He is Too Stingy, This Sand Sculpture Cannon Fodder

Lu Chenbi’s figure disappeared into the bleak distance.

With all the commotion, Lu He’s plan couldn’t continue and he had to leave in disappointment.

The two court staff quickly said their goodbyes and went back to share the gossip. Lin Mingxu watched as the door to his house closed and locked, feeling a sudden sense of melancholy for no apparent reason.

He involuntarily clenched the photo frame in his hand – it was a family portrait taken with his parents before he went abroad.

In the photo, the family of three looked happy and beautiful, smiling contentedly at the camera.

Suddenly, a fair hand covered the photo, with the index finger poking at the spot on Lin Mingxu’s cheek. Shu You’s face leaned in at the same time and said, “How old were you at this time, Lin Mingxu?”

Lin Mingxu: “…”

His sad thoughts were interrupted again.

He hesitated for a moment and replied, “Before I went to college, at 18 years old.”

“Oh, I see…”

Shu You took the photo frame and carefully looked at the small figures in the picture. After a while, he smiled and said, “You looked pretty good back then, Lin Mingxu.”

To be precise, he had a youthful spirit, exuberant and upward.

…It was like he had become a completely different person from the current one, so deep and cold.

Well, he had suffered a major blow after all.

Shu You didn’t think too deeply about it, and his thoughts drifted to another topic, “Oh, where are your parents buried? It’s almost Chinese New Year, should we prepare to pay our respects to them?”

Lin Mingxu hesitated for a moment, then blurted out, “In the cemetery outside the city.”

Some words came to his lips and he couldn’t hold back.

“…When I came back to China, my family was already in a very bad situation, and I couldn’t get any clear answers anywhere.”

“After making many phone calls, I finally found out that my parents were still in the hospital.”

“…The funeral was also quite rushed.”

Overnight, he had nothing left.

For a young person, the whole world had collapsed.

On those sleepless nights, he endured it alone.

But some of the once indestructible things in his heart had already collapsed completely.

He said calmly, “I will go to pay my respects during Chinese New Year.”

To tell them that he had made it through.

Shu You made a sound of agreement and remembered this in his heart. He looked at his phone and found that it was already noon, so he said to Lin Mingxu, “Let’s go home for lunch?”

Go home.

Lin Mingxu took a last look at the old house and turned to leave.

Just as he took a few steps, Shu You suddenly said, “I feel like something’s not right.”

Lin Mingxu: “…What is it?”

Shu You stroked his chin, channeling his inner Holmes: “You just came to pick up a photo, why are Lu…Lu Chenbi and his father so nervous?”

“They even brought people specifically for this trip?”

“Could it be…”

His thoughts opened up, and he looked at Lin Mingxu hesitantly and said, “…they installed a bomb in your backyard?!”

Lin Mingxu: “…that’s impossible.”

“Then maybe they’re secretly committing crimes in your home?”

“Or maybe they’ve hidden something in your home?”

Lin Mingxu was speechless. “Why would they do these things in my home?”

Lu He rushed over in a panic, not because he had hidden something, but because he was afraid that Shu You would find something.

“Well…”

Shu You didn’t give up on this line of reasoning and suddenly blurted out, “Because they’re not very smart?”

Lin Mingxu’s mouth twitched. “Where do you see that they’re not smart?”

“Well.”

Shu You pushed the reasoning forward. “Because Lu Chenbi looks a bit silly?”

Lin Mingxu: “…that’s true.”

But that doesn’t mean that Lu He is also silly.

Otherwise, what would he be, being bullied so badly by Lu He?

Today, he was just caught off guard, and his son was suddenly stabbed, so he didn’t handle it well.

…Actually, it was mainly because of Shu You.

Encountering someone who doesn’t think in a conventional way for the first time, he naturally wasn’t prepared.

Lin Mingxu subtly realized that many things were because of Shu You.

Because of Shu You, this life that started again was really different.

His mood became complicated for a moment.

The two walked to the entrance of the community. It was too remote to call a car, so they continued to walk along the road. The snow on the road became bigger and bigger, and a layer of white covered Shu You’s head.

He shook his head vigorously, but the snowflakes didn’t shake off much. Instead, he saw stars and felt dizzy. He reached out his hand and said, “Lin, Lin Mingxu…”

The man stopped and looked at him suspiciously, only to see Shu You dizzy and unable to distinguish the north, south, east, and west…

There was a snap, and he slipped and fell on his buttocks.

