Zhuang Hanxue wandered along the deserted streets in the dead of night, wondering where Qiu Zheyan might have gone. Perhaps he had gone out for a business meeting and something had happened on the way? He searched online for any news of accidents from the previous night.
Nothing turned up.
He didn’t go home either.
At three in the morning.
Zhuang Hanxue was wide awake when he received a call from Qiu Zheyan. He answered immediately, asking anxiously, “Where are you? Why are you only calling me now?”
Qiu Zheyan replied, “I had an urgent matter and flew to another province. I forgot to bring my charger. I’ve just reached the hotel and plugged in. I didn’t have time to let you know. How come you answered so quickly? Aren’t you asleep yet? I thought you might have been.”
Zhuang Hanxue patted his chest, “You nearly scared me to death. You should have told me earlier. I was worried you might have been in a car accident.”
Qiu Zheyan heard the sound of passing vehicles in the background and paused, “Are you outside? Go home and get some sleep. I have some things to take care of. I’ll probably be back the day after tomorrow.”
Zhuang Hanxue felt something was off.
Even if Qiu Zheyan had to go on a business trip, he would usually inform him in advance. This time seemed unusually rushed.
He wondered what had happened.
Two days later.
Qiu Zheyan hurriedly returned home.
Zhuang Hanxue was startled when he saw Xiao Qiu. He looked as if he hadn’t slept for days, his face haggard, eyes bloodshot, on the verge of collapse.
Zhuang Hanxue asked, “What’s wrong?”
Qiu Zheyan mustered his energy and gave him a faint smile, “It’s nothing, just a small problem at work. Don’t worry. I’ve been away for days. Did you miss me?”
Zhuang Hanxue was very concerned for him and moved forward to embrace him, “I missed you so much.”
Qiu Zheyan hugged him tightly, burying his face in the crook of Zhuang Hanxue’s neck, taking a deep breath, “You smell so good. Do I stink?”
Zhuang Hanxue replied, “You don’t.”
Qiu Zheyan kissed his cheek, saying wearily yet affectionately, “I missed you so much.”
Qiu Zheyan took a quick hot shower, then collapsed into bed, truly exhausted.
Zhuang Hanxue thought that in the past, they would have spent the entire night making love.
Zhuang Hanxue crouched by the bed, caressing Qiu Zheyan’s face, wondering what difficulties his Xiao Qiu had encountered. He wanted to help him.
Even though Qiu Zheyan kept quiet about it, Zhuang Hanxue wasn’t a fool. He more or less guessed that there must be problems with Qiu Zheyan’s business.
In the morning, Qiu Zheyan intended to sneak off to the company without disturbing Zhuang Hanxue’s sleep. However, as soon as he stirred, Zhuang Hanxue woke up instantly. Usually, this sleepyhead would be dead to the world.
Zhuang Hanxue caught him, saying sleepily, “Xiao Qiu, just tell me what’s happened. I couldn’t sleep well last night. If you don’t tell me, I won’t be able to sleep all day today.”
Qiu Zheyan smiled wryly, “You can’t sleep either?”
Zhuang Hanxue replied matter-of-factly, “Of course!”
Back when his parents forced him to inherit the company and pushed him into a political marriage, he was so worried he couldn’t sleep for a week. He felt like he was dying. Fearing that continued insomnia might actually kill him, he had no choice but to run away to save himself.
Zhuang Hanxue gripped his arm, “Just tell me!”
Qiu Zheyan said, “My company and my senior’s company had a mutual guarantee agreement. He somehow got addicted to gambling and spent all his money. Now he’s absconded with the funds. I can’t find him anywhere. The bank has come to our company to withdraw loans and file lawsuits for seizure… Our cash flow is about to break. I need to figure something out.”
Zhuang Hanxue recalled the senior brother Qiu Zheyan had taken him to visit for dinner before, and asked, “Doesn’t he have a wife and children?”
Qiu Zheyan shook his head, “Don’t even mention it. It seems he had an affair with their company’s female secretary. She took him to A City to gamble, and he got addicted. His wife doesn’t know where he is either. He abandoned his wife and children.”
Zhuang Hanxue gasped, “That’s too cruel!”
Qiu Zheyan held Zhuang Hanxue’s hand and kissed it, “It’s okay, don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”
Zhuang Hanxue hesitated, then nodded. Having managed a company before, he knew how dire the current situation was. Qiu Zheyan had been struck by sudden misfortune. It was truly terrible.
Actually, it wasn’t particularly difficult to solve. They just needed to keep pumping money in until the cash flow was restored.
The main issue was not knowing when it would end, which was mentally and physically exhausting.
He hadn’t encountered such a situation before, but he had heard about it.
