TUMZ Chapter 20

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Zhuang Hanxue wandered along the empty road in the middle of the night, thinking about where Qiu Zheyan might have gone. Maybe he had gone out for business and gotten into an accident somewhere? He searched online for any news about car accidents from the previous night.

Nothing came up.

And he hadn’t gone home.

3 AM.

Zhuang Hanxue was wide awake when he received a call from Qiu Zheyan. He answered immediately, anxiously asking, “Where are you? Why are you only calling me now?”

Qiu Zheyan said, “Something urgent came up, so I took a flight to another province. I forgot my charger and just got to the hotel to plug in my phone. I didn’t have a chance to tell you earlier. Why did you pick up so quickly? Haven’t you slept? I thought you’d already be asleep.”

Zhuang Hanxue patted his chest, trying to calm down. “You scared me to death. You should’ve told me earlier! I was worried you got into a car accident.”

Hearing the sound of passing cars in the background, Qiu Zheyan paused. “You’re outside? Go home and get some sleep. I have things to take care of. I probably won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.”

Something felt off to Zhuang Hanxue.

Even if Qiu Zheyan had to go on a business trip, he would normally inform him in advance. This time, it was too rushed.

Something must have happened.

Two days later.

Qiu Zheyan finally rushed back home.

When Zhuang Hanxue saw him, he was startled.

Qiu Zheyan looked like he hadn’t slept for two days—his face was haggard, his eyes bloodshot, and he seemed on the verge of collapsing.

Zhuang Hanxue asked, “What happened?”

Qiu Zheyan forced a smile and said, “Nothing, just a small problem at work. Don’t worry. I haven’t been home in days—did you miss me?”

Zhuang Hanxue was genuinely worried. He stepped forward and hugged him. “I missed you so much.”

Qiu Zheyan hugged him tightly, burying his face in the crook of his neck and taking a deep breath. “You smell so good. Do I smell bad?”

Zhuang Hanxue: “No, you don’t.”

Qiu Zheyan kissed his cheek, his voice filled with exhaustion and longing. “I missed you so much.”

He quickly took a hot shower and then collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep instantly—he was truly exhausted.

Zhuang Hanxue thought that if this had been before, they would have spent the whole night making love.

He crouched beside the bed, gently touching Qiu Zheyan’s face, wondering what kind of trouble he had run into.

Even if Qiu Zheyan refused to talk about it, Zhuang Hanxue wasn’t stupid. He could more or less guess that something had gone wrong with his business.

In the morning, Qiu Zheyan originally planned to leave quietly for the company without disturbing Zhuang Hanxue. However, as soon as he got up and made even the slightest movement, Zhuang Hanxue woke up sensitively. Normally, this lazy guy would sleep like a log.

Catching hold of him, Zhuang Hanxue murmured sleepily, “Xiao Qiu, just tell me what happened, okay? I didn’t sleep well last night. If you don’t tell me, I won’t be able to sleep at all today.”

Qiu Zheyan chuckled bitterly. “You? Losing sleep?”

Zhuang Hanxue answered matter-of-factly, “Of course!”

Back when his parents forced him to take over the family business and pushed him into a political marriage, he was so distressed that he couldn’t sleep for a week. It felt like he was going to die from the stress, and he figured that if he kept losing sleep like that, he actually might. So, he ran away to save his life.

He grabbed Qiu Zheyan’s arm. “Just tell me!”

Qiu Zheyan sighed. “My senior and I have companies that guarantee each other’s loans. I don’t know when he got addicted to gambling, but he burned through all his money and then took off with the remaining funds. I can’t find him anywhere. Now the bank is withdrawing our loans, and we’re facing lawsuits and asset freezes… The capital chain is about to break. I need to figure something out.”

Zhuang Hanxue thought of the senior who had once invited them over for dinner and asked, “Doesn’t he have a wife and kids?”

Qiu Zheyan shook his head. “Don’t mention it. Apparently, he had an affair with his company’s secretary. That woman took him to City A, where he got hooked on gambling. His wife has no idea where he is. He abandoned both his wife and kids.”

Zhuang Hanxue sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s ruthless.”

Qiu Zheyan held his hand and kissed it. “It’s fine. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

Zhuang Hanxue hesitated before nodding. He had managed a company before, so he understood just how serious the situation was. This was a disaster that had come out of nowhere—Qiu Zheyan was truly unlucky.

Technically, the problem wasn’t impossible to solve. The solution was simple: keep pouring in money until the capital chain was repaired.