Lin Mingxu: “…”

His forehead throbbed. “Get up quickly.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Shu You tried to get up from the ground, but there was another snap.

Snap.

Shu You fell again.

He innocently looked up at Lin Mingxu. “The earth is eager to get close to me, it’s not my fault.”

Lin Mingxu’s forehead burst out with a cross-shaped vein as a man with long legs strode over and grabbed Shu You with a strong and firm arm, lifting him up from the ground.

Shu You finally steadied himself and took two steps forward before falling again with a “snap.” He suspected that the original owner of this body had poor balance.

Lin Mingxu noticed and lifted him up for the second time. His expressionless face stated, “Starting tomorrow, you will exercise with me.”

Shu You was shocked. “You want a shut-in to exercise?”

Lin Mingxu mercilessly debunked his illusion. “Is being a shut-in incompatible with exercise?”

Shu You said, “…I guess not.” But as a shut-in, he inherently rejected exercise! Didn’t he become a shut-in because he wanted to lie down comfortably? Now that he was already lying down, why did he need to exercise?

On the way back, his head was drooping.

However, good news arrived soon.

Wu Youzhe called and said he had a new notice for him. “It’s a pretty good variety show, but it requires shooting out of town.” This time, it was a program from a provincial TV station, so they had to go to the provincial capital where the other party was located.

“When your fame takes off, we’ll perform in a big theater!”

When the time comes, the situation will open up, and Shu You will definitely become famous. Shu You was stirring the vegetables while on the phone and asked, “How many days do we need to go for?”

“Three days round trip, and the travel expenses will be reimbursed.”

Wu Youzhe thought the second half of his sentence was important to Shu You, so he specifically asked.

However, Shu You then asked, “Will they cover food and accommodation?”

Wu Youzhe missed the point. “…I’ll go ask.” The phone hung up temporarily, and Shu You walked out with the cooked food, casually telling Lin Mingxu, “Lin Mingxu, I might have to go on a business trip for a few days.”

Unexpectedly, he would be the one going on a business trip before Lin Mingxu.

He shyly continued, “Let’s talk about exercising when we get back.”

Lin Mingxu raised an eyebrow. “Where are you going?”

“It seems to be Changle City, but it’s not confirmed yet.”

Lin Mingxu glanced at him, saying lightly, “Then exercise first.”

Shu You: !!! He was going to die!!!

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Shu You lay gasping for breath on the yoga mat, feeling overwhelmed by darkness.

…Don’t ask him why he had a yoga mat; it was left behind by the previous owner. He wouldn’t buy this kind of fitness equipment that gets rolled up and put away after only two days of use.

He stubbornly tried to persuade Lin Mingxu with words, “Lin Mingxu, what you’re doing is not right.”

“The biggest use of a treadmill is to hang clothes, and the biggest use of a yoga mat is to take pictures.”

“Anyway, I can’t stick to it, so why bother?”

Unexpectedly, Lin Mingxu was ruthless. “So, you admit that you bought it but don’t use it, wasting resources?”

Shu You: ???

No! He didn’t!

Damn it, he was caught.

Shu You tried to do the downward dog pose but suddenly felt something was off. “Wait, why am I practicing yoga?”

Lin Mingxu himself didn’t practice yoga; he used to do sanda and now he runs.

The man glanced at him casually. “How do you want to exercise?”

“Uh…”

After careful consideration, he realized that yoga was the exercise with the least sweat, simplest movements, and didn’t require leaving the house.

Running requires getting up early, and he doesn’t know sanda. Spinning requires buying equipment.

“I can…”

Shu You struggled intensely in his heart and finally made a decision. “I can practice sit-ups.”

Lin Mingxu: …That seems like a way.

He turned and left Shu You where he was, deciding to let him handle it himself. But just as Lin Mingxu turned his body, Shu You had already climbed up from the yoga mat and clapped his hands deftly.

“Do you finish?” the man suddenly had a subtle premonition.

“I’m done!” Shu You raised a bright smile, held his head high and said, “I’ll practice sit-ups today. Tomorrow I’ll practice getting up from a lying position.”

Lin Mingxu: ……………………………………..