TUMZ Chapter 18

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To be honest, Zhuang Hanxue wasn’t surprised at all that his dad had an affair and even had an illegitimate child. In fact, he found it completely expected.

After all, his dad's philandering nature was inherited.

His mom also used to go to gigolo clubs with her friends, sometimes spending hundreds of thousands in a single night. She even had a few young lovers—he had met them before, some even younger than him. He was speechless.

This was what they called “the upper beam is not straight, so the lower beams are crooked.”

His family was a complete mess. A crow landing on a pig’s back—neither had the right to call the other black.

That’s why, as his parents got older, they each did their own thing. And surprisingly, this allowed them to coexist peacefully, since they didn’t have to actually live together.

The only rule between them was: no illegitimate children.

Thinking about this, he couldn’t help but envy Jiujiu’s parents. By all accounts, the Lin family was wealthier than his, yet there was none of this chaos. Their family was proper and respectable.

Maybe it was because his family was nouveau riche, lacking deep-rooted values.

Now, the eldest son had come out as gay and run away, severing ties with the family. The second daughter had taken her people and left the company to start her own business. And as for him? Useless, aimless, just coasting through life—a completely hopeless case.

See? This was what happened when people married irresponsibly and had children they didn’t want to raise properly.

And now, his dad had an illegitimate child.

It just proved that men were ultimately more ruthless than women. His dad could secretly have another kid, but if his mom wanted to, she wouldn’t be able to hide it.

He figured this meant his dad had completely given up on him.

Ah, so that’s how it was.

Well, nothing he could do about it. Haha. That’s what he got for being such a disappointment.

Haha. Hahaha.

This wasn’t something he could talk to Qiu Zheyan about.

Instead, Zhuang Hanxue vented to his little master: [Little master, the adult world is really dirty…]

Little master: [What happened?]

Zhuang Hanxue asked: [Are your parents still doing well together?]

Little master: [Ugh, don’t even mention it. Over the New Year, they went on a trip without me or my brother. Ever since I started elementary school, they’ve been running off on their own all the time. I feel like I’m just a third wheel.]

Zhuang Hanxue chuckled. See? Not every couple ended up hating each other. Some love lasted a lifetime.

[Your parents have such a great relationship. I remember Lin Yancheng’s hair turned white overnight because he thought Chu Xun had died.]

Little master: [Really???]

Zhuang Hanxue: [You didn’t know?]

Little master: [I had no idea! I thought my dad’s hair turned white from stress or that he was naturally prone to early graying. I worried about it for so long, thinking I might get white hair in middle school too. So it wasn’t hereditary after all?]

Zhuang Hanxue: [Should I contact my mom?]

Little master: [What’s wrong? Is she sick?]

Zhuang Hanxue: [She has three kids—my older brother ran off abroad with his boyfriend and cut ties with the family, my second sister left after they favored sons over daughters and also stopped talking to them after marriage. And as for me, you know my situation. I’ve been away from home for a long time because I don’t get along with my parents. Now that my dad has an illegitimate child, I feel like… my mom is probably miserable. Sigh, I should call her.]

It wasn’t like he actually needed advice from a grade-schooler. He had to make this decision himself.

While Qiu Zheyan wasn’t home, Zhuang Hanxue deliberately went to a phone booth to make the call. He had never forgotten the home phone number.

He dialed his mom’s cell, his heart uneasy.

He was an unfilial son, having avoided contact with his family for so many years.

His mom picked up, sounding tired. “Hello? Who’s this?”

Zhuang Hanxue guiltily said, “Mom, it’s me…”

The person on the other end paused in shock before exclaiming in delight, “Hanhan??? Is that you?”

Zhuang Hanxue hummed in response. “It’s me.”

His mom asked, “Where are you now? Are you coming home? Mom won’t force you anymore…”

Zhuang Hanxue felt a lump in his throat. “Mom, I… I heard that Dad… Did Dad really have an illegitimate child outside?”

His mother gritted her teeth and said, “Don’t mention it! That damn man had this planned all along. He hid it from me for so many years! I’m so angry I could die. And that shameless woman—she actually endured it for over a decade. What patience! But don’t worry, my health is still strong. I won’t let that woman get what she wants. Everything in this family is meant for you.”

Zhuang Hanxue was instantly bewildered. Everything was for him? What for? He didn’t have the ability to manage such a big company. At least he was self-aware—he never considered himself smart. Why didn’t she mention his older brother or sister? Both of them were far more capable than him. Was it just because his brother was gay and his sister was a woman?

He didn’t ask.

His mother’s voice softened with concern. “Hanhan, are you doing okay on your own out there?”

Thinking of Qiu Zheyan, he said, “I’m doing well. I’m really happy now. I just heard about what happened to you, and I got a little worried.”

His mother’s voice wavered with emotion. “Are you still not planning to come home? Your father is like this now. He might even bring that bastard child back.”

A not-so-subtle hint for him to return.

Zhuang Hanxue replied matter-of-factly, “I can’t fight against Dad… Mom, why don’t you call big brother back? I can’t manage the company, but he can.”

His mother’s tone immediately turned cold. “You’re still bringing up your brother? He’s with a man—do you know how much shame that brings me? If he had just listened, would our family have ended up like this? He’s even more rebellious than you!”

Zhuang Hanxue said, “Then what about sister… She’s really capable too.”

His mother scoffed impatiently. “Don’t even mention her. That useless girl! She’ll remarry sooner or later, and then all our money will go to an outsider’s family name!”

For a moment, Zhuang Hanxue had a rare flash of insight. “Remarry? What happened to sister and her husband?”

