As a doctor and the future family member of a doctor, one can enjoy discounted rates for checkups at their own hospital.
However, considering Lu Jianchuan’s special circumstances, Fang Xingzhou wanted to go to a more private, high-end hospital for the examination. But Lu Jianchuan insisted on going to Fang Xingzhou’s hospital, citing the reason: he wanted to see where his partner worked every day.
Fang Xingzhou couldn’t help but laugh inwardly at this reason.
The real reason was obvious: Lu Jianchuan couldn’t wait to let the entire hospital know that Dr. Fang not only had a partner but was also engaged and about to become a father.
Of course, Fang Xingzhou wouldn’t expose his lover’s little scheme. Without much fuss, he went along with it and booked an appointment at his own hospital, planning to visit his workplace as a patient during his day off.
The fifth floor was the obstetrics and gynecology department, while the fourth floor was the psychology department.
The hospital was crowded all year round. Lu Jianchuan, with his nearly 1.9-meter height, easily shielded Fang Xingzhou within his arms, preventing him from being jostled by the crowd as they entered the elevator.
As a result, the two of them were squeezed into the innermost corner of the elevator.
Lu Jianchuan was practically pressed against Fang Xingzhou, close enough to kiss his lips with just a slight turn of his head. The little monster in his belly was unhappy with the crowdedness and kicked Lu Jianchuan several times, the force reaching Fang Xingzhou’s waist through the sweater.
Fang Xingzhou immediately looked down, concerned.
He frowned, pulling Lu Jianchuan’s arm to try to get him to stand further inside, whispering, “Is it too crowded for him?”
Lu Jianchuan, somewhat displeased, muttered, “So fragile.”
Fang Xingzhou: “?.”
“I mean the one in my belly,” Lu Jianchuan quickly explained. “For someone with… such a lineage, he’s too fragile.”
Fang Xingzhou: “…He’s just a gestational sac that’s barely developed. Deer, you don’t need to be so strict with him.”
Lu Jianchuan smiled, intertwining his left hand with Fang Xingzhou’s and wrapping his right arm around his waist.
“Ding!” The elevator reached the fourth floor. Lu Jianchuan shielded Fang Xingzhou as they squeezed out, exhaling a sigh of relief and casually tucking his partner’s hand into his pocket.
Human society had too many inconveniences. Even the waiting area of the psychology department was packed. Lu Jianchuan and Fang Xingzhou, both tall and striking, attracted a lot of attention as soon as they walked in.
Fang Xingzhou’s face was highly recognizable in the hospital, practically a walking ID card.
The nurse at the registration desk looked up and was momentarily stunned. Then she let out an “Oh!” and smiled, saying, “Director Fang, what brings you to our department today?”
Though her words were directed at Fang Xingzhou, her eyes were firmly fixed on Lu Jianchuan, her excitement barely concealed behind her glasses.
Fang Xingzhou naturally leaned closer to his partner and introduced him to his colleague: “I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, so I came to see Director Li. This is my fiancé. He’s here with me today.”
The nurse lady snapped the plastic card in her hand.
“Fiancé!” Her gossip spirit was ignited. “No wonder everyone was saying you’ve been wearing a wedding ring recently!”
Lu Jianchuan smiled and raised his hand, showing off the equally hideous ring on his finger. “Yes, Zhouzhou and I each have one. Thank you for taking care of him at work.”
The nurse was nearly blinded by the dazzlingly ugly gold ring.
…It was as ugly as the rumors said.
No, even uglier than the rumors…
Seeing such rings on the two of them made the ugliness even more tragic. She let out a dry laugh and managed to compliment, “The rings are… unique. I didn’t expect Director Fang to get engaged so young. Congratulations, and may you have a hundred years of happiness… Here’s your number. Director Li is in Room 5.”
Lu Jianchuan took the number and nodded politely. “Thank you.” Then he openly held Fang Xingzhou’s hand and walked to the consultation room.
Since they had an appointment, Room 5 was just calling their number.
