Chapter 36: Transmigrated as a Cheapskate Phoenix Man (36)
Stepping into the room, the man let out another quiet cough.
This caused Cen Yu to look over at him once more, grabbing a bottle of water from the mini-bar to hand over.
The man reached out to accept it, pulled a pill bottle from his pocket, poured out two pills, and popped them into his mouth before opening the mineral water Cen Yu provided to swallow them down.
Seeing that he had finished taking his medication, Cen Yu finally remembered his earlier question—
“What did you mean by the photos you bought?”
He couldn’t be blamed for overthinking it; the keywords “photos” and “model” easily brought to mind that set of purchased photographs.
He studied the man cautiously, unable to believe that this person could actually be the one who released those photos later in the story—could he be some hidden fan of Yu Xinyu?
Upon hearing the question, the man quickly offered an explanation, simply stating that he had happened to come across a set of photos, taken a huge liking to them, and couldn’t resist buying them. He gave Cen Yu an apologetic smile, “Because my health isn’t great, and I usually live a rather strict, conventional life…”
Pausing for a moment, he continued, “So when I saw that set of photos, I was a bit envious of that state of being.”
He let out an embarrassed smile, “So I spent money to buy them.”
He looked at Cen Yu, “Though I must apologize, I accidentally caught a glimpse of the tattoo on your body just now… It felt somewhat similar to the model in the photos I bought.”
“That’s why I asked if you had worked as a model before.”
Cen Yu looked at the enlarged photograph displayed on the man’s phone screen—the photo had been printed, enlarged, and hung in a room with nothing around it, almost like a room dedicated solely to displaying the artwork.
Even though it only revealed a single corner, Cen Yu could tell the room where the man hung the photo was empty and vast; no wonder he had the spare cash to buy those photos.
Shrugging internally, he studied the man’s face carefully once more.
Unfortunately, there was no key character in the original novel whose appearance matched this person… He was probably just some hidden fan. Thinking up to this point, he asked tentatively, “Do you know Yu Xinyu?”
“Yu Xinyu?” The smile on the man’s face remained unchanged. “I seem to have heard the name.”
Oh, so he hasn’t become a fan yet.
Cen Yu nodded to himself in understanding. Putting it together with the timeline of the original novel—this man probably only became a fan after watching Yu Xinyu’s reality show.
After all, Yu Xinyu came across as extremely kind and understanding on that show.
Just as the man was about to say something more, he felt his phone vibrate. He lowered his gaze to take a look, then expressed his gratitude to Cen Yu once more—thanking him for forgiving his abrupt behavior and for lending a helping hand.
A bit too polite, isn’t he?
Cen Yu snickered internally, thinking, Hard to tell you’d turn into that kind of obsessive fanatic later on, bro.
Though complaining in his heart, his face remained calmly polite as he gave a nod. Only after the man left the courtyard did he let out a long breath and sit down on the living room sofa—he looked up at the retro-styled ceiling fan above, which was more decorative than practical.
“What a hassle.”
Yu Xinyu had been sitting in the largest courtyard of the villa complex for a long time.
He sat until his legs had gone almost completely numb, yet there was still no sign of Yu Jinheng… Suppressing the impatience in his heart, he looked at the assistant who had served his elder brother for years. “Where is he?”
“Mr. Yu has some matters to handle,” the assistant repeated the line he had said countless times already. “Young Master needs to wait patiently a little longer.”
The only reason Yu Xinyu could still wait here patiently was that before entering this courtyard, he had received a message from his elder brother—
[Wait for me in the reception room.]
[If you dare leave early, you’d better watch out for that wild dog’s little life.]
The words were spoken with utter harshness… Yet the moment Yu Xinyu saw the message, he obediently sat down in the reception room.
If he himself merely had a few quirks, then his elder brother was a true lunatic… The kind that no one in the entire Yu family dared to mess with. Young as he was to reach his current position, he relied not just on capability and tactics, but on being genuinely unhinged.
If Yu Jinheng dared to say something like that, it meant he genuinely dared to do it.
Roughly another half an hour passed. Just as Yu Xinyu was making his twentieth phone call to urge him, his elder brother finally ambled into the courtyard.
Upon spotting him, a faint smile hung on his face. Dressed in light-colored outerwear, he let out a few coughs as he walked in, seemingly unable to withstand the chill outside—the moment he stepped inside, his secretary hurriedly draped a new coat over his shoulders.
He looked at Yu Xinyu with a subtle smile.
“Quite obedient, aren’t you?”
He spoke casually, sitting down on the chair pulled out by his assistant.
Having served him for far too long, the assistant understood his intentions without him needing to say a word. After brewing a pot of tea, he immediately exited the reception room.
“…What exactly did you make me come here for?” Yu Xinyu asked with impatience.
Yu Jinheng didn’t look at him, merely rubbing his own wrist before reaching out to pick up his teacup.
Seeing the ugly, hideous scar on his elder brother’s wrist, Yu Xinyu instantly shut his mouth.
Calling Yu Jinheng crazy wasn’t an exaggeration; he had genuinely spent a long time living in a psychiatric hospital. He didn’t seem to mind the scar on his wrist at all. It wasn’t a secret in their circle—everyone knew about the messy drama in the old Yu family, and everyone knew why the old man Yu had been prodded by side-branch relatives and mistresses back then to send Yu Jinheng off to the hospital.
Yu Jinheng had never covered the scar on his wrist. In fact, he never wore a watch, finding it immensely entertaining when people fell dead silent with dread upon catching sight of that bite-marked scar.
He cast a glance at Yu Xinyu. “When you’ve played around enough, come home.”
“You know I’m not just playing around,” Yu Xinyu frowned.
“I assumed you had looked through those background files,” Yu Jinheng said.
Hearing this, Yu Xinyu burst into a smile. He was an exceptionally beautiful person to begin with—otherwise, he wouldn’t be the main protagonist of the original novel. Looking at his elder brother, he said, “Of course I’ve looked through them.”
He knew Cen Yu didn’t love him, and that the only reason they were still together was probably out of habit, or perhaps because he hadn’t found someone more suitable yet.
He simply felt that Cen Yu, bossing him around every single day, was foolishly cute.
“He wants money,” Yu Xinyu said with a smile. “And I just happen to have money. Isn’t that even better?”
“It seems to me he has no idea you’re wealthy,” Yu Jinheng remarked.
“A trump card obviously needs to be revealed at the right moment,” Yu Xinyu replied.
Yu Jinheng said nothing, lost in thought. Perhaps because the window in the reception room wasn’t closed, the moment a gust of wind blew in, he began coughing again.
His pale face flushed red from the effort, and it took a moment before his coughing spell finally subsided… He cast a glance at his assistant, family doctor, and the rest of his entourage who had gathered outside the reception room the moment he started coughing.
In the end, he merely said, “Then go ahead and play a little longer.”
“I am not playing around,” Yu Xinyu repeated.
Yu Jinheng waved his hand carelessly, a gesture Yu Xinyu knew meant he was being dismissed… Standing up, he opened the door, allowing the assistant, family doctor, and staff waiting outside to file in together.
Only then did he casually bring up a question as if just remembering something—
“Are the maple trees in my courtyard pretty?”
Surrounded by his attending staff, Yu Jinheng removed the handkerchief covering his mouth and nose. His gaze cut through the crowd to land on Yu Xinyu standing by the door.
“Not bad,” he said.
