Zhuang Hanxue spent two days in the hospital before his fever finally broke, allowing him to be discharged.
As soon as he returned home, his mother started nagging, “Look at you! You’ve been out for so many years, living like a ghost, and now you finally decide to come back…”
“Was it tough out there? You’ve lost so much weight. It’s obvious you haven’t been eating properly.”
“You must have suffered terribly, didn’t you?”
Zhuang Hanxue, with tears in his eyes, played up his misfortune to his mother, “Yeah, I never had enough to eat or warm clothes to wear, and I was always falling sick. Mom, can you give me some pocket money?”
His mother handed him a card, saying angrily, “The PIN is 123456. Use it for now.”
Excited, Zhuang Hanxue asked, “Mom, how much is in here?”
“About three million,” she replied.
Zhuang Hanxue’s face fell instantly. “What? Only three million?”
His mother gave him a light knock on the forehead. “What do you mean ‘only’ three million? You’re complaining it’s not enough? It should last you for quite a while.”
It was indeed enough to last him a long time.
But not enough to save Xiao Qiu’s company.
Zhuang Hanxue scratched his head in frustration. He had already promised Xiao Qiu; if he couldn’t follow through, how could he face him again?
Zhuang Hanxue stayed at home for a day without seeing his father, which wasn’t much different from before he left.
During dinner, Zhuang Hanxue asked his mother, “Mom, where’s Dad?”
His mother’s face immediately darkened. “Don’t mention that old lecher! Where else would he be? He’s off with that hussy, of course. Bah! He’ll meet his end because of women one day.”
Zhuang Hanxue merely responded with an “Oh.”
His mother’s kindness lasted only a day. By the second day, she had turned on him, seemingly irritated by his very existence. “What do you mean ‘oh’? At your age, you should know better. What do you want to do when you come back? You’d better help me teach that adulterous couple a lesson. He went behind my back and had such a grown child, didn’t he? Trying to secure himself an insurance policy? Want another woman’s child to spend my money? Bah! That bastard is only eighteen. You can’t let yourself be outdone by some greenhorn.”
Zhuang Hanxue inwardly sighed. Ah, what a troublesome prime-time soap opera plot of a wealthy family fighting over inheritance.
Besides, people don’t necessarily grow wiser with age. He certainly hadn’t.
However, if he wanted to access enough funds, returning to the family business was inevitable.
He’d go back for now and figure things out from there.
Little Master messaged him: [Zhuang Hanxue, what happened? I’ve been offline for a few days for retreat training. Why did you suddenly quit streaming? Is it because of your boyfriend?]
Zhuang Hanxue replied nonchalantly: [I couldn’t scrape together enough money, so I had to come home to inherit the family business.]
Little Master: [???]
Zhuang Hanxue was also puzzled: [Don’t you know about my family background? Didn’t your father tell you? Though we’re not as rich as your family, we’re still quite well-off…]
Little Master: [Hold on, let me ask my dad]
Ten minutes later, Little Master replied: [Damn! So your family is really rich! Why didn’t you go home earlier?]
Zhuang Hanxue: [Because if I return to inherit the family business, I’ll be locked up again. They might even arrange a wife for me and expect me to have children. Besides, I’m too stupid to manage such a large company. I simply can’t do it well]
He believed in knowing one’s limitations, and he knew he couldn’t do it.
If this were a business drama, he’d probably be the typical foolish, prodigal villain. If the company were handed to him, it would go bankrupt within six months. That’s why he had always been content with just spending money, and he didn’t even spend extravagantly. At that rate, it would take eight lifetimes to spend it all.
Sometimes, he really couldn’t understand his parents. Sure, they made some money, but his great-grandfather’s generation were still dirt-poor farmers. How had they suddenly become so obsessed with inheritance, as if they had a royal throne to pass down? And all this talk about bloodlines? What bloodlines?
His family had three children.
His older brother and sister had always been model students. He was different; his grades were mediocre at best, incomparable to his siblings.
When he was young, his parents would look at his exam papers, shake their heads, and say, “Your brother this” and “Your sister that,” then sigh, “Why are you such a disappointment?”
How would Zhuang Hanxue know? They all had the same parents, so why was he so stupid?
Zhuang Hanxue inquired about the son his father had with his mistress.
What he found out shocked him.
This young man was extraordinary. At eighteen, he had just been admitted to a top university, immediately becoming the vice president of the student council. His college entrance exam scores and university GPA were impressive. Looking at his ID photo, he was quite handsome too.
Remembering his mother’s instructions, Zhuang Hanxue grew worried. How was he supposed to compete with that?
Nevertheless, being an adult, his mother directly brought him back to the company and installed him on the board of directors.
Zhuang Hanxue wanted to immediately transfer money to Xiao Qiu, but that would be too obvious. He needed to find a way to do it more discreetly.
***
Without Zhuang Hanxue, Qiu Zheyan found it hard to sleep alone.
He realized he had grown accustomed to being held by Zhuang Hanxue while sleeping.
These past few days, he had been too distracted to fully focus on work.
He knew Zhuang Hanxue returned to his parents’ home.
However, Zhuang Hanxue never told him where his parents lived, nor introduced them to him. Whenever Qiu Zheyan tried to ask, Zhuang Hanxue would deflect or change the subject. As long as this remained unclear, it stuck in his throat like a fishbone.
