PTGWD Chapter 36: Swallowing

The roses were placed in a beautiful tall vase at the entrance of the house. At first, there was nothing unusual, but as time slowly passed, they began to show their incredible vitality to the homeowners. Even after a full week, they remained as fresh and vibrant as the day they were bought.

Their resilience was almost eerie.

Fang Xingzhou had started another workweek. As expected, the gossip from the last checkup had spread throughout the hospital. Colleagues one after another congratulated him, teasing him about his wife’s beauty and height, and celebrating his impending fatherhood.

Aside from Lu Jianchuan’s increasingly severe pregnancy symptoms, everything was on track. Life was so uneventful it was almost dull, but Fang Xingzhou couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Everything felt off, as if their daily life was a scripted play written in advance.

This sense of unease had nowhere to go, so it eventually settled on the roses.

Every day when Fang Xingzhou returned from work, the first thing he would do was look at the roses to confirm they were still as beautiful as the day before, never wilting.

However, after seven days, without exception, time had left no trace on them. It was as if an invisible barrier was protecting them, and it inexplicably reminded Fang Xingzhou of the other male owner of the house…

Once this association formed, his brain would produce a slight pain, as if struck by a higher-dimensional electric current, trying to remind him that he had forgotten something extremely important.

He couldn’t help but feel concerned about the roses. He began secretly taking photos, documenting their subtle changes, and even subconsciouslya voided Lu Jianchuan while doing so.

This record continued until the twelfth day.

Overnight, the miraculous roses withered.

Fang Xingzhou came home from work as usual, pushed open the door, and froze in the entryway, his pupils contracting as he stared at the floor full of rose corpses. It took him a long time to regain his composure.

The vase now held only bare stems and blackened stamens. The petals, which had been so vibrant they were dazzling before he left, had dried into a deep brown, covering half the entryway floor. The scene was silent and desolate, as if the roses had died long ago and only today had their beautiful disguise been stripped away.

Fang Xingzhou’s eardrums began to pound, and some ominous premonitions started to surface.

He quickly realized that today, Lu Jianchuan also hadn’t come to the door to greet him as usual. Since their checkup last week, the embryo in Lu Jianchuan’s belly seemed to have entered a rapid growth phase, and the pregnancy symptoms had left him pale and drained for several days.

Fang Xingzhou’s heart sank.

He didn’t even bother to change his shoes, rushing into the living room to find it in complete disarray. All the drawers were open, and the refrigerator had been knocked over, its contents completely empty.

His breath tightened. He didn’t see the familiar figure, so he hurried upstairs and kicked open the bedroom door, his voice trembling slightly: “Lu Jianchuan?”

The bedroom was just as messy and impossible to navigate. Even the wine fridge used to store expensive bottles had been overturned, and the floor was littered with empty wine bottles. Yet, not a single drop of wine had spilled, as if a dozen starving ghosts had swept through, devouring everything in the house that could provide calories.

On the bed, a large lump was hidden under the messy blankets.

Fang Xingzhou kicked aside the wine bottles at his feet and rushed to the bed, pulling back the covers.

Lu Jianchuan was wrapped in the blankets.

His expression was dazed, his pupils struggling to focus on his returning lover. His lips moved several times, but no words came out.

Fang Xingzhou had never seen him like this before. He was frozen with fear and immediately reached out to feel Lu Jianchuan’s forehead, then checked his eyelids. After quickly assessing his condition, he leaned down and asked, “Where does it hurt? I’m here now. Don’t be afraid. I’ll call an ambulance right away.”

Lu Jianchuan tremblingly reached out and grabbed Fang Xingzhou’s pinky finger, struggling to hide his soft, weak tentacles under his pajamas. He weakly said, “Don’t… don’t call an ambulance.”

Fang Xingzhou tightly gripped his hand, his brows furrowed. “Where does it hurt? A headache? Stomachache? Or did you accidentally fall somewhere?”

Lu Jianchuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He licked his chapped lips with difficulty. “No… just… hungry… so hungry… dizzy…”

Fang Xingzhou: “…..”

He placed his hand on Lu Jianchuan’s stomach.

Even through the belly, he could feel the tumultuous movements inside. The fetus, only four months along, seemed to be doing calisthenics in the womb.

As soon as Fang Xingzhou’s hand touched the belly, the baby kicked him.

