Chapter 74: Transmigrated as a Stingy Phoenix Man (74)
Leaning back against the sofa, Cen Yu looked down at Yu Xinyu resting his head on his knees.
“Whether you live or die is your own decision,” he said, pulling back the hand Yu Xinyu had been leaning on. “It has nothing to do with me.”
At that moment, Cen Yu noticed that ever since Yu Xinyu returned, the narrative completion bar had begun surging wildly again…
Not quite understanding why the completion rate was skyrocketing like this, he poked the fat cat in his mind to ask why.
[Maybe because… the others realized Yu Xinyu was behind the whole plot, so they harbor immense hatred toward him now,] the fat cat analyzed.
[The plot only requires other key characters to develop intense emotions toward Yu Xinyu for it to be counted as a success.]
It was just that no one had expected these intense feelings to be hatred rather than love.
The fat cat thought to itself that even the main System probably hadn’t anticipated the original male leads harboring such bitter hatred toward the protagonist.
“…This is like making a wish at Yonghe Temple,” Cen Yu grumbled. “The task gets finished and the goal is met, but every single bit of it happens in the most twisted way possible.”
Feeling a bit guilty, the fat cat quietly went into hiding.
Watching the narrative completion rate reported by the System creep up to 98%, Cen Yu knew his time in this world was nearly up.
According to the original novel’s plotline, after abandoning Yu Xinyu, the original host discovered Yu Xinyu was both wealthy and talented, prompting him to relentlessly pursue him again—only for the internet to expose the fact that he had been emotionally manipulating and abusing Yu Xinyu all along.
Of course, the final blow that sealed his fate was that specific set of photos.
I need to find a way to get my hands on those photos… Cen Yu pondered in his mind.
Glancing at Yu Xinyu, who was still clinging to his knees and refusing to budge, he decided to squeeze one last task out of him—
“Go make dinner.”
Yu Xinyu raised his head to look at Cen Yu.
“Don’t want to?” Cen Yu raised an eyebrow. “Forget it, then.”
In an instant, Yu Xinyu’s expression shifted into something subtle, a slightly flattering smile gracing his face. “…Little Yu, go wait in the room first.”
“The cooking fumes can be pretty heavy.”
…The cooking fumes can be pretty heavy?
Hearing this, Cen Yu suddenly turned to look at their kitchen. That statement served as a reminder; he recalled that during the previous times Yu Xinyu had cooked, there had hardly been any heavy cooking fumes in the kitchen at all.
Suspicion immediately bloomed in his heart as Sang Qianshan’s pointed remarks at the dinner table flashed through his mind again, yet on the surface, he merely nodded with a completely composed expression.
“Fine.”
He stood up. “Call me when it’s ready.”
A visible breath of relief washed over Yu Xinyu’s face upon hearing those words. He cast a cautious look at Cen Yu. “…Since you’ve resigned, Little Yu… how about we move somewhere else and start fresh?”
His mind seemed to be spinning with countless thoughts.
“For instance, we could go to the town where my art teacher lives… There are vast lemon groves there, and the sunshine is wonderful. I’m sure you’d love it.”
“I have a little white house over there. I can paint there, and you can do whatever you like.”
As if terrified that Cen Yu might refuse, he spoke rapidly, continuously painting a vivid picture of his dream life.
In that place, there would be no one who knew Cen Yu—no Sang Qianshan, no Lou Baichuan, and no anyone else. There would only be him and Cen Yu.
All he and Cen Yu needed to do was stay inside that little house he had bought. Cen Yu could do whatever he wanted, or do nothing at all. Either way, he was very wealthy and could buy Cen Yu anything his heart desired… A bright light flickered in Yu Xinyu’s eyes as he stared at Cen Yu with sparkling expectation. “The weather there is amazing… and there are so many charming little shops.”
Cen Yu reached out, his palm covering Yu Xinyu’s shining eyes.
“We’ll see.”
He spoke quietly to Yu Xinyu.
He knew he couldn’t give Yu Xinyu the promise he wanted. Or rather, from the moment Yu Xinyu set his plan into motion, his own task progress bar had begun surging frantically—their final outcome was already set in stone.
