When Wen Shuyao received a call from Xu Zhi, he was in the office enjoying the air conditioning. He had just opened a colleague’s takeout container of rice noodles when the phone rang.
“Xiao Zhi?” Wen Shuyao stopped what he was doing and listened to the phone intently.
“Shuyao,” Xu Zhi’s voice came from the phone, “Do you have time now? I want to go to your hospital.”
Wen Shuyao paused as he split the chopsticks. He put the lid back on the packing box and sat up slightly, “I have time; are you feeling unwell?”
“It’s not me,” Xu Zhi said hesitantly. He faltered for a long time before saying, “It’s a friend.”
“Which friend?” Wen Shuyao asked.
“You don’t know him,” Xu Zhi answered quickly, but his tone was a little vague, “Then I’ll be there in a moment.”
After saying that, he hung up the phone without giving Wen Shuyao a chance to ask further questions.
Wen Shuyao frowned at the busy tone on the phone. He knew almost all of Xu Zhi’s friends.
Xu Zhi arrived at the clinic half an hour after hanging up the phone, and Wen Shuyao came out to pick them up in person.
Xu Zhi noticed that Wen Shuyao’s eyes turned on Zhou Mu.
So, Xu Zhi quietly moved to the side, trying to block Wen Shuyao’s sight.
“Xiao Zhi,” Wen Shuyao tilted his head towards Xu Zhi, but did not look away. He asked Xu Zhi, “Your friend?”
Xu Zhi’s Adam’s apple twitched, and he hesitated whether he should tell the truth to Wen Shuyao. After all, this matter was very serious, so he subconsciously looked at Zhou Mu.
Zhou Mu looked at him and volunteered to step forward.
“Hello,” Zhou Mu walked up to Wen Shuyao and stood in front of Xu Zhi, “I am Zhou Mu, and I am Xu Zhi’s college classmate.”
Xu Zhi couldn’t see Zhou Mu’s expression, but he saw Wen Shuyao’s expression suddenly become serious.
An alarm bell rang in Xu Zhi’s heart. He quickly followed Zhou Mu’s words and said, “He is not feeling well. I brought him in for a checkup.”
“What kind of checkup?” Wen Shuyao asked.
“In all aspects,” Xu Zhi said, “Do everything you can.”
“Zhou Mu?” Wen Shuyao didn’t look at Xu Zhi. He looked at Zhou Mu a few times, as if he had something to ask.
“Shuyao,” Xu Zhi said to stop Wen Shuyao. He stretched out his hand to hold Wen Shuyao’s shoulders, changed the direction, and pushed him towards the hospital, “I’ll tell you later.”
Wen Shuyao nodded, turned back and glanced at Zhou Mu, and said in an authoritative tone, “Come in.”
They walked to the triage desk, where Wen Shuyao exchanged a few words with a nurse. Then, they were led to undergo some basic medical examinations.
As they proceeded, Zhou Mu walked ahead but suddenly turned back to give a glance at Xu Zhi. They locked eyes, and Zhou Mu playfully winked at him, looking rather pleased with himself.
Like a primary school student who succeeded in his scheme.
“Childish.” Xu Zhi whispered, and the corners of his mouth turned up unconsciously. Though the expression was subtle, it was the first vivid one on Xu Zhi’s face since that morning.
Wen Shuyao majored in psychology, so he did not personally participate in Zhou Mu’s physical examination but left it to the doctor on duty to arrange it.
He seemed to understand the potential risks associated with his identity and, therefore, remained quite subdued.
There was only occasional eye contact with Xu Zhi, although Xu Zhi always pretended to look away.
Zhou Mu’s first examination was a cardiac color ultrasound. Wen Shuyao stopped Xu Zhi after watching the nurse lead him into the color ultrasound room.
“Xiao Zhi,” Wen Shuyao came over and asked with great concern, “How are you doing lately?”
Wen Shuyao’s question only addressed Xu Zhi’s emotional and mental issues.
Xu Zhi has suffered from severe anxiety since he was a teenager. Wen Shuyao has been Xu Zhi’s doctor since he started working in the psychology industry.
This question is easy to answer. Xu Zhi thought about it. The last time he felt nervous was when he found Zhou Mu in bed this morning.
But Xu Zhi believed that it was extremely reasonable to be nervous in that situation, so he chose to hide it.
“No,” Xu Zhi shook his head and said, “Everything is normal.”
“Really?” Wen Shuyao looked at Xu Zhi intently and asked slowly.
This made Xu Zhi feel that Wen Shuyao had discovered that he was lying.
“Yeah.” Xu Zhi still nodded and looked away, trying to avoid looking at Wen Shuyao.
Wen Shuyao didn’t ask any more questions. He turned around and walked in the opposite direction, the hem of his white coat fluttering up, “The checkup will take a while, so go sit in my office for a while.”
Xu Zhi nodded and followed. He knew that Wen Shuyao didn’t believe him.
