The Scum Gong Refuses the Crematorium [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 26

Lu Mingyue really wanted to tell Sheng Yan not to go. If Xie Qingyao could break a wedding promise once, he might do it again and again.

Growing up together doesn’t mean your time belongs to him.

The person he saved back then wasn’t even you.

You don’t have to carry the burdens of the original Sheng Yan.

But he pushed these words down. Sheng Yan was not a bird in a cage or a pet. He had his own thoughts and rules.

Even though they had a marriage contract and a deal, Lu Mingyue could not limit his freedom.

So, he could only watch Sheng Yan wake up early, dress up, and leave the house looking handsome. Lu Mingyue could do nothing.

Sheng Yan truly did not want to meet Xie Qingyao. Perhaps because of the “system,” every time he saw Xie Qingyao, he felt a strange sense of guilt and pity.

To be honest, it was Xie Qingyao who chose to break up. Even if the original Sheng Yan did something wrong, the relationship was already over.

Past things should stay in the past. No one stays in the same spot forever feeling sorry for their mistakes.

Wrong is wrong. What is the use of feeling sorry now?

Since they couldn’t stay together, it proved they were not a good match. What was the point of forcing a relationship?

But System 1088 disagreed. It kept reminding him: “Host, this meeting is very important. You must go.”

Fine.

System 1088 had been quiet for a long time. Since Sheng Yan was in a good mood, he decided to go and see what tricks Xie Qingyao was playing.

The meeting place was Xie Qingyao’s art studio. When Sheng Yan arrived, Xie Qingyao’s eyes lit up. He ran over and called out: “Brother Sheng Yan!”

“Where is the painting?” Sheng Yan kept his distance. He reminded himself he was only here to see the art.

“It’s inside. I’ll show you,” Xie Qingyao said as he led the way.

Xie Qingyao came from a family of artists and was a famous painter online. His studio was a quiet, beautiful garden full of plants. Through the garden was a long hallway filled with oil paintings.

“Brother Sheng Yan, these are all my new paintings. They haven’t been shown in a gallery yet,” Xie Qingyao explained. “Please don’t tell anyone, or my next show won’t be a surprise.”

He hoped this would make Sheng Yan feel special.

But Sheng Yan only said: “If you want them to be a secret, you shouldn’t hang them in a hallway.”

Many people visit a studio. Hanging them here made it easy for anyone to see.

Xie Qingyao was annoyed. He had hung them there specifically for Sheng Yan to see!

“At the very end of the hallway is the painting I did for you,” Xie Qingyao said, changing the subject.

Sheng Yan walked quickly to the end. There, he saw the painting of himself playing the drums and throwing the drumstick.

It was clear that Xie Qingyao worked very hard on it. The lines and colors were perfect. He even captured the detail of Sheng Yan’s smile. It was very charming.

It must have taken a lot of work and many views of the wedding video to paint this well.

Too bad.

Sheng Yan touched his long hair. His hair was much longer now than it was in the painting.

Also, while Sheng Yan looked great in the painting, his two friends were painted like blurry shadows. You couldn’t see their faces or clothes clearly.

It made Sheng Yan look like the only important one.

Sheng Yan didn’t like it. A band should look like a team.

However, his body felt differently. His heart felt a sudden joy when he saw the painting.

Hah—

Sheng Yan knew this feeling didn’t belong to him. It probably didn’t belong to the original Sheng Yan either.

The original Sheng Yan loved art and begged Xie Qingyao to paint him, but that was because he wanted to be accepted. He wouldn’t feel this excited now.

Is it the system?

System 1088 spoke: “Host, please accept the painting. This will help you get back together with him later. You will also get system points.”

“Really?” Sheng Yan asked.

“Yes!” the system replied.

Xie Qingyao asked nervously: “Brother Sheng Yan, do you like it?”

“It’s okay,” Sheng Yan replied. He didn’t say yes or no.

“Then I will give it to you,” Xie Qingyao said. He assumed Sheng Yan liked it.

He knew Sheng Yan lived at Lu Mingyue’s house. If Sheng Yan took this painting home, he would have to hang it there.

Lu Mingyue would see a painting by Sheng Yan’s ex every day. How could he be happy?

And Sheng Yan would see the painting every day and remember their past. This was a perfect plan!

