Until his figure completely disappeared.

Shu You arrived in Bin Hai City in the afternoon.

This filming actually takes three days, but there are some recordings that require a change of location to the neighboring city in the middle.

So, in reality, the first three days are in Bin Hai, and the following four days are in the neighboring Luo Hai.

After Shu You arrived at the hotel, the production team informed him that not everyone had arrived yet, and he could do whatever he wanted in the hotel for now—hotel expenses would be reimbursed by the production team.

Shu You: …Why didn’t you mention this good thing earlier?

He was like a happy butterfly, freely roaming around the hotel!

Trying out the new dishes in the restaurant for a while, then enjoying a full-body massage at the spa…

Ah, the lavender of Provence.

Ah, the mighty mahi-mahi swimming upstream.

Shu You casually asked the massage therapist for two slices of cucumber, and without changing his clothes, he lay directly on a poolside lounge chair, placing the cucumber slices on his eyelids.

After a while, footsteps approached, and someone sat down on the lounge chair beside him, sighing, “Sigh, what should I do?”

Shu You was half-asleep and made a humming sound, indicating that he didn’t understand.

However, the person misunderstood and continued, “I like her so much, why doesn’t she like me?”

Shu You made another humming sound, indicating that he still didn’t understand.

The person sighed again, “They say girls like flowers, so I had the butler airship tulips from the Netherlands for her, but she didn’t want them. She said she’s allergic to pollen.”

“They say girls like handbags, so I asked my cousin to buy the latest Hermès bag for her, but she didn’t want it. She said she can only fit everything in her backpack.”

“They say…”

He rambled on and on, going back and forth, incessantly, never-ending…

…It was clear that this was a young person struggling in the quagmire of love.

Shu You’s drowsiness had completely dissipated, and he decided to show mercy and lend a helping hand to the young woman.

In a solemn tone, he said with deep meaning, “Have you ever considered that you can’t just rely on persistence when pursuing someone?”

“Moreover, when it comes to gift-giving, you should consider it from the other person’s perspective. If you do it for a long time…”

The young person: “…Will I be successful?”

“No,” Shu You shook his head. “You will lose yourself.”

The young person: ???

It sounded reasonable, but upon careful thought, something felt off.

Shu You continued, “Next time you see her, you can ask her one question. Ask her if she’s willing to let you be her sun.”

“This…”

The young person ignited hope, “Will she agree?”

“No,” Shu You shook his head again. “Because that way, you will be kilometers away from her.”

The young person: ???

He came to confide in a friend, and now he feels his head buzzing.

Speaking of this, Shu You suddenly remembered Lin Mingxu—after all, he promised to think of him, at least make a symbolic gesture.

So Shu You lifted the cucumber slice from his right eye, skillfully took a selfie, added the Abao filter, and sent it over.

Shu You: [On the first day of my business trip, missing you so much~ ~ ~ [Image]]

The young man next to him finally got a clear look at his face and was stunned. “Wait, who are you?”

Shu You pursed his lips. “No need to thank me, I’m just a passing good Samaritan1.”

“Just like some people appearing in your life, they really are just passing by.”

The young man: “…”

The hotel’s wireless network was very good, and the image was sent swiftly.

However, it took a while, and Lin Mingxu didn’t reply.

After sending the message, Shu You put down his phone and continued to enjoy himself. The young man was annoyed and said, “You don’t know me, and you don’t understand us. How can you speak randomly?”

“I believe she still has me in her heart.”

“Well…”

Shu You sincerely questioned him, “How do you think her having you in her heart would manifest?”

The young man: “…”

He burst into tears and made a desolate sound, “But… but I really like her…”

“Love cannot be forced.”

This time, Shu You lifted the cucumber slice from his left eye and gave him a compassionate look. “The main sources of pollen allergies are wind-pollinated trees and grass.”

The young man: ……………………

The truth of the world instantly shattered a young man, and his sadness was deeper and wider than the swimming pool.

He couldn’t fall asleep for his nap anymore. Shu You picked up his phone and noticed that Lin Mingxu still hadn’t replied. He thought for a moment and sent another message.

Shu You: [Can’t sleep because I miss you~ Love you~]

Great, after his careful and rigorous calculation, it seemed to increase the genuine feeling by 10.

He got up, put on his slippers, and was about to go back to his room to sleep when a middle-aged man came in by the poolside.

After looking around, he walked quickly towards Shu You. “Oh, Duan Siqi, why are you still here? The production team has been asking…”

When he reached Shu You, he recognized him, and his expression changed instantly. “Who are you? Our Xiao Qi doesn’t like private fans.”

Shu You hurriedly explained, “You misunderstood.”