“Stop it,” he sternly said to the belly. “I’ll get food right away. Wait for me for ten minutes.”

Lu Jianchuan was dizzy and disoriented. He slowly raised his hand and pointed to the bathroom. “First… water…”

Fang Xingzhou, of course, wouldn’t let him drink from the bathtub. He ran downstairs, filled a stainless steel basin with water from the purifier, and brought it to the bedroom, helping Lu Jianchuan sit up.

Lu Jianchuan was so hungry that even the sight of water made his eyes light up. He immediately buried his face in the basin, frantically drinking the water. He drank more than half the basin in one go , but thankfully retained enough rationality to stop before finishing it, not wanting to scare off Fang Xingzhou.

After drinking, he limply leaned against his wife’s shoulder, finally regaining enough strength to speak. He gnashed his teeth, fierce but not threatening: “I’m going to get rid of it! It’s so disobedient. These past few days, it’s been getting worse and worse!”

Fang Xingzhou stuffed a few pillows behind his back, his heart contracting. “Mm, get rid of it. Could you really bear to? Don’t say things in anger. Sit for a while first. I’ll go find food.”

Lu Jianchuan wrapped his arms around Fang Xingzhou’s waist, refusing to let go. He nuzzled against his shoulder, so hungry he could barely speak without panting. He didn’t miss the chance to make his wife feel sorry for him: “Zhouzhou, you have no idea. Today, I was so hungry I ate half of myself… I want beef, rare… with blood…”

Fang Xingzhou had no patience for his nonsense. He pulled Lu Jianchuan’s hands off his waist, grabbed a random jacket from the closet to cover his hospital uniform, and said, “I’ll be back soon.”

Lu Jianchuan nodded, his eyes drifting toward the stainless steel basin. Clearly, he still hadn’t had enough to drink but was too embarrassed to let Fang Xingzhou see.

Fang Xingzhou closed the door behind him.

He stepped over the messy floor and ran outside to buy food.

Before leaving, he once again uncontrollably looked at the withered roses on the floor and thought of the weak Lu Jianchuan upstairs. His temple throbbed.

But there was no time to dwell on it. He took the car from the garage and sped to the nearest market, heading straight for the beef vendor. He bought all the remaining beef they had for the day, then emptied the neighboring chicken, duck, seafood, and pork stalls… filling the trunk and back seats with meat. He drove home surrounded by the stench of raw meat.

As he passed his house, he suddenly noticed—an unusually large number of birds had gathered around, crowded on the power lines, flapping their wings restlessly.

Something rustled through the greenery near the house, and he caught a glimpse of a colorful tail, likely belonging to a highly venomous snake.

Even on the strictly managed streets, a huge rat dashed into the bushes, its size almost comparable to a two- or three-month-old cat. Under the dusk, it looked like a terrifying monster that could eat people.

The pain in Fang Xingzhou’s forehead intensified, his ears ringing, and his brain felt like a pot of boiling porridge, trying to kill the virus that had infiltrated it.

He forced himself to stay focused, carrying the newly bought meat from the underground garage into the house. Then he saw Lu Jianchuan holding onto the stair railing, weakly and slowly coming downstairs.

He was stunned. “Why are you up?”

Lu Jianchuan looked much better than before. His face was no longer deathly pale, and he said in a weak voice, “Honey, I just had a little snack. I feel better now. What did you buy? Let me help you cook.”

A snack…?

Even the wine was gone. What could be left in the house for a snack?

Fang Xingzhou calmly carried a large piece of beef into the kitchen, not pressing him about what he had eaten. “Go sit on the couch. You don’t need to help.”

Lu Jianchuan’s nostrils kept twitching, like a starving dog catching the scent of meat. He fixedly stared at the bloodstained water on the kitchen floor, his Adam’s apple bobbing repeatedly. He was so unsteady on his feet but still insisted on squeezing into the kitchen, leaning on the counter. “Let me help, Zhouzhou. You’ve been working all day. You must be exhausted. I’ll wash these…”

He eagerly turned on the faucet and blocked the drain.

Fang Xingzhou glanced at him twice but didn’t argue. He turned around, pretending to clean the side dishes.

Lu Jianchuan immediately extended a tentacle tip from his palm. At his peak, he could have eighteen tentacles, but this afternoon, he had been so hungry that he ate seventeen of them, leaving only one pitifully opening its suction cups to gulp down the water mixed with beef blood.