“Go make dinner first.”
Returning to his bedroom, Cen Yu opened the laptop he had brought back and instructed the fat cat to transfer a portion of the home’s security camera permissions to his computer.
Sitting at his desk, he watched Yu Xinyu step into the living room to make a phone call.
Roughly half an hour later, Yu Xinyu stealthily opened the front door to collect takeout containers delivered from a hotel. A relieved expression broke across his face before he stole a quick glance toward Cen Yu’s bedroom.
Next, he scurried into the kitchen, carefully transferring all the food onto their household plates.
Only after finishing all this and tossing the takeout packaging into the trash did Yu Xinyu adjust his apron slightly and walk over to knock on Cen Yu’s door—
“Little Yu, it’s ready.”
Cen Yu stood up and opened the door, spotting Yu Xinyu standing right outside… Food had already been arranged on the dining table. Just as Cen Yu approached and was about to sit down, he suddenly turned and walked straight into the kitchen, looking down at the discarded takeout boxes in the trash bin.
“You bought these?”
Yu Xinyu hadn’t expected his little trick to be caught red-handed by Cen Yu.
He stared at Cen Yu in stunned silence.
Cen Yu merely let out a soft laugh. “Washing extra plates just makes more work.”
He didn’t seem to care in the slightest about Yu Xinyu’s long-standing deception, generously forgiving his lie on the spot.
Yet the more Cen Yu acted this way, the more dread pooled in the depths of Yu Xinyu’s heart… He couldn’t tell whether Cen Yu truly didn’t care at all, or if he had already reached a firm decision in his mind.
He sat at the dining table with no appetite whatsoever, watching Cen Yu relish a few bites with apparent enjoyment.
“…Little Yu.”
He called out Cen Yu’s name instinctively.
“Hmm?” Cen Yu looked up at him.
Yu Xinyu opened his mouth, unsure of what he should ask. Or perhaps, just as Yu Jinheng had said, the moment he chose this path, there was no turning back.
“It’s nothing,” Yu Xinyu murmured, his fingers fidgeting nervously.
He told himself that he had plenty of money. Didn’t Cen Yu love money and a comfortable life above all else? He could give him all of it…
He could give him everything.
Yet he could not suppress the deep unrest surging in his heart. Deep down, Yu Xinyu understood that Cen Yu was someone he had never truly understood, nor could he ever hold on to him.
“Can we sleep together tonight?” Yu Xinyu asked abruptly as Cen Yu finished his shower and prepared to head back to his own room.
Drying his hair with a towel, Cen Yu looked at him.
“I won’t do anything!” Terrified that Cen Yu might misunderstand, Yu Xinyu blurted out hastily.
“…I’m just scared you’ll leave.”
Cen Yu set the towel aside and looked at Yu Xinyu. “Sure.”
He didn’t refuse this time, stepping into Yu Xinyu’s bedroom while wearing a matching set of pajamas.
Yu Xinyu took a record-fast shower, hastily drying his hair before rushing into his bedroom right behind Cen Yu.
He had never felt this nervous before, his limbs feeling almost stiff and coordination failing him. Watching Cen Yu lie down under his dark-colored duvet, he suddenly blurted out as if remembering something—
“Since you don’t know how to cook, you probably don’t know how to do laundry either, right?”
Yu Xinyu fidgeted with his fingers. “…Right.”
“So all the clothes you ruined in the wash got thrown away?” Cen Yu asked out of curiosity.
Feeling his confidence dwindle even further, Yu Xinyu shuffled slowly over to the wall-to-wall wardrobe, sliding the doors open.
Packed tightly inside were all of Cen Yu’s old clothes that he had ruined in the wash over time.
Not a single piece was missing. In fact, even a few old items Cen Yu himself had likely forgotten about were tucked neatly inside the cabinet.
Yu Xinyu stared at Cen Yu with apprehension, expecting him to be furious or fly into a rage, only for the man to merely nod with total composure—
“You might be terrible at laundry, but your storage and organization skills aren’t half bad.”
