He is Too Stingy, This Sand Sculpture Cannon Fodder

“Honey?”

Shu You naturally said, “Aren’t you my boyfriend? Or do you prefer terms like ‘dear’, ‘baby’…or something like ‘little piggy’?”

Little piggy…

Lin Mingxu clenched his fist tightly, and a certain determination in his heart became even more firm.

He squeezed out his words from between his teeth, “Just call me by my name…Where did you go wrong?”

“Oh.” Shu You quickly apologized and deeply reflected, “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have loved you too much.”

Lin Mingxu: ???

He frowned, his eyes coldly staring at Shu You. He heard the latter say emotionally, “Because I love you too much, it doesn’t matter, everything is my fault.”

Lin Mingxu’s mouth twitched.

For the first time in his life, his scalp tingled as if he had accidentally touched an electric switch.

As for why Shu You appeared so coincidentally here, it didn’t matter anymore.

“You…”

Lin Mingxu was glad that he had excellent self-control and coldly rebuked her, “What nonsense are you talking about!”

“It’s true.”

Shu You covered her chest and looked at him affectionately, “If I didn’t love you, how could I be with you?”

Lin Mingxu sneered, “You can still be with Lu Chenbi.”

Lu Chenbi…

Upon hearing this name, Shu You first understood, and then her eyebrows danced joyfully, “Lu Chenbi has recognized himself and reshaped his body and mind. He won’t come to me again.”

Lin Mingxu’s eyelid suddenly twitched.

He had a bad feeling, but out of some underlying subtle awareness, he didn’t continue to ask.

As for what happened to Lu Chenbi, it didn’t matter at all.

Lin Mingxu didn’t want to listen anymore. He said coldly, “Okay, I’m going back.”

The man turned around and walked away–but he didn’t succeed.

Lin Mingxu lowered his head and found that his coat hem was held by a hand, which was gripping it firmly and causing it to wrinkle.

He gritted his teeth and asked, “What do you want again?”

Shu You let go of his hand and smiled, “Nothing, I just wanted to ask if you want to have lunch together.”

Have lunch together?

It was already past eleven o’clock and it was indeed time for lunch. But the point was not about having lunch, but the person he was having lunch with.

Lin Mingxu took a deep look at Shu You, who seemed oblivious to his scrutiny, and only showed a bright smile, as if he was a bright and sunny person.

Especially those eyes…

Beautiful, bright, and with an indescribable firmness.

Completely different from before…

Lin Mingxu was slightly stunned. When he came back to his senses, he found himself sitting in a nearby Chinese fast food restaurant.

It was a cheap and good Chinese fast food restaurant, and many white-collar workers came here for lunch. At this time, there were also many people. Lin Mingxu was in front, with Shu You behind, holding a tray and standing at the back of the line, tiptoeing to look at the dining area.

…There were too many people, he didn’t see it.

He had to poke Lin Mingxu’s waist and ask in a small voice, “What’s good here?”

Lin Mingxu didn’t want to speak, but he didn’t want to be poked by Shu You, so he said coldly, “Isn’t there a menu on top?”

“But the dishes may not be the same as the menu every day.”

Shu You argued, “I want to see what the specialty dishes are today.”

Lin Mingxu frowned and carefully scanned the area, and found that this was indeed the case.

He took a deep breath and asked casually, “Have you been to this restaurant before?”

“No,” Shu You said, “but this type of restaurant is all the same.”

This type of restaurant…

Lin Mingxu was sure that Shu You’s social media was filled with various Michelin-starred restaurants. This street-side cheap restaurant was not even in his dining reference range.

His eyes deepened slightly, but he didn’t say anything and continued to line up.

After a while, it was finally their turn. Shu You ordered carefully selected three dishes and a soup with rice, and went to pay.

Lin Mingxu had been running around all morning and was actually hungry. He followed Shu You to the cashier and found that Shu You quickly took out his phone and opened various apps such as X Group, X Review, and X Discounts.

“Thirty yuan in total…with a new registered number, you can get a discount of fifteen yuan for orders over thirty yuan. There’s a new user coupon for five yuan, and if you enter your birthday, you can get fifty percent off, a total of five yuan. Lin Mingxu, have you registered your phone number?”

Lin Mingxu: ???

It seemed like a new world had opened up.

After settling the bill, the two of them found a table for two and sat down. It was only then that Lin Mingxu noticed that two out of the three dishes Shu You ordered were spicy: one was mouth-watering chicken, and the other was mapo tofu.

Lin Mingxu raised an eyebrow and casually said, “You didn’t seem to like spicy food before.”

Shu You replied that it was because he had heard that it wasn’t good for the skin, but then she threw a coquettish glance at him and said, “But because I’m having dinner with you, I’m feeling a bit hot-headed.”

Lin Mingxu realized that Shu You wasn’t serious about anything he said these days.

They finished the meal quickly, and as soon as Lin Mingxu left the restaurant, he walked in the opposite direction to where they had come from – or so he thought. His forehead was pulsing with veins, and when he looked down, he saw that his clothes had been grabbed again. He pulled hard, but it didn’t budge.

Shu You lowered his gaze and asked shyly, “Are you coming back for dinner tonight?”

If he wasn’t coming back, there was no need to cook for two people and waste food.

Lin Mingxu paused for a moment before asking, “Do you really want me to come back for dinner?”

“Of course,” Shu You said matter-of-factly, “Eating out is more expensive, and you might not even get good food.”

Come to think of it, he was also curious about what Lin Mingxu had been eating these past few days. The Lin family used to have a live-in maid who took care of the household chores, including cooking, so it had never been on Lin Mingxu’s to-do list. Even when he was studying abroad, he would order food from nearby restaurants for delivery.

