He is Too Stingy, This Sand Sculpture Cannon Fodder

To be precise, something was off since the hot spring.

At that time, Shu You didn’t think much, actually, he didn’t think much afterward either.

But now, Shu You realized that he must think a bit more.

However, what should he think about?

Hmm…

Shu You pondered, contemplated, and racked his brains before reaching a conclusion.

Lin Mingxu must be planning something against him.

There was a subtle, ominous feeling, as if digging a big pit and wanting to push him into it.

Yes, that’s it.

So Shu You urgently reflected on his actions. He couldn’t figure out what he had done wrong recently.

In other words, his own weak point had been caught, right?

Indeed, it was all because Lin Mingxu was difficult to deal with.

Shu You made up his mind that from now on, he would face Lin Mingxu with utmost vigilance.

Victory was within reach, and he couldn’t afford any mistakes.

While he was deeply contemplating, on the other side, Lin Mingxu sat on the sofa in the living room, rubbing his throbbing temples.

Damn it, Shu You’s mind was as winding as an 18-bend mountain road.

Plus a Nine Linked Rings puzzle.

Normal people couldn’t fathom what he was thinking.

After a moment of calm, Lin Mingxu’s phone rang. Without even looking, he picked it up since not many people would call at this hour.

Zhu Feiche’s voice came from the other end of the line, “Hello, Lin Mingxu.”

“It’s me.”

Lin Mingxu coldly replied, “Do you know what time it is now?”

“I know, I know.”

Zhu Feiche showed no guilt but chuckled, “I know you’re busy, that’s why I’m telling you at this hour. After all, I’ll be boarding a plane soon, so I won’t have time to talk to you.”

“Well, then,” he shamelessly continued, “keep an eye on that matter recently. I’ll be busy for a few days.”

“You’re busy?”

Lin Mingxu raised an eyebrow, “What could you be busy with? What could be more important than that matter?”

“Oh,” Zhu Feiche stammered, rarely feeling embarrassed. He lowered his voice and said, “It’s a love problem, you know.”

Lin Mingxu asked, “You went to find Peng Shang’en, right?”

“No, it’s not what you think.” Zhu Feiche cleared his throat and awkwardly explained, “I’ve had a realization. The way I used to pursue people was unconventional, so I searched online and decided to learn how to date properly first.”

“This is a major event in life, just as important as that matter.”

Lin Mingxu’s mind paused for a moment, but he remained calm and said, “There are places to learn that?”

“Yes, there are.”

Zhu Feiche had done a lot of research recently and spoke non-stop, “You can find a lot on the internet, there are dedicated communities too. If all else fails, you can even seek psychological counseling, you know.”

“Ah, I envy you. You must have patched things up with Shu You by now, right?”

Lin Mingxu made a mistake; he had forgotten about the almighty internet.

The call ended, but the man still held the phone in his hand, lost in thought with an unreadable expression.

“Creak.”

The bathroom door opened, and Shu You’s slightly disheveled head popped out as he peeked.

Seeing that Lin Mingxu was still in the living room and not paying attention to him, Shu You swiftly slipped into the bedroom, pretending that he really wanted to go to bed early.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Lin Mingxu dashing past.

Now he could go online.

But just as the screen of his phone lit up, Lin Mingxu hesitated again.

Shu You was a special case, and the internet might not have a solution for him either.

But it was worth a try.

So, on a whim, he entered a question in the search bar.

“What to do when your boyfriend is extremely annoying.”

He entered the keywords, the page redirected, and many similar questions popped up. There was only one highly praised answer below.

[Create distance] anonymously.

Lin Mingxu muttered, “What’s wrong with these people? Why can’t they wish others well?”

He deleted the content from the search bar and entered again.

“What to do when your boyfriend is a fool.”

Similar questions appeared, and there was another highly praised answer below.

[If you can’t beat them, join them] anonymously.

Lin Mingxu understood. He shouldn’t have listened to Zhu Feiche.

How could he trust someone who had been single for so many years, got blocked when pursuing someone, and still gave advice?

Lin Mingxu closed his computer.

