Chapter 2: Transmigrated as a Cheapskate Phoenix Man (2)
Cen Yu didn’t even bother buttoning his shirt back up. Hearing Yu Xinyu’s cautious voice, he felt guilty on the inside, yet kept reminding himself—
Maintain character! Be a cold-hearted scumbag!
With that, he yanked the bathroom door open and glared at Yu Xinyu with impatience.
“Why are you shouting so loud?” He intentionally picked a fight. “Did you wash these clothes by hand? If they aren’t hand-washed, I’m not wearing them. I’m allergic to clothes washed in a washing machine.”
These words were purely meant to make things difficult.
The second they left his mouth, Cen Yu wanted to slap himself ten times in the face! What an absolute jerk!
He waited for a moment, but Yu Xinyu didn’t reply. He had assumed he’d driven Yu Xinyu to tears with his scolding… Just as he was debating whether to offer a mild apology, he saw Yu Xinyu holding a set of silk pajamas, staring at him with a deep flush on his face.
“…?” Cen Yu froze for a few seconds.
Then, following Yu Xinyu’s gaze down to his unbuttoned shirt, he realized the reason behind the blush in the very next second… No, bro, do you blush like this when you go to a swimming pool too?
Speechless, he stared at Yu Xinyu, who was too flushed to look him in the eye, as a few massive words flashed across his mind—
He’s hopelessly in love.
He snatched the pajamas straight from Yu Xinyu’s hands. “Don’t forget to wash the laundry!” He hadn’t forgotten that task yet. “Everything has to be done by hand.”
Seeing that Cen Yu had finally taken the pajamas, Yu Xinyu wrung his fingers somewhat timidly, appearing as if he wanted to say something.
“…Say what you want to say.”
“Hubby…” Yu Xinyu said, “Has Sang Qianshan been in touch with you lately?”
Here it came, here came the plot point!
The moment Cen Yu heard those words, his mental radar instantly pinged. “Not much lately…” He looked Yu Xinyu up and down. “Why? Taking a fancy to Sang Qianshan?”
“Let me tell you, nobody else will ever want you except me.”
Ugh! The grease was way too thick; he felt like throwing up.
Cen Yu felt that after surviving this mini-world, he’d definitely have to file for a worker’s compensation claim—there were simply too many greasy, brainless scumbag lines.
“No, Hubby~” Fearing Cen Yu had misunderstood him, Yu Xinyu grew anxious immediately.
“How could I possibly like him? You know I love you the most.” With that, he threw his entire body into Cen Yu’s arms.
Then, his arms wrapped tightly around Cen Yu’s waist.
His cheek rubbed against Cen Yu’s collarbone a few times. “You remember, don’t you? It was love at first sight for me.”
“…” Cen Yu actually remembered this part of the plot.
The reason why a naive, wealthy young master like Yu Xinyu had fallen for Cen Yu in this novel was simple: back when Yu Xinyu was ambushed by muggers after school, Cen Yu had played the hero and rescued him—from then on, Yu Xinyu fell head over heels, convinced this guy was his grand hero.
Looking back at this plot point through Cen Yu’s memories, however, he only felt like complaining.
As mentioned before, although Yu Xinyu seemed delicate and fragile, he wasn’t short at all.
He was at least 185 cm tall, and even back in school, he was already 180 cm.
Those muggers were shorter than him.
Nor had Cen Yu rescued him out of the goodness of his heart; it was simply that Cen Yu, who was desperately strapped for cash and working various odd jobs at the time, happened to hear a single sentence from the wealthy young master Yu Xinyu—
“Someone please save me! I’ll give you money!”
So Cen Yu stepped up and beat those two punks away.
Carrying a plastic bag, Cen Yu had been on his way to his milk tea shaking job since he had no afternoon classes. After beating off the thugs, he squatted down in his sneakers to look at Yu Xinyu, who was half-lying on the ground.
Poking him in the head, he said, “Money.”
Tears welling in his eyes, Yu Xinyu looked at Cen Yu. “I… I don’t have cash on me.”
“Transfer it then. I have a QR code.” Cen Yu pulled out his phone.
“My phone was just taken by those two…” Yu Xinyu looked up at Cen Yu squatting before him as if gazing at a hero. “Come home with me. I promise I’ll have the butler give you the money.”
“Pfft, butler.”
Hearing this, Cen Yu stood up, not caring to bother whether this guy was brainless or an actual rich boy.
Carrying his plastic bag, he looked down at Yu Xinyu from above. “Get lost. I don’t ask fools for money.”
With that, he carried his plastic bag and turned to head to his job… only for his ankle to be grabbed by Yu Xinyu.
“?” Since it was summer, Cen Yu was only wearing a pair of cheap, over-the-knee board shorts. He looked down at Yu Xinyu’s hand gripping his ankle. “Let go.”
He made a move to lift his foot.
“Please let me repay you!”
Yu Xinyu squatted there, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Cen Yu. He had an exceptionally pretty face; perhaps because his grandmother was a foreigner, he had light-colored hair, sharp facial features, and pale brown eyes tinged with green, his face radiating an innocent, wealthy ignorance of the world.
Yet Cen Yu had no time to play along with the young master.
“Scram.”
Shaking off Yu Xinyu, he went straight to work.
According to Cen Yu’s memories, ever since Yu Xinyu tracked down where he shook milk tea, he would stand in line to buy milk tea rain or shine. On any day Cen Yu worked, massive orders would come flooding in—
Unable to bear it any longer, Cen Yu crooked a finger at Yu Xinyu, who was waiting in line.
“You. Come here.”
Yu Xinyu ran over happily.
Only to be socked right in the stomach by Cen Yu. “…Didn’t you hear me tell you to scram and play somewhere else?”
Cen Yu grabbed Yu Xinyu by the collar. “Every time you show up from now on, I’m going to beat you up.”
Even after taking a punch, Yu Xinyu didn’t get angry. He merely rubbed his stomach aggrievedly. “…But I want to pursue you.”
“Huh?”
“You’re so amazing! You saved me back then!” Stars shone in Yu Xinyu’s eyes. “I fell in love with you at first sight.”
Recalling the plot in his memories, Cen Yu genuinely didn’t know how to begin complaining—
So this is what a top-tier romantic fool looks like?!
If you don’t end up scraping by on wild vegetables, who will?!
Utterly unable to stomach this romantic fool any longer, Cen Yu shoved away Yu Xinyu, who was clinging to him and acting spoiled. “Is that so? Looks to me like you’re still paying plenty of attention to Sang Qianshan.”
Sang Qianshan was Male Lead 3 in this story!
He was also Cen Yu’s close friend (at least, before he stole his wife).
Unlike Cen Yu, who worked as an office employee, Sang Qianshan possessed exceptionally good looks. Right after graduation, he was scouted to act. What was originally thought to be just a minor gig to make some extra cash unexpectedly made him an overnight sensation!
He rocketed straight into the top tier!
Moreover, after five years of acting, he clinched a major award, scoring huge wins at both the box office and award shows.
In the original novel, Sang Qianshan had always disapproved of how Cen Yu treated Yu Xinyu. But whenever he tried to say something, Cen Yu would start dripping with sarcasm, asking if he felt so bad for him because he had fallen for him!
Sang Qianshan found Cen Yu completely unreasonable… yet he was gradually drawn to this resilient white lotus (who was indeed wealthy), which kicked off the subsequent chaotic rivalries.
Seeing that Yu Xinyu seemed eager to explain further, Cen Yu cut him off directly, “Don’t talk to me about other men anymore.”
“I’m tired. I’m taking a shower.”
With that, he shut the bathroom door right in Yu Xinyu’s face.
