1

“Urology patient number 16, please proceed to consultation room three.”

“Urology patient number 16, please proceed to consultation room three.”

The announcement had played twice with no response. A nurse stood up from the reception desk, peered around, and called out, “Where's patient number 16?”

Su Xingchuan, who was on the phone with a client, suddenly realized—number 16... wasn't he number 16?

He quickly finished explaining his proposal over the phone, hung up, and raised a hand to signal the nurse.

He gave her an apologetic smile and strode quickly into the corridor leading to the consultation rooms.

“Second door on the left,” the nurse reminded him.

He was tall and moved with a breeze in his stride.

The other patients waiting couldn't help but watch him go. One man chuckled and said to his wife beside him, “You're always going on about handsome guys. See? Even the handsome ones end up in the men's clinic.”

His wife snorted. “At least he's got that one thing going for him.”

Su Xingchuan found consultation room three.

He knocked, and from inside came a youthful “Come in.”

Su Xingchuan paused.

The doctor's name suddenly flashed through his mind.

—Li Xuan.

He'd been taken aback when he registered, but with time tight and work calls pouring in, he hadn't gotten around to searching the doctor's name on the hospital website.

No way... it couldn't be.

Although that person was indeed studying medicine.

Su Xingchuan's thoughts flashed back for a split second before being yanked back to the present. He pushed the door open.

The consultation room wasn't large. There was a faint scent of disinfectant. The windows were clean. On the right was a small examination area enclosed by a blue mobile screen; on the left, the doctor's desk.

From Su Xingchuan's angle, the doctor's face and body were blocked by the computer monitor. He couldn't see clearly, but an uneasy feeling crept over him.

He stepped inside and closed the door.

The doctor asked, “Number sixteen? Name?”

That voice shot into Su Xingchuan's ear like an electric current, zipping down and straight to his heart.

He froze on the spot.

The doctor asked again, “What's your name?”

There was a hint of impatience in the tone.

Su Xingchuan took a step forward and saw a face that was both familiar and strange, almost exactly the one that often haunted his dreams—still refined and aloof, a picture of understated elegance.

His eyes were clear and distinct, like winter sunlight carrying a chill, or like a splash-ink landscape painting—though the hues were spare, they stirred the heart without reason.

He hadn't changed much in seven years, even his hairstyle was much the same. His bangs fell across his forehead, making him look barely into his twenties.

Li Xuan raised his head, their gazes collided.

Both were silent for a few seconds.

Clearly, Li Xuan recognized him too.

Su Xingchuan: “…”

He could never have imagined that the reunion he'd pictured so many times would be like this—in a men's health clinic consultation room, clutching a stack of test reports, face-to-face with Li Xuan in a white coat.

The kicker: a men's health clinic.

Their gazes tangled, then quickly averted.

Su Xingchuan cleared his throat lightly and volunteered, “Long time no see.”

Li Xuan lowered his eyes to the screen, clicking the mouse a few times.

He didn't respond to Su Xingchuan's greeting.

Still so petty, Su Xingchuan thought.

Su Xingchuan sat down, feigning composure, and continued with small talk, “What are you doing working here? Weren't you planning to go to Shanghai?”

Li Xuan still didn't respond, only asking, “What seems to be the problem?”

“...” Su Xingchuan had expected this.

Seven years on, still a little mute.

Su Xingchuan obediently took out his lab reports and ultrasound results. He couldn't help feeling embarrassed as he explained, “Well, I actually came two days ago. A doctor named Zhou gave me orders for these three tests. I just got all the results back today.”

He said it evasively.

Li Xuan nodded in understanding and pointed to a slogan on the wall.

Su Xingchuan looked over.

—“Men's troubles, solved with a stroke.”

—“Professional men's health, for a happy life.”

“…”

Su Xingchuan's face darkened. He explained coolly, “It's not that kind of problem. It's just a stone.”

Li Xuan took the reports.

Since last month, Su Xingchuan had felt a dull ache down there. Work stress and frequent social drinking had worsened it. The past few days, the pain had become unbearable, so he finally sought medical help.

He'd heard Huaye Men's Health Hospital was the best, so he'd taken the time to book a urology appointment on his phone. As it turned out, specialist slots were full, and even general registration was tight. He'd barely managed to squeeze in a visit, postponing a work thing to grab the last number before the doctor's shift ended.

Who would've thought he'd run into his ex-boyfriend.

Li Xuan picked up the CT scan and examined it carefully. “From when you first felt the pain until now, roughly how long?”

“Over half a month.”

“Has this happened before?”

“No.”

“Two possibilities: inflammation of the seminal vesicle or blockage of the seminal duct.” Li Xuan suddenly shot a glance at Su Xingchuan and asked, “Do you have an active sex life?”

Su Xingchuan froze for a moment, then hurriedly said, “Not active, no—I mean, rarely—”

In truth, he didn't have one at all, but he wasn't about to admit it.

After all, Li Xuan was the one who'd dumped him.

He still harbored resentment.

There was no way he could let Li Xuan know he'd been single as a monk all these years. Even less could he let Li Xuan know that all these years, he'd only gotten himself off by thinking about that soft, yielding “little mute” from back then.

Hearing Su Xingchuan say “rarely,” Li Xuan's keyboard tapping suddenly halted for a beat, resuming only after a few seconds.

