Xu Guangji knowingly raised an eyebrow, indicating understanding, and let out a long “Oh.” “What does your family do?”
Chen Luzhou was taken aback, wondering what this had to do with his issue, but he answered honestly, “They’re in business.”
Xu Guangji let out another “Oh,” typing something into the computer. “Do you have any siblings?”
Chen Luzhou: “I have a younger brother.”
Xu Guangji: “Have you had your sperm motility tested?”
Chen Luzhou: “No.”
Xu Guangji glanced at him, “Can you do it now?”
Chen Luzhou coughed, “I… I’ll try.”
Xu Guangji wrote him a slip and told him to go pay first. As soon as Chen Luzhou walked out with his card and medical record, Zhu Yangqi eagerly sprang up from his chair, “What did the doctor say? Don’t tell me you’re impotent?”
Chen Luzhou slapped the medical record against Zhu Yangqi’s chest and wordlessly went to pay with his consultation card.
Zhu Yangqi followed closely, anxiously asking, “What exactly did the doctor say?”
“I don’t know,” Chen Luzhou walked to the window, handed over his card, and took out his phone to pay, “He wants me to test my sperm motility.”
Zhu Yangqi couldn’t believe it: “No way, the doctor didn’t say anything else?”
“He asked what my family does, and if I have any siblings,” Chen Luzhou was a bit confused. Let alone andrology, he rarely even caught colds or fevers and had hardly ever been to the hospital since childhood, so he was perplexed, “Why do you think he asked about that?”
Zhu Yangqi’s little brain was quite clever. A light bulb went off in his head, “He wants you to give him a red envelope! I heard my dad say some doctors with poor ethics do this, hinting to patients that they want red envelopes!”
“Really?” Chen Luzhou clicked his tongue, about to shake his head and say, “He seemed like quite an upright doctor.”
“Should I go out and buy you a couple of red envelopes now? Nothing else matters, treating the illness is most important, after all, this concerns your happiness for the rest of your life.” Zhu Yangqi now had an attitude of serving Chen Luzhou to death, as if yesterday’s incident wasn’t his fault, and Chen Luzhou wouldn’t have to suffer like this.
Chen Luzhou thought to himself, is it that serious? He felt it wasn’t that bad. It’s just that when he woke up this morning, things seemed a bit different from before. So he watched some adult content but didn’t feel much. He figured it was probably because of that elbow hit from Tan Xu during yesterday’s basketball game, which might have caused some injury. He didn’t think it was a big deal and thought it would recover on its own in a few days. But Zhu Yangqi said it could be either minor or major, and he might stay like this in the future, so he made an appointment to come and check.
“That’s… not necessary.”
Although Chen Luzhou had thick skin, giving a red envelope to a doctor for this matter was truly embarrassing.
Not being able to produce a sample would be even more embarrassing, so he finally returned to the consultation room empty-handed.
Xu Guangji glanced at him, seeming to understand, “Couldn’t do it?”
Chen Luzhou mainly felt pain in the injured area from yesterday, it hurt whenever he moved, so he didn’t want to try at all. He coughed and said, “Is it really necessary to test this?”
“Well, you could take off your pants and let me have a look.” Xu Guangji made a move to put on his glasses that were sitting nearby.
Chen Luzhou felt that coming here today was a stupid decision. It was truly idiotic to listen to Zhu Yangqi. “Um… how about I go home and rest for a while, and come back next week—”
“That’s fine too,” Xu Guangji certainly wouldn’t force him, “I’ll give you some advice. If this condition is caused by external injury, it usually recovers in two days. If it persists for a week, it’s likely a sign of impotence.”
Chen Luzhou:?
Xu Guangji spoke earnestly: “That’s the situation. You need to take it seriously. Do you have a girlfriend?”
Chen Luzhou: “…No.”
Xu Guangji had a look that said ‘if you don’t take it seriously yourself, I can’t help you’, “Then I suggest you don’t rush to find a girlfriend. Treat the condition first, observe for a while, and remember to come back for regular check-ups.”
Chen Luzhou: “…”
The andrology department was the emptiest in the entire hospital. As soon as Chen Luzhou left, there wasn’t a soul in the corridor. Director Cai, hearing the news, came rushing in. He pushed open the door like a headless fly, looking around, “Where’s that kid?”
Dr. Xu Guangji sat expressionlessly at the computer, organizing today’s medical records. With two loud “bang-bang” sounds, he carefully placed all the documents on the table, tapping them to align them, “He left!”
