He is Too Stingy, This Sand Sculpture Cannon Fodder

In the quiet of the night, Lin Mingxu was deeply troubled as he dealt with a major crisis in his family.

… It was an especially significant crisis, one that almost threatened world peace. If he didn’t handle it well, his life could be ruined.

Shu You had turned away from him and refused to speak, leaving him with only his back.

The cute panda eyes on his pajamas stared at Lin Mingxu.

Lin Mingxu: …

The man cleared his throat and said, “I can buy you a new cup.”

Shu You remained silent.

Lin Mingxu hesitated for a moment and changed his approach. “… If you buy a new cup, I’ll reimburse you.”

Still, Shu You said nothing.

Lin Mingxu paused and hesitantly said, “I…”

Not only did Shu You remain silent, but he also covered his head with the blanket.

… He had been deeply concerned for this family, and yet he was being betrayed by Lin Mingxu?

Absolutely no need to pay attention to him!

At least not tonight!

Lin Mingxu’s mouth twitched as he sat on the edge of the bed, feeling somewhat helpless.

Shu You had always been lively and carefree in front of him, but this was the first time he had shown genuine anger.

The man furrowed his brow slightly, pondered for a moment, and suddenly got up and left.

His footsteps receded, and on the large bed, the blanket moved silently.

Shu You quietly lifted a corner of the blanket and peered outside.

He only saw Lin Mingxu’s back.

Shu You: … He just left like that?

He felt a bit disappointed for no reason.

No, no, this wasn’t disappointment, it was anger.

Lin Mingxu had broken his cup, threw it away without confessing, and now he was only coming clean.

If he didn’t provide a satisfactory explanation, a sincere apology, and reasonable compensation, he would… he would run away from home!

A real runaway!

Shu You, feeling annoyed, had already started thinking about what clothes to pack in his suitcase. The sound of footsteps approached again, and Lin Mingxu returned.

The man was holding… a cup.

It was his own cup.

Shu You was stunned. What does this mean?

Lin Mingxu sat back on the bed and said softly, “If you’re unhappy, you can do anything with my cup.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll accompany you to buy a new one, alright?”

As he said this, there was a hint of softness in the man’s typically cold eyes.

Moreover, he looked intently at Shu You, fully focused on waiting for his response.

Shu You: … It seems like I’m starting to calm down.

It was just a cup after all. Making a big fuss about it would only make him seem petty.

So Shu You hesitated for a moment, turned around slowly with closed eyes, and whispered, “Then I want a nice-looking one.”

“… Alright.”

Shu You felt relieved, hesitated for a second, and then pushed further, “I want an expensive one.”

“… Alright.”

“And… I want two.”

Lin Mingxu raised an eyebrow. “You want to use two cups by yourself?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Shu You muttered, “I can even ask for five cups.”

“One for water, one for milk, one for tea, one for coffee, and one for juice.”

Lin Mingxu: … This arrangement seems well-organized.

A smile flashed in the man’s eyes as he kindly said, “You can buy as many as you want.”

Buy as many as you want!

These five words seemed like a magical spell, instantly igniting Shu You’s enthusiasm for life.

He quickly threw off the blanket and sat up, his eyes shining as he stared at Lin Mingxu. “Really?”

Lin Mingxu couldn’t help but chuckle. “Of course.”

It was just a few cups, and he could afford them.

Shu You felt a little embarrassed. He shyly lowered his gaze and said, “When I was young, my parents didn’t let me spend money recklessly.”

After the family encountered problems, he couldn’t bear to spend money carelessly either.

So, strictly speaking, he had never experienced the freedom of “spending as you wish,” even for just a cup.

“I have strict self-management principles.” Shu You confidently explained, “So, I won’t spend money recklessly.”

“… Right.”

Lin Mingxu reluctantly agreed, “You have strict financial management plans and won’t spend money recklessly.”

As he uttered these words, Lin Mingxu felt like something had… disappeared.

Perhaps it was his long-gone bottom line.

He took a deep breath and finally managed to lie down and sleep. However, not long after, Shu You turned around and stared at him, saying, “Lin Mingxu, did you really just grab the wrong cup?”

“… Yes, I grabbed the wrong one.”

Lin Mingxu remained composed and said, “So, I apologize to you and I’m truly sorry for breaking your cup.”

His attitude was very amicable, and Shu You instantly felt more at ease.

After all, a cup was a personal and intimate item, and it felt strange to have someone else use it.

The small incident seemed to have come to an end. The next day, Shu You didn’t have much to do, and because they needed to buy cups, Lin Mingxu asked him to have lunch together at the company.