Qiu Zheyan’s schedule visibly became busier. Forget about coming home early from work; he didn’t return until the early hours of the morning every day. He no longer had time to play games with Zhuang Hanxue on weekends.
Recently, during Zhuang Hanxue’s livestreams, many comments asked:
[Where’s your Xiao Gong? Why isn’t he streaming with you anymore?]
[The edited videos aren’t being updated either. What’s going on?]
[Bring out your Xiao Gong to stream together]
Zhuang Hanxue was so worried he couldn’t even enjoy gaming anymore. He explained to his viewers, “Xiao Qiu has been extremely busy with work lately, so he doesn’t have time to stream with me or help edit my videos.”
“After all, work comes first. Streaming isn’t his main job.”
“He’ll be back when he has time.”
“When will he be back? I can’t say for sure.”
Zhuang Hanxue wanted to help Qiu Zheyan, but when Qiu Zheyan came home every day, he didn’t talk about work at all. He was too exhausted, sometimes falling asleep without even showering.
Zhuang Hanxue, normally so lazy, personally carried Qiu Zheyan to bed, changed him into his pajamas, and wiped his face and feet.
Qiu Zheyan, when awake, repeatedly told him, “It’s alright” and “Don’t worry.” Zhuang Hanxue thought, Xiao Qiu must be feeling terrible at work, so he probably doesn’t want to bring up depressing work matters at home. He decided to ensure Xiao Qiu could be completely happy at home!
But after worrying for four or five days, Zhuang Hanxue couldn’t stand by idly anymore.
He was really unhappy.
That day, during his livestream, he saw everyone in the comments still cheerful and carefree. He couldn’t focus on gaming at all, thinking about how miserable Xiao Qiu was every day while he was happily streaming at home. It felt so wrong.
Zhuang Hanxue suddenly said, “I’m sorry, but I’m ending the stream today. I might not stream tomorrow, either. Or the day after. I’ll let you know later.”
With that, he ended the stream abruptly.
Zhuang Hanxue changed into the suit he used to wear for work.
To save money on a taxi, he rode a shared bike to Qiu Zheyan’s company.
The receptionist remembered this handsome older man from a previous company gathering. Zhuang Hanxue got straight to the point, “I’m here to see your CEO Qiu.”
Qiu Zheyan hurried out to meet him. Upon seeing him, Qiu Zheyan’s furrowed brow immediately relaxed as he asked gently, “What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly come here?”
Zhuang Hanxue said seriously, “I’m here to help you.”
Qiu Zheyan was taken aback.
Zhuang Hanxue spoke with utmost sincerity, “I used to be a CEO too, you know. Xiao Qiu, I won’t cause you trouble, really. I’m not even asking for pay. I’ve been so worried, so worried that I can’t just sit at home pretending everything’s fine while waiting for you to return. Don’t tell me ‘it’s alright’ or ‘don’t worry’ anymore. Let me help you. Even though I’m a good-for-nothing, if I can be of even the slightest use, that’s good enough.”
“I won’t let you send me away. If you do, I’ll be really angry.”
Qiu Zheyan was at a loss for words. In full view of everyone, he held Zhuang Hanxue’s hand.
Qiu Zheyan said softly, “Ah, I really didn’t want you to see me in such a pathetic state.”
Zhuang Hanxue smiled at him, praising him exaggeratedly, “Not at all! You look very handsome when you work hard in the face of adversity!”
The two held hands.
The two girls at the reception desk glanced at each other: “…”
At first, Qiu Zheyan still didn’t quite believe Zhuang Hanxue’s self-proclaimed abilities, but Zhuang Hanxue quickly proved his words true through his actions.
To be honest, Zhuang Hanxue felt he had never worked this hard since birth.
Even when he was strapped for cash and had to work before, he would only stay late until seven or eight before heading home. But now, for Xiao Qiu’s sake, he worked alongside him until the early hours every day.
And without taking a penny.
Day after day, he persevered. He would still complain about being tired, but after complaining, he’d still crawl out of bed early the next day to work at Qiu Zheyan’s company. Seeing Qiu Zheyan’s troubled face, he’d come up with all sorts of jokes to cheer him up.
Zhuang Hanxue sighed, thinking that if he had studied this hard before, he might have really become the Zhuang family patriarch.
It was already 1 a.m. when they finally got home that day.
Both of them were as tired as dogs.
Qiu Zheyan had already sold his car to raise funds.
They planned to ride shared bikes home, but after walking for five minutes, they couldn’t find any.
Qiu Zheyan asked Zhuang Hanxue, “Are you tired?”
Zhuang Hanxue whined, “I’m exhausted!”
Qiu Zheyan turned his back to him and crouched slightly. “I’ll carry you.”