Director Cai lowered his voice, “Was it really that Chen Luzhou?”
“I had Old Fu secretly take a photo for me, it’s him,” Dr. Xu was flipping through a stapler, casually pulling out a red envelope from the drawer that Chen Luzhou’s friend had sneakily slipped to him before leaving. He righteously slapped it on the table for Director Cai, “Look at this! Kids these days, are so savvy. Haven’t even entered society yet, and they already know to give red envelopes. And they ran off right after giving it, I couldn’t even catch up. Think about it, how decent can his parents be? How decent can a kid raised by such people be?”
Director Cai: “Confiscate it, confiscate it!”
“Confiscate my ass, thinking they can bribe me with this small amount of money, dream on!”
**
As soon as Chen Luzhou got in the car, he learned that Zhu Yangqi had secretly gone back to give him a red envelope behind his back. He immediately kicked him in the car, “Are you crazy? Why did you give me a red envelope?”
Zhu Yangqi was confident, “Trust me, next time you go, he’ll greet you with a smile.”
Chen Luzhou silently repeated Dr. Xu Guangji’s name in his mind, vowing never to make an appointment with him again. What was he thinking? There won’t be a next time!
“Are you still going to play basketball tonight?” Zhu Yangqi daringly asked, “Jiang Cheng’s group just called again.”
“What do you think?” Chen Luzhou leaned back in the taxi’s rear seat, giving him a cold sidelong glance.
“Forget it, I guess you won’t be interested in playing ball for a while,” Zhu Yangqi thought to himself, could it be that he’s lost interest in girls too? So, he cautiously leaned over and asked, “What about Xu Zhi? You’re still interested in Xu Zhi, right?”
Chen Luzhou, prompted by this question, instinctively lowered his head to look.
Zhu Yangqi kindly suggested, “Why don’t you ask her out to watch a movie? Relax a bit.”
“No.” He looked at the passing street scenes outside the car window, rejecting the idea without a second thought.
Zhu Yangqi, quick-witted, observed his cold and handsome profile with some schadenfreude, “Don’t tell me you’re fucking jealous?”
“Come on, what right do I have to be jealous,” Chen Luzhou was still carelessly looking out the window, walls plastered with various tacky small ads. He sighed and said, “Since the day she came down the mountain, I’ve been wondering why I had feelings for her.”
Zhu Yangqi said: “Love at first sight? It’s not strange to fall in love at first sight nowadays. Just like when we first started high school, the moment I saw Gu Yan in our class, I liked her. But I knew I definitely couldn’t pursue her.”
Chen Luzhou was still looking out the car window. He didn’t come to this road often; it was one of the areas that had escaped Qingyi’s urban renewal in recent years. The street was narrow and cramped, with mottled mold stains on the low buildings on both sides, piles of garbage, and cars parked illegally everywhere, squeezed in wherever possible. The residents were unwilling to renovate because they were all group tenants, with a mixed flow of people. There was an alley inside that was said to be a street for all kinds of scams and shady businesses. Some people checked lottery tickets, others read fortunes and practiced geomancy, and some engaged in illicit affairs – in short, it was Qingyi City’s earliest red-light district.
He glanced back at Zhu Yangqi, his mouth curling in a rare self-mockery, “Maybe there was some of that, but thinking carefully, it was more about the desire to conquer.”
“Because she’s not interested in you? And she’s this kind of beautiful girl with a personality? Or is it that you don’t believe she’s only interested in your mom?”
Chen Luzhou turned his face away, “A bit of everything. I think she’s either a high-level player or truly naive. Either way, I don’t want to play along anymore. The former is too passive, the latter is boring. Besides, I’m not going to stay here. She’s so dependent on her dad, her college entrance exam score is probably not low, and she’s not likely to go abroad with me.”
Zhu Yangqi: “Alright, I can only say it’s deep feelings but a shallow fate. And it happened at this critical moment. By the way, Feng Jing is coming back in a few days. Aren’t you about to go abroad? I want to formally introduce you two. Old Feng also plays with photography, you two will have a lot to talk about. I’ll also invite Jiang Cheng and the others, let’s all get together.”
Jiang Cheng was also considered Chen Luzhou’s childhood friend, though not as close as Zhu Yangqi, but they often played basketball together, so naturally, they were familiar. Moreover, Jiang Cheng also went to middle school in another province, in the same school as Chen Luzhou. When Chen Luzhou transferred back, he followed suit.
If we’re talking about familiarity, Jiang Cheng was more familiar with Chen Luzhou.
“Mm.”
