Qiu Zheyan froze, momentarily at a loss for words.
Zhuang Hanxue seized this opportunity to glance at him, swiftly operating the computer to shut off the livestream. He then returned, looking at Qiu Zheyan with bewilderment. “I don’t understand why you’re angry.”
This was precisely what infuriated Qiu Zheyan the most.
Zhuang Hanxue was always so oblivious.
Qiu Zheyan’s voice trembled with anger as he said, “Don’t change the subject. I’ve been patient for a long time. I have been waiting for you to take the initiative to tell me. Who exactly is this ‘Little Master’? What’s your relationship with him? How long have you known each other? And he’s even encouraging you to leave me?”
Zhuang Hanxue scratched his head, stammering, “I was planning to tell you in a few days… Little Master is Jiujiu. Don’t you know Jiujiu?”
Qiu Zheyan was stunned, growing even more furious. “Fuck, it’s someone I know too?!”
Zhuang Hanxue nodded. “Yeah, that child star. Haven’t you seen ‘Jiujiu’s Culinary Journey’?”
“?” Qiu Zheyan felt he might have some recollection. “…”
Seeing that he seemed to remember, Zhuang Hanxue said innocently, “He’s very famous. You should know him. You can look him up online. That’s Jiujiu. He’s my Little Master.”
A child?
Qiu Zheyan quickly searched on his phone: Chu Yu, born in 20xx… He didn’t read further. The kid was only 12 years old!
The situation became incredibly awkward.
Qiu Zheyan didn’t know what to say.
This Little Master was an elementary school student?
An elementary school student??
He was jealous of an elementary school student???
It was fucking embarrassing. Truly.
Qiu Zheyan’s face turned red, his anger instantly transforming into shame.
He knew he had this flaw. Over the years, he had tried his best to control it, to become more mature, to lessen his possessiveness, but some habits were hard to break.
He got jealous when Zhuang Hanxue chatted and joked with women.
He got jealous of Zhuang Hanxue’s accomplished ex-girlfriend.
He even got jealous when Zhuang Hanxue played games with an online friend he assumed was an adult man.
He realized he was truly too jealous.
He hesitated, lips quivering, and apologized, “I’m sorry.”
“I misunderstood…”
“I thought he was an adult.”
“You’ve been hiding your chats with this person lately, and last time I saw you two discussing moving out.”
Zhuang Hanxue calmly explained, “It’s really a misunderstanding. I’m friends with Jiujiu’s father. I even attended his first birthday party. But his father doesn’t like me much, so we lost touch. Last year, we accidentally became friends online. You know me, I’m shameless enough to befriend even an elementary school student.”
He grasped Qiu Zheyan’s hand, soothing the bristled man, and said coquettishly, “Jiujiu doesn’t really like you. He suggested I shouldn’t be with you. But I told him I like you and won’t move out. If I left, where would I find another Xiao Qiu who treats me so well?”
“Right?”
Qiu Zheyan was finally coaxed, sighing with relief. But feeling foolish about the huge misunderstanding, he awkwardly said, “You could have told me earlier. I kept waiting for you to say something… Then I wouldn’t have misunderstood. I want to be less jealous, but I just can’t help it. I’m sorry for yelling at you so angrily earlier. Did I scare you?”
Zhuang Hanxue pretended to be upset, relishing his rare upper hand. “I was a bit scared. I was planning to tell you in two weeks. You know I’ve been idle at home, right? Little Master said I was being ridiculous, just eating and sleeping, so he suggested I find a way to earn money from home.”
“So I thought about livestreaming. I’ve signed with a platform now, all thanks to Little Master’s help. He’s been helping me attract viewers these past few days. Otherwise, I couldn’t have become popular so quickly. I should thank him.”
“He sacrificed his winter holiday homework time to play with me. And you’re jealous for no reason. He’d probably die laughing if he knew.”
“In two weeks, when I complete my first month under contract, I was planning to use the money I earned to buy you a New Year’s gift. I wanted to surprise you. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
Zhuang Hanxue’s explanation was reasonable and convincing. Qiu Zheyan was persuaded.
This lazy bug was working hard just to buy him a New Year’s gift. Qiu Zheyan felt his heart melting.
He had wronged Zhuang Hanxue.