Therefore, after the Lin family went bankrupt, Lin Mingxu had a tough time. Later, he started his own business from scratch and became so busy that he often only had one meal a day, which resulted in him developing a stomach ulcer.

Shu You had made up his mind that cooking was like herding sheep, whether it was one sheep or two, it didn’t make a difference. Having Lin Mingxu there was just like having an extra pair of chopsticks, it could improve their relationship, so why not?

Lin Mingxu was silent.

After a long while, he said faintly, “If everything goes smoothly for me…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Shu You immediately interrupted, “Okay, then I’ll go to the market this afternoon.”

Lin Mingxu choked for a moment and began to wonder if there would be any problems with the food.

Shu You got the answer he wanted and, still thinking about the anchor company, waved goodbye and disappeared into the crowd.

For some reason, Lin Mingxu stood there for a while.

…Well, let’s wait for another opportunity.

He rubbed his slightly painful forehead and turned to leave.

Shu You had no idea what Lin Mingxu was thinking and was as happy as a bird leaving the nest. He searched for the exact location of the market while considering what vegetables to buy. A few minutes later, he returned to the building where the anchor company was located. The security guard was still there and asked him in confusion, “Why are you back?”

Before Shu You could answer, the guard speculated, “Is that guy your competitor?”

“Don’t worry, you’re not on the same route. He has a deep and masculine style that attracts young girls,” Shu You said.

The security guard looked closely at him and concluded, “You are the style that middle-aged rich women like.”

Shu You nodded vigorously and praised him, “Big brother, you have a good eye.” He could see that the guard had a special affinity for money.

After re-registering, Shu You asked for the specific floor of the company, took the elevator, and arrived at an office on the eighth floor. The door was half open, and snoring could be heard inside, with a certain rhythm.

Shu You cautiously pushed the door, but no one noticed. He peeked inside and saw a bearded man lying on his desk with a tissue blowing in different directions by the wind.

There was no one else in the office, and the furnishings were relatively simple. Shu You sat in the guest chair in front of the desk and coughed.

…Nothing happened.

Shu You coughed twice more.

…The other party still didn’t wake up.

Shu You: …I don’t think this is very reliable.

He had no choice but to sit up straight and give the other person a hard shove.

“Who!”

The other party finally woke up, his sleepy eyes widened when he saw Shu You, “Who are you? How did you get in here?”

Shu You sat back in the chair, smiled and said, “My name is Shu You. Did you see that door?”

Wu Youzhe: ???

“You didn’t close the door, so I came in,” Shu You said.

Wu Youzhe regained his senses, “…You’re Shu You? What do you want from me?”

Shu You nodded and explained his past contract, then asked, “Can I still be an anchor now?”

“You can, but…” Wu Youzhe rubbed his face, a hint of worry between his eyebrows. “Well, to be honest with you…”

Wu Youzhe rubbed his face with a look of worry on his brow.

“Hey, I won’t hide it from you. If you had come a few days earlier, I still had some equipment and things that I hadn’t sold yet, and I could have tried to help you out…”

“Now all the anchors in the company are gone, and I’m about to cancel the company.”

Nowadays, the live streaming industry is really tough, and there are countless businesses that can’t survive.

Unfortunately, Wu Youzhe became another failed entrepreneur.

Wu Youzhe thought that Shu You had a good image and sighed, “With your type, you could go for a pure and innocent image…”

“No, thank you.”

Shu You heard the words “pure and innocent” and quickly stopped the other person, saying seriously, “Actually, I am a closed disciple of the tantric lama1, specializing in the Joyful Zen2.”

Wu Youzhe looked confused, “So you’re a monk from the south?”

Shu You said, “I have a boyfriend and don’t want to be seen as single.”

Wu Youzhe was surprised, “…does he have a tendency towards domestic violence?”

Shu You shook her head, “No, he doesn’t.”

If you don’t hit or scold people, just get rid of them.

“If you need money urgently…”

Wu Youzhe thought for a moment and tentatively said, “I know a place that needs a replacement performer today, but it requires a special talent.”

Shu You hesitated for half a second and said, “Can I do the cat call?”

Wu Youzhe coughed suddenly, “…cough cough cough, I mean, something related to the arts.”

Shu You looked a bit regretful, “What kind of place is it?”

“It’s a…club.”

Wu Youzhe pondered and said, “Not that kind of club, it’s a legal high-end club that ordinary people can’t get into.”

“They’ll pay you 3,000 yuan for one night.”

Shu You: …I’m in!

Half an hour later, Shu You walked out of the office building and sent a message to Lin Mingxu, saying that she might be home late tonight. Unexpectedly, Lin Mingxu replied quickly, saying that he would also be back late and they could talk about dinner another day.

Shu You didn’t think much of it and sent a happy emoji back, indicating that she understood.

On the other side, Lin Mingxu received the reply and furrowed his brows slightly.

He wanted to have dinner together during the day, but now that he was not going home, Shu You didn’t seem disappointed, and even seemed happy?

Last time, when Lin Mingxu didn’t come home, Shu You was also very happy.

…So was Lu Chenbi.

Lin Mingxu: …

He put down his phone and asked the young man opposite him in a deep voice, “Where are you meeting tonight?”

Note:

The Tantric Lama refers to a teacher or master in the Tantric Buddhism tradition, which incorporates esoteric practices and rituals. Tantric Buddhism emphasizes the transformation of negative emotions into positive ones and the attainment of enlightenment through various techniques, including visualization, mantra recitation, and meditation.

The Joyful Zen, or the Tantra of the Joyful Laughing Buddha, is a specific practice within the Tantric Buddhism tradition. It involves visualizing oneself as a laughing Buddha and cultivating a joyful and compassionate attitude towards oneself and others. This practice is believed to help overcome negative emotions and obstacles on the path to enlightenment.