TUMZ Chapter 23

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ANNOUNCEMENT

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Qiuzhe Yan thought of the note left by Zhuang Hanxue: I'm going home.

Home? Which home? Did Zhuang Hanxue have another home? Was he going back to his hometown?

Qiuzhe Yan snapped out of his thoughts and immediately took out his phone to call Zhuang Hanxue’s number.

The line was busy. No one answered.

At that moment, Qiuzhe Yan suddenly realized that he actually knew nothing about Zhuang Hanxue—Where was he born? Who were his parents? What kind of friends had he had? What jobs had he worked? What was his relationship with his family like?

He had no idea.

The only family member of Zhuang Hanxue’s he had ever met was his older brother, who had moved abroad. Back then, he hadn’t dared to ask for his contact information. They had always communicated through Zhuang Hanxue. He had no idea what the man’s phone number was.

And yet, he had been foolish enough to bare his heart to Zhuang Hanxue, revealing everything about himself.

What on earth had happened?

He had thought they were deeply in love, but overnight, Zhuang Hanxue had suddenly vanished without a trace.

Could it be that his friends’ warnings had come true?

From the very beginning, had Zhuang Hanxue only been with him because he still had money back then? Because he could afford to support him, letting him stay at home and do nothing? Now that his money was gone and the good days were over, had Zhuang Hanxue just packed up and left?

No. Impossible. If it had been about money, why had Zhuang Hanxue given him all his savings?

He had supported Zhuang Hanxue for several months, but it had never cost anywhere near that much.

Like a caged beast, Qiuzhe Yan paced the small living room before sitting down on the bed, relentlessly dialing Zhuang Hanxue’s number, calling again and again, refusing to give up.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable..."

"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable..."

"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable..."

"Sorry..."

_

Zhuang Hanxue was utterly exhausted.

He felt like this was the most exhausting day of his life. Even the three consecutive days of overtime he had spent with Qiuzhe Yan—during which he had only gotten five or six hours of sleep in total—did not compare. Last night, the two of them had messed around in the office for hours.

Afterward, Qiuzhe Yan had fallen asleep.

He hadn’t. He had tidied up the files on the desk and left a note, making sure that Qiuzhe Yan would see it.

By the time he got home, it was already past three in the morning. With his body aching as if it were falling apart, he forced himself to take a shower before packing his bags.

He also had to put Dou Dou into a pet carrier for transport.

After handling everything, he set off for the airport—only to check the time and realize it was already five o’clock.

On the way, he kept urging the driver to go faster, even faster, but it still took an hour to reach the airport. He was exhausted, but he didn’t dare to fall asleep.

Then came ticket collection and boarding—he had nearly been late.

The moment he got on the plane, he collapsed into sleep from sheer exhaustion.

He had bought the ticket home himself, and since he didn’t have much money left, he had chosen the cheapest economy class seat. It was unbearably cramped, forcing him to curl up uncomfortably as he slept.

On a normal day, he wouldn’t have been able to sleep so deeply, but today, he was simply too drained.

After nearly three hours in the air, crossing half of China, the plane finally landed in the city where he had grown up.

It was still early, just past eleven.

Zhuang Hanxue woke up, drenched in sweat from being wrapped in too many layers.

The sticky, damp feeling was unbearable. He unwrapped his scarf, but as soon as the wind hit him, he shivered from the cold.

After spending so long floating in the sky, he still felt as if his feet weren’t quite touching the ground. It was like he was walking on clouds, light and unsteady. His head throbbed with a sharp, splitting pain.

He tilted his head back, gazing at the vast blue sky and the towering buildings of the city.

No matter where you went, the sky and the city always looked more or less the same.

Everything still felt unreal. Just a few hours ago, he had been thousands of miles away, nestled against Qiuzhe Yan, whispering words of love. And now, here he was, returning to the life he had fled from for seven years.

Someone was waiting for him at the airport exit.

It was his family’s personal driver.

Zhuang Hanxue felt his body alternating between chills and heat, utterly miserable. The moment he got into the car, he lay down in the backseat, trying to sleep. But calling it sleep was a stretch—his head ached so terribly that he couldn’t truly rest.

The driver woke him up.

By now, his entire body was burning, yet he hadn’t broken a single sweat. But the second he stepped out of the car, the cold wind hit him like a blade, sending violent shivers through his body. He was freezing, his head felt heavy, and any attempt at thinking only made the pain worse. It was even more unbearable than before.

His mother was waiting at the door to greet him.

"Hanha, my Hanha, you’re finally home."

Zhuang Hanxue nodded. He heard his own voice—so weak, it even startled him. "Mom."

His mother frowned as soon as she saw him. "What’s wrong with you? You look so sickly, your face is so pale."

She reached out and touched his forehead. "You’re burning up! You have a fever?"

Zhuang Hanxue felt like he couldn’t stand anymore and crouched down.

His mother, distressed, pulled him up. "What’s wrong with you? How much have you suffered outside? Don’t sit on the ground, let’s go to the hospital."

At the hospital, Zhuang Hanxue found out that his fever had spiked to over 40 degrees Celsius, and he even had symptoms of pneumonia. After taking some medication, he lay down for an IV drip.