Lu Jianchuan was more nervous than Fang Xingzhou, his palms slightly sweaty. He took a deep breath, kissed Fang Xingzhou’s cheek, and said in a tense voice, “Zhouzhou, remember to tell the doctor everything. Don’t hide anything, especially the part about wanting to feed me blood. Make sure to let the doctor evaluate that properly, okay? I’ll wait here for you. I won’t go anywhere.”
Fang Xingzhou: “Mm, it’s fine. Don’t worry.”
Lu Jianchuan hugged him tightly, watching him enter the consultation room, then sat down in the chair outside. He initially wanted to eavesdrop on the consultation but decided against it after some thought.
Zhouzhou had become increasingly sensitive lately, and even the slightest anomaly could trigger his intuition. He didn’t want to make him feel uneasy at this moment.
…
Fang Xingzhou closed the door to the consultation room.
He had already spoken to Director Li the day before. The latter was sitting behind the desk, sipping tea leisurely, and said with a smile, “What a rare guest, Xingzhou. What, did surgery give you psychological trauma?”
Fang Xingzhou, being self-sufficient, poured himself a cup of tea and sat down across from the psychologist. Thinking about his recent abnormal emotions, he wasn’t sure how to begin and rubbed his temples.
“Patient confidentiality is absolute, as you know,” Director Li said. “Go ahead, don’t worry.”
Fang Xingzhou was silent for a moment.
He organized his thoughts and got straight to the point: “I have indeed been experiencing some mental issues recently, especially after my partner became pregnant. I keep having strange thoughts.”
As soon as he spoke, the person across from him spat out his tea, coughing violently.
“You… *cough cough cough*… have a child?!”
Fang Xingzhou smiled softly. “Yes, three months along.”
“You kept that well hidden!” Director Li pulled out tissues, awkwardly wiping the table. “You two have a good relationship?”
Fang Xingzhou: “Yes, our relationship is very strong. We’ve been together for ten years, and the child came at the right time. It hasn’t caused too much disruption to our lives.”
Director Li nodded. “What kind of strange thoughts are we talking about?”
Fang Xingzhou paused.
He began calmly dissecting his recent abnormalities, as if performing a precise surgery on himself.
“At first, it was just frequent dreams. I would dream of… bizarre monsters with indescribably beautiful tentacles. They would roam all over my body all night, but by morning, I would quickly forget, leaving only a faint shadow in my mind.”
“Then, I started feeling like my memories were becoming unreliable. Occasionally, I would feel mentally dazed, vaguely sensing that I had forgotten something important but unable to recall what it was… Besides that, many whimsical thoughts would inexplicably control my mind.”
“For example, sometimes, I would think that my partner…”
He fell silent here.
Director Li: “Is this thought difficult for you to say out loud?”
“No,” Fang Xingzhou said. “I just wanted to wait for you to finish your tea.”
Director Li: “…”
He put down his thermos and switched from typing with one finger to using all ten, typing rapidly to record the medical history. “Go ahead, I won’t drink.”
Fang Xingzhou spoke softly:
“Sometimes, I think my partner isn’t human.”
The typing fingers paused.
Director Li looked at him from behind his glasses, trying to assess the emotions behind his words. But Fang Xingzhou’s face was calm, revealing nothing.
“Thank you for letting me finish my water,” he resumed typing. “Is there any concrete evidence to support your claim—that she isn’t human?”
Fang Xingzhou denied it: “No evidence, just a subtle intuition.”
The doctor nodded, indicating for him to continue.
Fang Xingzhou: “After this thought emerged, more unreasonable ideas sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain. I started feeling like my partner was hungry, and the child in his belly was also hungry. My blood could provide them with unique energy, effectively alleviating their hunger.”
Director Li sharply asked: “So, you engaged in some self-harming behavior?”
Fang Xingzhou: “Yes.”
“Because of this, I scared him badly, and he sent me to the psychiatry department.”
Director Li: “…”
He frowned, his expression turning serious. He straightened up and said, “If all you needed was blood, why not just draw it? That would be effortless for you and wouldn’t leave wounds that affect your daily life.”
This question left Fang Xingzhou speechless for a long time.
A hint of confusion appeared in his eyes as he said, “It’s hard to describe… If I had to put it into words, it’s like… an overcompensation for an unfulfilled desire, leading to a compensatory psychology.”