“Okay.” It was just a painting. Sheng Yan took it without worry.

System 1088 celebrated in his head: “Congratulations! You took the first step. You got 10,000 points. Keep going!”

Xie Qingyao was very happy. He believed Sheng Yan still loved him. He packed the painting and said: “Brother Sheng Yan, I have an art show in a few days. Please come. We can have dinner and see a movie after.”

He wanted to spend more time together. At night, it would be easy to create a romantic mood.

“Xie Qingyao,” Sheng Yan said as he took the painting. He looked at him and said again: “I am married.”

He wanted to be clear. Since he was married, he should keep his distance from others to avoid trouble. Especially with an ex.

“I know…” Xie Qingyao felt scared. Facing this calm Sheng Yan was more frightening than facing the angry one from before.

“But Brother Sheng Yan, being married doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. Why can’t we see each other?”

Sheng Yan said directly: “Because it makes my partner unhappy. It could ruin my relationship.”

Then he asked: “Xie Qingyao, do you want to be ‘the other person’ who breaks up a family? Do you want to be a homewrecker?”

Xie Qingyao felt ashamed and angry. “Brother Sheng Yan, how can you say that? We grew up together. Don’t you know who I am?”

“If I wanted to break up a family, why would I have cancelled our wedding before? It would have been easier to just marry you!”

Sheng Yan looked at him: “Who knows what you are thinking now? People change.”

“I just don’t want us to be like strangers!” Xie Qingyao’s eyes were red. “Am I wrong to feel this way?”

“But I am married,” Sheng Yan repeated. “A married person should cut ties with ex-partners. You have other friends. You don’t need to live your life around me. You should live your own life.”

It was just a childhood friendship. People grow apart. Sheng Yan didn’t believe Xie Qingyao cared this much about everyone. He must want something.

What does he want? Sheng Yan looked at him, trying to find out.

“I regret it, okay?!” Xie Qingyao finally shouted. “I regret breaking our engagement. I want to start over with you!”

He was tired of the games. He said it directly. As long as he got Sheng Yan back, the process didn’t matter.

“No,” Sheng Yan said simply.

Sheng Yan respected contracts. Since he signed a deal with Lu Mingyue, he wouldn’t break it unless Lu Mingyue wanted a divorce. He would not cheat.

System 1088 warned: “Host, you are too cold. This is bad for the mission.”

“You have to destroy something to build it back up,” Sheng Yan said. “If he doesn’t feel hopeless now, he won’t be grateful when I chase him later.”

System 1088: “!!!”

Sheng Yan went out empty-handed and came back with a painting. It was clearly the one from Xie Qingyao.

Lu Mingyue had been distracted all day. He stopped working and waited in the living room. Hours passed. Finally, Sheng Yan came home.

Lu Mingyue saw the painting bag and paused. Xie Qingyao was more successful than he thought.

He knew Sheng Yan didn’t do things for no reason. If he took the painting, he had a reason.

“You’re back?” Sheng Yan was surprised to see him.

“Work was light today, so I came home early,” Lu Mingyue said. He looked at the bag. “Is that the painting he did for you?”

“Yes,” Sheng Yan said.

Lu Mingyue asked: “Do you want to hang it up?”

“Where?” Sheng Yan asked. The living room was already full of famous art.

Lu Mingyue suggested: “How about the hallway under the stairs? It has space and no direct sunlight. It’s good for the painting.”

But no one ever went there except the maids.

“Sure,” Sheng Yan said. He didn’t seem to notice Lu Mingyue’s plan. He hung the painting in the dark hallway.

Looking at it, Lu Mingyue had to admit Xie Qingyao was a good artist. The painting was very nice. He especially liked that it showed their wedding day. He felt better about it.

“Are you hungry?” Lu Mingyue asked. “What do you want to eat?”

“Seafood?” Sheng Yan replied.

“Okay,” Lu Mingyue smiled. “A seafood feast. It’s boring with just us. Let’s invite your friends. After dinner, you can go to the studio for your livestream.”

“Sounds good,” Sheng Yan agreed.

They walked out of the dark hallway and didn’t look back at the painting. To them, it wasn’t important.

Xie Qingyao cared, though. He was angry about what Sheng Yan had said to him.

How could he say those things? Xie Qingyao thought he was helping him.

