Chapter 38
The person in his arms slept peacefully, breathing steadily, leaning against his chest in complete relaxation.
Zhou Wangchuan gently loosened his arms, and Shang Mu immediately moved restlessly. He stuffed the long plush pillow into Shang Mu's arms, and touched the soft hair soothingly. The sleeping person gradually calmed down.
He tiptoed out of the bedroom and went to the study.
Sitting at his desk, Zhou Wangchuan closed his eyes and carefully recalled every word Shang Mu had said to him. It took him five minutes to shed his emotions and regain his composure.
He couldn't let his emotions get the better of him, especially at this moment. He needed absolute rationality to try to find a path to healing amidst the chaos and confusion of events.
Twenty minutes later, Zhou Wangchuan opened his eyes and picked up a pen to write a few lines in his notebook. The entire page was densely packed with words, representing his analysis and deductions of Shang Mu's condition over the past few months. With tonight's clues, his deductions were now complete.
Shang Mu won't agree to see a psychiatrist, so he will be the psychiatrist.
Zhou Wangchuan pulled out a thick volume of medical records and flipped through it, searching for similar cases. He called a senior professor abroad and asked a few questions. As the sky began to brighten, he had a clue about a possible treatment.
At this moment, the study door was pushed open. Shang Mu stood at the doorway and asked dazedly, "...Why aren't you sleeping?"
"Look up some information," Zhou Wangchuan said. He was a little emotional tonight and had momentarily forgotten Shang Mu's "autopilot" function.
He closed his computer and walked towards the door. Shang Mu was too sleepy to open his eyes, and he dozed off while hanging on his shoulder. Zhou Wangchuan took him back to the bed and looked at him as he fell asleep again, but he still couldn't sleep.
Two hours later, the morning sun streamed into the room. Zhou Wangchuan bent down and kissed Shang Mu's forehead to wake him up.
Shang Mu rubbed his eyes and asked sleepily, "What time is it?"
"8:30." Zhou Wangchuan said, "Get up and have breakfast."
"Sleepy..." Shang Mu buried his face in the pillow, "Sleep a little longer."
Zhou Wangchuan rubbed his cheek with his knuckles and said, "You snore when you sleep."
Shang Mu's eyes widened in a flash, and he immediately came to his senses. He retorted, "Impossible! No false accusations!"
Zhou Wangchuan laughed muffledly: "I was kidding. He slept so well that he didn't even turn over all night."
Shang Mu was shocked: "Why did you lie to me?"
"I'm here to help you wake up." Zhou Wangchuan put his arm around his shoulders and asked him to sit up. "It's time for breakfast. You can't go hungry."
Shang Mu uttered an "oh", rubbed his eyes, and looked at him intently: "Didn't you sleep well? You don't look well."
It’s not that he didn’t sleep well, it’s just that he didn’t sleep all night. He leaned on the bed and watched all night, regretting why he didn’t meet her earlier.
Zhou Wangchuan said, "Just take a nap at noon."
After a few words, Shang Mu woke up, got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash up. Zhou Wangchuan followed him, helped him squeeze the toothpaste, and filled the mouthwash cup with water.
Shang Mu looked at him strangely: "You're being so attentive for no reason."
Zhou Wangchuan leaned against the door frame and smiled when he heard this: "I just want to take better care of you."
When their eyes met, Shang Mu understood what he meant.
"You don't need to feel that you owe me anything or want to compensate me. We didn't know each other back then, so you don't need to blame yourself." Shang Mu scooped up a handful of water and washed the foam off his face. "I'm not telling you that story to make you pity me. Don't do this, there's no need."
"But I just want to be good to you and take care of you. What can I do?" Zhou Wangchuan handed him a towel and wiped the water droplets on his chin with his fingers.
Shang Mu paused, not saying anything. It was so heartwarming that he couldn't say no.
Zhou Wangchuan sighed silently in his heart. How could he not feel indebted? Love is always a feeling of indebtedness.
After dinner, Zhou Wangchuan had to go to the hospital to be on duty. He couldn't let Shang Mu out of his sight, so he pulled Shang Mu with him.
While waiting for someone in the car, Zhou Wangchuan felt sleepy and fell asleep leaning against the back of the driver's seat. When he woke up, he found Shang Mu sitting in the passenger seat, playing a mobile game.
