He is Too Stingy, This Sand Sculpture Cannon Fodder

“I”

Shu You’s mind was in a daze. He hadn’t fully processed Lin Mingxu’s words yet. He hesitated and said, “I need to think about it.”

Think, think clearly.

Lin Mingxu held his hand and gently kissed it, his eyes filled with tenderness. “Okay, take your time to think. I’ll wait until you’re clear.”

Shu You’s face instantly turned red, and he stammered, “Y-you don’t have to make people think like that.”

“Mm.”

Lin Mingxu continued to look at him, making him blush even more. Shu You said, “Then, how do you want me to think? I’ll do as you say.”

Shu You: “…”

Damn it.

He was just being bold because he had confessed his feelings.

Shu You bit his lip and suddenly blurted out, “Can I refuse?”

“…”

Lin Mingxu paused, then squeezed his hand again and calmly said, “You can.”

“Will you get angry?” Shu You hesitated and tentatively asked, “Will you retaliate against me?”

“I won’t get angry, and I won’t retaliate against you.”

Lin Mingxu’s heart ached. He looked deeply into Shu You’s eyes and answered seriously, “If you reject me, I will continue to like you, pursue you, and become better for you every day until you agree.”

Shu You’s mind exploded like a firework, a particularly dazzling one.

His last trace of sanity was about to collapse, but it seemed that he couldn’t hold on for long.

Why was Lin Mingxu so good at talking?

Was it because he was the protagonist in this relationship?

No, wait, he was the protagonist too.

Shu You suddenly snapped back to reality and stuttered, “Then, what if you start liking someone else?”

Lin Mingxu raised an eyebrow. “Only in your dreams.”

Shu You’s gaze avoided him. “Mm.”

“Shu You.”

Lin Mingxu sighed.

“I don’t know what you’ve dreamt of, but I can tell you that before meeting you, I’ve never had feelings for anyone else.”

Without Shu You, he was just the person who had lost everything and felt cold in high places.

He was someone whose heart had turned into a rock, without any ripples of emotions.

“And, let’s not mention that dream.”

Lin Mingxu whispered softly, “I can tell you a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times that I like you now.”

“It’s you, the current Shu You.”

The previous ‘Shu You‘ had disgusted him once he discovered his true identity.

So at that time, he had no interest in an acrobatic clown who had already met his deserved end. He just wanted to drive him away and quickly move on to more important matters.

If he had known that he would fall in love with Shu You…

“Shu You.”

Lin Mingxu stared into his eyes, his gaze unwavering. He said in a low voice, “You can’t punish me for something that hasn’t happened yet.”

“I…”

Shu You felt that what he said made sense.

If Lin Mingxu was telling the truth, then he was indeed too obsessed with those plotlines.

He thought he knew his own ending and wanted to change it. So he desperately tried to please Lin Mingxu, not letting him drive him away. But inadvertently, he made Lin Mingxu truly fall in love with him.

And he had also fallen in love with Lin Mingxu.

At this moment, a sentence appeared in his mind.

An old saying.

“Love, it doesn’t make sense.”

Shu You couldn’t help but say, “Lin Mingxu, do you really like me?”

“I do.”

The man still held his hand and didn’t let go for a moment. It was as if he wanted to keep holding it like this forever, for a very long time. He leaned closer, whispered in Shu You’s ear, “I like you.”

“If you don’t believe it, if you have doubts, I’ll say it every day until you believe, until you have no doubts.”

Unexpectedly, Shu You looked up at him, hesitated, and said, “Then, what if I believe?”

“You… Will you stop saying it then?” Lin Mingxu suddenly laughed.

He found Shu You incredibly adorable.

Shu You lacked a sense of security, which was why he always avoided, why he asked such strange questions.

Lin Mingxu suddenly understood him, understood why he left without saying goodbye, why he chose to be a coward.

But what should he do?

He liked Shu You even more in this state.

Without realizing it, Lin Mingxu sat beside him and held him in his arms, gently embracing him, filling his heart with the softest things.

Clouds, cotton candy, the breeze of spring.

Each one resembled Shu You.

He felt even more protective of him.

Lin Mingxu’s arms involuntarily tightened, as if he wanted to merge the person in his arms into his own body, to become one, so he could keep him by his side, take care of him, pamper him, and make him the most confident and secure person in the world.

So, Lin Mingxu couldn’t help but kiss his forehead.

“Shu You.”

The man maintained this posture, his heartbeat and voice resonating from his chest, “Just like I told you before.”

“I won’t suddenly start liking you, and I won’t suddenly stop liking you.”

“W-what if you slowly stop liking me then?” It seemed that Shu You, who had finally seen the legendary ‘protagonist uke1‘, tilted his head slightly and stubbornly demanded a definite answer.

Lin Mingxu softly replied, “Then I’ll slowly fall in love with you.”

This sentence came out more quickly than he had imagined.

It was easy to say.

Because there was only one Shu You in the world, and there was probably no first rebirth.

No step earlier, no step later, no one day earlier, no one day later.

It was that moment, that moment, those two people.

So this person was Lin Mingxu, and the other person was Shu You.

Shu You was a bit stunned.

The impact of Lin Mingxu’s words was too strong.

It was so powerful that the rational voice in his mind suddenly vanished, and he couldn’t even see its shadow.