It was the first time Shu You had come to the company since it had started to prosper. Actually, it hadn’t been that long since his last visit, but as Shu You stepped into the elevator and entered through the front door, everything seemed different.

The empty space had been filled, and there were desks everywhere. Many people were bustling about, giving off the appearance of a thriving start-up company.

The receptionist greeted him attentively, “Hello, sir. How can I assist you?”

“Um…”

In this atmosphere, even Shu You felt the need to act more serious. He cleared his throat and said solemnly, “I’m looking for your CEO, Mr. Lin.”

Should he call him CEO Lin?

As expected, the receptionist smiled and said, “Do you have an appointment?”

Here it comes!

This was the legendary…

Meeting with the domineering CEO by appointment only!

Shu You couldn’t help but ask curiously, “If I don’t have an appointment, does that mean I can’t see him?”

“It’s not like that,” the receptionist girl smiled and said, “Even without an appointment, we will inform him.”

Respectfully, Shu You sat obediently in the waiting area near the entrance, waiting for the receptionist to relay the message.

After just two minutes, the receptionist returned and politely informed him that Lin Mingxu was in a meeting, so he would have to wait for a while.

She also asked him if he wanted juice or coffee.

Shu You chose juice.

The meeting Lin Mingxu was in lasted for half an hour.

After half an hour, he walked out of the meeting room, and his new assistant, Tang Le, reported to him, “General Lin, here are two documents, and a client has scheduled a meeting at 3 o’clock this afternoon…”

Tang Le hesitated and then tentatively said, “There is a Mr. Shu You waiting outside, saying he came to see you. I’m not sure…”

Without hesitation, Lin Mingxu replied, “Let him in.”

Tang Le nodded and said, “Alright, CEO Lin.”

Just as he was about to turn around, Lin Mingxu added, “In the future, when Shu You comes… forget it, give him a temporary work pass and let him stay at the front desk.”

This meant that Shu You could come in whenever he wanted with his work pass, without the need for prior notification.

Tang Le took note of this in his mind, quickly made his way, and decided to go see for himself.

He arrived at the waiting area in front of the reception desk and found that the receptionist was nowhere to be seen, and a crowd had gathered around the sofa.

Tang Le: ???

In the distance, he heard passionate voices.

“…Why is it that our money doesn’t come like a gust of wind, but it disappears like it was blown away by a gust of wind?”

“Why do we have to cover the screen when we withdraw money, or else we’ll be mocked by thieves?”

“Because it’s not shameful to sell your soul, what’s shameful is not selling it for a good price.”

Tang’s mind suddenly jolted—wait a minute, what he said makes sense.

…Wait! How did the person selling financial courses get in here?

Tang Le squeezed his way through the crowd and pushed to the front, where he saw a young man with disheveled hair, enthusiastically speaking and gesturing: “Everyone, don’t worry! It’s just a communication exchange, speak freely!”

Then Shu You noticed Tang Le squeezing in and asked, “Hey? Why are you cutting in line?”

Tang Le: “… Sorry, I didn’t mean to… really!”

He suddenly snapped back to reality and said, “You must be Mr. Shu You, right?”

“Yeah,” Shu You nodded, “I’m Shu You, what’s up?”

Tang Le: “…”

He never expected that CEO Lin would have such a friend.

He suspected that Shu You came here to conduct employee training, but looking at him, he seemed too young for that.

Tang Le dispersed the crowd around them, and as he walked with Shu You, he couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Shu, what do you do for a living?”

“Oh, me,” Shu You casually replied, “I sell my mouth.”

Tang Le was a bit confused.

When they reached Lin Mingxu’s office, Shu You looked up, confirmed the location, and directly walked in, calling out, “Boyfriend, I’m here!”

Tang Le: …Wow, turns out he’s the boss’s boyfriend!

He quickly made a mental note and marked him as a key person of interest.

As Assistant Tang considerately closed the door, Shu You didn’t pay attention and hurriedly walked over, standing in front of Lin Mingxu with a smile. “Good noon, boyfriend.”

Busy with work all morning, Lin Mingxu remained composed, but there was still a hint of exhaustion. However, for some reason, when the young man entered briskly, it felt like a breath of fresh air had accompanied him, instantly making the air much fresher.

“Beep.”

Shu You put down the air conditioning remote control and innocently blinked. “Lin Mingxu, I helped you turn on the air exchange function, no need to thank me.”

Lin Mingxu:…

He twitched his brow, “But aren’t you trying to save money?”

“Savings doesn’t mean not spending money.”

Shu You logically and convincingly said, “There are necessary expenses.”

“Not opening the windows in winter and using the air conditioning for air exchange is good for our health.”