"Awake?" Shang Mu didn't look at him, concentrating on playing the game. "You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?"
Zhou Wangchuan sat up straight and asked in a hoarse voice, "What time is it?"
"Well, you slept for an hour."
"Sorry." Zhou Wangchuan rubbed his eyebrows and fastened his seat belt, but heard a snap and the seat belt was bounced open again.
Shang Mu withdrew his hand and sighed, "Switch seats, I'll drive. I'm worried about our safety given your mental state."
All afternoon, Zhou Wangchuan kept glancing at the sofa in the corner while he saw patients. Shang Mu was leaning back on the sofa, flipping through a magazine. He found Shang Mu's gaze odd, but since they were all around, he picked up his phone and started typing.
The phone on the table vibrated, and Zhou Wangchuan glanced at it.
"One visit costs 1,000."
Then, Shang Mu's phone vibrated. "100,000 yuan has been deposited into your bank card ending in XXXX."
At the same time, a message came in, "Save it a hundred times first."
Shang Mu: “…”
After the last patient left, Zhou Wangchuan locked the door of the clinic.
The steel bed in the inner lounge was old and in disrepair. It couldn't bear the weight of two grown men, and it creaked as it rocked, like the rusty parts of a robot. Finally, one of the legs broke, and the bed was completely scrapped.
In the last two days of the Chinese New Year, Zhou Wangchuan coaxed and persuaded Shang Mu, and finally took him to get a full body check-up.
Shang Mu was getting impatient with all the tests. In the end, his face turned sour and he said angrily, "I'm in good health. I've said that before! Also, I'm not mentally ill and don't need psychological treatment. Don't try to force me."
The two of them were in the car, and Zhou Wangchuan coaxed her readily, "It's not that I think you're not in good health, it's just your annual physical examination. You should feel at ease after the checkup, right?"
Shang Mu added: "I don't accept psychological treatment."
Zhou Wangchuan patted his back: "Okay."
But in fact, he has already confirmed the treatment.
He couldn't let Shang Mu continue on this path of abdominal torture; this was his bottom line, and it was also his duty as a lover and a doctor. But he knew he had to adopt a gentle, tender approach.
Over the past few days, he has read countless psychology books, looked at countless cases, and consulted almost all experts in this field to confirm the treatment plan.
Every word the psychologist says can be a subtle guidance. He needs to grasp the degree and quantity, so as not to alarm Shang Mu, and slowly, gradually guide and change him in their daily interactions.
This is a great test of a psychiatrist's ability, and Zhou Wangchuan had never been exposed to this field before. Fortunately, he fully understood his patient, who was also his lover.
Every twenty days or so, Shang Mu would need to be satiated. If he couldn't get enough, he would become restless and his moods would fluctuate wildly. Even the slightest stimulation could make him lose control. Zhou Wangchuan envisioned extending the intervals between attacks. Once the intervals were long enough, he would then use mild withdrawal management to ultimately cure the problem.
Each step is gradual, which is the most reasonable treatment path.
After nearly twenty days of verbal guidance and subtle behavioral influence, Shang Mu accepted the treatment without even realizing it. Zhou Wangchuan was even apprehensive during the process, fearing that Shang Mu would discover he was treating him and respond with resistance and isolation.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
Twenty days passed, and it was time for Shang Mu to attack. Zhou Wangchuan looked calm on the surface, but was nervous in his heart, observing silently.
At that time, the two of them were watching TV on the sofa. Shang Mu lazily rested his head on his legs, laughing from time to time at the plot of the TV series. He was very relaxed. Finally, Shang Mu fell asleep to the melodious song of the ending theme.
Zhou Wangchuan felt relieved - Shang Mu's mood was very stable and peaceful, and the "outburst" was delayed.
This proved that the treatment was effective and he could continue.
Although I don’t know how long the “attack” will be delayed, but taking it step by step, first reducing the frequency and then completely curing it, everything is moving in the right direction.
-
After the first month of the lunar year, the temperature starts to rise and the new season's spring clothes will soon be on the market.
At the end of last year, Shang Mu moved from the front stage to behind the scenes, serving as the chief designer of the branch and editor-in-chief of the magazine. This was his first new product launch after the role change, and he put a lot of effort into it.
