Foolish Slave

Gou Yu loves money. He's stingy, shallow, and ignorant, and his only redeeming feature is his good looks.

Unfortunately, his previous life ended in a pathetic way. He spent more than ten years scrabbling to get ahead, survived the confiscation of his family's property and the chaos of war, only to become a sacrificial stand-in in some unknown mountain village.

After being reborn, when the chancellor's household is raided, he digs the chancellor's only son out of a pile of corpses and carries him away to escape.

Looking at Shen Jiangxue, frail and pale, with his refined beauty, Gou Yu secretly vows never to let anyone bully him again.

Shen Jiangxue will one day be the most honored man in the land, so Gou Yu will become the most honored man's... servant.

In front of Shen Jiangxue, he's helpless and vulnerable, the sort of person anyone would pity.

When Shen Jiangxue suspects his motives, he looks up with tear-filled eyes and cautiously clutches the corner of Shen Jiangxue's sleeve. "Perhaps you don't remember me, Young Master, but my loyalty to you is as clear as the sun and moon..."

In front of everyone else, he's sullen and unruly, and he always gets even.

The heir pinches his face with distaste. "What a fool. Such a waste of a pretty face."

The general nearly crushes his wrist bones, his expression icy. "A lowly servant. Filthy and despicable, just as expected."

He patiently plots for a long time, until the heir is beaten so badly he can't get out of bed for half a month. After drugging the general unconscious, he kicks him twice for good measure.

Gou Yu thinks he's done a wonderful job protecting Shen Jiangxue, and he always acts obedient in front of him. He never expected to hear Shen Jiangxue speak ill of him.

*

When the state of Zhao is thrown into turmoil, on the Vermilion Bird Terrace in Fuyu Jing, rain falls in sheets. Someone suddenly asks about Gou Yu.

Shen Jiangxue's eyes are cool and calm. His voice is even as he says, "He expects repayment for his favors. Petty and ignorant."

Gou Yu nods, deciding Shen Jiangxue's assessment is fairly reasonable.

He throws away the worn hair ribbon, old jade bangle, and worthless apricot-blossom umbrella Shen Jiangxue gave him, steals ten thousand taels of gold, and runs away.

*

On the day he's caught and brought back, Gou Yu is angrier than a ghost.

In the golden house Shen Jiangxue built for him, he hurls gold bricks at Shen Jiangxue. "Get out! I don't want to see you! I don't want your money, and I don't want you! You're no better than anyone else, for all your refined elegance. You're just as ungrateful! If you bully me again, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

Shen Jiangxue calmly watches the person in front of him, shaking with rage and lashing out wildly, then suddenly smiles. "I'd be delighted."

Aloof, exalted gong x wild, self-made shou

Content warnings:

A fake everyone-hates-him setup

Many characters will fall for the shou

Theme: People should repay kindness