Chapter 18
"Then let's break up."
He might have rehearsed this countless times before, but when this sentence was actually said, Zhou Wangchuan still felt that he had overestimated himself.
He remained silent, his gaze passing over Shang Mu's shoulder and landing on the daffodils on the balcony. The frosty moonlight caressed the petals, gentle as water.
Shang Mu looked at him coldly and continued, "Isn't this what you've always wanted? Why do you have to act like this? Pretending not to break up, just to protect my self-esteem and feelings?"
"Do you think you love me? It's just that your overflowing, unfocused, self-righteous love needed a recipient, so you found me! You're just addicted to high-handed charity, obsessed with portraying yourself as a compassionate moral role model!"
Shang Mu took a few breaths, then continued his barrage, seemingly unable to stop. "Do you think you're kind, compassionate, and understanding? You're only touching yourself, wanting to feel superior! You're helping patients who can't afford medical expenses and giving them your phone number so they can consult you at any time. Do you think they'll be grateful to you?! The only person you've touched this entire time is yourself!"
A trace of confusion appeared on Zhou Wangchuan's face. He moved his lips but no words came out.
"When you were in school, you secretly paid for someone's medical expenses. Did you ever ask for their opinion? Did they need it? You were so self-righteous, you only satisfied your own desires!"
Zhou Wangchuan finally came to his senses. He stared blankly and speechlessly at the person before him, his expression dazed. It was as if someone close to him had stabbed him in the back, or as if, in the nick of time, his most trusted comrade had turned his gun on him.
Shang Mu laughed coldly, and then, seemingly unable to stop, continued, "Ask yourself, why did you choose to be a doctor? Was it really because you wanted to save lives, to help people? Or was it because you needed an outlet for your overflowing, useless love that had nowhere to go?"
"Do you really think others will appreciate you?"
"You..." Zhou Wangchuan took a deep breath and finally spoke, but only one word came out, nothing else.
Throughout his medical career, he had been questioned by many. Human nature is inherently evil, and he didn't care about the slander and gossip from strangers. But when even those closest to him turned against him, the values he had held as his guiding principle for so many years began to crumble.
Shang Mu turned around irritably and stopped looking at him: "I'm leaving, so we'll never see each other again." He didn't know what he said. He knew those words were hurtful, but he couldn't control himself.
But his shoulders were held down.
"You stay." Zhou Wangchuan finally managed to speak, his voice hoarse as a broken gong: "I'm leaving."
He didn't respond to what had just been said, but hurried to the bedroom to pack two sets of clothes. He didn't even take the bag, but draped the clothes over his arm, his expression dazed. He stopped at the door, turned around and said, "I'm going to attend a seminar abroad, you..."
He paused, as if he didn't know what to say next. After being silent for more than ten seconds, he left without even closing the door, stumbling a bit on the way.
Shang Mu heard the ding of the elevator arriving, then the elevator door opened, closed, and the elevator went down.
He stood in the middle of the living room with an expressionless face, not knowing how long he had been standing there. Half an hour later, he packed his luggage and took one last look back at the living room.
This home, filled bit by bit by him and Zhou Wangchuan, was their shared home. During that time, he was obsessed with buying furniture: one day, a shoe cabinet; the next, a flower stand; the day after, a vase with a different pattern. He favored novelty over the old, and he would regularly change up the furnishings.
"The table is moved here, and when we eat, we sit north-south, facing the sun."
"The color of the study door frame doesn't match the decor of our house. I contacted a worker to replace it this weekend."
"Don't you think the wardrobe looks too bulky? It's just a big dark block sticking out there. It's too depressing. I think..."
Zhou Wangchuan always leaned against the door frame, listened to him with a smile, and nodded in agreement from time to time.
He was unhappy and pressed, "Can't you express your opinion?"
Zhou Wangchuan would pretend to ponder for a moment and say, "Wouldn't green be better?" or "Then don't have a wardrobe?"
He sneered: "You'd better keep quiet."
Zhou Wangchuan smiled and said, "You chose the best one."
The sound of wind chimes brought Shang Mu back to consciousness. He walked to the balcony and touched the gilded birdcage hanging there. When they first moved in, they had raised a pair of birds, one blue and one green. The cage door was often open, and Little Blue and Little Green loved to perch on the flowers and leaves. Their feathers were deep and pure, resembling two gems from a distance.