He opened his mouth but realized he couldn’t ask anything anymore.

At least in terms of words, Lin Mingxu had given him the most definite answer.

He had nothing to say.

It seemed that because of that sentence, he liked Lin Mingxu even more.

Shu You fell silent, and Lin Mingxu held his waist, starting to kiss him.

Forehead, center of the eyebrows, bridge of the nose, tip of the nose, and finally the lips.

One by one, pecking kisses.

Like an endless, repetitive task that would never become tiresome, always full of excitement.

And then, he didn’t forget to change the subject.

“Don’t dwell on things that haven’t happened.”

“Think about something else.”

“…”

Shu You couldn’t help but giggle because of his kisses. “D-don’t… don’t kiss me anymore.”

Lin Mingxu briefly released him, allowing his cheek to move away from his lips. Shu You quickly moved away, smiling and crying helplessly, “What do you want me to think about?”

“Think…”

Lin Mingxu pondered for a moment, “Think about how we’ll decorate our new home.”

Shu You: “…”

Oh no, he thought of the ‘uke‘ again.

It was all because of his profession as an interior designer, and he personally delivered the design plans right before his eyes.

Shu You expression didn’t look right, and Lin Mingxu’s brow twitched as he suddenly asked, “Who am I together within your dreams?”

“Um…”

Shu You immediately lowered his head, looking left and right, and said evasively, “Actually, it’s just a sign, not anything particularly specific.”

He couldn’t remember anymore. Hundreds of thousands of words, such a long time, he had almost forgotten everything.

I only remember that the majority of it was about how the protagonist, the ‘seme2,’ revitalized his family’s business and achieved great success. It was filled with various struggles and conflicts, which he found exciting and satisfying.

But if you ask him for specific details from within the story, he couldn’t apologize enough. As a noble genuine reader, he reads extensively every day and is well-educated. He also follows many other novels.

If it weren’t for his fondness for the character Lin Mingxu, he might not have even realized that he had transmigrated into a book.

He didn’t want to say it, and the timing wasn’t right. Lin Mingxu didn’t want to ruin the hard-won good situation, so he didn’t ask further.

Shu You quickly changed the subject, “Lin Mingxu, you promised that you won’t like anyone else.”

“Yes.”

Lin Mingxu assured him once again, “I only like you.”

The previous suppression vanished, and a different kind of sweetness filled the air. Shu You’s emotions fluctuated like a roller coaster throughout the day.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

A silly, foolish laugh.

“Lin Mingxu.”

Shu You suddenly threw himself into Lin Mingxu’s arms, holding him tightly, resting his chin on his shoulder. “You like me.”

“Yes.”

Lin Mingxu answered without hesitation, “I like you.”

“You liked me first.” Shu You emphasized this point with glee, thinking that the order of events was important.

“I liked you first.”

Lin Mingxu admitted without hesitation, “I was the first to be moved.”

He even added with a hint of complaint, “But you were clueless all this time.”

“Cough.”

Shu You coughed dryly and quickly raised a smokescreen, “But you hit me so hard just now and scolded me so fiercely.”

“It was my fault, I’m sorry.”

Lin Mingxu readily apologized, going with the flow. “I’ll make it up to you until you’re satisfied, alright?”

“An eye for an eye.”

Shu You reluctantly agreed, but he cunningly blinked and grinned, “But I haven’t agreed to start over with you.”

Lin Mingxu: “…”

Almost forgot, Shu You was the one who played word games professionally.

Helpless, Lin Mingxu tightened his arm and kissed Shuyou’s cheek once again. “Then tell me, what do I need to do for you to agree?”

“Well…”

Shu You started to think seriously.

Beat up Lin Mingxu to vent his anger.

No, no, he couldn’t possibly do that.

Scold Lin Mingxu to vent his anger.

No, no, he couldn’t bear to scold him either.

After much consideration, he realized there wasn’t a good solution. Shu You pouted and muttered, “Let me calm down first, and then I’ll agree.”

Lin Mingxu: “…”

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Shu You glanced at the time and suddenly muttered to himself, “I feel like I’ve forgotten something, but I can’t remember.”

It was already past eleven in the evening.

But Shu You was hungry, tired, and sleepy. He hesitated to ask, “Lin Mingxu, have you had dinner?”

Lin Mingxu hadn’t even had lunch.

He was angry.

With an unchanged expression, Lin Mingxu said, “What do you want to eat? We can order takeout, or we can go to a hotel.”

Shu You checked his phone and realized it was too late. The hotel restaurant had already closed, so only takeout was an option.

He tapped on the screen and suddenly brightened his eyes. “Lin Mingxu, this place has a late-night couple set menu, and they even offer champagne.”

Champagne.

Lin Mingxu’s mouth twitched, and without thinking, he reflexively said, “You can’t drink alcohol.”

“But I want to.”

Shu You blinked his eyes, looked at him with pleading eyes, and playfully pestered him. “I want to drink, just for today. I really want to.”

Suddenly, he really, really wanted to drink.

Lin Mingxu: “…”

Recalling Shu You’s reaction after getting drunk, he was about to refuse with a firm heart. However, in the next second, Shu You quickly changed his expression and softly said, “Lin Mingxu, you don’t love me anymore.”

“You won’t even let me drink, yet you say you like me.”