Zhu Yangqi, because of yesterday’s basketball incident, felt somewhat uncomfortable, “Jiang Cheng has been getting quite close to Tan Xu recently. I’m not badmouthing Jiang Cheng, I’m not familiar with him at all. If it weren’t for your relationship, I wouldn’t even contact him normally. I’m just wondering, should we warn him about Tan Xu?”
“Jiang Cheng plans to retake the college entrance exam. If Tan Xu plans to transfer back, I guess they’ll be in the same retake class. It’s normal for them to get closer,” Chen Luzhou didn’t care much, “By the way, can you help me with something?”
**
When Xu Zhi received Zhu Yangqi’s call, she was helping Chen Luzhou look at lenses, specifically the lens cap she had damaged earlier. She wanted to buy a new one to give back to him, but Chen Luzhou hadn’t contacted her. Xu Zhi could only search online for guides based on his camera model.
“Chen Luzhou went to the neighboring city today. He asked me to take your cousin to look at the cameras. He has a friend who specializes in this,” Zhu Yangqi said on the phone.
Xu Zhi made an “oh” sound and asked, “Why didn’t Chen Luzhou contact me himself?”
“He’s been a bit busy lately, took on a job in the neighboring city, probably shooting for three or four days,” Zhu Yangqi explained, “If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up. Tomorrow, have your cousin contact me, I’ll take him to meet Luzhou’s friend.”
“Okay, thanks.”
After saying this, Xu Zhi hung up the phone and continued looking at lenses similar to his camera model on her phone. Cai Yingying, seeing her spending day and night picking lenses for a certain handsome guy these past two days, suspiciously asked, “Why are you still looking? You’ve been at it for two days, haven’t you found a suitable one yet?”
They were at Cai Yingying’s house. Cai Yingying, probably feeling that the green hair on her head wasn’t very auspicious, was now fiddling with hair dye, wanting to dye her hair color back. Xu Zhi was sitting on the carpet hugging her legs, scrolling through her phone with unprecedented seriousness, having gone through all the online guides, “No, the ones recommended in the guides, Chen Luzhou seems to have them all. I originally wanted to buy a 50mm focus lens to give back to him, but he said he prefers shooting people. The guide says 85mm is more suitable for portraits, but I found out that the ones he uses are all so expensive. One lens costs tens of thousands, the cheapest is also several thousand.”
“No wonder he didn’t notify us when he went to the neighboring city. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to bring us along either. With his set of equipment, it would be a waste for him to be our photographer,” Cai Yingying, full of concern for Xu Zhi’s money, vigorously stirred the hair dye in her hand, “Why don’t you forget about buying a lens and just treat him to a meal or watch a movie? Otherwise, I think even if you sold yourself, you couldn’t afford his stuff.”
Xu Zhi was quite annoyed inside.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her lately. She kept thinking about Chen Luzhou, couldn’t help but check WeChat, and subconsciously would click into Chen Luzhou’s Moments. She felt like she had gone crazy wanting to make money.
She originally thought she and Chen Luzhou were somewhat friends, but after casually scrolling through his Moments, she suddenly realized that friends were what he least lacked. Just randomly opening it, she could see one or two familiar WeChat IDs liking his posts, seemingly girls from the class next to theirs at Ruijun Middle School.
“Isn’t this, what’s her name,” Cai Yingying was very familiar with this person, “The Little Nightingale from Class 5? She sings well, and participated in the city’s Top Ten Singers competition, right? What’s up? Does she have something going on with Chen Luzhou?”
Xu Zhi shook her head, “No, I mean, do you think Chen Luzhou ever considered us friends? Or just like those top ten friends in his Moments who just like his posts? Like Little Nightingale?”
“Does it matter?” Cai Yingying saw through it all. After putting on the hair dye cap, she opened a bottle of cola for herself and said, “A handsome guy of his caliber is just a fleeting presence in our world. We’ll never have any intersection with him in the future. We should look at other handsome guys, like this one.”
Cai Yingying eagerly opened her phone to show her a photo, “Remember our video that went viral? Someone online asked if we wanted to do a photoshoot together. I threw out an olive branch, and he said he was willing to go explore shops with us and be our photographer. His real name is Feng Jing, also from Qingyi. I’ve decided to sincerely invite him to join our Orioles and Swallows Shop Exploration Squad! What do you think?”
Xu Zhi looked at the photo and thought to herself, well, he’s not as handsome as Chen Luzhou.
“Alright, making money is what matters,” Xu Zhi sighed.