Chapter 1 Brother Zhou, I'm in pain
In the early autumn evening, a ray of setting sun climbed over the fence and fell on the light green outer wall of Pingxi People's Hospital, startling a magpie that was hiding its head and feathers.
At this time, the hospital was still bustling with people, and the corridors, filled with the smell of disinfectant, were crowded with patients waiting for treatment.
At the end of the corridor on the third floor of the West District is Director Zhou's office in the Department of Gastroenterology. At this moment, he is holding a pen and writing quickly on the medical record.
"Take this page and go pay the bill and get your medicine. Remember what I said, avoid smoking, drinking, meat, or spicy food during this period. You can start taking medicine after you recover. You still have a long life ahead of you, so why rush it now, don't you agree?"
"Hey, hey, you're right, I'll remember it." The middle-aged bald patient responded repeatedly.
With a swish, the paper covered with words was torn off and pushed in front of the patient: "Okay, go ahead."
The calligraphy on it was written in a flourish, which only made Director Zhou's medical skills more consummate. The middle-aged man didn't recognize a single word, but he took the paper with both hands and said respectfully: "Thank you, Doctor Zhou!"
After seeing off the last patient, Zhou Wangchuan took off his white coat, went to the inner closet to take out his suit jacket and put it on. He then wiped his already spotless and shiny leather shoes and left work on time.
The corridor was filled with patients waiting for treatment. Some held their medical records with frowns on their faces, some studied CT scans intently, and some chatted idly with people around them.
"Is Director Zhou off work?"
Zhou Wangchuan stopped and smiled: "Aunt Liu, what's wrong with you?"
"Oh, it's the same old problem." The chubby middle-aged woman shook her medical record book and said with a worried look, "I can't sleep well at night, I have acid reflux and nausea."
Zhou Wangchuan glanced at the number in her hand and said, "Don't worry, Doctor Liu is very skilled. He will prescribe you two doses of medicine and you'll be fine."
The middle-aged woman's brows relaxed immediately and she smiled, "With your words, I feel relieved!"
After walking a few steps, Zhou Wangchuan was stopped by a familiar patient again.
"Director Zhou, getting an appointment with you is incredibly difficult! When can you release more appointments?"
This was indeed true. Zhou Wangchuan, now 28, was already an associate chief physician in the gastroenterology department. The chief physician retired last year, and the hospital hadn't yet hired a new one. This made Zhou Wangchuan the undisputed head of the gastroenterology department, making appointments often difficult to come by, with scalpers even charging exorbitant prices.
but……
Zhou Wangchuan looked at the young man in front of him with a red afro and smiled. "Internal hemorrhoids should be treated in the anorectal department. I'm in the gastroenterology department. Xiao Song, I reminded you last time, didn't I?"
He still remembers the patient's frustration when he spent a lot of money to buy a scalper number but was told that he was dialed to the wrong department.
The young man chuckled when he heard this: "I was just joking with you, don't mind it!"
After replying to a few more patient greetings, Zhou Wangchuan stopped in front of the elevator and waited. A nurse passed by and greeted with a smile: "Director Zhou, you're leaving get off work so early today. Are you going to pick up your wife?"
Zhou Wangchuan remained calm: "Yes."
The elevator arrived just in time. He nodded slightly to the nurse and stepped into the elevator.
There was a rumor in the department at some point that Dr. Zhou had a model wife with fair skin, beautiful face, and long legs. She had appeared on many magazine covers and was a beautiful woman.
Zhou Wangchuan neither refuted nor admitted it, but when people jokingly asked him "Are you going to pick up your wife?", he would not deny it.
After exiting the elevator, Zhou Wangchuan retracted his polite smile and walked indifferently among the patients. He walked along a path covered in golden ginkgo leaves, and amidst the rustling sound of leaves, he arrived at the parking lot in the corner of the hospital.
Sitting in the driver's seat, he took out his phone and clicked on the message box. A message from three hours ago lay quietly in the chat column - "Yinhui Hotel 12:05, come pick me up after get off work."
To make it easier for him to pick them up, Shang Mu would always stay in the same room of the same hotel every time he "practiced" with someone. Zhou Wangchuan was driving and suddenly felt like laughing. He should thank Shang Mu for this thoughtfulness, which saved him from having to navigate to a new hotel every time.
The rumor was not entirely false. Zhou Wangchuan did have a beautiful wife with fair skin, but this "wife" was a man.
The two met in college. Shang Mu was three years younger than Zhou Wangchuan. One of them was studying medicine, and the other was studying design. They ended up together by chance. On Zhou Wangchuan's graduation day, Shang Mu asked him, "If we were in a relationship, would you hit me?"
Zhou Wangchuan didn't understand why, so he said immediately, "Of course not. Hitting someone is a coward's act. If we were in a relationship, I would treat you well."
"What if I let you hit me?"
Zhou Wangchuan said firmly: "That won't happen either."
Shang Mu was silent for a while.
Zhou Wangchuan thought the other party was suspicious, but now he understood that Shang Mu was disappointed at that time.
But they ended up dating, and it has been six years now.
After parking the car, Zhou Wangchuan walked into the hotel. The front desk staff already knew him and gave him kind and sympathetic looks - the same look they gave to a green-haired turtle.
Zhou Wangchuan: “…”
He pretended not to see it, walked over quickly, pressed the elevator button and waited.
