Fifteen minutes later.
The jeep slowed down and turned onto a road lined with tall poplar trees on both sides.
Zhou Hanzhang saw the distinctive walls and guard post of a military compound up ahead.
When the guard at the post saw Zhou Hanzhang, he immediately saluted.
Zhou Hanzhang said, “I’m here to find someone.”
The guard hurried inside to make a phone call. A few minutes later, the gates opened.
Zhou Hanzhang drove inside and continued until he reached a five story red brick building, where he finally stopped.
Someone was already waiting downstairs.
He turned off the engine and got out.
The man had already walked over to the car.
He was over 1.8 meters tall, with a refined, fair face and a pair of silver rimmed glasses. At that moment, he was smiling at Zhou Hanzhang.
“Why did you come looking for me in the middle of the night? Weren’t you going home to see your father? If you’re feeling unwell, you should go see the doctor on duty.”
Zhou Hanzhang’s expression was indifferent. “Let’s go upstairs and talk.”
It seemed something was going on.
Xu Zhiyuan rubbed his nose and followed him upstairs.
His dormitory was on the third floor and was about fifteen square meters. There was a single iron framed bed, and beneath the window beside it was a wooden desk piled high with thick medical case notes. Two fountain pens stood in an enamel mug, next to a precious transistor radio. Nearby was a rattan bookshelf filled with medical books and yellowed journals.
The walls were spotless, except for a standard human anatomy chart.
Everything was neat and orderly. Even the books had to be arranged strictly according to subject and height. Yet Zhou Hanzhang found the arrangement very pleasing.
The two of them were both a little obsessive about such things.
In other words, they were highly disciplined.
Zhou Hanzhang pulled out a chair and sat down in a broad, imposing manner.
Seeing how familiar he was with the place, Xu Zhiyuan did not mind. After all, they were both bachelors and often visited each other.
Of course, there was a reason for that.
Xu Zhiyuan picked up the thermos and poured Zhou Hanzhang a cup of hot water.
“I don’t have any tea here. You’ll have to make do with this.”
Zhou Hanzhang hummed in response.
Seeing that he had fallen silent and seemed to have no intention of explaining why he had suddenly come over, Xu Zhiyuan became curious. He sat down on the bed, facing him.
“Old Zhou, you came over in the middle of the night. What exactly do you want to ask me?”
Zhou Hanzhang glanced at him but still said nothing.
Seeing him like this, Xu Zhiyuan’s curiosity was completely piqued, and he began making wild guesses.
“I remember you went home to get something, but you never came back. Could it be that your sister-in-law caught you and dragged you off to meet some potential marriage candidates? You’ve only just escaped the tiger’s den, so you came here looking for some comfort?”
Zhou Hanzhang gave him a cold look.
Wrong.
Xu Zhiyuan rubbed his nose.
“Then did you take a liking to someone? No, that doesn’t make sense. Given your situation, marriage isn’t suitable for you. Could it be that your family has nagged you so much that you’ve changed your mind and want to just find someone to settle down with?”
“But that still doesn’t make sense. Given your current condition, unless you’ve recovered, what would be the point of getting married?”
Zhou Hanzhang finally spoke.”It has nothing to do with those things. But I did come here because there’s something I want to ask you.”
Seeing that all his guesses had been rejected, Xu Zhiyuan stopped guessing. “All right. Ask.”
If Zhou Hanzhang had come to him in the middle of the night to ask a question, then it must be something he needed to know immediately.
Xu Zhiyuan was even more curious about it.
After all, in all the years he had known Zhou Hanzhang, the man had always been completely calm and composed, as if there were no problem in the world that could stump him.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true.
There was one exception.
Otherwise, the two of them would never have met in the first place.
Thinking about this, Xu Zhiyuan felt that Zhou Hanzhang’s visit tonight must have something to do with his physical condition.
Looking at the refined man in glasses before him, he should have appeared gentle and scholarly, but the excitement shining through his lenses completely ruined that image.
Zhou Hanzhang felt somewhat helpless.
But there was no one else he could ask about this matter except Xu Zhiyuan.
