Chapter 34

Xiao En was startled by Yu He’s words.

“Hold on, tell me what happened first.” Xiao En spoke softly, gently trying to persuade Yu He, “Did your sugar daddy suggest trying those abnormal things?”

“No.” Yu He looked at the flickering stars outside, “We get along so well, he treats me nicely, and we’re compatible in... every way…”

Yu He vaguely described the events of the evening, not mentioning Lin Wen Shui’s name, just briefly explaining the situation: “He said he’s just like those other people, acting on lust, using money and power to keep me. He looked so gloomy; I could tell he really didn’t want to be compared with those people…”

"What did you say?" Xiao En asked.

Yu He: "Of course I told him he's different from them."

Xiao En was a bit confused: "That's a perfect answer, no problem at all. Hey, the thoughts of these sugar daddies are really contradictory. On one hand, they want a clear transaction of money and company; on the other, they want to be the most unique one. Really, when everyone is in it for the transaction, who still has genuine feelings? You just need to make him feel he is the most special one, but don't mention feelings. That would put pressure on the sugar daddy, make him feel the transaction is not pure, and fear that he won’t be able to get rid of it later..."

Yu He: "..."

He hadn't even told the rest of the story, but Xiao En was already saying that feelings would pressure the sugar daddy. It seems a required lesson in this line of work is to not talk about feelings. He was really too naive, thinking the sugar daddy would be happy to hear him say he liked him.

So the other party was actually worried about not being able to break up in the future.

Right, Fu Yunzhen is rich and powerful, and looks decent. So many handsome boys would line up, waiting for his favor. Now Fu Yunzhen likes Yu He. But what if in three to five years, a more attractive and pleasing boy appears? He might just send me away.

But when Yu He told Fu Yunzhen he couldn’t dump him, Fu Yunzhen very firmly said he understood.

So will Fu Yunzhen really find someone else?

This is so annoying.

Yu He scratched his head, speaking in frustration: "No wonder he got angry all of a sudden when I said I wanted to upgrade our relationship."

Xiao En: "Upgrade to what?"

Yu He: "A bed partner, isn't that nicer to hear than a sugar daddy?"

"A bed partner?" Xiao En choked and coughed on the other end: "You! You really dare to say it."

Yu He spoke bluntly: "I don’t want him to find someone else. Send me those videos later; I need to practice my skills more."

The sound of fingers tapping on the windowsill came through the phone.

Xiao En: "Wait a moment."

He had never seen someone as committed as Yu He. So beautiful, yet so hardworking and eager to improve. Truly the king of internal competition in the service industry. As the number one opponent of professional internal competition, Xiao En had to correct Yu He's misguided thoughts.

Xiao En patiently advised: "Being too skilled in bed isn’t always a good thing. If you’re willing to do anything and everything, the sugar daddy might suspect whether you do the same with others. You can't be too proactive; you need to maintain a sense of shyness."

Yu He couldn’t tell Xiao En that they were different; they weren't on the same track.

As a dominant partner, he couldn’t afford to be shy; he had to be assertive and take charge.

"Render Fu Yunzhen so exhausted he can't leave the bed, that way he won't have the energy to look for anyone else."

Yu He brushed past the topic of shyness and directly addressed the issue at hand: "I told him I really like him, but he said it’s just because I'm used to being with him, that it’s lust, not real affection. He even called my feelings crude."

At the mention of the word 'crude', Yu He couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Xiao En was dumbfounded: "Brother, what in the world are you talking about? My God, you're so handsome yet you don't use your brain. You fall for someone just because you get benefits from them... You’ve seen a lot when you were a young master, haven't you? How can you... How can you be so cheap?" Xiao En lamented, disappointed: "You got caught so easily?"

Damn it, Yu He felt his face heating up from Xiao En's words, thinking that maybe he was indeed being cheap.

"It serves you right for getting hurt when you mix feelings with business," Xiao En muttered, and then continued his relentless assault, stabbing Yu He in the heart: "You don’t actually think that your sugar daddy is a poor, lonely soul; that he is... alone, love-deprived, in need of warmth and care, and can't live without you, do you?"

