“Ninety-nine percent of those who fall for straight men do not end well.”
“With just a crook of a woman’s finger, he’ll suddenly change, claiming he’s reformed and actually likes women, then walk away without a second thought. I’ve seen this happen countless times.”
—Qiu Zheyan recalled his friend’s warning.
Jiang Ruoyun was a woman, a beautiful woman, and a very wealthy beautiful woman at that.
For Zhuang Hanxue, she was practically the perfect patron, wasn’t she?
He felt that Zhuang Hanxue was truly his nemesis.
One moment he could make his mood as sweet as honey, the next drive him to the brink of madness.
Zhuang Hanxue casually muttered, “Then I said I didn’t want to, and she backtracked, saying she was just joking.”
“But knowing her as I do, I don’t think she was really joking when she said that… I suspect she might still have some ulterior motives towards me.”
Qiu Zheyan tightened his grip on Zhuang Hanxue’s hand. “Knowing her? Didn’t you break up eight years ago? After eight years apart, you dare claim you still know her so well? Do you like her that much?”
Zhuang Hanxue’s hand hurt from the squeeze, and he swayed like seaweed. “You’re going to crush my hand. Jeez, how strong is your grip?”
Qiu Zheyan released him, fuming. “Huh, a few compliments and you’re already swooning.”
“Don’t forget, she’s a rising star in her career, in the prime of her life, and everything is going well for her. She must be out of her mind to be dating, especially someone like you. Do you think you’re still in your twenties? Don’t fantasize that she’s still pining for you.”
“She’s seen all sorts of talented and wealthy men in the industry. Why would she still be hung up on you? Maybe she just wants revenge for how you abandoned her back then. She’ll dust herself off and marry someone else in no time. What do you have left? Still thinking about her?”
“You regret breaking up with her, don’t you?”
Zhuang Hanxue stood rooted to the spot, no longer complaining about the pain. He stared at Qiu Zheyan with wide, unblinking eyes, looking so pitiful he hardly dared breathe. Even his shadow seemed lonely beside him.
Qiu Zheyan regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. He realized he had belittled Zhuang Hanxue too harshly. Even if Zhuang Hanxue was a heartless guy, it didn’t mean he had no self-respect at all.
Time seemed to freeze.
Snowflakes drifted down.
Qiu Zheyan grasped Zhuang Hanxue’s hand. Zhuang Hanxue tried to pull away but couldn’t. Qiu Zheyan held on firmly and kissed the back of his hand. “I’m sorry, I went too far.”
Zhuang Hanxue grinned, as if trying to break the tension. His warm breath formed a white mist like a speech bubble. “You really know how to be jealous.”
He scratched his face with a bent finger. “I know I’m not good enough for her now.”
“Well, I wasn’t good enough for her before, either.”
“I’ve always been a good-for-nothing.”
Qiu Zheyan looked like a puppy who’d just made a mess. If he had ears and a tail, they’d be drooping now. “I didn’t mean you’re good-for-nothing… I’m not complaining about your age, either. I was just too angry. I like you too much.”
“I get angry just thinking about how you used to like her.”
“Please don’t mention her in front of me anymore.”
Zhuang Hanxue said innocently, “You’re upset about an ex-girlfriend from eight years ago? I didn’t even get angry when I saw photos of you with your ex-boyfriend. You’re a grown man, how can you be so petty?”
This only made Qiu Zheyan angrier. “Most people would get upset if they saw their current boyfriend with an ex in old photos. It’s normal to feel a little sour about it. How can you act like nothing happened?”
Zhuang Hanxue was perplexed. “You’re so hard to please.”
Drawing from his past experiences as a sugar daddy, Zhuang Hanxue remembered how he couldn’t stand it when women got jealous over ex-girlfriends. Was it wrong for men to think this way? He never inquired about Qiu Zheyan’s past relationships or felt jealous. Shouldn’t Qiu Zheyan appreciate how obedient, understanding, and well-behaved he was?