But six months later, the two birds flew away. Zhou Wangchuan had this problem: even if he raised birds, he would not keep them locked up.
Shang Mu returned to the study. There were two locked drawers under the desk, one for him and one for Zhou Wangchuan. He opened his own drawer and put everything inside into his suitcase.
Then he squatted there, grabbed the golden handle of Zhou Wangchuan's drawer, and shook it roughly. But the lock was of good quality and did not open.
Shang Mu let go and stood up. He stood there for a while and gave up the idea of going to the kitchen to get a kitchen knife.
When he left the study, he looked back again. The walls were covered with banners and certificates. The golden and red colors were not beautiful. He had long found them an eyesore, but Zhou Wangchuan treasured them very much.
Now that he had calmed down, he realized that his last words had been excessive, but what did it matter? He had already lost him.
The wheels of the suitcase rolled over the door threshold with a clang, illuminating the sound-activated lights in the corridor. Shang Mu pressed the elevator button and waited quietly. Soon the elevator arrived, and he pulled the suitcase in. The moment he turned around, his eyes glanced at the door -
There hangs a bunch of keys.
I think Zhou Wangchuan was so distraught when he left that he even forgot to take his keys.
Shang Mu looked at that place. There was a small brass key in the bunch. The shape was very familiar, exactly the same as the key he had just used to open the drawer.
*
After leaving home, Zhou Wangchuan drove aimlessly, his wheels rolling through the bustling city, leaving behind the laughter and noise, and entering the dark and deserted suburbs.
The car drove forward along the river bank with the windows wide open, and the cool night breeze rolled in.
"Do you think you are kind, compassionate, and understanding?"
"You are just addicted to the charity from above!"
"Do you think they'll really be grateful to you?!"
…
…
The sound echoed in his ears over and over again. Zhou Wangchuan slammed on the brakes. The tires made a sharp bang as they scraped against the ground, and the air was filled with a faint smell of burning.
He parked the car on the side of the road, walked to the fence, lit a cigarette, and looked at the sparkling river water below.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival when the moon is full, the water reflects the moonlight and the river is filled with tranquility.
The cigarette butt flickered between his fingertips. Zhou Wangchuan stood by the river and thought quietly about where they started to go wrong.
The first sight should be right.
He kept a diary in which he recorded that day. He had a photographic memory and remembered the date and contents of the diary clearly.
[June 12, XX, sunny.]
There were a few roses in a vase on the windowsill. I don't know who gave them to me. The flowers were beautiful, especially in the evening when the sun shone on the petals.
A patient came in near the end of my shift. He was a freshman, a junior student majoring in design. He was handsome, but he looked a little pale because he wasn't feeling well. Ugh, I was focusing on the wrong thing. I'm a doctor, not someone who focuses on a patient's appearance.
I gave him an IV drip and then I was off duty, and then—hey, guess what? This guy actually—pulled out the needle and ran away! Amazing, this is something you only see once in a century!
Wow, that guy's really good with his punches and kicks, knocking down three guys in a flurry. The three guys I knocked down could at least stand up by holding onto the wall, but he was beaten so badly that he just lay on the ground wailing and couldn't get up. This guy saw me and tried to run, but I caught him decisively.
No, little brother, your face was pale from stomachache half an hour ago, how come you can fight so well now?
When I helped him up, I felt his shoulder blade. He was a bit thin. Although he could fight, he probably couldn't beat me. Okay, then we'll send him back to the school hospital under armed escort.
After the injection, he was much more obedient. I don't know what he was looking at, but he kept staring at me. I didn't see anything on my face. I bought him a hot water bottle, and he was very good, holding it in my arms the whole time.
My father called me halfway and asked me to help him go to the jewelry store to pick up the necklace he had customized for my mother.
Before leaving, the junior looked at me obediently. "Oh, I won't be fooled again," he said. "I decisively asked the nurse to help keep watch over me. Don't even think about escaping again." If the hard part comes, I'll use the soft part. I gave him two roses.