Yesterday, Zhuang Hanxue excitedly whispered to him, “Xiao Qiu, hang in there for two more days. The hard times are almost over! Things are halfway done, and I think the rest will go smoothly.”
Qiu Zheyan asked anxiously, “Where exactly did you go to secure investment?”
Zhuang Hanxue vaguely replied, “I have a relative who’s extremely wealthy… I went to persuade her to invest in you.”
Qiu Zheyan inquired, “Is this relative male or female?”
Zhuang Hanxue said, “Female.”
Qiu Zheyan asked gravely, “Be honest with me, is it really a relative or an ex-girlfriend?”
Zhuang Hanxue laughed heartily, “What are you thinking? It’s really a relative! A blood relative!”
Qiu Zheyan was skeptical. If Zhuang Hanxue had such an influential relative, he could have easily arranged a cushy job with high pay and little work. Why would he have been so destitute when they first met?
A few days later, Zhuang Hanxue said he’d found a job and returned to work. He couldn’t call freely during work hours and could only chat at night.
Qiu Zheyan struggled to accept this. “Why didn’t you tell me you were job hunting? You could have found work here with me. Why did you have to go back to your hometown for a job?”
Zhuang Hanxue explained, “It’s that relative I told you about. She insisted I work at her company. Since I’m asking for her help, I have to give something in return, right?”
Qiu Zheyan felt he was going mad missing Zhuang Hanxue.
They could only call at night and couldn’t talk for long.
Zhuang Hanxue would hide under the covers, whispering in a low voice, like a high schooler in a secret relationship.
When Qiu Zheyan asked what was going on, Zhuang Hanxue said, “I can’t let my parents know I’m dating a man yet. Remember, I told you how terrifying it was when my brother came out? If he hadn’t run fast enough, my dad would have broken his legs.”
Qiu Zheyan had to compromise for now. “You lazy bum, when are you coming back? I miss you so much.”
Zhuang Hanxue whispered softly, as if speaking into his ear. “I’ll return once I’ve sorted things out here.”
He secretly added, “Xiao Qiu, I miss you too.”
Qiu Zheyan realized he had underestimated Zhuang Hanxue.
He used to think Zhuang Hanxue couldn’t survive without him.
Now, with Zhuang Hanxue gone for just a short while, it was he who could barely cope.
He had been too arrogant.
Without him, Zhuang Hanxue was living quite comfortably on his own.
But with Zhuang Hanxue gone, returning home felt colder. Without his annoying, chattering laughter or his shameless grin, it was far too quiet.
Qiu Zheyan confided his unease to a friend.
The friend said, “Are you sure he didn’t just run off? We didn’t want to say anything before because you were so smitten, but do you really know this Zhuang guy? Where was he born? What are his parents’ names? What’s his work history since graduation? What about his past relationships? Has he ever volunteered this information?”
“A single man his age returning to his hometown to work and settle with his parents… isn’t the implication obvious?”
Qiu Zheyan asked, “What do you mean?”
His friend replied, “It means he’s planning to go straight, marry a woman, and have kids. That’s what straight men do.”
Qiu Zheyan angrily retorted, “That’s impossible! If that were the case, he could just stop contacting me. But he hasn’t mentioned breaking up.”
The friend said, “Isn’t it worse if he doesn’t break up with you? He’s trying to have it both ways – a wife and kids, but keeping you on the side. Look, he won’t even tell you where he’s working or living. He could be married back home, and you wouldn’t know. Then he’d sneak back to see you. What could you do? Many people do this. It’s not uncommon.”
Qiu Zheyan insisted, “But he likes me! He really likes me! He’s so lazy, yet he worked for me for free and gave me all his money!”
The friend replied, “Maybe he does like you. But him liking you is one thing, and him having to get married is another.”
Although Qiu Zheyan knew he should trust Zhuang Hanxue, he couldn’t help feeling panicked.
He couldn’t accept the possibility of Zhuang Hanxue marrying a woman, yet he felt it was highly likely, especially since his parents viewed homosexuality as a menace, even willing to cut ties with their excellent eldest son. Given Zhuang Hanxue’s weakness, there was a 99.9% chance he couldn’t defy his parents.
Zhuang Hanxue still didn’t return.
However, things were looking up for the company.
A venture capital firm had reached out, expressing interest in investing in their projects.
After initial discussions, Qiu Zheyan was to travel to S City to visit the company. Apparently, this collaboration was directly specified by the big boss above, and Qiu Zheyan would personally go to express his gratitude.
This must be the relative Zhuang Hanxue mentioned, Qiu Zheyan thought. That guy, how many more secrets was he keeping?
The day before departure.
Qiu Zheyan told Zhuang Hanxue about this. “Are you in S City now?”
Zhuang Hanxue readily admitted, “Yes, I am.”
Zhuang Hanxue said happily, “We can see each other tomorrow.”
Qiu Zheyan thought, after the business meeting tomorrow, he could see Zhuang Hanxue. He was more eager to see Zhuang Hanxue than to discuss business.
After hanging up.
Zhuang Hanxue opened his wardrobe, selecting clothes and accessories. Which outfit should he wear to meet Xiao Qiu? Surely, it would be better to dress up handsomely.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please consider supporting the author directly.
You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get access to advance chapters and the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.
