Chapter 21

The interface of the school hospital app is old and simple, with a dim green border, bold black fonts, and the information on the homepage was updated three years ago.

Zhou Wangchuan opened the doctor list from the search bar, found his own profile picture and clicked on it, then clicked "Previous Reviews" on the interface that appeared.

A series of patient evaluations are presented in reverse chronological order.

Most of them were five stars, with only one or two at four. Zhou Wangchuan didn't bother to read the specific content of the reviews, his fingers swiping across the screen so fast that they almost left an afterimage.

Time stopped on June 12 of that year. He quickly glanced at the comments and didn't find what he was looking for.

Scrolling up the page, we arrive at the next day, June 13th.

Zhou Wangchuan only took one look and knew he had found the right one.

A classmate with the ID "壳壳好重" built a tall building and added more than 30 comments to the original review.

Zhou Wangchuan clicked on the comments. The earliest one was from the morning of June 13th, the most recent from last week. Each comment was posted a few months or a few days apart, the timing was irregular, as if it were posted at random.

His breathing quickened, and he felt as if he had entered a secret garden.

The original review contained only two simple lines: "Five-star praise, thank you for the roses and hot water bottle, senior, you look so handsome when you fight."

The next one came six months later: "Do you know what it means to invite someone home for the New Year? It seems you don't. My temptation failed. You will not be the one who controls my pain. I should keep my distance."

"You shouldn't have given me roses, and I shouldn't have accepted them."

"I enjoy pain, I chase pain, but when it reaches its peak, I want gentle care and attention. I never drink water from a hotel cup, but maybe my stomach hurt too much, so I drank it. The water you boiled is very sweet."

"Have you decided to be with me? But I'm not the well-behaved, fragile, and pitiful junior you see. I'm a damp fern growing in the shade. Dark, sinister, cold, and cruel. I'm covered in sharp thorns that will prick you to pieces."

"You didn't celebrate my birthday with me, and you didn't even remember my birthday, right? Okay, good job. Haha. Well, senior, you're awesome. Do you want to give him an award?"

Zhou Wangchuan paused as he read through the lines, unable to contain his laughter. He could almost imagine how aggrieved Shang Mu must have felt as he typed these lines.

"I was wrong. I take it back. So you remembered my birthday. I love roses the most. (＾ω＾)"

Zhou Wangchuan sighed silently and called softly: "Baby..."

"I've been having stomachaches a lot lately. Why haven't you come back yet? What a lousy seminar! I don't want you to tell me over the phone what medicine to take, whether to take it before or after meals. I want you to hold me while I sleep and feed me hot water."

"A memorable day. You finally knew my hobby, yet you still refused to abuse me. You didn't leave. Perhaps it was simply because you couldn't bear to abandon me, this broken, twisted, fragile, dark me. You are too kind. I love your kindness, and I hate your kindness."

"Alright, I'll go find someone else. I don't believe you won't be jealous! Wait in the car. I want to see how many times you can endure it!"

"You bastard, you stinky man, how can you sleep! Is your heart made of stone? Still sleeping, still sleeping! I'll grab your quilt!!!"

Zhou Wangchuan: “…”

The messages continue.

"You asked me what graduation gift I wanted. I have two gifts I want: I want you to stay, and I want you to abuse me. But if I can only choose one, I hope you don't leave. [I use confusion, danger, and failure to impress you.]"

"I'm sorry, I can't control my hobbies. Are you more sad or more tired? I don't want you to pity me, I want you to love me."

…………

…………

"It's because you didn't want to torture me that I ended up meeting a disgusting person like Qing Ye, and a complicated person like Fu Nian. It's all because of you!"

"I can only verify your preference for me with words and actions that are more and more outrageous each time. Even if it's not preference, but just charity."

"I can't hold on any longer. I want you to hug me, but I can only scold you coldly and push you further away."

"Okay, go ahead."

Zhou Wangchuan read the messages silently. Only the last two were left, and the dates were very recent.

"You're almost thirty and still running away from home. You're pretty trendy."

The last one was dated last week.

"You stinky scumbag, you won't rub my belly and you're staying abroad instead of coming back. Ha, you're really rebelling! Fine, play as long as you want. But be careful not to find me when you come back."

Zhou Wangchuan stared at the messages. His fingers slowly flipped the screen and he read them again from beginning to end.

The app's design is outdated, and its functionality is old-fashioned and outdated. It doesn't even have the most basic search function by time. If you want to read older messages, you can only scroll forward manually.

If you want to comment on an older post, you can only scroll forward manually. The person who wrote this post has scrolled forward thirty-seven times, or perhaps even more.

The evening glow settled over the city, and pedestrians came and went. Zhou Wangchuan sat on a bench, lost in thought. After a while, he made a phone call.

The other party was probably still angry and didn't pick up the call for a long time, so the first call was automatically hung up.

He dialed the second time, and before the call was about to be automatically hung up, the other party answered the phone, but did not speak, and even his breathing revealed a sense of indifference and resistance.

Zhou Wangchuan called him softly: "Mumu."

Shang Mu didn't say anything.

