The Billionaire CEO Gives Up After a Terminal Diagnosis

[Chapter comments are open] Advance Preview: Besides Giving You Money, What Else Can You Do? ------Story Blurb------------------- He's terminally ill! Ye Xingran held his medical test results in his trembling left hand and clutched his eleven-digit bank card in his right, tears welling in his eyes. He had built a business from nothing and pinched pennies for twenty-eight years. Ye Xingran took a couple of deep breaths. Spend the money! What was he saving it for, a gravestone? He sat bolt upright in bed. He was going to spend some money! But after buying everything he could think of, Ye Xingran still felt bored. He should make the most of the time he had left and enjoy life as much as possible. Ye Xingran was sitting in his luxury car worth tens of millions at a red light when his eyes suddenly lit up. He'd never been in a relationship! Just then, the giant LED screen on a nearby shopping mall showed the face of an incredibly handsome man. Ye Xingran stared, forgetting the light had turned green. He only snapped out of it when a car honked at him from twenty meters behind. Huo Siyu, the youngest Best Actor. Ye Xingran immediately found an acting manager to run his company. What was work, anyway? He had to pack his bags and get ready to fall in love. But why did this Best Actor look so much like his deskmate from before he transferred schools? He couldn't remember, but Ye Xingran didn't dwell on it. It wasn't something a terminally ill lifelong bachelor like him needed to worry about. All handsome people shared one thing in common: being handsome was enough. Huo Siyu was alone in his mansion, trying to keep up an elegant front as he prepared to sink into a funk. Then his agent told him that a big shot wanted to meet him, and was willing to invest in him or even set up a company. The motive was obvious. Huo Siyu laughed in disbelief. He'd seen plenty of fools, but never one who was both rich and stupid. He decided to meet the big shot himself and put an end to any hopes they might have. But when he met the supposed big shot at a private club the next day, Huo Siyu nearly crushed his phone. Huo Siyu narrowed his eyes. The man opposite him looked like a college student, and there was something vaguely familiar about him. Ye Xingran: Handsome, want to date? Huo Siyu: Yes. Absolutely! After his terminal diagnosis, Ye Xingran threw caution to the wind. With the other man flirting with him, he held hands, kissed, and went about their lovey-dovey daily life, acting however he pleased with the confidence of a rich man and not thinking about taking responsibility at all. When their high-school deskmate history came to light, Huo Siyu held the doctor's letter confirming the misdiagnosis and said, "Xingxing, let's get married." Ye Xingran: "All right." Only after the two had signed the marriage papers did Ye Xingran ask, "Terminal illness?" The doctor was on the verge of tears. "M-Mr. Ye, it was a misdiagnosis..." Ye Xingran: "OMG!" [Top: Looks aloof and domineering, but is a lovesick puppy who gets clingy and cute, with no limits when it comes to getting a husband] [Bottom: A brilliant business prodigy who thinks he's about to die and becomes obsessed with handsome men and romance] ------Story Blurb----------- [Business tycoon, restrained and devoted puppy top x refined, comfortably middle-class, aloof artist bottom] In Yun City, the news was that the industry titan from Qianzhi Group kept pouring millions into someone, yet hadn't even managed to touch his hand. "Ha, whose fault is that? I hear Chairman Qian has his secretary deliver all the opportunities. Does Teacher Qu even remember the guy?" "They call him a business titan, but ten years ago he was just a poor kid. He's spent all these years obsessed with money and hasn't given this any thought. Last time in Haicheng, Qu Huai suggested they discuss a proposal at the hotel, and what did he do? Paid for the entire floor's rooms at the front desk and left!" "Qu Huai..." Only Qian Chou knew that whenever he faced the artist in his bespoke suit, elegant down to his fingertips, his mind, usually in complete control of the business world, went blank. He was afraid of being too forward, of his money-stained presence disrupting Qu Huai's inspiration, and even more afraid that if he said, "I like you," he would lose even the right to send him opportunities. Whenever he saw that man, his heart pounded as if it would burst. He didn't even have the courage to go up and greet him. He was afraid his presence would put Qu Huai off, and even more afraid that his complicated world would sully someone who devoted himself so purely to art. The man's eyes dimmed in his office. There wasn't much he could give him. All he could do was send him opportunities and money. Qu Huai was the successor to the lacquer art research institute at S University in Yun City. His craftsmanship had surpassed that of the