DCISBS chapter 27

There’s no actual evidence proving that orgasm can relieve drug addiction.

Lu Nanyang’s suggestion was absurd, aggressive, and utterly inappropriate.

But as his hand slipped under the loose hospital gown and slid down along Xie Quan’s waist, Xie Quan closed his eyes and didn’t resist.

Lu Nanyang’s palm was warm and dry, in stark contrast to Xie Quan’s cold, clammy, and constantly trembling skin.

A bead of sweat slowly slid from Xie Quan’s forehead to the corner of his brow. His breathing quickened, mixing with the ambiguous sounds, tangling the air in the room into a dense, shared rhythm.

He was grateful the light was off. In the darkness, no one could see the other’s face. Only their heated breaths and the overwhelmingly ambiguous touch remained.

Xie Quan’s consciousness floated like it was drifting through clouds, or perhaps sinking into the sea. At the height of it, he gripped Lu Nanyang’s arm tightly, his nails digging into flesh, then gradually relaxed, fingers spreading unconsciously as they traced the veins on his skin.

He smelled a fishy sweetness—slick, aquatic, and numbing, like liquid flowing through his nasal cavity. Outside the window, only remnants of rain remained. There was no moon, no stars. The curtain fluttered slightly as Lu Nanyang’s shadow loomed over him, strands of hair brushing across his cheek.

It was utterly silent—yet too loud. Xie Quan groaned, his arm blindly reaching across the bed, grasping the edge of the blanket.

The hospital bedding wasn’t great quality; squeezing the cover felt like crunching a dried leaf, rustling softly.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around his fingers, and a hoarse voice murmured above him, “Hold onto me.”

Xie Quan flinched like he’d been shocked, yanking his hand back immediately.

“Shit.” Lu Nanyang cursed.

Then, there was no more conversation. Xie Quan let out a final whimper, and the room fell into a long, lingering silence.

Lu Nanyang turned over and sat down next to Xie Quan with a heavy thump, grabbed a tissue to wipe his hands, then flicked on the light with a loud click.

The sudden brightness shattered the illusion—like breaking a dream, or snapping out of a nightmare.

Thank god it didn’t get on the bed.

Lu Nanyang shook his hand. This guy looked half-dead from sickness, yet his endurance was terrifying. His wrist was sore to the point of going numb.

He glanced to the side. Xie Quan had his arm raised to shield his eyes, his brows tightly furrowed, unwilling to adjust to the light. His breathing hadn’t fully steadied yet, chest rising and falling, a thin sheen of sweat covering his skin.

Neither of them spoke at first. An awkward tension hung in the bright, glaring room.

Lu Nanyang wiped between his fingers, tossed the tissue into the trash, then cleared his throat. “How are you feeling?”

Xie Quan turned his head, eyes hidden in the shadow of his arm. He shot a glance at Lu Nanyang. “If you’d taken any longer, I would’ve gone soft.”

Lu Nanyang glared at him, furious. As expected, nothing decent ever came out of that mouth.

“If you ever die, it’ll be because you pissed yourself to death,” he said, yanking the blanket over Xie Quan roughly.

“Not necessarily,” Xie Quan replied lazily. “Could also be from you nagging me to death.”

“….” Lu Nanyang really wanted to ask God if He’d been drunk when He made Xie Quan, to create such a pain in the ass.

He briefly considered just smothering him with the blanket.

As he withdrew his hand, he accidentally brushed against Xie Quan’s fingers under the covers.

They were ice cold, his palm slick with cold sweat.

Lu Nanyang immediately gripped his hand, frowning. “Why are your hands still so cold?”

“If you had even a sliver of medical knowledge, you’d know this,” Xie Quan said, eyes dazed as he stared at the ceiling. “Withdrawal from drug addiction can’t be stopped abruptly. The dosage must be gradually reduced, or it will put more strain on the body.”

Xie Quan knew perfectly well that his dependency on medication wasn’t something a single orgasm could cure. Every cell in his body still screamed for it. But somewhere deep inside, the restlessness had oddly calmed a bit—just enough to let him talk to Lu Nanyang like a normal person.

Lu Nanyang sighed. “How many pills do you usually take at once?”

He’d looked up the information on diazepam. The standard adult dosage was one to two tablets.

“I don’t know,” Xie Quan said tiredly. “Maybe six or seven.”

Lu Nanyang fished out the small bottle from his pocket, counted five pills, and placed them in Xie Quan’s palm.

But Xie Quan didn’t take them. He just moved his fingers slightly and muttered wearily, “I can’t lift my hand.”

He wasn’t lying. He didn’t even have the strength to lie anymore.

If there was one word to describe how he felt right now, it was humiliated.

Being forced to show his most vulnerable side to someone he constantly butted heads with—Lu Nanyang—felt like having a wild beast’s teeth clamped around his throat, unable to move or escape.

But the most humiliating part was that, in this completely powerless moment, he felt… a trace of strange comfort.

