TUMZ Chapter 15

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Zhuang Hanxue played dead for two days.

He could stay off the internet, but he had to turn his phone back on.

His little junior brother gleefully reported his trending news updates in real-time:

【Look, you made it to the trending topics on Xihu!】

【——How do you view the new N-site UP host coming out live?】

【Weibo’s got you covered too? Did you buy that spot yourself? You're in the top ten trending topics! You’re famous!】

【Trending topic: Gaming live streamer comes out】

【Wow, you’re even blowing up on OO Space. Look, 50,000 shares!!】

【My classmates are all asking me what’s going on】

Zhuang Hanxue felt like he had no will to live.

【Stop it. My streamer career has just begun, and now it’s over.】

【I’m doomed. How am I supposed to face people now?】

【Will they make me pay a penalty for breaching my contract?】

His little junior brother replied: 【No need. Coming out isn’t illegal. At worst, people will just say you were hyping it up.】

After half a day of mentally preparing himself, Zhuang Hanxue mustered all his courage, opened his streaming platform, and took a look.

The comment section was like a waterfall, constantly refreshing:

【Weibo tour group checking in—beep—】

【OO Space tour group checking in—beep—】

【Xihu tour group checking in—beep—】

【Forum tour group checking in—beep—】

【I heard making wishes here is really effective. Is that true?】

【Wishing to pass next week’s exam】

【Wishing for a year-end bonus to double】

【Wishing for my cat to give birth smoothly】

【Has the streamer come back yet? It’s been two days. Is your boyfriend still not letting you get out of bed?】

Zhuang Hanxue instantly slammed his browser shut.

Regret. Utter regret. Why did he ever decide to start streaming?

Luckily, he was using a pseudonym, and with the barrier of the internet, no one knew who he really was. Otherwise, he might as well dig a hole and bury himself on the spot.

Zhuang Hanxue browsed through the major forums. With today’s information overload, the topic had only been at its peak on the first day.

If there were no recording groups, it would be fine—but of course, someone had recorded it. Some even compiled a full text version for the gossip crowd to enjoy.

Zhuang Hanxue prided himself on having developed skin as thick as a city wall over his 34 years of life, but encountering this situation, he realized—it still wasn’t thick enough.

He contacted the platform and sincerely apologized. The platform’s staff didn’t accuse him of breaking the law or suspected publicity stunts. They simply told him he could continue streaming.

In the days he had been offline, his revenue had actually surged.

Zhuang Hanxue, refusing to face reality, hid under his blanket. Then he heard a familiar voice from outside—

"Hey, handsome guy, how old are you? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I’m thirty. Little girl, don’t be like this. I have a wife, though we don’t have kids yet. Listen, a real man should keep his wife in line. My wife? If I tell him to go east, he wouldn’t dare go west. He cooks for me every day—so gentle and considerate, follows the three obediences and four virtues..."

Zhuang Hanxue burst out from under the blanket, his face flushed red. "Turn it off!!"

Qiu Zheyan was munching on sunflower seeds while watching the video. "Why turn it off? I’m just checking out how your streaming is going. Hah. A ‘real man,’ huh? ‘Keeping your wife in line,’ huh?"

Zhuang Hanxue felt guilty. "That was just for entertainment… I was just talking nonsense. I’m the one being kept in line, completely obedient. It’s me…"

Qiu Zheyan had been enjoying himself these past two days. Seeing Zhuang Hanxue looking so dejected, he asked, "Are you still planning to continue streaming? Did the platform respond to you?"

Zhuang Hanxue said, "The platform said they won’t ban me. But still, how can I possibly go back to streaming? People are saying some really nasty things, calling it scripted acting, saying I was just trying to attract attention, exploiting the LGBTQ+ community—making it seem like I’ve committed some unforgivable crime. I didn’t want this kind of livestream accident either."

Qiu Zheyan said, "So what? Nothing bad actually happened. This is just free publicity for you. It’s not like dating is illegal. So what if they heard? If you keep streaming, I’ll edit videos for you—you can upload them to the video section and earn some extra income."

Zhuang Hanxue was surprised. "You’re not against me streaming?"

Qiu Zheyan replied as if it was obvious, "Why would I oppose it? Isn’t it good for you to have something to do at home? That way, if your big brother ever comes back and asks what you’ve been up to, he’ll know you’re not just lazing around. Maybe he won’t badmouth me anymore."

Zhuang Hanxue nodded. "Makes sense."

But coming out to the entire internet and still continuing as a streamer… something about that felt off. He scratched his head, deciding he couldn’t be bothered to overthink it.

