YMW CH 13

I’m Naughty

Cen Wu was sleeping deeply, his eyelashes trembling softly with each breath. Xie Guilan wasn’t sure if Cen Wu would suddenly wake up and throw a fit, so he let him sleep undisturbed.

Meanwhile, Xie Guilan turned on the desk lamp and sat at his rickety desk, quietly working on a test paper. The boy’s back was straight and lean, his black T-shirt highlighting the pale, slender lines of his arms. Under the dim light, his wrist bones jutted out slightly, sharp and prominent.

It wasn’t until past eleven at night that Cen Wu finally stirred. He rubbed his eyes groggily, still half-asleep, and blinked as though he were dreaming.

“You’re awake, Young Master,” Xie Guilan said softly, noticing his gaze. Without hesitation, he stood up and walked toward the bed.

Cen Wu froze in place, suddenly realizing where he was. In an instant, all traces of sleep vanished. He shot upright, stammering, “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

The truth was, he hadn’t properly slept since arriving in this strange story. Exhaustion had finally caught up with him. Besides, Xie Guilan’s bed was impeccably clean, carrying a faint, cold fragrance that lulled him into slumber without him even realizing it.

“It’s fine,” Xie Guilan said, lowering his eyes. His tone, however, remained unreadable. “Did you need something, Young Master?”

In the past, Cen Wu would’ve flown into a rage over this—sleeping in someone else’s bed would have been the ultimate humiliation. Now, though, all that remained was his pale, panicked face.

Indeed, he looked like a frightened little cat, too timid to show its claws.

Cen Wu opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, the shed door suddenly slammed open.

Xie Shangjing had been at a club earlier, playing around. However, the moment he heard that their father had been hospitalized, his mood soured completely. Frustrated and unable to focus, he decided to return home early.

His face was clouded with anger as he stormed in. Yet, when his eyes landed on Cen Wu, he froze momentarily. Although he tried to control it, his voice still seethed with irritation. “What are you doing here?”

At this, Cen Wu flinched instinctively at the harsh tone.

Behind Xie Shangjing were a few people—Chu Zijian and two others Cen Wu didn’t recognize. Without a doubt, they were part of the same wealthy crowd.

Naturally, Xie Shangjing’s sudden outburst had everyone craning their necks to see what was happening.

To their shock, they saw Cen Wu sitting on Xie Guilan’s bed. His hair was a mess, his snow-white ears flushed red, and his clothes rumpled. Startled by Xie Shangjing’s sudden entrance, his eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

At once, Xie Shangjing’s expression darkened even further. His voice dropped to a dangerously cold tone. “Explain yourself.”

What the hell?

The rich kids behind him were dumbfounded. They’d only followed Xie Shangjing for a casual game of snooker. How had it suddenly turned into this? Was this… catching someone in the act?

“Second Young Master…” Chu Zijian finally broke the silence, pointing an accusatory finger at Xie Guilan. “Did you force him?!”

Cen Wu: “…”

No, guys, what the hell are you talking about?

“Wait… wait!” Cen Wu quickly cut in, snapping out of his shock. Thankfully, he was prepared for this kind of chaos. Grabbing a nearby chemistry paper, he barked, “I came here to copy homework! What are you all yelling about?”

“Copy homework?” Xie Shangjing’s face remained stern and unconvinced.

“What else?” Cen Wu shot back irritably. To make matters worse, he even added an air of grievance, saying, “You want to teach me instead?”

Xie Shangjing opened his mouth to respond but stopped. After all, Cen Wu’s grades were abysmally low. With that in mind, he fell silent.

Of course, that silence stung worse than words.

Cen Wu felt utterly humiliated.

Xie Shangjing, who never treated Xie Guilan like a person, assumed Cen Wu felt the same. His suspicion lingered as he frowned and pressed further. “Fine. Then what happened at the bar the other night? I heard you got into a fight with Wang Yue over him.”

Immediately, Cen Wu turned to Chu Zijian with a sharp look. Chu Zijian flailed his hands frantically, signaling his innocence. There was no way he’d dare betray Cen Wu.