His mother said, “They divorced last year. I told her not to, but she insisted. She even spent a fortune just to get custody of her child.”

Zhuang Hanxue asked, “Why did they divorce?”

His mother replied, “Why else? When men get busy with work, their hearts start wandering. He couldn’t resist fooling around outside. And she just had to divorce him. Fine, let her. She was already older when she first got married, and now she has a child to take care of. I introduced her to some good men, but she refuses all of them. I really don’t understand my own children—each one is stranger than the last.”

“Hanhan, just come home. I won’t force you anymore.”

“You think you’re having a good life out there? Isn’t working by yourself exhausting?”

“I know you, Hanhan. No matter how hard you work, how much money can you really make?”

Zhuang Hanxue said, “I don’t feel tired, Mom. I don’t have much money now, but I’m really happy.”

He still had no intention of going back home.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Mom, why don’t you divorce Dad? Take half of the money for yourself.”

His mother exploded with rage. “What are you saying?! Divorce? At my age? Why would I divorce him and let that little vixen have her way?! No way!”

Zhuang Hanxue leaned his head back, staring at the dusty ceiling of the phone booth, listening to his mother curse his father and his mistress for a full twenty minutes.

See, this was why he couldn’t get married.

He had grown up listening to these arguments, and whenever people yelled at him, he’d start zoning out. The words went in one ear and out the other. His mind drifted back to the Christmas family gathering at Qiu Zheyan’s home.

Their family was so warm and harmonious.

Qiu Zheyan’s mother was a food columnist. She had only attended culinary school after getting married, and her husband—Qiu Zheyan’s father—was incredibly supportive, encouraging her to pursue her studies.

Xiao Qiu once said that when he was little, while his mother was in school, his father would take him along, sit him in a corner of the classroom, and give him a book to read.

Xiao Qiu and his sister had a great relationship, completely different from his own with his sister. Xiao Qiu said his parents always taught him to be a gentleman and to respect girls.

But in his family, it was the opposite. Even when they had plenty of money, his sister still had to do housework. Whenever there was good food, she had to let him eat first. If he wanted new clothes, their mother would spend thousands or even tens of thousands without hesitation. Whatever he wanted, he got. But if his sister wanted something, she had to beg—and even then, their parents might not agree.

His older brother had been studying abroad at the time, unable to intervene. Even during winter and summer breaks, he didn’t always come home.

As a child, he had been oblivious. He didn’t realize that being favored so much was cruel to his sister. By the time he understood how warped their family dynamic was, it was too late. As someone who benefited from it, trying to console his sister would have just been hypocritical.

Qiu Zheyan had agonized over coming out to his family for a long time. But when he finally mustered the courage, his father simply said, “So what? You’re still my son.” And that was that.

Unlike his older brother, who had been berated by their mother as if he were worse than an animal.

The Zhuang family was nothing more than a polished, beautiful shell—rotten and riddled with holes on the inside.

Sure, he was lazy and useless.

But he still didn’t want to return to that terrible home.

Zhuang Hanxue sincerely wished he had been born into the Qiu family instead.

He would have been so much happier.

Still, out of basic human decency, he relayed the family drama to his older brother.

His brother, unfazed, said, “Oh, that? I’ve known about it for a while. You didn’t know?”

Zhuang Hanxue was shocked. “I didn’t know!!”

His brother said, “I still keep in touch with friends back home. They told me.”

Zhuang Hanxue asked, “Brother, are you worried about Mom?”

His brother countered, “Why? Are you planning to go back? You’re glued to your little Qiu, and with me as a cautionary tale, do you even dare return?”

Zhuang Hanxue replied bluntly, “Nope.”

His brother sneered, “Exactly. You’d rather be someone’s kept man than go back to that house.”

After thinking it over, Zhuang Hanxue realized there was no need to worry about their parents. Whether they divorced or not, they had plenty of money—there was no need for someone like him, with barely a few thousand in his bank account, to stress over them.

He did want to see his sister, but there wasn’t much he could do to help. If anything, his presence might just irritate her even more.

As he mulled over everything with his slow, rusty brain, he came to a conclusion:

Staying by Xiao Qiu’s side was the best.

This was truly the life of a god!

As long as Xiao Qiu didn’t kick him out, Zhuang Hanxue would shamelessly stay one more day!

A few days later.

He saw the schedule for the Youth Go Tournament—his little master was coming to his city for the competition.

He made plans with his little master and invited him for a meal.

Then, Zhuang Hanxue said to Qiu Zheyan, “Do you want to come with me?”

Thinking about the previous misunderstanding where he got jealous for no reason, Qiu Zheyan said, “You go ahead. I’m not jealous, really.”

Zhuang Hanxue replied, “I wasn’t worried about you getting jealous. My little master’s father is a really powerful figure—the chairman of Lin Group. You should meet him.”

Qiu Zheyan: “???”

He had never really paid attention to Zhuang Hanxue’s little master’s family background. How did this lazy guy even make such connections? Truly, a salted fish shouldn’t be underestimated.

Qiu Zheyan asked, “His dad’s last name is Lin, so why is his surname Chu?”

Zhuang Hanxue answered, “He took his other dad’s surname—Chu Xun. Have you heard of him? He’s also really impressive. Apparently, he’ll be coming too. I used to work with him.”

As he spoke, a memory resurfaced, and he burst into laughter. “I even proposed to him once.”

Qiu Zheyan wasn’t laughing.

What did that mean?

Zhuang Hanxue said he didn’t want to get married, but he had actually proposed to another man before?

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