Yu He: "..."

That was spot on.

Yu He had nothing to say, and could only curse under his breath again.

Xiao En also cursed: "Fuck, Yu He, Young Master Yu, Brother Yu, snap out of it! Can you share some of that love with me? With that face that could turn all living beings upside down, I could charge a hundred thousand for one night. There would be a line from here to Jinse Tai's parking lot of people willing to sleep with me, believe it or not."

Yu He, completely devoid of temper, responded: "Okay, okay, I’ll share it with you. Stop cursing at me and help me think of what to do!"

Xiao En fell into silence on the other end: "..."

Damn, this is hard.

God is so fair. He gave Yu He a handsome face, but paired it with a brain full of holes.

It's the 21st century, and there are still people who fall for their sugar daddies.

I’m done.

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao En continued to strategize for Yu He: "Just be grateful. That’s pretty much universal. Elevate it, bypass feelings and go straight to gratitude. This way, the sugar daddy will think you are a conscientious and grateful person. Even after you part ways, he will remember your good deeds and help you out in small matters."

Yu He, confused, questioned: "Do I really need to position myself so high just to be a bed partner?"

Xiao En firmly stated: "Brother, I’m begging you, please stop mentioning the term 'bed partner'. Can I interview you for a second? What exactly did he give you to... Oh my God, I can’t even bring myself to say those two words!"

Yu He: "..."

As the night grew colder, a white mist formed on the window due to the temperature difference inside and outside. Yu He used his finger as a brush and drew a crane on it, saying, "He treats me very well, never gets angry with me. I feel relaxed around him and I no longer suffer from insomnia."

Sean: "Is there anything else?"

Yu He continued: "He built me an NBA-level basketball court, and also gave me lots of limited edition sneakers and jerseys."

Sean, not quite understanding the value of these things, sighed anyway: "You big dummy, the basketball court is on his property. What are you going to do, take it with you if you two break up? What else is there that you have for sure, in terms of money or belongings?"

After thinking for a moment, Yu He responded: "A card, with twenty million."

"What?" Sean raised his voice dramatically: "How much? Twenty million???"

Yu He found his phone’s earpiece almost cracked from the volume, and he moved the phone a bit further away: "Yes, twenty million a year."

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. Even a CFO of a Fortune 500 company wouldn’t get a twenty million annual salary. Keeping a golden boy on such a lavish stipend, no wonder the young folks nowadays aren't working hard!" Sean spoke righteously, taking a deep breath, "Brother Yu, that, I think I've fallen for your sugar daddy too. Can you introduce us?"

Sean: "Money or no money doesn’t matter; mainly, I also want to taste the bitterness of love."

Yu He: "......"

Hanging up the phone, he leaned against the wall, sliding down bit by bit until he was squatting on the carpet, hugging his knees.

He didn’t want to go back to sleep, didn’t want to see Fu Yunzheng.

He took a mask out of his pocket, put it on his face, and once again started a live stream, joining a host challenge.

The first host he connected to was also a male host, a young fitness coach named ‘Ayou Mengshu Takes You to Exercise’. He looked to be in his twenties, with a robust physique. Seeing Yu He, even with a mask on, he was slightly startled: "Are you a fitness blogger?"

Yu He lifted his shirt to show his abs to the other party.

The other party raised an eyebrow: "Handsome guy, I’m Ayou. What should I call you?"

Yu He said: "Yu He."

Yu He was not very good at coming up with usernames. Previously, he used initials plus random numbers. When the host asked, he subconsciously gave his real name. It was his first time showing his face on live stream. Although he was wearing a mask, his beautiful peach blossom eyes were too captivating. Along with the traffic boost from the PK (Player Kill/Player Knockout) competition, over a hundred people flooded into his live room in just three minutes.

These visitors were originally jumping between various live streams. Regardless of how they entered Yu He’s live room, they were captivated by his beautiful eyes and abs, and decided to stay.

