TUMZ Chapter 21
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After the meeting, Qiu Zheyan's smile grew increasingly stiff. He stood up and forced a grin that looked worse than crying. "Thank you for taking the time to come here despite your busy schedule. I still need some time to think it over."
The person sent by Chu Xun replied indifferently, "Alright, Mr. Qiu, I'll wait for your response."
Zhuang Hanxue hesitated and said, "I'm sorry, Xiao Qiu..."
Qiu Zheyan kissed him. "What's there to be sorry about? You've already helped me a lot. At least I still have a way out—I can sell the company."
Zhuang Hanxue said, "But this is your hard work, your patents. Selling it like this is a loss. I originally thought he would invest."
Qiu Zheyan said, "It's understandable. Everyone is a businessman, doing business, not charity. There's no such thing as a completely honest merchant. Not to mention that you and he only worked together ten years ago—it's unlikely that he would be so kind. The fact that he's even willing to acquire this mess at a time like this is already generous enough."
Zhuang Hanxue asked, "So, are you going to accept the acquisition?"
Qiu Zheyan squeezed his hand, and Zhuang Hanxue felt the coldness in his palm. Qiu Zheyan took a deep breath and said optimistically, "I'll think about it a little more... Maybe there's another way out."
Since Zhuang Hanxue had signed a contract with a streaming platform, he had to meet a minimum streaming time each week, or he would have to pay a penalty fee.
He squeezed in some time to go live, only to find that his popularity had dropped significantly.
A fan asked: [The king of flaking is back? Why haven’t you streamed for so long?]
Zhuang Hanxue told the truth: "Something happened to my partner’s company, so I’ve been helping him out."
Fans started sending him money, but it was just a drop in the bucket.
They had now moved into a rental apartment of just over 40 square meters. Zhuang Hanxue no longer asked Qiu Zheyan for money to buy alcohol or cigarettes. He was too worried and saved up all his money for Qiu Zheyan.
Qiu Zheyan asked him about it.
Zhuang Hanxue grinned. "Haven’t you always wanted me to quit smoking and drinking? Smoking and drinking really aren’t good for my health. I might as well quit altogether."
Qiu Zheyan said, "It’s not like I can’t even afford to buy you a pack of cigarettes."
Zhuang Hanxue took the initiative and said, "Then one pack a week. That’s enough, really enough."
Qiu Zheyan refused to take his money. "Why are you giving me money? I don’t want your money. Keep it for yourself. If I go bankrupt, at least you’ll have a safety net, right?"
Since Qiu Zheyan wouldn't take it, Zhuang Hanxue just transferred it directly into the company’s account.
Qiu Zheyan didn’t say anything about it. That night, he held him close, kissing him from head to toe. Sweaty and entangled, he whispered "I love you" into his ear over and over again.
Qiu Zheyan said, "If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll go back to my hometown. Will you come with me? In my hometown, same-sex marriage is legal."
Zhuang Hanxue dodged the topic. "Don’t be so discouraged. Very few people succeed on their first startup. You’re already amazing. Work hard—who’s to say you won’t make a comeback?"
Qiu Zheyan felt a chill in his heart. He kissed Zhuang Hanxue’s lips and said, “Mm, you’re right.”
At midnight, Zhuang Hanxue woke up in the middle of his sleep and found the bed empty. He sat up and heard Qiu Zheyan in the living room, speaking in a low voice over the phone:
“Dad, can you lend me some money?”
“I know, thank you, Dad. I won’t act tough…”
“Alright, alright, I’ll take care of my health. Health is the most important thing.”
“Ask Aunt to lend me some money? Okay, thank you, Dad.”
Zhuang Hanxue thought for a moment, then quietly lay back down in bed, pretending he had never woken up.
Ten minutes later.
Qiu Zheyan returned.
Zhuang Hanxue stayed still as he felt Qiu Zheyan slip under the covers and hug him from behind. There was a faint smell of tobacco on him.
Qiu Zheyan started borrowing money from friends.
He had a wide social circle, was well-liked, and had good credit. Many people were willing to lend him money, and he carefully wrote down IOUs for each loan.
The bar owner gave him 100,000 yuan.
The owner asked, “That guy surnamed Zhuang is still with you?”
Qiu Zheyan nodded. “Mm, he’s still with me. He even works at my company for free.”
The owner looked incredulous. “Didn’t expect that. I always thought he looked shallow and unreliable. Never thought he’d actually be serious about you. Hard times really show true colors. You two seem like a sugar daddy setup. He’s such a lazy freeloader—I figured once you lost your house and car, he’d be gone in a flash. That’s why I didn’t dare to ask.”
Qiu Zheyan said, “He’s still lazy. He just doesn’t like working. He’s only forcing himself to do it for me. Honestly… I’m afraid he’ll leave too.”
The owner said, “Maybe he just thinks it’d be dishonorable to leave now. Or maybe he hasn’t realized how long he’ll have to suffer. A little hardship is one thing, but suffering for a long time is another. People aren’t good at enduring hardship. And wasn’t he straight before? He only got together with you because you spoiled him and let him live off you. But what if another person comes along and spoils him just as much? Wasn’t his ex-girlfriend Jiang Ruoyun still hung up on him?”
Qiu Zheyan downed the glass of wine his friend had given him in one go. “He won’t.”
“You don’t understand—he gave me every cent he earned from streaming. He didn’t keep a single yuan for himself.”
“I used to wonder if he ever really liked me.”
“But now I know. He does.”
“He won’t leave me.”
He didn’t want Zhuang Hanxue to suffer with him, but at the same time, he didn’t want to let him go.