Director Li: “Can I see the scars from your self-harm?”
Fang Xingzhou: “There are no scars.”
Director Li: “?”
“I cut my finger last week, but it’s already healed,” he showed his smooth, unscarred fingertip. “A few days ago, I tried to make a shallow cut on my wrist, but my partner caught me before I could do it and we had a big fight.”
Director Li stared at his finger for a long time before slowly saying, “When exactly did you cut your finger?”
Fang Xingzhou: “About six or seven days ago.”
Director Li: “Xingzhou, as a surgeon, you should know—seven days is enough for a wound to heal, but not enough for the scar to completely disappear. Your memory might indeed be faulty. Either you misremembered the timing, or… you never actually cut your finger.”
Fang Xingzhou was extremely certain: “No, I believe this memory is accurate. There’s no mistake.”
Director Li paused for an even longer time.
He had a vague diagnosis in mind. After chatting with Fang Xingzhou a bit more, he pulled out a thick stack of questionnaires from his drawer and said, “Go to the side room and fill out this assessment. I think I also need to talk to your partner to understand your behavior patterns from his perspective. Is that okay?”
Fang Xingzhou: “Of course, he’s right outside. But I’d like to keep some of my thoughts confidential, especially the part about him not being human.”
Director Li: “Got it.”
Fang Xingzhou took the assessment forms, opened the door, and let Lu Jianchuan in. After exchanging a few words, he went to the side room, leaving the consultation room to Lu Jianchuan.
Director Li was deep in thought, frowning as he sipped from his thermos. He felt that something was off about the earlier conversation but couldn’t quite put his finger on it…
Fang Xingzhou’s emotions were too calm, and his logic was impeccable. Generally, psychological conditions severe enough to lead to self-harm rarely presented with such composure.
How should he diagnose this?
As he pondered, a magnificent male voice sounded above him, tinged with faint concern: “Doctor, how is Zhouzhou doing? What can I do to help?”
*Pfft—*
Water sprayed across the desk again. Director Li coughed violently while frantically wiping the table with tissues. He looked up in shock at the person who had entered the room.
…It was a man.
A man whose looks surpassed human imagination, as if he had stepped out of a video game character creation screen.
Director Li slowly opened his mouth, his gaze uncontrollably shifting until it landed on the hideous wedding ring that matched Fang Xingzhou’s. His mind went blank for a moment.
Lu Jianchuan sat down in the chair and said, “I’m his fiancé.”
Director Li: “…”
The two stared at each other in silence for a long time.
“Doctor?” Lu Jianchuan called out politely. “Are you okay?”
Director Li forced himself to snap out of it, took a deep breath, and looked back at Fang Xingzhou’s medical records. He stared at the line he had typed just a little over ten minutes ago:
“The patient has experienced memory abnormalities since his wife became pregnant.”
Hmm, this “pregnant wife” seemed a bit different from what he had imagined.
But it was fine. After working in the psychology department for so long, he had seen it all. Director Li quickly steadied himself and cautiously avoided mentioning the pregnancy, simply asking, “No problem. How should I address you?”
“Lu,” Lu Jianchuan said. “Lu Jianchuan. ‘Jianchuan’ as in ‘seeing rivers while sailing.'”
Director Li: “…Got it. How long have you known Dr. Fang? How’s your relationship?”
Lu Jianchuan’s eyes filled with genuine deep affection, his voice softening as he said, “We’ve known each other for over twenty years. Childhood sweethearts, grew up together. Our relationship is very strong.”
Director Li circled the line in the medical records that said, “The patient stated that he and his wife have been together for ten years and have a deep relationship.”
One said ten years, the other said twenty. Wasn’t that a bit too far apart?
He didn’t voice his doubts and continued, “Xingzhou has shown some self-harming tendencies recently. From your perspective, when did these abnormalities start? What specific behaviors have you noticed?”
Lu Jianchuan sat up straight.
“The biggest abnormality is that he keeps thinking I crave his blood, so he deliberately creates wounds to let me taste it. Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything major. Zhouzhou is gentle, thoughtful, and incredibly intelligent. He handles life and work very well and is much more mature than I am in dealing with people.”