However, ten minutes before the discussion meeting on the release date of the new product began, Shang Mu's condition began to become abnormal.
A sudden stomachache hit him, and in just a few seconds, his innermost clothes were soaked with sweat.
Assistant Sister Zheng stood at the door and told him that the meeting would end in ten minutes.
Shang Mu couldn't quite speak, so he paused for several seconds before saying, "You go first, I'll be right there."
After everyone left, Shang Mu tremblingly opened the drawer on his right. Inside was a box of medicine. He had been suffering from nervous gastritis during that time, and would suffer stomachaches when he was upset. Zhou Wangchuan had given him this box of medicine, telling him to take a pill whenever he felt unwell.
It is said that iced coffee has analgesic effects, so he swallowed three pills with his iced American coffee.
There are eight minutes left until the meeting starts.
A gray mist formed before Shang Mu's eyes. The sharp pain in his stomach rippled through his waist and spine. He bent slightly, pressing his trembling knuckles firmly against his upper abdomen while taking a deep breath, holding it, and slowly exhaling. After repeating this several times, his vision cleared.
He stood up by supporting himself on the table, but for a moment he almost fell back down due to the severe pain. He gripped the edge of the table tightly with his fingers, barely supporting himself.
There are five minutes left until the meeting starts.
My stomach hurts so much.
The thought of canceling the meeting crossed his mind, but he dismissed it in a split second. He was the lead designer, and this was his first season promoting new products as the lead designer. The other designers were waiting for him in the conference room. This meeting would finalize the concept and release date for the new spring collection.
This meeting was incredibly important. He was the young chief designer, and he had a perfect design, and now he had to convince everyone.
He walked to the door, paused, and held onto the doorframe. He closed his eyes and recalled the way Zhou Wangchuan had massaged his stomach to relieve the pain, pressing it with the base of his palm, violently and stiffly. Perhaps the medicine was taking effect; he felt better.
Shang Mu arrived at the meeting room on time.
The meeting lasted an hour, and the pain intensified. His stomach was cramping and spasming violently. Shang Mu's face was as pale as paper, and his voice was very soft. Every time he spoke, it was like broken glass scratching, piercing, and piercing his stomach.
But he endured it in the end.
Zhou Wangchuan was right. When facing other people, he was indeed able to endure pain.
In the middle of the meeting, the assistant kept looking at him with concern, but he rejected her gaze.
After it was over, Shang Mu could no longer see clearly. All he could see were patches of dim light. He didn't know how he got back to the office. He felt like there was a hole in his stomach, tearing, twisting, and piercing. The pain was like the deep sea, drowning him and making him breathless.
He felt his assistant following him, saying something. He couldn't make it out, so he nodded vaguely. A cup of hot water was handed to him, and he felt like vomiting. The next moment, the water was stained red with blood.
He heard people screaming nearby.
At that moment, Shang Mu felt relieved. He had been waiting for this day for a long time. He knew it would come sooner or later—retribution would come sooner or later.
After so many years of brutality, so many punches, so many drugs, and so many times of pain in his abdominal organs, how could he not be retaliated against?
The pain tore him in two, and he subconsciously reached out and grabbed the phone on the table. He wanted to open the address book and dial the first number, but as more blood gushed out, he didn't even have the strength to open his eyes, and his hand fell limply.
"Help me find..." he said almost breathlessly, "find him."
Several people rushed over to help him lie down. The assistant unlocked his phone and said something anxiously to the person on the other end of the line.
Shang Mu tried hard to listen, but he could hear nothing.
The assistant came up to him and shouted something anxiously, but only a few words could be heard: "Zhou... immediately..."
"Hold on..."
Shang Mu felt like he was floating in a vacuum, everything around him was covered in a veil. His soul was out of his body, looking down at the ground from the air. He felt like he was about to die.
After an unknown amount of time, he fell down and returned to the solid earth, and his senses recovered.
A pair of arms wrapped around him tightly, a familiar scent enveloping him.
He picked out the scent of cedar aftershave amidst the blood, a scent he had chosen specifically. He had smelled it just this morning.
"The ambulance is downstairs, let's go to the hospital right away." The voice was close to his ear. "Don't be afraid, it's okay, I'm here."
Shang Mu loosened his fingers, closed his eyes, and completely lost consciousness.
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