TUMZ Chapter 21

After the meeting, Qiu Zheyan’s smile grew increasingly strained. He stood up, forcing the corners of his mouth into a grin that looked worse than crying. “Thank you for coming despite your busy schedule. I need some time to consider.”

The person sent by Chu Xun replied indifferently, “Very well, Mr. Qiu. I’ll wait for your reply.”

Zhuang Hanxue hesitated, “I’m sorry, Xiao Qiu…”

Qiu Zheyan kissed him, “What’s there to be sorry about? You’ve already helped me so much. At least now I have a way out—I can sell the company.”

Zhuang Hanxue said, “But it’s your life’s work, your patents. Selling it like this is giving it away. I thought he’d invest.”

Qiu Zheyan replied, “It’s understandable. We’re all businessmen here, doing business, not charity. There’s no trade without trickery, right? Even if you worked together ten years ago, it’s unlikely he’d be kind enough to acquire this mess now. It’s already quite good of him.”

Zhuang Hanxue asked, “So will you accept the acquisition?”

Qiu Zheyan squeezed his hand—Zhuang Hanxue felt how cold his palm was—and took a deep breath, saying optimistically, “I’ll think about it… Who knows? There might be another way out.”

Due to his platform contract, Zhuang Hanxue had to stream a minimum number of hours weekly or pay a penalty.

He went online to stream when he could, only to find his popularity had dropped a lot.

A fan asked: [The Pigeon King¹鸽王 (Gē Wáng) – “King of Pigeon/Dove” and is a popular internet slang term in Chinese. It refers to someone who frequently cancels plans or fails to keep commitments, often used to describe streamers or content creators on platforms like Bilibili. This highlights their tendency to “放鸽子” (fàng gēzi), which means to let someone down by not showing up or being unreliable. is back? Why haven’t you streamed for so long?]

Zhuang Hanxue answered honestly, “My partner’s company ran into some trouble. I’ve been helping out there.”

Fans threw some money to him, but it was just a drop in the bucket.

They’d moved to a tiny 40-square-meter rental. Zhuang Hanxue stopped asking Qiu Zheyan for money for alcohol and cigarettes. He was too worried, saving every penny for Qiu Zheyan.

Qiu Zheyan questioned him.

Zhuang Hanxue smiled, “Didn’t you always want me to quit smoking and drinking? They’re bad for health anyway. Might as well quit altogether.”

Qiu Zheyan said, “That doesn’t mean I can’t even buy you a pack of cigarettes.”

Zhuang Hanxue took the initiative and said, “Then buy me one pack a week. That’s enough, really enough.”

Qiu Zheyan refused his money. “Why are you giving me money? I don’t want it. Keep it for yourself. If I go bankrupt, at least we’ll have a backup plan, right?”

When Qiu Zheyan adamantly refused, he transferred money directly to the company account.

Qiu Zheyan said nothing, but that night he embraced him, kissing him from head to toe. They clung together, sweaty, as he repeatedly whispered “I love you” in his ear.

Qiu Zheyan said, “If worse comes to worst, I’ll go back to my hometown. Want to come with me? Same-sex marriage is legal there.”

Zhuang Hanxue dodged the topic. “Don’t be so disheartened. Few people succeed in their first venture. You’re already amazing. Who’s to say you won’t make a comeback if you keep working hard?”

Qiu Zheyan felt a chill in his heart but kissed his lips, “Mm, you’re right.”

In the middle of the night, Zhuang Hanxue woke up to find the bed empty beside him. He got up and heard Qiu Zheyan speaking softly on the phone in the living room:

“Dad, can you lend me some money?”

“I know, thank you, Dad. I won’t push myself too hard…”

“Alright, I’ll take care of myself. Health is the most important thing.”

“Ask Aunt to lend me money? Okay, thanks, Dad.”

Zhuang Hanxue thought for a moment, then returned to bed, lying down quietly, pretending he hadn’t gotten up.

Ten minutes later, Qiu Zheyan returned. Zhuang Hanxue remained motionless as he felt Qiu Zheyan slip under the covers and embrace him from behind. He caught a faint scent of tobacco.

Qiu Zheyan asked his friends for loans one by one. He had a wide circle of friends, was well-liked, and trustworthy. Everyone was willing to lend him money, and he wrote IOUs for each.

The bar owner gave him 100,000 yuan.

He asked, “Is that Zhuang guy still with you?”

Qiu Zheyan nodded, “Yes, he’s still with me. He’s even working at my company for free.”

The owner said incredulously, “I never would’ve guessed. I always thought he seemed frivolous and unreliable. Who knew he truly cared for you? It’s in hard times that you see people’s true colors. Your relationship seemed like a sugar daddy arrangement. He was such a lazy freeloader, I thought he’d run as soon as you lost your house and car. I didn’t dare ask.”

Qiu Zheyan replied, “He’s still work-shy. He hates working, only forcing himself to do it for my sake. I’m actually afraid he might leave.”

The owner said, “Maybe he feels it’s unethical to leave now, or hasn’t realized how long he’ll have to suffer? Suffering together briefly is different from long-term hardship. Few can withstand such tests. Besides, wasn’t he straight originally? He only got together with you because you treated him well and let him freeload… What if a woman who treats him well appears? Didn’t you say his ex-girlfriend, Jiang Ruoyun, still has feelings for him?”

Qiu Zheyan downed the drink his friend offered in one gulp. “He won’t leave.”

“You don’t know. He’s given me all the money he’s earned from streaming. He hasn’t kept a penny for himself.”

“I used to wonder if he really liked me.”

“Now I know. He does like me.”

“He won’t leave me.”

He didn’t want Zhuang Hanxue to suffer with him, but he also couldn’t let him go.