Lu Nanyang said nothing. He put the pills in his own mouth, then leaned down to press his lips to Xie Quan’s, transferring the tablets.

This man claimed he couldn’t raise his hand, but his tongue sure worked fine. As soon as Lu Nanyang’s lips touched his, Xie Quan’s tongue darted in and snatched the pills.

Lu Nanyang sat up, just about to find a way to get him some water, when he saw Xie Quan’s throat move—he’d swallowed them dry.

“…You really don’t mind the bitterness, huh,” Lu Nanyang said, taking a sip from the cup himself.

But Xie Quan didn’t respond. He turned his head to the side, eyes closed. His long lashes rested against his cheeks—if it weren’t for his insufferable attitude, he’d look just like Sleeping Beauty.

Lu Nanyang placed the cup back on the nightstand and frowned. “I’m heading out. If you need anything, ring for the nurse. Want the light off?”

Xie Quan didn’t say a word, as silent as a statue.

…Whatever.

Lu Nanyang turned and left the room, not looking back.

….

Xie Quan didn’t follow the doctor’s advice. He checked out after just one day in the hospital.

His WeChat had flooded with messages from teachers, classmates, and patients alike. He spent some time replying to each one, and by the end his hands were sore.

His explanation was uniform: low blood sugar, lack of sleep, thank you for your concern, I’ll rest well.

Shu Ziyi in particular was overly dramatic, sending more than ten messages and calling him three times. Xie Quan declined each video call under the excuse of inconvenience and had to reassure her multiple times before she finally accepted that it was just a case of low blood sugar.

When Xie Quan stepped out of the hospital, the sun was blazing. The scorching sunlight baked the asphalt in front of the hospital, cicadas chirped endlessly from all directions, and the temperature was so high it felt like it could melt a person.

The ground was so dry it seemed to be smoking, with no trace of rain having fallen.

Xie Quan frowned and raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, and in the angle between his palm and the street corner, he spotted Lu Nanyang.

Lu Nanyang was wearing a light-colored T-shirt and a pair of showy sunglasses, leaning against the back of a white sedan. When he saw Xie Quan come out, he straightened up and waved at him.

“What are you doing here?” Xie Quan’s brow furrowed, rejection written all over his face.

“The sun’s great here. I drove all the way just to sunbathe. I’m not leaving till I get a proper tan,” Lu Nanyang rolled his eyes. “Of course I came to pick you up.”

“Don’t need to. I’ve got legs,” Xie Quan turned and started walking.

“Fine, but let me remind you,” Lu Nanyang leaned forward with his elbows on the car’s trunk and took off his sunglasses, “The nearest bus stop is a kilometer away, and the closest bike-sharing station is two blocks over. Good luck finding a taxi at noon—most drivers are on lunch break.”

…

Was this hospital built in the middle of nowhere?

Xie Quan glared at him for a few seconds, then turned back and opened the passenger door.

He was never the type to suffer a loss willingly.

Lu Nanyang smiled, stood up, opened the driver’s side door, got in, and started the car.

Xie Quan glanced around the interior—simple and tidy, with no unnecessary decorations. Only a light blue whale ornament sat by the front window. As the car started, the little whale wobbled its head and tail back and forth.

“You’re kind of a rich boy. Is this the kind of car you usually drive?” Xie Quan asked.

“This isn’t my car, it’s a friend’s,” Lu Nanyang looked at him, “Besides, what’s wrong with it? It’s got all the functions, durable, fuel-efficient. What’s not to like?”

“It’s ugly,” Xie Quan said bluntly. “But your friend has decent taste in decorations. That whale’s pretty cute.”

“You think it’s cute?” Lu Nanyang smirked. “I bought it.”

Xie Quan: “…”

He genuinely felt like opening the door and walking off right then and there.

Lu Nanyang didn’t push his luck. “Let me treat you to a meal first. What do you want to eat?”

Xie Quan just opened his mouth when Lu Nanyang cut him off.

“Nothing spicy. Doctor said you need to take care of your stomach.”

Xie Quan clicked his tongue. “Why are you being so nosy?”

“Now you know how annoying doctors can be,” Lu Nanyang chuckled.

Xie Quan leaned back against the seat, tilting his head to look out the window. The hospital’s outpatient building looked like it had sprouted straight out of a field of weeds. Around it were nothing but thick underbrush and wild-growing banyan trees. There were no other tall buildings in sight—just a few scattered farmhouses, some with fenced-in areas for raising chickens and growing vegetables.

Then he remembered—this was the city’s Sixth Hospital, which really was in a remote location.

Compared to the Central Hospital or the university’s affiliated hospital, the Sixth was just a regular second-tier facility. But it was well-known for its psychiatry and psychology departments, among the top in the province.

Now he understood. The person who had taken him there—was the one now bringing him back—was Lu Nanyang.

Watching the tall wild grass near the Sixth Hospital fly past outside the window, Xie Quan lowered his eyes. “Whatever. If it’s not spicy, it’s all the same to me.”