“I’m just a passing good Samaritan,”

Duan Siqi responded with a sorrowful sound, “Wuwuwuwu…”

The manager was taken aback and asked, “Xiao Qi, what’s wrong with you? What happened? Is it because of this person…?”

“Wuwuwuwu, it has nothing to do with him,” Duan Siqi choked out.

Duan Siqi’s words hit him hard, and he continued, “It turns out Sisi really doesn’t like me…”

“Oh no!” the manager exclaimed, quickly covering his mouth. “How can you say such things in front of others! If it gets out, you’ll be all over the hot search!”

Duan Siqi expressed deep sadness, saying, “I know, but I can’t help it, wuwuwuwu…”

Meanwhile, Shu You had already walked away but suddenly remembered something and turned around to ask, “Wait, you’re a celebrity? The kind that can trend?”

The manager responded cautiously, “…What do you want to do? My Xiao Qi hasn’t done anything wrong!”

Understanding the situation, Shu You blushed and said, “I suddenly remembered that I’m his fan. Can I have an autograph?”

The manager was surprised, as he had never seen a fan who couldn’t recognize a celebrity. Nevertheless, in order to calm the situation, he carried a signed photo of Duan Siqi and gave it to Shu You.

Happily, Shu You sent a message to Lin Mingxu:

“Not for collection or resale, just thought of it as a rare opportunity and casually asked for one. For Shu You, he still doesn’t consider himself a celebrity and has always treated celebrities the same.”

Perhaps Lin Mingxu was busy, as he didn’t reply.

Shu You returned to his hotel room, and soon the program staff came knocking on his door, asking him to come down for a meeting. He quickly changed his clothes and hurried downstairs, where he caught sight of the young man from earlier.

Shu You was taken aback, but then realized that it was possible for several entertainment industry people to stay at the same hotel on the same day.

Although he was careless, he wasn’t too careless.

Duan Siqi still seemed a bit down, but there didn’t seem to be any major issues, and his manager was always by his side, acting like a guardian.

Being cautious, Shu You discreetly stepped back.

Just then, a staff member of the program called out, “Everyone, let’s go to the conference room for a briefing on tomorrow’s shoot…” He turned to his assistant and asked, “Is everyone here?”

The assistant replied, “They’re all here,” and then went through the list, “…Duan Siqi… Xu Mingming… Shu You? Hey, which one is Shu You?”

Shu You reluctantly raised his hand and said, “It’s me.”

“Oh… hello, hello,” the assistant greeted enthusiastically. “Is Mr. Shu here alone?”

At that moment, Duan Siqi’s manager suddenly looked over and stared at Shu You’s back, making him feel a bit hot.

Shu You remained composed and said, “My manager will be here tomorrow.”

The intense gaze from behind only grew hotter, as if doubling in intensity.

Once the assistant confirmed his identity, she let him off the hook. Shu You followed the group into the conference room and found a corner to sit in.

He nodded absentmindedly during the meeting, while on the other side, Lin Mingxu finally looked up from the pile of documents, rubbing his temples. He asked Tang Le, who was beside him, “

Anything else for today?”

“For today…” Tang Le quickly glanced at the schedule and answered concisely, “Nothing, Zhang Zong called and postponed the meeting to tomorrow.”

In other words, Lin Mingxu could finally leave on time today.

However, when he looked at the seemingly never-ending stack of documents on his desk, Lin Mingxu furrowed his brows slightly and said, “You can go home first.”

“…Alright, CEO Lin,” Tang Le responded. He hesitated to say something but ultimately decided against it and left. Lin Mingxu was about to continue working when he caught sight of the illuminated screen of his phone on the table.

He thought to himself, “Take a short break for now.” Lin Mingxu picked up his phone and then saw the message from Shu You.

The first one was a selfie, with a strange filter.

The second one was just a routine message, so it could be ignored… but let’s take a look.

The third one was another photo, but it wasn’t of Shu You; it was of an unfamiliar man.

Shu You thought this person was good-looking?

Lin Mingxu raised an eyebrow and replied:

Five minutes passed, and Shu You didn’t reply.Ten minutes passed, and Shu You didn’t reply.Half an hour ticked away. Lin Mingxu’s gaze shifted from the computer screen to the phone screen for the umpteenth time, and finally, the phone screen flickered.

Lin Mingxu picked up the phone and took a glance.

Calmly, he put down the phone and turned the screen face down. Then, without diverting his gaze, he once again focused on the work documents.

…What a trashy message. From tomorrow, he’ll switch to using a different carrier!

TL/Note:

1

A Samaritan refers to someone who performs acts of kindness or helps others in need, often selflessly and without expecting anything in return.