He washed the beef four or five times, even deliberately squeezing it hard to suck in all the blood water. Then he let out a long sigh and placed the meat on the cutting board. “I’m done washing.”

Fang Xingzhou glanced at the sink. The drain was still blocked, but there wasn’t a single drop of water in the basin.

“Good,” he said nothing more. “Can you still hold on?”

Lu Jianchuan: “No problem at all. I just forgot to eat lunch…”

Fang Xingzhou picked up the knife, but his gaze remained on Lu Jianchuan’s face, his pupils dark and deep. His hand on the knife with no further movements.

Lu Jianchuan guiltily: “Zhouzhou?”

Fang Xingzhou slowly exhaled, lowered his eyes to the beef, dismissed the thought of creating a wound on himself again. “Wash the pork and chicken too.”

Hearing this, Lu Jianchuan’s eyes almost lit up. He immediately dumped all the fresh meat into the sink, deliberately saying, “Ah, we’re making so much delicious food tonight. Just the two of us. Will we be able to finish it all?” Then he eagerly reached for the faucet.

Fang Xingzhou grabbed his hand.

Lu Jianchuan paused and turned to look at him, nervously asking, “Hmm?”

“Use the water from the purifier,” Fang Xingzhou said.

Lu Jianchuan: “Oh… oh, okay.”

The sound of rushing water filled the sink for over ten minutes. Fang Xingzhou abandoned all cooking techniques, cutting the meat, boiling it, sprinkling salt, and serving it as quickly as possible. He cooked four or five large basins of meat.

Lu Jianchuan, having already drunk his fill, let out a burp before even sitting down to eat. While his wife wasn’t looking, he secretly stuffed freshly cooked meat into his mouth, which would have scalded a normal human.

“Let’s boil some first to raise your blood sugar,” Fang Xingzhou said, scooping out another pot of chicken. “If it’s really too bland, I’ll sprinkle some chili powder and cumin on it.”

No one answered. Behind him, only exaggerated swallowing sounds could be heard.

He frowned slightly and turned around.

…Four of the five basins of meat were already empty. Lu Jianchuan had buried his face in them again, his mouth opened so wide it took up half his face, revealing bloodstained teeth. He was devouring the meat at a speed that couldn’t be associated with a “human,” not even chewing, just letting palm-sized chunks slide down his throat into his stomach.

It was like… a scene from a low-budget horror movie.

Fang Xingzhou’s pupils contracted slightly.

The next second, Lu Jianchuan noticed his wife watching him. He immediately straightened up from the basin, his ears slightly red. He pulled out a tissue and gracefully wiped the meat juices from his mouth, flashing Fang Xingzhou a flawlessly handsome smile.

“Baby, did I scare you? Sorry… I was just so hungry,” Lu Jianchuan said softly. “The pregnancy symptoms were bad today. I threw up everything I ate earlier, and now I feel like I could eat an entire cow.”

Fang Xingzhou: “…”

He turned around, calmly continuing to cook the remaining raw meat. “No need for ‘like.'”

Lu Jianchuan didn’t understand. “What?”

“I said, no need for ‘like,'” Fang Xingzhou repeated. “The way you are now, you could eat three cows.”

Lu Jianchuan’s ears turned even redder.

“Sorry, Zhouzhou,” he said, stuffing another piece of meat into his mouth. “I’ll find a way to earn more money. It’s my responsibility to provide for my wife and child.”

Fang Xingzhou didn’t have the energy to discuss household with him now. He finished cooking all the remaining meat and served it.

Before it could even reach the dining table, Lu Jianchuan stood in the kitchen, guarding the pot. As Fang Xingzhou served a portion, he ate it immediately, on the spot consuming over a hundred pounds of meat. He even drank the broth, leaving nothing behind.

After finishing, he let out a long sigh and leaned against the kitchen counter, feeling like he had finally come back to life.

However, once the hunger subsided, he had to face the problem of his excessive non-human behavior today. Eating over a hundred pounds of meat in one go… he would have to alter Fang Xingzhou’s memory again.

…And it hadn’t even been four months yet.

What would he do in the future?

Lu Jianchuan’s eyes went blank, filled with intense guilt as he secretly glanced at Fang Xingzhou. But the latter showed no signs of noticing anything unusual. He cleaned up the kitchen, then turned around and touched Lu Jianchuan’s belly.