Qiu Zheyan said, “Losing a business is one thing—I can always build another. But losing a home… that’s much harder to rebuild. He is my home. As long as he’s here, I can keep going.”
When he got home, Zhuang Hanxue said, “Xiao Qiu, I managed to get another 50,000 yuan. Here, take it.”
Qiu Zheyan asked, “Where did the money come from? You didn’t take out an online loan, did you?”
Zhuang Hanxue replied confidently, “I borrowed it from my brother!”
Qiu Zheyan said, “Your brother has a kid to support too. It’s not easy for him. Don’t borrow money from your family because of me. Give it back to him.”
Zhuang Hanxue pouted. “You’ve already borrowed money from all your friends. Is this really the time to act tough? Just take it. When your company turns around and you start making money again, buy back a big house. Then I won’t go to work anymore. I’ll just stay home, eating your food, drinking your drinks, and spending your money.”
He flashed a bright, dazzling smile.
Qiu Zheyan hugged him and murmured, “Sigh, I’m sorry for making you suffer with me.”
Zhuang Hanxue muttered bitterly, “Sigh, I feel like I’m the one who’s bringing you down.”
Qiu Zheyan was puzzled. “How are you bringing me down? You have that kind of power?”
Zhuang Hanxue said, “Look, your company was doing fine for so long. But after dating me for less than half a year, it’s about to collapse. I’ve been thinking… maybe I’m bad luck. Maybe I brought you misfortune. The companies I worked at before were like this too. Every time I left, they went bankrupt.”
Qiu Zheyan laughed. “Hahaha, what nonsense are you talking about? You’re not bad luck—you’re my lucky star. The luckiest thing in my life was tricking you into being with me.”
Even though they had already tried everything and borrowed all the money they could…
Zhuang Hanxue even asked an elementary school kid for money. That kid was loaded.
The little master said, “My card is with my dad. He manages my money. If school hadn’t started yet, it would be fine, but now that school has started, all my money has been turned in. If I want to spend big, I have to write an application and submit a report to my dad. He only gives me a little pocket money. I’ve been secretly saving up. I have about ten thousand. I don’t need it for now. You can take it. You don’t have to pay me back.”
Zhuang Hanxue felt ashamed. “I’ll pay it back. It just might take some time.”
The little master asked, “What are you guys planning to do now?”
Zhuang Hanxue said blankly, “I don’t know.”
To be honest, in the past, he only saw Qiu Zheyan’s company as a small business.
Back then, he wouldn’t have taken it seriously at all.
Zhuang Hanxue had been pampered and spoiled since he was a child. He never had a real job—just ate, drank, and had fun. Before leaving home, he had never been short on money. To him, money was just a number, so he never cared about it. After leaving home, he didn’t have money anymore, but he could always find odd jobs to get by. He never felt like life was hard. He lived happily—if he made 10,000 a month, he spent 10,000; if he made 5,000, he lived on 5,000. As long as he was happy, that was enough.
It wasn’t until now that he truly understood how hard-earned money really was.
That night, Zhuang Hanxue and Qiu Zheyan stayed at the company, working late. All the other employees had already gone home. They were voluntarily working overtime.
Qiu Zheyan asked, “Are you tired? Want me to massage your head?”
Zhuang Hanxue didn’t hold back. “Sure!”
Qiu Zheyan pressed on the acupuncture points on his head with expert hands. It felt so good that Zhuang Hanxue joked, “Wow, you’re pretty good at this, Xiao Qiu. If things don’t work out, we can open a massage parlor.”
Qiu Zheyan chuckled. After a moment, he said, “Ah Xue, I think… I should accept the acquisition. Pay off the debts, and there will still be some money left.”
Zhuang Hanxue turned to look at him.
Qiu Zheyan didn’t say anything.
Zhuang Hanxue held his hand. “You… you should think about it a little more.”
Qiu Zheyan nodded tiredly.
They continued working at the same table. An hour passed, and Zhuang Hanxue suddenly realized he hadn’t heard Qiu Zheyan typing. He turned his head and saw that Qiu Zheyan had fallen asleep just like that, sitting upright in his chair.
His once-handsome face had thinned out to the point of being gaunt. Dark circles from countless sleepless nights loomed under his eyes.
The room was so quiet it felt like a graveyard.
Xiao Qiu had worked so hard.
And he had worked hard too.
But sometimes, hard work didn’t always pay off.
Zhuang Hanxue suddenly felt like he couldn’t stay in that room any longer.
His craving for a cigarette hit him hard.
He went downstairs, bought the cheapest pack of White Sand cigarettes for five yuan from a 24-hour convenience store, squatted on the roadside, and smoked the entire pack. Then, he picked up each cigarette butt, put them back into the empty pack, and held his head down.
He saw dark, wet stains forming on the cement road.
It hadn’t rained.
It was his tears, falling from his eyes.
Damn.
It must be these cheap cigarettes—they were too harsh.
Too harsh, too irritating.
They made his throat burn, made him cough.
They even made him cry.
His throat felt awful.
This was the first time in his life that he had ever smoked such cheap cigarettes.
Zhuang Hanxue sniffled and suddenly remembered something his older brother had told him a few months ago:
“You can’t always be happy… There will be times when you’re not. When that time comes, what do you plan to do?”
What had he said back then?
Hah.
Hahaha.
He was such an idiot.
He had been too naïve.
…So, this was what it felt like to be truly unhappy.
The only one to blame was himself for being so useless.
Zhuang Hanxue tossed the cigarette pack filled with butts into the trash.
He stood next to the garbage bin, pulled out his phone, and dialed his mother’s number.
“Mom, it’s me.”
“…Mm. I want to go home.”
You have to pay an equal price for the things you want.
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