Faced with Liang Ze's handsome and clean face, I fidgeted and shyly confessed that I was injured.
After a moment of contemplation, Liang Ze said he wanted to examine the injury in detail.
Examine? How?
Liang Ze shut the ward door, and a bad premonition washed over me.
"Take it off!" Liang Ze said bluntly.
I fidgeted again, thinking that since we were both men and he was a doctor anyway, I might as well just bite the bullet.
The agonizing examination finally came to an end. Liang Ze said the injury appeared to be caused by a beating, and I could try observing it for a few days to see if it improved. If not, I should go to his hospital for a thorough checkup.
A few days later, the injuries on my head and body had improved somewhat—except for a certain area.
However, I didn't tell Liang Ze the truth because I had my own plans.
This mortal body only had a lifespan of five years, and worldly pleasures were of no concern to me; my only goal was to finish what I needed to do.
Being unable to get up was definitely not a good thing for Xu Zhi, but for me, it might actually be a blessing in disguise.
I wouldn't have to worry about unwanted physical reactions popping up from time to time, which would make doing things in the future much more convenient.
As for Xu Zhi, he should have reincarnated long ago; Little System said his remaining consciousness was merely an obsession.
After ten days in the hospital, my external injuries were mostly healed, and I planned to be discharged.
During this time, only Xu Da had sneaked over to see me twice; the rest of the time, it was Liang Ze who carved out time to check on me.
Aside from that, not a single soul came to see me.
In the hospital hallway, I spotted a man whose face looked somewhat familiar.
It was the man who had injured that specific part of me!
Although it wouldn't be a big deal not to be able to get it up if I were a woman, it was genuinely upsetting.
Unable to resist, I followed the man's pace to see what he was doing at the hospital.
To my surprise, he actually walked into the obstetrics and gynecology department? What the heck? Weren't men supposed to be barred from entry?
I stood at a distance, completely baffled, and just as I was about to leave, I distinctly overheard a conversation between two men.
"Dad, is it really these past few days?"
"Of course. A woman is most fertile about a week after her period ends. If you want to pull this off, seize these few days."
"What about that drug of yours..."
"Rest assured, it just knocks her out for a bit, it won't be life-threatening. Once you sleep with her, she's pregnant, and you become the son-in-law of a wealthy family, our family can finally live the good life."
"What if the Qin Family isn't willing..."
"How could they not be willing? The girl's already pregnant; wouldn't they rush to hold a wedding? Do they even care about their reputation?"
"I still feel a bit..."
"You're a grown man, such a coward! Such a beauty—if I weren't so old, a spineless wimp like you wouldn't even get a turn before me."
"Fine."
...
This conversation made no sense, but I caught the mention of the "Qin Family."
Then that man walked out of the obstetrics and gynecology department carrying something.
"Zhi, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you..." Liang Ze was truly a great friend, coming over specifically to help me through the discharge process.
Because Father Xu and Mother Xu were furious that I had offended both the Qin Family and the Chang Family at the same time, they had cut off my funds, and Xu Da wasn't allowed to "subsidize" me either, or his cards would be frozen too.
Besides, Xu Da had gotten himself grounded because of his entanglements with the rich woman from the nightclub, so I hadn't seen him since and could only chat via WeChat.
The current situation was: Xu Da had money but couldn't help me, and he was restricted to the house; while I was a free agent, I had no money.
That true friend Liang Ze brought me to live in his high-end four-bedroom apartment and even gave me money.
I was practically moved to tears of gratitude toward this man.
"What are you thinking about?" Liang Ze asked as he ate. "Is the money not enough?"
As I ate, I couldn't help recalling the conversation I had heard from far away at the hospital that day, and an ominous feeling lingered in my heart.Perhaps because women have a strong sense of empathy, I was very worried about Qin Di.
Liang Ze listened to what I said and remarked, "She caused you to get beaten up this badly, and you're still worried about her."
I had been angry, but when I woke up that day, I was indeed in disarray in the same room. I had no idea if Xu Zhi's body had given in to lust.
To take a step back—even if I was angry, even if I was wronged, and even though I wanted revenge—I never intended to ruin a woman's body and reputation in this manner.
I was a woman too!
"Then how do you plan to warn Qin Di? The Qin Family probably hates you right now."
I thought about it for a moment, but failing to come up with a better idea, I decided to go directly to her and tell her in person.
Liang Ze had a surgery coming up. He told me to reach out to him if anything came up and promised to reply the moment he finished.
He also told me that if the other party refused to listen, I should respect others' destinies and let go of my savior complex.
When Qin Di saw me, she said, "You actually dare to show your face here?" Then she glanced down at a certain part of me and sneered, "You aren't casually 'popping up' anymore, are you?"
Perhaps because I had never truly internalized the male role, I didn't take such a disrespectful remark to heart and stated my purpose directly: "There is a man around you who might pose a threat to you..."
After I finished explaining everything I knew, Qin Di responded precisely as expected: "Why should I believe you?"
Remembering Liang Ze's words, recalling her sneer, and feeling the current uselessness of my lower body down there, I decided there was no point in playing the saint, and took my leave.
Qin Di watched me leave without saying anything further.
Two days later, I received a call from Changxia asking to meet up.
This was only the second time I had come to the villa belonging to Xu Zhi and Changxia. It was rather ridiculous that the actual owner of the house couldn't live properly in his own home.
Upon entering, I saw Changxia dressed in casual homewear. Xu Zhi's body stirred excitedly again, twitching as if trying to rise.
Just like Qin Di, Changxia glanced at a certain part of me, but remained silent.
It was better that I couldn't get it up; at least I wouldn't have to face anyone's disdain.
"Xiaodi listened to your warning and had the butler sniff that person out. It was their family's head of security. The Qin Family has already dealt with the bodyguard, his father, and the sedatives. Xiaodi asked me to thank you."
"You two know each other?" I was very surprised; Xu Zhi had never mentioned this to me.
"We do." Changxia actually smiled. This was a woman who had never smiled in front of me before.
Her smile was breathtakingly lovely, like blooming peach blossoms, and Xu Zhi's heart skipped a beat—something I could completely understand.
"How about Xiaodi joins the two of us for dinner tomorrow? What do you think?" Changxia suggested.
I agreed, because Liang Ze had mentioned that the Qin Family possessed immense strength and vast resources, with numerous corporations under their family conglomerate—such as headhunting agencies and food companies...
Headhunting agencies? I could give that a try!
I didn't stay the night. After all, we were planning to get a divorce anyway, and since I didn't feel much of anything for Changxia, I headed back to Liang Ze's place.
Liang Ze glanced at me several times, clicking his tongue repeatedly.
The next day, I arrived at the designated Michelin-starred restaurant. The two women had already arrived and were chatting happily.
Throughout the entire meal, they talked mostly about each other, occasionally throwing a word my way when they remembered I was there.
After the meal, the two girlfriends were still not done talking, but I excused myself, saying I had matters to attend to.
On my way back to Liang Ze's place, I didn't take a taxi. I walked to digest my food and, along the way, digest the relationship between Changxia and Qin Di.
As it turned out, the two of them were childhood friends. When Changxia heard that I had bullied her good friend, she was furious and intended to divorce me.
However, since I had helped Qin Di this time and made up for my past faults, Changxia said she could hold off on the divorce for now and told me to behave myself.
After Changxia finished saying that, both Qin Di and I fell silent, and then I announced I had things to do and left.