One time, he heard the hotel staff whispering, "Hey, do you know 1205? That handsome guy in the suit, he's supposedly a famous doctor—his girlfriend brings other people to check into a hotel room every day, and always asks him to pick them up afterward! Have you ever seen someone so hardworking and patient? 1205 is really patient!"
Only then did Zhou Wangchuan realize that he had earned the title of "Brother 1205".
He was both amused and confused.
He was certainly no cuckold. Shang Mu wasn't the type to mess around outside, and was even a bit reserved. He simply loved "practicing." Before each practice session, Shang Mu would tell him the time, place, and subject, detailing each one carefully and attentively, as if he were reporting to his superiors.
Be open and honest, with no concealment.
The elevator stopped at the 12th floor. Zhou Wangchuan walked out of the elevator, stepped on the thick cashmere carpet, and was surprised at his own calmness.
He remembered his fury when he first went to the hotel to pick someone up.
Half a year after he and Shang Mu started dating, he received a call from a friend one day. The friend hesitantly told him, "Lao Zhou, I saw... your girlfriend walk into the hotel with a man. They've been there for half an hour."
At that time, he calmly went to the hotel and kicked open the door of the room. The chandelier in the corridor wobbled and fell down, and the mahogany door lintel broke and fell off.
Under Shang Mu's astonished gaze, he walked over expressionlessly, grabbed the stranger's collar, and punched him hard on the cheek, causing him to mouth a mouthful of blood.
The man was shocked and shouted angrily: "Who are you? Are you sick?!"
Shang Mu reacted and ran over to hug him: "Stop hitting me! You misunderstood!"
Zhou Wangchuan ignored him and was about to punch him again, but Shang Mu grabbed his wrist and said, "Let him go first. Let me tell you the whole story."
The voice was cold and calm, and then softened a little: "Brother Zhou."
After a while of confrontation, Zhou Wangchuan let go of his hand.
The strange man seemed to have understood what was happening. As he ran away, he shouted, "Why are you looking for a fight outside when you have someone as good at fighting as you at home?"
That afternoon, Zhou Wangchuan sat by the bed in the hotel, listening to Shang Mu tell him some incredible things, and came into contact with things he had never imagined in the past -
There are people in this world who delight in pain. To them, pain is like cigarettes, alcohol, or an inescapable addiction. Some enjoy inflicting pain, while others enjoy receiving it. Therefore, people in this circle are divided into "givers" and "receivers."
They have bulletin boards, forums, and group chats to share their thoughts and experiences, give to those who want to receive, and receive those who want to give, and make appointments for "practice."
Shang Mu told him that this afternoon was just another ordinary practice.
Zhou Wangchuan looked through the forums and group chats that Shang Mu had found for him. The group was enthusiastically discussing experiences of self-abuse.
"Three mustard capsules. Caused a burning discomfort in the stomach and several episodes of vomiting. The pain subsided after two hours. Suitable for beginners."
"Brother, is there anything more direct? I've tried mustard capsules and chili capsules, but I don't like the burning feeling in my stomach. I just want the pure pain!"
"Then try KCL, but it has side effects. It's okay to try it occasionally, but don't try it often."
"Looking for someone to practice with! I'm a newbie here, and your IP is pretty close to mine. Can we chat privately?"
…
…
Zhou Wangchuan looked at it silently for a while, then looked at the bedside table - mustard, capsule shells, ice cubes, and thin gloves.
"No..." Zhou Wangchuan rubbed his face and took a deep breath. "You just said that you were just here to practice this afternoon - what do external and internal abuse mean?"
Shang Mu had completely relaxed, leaning against the headboard, and said nonchalantly, "Internal abuse is drug abuse, which causes internal pain. External force is just direct beatings, using fists or feet."
Zhou Wangchuan stared at him blankly. "So, you went to that man just now just to have him punch you in the stomach because you like the feeling of pain?"
He is a gastroenterologist who sees countless patients with gastrointestinal problems every day. To get rid of their pain, patients follow the doctor's orders, take medicine and go for checkups to relieve their pain. However, some people are actively seeking treatment for their illnesses online.
Shang Mu smiled leisurely, his eyes lighting up with anticipation. He leaned over and asked in a coquettish tone, "So, now that you know, will you hit me?"
Zhou Wangchuan remembered another thing. The question Shang Mu asked him on the day of the graduation ceremony turned out to be this.
But he didn't understand. Shang Mu was clearly dating him because she wanted to be beaten by him. So why did Shang Mu still date him even though he had clearly stated that he would not hit anyone?
Zhou Wangchuan stopped at the door of 1205, but before he could knock, the door opened by itself.
A man came out and smiled when he saw him: "Doctor Zhou is here. He just finished. He had a great time today."
Zhou Wangchuan twitched the corners of his mouth.
He pushed the door open and closed it silently.
Shang Mu was leaning against the headboard, his thin, pure white shirt two buttons undone, revealing his elegant, pale collarbone. After a satisfying sage's time, his expression was a little languid, with a hint of weariness, and a slender mint cigarette was tucked between his slender fingers.
Perhaps because of the pain just now, his face was as white as paper, and the fingers holding the cigarette were trembling slightly. When he heard the sound, he looked up, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and before Zhou Wangchuan could speak, he blocked all other words with four words.
"Brother Zhou, it hurts."
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