Zhou Hanzhang pursed his lips and considered his words for a moment before slowly saying, “Today, I… had a reaction.”
“What?” Xu Zhiyuan did not understand.
Zhou Hanzhang frowned at him.
Xu Zhiyuan’s gaze shifted downward and stopped.
Only then did he realize what Zhou Hanzhang meant. He could not help exclaiming,”Seriously? You got an erection?”
Zhou Hanzhang: “…Yeah.”
Xu Zhiyuan’s eyes widened. Even though his glasses made them appear smaller, it was still obvious just how wide the owner of those eyes had opened them.
He said incredulously,”Old Zhou, what happened? You never had any reaction before. I’ve examined you so many times. How could you suddenly have a reaction? Quick, quick, tell me what happened. Are you trying to drive me crazy?”
Seeing his friend so excited, Zhou Hanzhang felt a headache coming on.
But faced with his friend’s questions, Zhou Hanzhang could only purse his lips and reply,”I don’t know either. It just happened suddenly. That’s why I wanted to ask you why this happened and whether I need to undergo another examination.”
Xu Zhiyuan said, “You have to tell me exactly what happened first.”
Zhou Hanzhang was silent for a moment before asking,”Do I really have to explain everything clearly?”
Xu Zhiyuan became serious. “Of course. You’re the patient, and I’m the doctor. If you don’t tell me the truth, how am I supposed to determine what’s going on?”
Zhou Hanzhang’s jaw tightened. After a long pause, he finally said expressionlessly,”Today, I met a young woman. When I pulled her back, she fell into my arms, and I suddenly had a reaction.”
If Zhou Hanzhang had not looked so serious at that moment, his words would have sounded almost like something a lecherous young man would say.
But Xu Zhiyuan did not dare make such a joke.
Otherwise, Zhou Hanzhang would definitely turn around and leave.
This was already an embarrassing matter, and only the two of them knew about it.
Xu Zhiyuan was Zhou Hanzhang’s personal doctor, specifically treating this particular issue.
However, Zhou Hanzhang’s condition was very unusual.
His bodily functions were completely normal, even stronger than those of an average man by several times. Every examination showed that everything was fine, yet he simply had no response.
Xu Zhiyuan had even tried giving Zhou Hanzhang various things that were supposed to enhance male vitality, but Zhou Hanzhang remained completely indifferent. They could be said to have had absolutely no effect.
Well, not entirely.
His body temperature could become somewhat higher than usual.
Although Zhou Hanzhang had cooperated with the treatment, he himself had never really cared about it.
He had never been interested in women in the first place. At most, this simply meant that he had no interest in physical intimacy either.
Almost all of Zhou Hanzhang’s thoughts were focused on the country.
But although he had never considered getting married, if other people found out that the reason was a physical problem, Zhou Hanzhang, as a man, truly did not want outsiders to know.
He could choose not to marry, but he could not bear to be in a position where he had no choice but not to marry.
He had lived like this for so many years.
Yet today, after coming into contact with Meng Jixue, something so unusual had happened.
Zhou Hanzhang had to find out exactly what was going on.
Xu Zhiyuan opened his mouth. After a long while, he finally could not contain his excitement and said, “Old Zhou, come on, tell me! Who on earth has such irresistible charm that even you, a man who’s been impotent all this time, could get it up for her? Is it your blind date candidate? Your sister-in-law really is something. She actually found someone who can make you willing to get married.”
Zhou Hanzhang: “…”
He stood up and was about to leave.
Seeing this, Xu Zhiyuan hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed him, then coughed lightly, looking both amused and helpless.
“Why are you so angry? I’m just happy for you. All right, all right, I won’t ask anymore, okay?”
Zhou Hanzhang’s voice remained completely emotionless. “You only need to tell me whether my condition has recovered.”
Seeing him like this, Xu Zhiyuan had no choice but to become serious.
“There’s a possibility that you’ve recovered, but it’s also possible that you only react to a specific person. But Old Zhou, if you really only react to a specific person, then you won’t have to remain single for the rest of your life. Either way, this is a good thing. I think it’s worth celebrating.”
Zhou Hanzhang glanced at him indifferently before saying,”She won’t do.”