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TUMZ Chapter 23

Qiu Zheyan thought of the note Zhuang Hanxue had left: “I’ve gone home.”

Home? Which home? Did Zhuang Hanxue have another home? Had he gone back to his hometown?

Qiu Zheyan snapped back to reality and immediately pulled out his phone to dial Zhuang Hanxue’s number.

The line was busy. No one answered.

In that moment, Qiu Zheyan suddenly realized he knew nothing about Zhuang Hanxue. Where was he born? Who were his parents? What friends did he have? What had he done for a living before? What was his relationship with his family like?

He had no idea.

He’d only met Zhuang Hanxue’s older brother who lived overseas. At the time, he hadn’t dared to ask for contact information, always communicating through Zhuang Hanxue. He didn’t even know the man’s phone number.

Yet he, like a fool, had already bared his heart and soul to Zhuang Hanxue, spilling all his secrets.

In the end, what on earth happened?

He thought they were in love, but after just one night, Zhuang Hanxue suddenly vanished into thin air.

Surely his friends’ warnings hadn’t come true?

From the beginning, was Zhuang Hanxue with him only because he had money then, could support him, let him stay at home without working? Now that he was broke, had the good times ended, so Zhuang Hanxue just up and left?

No, impossible. If it was about money, why would Zhuang Hanxue give him all his savings?

He didn’t spend nearly that much supporting Zhuang Hanxue for those few months.

Qiu Zheyan paced like a caged beast in the cramped living room, then sat down on the bed, repeatedly dialing Zhuang Hanxue’s number, unwilling to give up, calling again and again.

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable…”

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable…”

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable…”

“Sorry…”

***

Zhuang Hanxue was utterly exhausted.

He felt this was the most tired he’d ever been in his life. Before, when he’d worked overtime with Qiu Zheyan for three days straight, he’d only slept about five or six hours in total. Last night, they’d fooled around in the office for hours.

After they finished, Qiu Zheyan fell asleep.

He didn’t sleep. Instead, he tidied up the files on the desk and left a note, making sure Qiu Zheyan would see it.

By the time he got home, it was past 3 a.m. He dragged his aching body to take a shower, then packed his luggage.

He had to put Doudou in the pet carrier for special handling.

After taking care of everything and heading to the airport, he realized it was already 5 a.m.

He urged the driver to go faster, but it still took an hour to reach the airport. He was terribly sleepy, but he didn’t dare to fall asleep.

Then he collected his ticket and boarded, almost late.

Once on the plane, he passed out from fatigue.

He bought the return ticket himself. With little money left, he chose the cheapest economy class. The seat was so cramped and forced him to curl up to sleep.

Usually, he wouldn’t sleep so deeply, but today, he was completely spent.

After nearly three hours in the air, crossing half of China, the plane landed in his hometown.

It was still early, just past 11 a.m.

Zhuang Hanxue woke up sweating from too many layers. Uncomfortable and sticky, he loosened his scarf, then shivered as the wind hit him.

After floating for so long, he felt ungrounded, as if walking on clouds. His head ached terribly.

Zhuang Hanxue looked up at the blue sky and city buildings.

The sky and the city looked much the same everywhere.

It still felt unreal. Hours ago, he was thousands of miles away, whispering sweet nothings with Qiu Zheyan. Now, he stood here, returning to the life he escaped from seven years ago.

Someone was waiting for him at the exit.

His family’s chauffeur.

Zhuang Hanxue felt feverish. He felt extremely uncomfortable. After getting in the car, he lay down in the backseat and fell asleep. However, he couldn’t actually sleep because his head hurt so much.

The driver woke him up.

Now Zhuang Hanxue was burning up but not sweating. As he got out, the cold wind made him shiver uncontrollably. His head was foggy, aching worse with any attempt to think.

His mother greeted him at the door. “Hanhan, my Hanhan, you’re finally home.”

Zhuang Hanxue nodded, surprised by the weakness in his own voice: “Mom.”

His mother frowned: “What’s wrong? You look so sickly and pale.”

“You’re burning up!” his mother exclaimed, touching his forehead. “You have a fever!”

Zhuang Hanxue felt his legs give way and crouched down.

His mother pulled him up worriedly. “What happened? How much have you suffered out there? Don’t sit on the ground. Let’s go to the hospital.”

At the hospital, Zhuang Hanxue learned his fever was over 40°C, with pneumonia symptoms. He took medicine and lay in bed with an IV drip. When he woke up, he saw a woman by his bedside. He thought it was his mother. However, after a closer look, he realized it was someone he didn’t recognize. When he asked, he found out she was a caregiver his mother hired.

