Xu Zhiyuan became curious. “Who won’t do?”
Zhou Hanzhang glanced at him. “You don’t need to know that. I came here tonight specifically to ask you about this. If you can’t give me an answer, I’ll head back first.”
He rather had the air of a heartless scumbag who would simply turn around and leave after getting what he wanted.
Having known Zhou Hanzhang for so long, Xu Zhiyuan naturally knew where to draw the line.
Seeing that Zhou Hanzhang was unwilling to say, he did not press further. Although he was extremely curious, there were some things that simply should not be pried into.
In the past, Xu Zhiyuan had wondered whether Zhou Hanzhang’s problem was simply because he had been abstinent for too long and had never had any contact with women, in other words, he had been holding it in for too long.
But later, even after Zhou Hanzhang’s sister-in-law repeatedly introduced him to potential marriage candidates, he still showed no interest. He remained indifferent, and sometimes his presence even became colder and more oppressive than usual.
Xu Zhiyuan therefore felt that Zhou Hanzhang’s problem was more psychological.
There were not many medical cases concerning this in this era. Xu Zhiyuan had only learned about them after studying abroad, when he discovered that a small number of people could suffer from conditions that differed from those of ordinary people.
For example, with psychological disorders like this, thoughts could trigger physical reactions, and the condition basically had nothing to do with the body’s physical functions.
Such conditions were much harder to treat than physical problems.
And Zhou Hanzhang’s personality and temperament made it difficult to communicate with him in depth, which made it even harder for Xu Zhiyuan to make progress with his treatment.
After all, if the patient was unwilling to cooperate, all he could do was take things slowly.
Xu Zhiyuan had already made up his mind that he would spend the rest of his life battling Zhou Hanzhang’s condition, treating it as a lifelong problem he had to overcome.
Yet he never expected that, today, Zhou Hanzhang would give him such a huge surprise.
And yet Zhou Hanzhang still refused to tell him anything. The curiosity was practically driving Xu Zhiyuan crazy.
With no other choice, he sighed and said, “Old Zhou, you came here in such a hurry to ask me about this, so I can’t give you an immediate answer either. How about this? When you have time, come back for a full physical examination. But if you’re eager to know whether you’ve recovered, when you go home tonight, you can try imagining things related to this and see if you still have a reaction.”
In other words, he was suggesting an experiment.
If Zhou Hanzhang could have a reaction while imagining other things, then it would mean he had recovered. But if he could not, then it would be a different matter.
After saying that, Xu Zhiyuan became serious again.
“If you still don’t have a reaction, you can also try imagining that woman, the one who, um… made you have a reaction.”
The moment he finished speaking, the fountain pen Zhou Hanzhang had been idly playing with flew straight toward him.
Xu Zhiyuan: “!!!”
Propelled by the tremendous force, the pen flew past his handsome face, close enough for him to feel the faint metallic warmth of the pen itself.
Xu Zhiyuan turned around and saw that the pen had struck the wall, leaving a dent.
Frightened, he repeatedly patted his chest and looked at Zhou Hanzhang with an aggrieved expression. “Old Zhou, that was attempted murder of your friend!”
Zhou Hanzhang stood up and said indifferently, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Xu Zhiyuan: “…”
He really was ruthless.
Zhou Hanzhang walked toward the door. “I’m leaving.”
Xu Zhiyuan picked up the fountain pen and complained angrily, “It’s broken. Remember to pay me back for it!”
Zhou Hanzhang waved a hand.
After going downstairs, Zhou Hanzhang got into his jeep and drove straight to Gongzhufen. He had recently been staying in the cadre dormitory building in the compound there.
Since he was unmarried, even though Zhou Hanzhang held a high rank, the housing assigned to him was still a bachelor’s dormitory. Of course, compared with other single person dormitories, his was much better.
It had two floors in total. His room was on the second floor, where the view was better and it was relatively quiet.
Compared with Xu Zhiyuan’s room, it was more than twice as large.
The room was around thirty square meters and divided into three separate areas. The entrance opened into the living room, with one corner set aside as a study and workspace. The other two areas were the bedroom and bathroom.
However, Zhou Hanzhang did not hurry upstairs.
He leaned back in the driver’s seat.
His eyes grew dark and thoughtful as Xu Zhiyuan’s words replayed in his mind.
Imagine?
He pursed his lips and closed his eyes.
He tried Xu Zhiyuan’s method. But he soon discovered that he was still completely uninterested. He did not even want to think about it, finding the whole thing pointless and even somewhat repulsive.
His brows furrowed, and his tightly pressed lips made his expression appear even colder and more stern.
Expressionless, Zhou Hanzhang reached down.
Still, there was no reaction.
For some inexplicable reason, Meng Jixue suddenly appeared in his mind, the way she had fallen into his arms, along with those almond shaped eyes misted with tears.
The next second… his eyes snapped open.
In the darkness of the night, his black eyes were startlingly bright.
He turned off the engine, got out of the car, and went straight upstairs.
After entering his room, Zhou Hanzhang washed up. When he realized there was no more hot water, he simply took a quick cold shower.
Once the restlessness in his body had been suppressed, Zhou Hanzhang sat down at his desk with a tense expression. After thinking for a moment, he picked up his fountain pen and began writing.
Early the next morning.
Zhou Hanzhang arrived at the Xishan compound.
Old Master Zhou was already awake. Although he was advanced in age, he had maintained the same habits he had when he was young.
He had just finished breakfast.
Seeing Zhou Hanzhang arrive so early, the old man was rather surprised.
“Why did you come looking for me so early? Oh, right. How did your blind date go last night? And what about Jixue and Zhishu? How were the two of them? Zhishu didn’t upset Jixue, did he?”
When the old man mentioned Meng Jixue, Zhou Hanzhang’s eyes darkened slightly, but his expression remained unreadable.
He said calmly, “I came precisely because of Jixue’s marriage. Dad, let’s go to the study and talk.”
To talk to him about Jixue’s marriage?
Old Master Zhou became even more suspicious.
His youngest son had always been level headed since childhood and rarely interfered in other people’s affairs. He had devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving the country. Now that he had suddenly come to discuss a younger relative’s marriage, naturally, the old man could not help wondering what this son of his was planning.
Still, since Zhou Hanzhang had brought it up, as his father, he naturally had to hear him out.
The two entered the room.
Once Old Master Zhou was seated, Zhou Hanzhang handed him a handwritten plan.
“This is what I have in mind. Take a look.”