He needed to think carefully about this problem.

He hadn’t cared before, then didn’t have the chance, but now he wanted to become an expert to deal with Shu You, who was like a colossal Goldbach’s conjecture.

The difficulty was indeed quite high.

Lin Mingxu rarely fell into contemplation.

The living room light remained on for a long time. Shu You couldn’t bear it anymore and peeked through the door crack once again.

“Um… Lin Mingxu, aren’t you going to sleep?”

“Sleeping.”

The man stood up expressionlessly, washed up, and lay down on the bed.

He didn’t say goodnight for a long time, so Shu You couldn’t sleep either. Suddenly, he turned to the side and spoke, “Lin Mingxu.”

Lin Mingxu’s heart skipped a beat.

This seemed like an opportunity.

After a pause, he asked in a low voice, “Shu You.”

As the words came out, he stopped.

How should he say it?

How could he say it more appropriately and smoothly?

Shu You felt a bit nervous at this moment.

For some reason, he was nervous.

In the dim light, all he could see was the handsome silhouette of the man, the mountain-like arch of his eyebrows. Shu You discreetly pinched his thigh to remind himself to stay calm and say what needed to be said.

“Um…”

Shu You’s fingers clenched, and he composed himself, saying calmly, “Lin Mingxu, I have something to tell you.”

Lin Mingxu froze.

“Go ahead.”

Shu You swallowed nervously and pursed his lips, saying, “I-I’m going to participate in an important variety show in a few days.”

His gaze flickered, and he didn’t dare to look directly at Lin Mingxu. Fortunately, it was too dark to see clearly.

“I…”

He stammered and finally got to the point. “These days, I need to practice acting and come up with jokes. How about we sleep separately for now?”

“I’ll tidy up the guest room tomorrow. You’re working in the office now, right? Can I use the desk at home?”

Sleep separately.

Lin Mingxu frowned. Why?

Why did he suddenly want to sleep separately?

Lin Mingxu didn’t even hear the second half of Shu You’s sentence. He struggled to control his voice. “I disagree.”

“Ah,” Shu You was surprised. “Lin Mingxu, are you really that petty? You won’t even let me use a desk that you don’t use during the day.”

“Yes, I disagree.”

“Why do you disagree, Lin Mingxu?”

“No reason.”

“If there’s no reason, then why?”

“No reason, I just disagree.”

Shu You was silent.

He was angry.

“Well, do whatever you want, Lin Mingxu.”

Shu You said these words stiffly, quickly turned his back, and stopped talking.

Lin Mingxu didn’t say goodnight.

They were going to sleep separately.

Unable to resist, Lin Mingxu picked up his phone, opened a webpage, and entered a search.

“What to do when your partner wants to sleep in separate beds.”

Swipe.

Many answers appeared.

He clicked on the first one.

Anonymous person: [It happens when you reach middle age. There’s no way, just endure it.]

He clicked on the second one.

Anonymous person: [Yeah, it happened to me too. When I turned fifty, my spouse complained about my snoring, teeth grinding, and talking in my sleep.]

Damn it, Lin Mingxu wasn’t even a middle-aged man.

In the darkness, the light from the phone screen dimmed.

The room was quiet.

Yet, it was especially noisy.

Noisy to the point that both of them couldn’t fall asleep.

Shu You closed his eyes, wanting to turn over, but then remembered there was someone next to him, so he couldn’t.

Lin Mingxu closed his eyes, wanting to get up, but then remembered that it would disturb Shu You, so he couldn’t.

Shu You was silent.

Lin Mingxu was silent.

For the first time, the two beds were so distinct.

And then…

The bed on the left moved.

The bed on the right remained still.

The bed on the left moved again.

The bed on the right still hadn’t moved.

Shu You couldn’t help but turn over.

He glanced discreetly, and Lin Mingxu was facing away from him. Even if he turned over, he wouldn’t be able to see him.

That’s good.

He quietly pulled up the covers and turned over in bed.

He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

There was a stain on the ceiling, clearly visible in the darkness, quite conspicuous.

Shu You couldn’t help but stare at that stain.