He didn’t believe Sheng Yan really liked that old man. Lu Mingyue was 37, not 27. He was much older. No matter how good he looked, he must be boring inside.

Xie Qingyao knew Sheng Yan always wanted the best. An old man like Lu Mingyue didn’t fit that. But Sheng Yan needed Lu Mingyue’s money for his family company, so he wouldn’t leave yet.

Xie Qingyao decided he couldn’t change Sheng Yan’s mind, so he would go after Lu Mingyue.

He thought a man like Lu Mingyue could find someone else easily. If he made Lu Mingyue hate Sheng Yan, Lu Mingyue would kick him out.

So, Lu Mingyue started receiving friend requests from Xie Qingyao.

Lu Mingyue was confused. Why was he contacting him instead of Sheng Yan? Did he want to ask Lu Mingyue to let Sheng Yan go?

Lu Mingyue accepted the request to see what would happen.

Xie Qingyao: “Hello, Mr. Lu. I want to give you some things.”

Lu Mingyue: “What?”

Xie Qingyao sent a lot of files. “These are things Brother Sheng Yan kept with me when we were in school. Now that you are married, I should give them to you.”

Lu Mingyue said “okay” but wasn’t interested. These belonged to the “old” Sheng Yan.

But he got curious and clicked on a video.

After one second, he closed it. He thought he was being tricked by a hacker. No one would be so stupid to send adult videos to a romantic rival.

But Xie Qingyao did.

Xie Qingyao: “Mr. Lu, Brother Sheng Yan likes these. Don’t be surprised. Young people sometimes have special tastes.”

Special tastes. Lu Mingyue watched the video again. It was indeed “special.”

But why send this?

Xie Qingyao: “Brother Sheng Yan is shy. Since you helped his family, he is too embarrassed to tell you his secrets. Since we are close, I thought I should tell you.”

Lu Mingyue raised an eyebrow. Xie Qingyao was trying to show how close they were.

But Lu Mingyue had been with Sheng Yan before Xie Qingyao was even born. This didn’t bother him.

Xie Qingyao added: “Mr. Lu, Sheng Yan is young and full of energy. Sometimes he gets restless. Please be patient with him.”

Xie Qingyao was talking about Sheng Yan’s old bad temper. But because of the videos, Lu Mingyue thought about something else.

He remembered that Sheng Yan spent a lot of time in the bathroom lately.

Lu Mingyue’s finger shook on the screen. He wondered if he was wrong to marry Sheng Yan but not care about his physical needs.

Sheng Yan was so young. He wasn’t like Lu Mingyue, who lived like a monk.

Lu Mingyue felt bad. If only he were a little younger, they would look better together. But money cannot stop time.

That night, Sheng Yan was painting in his room. He started this hobby after visiting the studio.

He felt that deep down, the original owner still loved art. That was why he got so angry when he couldn’t paint well.

Sheng Yan bought art supplies and painted for fun.

Lu Mingyue felt jealous. Was Xie Qingyao’s youth really that attractive?

He could give Sheng Yan everything Xie Qingyao could, and more! Why would Sheng Yan be attracted to him but not me?

Lu Mingyue felt he was better than Xie Qingyao in every way except age. He didn’t think he looked old or gross.

He decided to be brave. He had waited twenty years for Sheng Yan. He wouldn’t lose him now.

After Sheng Yan finished painting and showered, he lay in bed.

Lu Mingyue, who usually stayed on his side, suddenly removed the extra blanket between them.

Sheng Yan asked: “What’s wrong?”

Lu Mingyue was wearing a silk blue robe. He looked handsome. “I was thinking… since we are married and sleeping together, maybe we should have a real marriage life.”

Sheng Yan was confused. “Didn’t you say before that it wasn’t necessary?”

“You can think about it,” Lu Mingyue said as he unbuttoned his robe. He looked down at Sheng Yan. “I am very good at it.”

Sheng Yan didn’t look at him. He pulled up the blanket. “How good?”

Lu Mingyue turned off the lights. In the dark, he opened the blanket and slowly unbuttoned Sheng Yan’s pajamas.

“Want to try?” he whispered.

“Okay,” Sheng Yan replied. When Lu Mingyue’s fingers touched his skin, it felt hot like fire. Sheng Yan turned his head. He thought: He is my boss and my partner. I have no reason to say no.

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