Li Xuan then asked, “Have you recently been riding a bicycle for long periods or been sitting for extended stretches?”

“No cycling. Sitting for a while, yeah, a bit.”

“Let me see your tongue.”

Su Xingchuan was taken aback again.

How bizarre. The first thing his ex does upon reuniting after seven years is look at a CT scan of his nether regions; the second is check out his tongue.

Su Xingchuan stuck out his tongue, and Li Xuan gave it a look.

Li Xuan typed away clatteringly, and Su Xingchuan had no idea what he was writing.

Li Xuan stopped. His clear, cool eyes reflected the light of the computer screen, looking especially bright in the early evening.

The next second, Li Xuan suddenly lowered his eyes.

He asked, “Are you living with your partner?”

Su Xingchuan didn't catch it at first. “What?”

Li Xuan frowned slightly, as if irritated, and repeated, “Are you and your partner living together?”

Su Xingchuan almost blurted out “I don't have a partner,” but for the sake of male pride, he hedged, “No—not.”

Li Xuan shot him another glance.

Su Xingchuan suddenly felt a chill down his back.

He couldn't help but glance behind him.

Li Xuan pulled a pair of new nitrile medical gloves from beside him and put them on. “Lower your pants halfway and lie down on that bed.”

“Huh?”

“Do you have a hearing problem?” Li Xuan asked with a frown.

“...No.”

Even a thick-skinned guy like Su Xingchuan couldn't help but sigh: could there be a more intense reunion between exes anywhere in the world?

It starts right off with this??

Li Xuan pulled the blue mobile screen closed, enclosing the small bed.

Su Xingchuan undid his belt.

Li Xuan stood to the side, waiting with an indifferent expression.

Su Xingchuan unbuttoned his pants and pulled down the zipper.

Although he was usually confident about himself, at this moment, by the bed in a men's health clinic, his confidence had waned considerably.

He gave a light cough, and surprisingly, Li Xuan cooperated by turning away, giving him a moment to remove the rest of his clothing.

How... why did this feel vaguely humiliating?

After he lay down, Li Xuan pressed several spots with his gloved hand. His fingertips were cool, the pressure neither too light nor too heavy. Su Xingchuan's Adam's apple bobbed continuously, and his breathing grew heavy.

Li Xuan leaned in slightly. “Does it hurt when I press here?”

“No.” Su Xingchuan's mind had already drifted far away.

He suddenly recalled seven years ago, the first time he took Li Xuan to a hotel, one a bit farther from the campus. Su Xingchuan still remembered: over five hundred a night for a twin room, which was pretty pricey for him as a student back then, equivalent to half a month's living expenses. But Li Xuan was as delicate as a little princess—he could even get a rash from polyester sportswear—so Su Xingchuan dared not shortchange him.

When they walked into the hotel holding hands, Li Xuan's expression was blank. Su Xingchuan thought he was reluctant, so he slowed his pace. But then Li Xuan frowned and asked bluntly, “Why aren't you holding my hand? Are you afraid someone will see?”

“No!” Su Xingchuan immediately pulled Li Xuan into his arms.

Li Xuan didn't smile much, but he would lean against Su Xingchuan's chest, tilt his head up, and gaze at Su Xingchuan with eager eyes. The moment Su Xingchuan noticed his adoring stare, Li Xuan would withdraw it without mercy.

Li Xuan was beautiful, yet a little odd.

His personality was cold as ice, just like his fingers, making people wary of reaching out.

Later, the breakup had come out of nowhere.

Li Xuan said he didn't want to go on, that he hated him.

And just like that, Su Xingchuan's first love ended abruptly, without a reason, a dark cloud that had been hanging over his head ever since.

“This doesn't hurt either?”

Li Xuan's puzzled voice came by his ear. Su Xingchuan snapped back to reality and felt Li Xuan's hand pressing another spot. A belated pain shot up and he gasped, “Ow, ow, ow!”

Li Xuan moved to another spot, pressing toward his abdomen.

Su Xingchuan kept his eyes fixed on Li Xuan's face the whole time.

Li Xuan had really grown a lot in seven years.

Before, though his aura had been cool and aloof, there had been a bit of baby fat on his face. Now he was utterly refined and transcendent, yet there was a forced mature cuteness about him that made Su Xingchuan's heart itch.

Instead of the expected pain, what came was Li Xuan's cold voice, “Can you stop pointing that thing at me?”

“Huh?” Su Xingchuan followed Li Xuan's gaze downward. His ears flushed hot, and he coughed awkwardly.

After coughing, he thought, how come when old flames reunite, he's the one all disoriented and making a fool of himself, while Li Xuan remains completely unbothered?

Sure enough, the one who loved more always got the short end of the stick.

Brazenly, he said, “You're a doctor, don't you know I can't control this?”

“You can't control it at just twenty-seven?”

“...”

Su Xingchuan was shut down again. Wanting to save face, he said, “Normally I can control it. It's just seeing someone familiar today. Doctor, does it look familiar?”

Li Xuan looked thoroughly annoyed.

Su Xingchuan wanted to control it too, but his body wouldn't cooperate. The more Li Xuan's hand touched other areas, the more it seemed to intensify. The annoyance in Li Xuan's eyes gradually turned into anger.

“You!”

“Can't help it,” Su Xingchuan said with an innocent expression, “Doctor, you in a white coat is even hotter than you were in a school uniform.”