Chapter 37: What Kind of Man Is Chen Yu?

In a mere thirty seconds, the public perception underwent a stunning reversal.

Chen Yu, who had just been hailed as a "peerless good man," was instantly branded a textbook example of a "selfish, social-climbing phoenix husband."

On the other side of the screen, Lin Weiwei, who had just finished watching Zhao Kai’s clumsy performance with a heart full of chill, happened to switch her feed to Chen Yu. She heard, clearly and in its entirety, Chen Yu’s smug declaration about his "secret stash."

Her pupils contracted sharply. A self-deprecating curve tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"So that’s how it is."

Look at that. Every single man on this earth is cut from the same cloth. Zhao Kai was stupid and malicious, a display of incompetent rage that wore his selfishness on his sleeve. But this Chen Yu... he was even more terrifying.

Lin Weiwei even found herself wondering if Chen Yu’s wife—that woman who had yet to make an appearance—was perhaps even more pathetic than she was. At least she had seen through Zhao Kai’s true face; though it was painful, she was at least awake. But that woman? Was she still immersed in a dream of happiness woven by Chen Yu, completely oblivious to that little "secret stash" he was hiding away?

She even felt a flicker of relief for the three hundred thousand Chen Yu had just earned. Thank goodness this money had been exposed. Thank goodness it had happened in front of everyone, forcing him to admit it himself. Otherwise, who knows how much longer that poor woman would have been kept in the dark.

Lin Weiwei sighed softly and closed Chen Yu’s livestream. Watching any longer would only make her feel more nauseated. It turned out, every household was just the same.

...

At the Jiang Group, inside the top-floor CEO’s office, Jiang Zhiyun stared expressionlessly at the holographic projection screen. On it was Chen Yu’s face, wearing that cunning smile.

His remark—"This money has to be hidden well, she absolutely cannot know about it"—stung her. Even if theirs was a marriage of convenience, it still caused a pang in her heart. A vein on her temple throbbed imperceptibly.

Good. Very good. Chen Yu, you really are something else.

One hundred thousand in monthly allowance wasn't enough for you? Now, after selling a song you came up with for three hundred thousand, your first instinct was to squirrel it away as a private stash? And behind her back, no less?

A nameless fire surged in Jiang Zhiyun’s chest. This fire wasn't about the money.

Three hundred thousand? To her, that was merely a drop in the ocean, not even enough to cover the cost of one of her business banquets. What she cared about was Chen Yu’s attitude! It was that small-minded, tacky, selfish countenance!

Disgraceful! It was absolutely disgraceful!

Her husband, Jiang Zhiyun’s husband, was actually this kind of petty creature! To get so carried away over a measly three hundred thousand that he had to sneak around like a thief to hide it. If this got out, where would she put her face? What would people think of her? What would they think of the Jiang Group? Would people suspect that she, Jiang Zhiyun, was mistreating her husband, pinching pennies even over three hundred thousand, forcing him to resort to hiding secret funds?

At the thought of this, Jiang Zhiyun felt her blood boil and her temples throb violently. She took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to smash the screen in front of her, picked up her personal phone, and opened her banking app with a dark expression. Her fingers flew across the screen without a moment’s hesitation.

[You have successfully transferred 1,000,000.00 Yuan to the account ending in XXXX.]

Following that, she opened the chat window with Chen Yu and typed a line with her slender fingers.

[Did you receive the money? Stop doing such embarrassing and shameful things in public.]

Send.

After doing this, she flipped her phone face-down on the desk with a sharp snap, closed her eyes, and pressed hard against her brow. Yet, the stifling frustration in her chest didn't dissipate; instead, it grew thicker.

...

Elsewhere, Chen Yu was humming a little tune, blissfully calculating how to spend his "huge sum" of three hundred thousand. Should he buy a top-tier gaming setup first, or hunt down that limited-edition carbon fiber fishing rod he’d been dreaming of? Or perhaps, he should just take Niannian out for a feast? Go to one of those places... the ones that cost thousands per person, and splurge for once!

Just as he was lost in thought, his phone chimed with a vibration. He pulled it out and saw a text message from his bank.

[Dear customer, your savings account ending in XXXX received a transfer on [Date] at [Time]: RMB 1,000,000.00. The current account balance is 1,030,005.21 Yuan.]

"..."

The smile on Chen Yu’s face froze instantly. He blinked, thinking he had misread it. He held the phone away, then pulled it close, carefully counting the string of zeros one by one.

Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand... a million?

One million?! Plus the three hundred thousand he just got, that made a balance of one million and thirty thousand?

What the hell?!

Chen Yu sprang up from the sofa, completely bewildered. Where did a million come from? Did someone rob a bank? Or did the system glitch?

Before he could finish processing the shock, his WeChat notification rang again. He opened it to see a message from the contact saved as "Fake Wife."

[Did you receive the money? Stop doing such embarrassing and shameful things in public.]

Chen Yu stared at the message, then back at his bank balance, a row of three question marks slowly forming in his mind.

???

This woman... has she gone crazy? Why give him a million for no reason? And what was this about... being embarrassing and shameful? What embarrassing thing had he done?

Chen Yu scratched his head, completely stumped. All he did today was look after the kid at home and earn three hundred thousand. How was that embarrassing? Was she complaining that he didn't earn enough? But she wasn't exactly generous either; she only gave him one hundred thousand in pocket money a month, always so stingy...

He couldn't figure it out. He couldn't figure it out at all. Chen Yu’s brain had completely crashed when faced with Jiang Zhiyun’s peculiar way of thinking.

However, even if he couldn't understand it, the money was definitely there. Facing this moody "fake wife," Chen Yu was well-versed in the art of survival. Whatever she was raving about, it was best to just go along with her.

He quickly switched to a submissive, obedient tone and replied:

[Received it, honey! You’re the best! I’ll definitely be careful from now on and never do anything to make you unhappy again!]
[(Cute.jpg)]

After sending the message, Chen Yu let out a long sigh. Looking at that long string of digits on his phone, the little bit of smugness he felt earlier had long since vanished into thin air, replaced by a sense of... absurdity.

He had worked hard singing to earn three hundred thousand, even planning to squirrel it away, and yet she, without batting an eye, tossed him a million and scolded him for being embarrassing.

What was this? A dimensionality strike?

Chen Yu fell into deep thought once more.

"Embarrassing..." he muttered to himself, "what exactly counts as embarrassing?"

"Was it singing while cooking for Niannian?"

"Or pretending to be a singing god in the shower?"

"Or is it... that I dress too casually?"