Chapter 33: Sending Money
Watching Chu Yang wear the clothes he had personally selected brought Pei Xilin’s sense of satisfaction to its peak—not to mention they shared breakfast together afterward.
Chu Yang seemed to be in a very good mood. He brushed back the hair on his forehead; it was getting a bit long. He put on his glasses and asked Pei Xilin, “What kind of gift is it? Is it heavy?”
He was curious why he had to go to the man’s house to get it.
Pei Xilin nodded. “Yes, it’s a bit heavy. I prepared it a while ago but never found the right opportunity to give it to you.”
This piqued Chu Yang’s curiosity. “Which of your houses? Is all your business handled now?”
Pei Xilin’s fingers curled. “My own home. Don’t worry, it’s safe.”
Pei Xilin drove the car Chu Yang had used to find him, heading toward his home. He was in high spirits, stealing glances at the person in the passenger seat every few moments.
Chu Yang wasn’t particularly sensitive to being watched; otherwise, he might have started worrying about his personal safety.
Chu Yang was chewing on a mint; the sweet, cool flavor improved his mood. Suddenly remembering something, he shifted his legs. “Did you deal with those people from last night?”
“I did. I… I won’t accept drinks from others ever again. I’m glad you came to save me.”
He was explaining himself to Chu Yang, offering a form of guarantee.
Chu Yang didn’t catch the underlying meaning and even laughed. “I wonder who it was that told me not to accept drinks from strangers before.”
Pei Xilin remembered as well. “My mistake,” he said immediately.
Chu Yang raised an eyebrow and let out a soft “Hmph.”
Pei Xilin looked at him in surprise, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. There was a spark of joy in his eyes; it was as if that small sound from Chu Yang represented an immense level of intimacy.
Pei Xilin lived in a large luxury flat. The moment Chu Yang walked in, he felt a sense of “familiarity.”
A quick look around revealed why—the layout of Pei Xilin’s home was almost identical to his own, just a smaller version.
Pei Xilin averted his eyes guiltily.
He brought Chu Yang a drink and then went into the bedroom to get the gift without even taking off his jacket.
Less than two minutes later, he emerged carrying a portable safe. It looked quite heavy.
Chu Yang instinctively sat up straighter; his left eyelid twitched three times.
Pei Xilin placed the safe in front of him.
Chu Yang’s eyes widened slightly. “Don’t tell me this is the gift?”
Pei Xilin nodded. “Yes. It’s something you like.”
Chu Yang fiddled with the lock. “What kind of gift needs to be kept in a safe?”
There was only one thing he could think of, but he didn’t think anyone would actually give that as a gift. He had never seen anyone give a gift like this before.
But the box was indeed heavy.
Pei Xilin: “The password is the date we first met.”
“…” Chu Yang immediately stopped. He had no idea what day that was…
[…..Which day…..]
The moment Pei Xilin heard Chu Yang’s inner thoughts, he knew the man didn’t remember at all. He and the system spoke almost simultaneously.
Pei Xilin: “Year X, Month X, Day X.”
System: [Year X, Month X, Day X.]
Chu Yang shot Pei Xilin a glance but entered the code with a composed expression. The date might be incredibly important to Pei Xilin, but it meant nothing to Chu Yang.
He was just a bit embarrassed by Pei Xilin’s comment.
He opened the safe. Even though he had a slight inkling, he was still shocked by the stacks of pink banknotes. The entire box was filled to the brim…
Chu Yang blinked, unable to process it for a moment. “This… this is the gift you mentioned?”
“Yes. You said you liked it,” Pei Xilin affirmed again.
Chu Yang remembered saying that at the lottery shop, but Pei Xilin was too literal. He had just straight-up given him cash.
He didn’t know how to respond, and the room fell into silence.
Seeing his silence, Pei Xilin’s heart sank. “You… don’t like it?”
He hadn’t sensed any unhappiness from Chu Yang… he should have liked it.
Chu Yang: “…I’ve never seen anyone give such a ‘heavy’ gift before.”
His emphasis was on “heavy” meaning significant, but—
Pei Xilin said, “I have cards prepared too. If it’s too heavy, you can take these.”
He quickly pulled several cards from his wallet.
Chu Yang closed the safe and looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze. “Then why didn’t you just give me the cards to begin with?”
Why drag him all the way to his house? Did he want him to accept it or not?
Pei Xilin: “I was afraid you’d reject me outright.”
He also didn’t want Chu Yang to think he was simply repaying a debt. He had looked it up; some people found being given cash an insult, while others said that was only because the amount wasn’t large enough.
Pei Xilin didn’t want to take any risks.
Chu Yang looked from the box to the cards, his gaze shifting.
Pei Xilin: “You can take both.”
Chu Yang paused. He found Pei Xilin increasingly strange. “Both? Won’t you be at a huge loss then?”
Pei Xilin looked at him earnestly. “No. Everything is yours.”
Not just what was in front of him, but everything he had and would have.
[System…. when you said I’d get rich, you didn’t mean by getting money from Pei Xilin, did you? Did you drug him too? Or has the sedative not worn off yet?]
System: […I did not.]
The “instant wealth” it promised was merely a buff for Chu Yang. The department had calculated that in a normal world, Chu Yang would have countless opportunities and wouldn’t even need the system.
The reward was more of a gimmick; by saving Pei Xilin, the man would become Chu Yang’s greatest asset.
But now, if Chu Yang and Pei Xilin actually ended up together, let alone being an asset—Pei Xilin’s entire estate would likely belong to Chu Yang.
It would have to report this to the superiors.
Chu Yang’s silence left Pei Xilin feeling increasingly uncertain. He tilted his head away and then looked back. “Could I borrow your phone for a second?”