Wen Shuyao’s office was on the floor above the color cardiac ultrasound room. They didn’t take the elevator but went straight up the stairs.
The hospital is not large. Because it is private and charges higher fees, there are not many people coming, so only the two of them are walking up the stairs.
Xu Zhi stared at Wen Shuyao’s slightly swaying hem of his white coat for a while, feeling a little frightened.
Wen Shuyao walked to the office, closed the door, and asked Xu Zhi to sit down.
There was a set of sofas on the left side of the door. Xu Zhi sat on the single sofa against the wall as usual. Wen Shuyao poured him a glass of water and sat opposite him.
Xu Zhi reached out and turned the water glass, aligning the handle with a marble pattern on the table.
“Tell me,” Wen Shuyao relaxed on the sofa and raised his chin towards the door, “Who is that person?”
“College classmate,” Xu Zhi insisted and added, trying to sound clever, “We haven’t met in a while, so you wouldn’t recognize him.”
Wen Shuyao didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he stood up, and walked to the window, and closed the gauze curtain.
The sun was very strong at noon. After the gauze curtain was closed, the excessive light was weakened, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became a little lazy.
This is Wen Shuyao’s usual routine when providing psychological counseling to Xu Zhi, using a comfortable environment to lower Xu Zhi’s vigilance.
“Do you think I believe it?” Wen Shuyao returned to the sofa and sat down. He elegantly picked up the cup and took a sip of water, waiting for Xu Zhi to confess.
Xu Zhi stared at Wen Shuyao’s work badge on the left chest of his white coat, silently resisting.
As one of Xu Zhi’s few friends, Wen Shuyao was someone Xu Zhi could completely trust. However, the fewer people who knew about Zhou Mu’s existence, the better.
Wen Shuyao’s professional ability is beyond doubt. If he insists on asking, Xu Zhi has no ability to resist and can only remain silent.
But what surprised Xu Zhi was that Wen Shuyao seemed to have gone astray.
“He is wearing your clothes,” Wen Shuyao put down his cup and expressed his conclusion, “You are living together.”
Xu Zhi was stunned when he was asked and opened his mouth to refute, but decided not to say anything when the words came to his mouth. This was much better than Wen Shuyao asking about Zhou Mu’s identity.
“Boyfriend?” Wen Shuyao asked.
“No.” Xu Zhi answered quickly this time.
“Then a one-night stand,” Wen Shuyao leaned back on the sofa and lazily rolled his shoulder joints, “Is that right?”
Xu Zhi wanted to say that the two were not lovers, but he suddenly thought that when he woke up in the morning, he and Zhou Mu were naked and hugging each other, so the words fell silent.
He had no choice but to continue to remain silent.
“Not bad,” Wen Shuyao nodded when he saw that he didn’t deny it, and evaluated Zhou Mu objectively, “Looks like someone you would like.”
Xu Zhi thought about it and realized that if he was looking for a boyfriend or a one-night stand, Zhou Mu would indeed be the one he would choose.
But that is assuming that Zhou Mu is a concrete, real human being.
“How did you meet?” Wen Shuyao asked again.
This question is easy to answer. A normal person can answer it within one second, but Xu Zhi can’t, so he decided to beg for mercy.
“Brother Wen,” Xu Zhi said, “Don’t ask.”
Xu Zhi’s voice had a nasal sound, and his cold voice became soft and waxy. This was his usual coquettish technique, and he was very familiar with using it to deal with Wen Shuyao.
Wen Shuyao raised his eyes and looked at him, but he didn’t insist anymore. He casually raised his legs and pointed at Xu Zhi’s eyes, “Have you not slept well recently?”
Xu Zhi touched his eyes with his fingers and felt nothing. He picked up the water and took a sip. He thought about his recent sleep status and shook his head, “No, I slept very regularly.”
Wen Shuyao sighed, took out a small round mirror from under the coffee table, and handed it to him, “The dark circles under your eyes are about to fall to your chin.”
Xu Zhi took the mirror and looked at it, then quickly put it down and said nonchalantly, “It’ll be gone after just two sleeps.”
“Come to my hospital in two days. I’ll reserve an entire afternoon for you, and I’ll provide you with some psychological counseling,” said Wen Shuyao, disregarding his somewhat presumptuous tone.
“Okay,” Xu Zhi agreed vaguely, “I understand.”
Wen Shuyao glanced at him, took out the pen from his breast pocket, walked behind the desk, sat down, and wrote a few lines, “Bring back some medicine to aid with your sleep.”
The sleeping aid prescribed by Wen Shuyao is very strong. Usually when he first takes it, Xu Zhi always falls asleep in a daze, so Xu Zhi opened his mouth to refuse.
But Wen Shuyao didn’t give him a chance. He folded the paper a few times and put it in his pocket. “I have an appointment with the patient soon. You can sit by yourself for a while.”
After saying that, he walked out of the office.