I went to the jewelry store to pick up the necklace, and my mother loves it. She hasn't been in good health since she had surgery a few years ago. I've been studying Chinese medicine recently, hoping to help her recover. Also, keeping a good mood every day is good for your health. :P
I wonder if that junior brother's IV drip is finished yet? Anyway, this is the first time I've seen someone so good-looking.
Ahem, stop, let me just recite the medical principles I invented (treat all patients equally, regardless of their wealth, age, appearance, or appearance…) [The words “appearance” and “ugliness” are double-circled for emphasis.]
It's twelve o'clock, go to bed. 】
A cool breeze blew from the dam, and the cigarette butt had burned out, so Zhou Wangchuan lit another one.
There should be nothing wrong with the second meeting.
[June 28, XX, sunny.]
While helping out in Uncle Xu's clinic, I met my junior again.
Oh my god, I don't know what deep hatred he has, he really wants to beat me to death. The man on the ground is almost dying, but my junior brother is still holding me tightly, asking me not to save him.
If you don't save me, you'll be in jail tomorrow...
But he looked at me like this, his eyes calm, yet concealing a madness. His fingers were cold, gripping my wrist. He repeated the words mechanically.
I felt like he was going to break.
I don't want him to break.
So I took his hand and took him to the clinic to treat his wound.
He seemed dazed, his whole body feeling dizzy and a little dazed. He didn't say anything even though he was hurt, and stared at me blankly, like a dazed little rabbit that had been drugged.
I teased him on purpose, asking him which cave on the mountain he lived in, how many brothers and sisters he had, and whether his food was steamed or braised.
He was still staring at me stupidly.
Well, I told a bad joke that wasn't funny, so I had to make an excuse to get a tetanus shot to cover up the embarrassment.
While getting the injection, he finally spoke. It turned out that he had such a story. No wonder he wanted to kill the man just now.
Before I could figure out how to comfort him, he returned to his calm and indifferent self, like a little hedgehog with its spikes erected.
When I sent him back to school, I bought him a rose, hoping he would be in a good mood.
He accepted it.
Okay, go to sleep. 】
The subsequent meetings should also be correct.
[July 13, XX, sunny.]
Today I went to Liulin to feed the cats and saw a girl confessing her love to my junior. My junior refused and said he didn't like flowers. The girl ran away crying and threw the rose into the trash can.
...Is that an excuse?
I gave it to him twice, and he didn't refuse. Hmm, doesn't he like it...? Should I find another opportunity to give it to him and see if he'll refuse.
Go, what are you thinking about? It's so confusing.
I petted a cat with my junior, and he named it Sixi. The cat loves it.
[October 28, XX, cloudy.]
Recently, I have been raising cats online with my junior and exchanging beautiful photos of Si Xi. He seems to like cats very much.
He came to the school hospital once during this time for a checkup, also because of stomach discomfort. I wrote down a list of recipes and precautions, and I'll give it to him when I have the chance.
[February 2, XX, snow.]
My parents are traveling again and won't be back for the New Year. Gee, they're so sweet.
I swapped shifts with a doctor from the school hospital, letting him go home early for the Lunar New Year while I worked alone. He gave me a box of dumplings he had made himself.
I actually met my junior again.
He was dressed lightly, preferring style over warmth, his hands trembling with cold. He'd cut his finger on a piece of paper, and while I was putting a Band-Aid on it, I couldn't resist holding his hand to warm it.
Watching his back as he walked into the snow, I called him and asked if he wanted to go home with me.
His thoughts suddenly stopped. Zhou Wangchuan supported himself on the fence of the riverbank with one hand, looked at the lighthouse across the river, and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
Yes, that's where the mistake is.
It turns out that everything went wrong from the beginning.
He was too impatient and exposed his feelings, which in turn led to the other party's insight and avoidance.
He still remembers the last paragraph of that diary entry.
My stethoscope rests squarely on my left chest, and my heartbeat is chaotic and rapid. I don't know whether to explain it with Western medicine or Traditional Chinese Medicine. Perhaps neither can explain it. After all, even Qi Huang can't cure a heart disease.
This day's record was not completed, the diary ended here, and the next one followed.
【………………
My dear parents, do you want to kill your own son?!
I solemnly promised my junior that no one was home, but you two had a whole welcoming ceremony!