He planned to take some time to clear his head before returning to streaming.

But he never actually went back online.

He decided to put it off until after the New Year.

Neither of them cooked.

Qiu Zheyan booked a table at a fancy restaurant—just for the two of them.

Thinking about his streaming and content creator career, Zhuang Hanxue pulled out his phone to record a short video. Since he was already outed online and accused of clout-chasing, he figured he might as well start a vlog.

He didn’t show his face—just recorded their hands and the meal.

Zhuang Hanxue said, "It’s been years since I had New Year’s Eve dinner with someone."

Qiu Zheyan fed him a strawberry. "We’ll spend it together next year too."

Next year, huh?

Who could really say for sure?

Zhuang Hanxue pondered this as he ate the strawberry.

After their trip, on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhuang Hanxue finally restarted his livestream.

He had been the fastest-growing streamer last month.

He gained over 400,000 followers in just a week. Many doubted it, but he genuinely hadn’t paid for marketing.

If he had that kind of money, he’d rather use it to scrub all those trending topics off the internet, damn it!!

By now, the hype had cooled down significantly.

But the moment he went live, plenty of curious spectators still showed up, bringing their friends along to watch the drama.

He started playing a single-player game and chatted about the previous livestream incident as he played:

"I really am a newbie streamer. I hadn’t figured out a lot of the platform’s features. So I accidentally left my mic on—I swear it wasn’t on purpose."

"Before, when I mentioned having a 'wife' or 'girlfriend,' I was actually talking about my partner at home. Because, well… you know… even though I don’t have much shame, I wasn’t planning to come out."

"I quit my job because of the work stress. My partner stays at home with me—he takes care of all the cooking and chores, so I don’t have to worry about anything. He just wants me to play games and be happy."

"Mainly, I was just too bored, so I wanted to find something to do."

"And no, I’m just friends with Jiujiu."

"Jiujiu suggested that I could try streaming since I was just playing games at home all day anyway."

"Yeah, I know I suck at games. What do you expect? I’m an old man in my thirties. How good do you think I can be? My whole thing is just being a funny streamer."

"I swear I’m not trying to create hype. What would I even gain from that? If my parents found out, they’d break my legs."

"I actually thought about quitting streaming these past few days, but that would feel like running away from a crime or something."

"I’m just dating a man. That’s not illegal, is it? My partner said the same thing."

"Stream together with him? No way, he’s too busy with work. He definitely doesn’t have time for that."

"But when he found out I was streaming, he didn’t oppose it. He actually supports me and even said he’d help edit my videos on weekends, hahaha… Of course, he won’t charge me."

"The past few days were busy with the New Year celebrations. My partner and I had New Year’s Eve dinner together, and I filmed a little video. It should get approved and go live soon."

"I saw some people saying I’m acting or trying to stir up drama. But if I try to hide from it, wouldn’t that just be pointless?"

"I don’t know how long I’ll keep streaming, but for now, I just want to do it happily. As long as you guys enjoy watching, I’ll be satisfied."

After that, Zhuang Hanxue’s streaming career started to stabilize.

There were still haters, but overall, his fans outnumbered them.

Zhuang Hanxue didn’t understand why some people online hated him so much for no reason. They insisted he was deliberately creating drama, accused him of scripting everything, even claimed his boyfriend in the vlogs was a paid actor. Some said he was shamelessly trying to get famous at any cost.

But he didn’t take it to heart.

He thought of Jiang Ruoyun and how hard it must have been for her to rise to fame as a celebrity. If just streaming online could stir up this much drama, what kind of storm had she been through?

And just as he was thinking about her, a new friend request popped up.

It was from Jiang Ruoyun.

Verification message: Did you unfriend me by accident?

Zhuang Hanxue hesitated.

Should he add her back? If he didn’t, it’d seem rude. But if he did, and Qiu Zheyan found out, he’d definitely get jealous again.

So he simply took a screenshot and sent it to Qiu Zheyan: Can I accept this?

Qiu Zheyan was already frustrated at work, and seeing this made him even more annoyed. Couldn’t that woman take a hint? He asked Zhuang Hanxue: Do you want to accept it?

Zhuang Hanxue replied: I don’t really care. It’s fine either way. Just feels a bit rude to ignore it.

Qiu Zheyan thought about it. Whatever. That woman had her own things to deal with. She wouldn’t have the time to try and steal anyone away. Besides, after getting scolded a few times, Zhuang Hanxue now didn’t dare make decisions without telling him.

Qiu Zheyan replied: Go ahead and add her back.

He wanted to see what this sly woman was up to. Better to keep an eye on her than to let her scheme in the shadows.