When he woke up, he saw a woman sitting beside his bed. Thinking it was his mother, he took a closer look and realized it was a stranger. When he asked, he learned that his mother had hired a caregiver for him.

He glanced at her, then closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

The next time he woke up, the sky outside had already gone completely dark.

A nurse came in to check his temperature—it was still hovering around 40 degrees.

Zhuang Hanxue felt utterly miserable. Even though he wasn’t in great shape and rarely exercised, he hadn’t been sick enough to be hospitalized in years.

He looked around for his phone but couldn’t find it. After thinking for a moment, he slowly remembered that he had left it in his coat pocket. So he asked the caregiver where his coat was.

Then he asked, "What time is it now?"

The caregiver replied, "A little past eleven."

No wonder the hallway lights in the inpatient ward had been turned off.

The caregiver fetched his coat from the wardrobe and handed him his phone as he requested.

The moment Zhuang Hanxue looked at the screen, his scalp went numb.

There were hundreds of missed calls.

All of them were from Qiu Zheyan.

Shit.

Zhuang Hanxue thought.

Although his original plan had been to go home first and then call Qiu Zheyan to explain everything, he hadn’t expected to suddenly fall ill and collapse in the hospital. Now, after passing out and sleeping for hours, it was already this late.

He hurriedly dialed back.

The call barely rang half a tone before it was picked up.

On the other end, Qiu Zheyan’s voice was like a brewing storm, anxious and furious. "Where are you, Zhuang Hanxue?"

Hearing his voice, Zhuang Hanxue felt an unexpected warmth in his heart. Even his illness seemed a little lighter. "I’m at home. Didn’t I leave you a note? I told you I was going home—to my parents’ house."

Qiu Zheyan snapped, "You didn’t explain clearly! I thought you meant our place. Do you know how scared I was when I came back and found you gone—and Dou Dou missing too? I was terrified! It’s fine if you went back to your hometown, but why did you take Dou Dou with you?"

Zhuang Hanxue explained, "You’re so busy with work, you wouldn’t have time to take care of Dou Dou. So I brought him home with me."

Qiu Zheyan was beyond frustrated. "You didn’t write that in the note! Do you know how scared I was? I thought you had run away!"

Zhuang Hanxue weakly apologized, "I’m sorry, okay?"

Still upset, Qiu Zheyan demanded, "Then why didn’t you answer my calls?"

Playing up his suffering, Zhuang Hanxue said, "I got a fever as soon as I got off the plane. My temperature still hasn’t gone down. The nurse just checked—I’m still at 39.8°C. I’m hospitalized, Qiuqiu, I’m so pitiful. If you don’t believe me, I’ll send you a picture."

Qiu Zheyan’s anger instantly dissipated. "You’re sick? That bad? What happened? When did this start? What did the doctor say? Where are you now? I’ll come see you."

Zhuang Hanxue generously forgave him. "It’s fine, you couldn’t have known I’d get sick. You don’t have to come. I just came home for a bit—once I’m done with things, I’ll come back."

Qiu Zheyan asked, "What things?"

Zhuang Hanxue replied, "I told you already—I’m helping you get an investor."

Qiu Zheyan was silent for a moment before saying, "…I thought you were joking."

Zhuang Hanxue said seriously, "I wasn’t. I meant it. Qiuqiu, just wait for me. No matter what happens, I’ll let you know."

Qiu Zheyan, still anxious, said, "It’s fine even if you don’t succeed. Just come back soon. This is all my fault—I knew your health wasn’t great, I shouldn’t have made you work overtime with me. If it’s because of that, then I’d rather give up the company. I can find another job—I can at least afford to take care of you."

Zhuang Hanxue thought for a moment and, for the first time ever, said, "Qiuqiu, I’ve decided to get a job."

Qiu Zheyan was stunned. "You… want to work?"

Zhuang Hanxue hummed in agreement, his usual lazy smile in his voice. "I’ll support you too."

They switched to a video call. When Qiu Zheyan saw that Zhuang Hanxue was really in a hospital room, he finally let go of his fear that Zhuang Hanxue had run away. But now, he was filled with worry over his illness.

Zhuang Hanxue, however, was nonchalant. "That’s just how it is. After turning thirty, I realized my body is getting worse and worse. Just a few days of all-nighters, and I felt like I was going to die. Back in my twenties, I pulled all-nighters all the time and never got sick. Guess I’m getting old."

Qiu Zheyan was surprised. "You worked so hard in your twenties?"

Zhuang Hanxue laughed. "No, I stayed up all night partying and playing cards."

Qiu Zheyan: "…."

Zhuang Hanxue reassured him, "I’ll message you every day, so don’t worry. I didn’t run away, I really didn’t run away. Just wait a few days, and I’ll have good news for you."

Qiu Zheyan thought back to how Zhuang Hanxue had once told him he knew a man who gave birth—he hadn’t believed it. Then Zhuang Hanxue had claimed his ex-girlfriend was a famous celebrity—he hadn’t believed that either. Yet, both had turned out to be true.

So this time…

He recalled Zhuang Hanxue’s bold, playful words, spoken with a cheeky grin: "Just wait and see. I’ll get you the money. Will a hundred million be enough?"

…Could it actually be true?

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