The real issue was not knowing when it would end, which was mentally and physically exhausting.

Although he had never faced this situation himself, he had heard of it before.

Qiu Zheyan’s schedule visibly became busier. Forget coming home early—he wouldn’t get back until the early hours of the morning. Even on weekends, he had no time to play games with Zhuang Hanxue.

During Zhuang Hanxue’s live streams, viewers started asking questions:

[Where’s your boyfriend? Why isn’t he streaming with you?]

[No new edited videos either—what’s going on?]

[Bring him on stream with you!]

Zhuang Hanxue couldn’t even enjoy his games anymore. He explained to his audience, “Xiao Qiu has been really busy with work lately, so he doesn’t have time to stream or edit videos with me.”

“Work comes first, after all. Streaming isn’t his main job.”

“He’ll be back when he has time.”

“When will that be? I can’t say for sure.”

Zhuang Hanxue wanted to help Qiu Zheyan, but every night when he came home, he refused to talk about work. He was too exhausted—sometimes he didn’t even shower before passing out.

Even someone as lazy as Zhuang Hanxue would personally carry him to bed, change his clothes, and wipe his face and feet.

Whenever Qiu Zheyan was awake, he kept repeating, “It’s fine, don’t worry.”

Zhuang Hanxue figured that since Qiu Zheyan already had a hard time at work, he probably didn’t want to bring that negativity home. So, he decided to make sure Xiao Qiu could be completely happy at home.

But after four or five days of just watching and doing nothing, he couldn’t take it anymore.

He was miserable.

That day, he started his stream as usual. The comment section was full of cheerful chatter, but no matter what, he couldn’t focus on his game.

Thinking about how Xiao Qiu was struggling every day while he was at home enjoying himself—it felt so wrong.

Suddenly, he said, “Sorry, I won’t be streaming today. Maybe not tomorrow either. Maybe not even the day after. I’ll update you later.”

With that, he ended the stream.

He changed into the suit he used to wear for work.

Not wanting to waste money on a cab, he rode a shared bike to Qiu Zheyan’s company.

Since he had attended company gatherings before, the receptionist recognized him.

The moment he arrived, he got straight to the point. “I’m here to see President Qiu.”

Qiu Zheyan rushed out to meet him. The moment he saw Zhuang Hanxue, his furrowed brows relaxed, and he asked gently, “What’s wrong? Why are you here all of a sudden?”

Zhuang Hanxue said seriously, “I’m here to help you.”

Qiu Zheyan was stunned.

Zhuang Hanxue said with extreme seriousness, "I used to be President Zhuang too, you know. Xiaoqiu, I won’t cause you any trouble, really. I don't even want a salary. I'm too worried, too worried. I can't just sit at home pretending everything is fine while waiting for you to come back. Stop telling me 'it's fine' and 'don't worry.' Let me help you. Even if I'm not very capable, if I can be of even the slightest use, it would be good."

"I won't let you drive me away. If you try, I’ll really get angry."

Qiu Zheyan didn’t know what to say. In front of everyone, he held Zhuang Hanxue’s hand.

He lowered his voice and said, "Sigh, I really don't want you to see me in such a pathetic state."

Zhuang Hanxue smiled at him and exaggeratedly praised, "Not at all! You look very handsome, fighting through adversity!"

The two of them held hands.

The two receptionists at the front desk exchanged glances: "…"

At first, Qiu Zheyan still had doubts about Zhuang Hanxue's self-proclaimed abilities, but Zhuang Hanxue quickly proved himself through his actions.

To be honest, Zhuang Hanxue felt like he had never worked this hard in his entire life.

Even when he had to work for money in the past, the latest he would stay at the office was seven or eight in the evening. But now, for Xiaoqiu, he worked until the early hours of the morning every day.

And he didn’t take a single cent.

Day after day, he persisted. He still complained about being tired, but after complaining, he would wake up early the next morning and head to Qiu Zheyan’s company to work. When he saw Qiu Zheyan looking troubled, he would come up with all sorts of jokes to make him laugh.

Zhuang Hanxue sighed to himself—if he had worked this hard when he was younger, maybe he really could have taken over the Zhuang family business.

That night, they finished work at one o’clock.

Both of them were utterly exhausted.

Qiu Zheyan had already sold his car to raise funds.

They planned to ride a shared bike home, but after walking around for five minutes, they couldn’t find one.

Qiu Zheyan asked, "Are you tired?"

Zhuang Hanxue wailed, "I'm exhausted!"