“Are you full?” he asked.

Lu Jianchuan nodded. “For now.”

Fang Xingzhou: “Are you still feeling dizzy?”

“No, I feel full of energy now. I can clean up the house in half an hour!” Lu Jianchuan said eagerly. “What do you want for dinner? Should I make you some fried rice?”

Fang Xingzhou didn’t respond.

After a moment, he suddenly relaxed after being extremely tense, experiencing something similar to low blood pressure. He took a few seconds to recover, then couldn’t help but reach out and pull Lu Jianchuan into a hug.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar fragrance mixed with the stench of meat from his pregnant lover.

Lu Jianchuan immediately hugged him back, nervously stroking his hair. “Baby?”

Fang Xingzhou closed his eyes.

“You scared me, Lu Jianchuan,” he said hoarsely. “When I came home and didn’t see you, I almost went crazy.”

A sharp pain shot through Lu Jianchuan’s heart. He hugged the person in his arms even tighter, rubbing his cheek against his lover’s, like a canine comforting its mate. “It’s okay… Zhouzhou, it’s all because I was lazy today. After lunch, I kept wanting to sleep, so I forgot to go out to the farm to eat…” He abruptly stopped himself here, “Uh, I mean, I forgot to go out to the farm to buy meat… By the time I woke up, I was so hungry I almost digested myself. It’s my fault for not taking good care of the baby.”

“Don’t say things like that,” Fang Xingzhou said, his head splitting with pain. “It hurts.”

Lu Jianchuan panicked. Instinctively, he wanted to use his divine power to peek into his lover’s thoughts, but at the last second before probing Fang Xingzhou’s mind, he hesitated. In the end, he simply held him quietly.

The two embraced for a long time.

Fang Xingzhou managed to sort out his chaotic emotions and pulled away from Lu Jianchuan’s embrace. He turned his back and touched his own forehead, feeling as though his brain was burning up.

And it was only his brain that was feverish; his body was undoubtedly cold.

He felt a little short of breath and forced a small smile at Lu Jianchuan. “I feel like having some millet porridge from the congee shop across the street. Do you need anything? I’ll buy it for you while I’m out.”

Lu Jianchuan said, “Let me go buy it for you!”

Fang Xingzhou shook his head. “Let me go out alone for some fresh air. Wait for me for five minutes. I’ll be back in five.”

Before Lu Jianchuan could say anything, he untied his apron and prepared to quietly go to the pharmacy to buy some fever reducers and sedatives.

He could prescribe the fever reducers himself, but he might need to consult Dr. Li for the psychiatric medication.

…Wait.

Dr. Li?

Fang Xingzhou opened the door and paused.

Lu Jianchuan hesitated behind him. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? Baby, you look so pale. I’m really worried about you. Maybe we should go together…”

Fang Xingzhou turned back and smiled at him, then closed the door.

The cold night air hit him, extinguishing the burning heat on his forehead.

Fang Xingzhou took two deep breaths, filling his lungs with fresh air. As he tried to chaotically recall the scene of his consultation with Dr. Li, he looked up at the antenna pole—

There wasn’t a single bird on it.

The birds that had been densely crowded on the power lines just two hours ago had vanished without a trace. The bushes were also quiet, with no snakes or giant rats in sight. The street was eerily silent, so silent that it seemed as if no living creatures other than humans existed here.

Fang Xingzhou’s lips parted slightly.

A sliver of fear slowly crept into his heart, both because of the strange silence around him and his increasingly chaotic memories.

He instinctively reached into his coat pocket, clenching his fist.

…Then he felt a crumpled piece of paper inside.

Fang Xingzhou was stunned. He had an extremely good habit of checking all his pockets before doing laundry to ensure nothing was left behind.

Why was there something in the pocket of a clean shirt he had taken from the closet?

He frowned, took out the paper, carefully smoothed it out, and examined it under the dim streetlight.

[Diagnosis Report]

The moment he saw these three words, his heart skipped a beat. Even though he hadn’t read the contents yet, for some reason, he reflexively stuffed the note back into his pocket. He glanced back at the windows of the house to make sure Lu Jianchuan wasn’t peeking through any of them, then lowered his head slightly and strode away from the house toward the nearly closed mall across the street.

…Deer must not see this.

This firm thought surfaced in his mind.