Ayou Mengshu initiated a challenge. He had some fans who were all asking in the comments who the handsome guy opposite him was. Ayou Mengshu, being very talkative, first introduced himself to Yu He, then asked Yu He a few questions. Realizing that it was Yu He's first time live streaming and participating in a PK, he kindly suggested: "No worries, I'll play a couple of rounds with you, and the wins and losses won't count towards the challenge score."

Yu He nodded: "Okay."

He clicked into Uncle Meng’s live broadcast room and sent two gifts.

Uncle Meng explained, "The red and blue bar at the top of the screen is the health bar. Fans contribute to it by sending gifts. Each vote adds to the health bar, and whoever has the most at the last second wins."

"A round lasts fifteen minutes. There are no penalties for the first two and last three minutes. The last three minutes are known as ‘Tower Defense Time’. For example, if you've been leading in health bar for the first fourteen minutes, but in the last 30 or even 10 seconds, the opponent’s fans suddenly gift a large present, and it’s too late for your side to respond, that’s called ‘tower stealing’. Timing is crucial for ‘tower stealing’ because of the live broadcast delay. If the gift is sent after the match has ended, the points won’t be added, and the gift is wasted."

Uncle Meng explained it very clearly, leaving Yu He with no doubts. He gave a thumbs up in response.

"What can you do for a penalty?" Uncle Meng instructed, "When PKing with others, always agree on a penalty first. Some people have harsh penalties that are hard to complete, like doing push-ups on a can of Red Bull until your hands bleed. I don’t play those games, but remember to clarify these things when playing with others. Some streamers won’t mention penalties when they lose, but will make demands when they win. You have to ask them, otherwise they’ll say you didn’t make them do it."

Yu He asked, "What penalties do you usually do?"

"Push-ups, plank, frog jumps, squats, handstands. Recently I’ve been practicing backflips, but it's pretty hard. Basically, whatever I ask others to do, I must be able to do myself. I can’t deliberately make it difficult for others."

Yu He set up his phone stand and adjusted the angle, "Let me try a handstand. Can I lean against the wall?"

Uncle Meng responded, "Of course, you have to lean against it. If you're unlucky, you might end up doing a handstand for ten minutes in the back."

Yu He placed his hands on the ground and propelled himself up against the wall. His loose shirt slid down, covering his face and revealing a slender waist. Yu He’s skin was incredibly fair, shimmering in the light, with attractive muscle contours and long, straight legs - an undeniable feast for the eyes.

Instantly, Yu He’s live broadcast chat went wild.

Among fitness bloggers, Uncle Meng was already considered quite handsome. His fans were all over Yu He’s physique, with some even switching from his live broadcast room to Yu He’s for a closer look.

Yu He flipped back down from the wall and returned to his phone, "I can do a handstand."

"Usually only those with more votes get to this part; let’s start with something simpler," Uncle Meng laughed, "The chat is saying they can't bear to punish you."

Yu He responded, "It’s fine; I'll treat it as a workout."

The first two minutes passed quickly. Yu He didn’t ask for gifts. Although there were many viewers in his live broadcast room, most were just there to watch the excitement. PKing streamers typically have a fan base, and some even have companies or teams backing them, boosting their live broadcast room with gift donations to encourage viewer participation. Without any of these, Yu He naturally couldn’t compete in terms of the health bar.

Uncle Meng didn’t make it difficult for Yu He. He first asked Yu He to do push-ups. Yu He managed just over twenty before Uncle Meng called a halt and switched to squats.

"Remember to count next time, handsome," Uncle Meng advised, "If you feel sorry for the young man, go to his live broadcast room and send gifts. Use points to beat me. Showing sympathy in my live broadcast room is useless. The more you do, the harder I’ll be on him. Come on, handsome, over here."

After moving around a bit, Yu He broke into a sweat. He didn’t think the punishment was too harsh; in fact, he found it easier than the alternatives. As Uncle Meng kept calling him forward to talk, he didn’t have to continue with the penalties.