Qiu Zheyan turned and stormed off angrily.
Zhuang Hanxue was stunned for a moment, then followed, helplessly coaxing, “You’re twenty-seven, Xiao Qiu. Why are you acting like a stubborn kid? What’s with the childish tantrum?”
Qiu Zheyan said coldly, “What? Am I not allowed to be upset when I know my lover doesn’t like me as much? How many times have you hurt me recently?”
“Zhuang Hanxue, I know a big reason we’re together is because I tricked you.”
“I also know you’ve only dated women before. I’m awful, I’m immoral. I fell for a straight man and turned him. I brought this on myself.”
“I know… I know you don’t like me as much as I like you.”
Zhuang Hanxue reached out to pat his head. They were about the same height, so he leaned in to kiss him.
“Of course, I still like you. On my birthday night, I wasn’t nearly as drunk as I seemed. If I’d really been that wasted, how could I have gone along with you, Xiao Qiu?”
“I can’t speak for the future, but right now, in the whole world, you’re the one I like most, and the only one I like.”
“Don’t be angry anymore.”
“I had no idea you’d be so jealous. I’ll never mention my ex-girlfriend to you again.”
Qiu Zheyan changed his mind again. “No, you should still tell me. If you run into your ex-girlfriend and don’t tell me, I’ll go even crazier.”
Zhuang Hanxue: “???” Why were younger guys so troublesome? Even though he was already twenty-seven, didn’t he usually act more mature and steady than Zhuang Hanxue? He really couldn’t understand Xiao Qiu.
Qiu Zheyan asked, “Don’t you want to know about me and my ex? Aren’t you even a little jealous?”
Zhuang Hanxue rubbed his nose, thinking of the handsome young man standing next to Qiu Zheyan in the photo, and shared his thoughts. “Well, if you want to talk about it, go ahead. I’ll try to listen attentively. He looks very cultured and knowledgeable; he seems like an elite and probably doesn’t live as chaotically as I do.”
Qiu Zheyan stared at his expression, hoping to see a different look in Zhuang Hanxue’s eyes. With a knot in his chest, he deliberately said, “He’s a university professor, my father’s junior colleague. I got into his university to be near him, chose his major, and we lived together during college.”
“Wow!” Zhuang Hanxue’s eyes lit up with admiration. “You’re amazing!”
Qiu Zheyan: “…”
He was at his wits’ end, helpless, and let out a long sigh towards the sky.
Zhuang Hanxue covered his mouth. “Oh, right, I… I mean… um… He was a university professor, so he must have been older than you, right? How many years older?”
Qiu Zheyan answered, “Ten years.”
Zhuang Hanxue inwardly marveled but didn’t dare show it, saying, “Looks like you’ve always liked older types.”
Qiu Zheyan: “Mm, I just like men who are older than me.”
Zhuang Hanxue asked curiously, “Sounds like you really liked him back then. Why did you break up?”
Qiu Zheyan glanced at him and said, “A lot of reasons. He thought I was too young and immature, that I was too clingy. At that time, his ex-boyfriend came back—he was really impressive, and as an undergraduate, I couldn’t compete at all. I was anxious and eager to propose to him, but when he rejected me, we broke up, and he got back together with his ex.”
As Qiu Zheyan spoke of the past, there was still a twinge of pain in his heart. After all, it was his first love, someone he had once passionately given his whole heart to, a scar etched on his heart. The love was real, but it was also truly over.
Zhuang Hanxue initially felt nothing, but seeing Qiu Zheyan’s slightly wistful expression, he inexplicably felt a bit uncomfortable.
And Qiu Zheyan was accusing him of not being over his ex… Zhuang Hanxue grumbled inwardly.
Zhuang Hanxue couldn’t help but mutter, “First love really is different, huh.”
Qiu Zheyan’s sharp ears caught this, feeling he’d finally scored a point. He bear-hugged Zhuang Hanxue from behind, lifting him up. “What’s this? Finally jealous?”