He glanced at her, then went back to sleep.

When he woke again, it was pitch dark outside.

A nurse came to check his temperature, still hovering around 40°C.

Zhuang Hanxue felt miserable. Although he did not like to exercise and was weak, he hadn’t been hospitalized in years.

He searched for his phone by the bedside, then remembered it was in his coat. He asked the caregiver where his coat was and what time it was.

“Past eleven,” she replied.

No wonder the hallway lights were off.

His coat hung in the wardrobe. The caregiver retrieved his phone as asked.

Zhuang Hanxue’s scalp tingled when he saw his phone.

Hundreds of missed calls.

All from Qiu Zheyan.

It’s over, Zhuang Hanxue thought.

Although he planned to call Qiu Zheyan after returning home, he didn’t expect to fall ill and end up in the hospital, unconscious until now.

Zhuang Hanxue hastily called back.

Qiu Zheyan answered almost instantly. His voice brewed like an approaching storm. “Where are you, Zhuang Hanxue?”

Hearing Qiu Zheyan’s voice soothed Zhuang Hanxue’s heart, even easing his pain. “I’m home. Didn’t I leave you a note? I said I was going home, to my parents’.”

Qiu Zheyan replied, “You weren’t clear! I thought you meant our place. Do you know how scared I was when I came back to find you and Doudou gone? It’s fine if you went home, but why did you take Doudou?”

Zhuang Hanxue said, “You’re so busy with work, you wouldn’t have time to care for Doudou. So I brought him home with me.”

Qiu Zheyan was furious. “You weren’t clear! Do you know how worried I was? I thought you’d run away!”

Zhuang Hanxue weakly said, “I’m sorry.”

Still angry, Qiu Zheyan asked, “Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

Zhuang Hanxue played for sympathy. “I got a fever as soon as I landed. It hasn’t broken yet. The nurse just checked, it’s still 39.8°C. I’m in the hospital, Qiuqiu. I’m so miserable. I can send you a photo if you don’t believe me.”

Qiu Zheyan’s anger instantly vanished. “You’re sick? That badly? What happened? When did it start? What did the doctor say? Where are you? I’ll come see you.”

Zhuang Hanxue graciously forgave him. “It’s okay, I wasn’t sick yesterday, you couldn’t have known. Don’t come. I’m just home briefly. I’ll be back once I’ve taken care of things.”

Qiu Zheyan asked, “What things?”

Zhuang Hanxue said, “I told you, to get you investment.”

Qiu Zheyan was silent for a moment, then said: “…I thought you were joking.”

Zhuang Hanxue replied, “I wasn’t joking. I’m serious. Xiao Qiu, wait for me. I’ll let you know how it goes, whether I succeed or not.”

Qiu Zheyan anxiously said, “It’s okay if you can’t. Just come back soon. It’s my fault. I knew you were not in good health. I shouldn’t have let you work with me. Now you’re sick. If that’s the case, I’d rather give up the company. I’ll find another job, work for someone else. I can still support you.”

Zhuang Hanxue thought for a moment, then said something unprecedented, “Xiao Qiu, I’m planning to work.”

Qiu Zheyan was stunned. “You’re going to work?”

Zhuang Hanxue hummed in agreement, with his characteristic lazy smile, and said lightly, “Let me support you too.”

Zhuang Hanxue video called Qiu Zheyan, who saw he was indeed in a hospital. Knowing Zhuang Hanxue wasn’t lying, Qiu Zheyan was somewhat reassured about Zhuang Hanxue “running away,” but now worried about his illness.

Zhuang Hanxue was nonchalant. “It’s like this. After turning 30, I found my health declining. Just a few all-nighters and I feel like I’m dying. Ah, in my twenties, I often stayed up all night and never got sick. I’m really getting old.”

Qiu Zheyan asked in surprise, “You worked so hard in your twenties?”

Zhuang Hanxue laughed. “No, I stayed up partying and playing cards.”

Qiu Zheyan: “…”

Zhuang Hanxue promised, “I’ll message you every day, don’t worry so much. I didn’t run away, really. Just wait. There’ll be good news in a few days.”

Qiu Zheyan remembered when Zhuang Hanxue told him about knowing a man who’d given birth, which he didn’t believe, and claimed his ex-girlfriend was a big star, which he also didn’t believe. Both turned out to be true.

What about this time?

He recalled Zhuang Hanxue’s boastful words: “Just wait and see, I’ll borrow money for you. Is 100 million enough?”

…Could this be true?

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