Qiu Zheyan said, “A career can be rebuilt if it’s gone. But once a home is gone, it is hard to build again. He is my home. As long as he’s here, I can keep going.”

Back home, Zhuang Hanxue said to him, “Xiao Qiu, I’ve managed to get another 50,000 yuan. It’s for you.”

Qiu Zheyan asked, “Where did you get the money? You didn’t take out any online loans, did you?”

Zhuang Hanxue replied confidently, “I borrowed it from my brother!”

Qiu Zheyan said, “Your brother has a child to raise. It’s not easy for him either. Don’t borrow money from your relatives for my sake. Return it to your brother.”

Zhuang Hanxue pouted, “You’ve borrowed from all your friends. Is this the time to be proud? Just take it. When your company recovers and starts making money, and we buy back the big house, I won’t go to work anymore. I’ll just stay at home, eating your food, drinking your drinks, using your stuff.”

Zhuang Hanxue flashed a particularly brilliant smile.

Qiu Zheyan hugged him, saying in a muffled voice, “Ah, I’ve let you down, making you suffer with me.”

Zhuang Hanxue said aggrievedly, “I feel like I’m the one who’s harmed you.”

Qiu Zheyan asked, puzzled, “How have you harmed me? You’re capable of that?”

Zhuang Hanxue said, “Look, your company was doing fine for so long. We haven’t even been dating for half a year, and now it’s about to go under. I’m wondering if I’m a reincarnated jinx. Did I bring you bad luck? It was the same with my previous companies. As soon as I left, they went bankrupt.”

Qiu Zheyan laughed, “Haha, what nonsense are you talking? You’re not a jinx, you’re my lucky star. The luckiest thing in my life was luring you away back then.”

Although they had tried every possible way and borrowed all the money they could, Zhuang Hanxue even went to borrow money from a wealthy elementary school student.

Little Master said, “My card is with my dad. He manages it for me. If school hadn’t started, it would be fine, but now all the money has been paid for school fees. I need to write an application to my dad for any big expenses. He only gives me some pocket money, which I’ve been secretly saving. I have over 10,000 yuan. I don’t need it right now anyway, so you can have it. You don’t even have to pay me back if you can’t.”

Zhuang Hanxue felt deeply embarrassed, “We’ll pay it back, just… it might take some time.”

Little Master asked, “What are your plans now?”

Zhuang Hanxue said blankly, “I don’t know either.”

In fact, Qiu Zheyan’s company had always seemed small to him before. He wouldn’t have given it a second thought back then.

Zhuang Hanxue had always been the pampered youngest son, never taking anything seriously, only knowing how to enjoy life. Before leaving home, he’d never lacked money; it was just a number to him, so he didn’t care about it. After leaving home, when he ran out of money, he’d work odd jobs to make ends meet, but he never felt life was difficult. He lived happily, spending 10,000 a month when he earned 10,000, or 5,000 when he earned 5,000. As long as he was happy, that was all that mattered.

Only now did he realize how hard-earned the fruits of labor truly were.

That night, Zhuang Hanxue and Qiu Zheyan were working late at the company. The other employees had gone home; they were voluntarily working overtime.

Qiu Zheyan asked him, “Are you tired? Want me to massage your head?”

Zhuang Hanxue didn’t hesitate, “Sure.”

As Qiu Zheyan massaged the acupoints on his head with soothing techniques, Zhuang Hanxue joked, “Xiao Qiu, you’ve got skills. We could open a massage parlor in the future.”

Qiu Zheyan smiled slightly. After a while, he said, “Ah Xue, I think… I’ll accept the acquisition offer. We can clear our debts and have some money left over.”

Zhuang Hanxue turned to look at him.

Qiu Zheyan fell silent.

Zhuang Hanxue grasped his hand, “You… you should think about it some more.”

Qiu Zheyan nodded wearily.

They worked at the same table for an hour. Zhuang Hanxue noticed he couldn’t hear Qiu Zheyan typing anymore. He turned to look and found Qiu Zheyan had fallen asleep sitting there.

His handsome face had grown gaunt, dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.

The room was as quiet as a graveyard.

Xiao Qiu had already tried so hard.

He had tried hard too.

But sometimes, effort doesn’t guarantee rewards.

Zhuang Hanxue suddenly felt he couldn’t stay in the room any longer.

He craved a cigarette.

Zhuang Hanxue went downstairs and bought the cheapest pack of Baisha cigarettes for 5 yuan at the 24-hour convenience store. He squatted by the roadside and smoked the entire pack, picking up each butt and putting them back in the empty box.

Zhuang Hanxue lowered his head.

He saw round, damp spots on the cement path.

It wasn’t raining.

Tears were falling from his eyes.

Damn, it was all because of these cheap, harsh cigarettes.

Harsh and choking.

They made him cry, his throat aching.

It was the first time in his life he’d smoked such cheap cigarettes.

Zhuang Hanxue sniffled, suddenly remembering what his older brother had told him months ago. “You can’t always be happy… There will be times when you’re unhappy. What do you plan to do then?”

What had he said back then?

Haha. Hahahaha. He was so stupid.

He’d been too naive.

…So this was what it felt like to be unhappy.

He could only blame himself for being so useless.

Zhuang Hanxue threw the cigarette box full of butts into the trash can.

Standing by the bin, he took out his phone and dialed his mother’s number. “Mom, it’s me.”

“…Mm, I want to come home.”

You have to pay an equal price for what you desire.

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  鸽王 (Gē Wáng) – “King of Pigeon/Dove” and is a popular internet slang term in Chinese. It refers to someone who frequently cancels plans or fails to keep commitments, often used to describe streamers or content creators on platforms like Bilibili. This highlights their tendency to “放鸽子” (fàng gēzi), which means to let someone down by not showing up or being unreliable.