“?”
The sudden change in topic almost caught Chu Yang off guard. He unlocked his phone and handed it over.
Pei Xilin stood up with both phones. Chu Yang realized what was happening and stood up to snatch his phone back, but Pei Xilin was too fast. He completed the transfer on his own phone and accepted it on Chu Yang’s in one smooth motion.
The amount was the total of the cash in the safe and the cards. Chu Yang looked at the string of zeros, his thumb instinctively brushing the screen. He hadn’t expected Pei Xilin to be so persistent about giving him money.
The only people he knew who were this obsessed with giving him money were Pei Xilin and Chu Yuanzhou.
It was normal for his brother to give him money, and Chu Yang would support him in his old age. But Pei Xilin… well, his life was worth that much…
But…
“This much money… it feels like I’m being kept.” He was amused by his own thought.
Pei Xilin’s expression darkened. “It’s not ‘keeping’. This isn’t enough for that, and I would never do that to you.”
Chu Yang laughed. “Of course this isn’t enough.”
They dropped the subject. The cash and cards remained where they were. Chu Yang showed no sign of leaving, and Pei Xilin busied himself by ordering a bunch of things for delivery.
He sat next to Chu Yang to accompany him for a movie. What the movie was about, he had no idea; he was too busy memorizing exactly how many eyelashes Chu Yang had.
He’d occasionally hand the man water or a piece of fruit.
Perhaps because of the familiar environment and the familiar service, Chu Yang didn’t find anything wrong with it. After all, this was how he lived at home.
His phone buzzed. Chu Yang picked it up and saw it was a message from Ji Zhenyi.
After Ji Zhenyi had injured her foot, Chu Yang had taken her to the infirmary and then home. He had even planned to take her back to school on Monday.
But she had refused, not wanting to be the center of attention.
Chu Yang had understood and sent her several gifts through others, reminding her to use her medicine.
They had kept in touch after she recovered, though mostly online—like internet friends.
Since they hadn’t talked in a while, Chu Yang instinctively felt it must be something important.
He sat up and opened the message.
Ji Zhenyi: [No class again today?]
[You hate the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter. The ‘Porcelain Doll’ nickname really fits you.]
[/Pointing finger.jpg]
Chu Yang frowned, his fingers flying across the screen. [Why are you listening to their nonsense? I’m not a porcelain doll. I just had some business to take care of.]
Pei Xilin was sitting very straight. He wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but a single glance was all it took to see everything. His hands clenched into fists instantly.
He naturally remembered that name. Ji Zhenyi—the girl Chu Yang had carried on his back to the infirmary, the girl he had given a bike ride through the campus. He had watched those videos countless times.
What made his heart ache and his throat tighten were her words and Chu Yang’s sudden change in attitude. He felt the words were very intimate, and their relationship seemed close.
He didn’t have anyone who would send him messages like that, nor would he send them to anyone else.
Or rather, he wasn’t even at the stage where he could message Chu Yang so naturally.
He was incredibly jealous.
He wished he could burn a hole through the phone with his gaze—ideally, he’d burn it until they couldn’t contact each other anymore, and then he’d buy Chu Yang a new one.
Chu Yang didn’t sense his emotions and continued typing: [What is it? Did you need something?]
Ji Zhenyi: […There was something I wanted to tell you.]
[Let me send this to you first.]
[Image] [Image]
Chu Yang opened the images and found that both were of himself—or more accurately, paintings of him by Ji Zhenyi.
One was a profile of him jumping for a basketball, his jersey riding up slightly. He looked as sleek and lithe as a cat.
Only the scenery and his figure were realistic; everything else was blurred.
The other was the campus path. He was riding a bike with the sunlight filtering through the leaves. However, the tree was a bit off; Chu Yang noticed a willow branch brushing against his back in the painting, and the person on the back seat was gripping that branch.
But…
Chu Yang: [The paintings are beautiful, but why didn’t you include your own face?]
Ji Zhenyi’s status changed to “typing…”, but no message came through for a long time.
Chu Yang sent another message: [/Inquisitive kitten.jpg]
Ji Zhenyi bit her lip. Chu Yang really was a “straight” man. A painting should naturally reflect the beautiful moments the artist sees.
Besides, it was the middle of summer then. She had been a mess after spraining her foot; how good could she have looked?
But thinking back on the incident with the basketball no longer made her feel embarrassed; her mind was only filled with those few beautiful moments.
The hazy, blurred quality made them even more memorable.
If one wanted a clear version, they could find it on the school forum. Ji Zhenyi had saved several versions with different background music herself.
Besides, she wasn’t that narcissistic. Why would she paint her own face? Even without it, anyone who knew them would recognize it was her and Chu Yang.
And the point of sending those two pictures wasn’t about that, okay!!
Chu Yang was such a straight man. He didn’t even ask why she had painted him in the first place!
Translator’s Note:
Pei Xilin is seething! Nothing makes a man crazier than a rival “Porcelain Doll” nickname.
Cultural and Idiom Notes:
- Licking Dog (舔狗 – Tiǎngǒu): Used in the previous chapter, but worth noting again—it’s the core “simp” energy here.
- Porcelain Doll (瓷娃娃 – Cí wáwá): A common nickname for someone perceived as fragile or delicate. In this context, it’s a playful jab at Chu Yang’s extreme dislike for weather discomforts.
- Baifumei (白富美): “Fair, Rich, and Beautiful.” Chu Yang is definitely living up to the “Rich” part now!
- Keeping/Sugar Baby (包養 – Bāoyǎng): The term for a sugar daddy arrangement. Chu Yang’s joke about it shows how much cash Pei Xilin actually gave him!
Stay tuned! 🐑🎨💰
Recommended Reads