institute's senior professors in both maturity and refinement long ago, and he was renowned throughout S University. He was cool and noble, and liked to look down his nose at people. Everyone in the industry said he wasn't someone to trifle with. Money alone wasn't enough to get one of his works. At a lecture, the sight of his snow-white neck and haughty expression, like a swan's, caught the eye of Qian Chou, who had always had eyes only for money. From then on, there was a handsome man named Qu Huai in his gaze. Qian Chou was Yun City's business titan. In the ten years since founding Qianzhi Group, he had monopolized much of the market. Everyone said he was ruthless and calculating. Yet this capitalist, who ruled the business world, was so clumsy and timid in matters of love that it was almost outrageous. He sent Qu Huai opportunity after opportunity, but never showed up in person. When his secretary asked why, Qian Chou replied with just one word: "Presumptuous." From premium lacquered wood for high-end lacquerware to nominations for international competitions, and invitations to banquets with nationally renowned experts, Qian Chou sent it all to Teacher Qu's research institute without hesitation. He had spent enough to buy an entire commercial street, yet hadn't even touched the hand of the man he loved. The secretary pressed his lips together, looking troubled. "Chairman Qian... Teacher Qu sent it back." Qian Chou frowned behind his million-yuan black ebony desk, rubbing his thumb over his fountain pen. "Old Cui will be at the exhibition in the neighboring city tomorrow. Send Teacher Qu an invitation." "If he turns it down in the future, send something else instead. Don't tell him it's from me." The secretary: ... Late at night, Qian Chou closed his eyes by the window. Teacher Qu was as pure as a celestial being, clean from the tips of his hair to his toes. He was an artist, someone who lived among the clouds. The words "I like you," if spoken by Qian Chou, would only dirty Qu Huai's ears. There was only one thing in the display cabinet in his bedroom: a champagne flute made of raw lacquer. In the moonlight, the mother-of-pearl sheen was as thin as gauze and cicada wings, yet as warm and lustrous as jade. It was an outstanding graduate's work that Qian Chou had bought at a high price from S University's collection: Qu Huai, an outstanding undergraduate graduate of the class of 2016. Since the champagne flute had been brought from S University to the villa, it had remained sealed away in the display cabinet. Its collector gazed at it intently, almost obsessively. Yet he never touched it. "Hey, did you hear? Teacher Qu and Old Cui hit it off at the exhibition last time and talked until dark. Our Chairman Qian even told the staff not to disturb them, then waited at the exhibition hall entrance for seven hours himself!" "He's become a joke in our circle. If you ask me, Qian Chou is just too timid. With a face like his, he could rely on his looks, but instead he insists on throwing money around. Why go to all that trouble?" When these remarks reached Qian Chou's ears, he merely glanced at the speaker and said nothing in his defense. It wasn't until a charity banquet that Qu Huai was cornered by a difficult business partner who wanted to force him to drink. Just as the man was about to grab Qu Huai's wrist, the usually composed Qian Chou lost control for the first time. He rushed over and shielded Qu Huai, his suit sleeves pulled taut and his gaze cold enough to freeze a person to death. "I'll handle this." The business partner tried to talk back, relying on his seniority, but one look from Qian Chou silenced him. It was the same look that could drive his business rivals into bankruptcy, now used entirely to protect someone. For the rest of the banquet, Qian Chou was afraid someone else might bother Qu Huai, so he stayed by his side, still keeping a safe half-meter distance and even carefully handing him a glass of champagne. Looking at the man before him, ears red but stubbornly putting on a domineering CEO act, Qu Huai finally couldn't help laughing. He stepped closer and lightly traced the Windsor knot in Qian Chou's tie with his fingertips, his voice carrying a hint of intoxication. "Chairman Qian, rather than sending me opportunities, I'd rather know when you yourself might have time to take me to dinner." Qian Chou looked up sharply and met Qu Huai's smiling eyes, which clearly reflected his own face. He froze for a few seconds before speaking hoarsely. "Tomorrow night. I'll book the private restaurant you like." Qu Huai nodded and gently squeezed his wrist. "All right. But this time, don't send Secretary Gao to dine with me." "I want you to take me yourself." Amid the glittering revelry, the opportunities that Teacher Qu had returned one by one sat neatly in Qianzhi Tower's office, waiting for the man to deliver them himself. Theme: Cherish life, love life, and live it to the fullest!