Qiu Zheyan turned his back to him and crouched slightly. "I'll carry you."

Zhuang Hanxue climbed onto his back without hesitation.

His entire body was warm, his body heat transferring from Qiu Zheyan’s back to his chest. Zhuang Hanxue glanced at his fitness tracker and said happily, "Xiaoqiu, carry me for 200 steps, and then I’ll carry you."

Hearing Zhuang Hanxue's carefree voice lifted some of the gloom in Qiu Zheyan’s heart. He said, "Alright."

After a pause, Qiu Zheyan said, "Ah Xue… there's something I need to tell you."

Zhuang Hanxue asked, "What is it?"

Qiu Zheyan said, "I’m planning to sell the house."

The house he lived in was in a prime location downtown. Selling it could bring in several million, enough to sustain them for a while.

Zhuang Hanxue responded with an "Oh" and said, "Then we’ll just move somewhere else. I don’t think we really need such a big place anyway. You’re so busy—I'll look for a new place."

He massaged Qiu Zheyan’s shoulders and asked, "You carry me, and I’ll give you a shoulder massage. Does it feel good?"

Qiu Zheyan had been feeling sentimental, but the ticklish massage made him laugh. "Stop, it tickles! Hahaha! If you keep this up, I’m going to drop you!"

Laughing and joking, they took turns carrying each other all the way home.

Zhuang Hanxue went to a rental agency to find a place and finally settled on a one-bedroom apartment for just over 3,000 yuan a month.

After signing the lease and negotiating a discount on the security deposit, he had half a day left to spare.

He smoked three cigarettes, ate at a fast-food restaurant, and then called his sister.

His sister didn’t have the friendliest tone but didn’t immediately hang up. "What is it? You only ever call me when you need something. We barely talk otherwise, so you must need something this time too."

Zhuang Hanxue took a deep breath and said, "Sis, I want to borrow some money. I… I promise I’ll pay you back."

His sister laughed coldly. "How much?"

Zhuang Hanxue hesitated. "Ten million…"

His sister cut straight to the point. "Are you on drugs, or are you gambling?"

Zhuang Hanxue immediately denied it. "No! Really, no! I’m borrowing it to help my partner. To be honest, Sis, I’m dating a man now. His company ran into some trouble, and his cash flow is running dry. He needs money to get through this, so I wanted to borrow some to help him out. I swear I’ll pay you back."

His sister laughed again. "Do you think money just falls from the sky? You’re asking for ten million right off the bat? And how exactly do you plan to pay me back? You’ve been living on your own, working odd jobs—how are you going to repay ten million?"

Ten million might not even be enough…

Zhuang Hanxue fell silent.

For the first time in his life, he realized just how useless he was.

For the first time, he felt ashamed of his own inadequacy.

Why was he so useless?

Zhuang Hanxue sniffled. "I’m sorry, Sis."

Hearing that he was on the verge of tears, his sister’s tone softened slightly. "And you’re borrowing money for someone else? Are you sure you’re not being scammed? These kinds of business crisis, cash-flow loan scams are so old-fashioned. Are you sure the company even exists? How are you still this naïve at your age?"

Zhuang Hanxue said, feeling miserable, "No, Sis, he’s not scamming me. I’ve been helping at his company for two weeks now. I’ve seen the accounts. …I’m sorry for putting you on the spot. I’ll think of something else."

His sister sighed. "Are you crying? You’re a grown man, isn’t that embarrassing?"

Zhuang Hanxue, his voice thick with emotion, said, "I’m not."

His sister said, "Give me your bank account number. I’ll send you some money. Not ten million, but I’ll give you something. You don’t have to pay me back."

Zhuang Hanxue murmured, "I’ll pay you back."

Later that day, he checked his bank account at the bank and saw an extra 200,000 yuan.

He texted his sister: "Thank you, Sis. I will definitely pay you back. I’ll write up an IOU and send it to you."

Thinking about it, the only person he knew who might be able to help Xiaoqiu was Chu Xun.

Thick-skinned, he reached out to Chu Xun.

He didn’t care about pride—he was determined to pester Chu Xun until he agreed to help Xiaoqiu.

Things actually went pretty smoothly with Chu Xun.

Two days later, Zhuang Hanxue received a message from Chu Xun’s secretary, saying they were willing to discuss a deal.

It was a miracle!

Overjoyed, Zhuang Hanxue rushed to tell Qiu Zheyan.

Qiu Zheyan was also thrilled, and together, they went to negotiate with Chu Xun’s representatives.

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