withered lover

In December, the temperature dropped to zero, and there were snowflakes in the suburbs.

Shen Guiwan was wrapped in a down jacket and blanket, curled up on the bed and read a book.

Shen Lu came back late at night last week, and Shen Guiwan was awakened by the sound of the wheels of the suitcase rolling over the wooden floor, and he didn't close his eyes all night.

He stayed up until the next morning, but heard the sound of Shen Lu leaving in a hurry.

Shen Lu seemed very busy, and Shen Guiwan hadn't heard of his return for many days.

He was not at home, Shen Guiwan lived a relatively free life, but he just rejected Du Zhinian's invitation to meet, and now there is no other reason to go out.

Ever since Du Zhinian hung up the phone that day, the two hadn't been in touch for half a month.

Du Zhinian seemed to have evaporated from the world, and there was no news from him at all.

Shen Guiwan deleted the call and chat records before Shen Lu came back, and occasionally clicked on Du Zhinian's profile picture, but all he saw was blank.

The chat interface was clean, nothing, as if they had never spoken.

But Du Zhinian's coat was still hanging in Shen Guiwan's closet, and even the scarf Du Zhinian casually wrapped around his neck was right by his hand now.

Shen Guiwan's adaptability is very strong, after staying in the warm comfort zone, he can accept the cold cage again.

Just hugging the scarf late at night to keep warm, sniffing the shea butter fragrance that was so faint that he could hardly smell it, he would occasionally think of the night when he fell asleep in Du Zhinian's arms.

He comforted himself that it was a warm and misty dream, and he made up random reasons to paralyze his empty heart, but he couldn't resist the constantly invading cold.

Shen Guiwan touched the soft scarf, dragged it into the quilt and hid it.

He picked up the old book that he had read many times, and the familiar words rushed into his brain, and slipped out quickly after his eyes swept over them.

Shen Guiwan knew the continuation of the story, and finished reading a book very quickly.

He picked up the novel he had just read a while ago. This book was written with obscure words, and he read it intermittently. He couldn't remember many details clearly.

This time Shen Guiwan watched carefully, and his speed also slowed down.

But at the end of one chapter and about to enter a new chapter, the phone on the bedside table vibrated and rolled off the edge.

The phone rolled around on the bed, and the lit screen faced Shen Guiwan directly.

Shen Guiwan didn't even look at it, he picked it up and was about to throw it upside down on the bed, but the phone vibrated and fell out of his hand.

The phone vibrated one after another, Shen Guiwan's thoughts were interrupted, and he had to focus on the phone.

He picked up his phone and clicked on the three unread messages.

Shen Guiwan thought he would see Du Zhinian's black and white profile picture, but after clicking on it, the screen jumped to an unfamiliar chat interface.

The top of the chat interface displayed the name that Shen Guiwan had remarked to the other party, but there was a bracket after the name, and the word "Squad Leader" was written in the brackets.

The monitor's two messages before and after are all emoticons, and only the middle one is text.

Squad leader: The class plans to go back to school for a reunion next month, is it convenient for you to come?

Shen Guiwan fell into deep thought while looking at the name on the top of the screen and the three messages sent by the other party.

The person who sent the message was Shen Guiwan's class monitor in college. In my impression, she was a shy girl. Shen Guiwan remembered that she had voted for her when she ran for class monitor.

Seven years passed so quickly, Shen Guiwan couldn't remember many things at that time clearly.

He seldom interacts with his college classmates. He doesn’t mingle with girls like his roommates who came out publicly. Because of Shen Lu, he doesn’t like to associate with men. His relationship with college classmates has always been dull. After graduation, he gradually cut off contact. .

Now that she has graduated three years ago, it is rare to receive an invitation to a class reunion, but Shen Guiwan has no choice but to resolutely leave Shen's house and go to the distant capital like he did when he just received the admission letter seven years ago.

The price of leaving back then was too painful, and when I think about it now, the broken ribs are still aching.

Shen Guiwan hid his hands under the quilt for a while, and then slowly typed four words in the dialogue box.

Shen Guiwan: Not very convenient.

After sending the edited message, Shen Guiwan didn't read the other party's reply, turned on the do not disturb mode of the phone, and stuffed it into the gap between the mattress and the bedside table.