Zhuang Hanxue didn’t hesitate to climb on.
Zhuang Hanxue’s entire body was warm, his body heat transmitting from his back to Qiu Zheyan’s chest. Zhuang Hanxue glanced at his fitness tracker and said cheerfully, “Xiao Qiu, carry me for about two hundred steps, then I’ll switch and carry you.”
Hearing Zhuang Hanxue’s seemingly carefree voice dispelled some of the gloom in Qiu Zheyan’s heart. He replied, “Alright.”
After a pause, Qiu Zheyan said, “Ah Xue… there’s something I need to tell you…”
Zhuang Hanxue asked, “What is it?”
Qiu Zheyan said, “I’m planning to sell the house.”
The house he currently lived in was in a prime location in the city center. Selling it could fetch several million, enough to sustain them for quite a while.
Zhuang Hanxue responded with an “Oh” and said, “Then let’s find a new place to live. I think we don’t really need such a big house anyway. You’re so busy. I’ll go look for a place.”
Zhuang Hanxue started massaging his shoulders and said, “How about I massage your shoulders while you carry me? Does that feel good?”
Qiu Zheyan had been feeling a bit sentimental, but the ticklish massage made him laugh, “Stop that, it tickles! Hahaha! Quit it, or I’ll drop you!”
The two of them took turns carrying each other, laughing and joking all the way home.
Zhuang Hanxue visited real estate agencies to look at apartments and finally settled on a one-bedroom unit for over three thousand a month.
After renting the apartment and signing the contract, he even haggled down the deposit. With most of the day still free, Zhuang Hanxue smoked three cigarettes, ate a meal at a fast-food restaurant, and called his sister.
His sister’s tone wasn’t friendly, but she didn’t hang up immediately either. “What is it? You must want something if you’re calling me. We haven’t been in touch for years, so you’re definitely not calling for nothing.”
Zhuang Hanxue mustered his courage and said, “Jie, I want to borrow some money from you. I… I’ll definitely pay it back.”
His sister let out a cold laugh. “How much do you want to borrow?”
Zhuang Hanxue didn’t dare ask for too much. “Ten million…”
His sister asked directly, “Are you on drugs or gambling?”
Zhuang Hanxue immediately denied it, “No! Really, no! I’m borrowing for my partner. Er Jie1Second Sister, to be honest, I’m in a relationship with a man now. His company is in trouble, the cash flow has broken down, and he needs money to get through this. I wanted to borrow some money from you to help out. I’ll definitely pay you back, really.”
His sister laughed, “Do you think my money grows on trees? You ask me for ten million just like that? Pay me back? Can you even afford to? You left home to earn money on your own, can you really pay back ten million?”
Ten million might not even be enough…
Zhuang Hanxue fell silent.
For the first time in his life, he profoundly realized how useless he was.
For the first time, he felt guilty and upset about his own incompetence.
Why was he so useless?
Zhuang Hanxue sniffled, “I’m sorry, Jie.”
Hearing him on the verge of tears, his sister’s tone softened a bit, “And you’re borrowing money from me for someone else? Don’t tell me you’ve been scammed? This kind of scam where a love interest claims their business has cash flow problems and needs to borrow money is so basic. Maybe the company doesn’t even exist. How can you be so naive at your age?”
Zhuang Hanxue said miserably, “No, Jie, he’s not scamming me. I’ve been helping at his company for two weeks. I know the accounts. …I’m sorry, Jie, I shouldn’t have asked. I’ll think of another way.”
His sister asked irritably, “Are you crying? At your age? Aren’t you ashamed?”
Zhuang Hanxue said with a thick voice, “I’m not.”
His sister said, “Give me your card number, I’ll transfer some money to you. I don’t have ten million, but I’ll give you some. You don’t need to pay it back.”
Zhuang Hanxue said without confidence, “I will pay it back.”
Later that day, Zhuang Hanxue checked his bank balance and found an extra 200,000 yuan in his account.
Zhuang Hanxue messaged his sister: [Thank you, Jie. I’ll definitely pay you back. I’ll write an IOU and send it to you.]
After thinking it over, Zhuang Hanxue realized that among the people he knew, probably only Chu Xun might be able to help Xiao Qiu.
He swallowed his pride and contacted Chu Xun.
He didn’t care about losing face; he was determined to persuade Chu Xun to help Xiao Qiu.
Things went quite smoothly on Chu Xun’s end.
Two days later, Zhuang Hanxue received a call from President Chu’s secretary, saying they were willing to discuss the business.
It was like finding hope in despair!
Zhuang Hanxue excitedly went to show Qiu Zheyan.
Qiu Zheyan was also very encouraged and went with Zhuang Hanxue to negotiate with the people Chu Xun sent.
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