“I—I was just there to play,” Cen Wu stammered, secretly pinching himself to summon tears. When he looked up again, his eyes were red and watery, as though he’d been terribly wronged. “He was deliberately disgusting, and you—you still took his side…”

Standing beside him, Xie Guilan witnessed the entire performance: Cen Wu pinching himself, then pretending to cry. The corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

To make the act more convincing, Cen Wu covered his face with his hands and let out a small sob. Through his fingers, his red-rimmed eyes peeked out. Taking advantage of Xie Shangjing’s distraction, he cheekily winked at Xie Guilan.

Xie Shangjing, however, had no patience for tears—he despised them. Frowning deeper, he snapped impatiently, “Who took his side? Stop crying already.”

Cen Wu: “…”

Classic straight-man behavior.

“I’m leaving,” Cen Wu muttered, rubbing his eyes and heading toward the door.

Frustrated, Xie Shangjing clicked his tongue before reluctantly following him out. With Cen Wu here, he couldn’t start anything with Xie Guilan. After all, Cen Wu was someone he liked, and he couldn’t bear for him to see his more violent, ruthless side.

The others followed them out.

As Chu Zijian reached the doorway, he couldn’t resist. He lifted his leg, ready to kick the door of Xie Guilan’s shed, but before he could, Xie Guilan pushed him back with a cold expression.

“Damn it! You dare push me?!” Chu Zijian staggered a bit, but since his boss had already left, he didn’t bother picking a fight with Xie Guilan.

After Xie Shangjing went upstairs to change his clothes, they all gathered in the recreation room. Chu Zijian was still fuming, grumbling curses as he complained to Cen Wu, “Can you believe that guy pushed me?”

“Why… why are you cursing him?” Cen Wu frowned slightly.

Chu Zijian stared at him incredulously and whined, “Second Young Master, he pushed me first!”

Cen Wu replied flatly, “It’s not like he pushed you to death.”

Chu Zijian: “…”

---

Once everyone had left, Xie Guilan’s lips slowly pressed into a tight line. The whole situation suddenly felt ridiculous to him. What even was this?

Whenever Xie Shangjing was around, Cen Wu would immediately start acting sweet and coquettish. Xie Guilan knew full well that Cen Wu wasn’t actually dating Xie Shangjing. Cen Wu was just like poison coated in honey—he played everyone like puppets on strings.

While Xie Shangjing was upstairs, Cen Wu quickly sent Xie Guilan a message. He knew Xie Guilan had a bit of a cleanliness obsession and probably couldn’t stand someone else sleeping in his bed.

【Cen Wu: Sorry, I’ll replace the bedsheets. I’ll transfer you 1000 yuan. Note: I’m sorry!】

【Xie Guilan: No need. It’s not worth that much.】

【Cen Wu: Just take it. I’m begging you.】

As Cen Wu sent the money, a thought suddenly hit him. The only reason Xie Guilan was stuck at the Xie family’s house was because Song Lingwei needed treatment. She wanted to live, and Xie Guilan couldn’t refuse her.

But… he didn’t have any money.

If Cen Wu just gave Xie Guilan money, wouldn’t that solve the problem?

Right now, he hadn’t fought over the family inheritance with Cen Xiao yet, nor had he almost gotten his parents killed. As long as Xie Guilan didn’t hate him too much, the Cen family wouldn’t go to the extremes of destroying him.

Xie Guilan’s lips twitched as he was about to refuse the transfer again. Then, another message from Cen Wu popped up.

【Cen Wu: I don’t remember if I used your blanket, so let’s just say I did. Here’s another 2000.】

【Cen Wu: I’m really terrible, so evil. How could I do something like this?! Let me just round it up for you.】

He even added an emoji of a fainting cartoon cat, captioned “Overwhelmed by my own wickedness.”

Xie Guilan: “…”

A vein throbbed in Xie Guilan’s forehead. How did this guy even do math? No wonder his chemistry score was better than his math—he only got a 12 on that test.

【Cen Wu: Transferred 5200 yuan. Voluntary gift.】

Xie Guilan: “…”

Xie Guilan stared at the transfer notification for a few minutes before letting out a cold, sarcastic laugh. He never expected Cen Wu would go through such an elaborate charade just to confess to him.

What kind of pursuit strategy was this? Blatantly throwing money at him? No wonder so many people fell for his tricks. Thankfully, Xie Guilan had already seen through him. He would never fall into this smooth-talking swindler’s trap.