Being interrupted by the class monitor's sudden invitation, Shen Guiwan didn't pick up the novel again.

He put the books piled on the bed back on the bookshelf, dragged a chair and sat down by the window, looking up at the sky outside the window.

There were fine snowflakes floating outside the window, the sun was hidden behind the gray clouds, and the sky did not change much.

The snowflakes slowly falling from the sky fell on the window edge, and gradually turned into water droplets on the cold metal. The snow water dripped from the edge of the window edge, leaving a thin water mark on the glass window.

The snowflakes kept falling, and there were streaks of water on the glass window. The bean-sized water droplets disappeared on the edge of the window, and only a few water droplets remained on the transparent glass.

The temperature in the outskirts was a few degrees lower than that in the city center, and it snowed all day. Shen Guiwan didn't know if it was snowing in the city, but he didn't have anyone else to ask.

He drew the curtains, and the door behind him was suddenly kicked open from the outside with a "bang".

Shen Guiwan took a step back vigilantly, and after seeing the face of the person outside the door clearly, his back tensed up instantly.

"Why the hell don't you turn on the light at home! Who are you trying to scare!" Shen Lu, who shouldn't be coming back at this time, walked in cursing.

He turned on the light, which illuminated the room and allowed the two people in the room to see each other clearly.

Shen Lu looked at the down jacket on Shen Guiwan's body, rushed up and grabbed his collar, "Did I go out to find men again when I was not at home?"

"Aren't you cheap!" Shen Lu cursed and even spat.

Shen Guiwan was staggered by Shen Lu, and his body lost his balance and almost fell to the ground.

He frowned and didn't speak, his silent appearance completely ignited Shen Lu's anger.

"Snapped--"

The slap was slapped heavily on Shen Guiwan's face, with such force that he fell directly to the ground, his knees knelt on the ground with a muffled sound, and he immediately cried out in pain.

Shen Guiwan curled up and hid the most vulnerable parts of his body, leaving only the back for Shen Lu.

However, the pain that Shen Guiwan expected did not come.

"Tonight there is a very important guest who wants to be entertained by you." Shen Lu's voice came from above Shen Guiwan's head, and then a card was thrown on the ground.

He looked at Shen Guiwan who was lying on the ground in a state of distress, and said sarcastically: "Anyway, you like men so much, so go and spend the night with him. After eating and drinking for nothing for so many years, you should make some contribution to me."

Shen Lu's words hit his body, Shen Guiwan trembled and hugged himself even tighter.

He kept trembling, Shen Lu couldn't understand his half-dead look, kicked him hard, and walked away angrily.

Shen Guiwan curled up on the ground, heard the footsteps gradually receding, and slowly sat up from the ground.

He looked at the black room card with numbers printed on the ground, and the image of the first time he met Du Zhinian at the bar suddenly flashed before his eyes.

Du Zhinian smiled and pushed the room card in front of him, and then a cup filled with light yellow liquor blocked his view.

The room card left by Shen Lu was almost exactly the same as the one Du Zhinian took out, the only difference was the number on it.

"There are too many misfortunes in the world...you can't help everyone escape the sea of ​​suffering..."

Du Zhinian's voice echoed in his ears, and the man's casual smile appeared in Shen Guiwan's mind again.

His words were harsh, even though Shen Guiwan was angry, he couldn't refute.

After all, there are vivid examples before Shen Guiwan's eyes. His mother, Lu Xing...even himself, none of them can get rid of this cruel reality.

But he was different from his mother. His mother was freed, and he was still imprisoned in this cold house by Shen Lu.

Shen Lu is his father, and even if such "housework" as a father's lesson to his son becomes serious, it will only get a few mild criticisms in the end.

He still couldn't get rid of this predicament, he couldn't leave this cage, and he would even be sent to entertain guests by Shen Lu.

Shen Guiwan touched his chest, and his fingertips touched the uneven scar after scabbing through the fabric.

He touched the scar, but suddenly laughed.

I am stuck in the quagmire, who can I help?

Shen Guiwan stretched out his hand, and his fingers touched the smooth surface of the room card.

Like he did in the bar, he picked up the key card from the floor.

After a day of snow in the suburbs, only a few scattered flowers remained in the urban area.