After a slight pause, he added, “These abnormalities started after he found out I was pregnant… Hmm, it’s been over a month now.”
*Thud!*
Director Li knocked over his thermos.
Just before it could hit the ground, Lu Jianchuan caught it with a speed too fast for the human eye to follow.
“Be careful, Doctor. This cup is nice. It’d be a shame if it broke,” Lu Jianchuan said as he placed the hideously ugly flower-patterned thermos back on the desk.
Director Li remained silent, the silence deafening.
He stared directly at the man who seemed somehow off, his throat bobbing as he softly repeated, “You… are pregnant?”
Lu Jianchuan smiled. “Yes, three months along. Zhouzhou will accompany me for a prenatal checkup later.”
Director Li: “…………”
He silently pulled out another assessment form from his drawer.
“Okay,” he said, reopening the medical records system and typing rapidly to fill in the new information. “So, you’ve believed you were pregnant for three months now, and Dr. Fang also acknowledges this, correct?”
Lu Jianchuan: “It’s not a belief. It’s a fact.”
Director Li: “Mm-hmm.”
“It did take some time for Zhouzhou to believe it,” Lu Jianchuan reminisced about the rocky road to accepting the pregnancy, glancing at the adjacent room and lowering his voice. “At first, I told him I had undergone abdominal reconstruction surgery, but that was too much of a shock for him, to the point where… he resorted to extreme self-harm. I suspect he did it to punish me for taking matters into my own hands. And I was indeed nearly driven mad with fear. I still have nightmares about it.”
“After that, I changed my approach and used a series of methods to, well, make him accept the fact that I was pregnant.” Lu Jianchuan sighed softly. “But ever since then, Zhouzhou has been experiencing the abnormalities I mentioned. I’m extremely worried about him and fear that his mental state might be deteriorating.”
“Doctor, what do you think?”
Director Li nodded repeatedly, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he skillfully filled out a new medical record. “Xingzhou does seem to have some issues, but we’ll need to wait for the assessment results to confirm the diagnosis. That said, Mr. Lu, I have one more question for you.”
Lu Jianchuan: “Go ahead.”
The doctor looked up from his keyboard, his gaze settling on Lu Jianchuan’s almost unrealistically perfect face.
“So,” he paused slightly, “do you truly crave Fang Xingzhou’s blood? And does the ‘child’ you’ve been carrying for three months also crave it?”
Lu Jianchuan: “…”
This question seemed difficult to answer, and the consultation room fell into a brief silence.
For some reason, Director Li felt a chill run down his spine as he looked into Lu Jianchuan’s glass-like, translucent eyes. It was as if he had been locked onto by some unknown, dangerous creature.
He couldn’t help but tug at his tie, leaning back in his chair to put some distance between himself and Lu Jianchuan.
Lu Jianchuan seemed to be wrestling with some internal conflict. He exhaled slowly and finally said:
“Yes, we crave his blood, like we crave the sweet, nectar of the supreme creator, every moment of every day.”
Director Li’s hand trembled slightly.
He swallowed hard, and for a moment, he considered whether he should call the police.
Taking a deep breath, he calmly handed over the assessment form and said, “You should fill this out too.”
Lu Jianchuan was puzzled: “Huh? Why do I need to do this? I feel perfectly healthy, with no psychological issues.”
Director Li: “…Uh, well,” he was sweating profusely, “it’s good that you think that way, but a partner’s mental state can subtly affect the patient’s psyche. I need to evaluate both of you together.”
This was the first time Lu Jianchuan had heard such a thing.
His expression shifted slightly as he took the thick stack of test papers, a spark of confidence igniting in his heart. “Doctor, you’re absolutely right. Zhouzhou and I are one. If he has a problem, it must be because I’m not meeting human standards somewhere. You’re truly a miracle doctor! I’ll fill out every question carefully.”
Director Li: “…”
He let out a dry laugh, watching as the man went to the side room to fill out the form. His hands trembling, he picked up his thermos, unscrewed the lid, and downed the remaining tea in one go.
…Maybe he should just advise them to break up?!
advising them to breakup LOL, director Li about to take the expressway off this mortal coil
Doc.Li: who am i where am i nononononono
Doc Li pls don´t tempt death