I can't clear myself of this even if I jump into the Yellow River! If I die, I'll have to dig up my grave in the middle of the night and sit up to cry out my innocence! My lifelong reputation is ruined in an instant!
The way people look at me is like looking at a human trafficker who kidnaps people into the mountains!
…………………… (10,000 words of psychological activities omitted here)
He was speechless. Now that things had come to this, he could only use a polite smile to hide his inner collapse.
I can't sleep tonight either, so I just happened to be looking up some literature. My junior brother got stomachaches from eating fish. What's the logic behind that? He's sleeping next to me now, so I hope he has a good dream.
[February 3, XX, the first day of the new year, sunny.]
After I sent him back to school, he returned the red envelope to me. I lied to him and said that other classmates came to my house for the New Year and my parents also gave red envelopes, so he accepted it.
Of course I was lying to him.
I have never brought anyone else home for the Chinese New Year, and my parents have never given red envelopes to anyone else.
It’s better not to tell him, so as not to make him uncomfortable.
I gave him another rose. He accepted it and didn't say he didn't like it. So, did he lie to that girl by the lake?
Or, he only knows how to accept my flowers.
Ahem. This is so embarrassing. ^_^】
[May 28, XX, sunny.]
I learned some basic knowledge of Chinese medicine and worked in Uncle Xu's clinic for half a month, with him providing guidance.
I also collected more than a dozen cases of difficult and complicated folk diseases and recorded them all. Studying medicine really requires getting down to the basics, using rich examples to construct basic psychological representations. Merely relying on rote learning won't cut it; the correct path is to integrate knowledge and action.
I made a Chinese herbal tea for my mother, hoping it would replenish her qi and blood.
When I went to a used bookstore to buy books, I saw my junior classmate Xiaoshang coming out of the hotel next door, with a boy following him.
Ah... I haven't seen you for several months. Did you go out to date?
He saw me and asked me to take him back to school. The boy next to me glared at me unhappily.
...I am involved in some emotional dispute...
Forget it, I’m in a bad mood, so I’ll just stop here for today. 】
[June 2, XX, cloudy.]
I haven’t written much in my diary recently because I was busy picking up my junior from the hotel.
I don't know how it all started, but one day my junior called me and asked if I could pick him up at the hotel. From then on, it got out of control.
It seemed like I had no way of refusing any of his requests.
Every time I went to pick him up, he was pale and looked unwell. Sometimes I would meet all kinds of men.
I don't know what happened to him that made him need to make money this way. I hinted to him that he could borrow money from me if he needed it, but he just laughed it off.
Today I finally said that.
I said, "Come with me."
I said I didn't care about his past, but I was deceiving myself. I couldn't help but care, but I couldn't bear to watch him struggle in the quagmire.
He was stunned for a moment, but didn't seem surprised. He asked me to wait and think about it.
It's three in the morning and I can't sleep. 】
After the moon disappeared into the clouds, only deep darkness remained on the riverbank. Three cigarette butts had been thrown at his feet. Zhou Wangchuan extinguished his cigarette on the stone bricks, and the last bit of light disappeared.
This, he thought, was the second wrong step.
Shang Mu was right. He always held on to the love and concern that no one cared about, but never considered whether the other party was willing to accept it.
But at that time he had not learned to think carefully, and just relied on his courage to continue on the wrong path.
[June 7, XX, sunny.]
My junior brother answered me amidst the background music of the graduation ceremony.
He said, “Let’s try it.”
I suddenly couldn't hear the music or other people's voices. I looked at him with only one thought in my mind - the little rose is mine, and it will bloom only for me.
[November 15, XX, cloudy.]
I was on a business trip and my baby called me to ask if I could go back to City A today. I said no, and he said "oh" in a very disappointed tone, and then said in a low voice that he was going to play with his classmates.
I suppressed my laughter. He thought I didn't know it was his birthday. How could I not know? This big day only comes once a year, so of course I had prepared a gift long ago.
When the plane landed in the evening, I bought a bunch of his favorite red roses. I pushed open the door of the private room and he looked at me with a mixture of emotions such as surprise, confusion, joy, touching, and disbelief in his eyes. He was like a two-dimensional electric motor that kept releasing emotions. He was so cute.