Yu He stepped forward, "What’s up?"

Ayu Meng Shu said, “The bullet comments are all saying that I’m being too harsh, but I haven’t even started to be tough yet.”

Yu He asked, “What does being really harsh look like?”

Ayu Meng Shu replied, “My health bar has exceeded ten thousand now, why don’t you go and hang in the back.”

The bullet comments in the live broadcast room instantly flooded the screen.

[Bullet Comment: Ahhh, we get to see the handsome guy’s waist again, hurry and hang, hurry and hang!]

[Bullet Comment: Meng Shu has such a ruthless heart, the little newcomer on the other side still doesn’t understand anything, doesn’t even know how to ask for gifts, such a well-behaved kid.]

[Bullet Comment: This is the first time I've seen a broadcaster who doesn’t beat around the bush and does whatever he’s told to do right away, love it.]

[Bullet Comment: He doesn’t even know how to bargain, such a pitiful little thing, my heart aches for him.]

[Bullet Comment: Little brother, your sister is sending you gifts, all for you, all yours.]

Seeing that the bullet comments were all waiting for him to show his abs, Yu He first tucked his shirt into his pants: “Don’t wait any longer, there's no waist to show.”

Meng Shu said, “Keep piling up the health bar, I'll have the handsome young man do plank and crunches, there will be a time when you all can see it.”

Yu He laughed and said, “Come on.”

Wearing a mask, which left only his beautiful peach blossom eyes and sharp, clean eyebrows visible, he curved his eyes in a smile. The bullet comments actually froze for a moment due to the overwhelming response. Yu He didn't notice as he retreated to the wall, placed his hands on the ground, and flipped up onto the wall.

The gifts in the live broadcast room suddenly increased, with colorful gift effects appearing one after another.

This move wasn’t a standard fitness exercise, and Yu He, lacking experience, only managed to hold on for a while before his palms started to sweat and his arms began to tremble slightly.

Just then, Ayu Meng Shu called Yu He back: “Come back, you’ve earned enough points.”

After being upside down for a long time, blood rushed to Yu He’s head, making him feel dizzy. Though he could physically handle being upside down, once he came down, he felt nauseous, like he was car sick.

He sat on the ground to recover for a while, then returned to the phone and read out the IDs of those who had sent him gifts. His lips were pale, and he looked unwell as he lazily supported his head and interacted with the bullet comments.

“I do feel a bit dizzy; it’s my first time being upside down for so long.” Seeing the bullet comments saying the other broadcaster was bullying him, Yu He pressed down on those trying to set the tone and explained, “No one is bullying anyone. Didn’t Meng Shu hang upside down too? Thanks to the bosses for sending so many gifts, I thought I’d have to hang for ten minutes.”

[Bullet Comment: Hahahaha, bosses???]

[Bullet Comment: Why are you calling us bosses? That’s hilarious.]

“When I was working, my colleagues told me to address the customers as ‘boss’,” Yu He interacted with the bullet comments while browsing through them, responding to their questions with his fingertips lightly swiping across the screen. He saw a comment suggesting that the fitness anchor was too brutal and that Yu He should consider switching to being a face-value anchor instead: “Hanging for ten minutes would probably make me vomit. Being a face-value anchor requires talent, and I don’t have any talents... Is just talking okay? Alright, I’ll give it some thought.”

About a minute later, Yu He called the other anchor back to do squats: “You’ve both been upside down for a minute; that’s impressive.”

Since Yu He had sat in front of the screen to interact with the bullet comments, the gifts in his live broadcast room never stopped. By the end, he had accumulated over twenty thousand points. After deducting the platform’s share, Yu He’s earnings from the platform amounted to thirteen hundred.

In theory, it should have been a best of three rounds, but the other side wasn’t really playing to win. After coming down, seeing that Yu He was still not in a good state, Meng Shu expressed his concern: “You don’t seem to be very suited for upside-down activities. Is your sense of balance not that good?”

Yu He, half lying on the table, didn’t feel better even after a few minutes and still felt a bit dizzy: “Maybe.”