Lin Mingxu was so infuriating. He was being so petty over a desk, and yet that desk was the one he had bought.

The stain resembled a map. Which map was it?

Lin Mingxu was too stingy. If he had known it would turn out like this, he wouldn’t have given him the little dog as compensation for the broken figurine.

Mediterranean, Qinghai, or Pacific?

Lin Mingxu “…”

“Lin Mingxu.”

Shu You suddenly sat up, pushed the person beside him, and exclaimed in panic, “Get up quickly, the ceiling is leaking!”

Half an hour later, Lin Mingxu hung up the phone and turned to look at Shu You, who was crouching on the bed, trying to find the right angle to place the basin. He took a deep breath.

“The people upstairs aren’t home, and the property management closed their water valve.”

“The maintenance worker can only come tomorrow. We can’t sleep here tonight. Let’s make do for now. They’ll handle it tomorrow.”

Shu You said, “Oh.”

Luckily, he noticed it in time and salvaged the bedding. Now, the bed only had the bed frame, with basins placed all over it.

It was like a coffee table filled with the misfortunes of life.

Now, they couldn’t sleep in the master bedroom. Even if they could, they would have to endure the sound of dripping all night.

The two of them had to take the bedding to the guest room.

The guest room bed wasn’t as big as the one in the master bedroom; it was only 1.5 meters wide. With two adult men lying on it, it felt somewhat crowded.

In addition to the thick winter blankets and two sets of bedding, they could hardly move.

Shu You was annoyed. How did it come to this?

He stood by the bed, unable to control his expression. At this moment, Lin Mingxu walked in with a calm face, picked up one of the blankets, and placed it on top of the other.

Shu You “…”

He only heard the man say calmly, “Don’t you want to fall off the bed while sleeping?”

Shu You “…” no, he didn’t want to.

“And don’t you want to avoid being too crowded while sleeping?”

Shu You “…” no, he didn’t want to.

“Then let’s leave it like this.”

Lin Mingxu had a deeper meaning in his words. “It’s just for one night, let’s make do. If you don’t want to…”

Shu You didn’t, didn’t not want to.

It was just one night, right?

They’ve been through worse, especially during the New Year. But how did it end up like this?

Shu You sighed and lay down in bed, feeling the heat next to him.

It was someone else’s body heat.

Burning, continuous, emitting an unparalleled attraction in the lonely and cold winter night.

Like a lighthouse on a stormy night.

Shu You lay flat, and somehow his body felt a little stiff.

Lin Mingxu suddenly turned and looked over.

Shu You hurriedly closed his eyes.

There was a rustling sound, followed by someone approaching. Under the cover of the same blanket, both their hearts were pounding.

After a while…

Someone whispered softly, “Goodnight.”

“Go-goodnight.”

Shu You’s ears turned slightly red.

He adjusted his posture to make himself more comfortable. Lin Mingxu remained silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke, “Do you still want to sleep in separate beds?”

“Uh…”

Shu You was taken aback.

He didn’t expect Lin Mingxu to ask that all of a sudden.

The atmosphere was harmonious just before Lin Mingxu asked this question.

Shu You stammered, “I don’t want to disturb your sleep.”

And it was true.

Lin Mingxu was always out early and back late. Sleep was crucial for him.

Shu You could take naps during the day, but at night, he was full of energy and had the strongest creativity.

“And besides…”

He hesitated for a moment and mumbled, “Didn’t we used to sleep separately before?”

Silence.

Lin Mingxu remained silent for a long time.

Shu You, in a daze, wandered between sleep and wakefulness. He didn’t know how much time had passed when he heard a low, almost self-talked voice in his ear.

“But it’s different.”

Unconsciously, he couldn’t imagine a day without Shu You.

Shu You was almost asleep, and without opening his eyes, he murmured, “It’s the same.”

Lin Mingxu…

The man’s eyes darkened, and he asked, “You think it’s the same?”

“Yeah.”

Shu You was already halfway into dreamland, and with half-consciousness, he murmured, “Lights off, in bed, it’s the same everywhere.”

Lin Mingxu “…”