This whole mess was his doing.
Qiu Zheyan apologized repeatedly, “I was wrong. I’m really sorry. I was needlessly jealous. I’ll buy him a gift to apologize. Don’t be angry with me. What do you want me to do?”
Zhuang Hanxue put on a stern face. “What do you think?”
Qiu Zheyan said, “What do you want? I’ll… I’ll buy you anything.”
Zhuang Hanxue couldn’t hold back anymore. After a moment, he broke into a smile, pinching Qiu Zheyan’s cheek. “Alright, alright. You look like a golden retriever who’s just had his house torn apart. I’m not angry with you. When have I ever been angry with you? No need to buy me anything. Just give me a kiss, and I’ll forgive you.”
Qiu Zheyan planted a quick kiss on him.
Zhuang Hanxue sighed, “Now you know in advance. There goes the surprise. I worked so hard to keep it secret for so long.”
Qiu Zheyan held his hand. “It’s okay. I’m already very happy that you’re not moving out and still want to buy me a gift.”
Zhuang Hanxue patted his head. “Your hair is so stiff, it pricks. Doudou’s fur feels better. Are you satisfied now? My little emperor, I think you could be the king of Jealousy Land. Jealous of my ex-girlfriend, jealous of an elementary school student, you’re too impressive.”
Qiu Zheyan finally felt embarrassed. “Who told you to talk so flirtatiously with everyone?”
Zhuang Hanxue was unashamed. “That’s just how I talk. It’s very popular on my livestreams. Want to see? I have 150,000 subscribers now!”
Zhuang Hanxue sat back down and showed Qiu Zheyan his livestream page. “Look, impressive, right?”
But when he opened it, he found the viewer count had skyrocketed by hundreds of thousands. The darkened screen was still filled with scrolling comments:
[Sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet]
[Oh my god, this is even better than listening to BL]
[Is it over? Is it over?]
[I heard there’s a gay here, I rushed over to watch]
[But host, didn’t you say you had a girlfriend?]
Zhuang Hanxue particularly noticed the last comment.
Startled, and seeing that Qiu Zheyan hadn’t reacted yet, he quickly said righteously: “No! Xiao Qiu, don’t misunderstand! When I said I had a girlfriend during my livestream the day before yesterday, I was lying… I was co-streaming a game with a female streamer, and she seemed interested in me, so I said I had a wife! I live with my wife! My wife treats me very well! I would never betray my wife!!!”
“I was talking about you…”
“I was embarrassed to tell people I’m dating a man…”
“I’m a man too, I need to save face, right?”
Qiu Zheyan let out an amused “Heh.” “Who’s your wife?”
Zhuang Hanxue meekly said, “I’m the wife, I’m your wife, okay?”
Qiu Zheyan nodded, finally satisfied, and decided to let him off the hook. Noticing the comments still scrolling and the viewer count still soaring, he examined the computer and pointed to an icon. “The symbol in the bottom right is still lit. The voice software is still on.”
Zhuang Hanxue looked where Qiu Zheyan was pointing, froze for a moment, then exclaimed in terror, “Fuck! I didn’t mute the mic!!”
Qiu Zheyan: “…”
Finally, it was turned off.
Zhuang Hanxue, suffering from PTSD, checked four or five times to make sure it was really muted this time.
Zhuang Hanxue asked, “Is it off now?”
Qiu Zheyan answered, “It’s off.”
A moment of silence.
Zhuang Hanxue slumped onto the desk.
Qiu Zheyan tried to hold it in, then tried again, but finally couldn’t contain himself. His shoulders shook as he suppressed his laughter. After a moment, he simply burst out laughing: “Hahahahaha.”
Zhuang Hanxue turned back, his face crestfallen. “You’re laughing at me? Stop laughing. I think I’m going to get banned for broadcasting obscene content. I just started this livestream.”
Qiu Zheyan pulled him close and patted his back. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You don’t need to bother with all this anyway. I can support you.”
Zhuang Hanxue grumbled at him irritably, then stormed off angrily.
Zhuang Hanxue unplugged the internet cable, turned off his phone, went back to the bedroom, and lay down stiffly on the bed like a mummy. With a face of serene tranquility, he said,
“Don’t call me.”
“I’m dead.”
“I declare myself socially deceased.”
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