I kissed him in public, as I had hoped. His face and ears turned red. I sang love songs to him, and he was so shy he couldn't even lift his head. He pulled out all the petals from a rose he was holding. Oh, such an innocent baby, so adorable, I want to pick him up and rub his baldness.
I spent the whole night in bed and didn't sleep. I'm feeling pretty refreshed, writing this on the plane now.
[December 1, XX, sunny.]
Baby took another cover photo, it’s so beautiful, I cut it out and added it to my collection.
PS: If he knew that I have been collecting his cover photos since college, he would definitely think I am a pervert -_-||
Ahem, then hide it well and don’t let him find it.
Actually, it’s nothing special to discover this, it’s just a little fun between lovers…]
[February 5, XX, snow.]
I brought Little Rose home to celebrate the New Year again. He kept saying that I did it on purpose last time so that I could take him home to meet my parents. I felt so wronged... But it doesn't matter. I will take him home sooner or later anyway.
He was a little reserved and fidgety, his eyes following me closely. Even when I went to get some water, he kept looking at me eagerly. I had no choice but to pull him upstairs to the room and kiss him for a long time, and he finally relaxed a little.
He asked me, “Will your parents like me?”
Who wouldn't like such a cute kid?
I hugged him and comforted him for a while, and he finally calmed down.
[April 18, XX, sunny.]
My baby loves the steamed pork ribs and seafood porridge I make. What he doesn't know is that I add some stomach-nourishing Chinese herbs to the porridge. He has a bad stomach and doesn't like taking medicine, which worries me so much that I can only find ways to trick him into eating.
Little Rose is really hard to raise, but it doesn't matter, I will take good care of her. Such a well-behaved and beautiful baby deserves to be treated with respect.
[July 1, XX, cloudy.]
I don’t know what to say. So he agreed to be with me just so I could abuse him?
Or maybe he felt he couldn't let me down, so he just agreed.
Under the silvery moonlight, the slender fingers that were turning the papers paused, and the white fingertips stroked the line of penmanship that was so powerful that it could be seen through the back of the paper.
[October 8, XX, heavy rain.]
The first quarrel.
He went upstairs to find someone else to torture him. I waited for him in the car downstairs. The heavy rain pounded against the windows, making it hard to see the road.
[December 31, XX, cloudy.]
The patient passed away just before New Year's Eve.
After I got home, my baby asked me what was wrong. I told him. He was a little impatient and said I was too sentimental.
Don't bother him with this kind of thing anymore. We haven't had any arguments recently, and the atmosphere is quite harmonious. Cherish this time.
[March 5, XX, cloudy.]
We had another fight. He deleted my WeChat and blocked my phone number. I don’t know what to do.
[June 18, XX, cloudy.]
They quarreled again.
If I can't satisfy his hobbies, he will only hate me more and more.
[August 1, XX, cloudy.]
They quarreled again.
Irritable.
Maybe he's had enough of me.
He stayed not because he loved me, but out of gratitude. Gratitude does not last long.
I don’t know how to keep him.]
…
…
[August 20, XX, sunny.]
We had another fight, and he flew south on a business trip, actually to avoid me.
I tried calling him at night, and he actually answered. I ordered takeout for him, and he ate it obediently, and even said he wanted to go to bed early.
He is so good. I really want to hold him while sleeping.
He is still so obedient, even though he doesn’t love me. 】
[August 27, XX, cloudy.]
For the fifty-third time, I watched his back disappear into the distance.
He no longer loves roses.
It's not the roses he hates, it's me.】
[September 9, XX, sunny.]
He's been hiding in a hotel for a whole week. This afternoon he accidentally took two pills, so I took him to the hospital for gastric lavage. He's lost a lot of weight.
He is crying.
Is it so hard because you are with me?
But every word was so weighty that I couldn't ask aloud.
[September 10, XX, cloudy.]
The conflict had reached a point where it had to be resolved, and he was forcing me to abuse him. I tried to find a solution, but he refused to tell me about his psychological problems.
I saw that man named Fu Nian again, and I really wanted to tie him up and give him a good beating.]
[September 11, XX, cloudy.]
Grandma Xu passed away.]
[September 28, XX, cloudy.]
He's about to break up with me.