He called again: "Baby."

Shang Mu still didn't speak.

"baby."

“…”

Zhou Wangchuan shouted again: "Good boy."

Shang Mu finally spoke, and said impatiently: "What are you yelling about?"

"I'm on a flight tonight. If you have any gift you want, I'll bring it back for you," Zhou Wangchuan said.

Shang Mu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Shouldn't you postpone it for three days? Why are you rushing back? You love medicine so much, would you leave early?"

Zhou Wangchuan said: "That's not important. There will be many opportunities and lectures in the future."

He paused, then added: "I want to hug you now. This is urgent."

There was only the sound of silent breathing on the phone.

Zhou Wangchuan said softly: "Baby, I'm sorry."

He received the slightest signal from the snail's tentacles and gently ended the most intense quarrel in six years.

The plane landed in China at noon. Zhou Wangchuan called Shang Mu, but the line was busy.

He called Shang Mu's assistant again, who said, "This morning, a team of designers from headquarters came to City A. Mr. Shang is in a meeting with them, so his phone is probably turned off. The meeting will probably last several hours. Dr. Zhou, would you like to call back later?"

Zhou Wangchuan said, "After the meeting, please tell him that I'll pick him up after get off work. I'll also send him a message."

Assistant: "Okay."

Zhou Wangchuan didn't have a key, so he went to the hospital to see patients. He temporarily released a number, but it was immediately filled up.

Even though he only took a short nap on the plane, he wasn't sleepy at all and was full of energy as he continued to see patients. He would chat with patients, young and old, with a smile. An acquaintance would ask him, "Are you in a good mood today, Director Zhou?"

Zhou Wangchuan smiled and said, "It's better than ever before."

Two hours passed unknowingly. In the middle of the call, he took a moment to drink a sip of tea. The phone on the table lit up and a message came in.

When he saw it, he was stunned for a moment.

Shang Mu: Husband.

He was sure that he had not seen it wrong, the two words were "husband".

When I clicked into the chat box, it showed "The other party withdrew a message" and the two words disappeared.

Zhou Wangchuan replied:?

The chat box immediately displays "The other party is typing..."

Shang Mu:?

Zhou Wangchuan dialed the number and the person answered it quickly, but he didn't say anything.

Zhou Wangchuan suppressed his laughter and asked, "What did you just post?"

"Nothing." Shang Mu's tone was indifferent, appearing aloof and indifferent. There was no sign that he had just sent those two words. "Wrong message."

"Are you off work? I'll pick you up." Zhou Wangchuan glanced at the computer. There were only three numbers left, so it should be over soon.

"Um."

Zhou Wangchuan clicked the call icon, and a robotic female voice sounded at the door: "Please go to Clinic 28, No. XX0036, please..."

Zhou Wangchuan paused as the phone rang. He seemed to sense something and stood up, heading for the door. Sitting on a bench outside the clinic, he saw a pair of familiar eyes.

More than twenty days had passed since their unpleasant parting on Mid-Autumn Festival night. They had never been apart for so long, let alone through all the arguments and hurt. It felt like a century.

Shang Mu sat in a chair, bundled up in thick clothes. A large mask obscured his face, leaving only his eyes visible. He occupied only one corner of the chair, his brow furrowed, his disdain for the hospital practically overflowing.

One person was standing, the other was sitting, and their eyes intertwined silently.

"I want you to hug me, but I will only push you away with indifference."

Zhou Wangchuan thought of this message. He slowly walked over, stood in front of Shang Mu, put his arms around his shoulders, and gently kneaded them.

Shang Mu's body stiffened at first, then slowly relaxed. He leaned forward against Zhou Wangchuan, resting his chin on his waist, and tilted his head back, revealing a pair of moist eyes.

Zhou Wangchuan rubbed his fingers through his soft hair and asked, "Why didn't you let me pick you up? Don't you hate hospitals the most? Why did you come to see me?"

Shang Mu blinked slowly twice, his voice muffled by the mask: "Who's looking for you?"

"I came here to see a doctor, but I didn't know I'd get your number."

Zhou Wangchuan took the barcode from him and found that it was number 36. He couldn't help but smile: "Where did you get the number?"

"Scalper, reimburse me 2,000 yuan."

Zhou Wangchuan: “…”

He took off Shang Mu's mask, finally revealing his complete face, as delicate as ever, but a little pale and haggard.

"Baby, what's wrong with you?" Zhou Wangchuan asked as he held his wrist and took his pulse briefly.

Shang Mu rubbed his face against his waist, his voice a little damp: "The bed was cold at night, and my stomach ached from the cold."

Zhou Wangchuan let go of his wrist and frowned slightly: "Baby, come to the clinic and have a careful check."

Shang Mu whispered, "I don't have the strength to get up."

Zhou Wangchuan leaned over, put his arm around his waist, and helped him stand. Shang Mu's body limply pressed against him, and he reached out and hugged his waist. Zhou Wangchuan hugged him back even tighter, holding his waist and back tightly.

After more than 20 days of separation, they reunited in the hospital and gave each other a gentle, reconciling hug.