Meng Shu said, “Then you better not do any more upside-down activities in the future. It's quite dangerous when blood rushes to your brain.”

Yu He responded, “Thanks, Meng Ge. I had a great time playing with you. I'm going to log off now.”

Yu He's live broadcast room had already attracted thousands of viewers, and upon hearing that Yu He was about to end the broadcast, they began to post comments trying to convince him to stay.

[Bullet Comment: Don’t go, you've only been broadcasting for twenty minutes.]

[Bullet Comment: Even if you don’t do PK, just talk to us.]

[Bullet Comment: How tall are you, host? You’re so handsome!]

[Bullet Comment: I’ll spend like crazy, spend like crazy. I have to protect such a good-looking guy.]

[Bullet Comment: Oh my god, look at his hands!!! Heaven for hand fetishists!!!]

Yu He was about to end the live broadcast when he saw this comment. He withdrew his hand to scroll up and down to take a closer look, but all he saw was a pair of ordinary hands: “You guys are exaggerating. These are just normal hands…”

Speaking of beautiful hands, Yu He subconsciously thought of Fu Yun Zheng. Fu Yun Zheng's hands were slender and had well-defined knuckles, resembling those of an artist, and they looked especially noble when he was holding a calligraphy brush.

Yu He’s gaze swept across the brush holder, and he showed the audience the Dao De Jing that he had just copied. The bullet comments were flooded with question marks.

[Bullet Comment: ??? Did you write this???]

[Bullet Comment: No way, it looks just like it was printed.]

[Bullet Comment: I don’t believe it unless the host writes it live on air.]

Facing skepticism, Yu He unfolded a new piece of Xuan paper, ground the ink, picked up the brush, and wrote a line of characters in front of the two thousand viewers in the live broadcast room.

Placing down his pen, Yu He raised an eyebrow at his phone, "You believe that?"

The live chat room was bustling with activity, and the comment that garnered the most likes was:

"In my lifetime, I've actually seen a handsome fitness live streamer writing in Shoujin script??? Has the world gone mad, or have I?"

For a moment, the live chat was filled with compliments for Yu He, praising his good looks, great physique, and beautiful handwriting. The number of fans in the background kept increasing. Yu He had never been praised by so many people in real life and started to feel a bit shy.

Yu He cleared his throat, "It's getting late, dear bosses, I'm going to end the stream now, see you next time."

The live stream room closed, leaving only a gray screen that showed the live streamer had signed off. However, the barrage of comments didn’t stop and continued to send encouraging messages.

The dizziness from his previous handstand hadn’t completely subsided. Yu He lay on the desk for a while until almost midnight, then he stood up and walked upstairs.

Fu Yunzheng’s room light had already been turned off. Yu He thought about what Sean had told him, wanting to sleep in Fu Yunzheng’s room but afraid that Fu Yunzheng would think he was ‘cheap’.

The night was deep, and dim wall lamps lit the hallway. Yu He walked to the balcony at the end of the corridor, and the cold wind blew away all his drowsiness.

He went back to his room to get cigarettes and a lighter. As he walked out of his room, the door next door made a clear sound. Fu Yunzheng opened the door, sitting in a wheelchair, wearing only his pajamas.

Even if he didn’t go out, Fu Yunzheng would always wear neat and trim bespoke suits. He would change out of his pajamas as soon as he got up in the morning. As long as he left the room, he was always impeccably dressed, ready to go straight to a company meeting. So even sitting in a wheelchair, the aura of the big boss was in no way diminished.

This was the first time Yu He had seen Fu Yunzheng leave his room just in his pajamas.

The pajamas were loose, hanging on Fu Yunzheng’s somewhat slender shoulders, very slack, showing sickness and an unusual frailty.

It was the sickness that Fu Yunzheng always deliberately hid on normal days.

Yu He’s heart stirred slightly, and he involuntarily clenched the cigarette pack in his hand. The corners of the lighter dug into his palm, its presence very strong, telling Yu He not to clench his fist anymore, as he still had things in his hand.