Zhuang Hanxue grunted, “You’re twenty-seven and so skilled in bed. I’d have to be an idiot not to know you’ve dated before. What’s there to be jealous about?”
Qiu Zheyan persisted, “You are jealous.”
Zhuang Hanxue: “I’m not.”
Qiu Zheyan: “You are.”
Zhuang Hanxue: “…I don’t even know if I am.”
Qiu Zheyan kissed his wind-chilled cheek from behind. “I think you’ve started to like me a little bit now.”
These days, who in their thirties hasn’t had a deeply moving, failed true love?
That’s what they say, but Zhuang Hanxue really couldn’t remember if he had. He’d been giving little flower hairclips to girls in his class since kindergarten. But truly, madly, deeply liking someone… he couldn’t seem to recall.
Do people in this world really do that?
Zhuang Hanxue inexplicably thought of something from over a decade ago.
It was when he had just started working. He had a subordinate named Chu Xun, who was very capable and smart. Back then, he relied on this vice president to do the work while he slacked off. Chu Xun resigned and left due to a cancer misdiagnosis, then by chance met Lin Yanchen of the Lin family group, and they fell in love.
Lin Yanchen came to him searching for Chu Xun, and after hearing their love story, he was moved to tears.
He rather envied the love between those two, a love that would go to the ends of the earth.
Come to think of it, he was also friends with Chu Xun’s son, despite their age difference.
He’d known him much longer than Qiu Zheyan.
Chu Xun’s son’s formal name was Chu Yu, but his nickname was Jiujiu, a sixth-grade elementary school student. Online, he usually respectfully called him “Little Master” or “Jiujiu Little Master.” The reason he ended up with Qiu Zheyan was because Jiujiu had to go to school and couldn’t play games with him anymore. Feeling lonely and bored, he hooked up with a new “little brother” online to play with.
Back then, he told Little Master that he’d quit his job to be Qiu Zheyan’s live-in gaming companion. Little Master had worriedly asked if he was being scammed… He still hadn’t told Little Master that he and Qiu Zheyan were together now. If Little Master knew, he’d surely say, “I told you you were being scammed again.”
There were two weeks left until New Year’s Eve.
Elementary schools were on break.
Zhuang Hanxue went online and saw his Little Master was online, so he went to play with him.
Little Master: [Didn’t you say you could only play with your little boss? Are you playing with me behind his back?]
Zhuang Hanxue shyly replied: [We’re dating now, it’s no longer an employer-employee relationship. He allows me to play games with others, as long as there’s no flirting]
The chat box seemed to freeze, as if Little Master had lost connection.
Ten minutes later.
Little Master finally replied: [I told you not to get scammed, didn’t I? You didn’t listen to me. There’s no such thing as a free lunch! Now you’ve lost your job too… You didn’t even consult me [Angry]]
Zhuang Hanxue: [Master, you’re still in elementary school. You don’t understand]
Little Master: [Now you’re telling me I’m in elementary school. Why didn’t you think of that when you borrowed money from me? I may be in elementary school, but I’m smarter than you. You adults are really something. You play games just to date, but I’m different. I play games to seriously play games!]
Zhuang Hanxue smiled at the screen.
At the end of the year, Qiu Zheyan was extremely busy, often coming home late.
Zhuang Hanxue barely left the house, just staying in to play. Elementary school students on break had a lot of free time. However, Little Master had to do homework for three hours every day and practice Go for another three hours, so he couldn’t play with him from dawn to dusk.
These past few days, he had a great time playing with Little Master, as if rekindling the enthusiasm from when they first met.
On this day.
Qiu Zheyan worked at the company until after midnight before returning home.
When he got home, he found Zhuang Hanxue asleep on the sofa and carried him back to the bedroom.
The phone Zhuang Hanxue was holding fell to the ground.
Qiu Zheyan picked it up, and a notification popped up, lighting up the screen to show over a dozen unread messages.
They were all from someone with the nickname [Jiujiu Little Master].
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