“Health is more important than money.”

“After all, if we get sick, we still have to spend money on treatment.”

Each of his statements was more reasonable than the last, and Lin Mingxu had no choice but to change the subject, “Why don’t you have a seat for a while? I still have some unfinished matters.”

It was only 11 a.m., and it wasn’t time for lunch yet.

Shu You nodded and obediently sat down on the nearby sofa. After a while, with nothing else to do, he muted the performances of his peers on his phone so as not to disturb Lin Mingxu’s work.

As Shu You sat on the sofa, occasionally bursting into laughter with his hand covering his mouth, the office door would open and close from time to time as people entered and left.

Not long after, Assistant Tang entered and whispered, “CEO Lin, a client is insisting on speaking with you personally regarding a discrepancy in the documents sent to them.”

Furrowing his brows, Lin Mingxu glanced at Shu You, who was giggling on the sofa, and stood up to leave.

Once he left, the room became even quieter. Shu You unconsciously raised his voice a bit.

“Hahaha…”

“Hahahahahaha…”

Shu You: ?????

Why are there two laughter sounds?

He turned his head and was surprised, “How did Zhu Feiche get in here?”

Zhu Feiche, dressed in a formal suit today, looked quite dignified. He strolled in leisurely, smiling at Shu You, “If you can come, why can’t I?”

Shu You was taken aback, “Could it be that you, like Lu Chenbi…”

Zhu Feiche: “…Huh?”

“Have also secretly admired Lin Mingxu for years?”

Zhu Feiche: “…”

Why would he have such an association? And does Lu Chenbi secretly admire Lin Mingxu too? How did he not notice?

No, no, no. Although Zhu Feiche didn’t interact with Shu You much, he knew very well that he couldn’t let himself be led around by Shu You. Otherwise, Shu You would skillfully defeat him in his own domain.

Zhu Feiche coughed and habitually joked, “Don’t make such jokes. It would be more believable if you said I secretly admire you. I don’t like the type of person Lin Mingxu is.”

“…That’s true.”

Shu You nodded understandingly, “It wouldn’t be easy for you if you were together.”

Zhu Feiche was dumbfounded.

If he understood correctly, he felt like his dignity was being casually trampled upon.

“Shu You…”

Zhu Feiche’s cheek twitched, “As your boss, can you… be a bit more respectful?”

“I know, I know.”

Shu You immediately straightened his back and squeezed out a smile, “If the boss eats meat, I’ll drink soup. If the boss gets rich, I’ll take out a loan.”

“If the boss draws a picture, I believe it. If the boss buys a car, I’ll foot the bill.”

Zhu Feiche smirked, not quite smiling, “You’re truly an excellent stand-up comedian.”

Shu You blushed and lowered his head, “Boss, you’re too kind.”

Zhu Feiche failed to tease him and ended up feeling annoyed himself. He curled his lips and deliberately said in a teasing tone, “I see that you’re particularly considerate of Lin Mingxu, aren’t you?”

He was extremely jealous of the way Shu You and Lin Mingxu interacted the last time he saw them together.

“Of course,” Shu You said naturally, “He’s my boyfriend. If I’m not considerate of him, then whom should I be considerate of?”

Zhu Feiche was left speechless.

Shu You happily continued watching his show, and Zhu Feiche waited for a while but couldn’t suppress his curiosity any longer. “Shu You, are you and Lin Mingxu together for another purpose?”

Zhu Feiche wondered why someone like Lin Mingxu, who seemed cold-hearted and not like a good person, could have a sweet romance. Why was he always shut out by the doors of love?

Shu You didn’t stop

playing with his phone and casually denied, “No.”

“We’re just in a relationship. What other purpose could there be?”

“I don’t believe it.”

Zhu Feiche wanted to stir up some drama. He suddenly noticed something and discreetly glanced at the crack in the door. He said, “Could it be that he has something on you? Or has he done something to you?”

Shu You was briefly stunned, and his eyes subtly glanced at Zhu Feiche.

Lin Mingxu didn’t have anything on him, but the original host did end up in a sorry state due to his own actions and thanks to Lin Mingxu’s help.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Feiche’s casual remark hit close to home.

Shu You put down his phone and thought seriously for a moment, “If you put it that way, you’re not wrong.”

“…Oh?”

Zhu Feiche didn’t expect him to say that and became curious. He asked eagerly, “What is it? Tell me, maybe I can help you.”

Shu You, with a serious expression, said, “He has something of mine that I can’t retrieve.”

“…What is it?”

Shu You blushed and said shyly, “My heart has fallen for him.”

Zhu Feiche: …………….