There is no way I can keep him.】
The moon quietly peeked out from behind the clouds again, and cigarette butts were scattered on the ground at his feet. Zhou Wangchuan crushed the empty cigarette box and started the car.
He actually didn't have the habit of writing a diary. It all started on June 12 of that year.
The first entry was dated June 12th, that afternoon, the setting sun gently falling on rose petals. Just as he was leaving work, there was a knock on the door. He turned and saw a freshman entering, then heard a clear, soft voice, the sound of a rose blooming.
Before he started writing his first diary, he wrote on the title page a sentence he had read in an ancient book:
Offer this deep heart to the world without seeking any benefit for yourself.
This is his motto in his medical career.
But he is not some bodhisattva who saves all living beings; he is a mortal with countless worldly thoughts. His deep heart and his worldly desires are all concentrated in one person.
Next to the diary entry on June 7, he solemnly wrote this sentence again: "I offer this deep heart to the world of dust." You are my deep heart, and you are also the world of dust.
The car returned to the city along the same route and drove into the hospital.
Over the next few days, Zhou Wangchuan didn't leave the hospital, performing more than a dozen surgeries non-stop. He couldn't stop; he could only use his complete concentration during the surgeries to clear his mind of the noise and the horrific event that had already occurred.
After completing an operation all night, Zhou Wangchuan took off his surgical gown and just left the operating room when he suddenly felt dizzy and had to hold on to the door.
The intern beside him hurriedly supported him: "Doctor Zhou? Doctor Zhou?"
Zhou Wangchuan took a break and waited for the black fog to dissipate: "It's okay."
The nurse poured him some sugar water and joked, "Director Zhou, you're trying to meet your KPI early! We just passed the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it's still a long way to go until the end of the year!"
Zhou Wangchuan smiled and said, "Of course not. I earn money to support my family."
He refused help from others and returned to the office to take his temperature, which was 38.3 degrees. After taking a pill, he went to the lounge inside. When he woke up from a nap, his fever had almost subsided.
He didn't rest, but continued seeing patients. He usually loved to chat casually with his patients, telling them about dietary restrictions and precautions, but today, except for essentials, he said little. He called out the patients one by one, and if he was slow, that voice would linger in his ears.
"Do you think the patient will really be grateful to you? You are just giving away your overflowing love..."
Zhou Wangchuan sighed, rubbed his temples, and said to the person outside the door, "Next."
The person who came in was a middle-aged man. Zhou Wangchuan felt that he looked familiar, but his mind was tired, so he did not ask any more questions.
But the man grinned and said, "Doctor Zhou, it's me! I was here just last month. You asked me to come for a CT scan when I was free. And now, I came here just after the foreman paid me last week. You're right, we can't be careless about our health..."
Zhou Wangchuan now remembered that the man was the migrant worker from last month. Last time, he said he had no medical insurance and asked him to prescribe cheap medicine.
"It's you. How are you feeling recently?" Zhou Wangchuan greeted casually and took his medical record to look through it.
"Very good, very good! Thanks to the medicine you prescribed, Doctor Zhou!" the man kept saying, "We didn't have money back then, and the medicine you prescribed was cheap and good."
"Okay, then go get a CT scan. Come back to me when you get the film." Zhou Wangchuan printed out a form and handed it over. His throat itched, and he tilted his head, covering his lips with his hands, and coughed twice.
"Okay." The man took the order and asked with concern, "Doctor Zhou, do you have a cold? You're treating us, but you should also take care of yourself."
Zhou Wangchuan took a sip of the strong tea on the table, smiled and said, "Thank you, I will pay attention to it."
The man picked up the bag at his feet and put it on the table: "These are salted duck eggs made by my wife. I haven't thanked you for what you did last time. You must accept them."
Zhou Wangchuan declined: "You paid for the medical treatment, and it is my duty to treat you. No need to thank me."
The man insisted, "Doctor Zhou, take them. They're not many, just twelve, all double-yolk eggs. You have a cold, don't you? Go home and make some salted egg yolk porridge. I guarantee you'll get better soon!"
Zhou Wangchuan looked into those eyes, which were filled with pure gratitude. He had never doubted this gratitude in the past six years, but a few days ago, he was shaken by a few words.
"Take it." The man pushed the double-layered orange plastic bag forward.