Fu Yunzheng took the initiative to speak, “Going for a smoke?”

Yu He nodded, “Going to the balcony to smoke.”

He wasn’t heavily addicted to smoking; he might not even smoke one in ten or fifteen days when he was in a good mood. He only needed to take in nicotine to relieve anxiety when he was extremely agitated.

He said he was going to the balcony, but Yu He didn’t move, and neither did Fu Yunzheng. The two of them just stood and sat in the hallway, silent for a long time.

Yu He’s thumb unconsciously played with the corners of the cigarette pack in his hand. He looked down at the intricate patterns on the handmade carpet, as if he was thinking a lot, yet as if he wasn’t thinking about anything, slouching and spacing out.

The balcony door was ajar, and the night wind poured into the hallway, making Yu He shiver.

Snapping back to reality, Yu He noticed that Fu Yunzheng was lightly dressed, his heart tightened with worry that he might catch a cold, especially since Fu Yunzheng had always been in poor health.

Forget it, since when does a crane (gold-digger) quarrel with its sponsor?

He was actually quite interested in elevating their relationship to a more intimate level, but nobody seemed to approve of that.

What’s wrong with having a bed partner, really?

Yu He placed his hand on the handle of Fu Yunzheng’s wheelchair, pushing it back towards the bedroom: “It’s already midnight, haven’t you slept yet?”

“No, I haven’t slept,” Fu Yunzheng responded calmly, looking up at Yu He, “I was waiting for you.”

Yu He clenched his fists tightly, repeating to himself in his mind, ‘I need to be worth something, I need to be worth something, I need to be worth something’.

But Fu Yunzheng, who usually went to bed at around nine, waited for him until midnight!!!

Fu Yunzheng, staying up late, dropping his guard, and specifically waiting for him.

How could he possibly act high-priced now!!!

Yu He hesitated for two seconds, “Waiting for me to do what?”

From this angle, Yu He couldn’t see the expression on Fu Yunzheng’s face, he only heard Fu Yunzheng answer: “The bed is cold without you.”

Yu He's breathing became erratic.

Teacher Xiao Sean, you really can’t blame me for not being high-priced. Look at what Fu Yunzheng is saying, he seems to know exactly what to say to win me over, just a few words and I’m completely undone.

Even just six characters, and if you add the previous ‘waiting for you’, it’s only nine characters in total.

But when Fu Yunzheng says the bed is cold, what can Yu He possibly say in return? He quickly ‘sold’ himself, not even able to pretend to play hard to get, and followed Fu Yunzheng back to the room.

Back in bed, the warmth from earlier hadn’t completely faded away.

Yu He looked up at Fu Yunzheng: “Didn’t you used to sleep alone?”

Fu Yunzheng looked back at Yu He, his thin lips slightly parting as sweet words flowed out effortlessly: “I didn’t have you before.”

Yu He closed his eyes.

You really can’t blame him for not holding back; you can’t blame him at all. Who wouldn’t be swayed by words like these?!

Fu Yunzheng is just too good at this, wuwuwu. How could he possibly stand a chance against this cunning old fox?

Yu He lay flat on the bed, not reaching out to embrace Fu Yunzheng as he usually would.

The night was dark, and Fu Yunzheng’s hand came to rest atop Yu He’s: “Xiao He, don’t be upset.”

Yu He’s hand twitched slightly, only to be firmly grasped by Fu Yunzheng. He stopped moving, and somewhat awkwardly said: “I’m not upset.”

Fu Yunzheng let out a soft sigh.

No one spoke again, and the room quickly fell silent. Yu He had been sleeping well recently, and drowsiness soon washed over him. In his half-asleep state, he vaguely heard Fu Yunzheng say:

“I’ll leave it all up to you.”

Yu He did not respond, and just as Fu Yunzheng was about to say something else, he heard Yu He start to snore softly.

Fu Yunzheng sighed again, completely at a loss with Yu He. He tucked Yu He in and then closed his eyes to sleep as well.