With Qiu Zheyan’s approval, Zhuang Hanxue added Jiang Ruoyun back. But he didn’t lie—when she asked if he had unfriended her by accident, he answered honestly: No, it wasn’t an accident. My boyfriend got jealous and argued with me, so he made me delete you.

Jiang Ruoyun laughed: I figured that might be the case. I was actually going to ask you out, but I guess your vinegar jar of a boyfriend wouldn’t approve.

Then she asked: What have you been up to lately?

Zhuang Hanxue: I switched careers—I’m a streamer now!

Jiang Ruoyun immediately got interested: What kind of streamer? Which platform? Can I check it out?

Zhuang Hanxue sent her his username, Dou Dou’s Big Brother.

Jiang Ruoyun burst out laughing: So that’s you?! I saw the news about you and almost died laughing!

Zhuang Hanxue: You actually read gossip and trending topics? I thought you were a sophisticated, artsy woman, above all that nonsense.

Jiang Ruoyun: Hahaha, that’s all an act!!

Zhuang Hanxue was a little uneasy. This woman wasn’t even worried that he might leak their conversation and ruin her public image? Why was she being so blunt with him?

Jiang Ruoyun asked: Why don’t you ask Qiu Zheyan if you can come out and meet me?

Without even asking, Zhuang Hanxue refused: Nah, I’m busy with my career.

Jiang Ruoyun, ever direct: Streaming? If you want to make real money, I can introduce you to the entertainment industry. It’s way faster than streaming. How about signing with my company?

Zhuang Hanxue, amused: I’m old and washed up. No way. I gotta go play games—talk later.

He knew he couldn’t keep up with this woman.

Even back then, Jiang Ruoyun had been the woman who stayed by his side the longest—almost long enough to marry him.

But he didn’t think he had ever really loved her that much.

Thinking back, even after breaking up with Jiang Ruoyun, he hadn’t felt particularly heartbroken.

Would he and Qiu Zheyan eventually end up the same way?

Romantic relationships either ended in marriage or breakup, right? Since he didn’t want to get married, didn’t that mean they were bound to break up someday?

Whatever. He’d think about it another time.

In his streams, Zhuang Hanxue rarely mentioned Qiu Zheyan, even though everyone already knew he was dating a man.

Even after the New Year, it was still freezing cold. Other than taking the dog out for walks, he barely left home. He just streamed every day, quickly making friends with other streamers.

One day, he was voice chatting with a female streamer and another male streamer when the girl teased him: "Playing with a girl—your boyfriend won’t get jealous?"

Zhuang Hanxue insisted, "Why do you assume who's the top and who's the bottom? I could be the top, right? Am I not dominant?"

The response was a chorus of disbelief and laughter. The chat was flooded with "No way" and "You’re definitely the bottom" comments.

The female streamer giggled: "Oh wait, playing with a guy would make him even more jealous, right? Hehehe."

The male streamer joked, "Haha, then I gotta start flirting with Brother Dou now!"

They were in the middle of a game when Zhuang Hanxue’s phone, sitting next to his keyboard, lit up. It was a call from Qiu Zheyan.

This time, Zhuang Hanxue was smart—he muted his mic before answering: "Hang on, I gotta take a call."

As soon as he picked up, he heard Qiu Zheyan’s drunken voice: "Wife, come pick me up."

Zhuang Hanxue was speechless. "Are you drunk?"

Qiu Zheyan, sounding uncharacteristically docile: "Mhm, I’m drunk. Everyone else’s boyfriend came to pick them up, but I don’t have one. I want you to come get me."

Zhuang Hanxue asked, "Where are you?"

Qiu Zheyan named a bar. Zhuang Hanxue recognized it—it was a gay bar that Qiu Zheyan frequented for monthly meetups with friends.

Zhuang Hanxue soothed him: "Alright, be good and wait there. I’ll come get you."

After agreeing, he returned to the stream and apologized: "Sorry, I have to end early today. My boyfriend’s drunk—I need to pick him up."

The chat exploded with teasing comments.

It was all a bit ridiculous.

But seeing how many people supported his relationship with Qiu Zheyan made Zhuang Hanxue feel warm inside.

These younger generations were really open-minded—no homophobia at all!

Throwing on a long winter coat, he left without even fixing his hair.

He took a cab straight to the bar.

When he arrived, he scanned the place but didn’t see Qiu Zheyan, so he headed to the bar to ask.

Before he could even speak, someone called out in surprise—

"Zhuang Hanxue?!!"

He turned instinctively and froze.

It was an old friend.

One of his rich-kid party friends from back in the day.

Shit.

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