In front of those eyes, something in Zhou Wangchuan's heart gradually softened, and he stopped resisting: "Thank you."
"You're welcome, you're welcome!" The man grinned happily.
Before going abroad to attend the seminar, Zhou Wangchuan returned to the university.
He first chatted with the teachers, discussing recent medical anecdotes, and then went to the school hospital. Although the group had changed, there were still two or three familiar faces, and it was naturally joyful to see acquaintances.
Not many people use the school hospital's APP anymore. There is only a blurry QR code at the head of the bed in the ward.
Zhou Wangchuan's heart moved and he scanned the QR code to download it.
The APP icon is a golden moon holding a small red cross.
Although he always urged patients to give him a five-star rating in the past, he never downloaded the app to read the reviews. He knew he had done his best and didn't care about other people's opinions.
But this icon feels strangely familiar, as if I have seen it somewhere before.
He couldn't remember it for a moment, so he took a walk along the lake in the willow forest and waited by the bushes for more than ten minutes. A familiar cow cat approached him stealthily.
"Si Xi?" Zhou Wangchuan called.
"Meow~"
Si Xi had grown a lot bigger than before, his fur smooth and shiny. She came over and sniffed him, confirming that he was a familiar person, then she lay on the ground and meowed coquettishly.
Zhou Wangchuan squatted down and touched her belly, chuckled and said, "It seems you are doing well."
Amidst the gentle sound of the wind, the cell phone rang.
Zhou Wangchuan was a little surprised when he saw the caller ID. He pressed the answer button, but all he heard was the sound of shallow breathing.
Both sides were silent for dozens of seconds, and Zhou Wangchuan broke the silence: "What's wrong?"
The other party was silent for more than ten seconds before he said stiffly, "I'm not feeling well."
Zhou Wangchuan asked: "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
"My stomach aches and I can't sleep at night."
"Did you catch a cold, or did you eat something wrong? It would be best if you could describe what kind of pain it is." Zhou Wangchuan said patiently, but felt that there was probably only one possibility, so he added, "If it is..."
"It's not painful." Shang Mu on the opposite side interrupted him irritably, paused for a moment, and then said, "It's just intermittent, cramping pain."
Zhou Wangchuan asked a few more questions, and although Shang Mu's tone was stiff, he answered them one by one.
"There's a red box with a blue border. The pills inside are oval. Just take one. But you have to take it after a meal, not on an empty stomach." Zhou Wangchuan felt that Shang Mu probably didn't want him to know the hotel name and room number, so he gave up the idea of ordering medicine for him and said, "I'll send you the name of the medicine. Ask the hotel front desk to see if they have it."
There was the sound of drawers being opened and rummaging through something, and then Shang Mu slowly recited the name of a string of obscure medicines and asked, "Is that what it's called?"
Zhou Wangchuan was stunned for a moment.
Shang Mu asked again: "Is it found in the second drawer next to the TV cabinet?"
"Yes." Zhou Wangchuan asked softly, "Are you at home?"
Shang Mu hummed coldly.
At this time, Si Xi called out twice cheerfully.
"...You're at school?"
Zhou Wangchuan patted Sixi's head and replied, "Yes."
Shang Mu was silent for a while and asked, "Is she fat?"
"Yeah," Zhou Wangchuan said, "I'll take a picture and send it to you..." He stopped mid-sentence and added, "Sorry."
Shang Mu smiled coldly: "Who cares."
Both sides fell into silence again, leaving only the sound of shallow breathing and the occasional cat meows.
Zhou Wangchuan heard his unsteady breathing and broke the silence by asking, "Are you feeling unwell in your stomach?"
"No."
"The medicine needs to be taken after meals. Pay attention to your diet these few days. I'll give you..." Zhou Wangchuan sighed softly and continued, "I'll order some suitable takeout for you."
He had already anticipated that what awaited him would be a cold "Who cares?" or "What's it to you?"
But Shang Mu was silent for a few seconds, and only said: "Okay."
Then he said something else.
The words were so soft that Zhou Wangchuan thought he had misheard: "...What?"
"I'll tell you." Shang Mu's voice was low and light, hinting at grievance and irritability, as if he was being forced to say it, "...Don't you want me anymore?"
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