But even if it wasn't snowing, the outdoor temperature was close to zero. As soon as Du Zhinian got out of the heated car, he was shivered by the cold of the underground parking lot.

He trotted onto the elevator, leaned on the handrail and read the morning news.

The news reported that it was snowing in the suburbs. Looking at the desolate scenery on the picture, Du Zhinian somehow remembered Shen Guiwan's back when he was standing by the sea.

Shen Guiwan's hands and feet have always been cold, and it takes a long time to warm up at night. Now that it's snowing in the suburbs, it may be even more uncomfortable for him to sleep alone at night.

Du Zhinian was subconsciously worried about his lover, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that he was being affectionate.

He knew that Shen Guiwan was angry, so he deliberately waited a week before contacting him. He thought that his docile lover had calmed down, but he didn't expect to be ruthlessly rejected.

Since Shen Guiwan rejected the invitation, they haven't spoken for two weeks, which is a signal to Du Zhinian that they are ready to sever their relationship.

Shen Guiwan's clothes take up too much space in the closet, so if he has time to go back tonight, he will pack them up and throw them in the trash can downstairs when he leaves tomorrow.

Du Zhinian leaned on the armrest and chuckled, and was about to turn off the news, but the phone screen jumped to the incoming call notification.

Du Hengyu's name occupied the most conspicuous position on the phone, and the smile on Du Zhinian's face immediately disappeared completely.

He looked at the phone with a gloomy face, and there was a "ding" sound above his head, and the elevator door opened in front of him.

Du Zhinian cut off the phone with a cold face, and strode towards the department.

Du Zhinian hung up on Du Hengyu's phone, changed into his clothes after entering the department, and went to see a doctor. Du Hengyu's subsequent messages were all ignored.

He had the right to pretend that there was no such matter, but he was called to the office by the dean within an hour.

Du Zhinian pushed open the door of the dean's office. The dean who was sitting on the sofa drinking tea saw him coming, and greeted him with a smile: "Xiao Du is here, sit down."

"Try the Pu'er your father gave me." The dean poured Du Zhinian a cup of tea.

The white porcelain cup contained a reddish-brown liquid, exuding a strong tea aroma. Du Zhinian said "Thank you" politely, and took a sip of the tea.

The dean looked at Du Zhinian, and waited for him to put down his cup before saying, "Director Zhang told you about the new dean."

Du Zhinian's heart skipped a beat, and he stabilized his hand holding the cup, but his face showed a confused expression, "I mentioned it, you will retire in the next year, and the hospital will have a new director, what's wrong?"

He didn't mention Director Zhang's advice, but just vaguely said something that everyone knew.

The dean pondered for a moment, then said, "You should have seen Yu Minggu from Nanjiang Pharmaceutical, right?"

Du Zhinian nodded, "I've seen it a few times."

The industries of Nanjiang Pharmaceutical and the Du family are in competition. The two families often meet on various occasions. Even Du Zhinian, who is not involved in the family business, has seen Yu Minggu at the banquet held by the Du family.

They met several times in public, but only Shen Guiwan knew about the private deal, and Du Zhinian would not tell other unrelated people.

"The new dean is from his side. You know that the former chairman of Nanjiang Pharmaceutical had a bad relationship with your father." The dean sighed, "After I left, there may be another personnel change."

He was vague, implying that Du Zhinian should keep a distance from the new dean.

Du Zhinian laughed mockingly, "What does the matter between their chairman have to do with me as a doctor?"

He shrugged indifferently, "I'm not the director."

The dean's face changed slightly when he heard the words, "I just want to remind you, don't stand in the wrong place."

This was the first time Du Zhinian heard the dean talking to him in a warning tone. He knew that Du Hengyu's son had always been very polite to him before, but his attitude now is nothing more than Du Hengyu's tacit approval.

Du Zhinian couldn't guess their real purpose in the phone call before contacting Du Hengyu.

This group of people played with him several times and controlled his future. Now that the hospital's contacts have changed, they remembered his existence.

It's too late to remind him not to stand on the wrong team now.

Du Zhinian ignored the dean's warning, and said with a half-smile: "You're worrying too much, I just want to be a doctor in peace and contentment, to study and advance like everyone else, and I'm not interested in the dirty things between them. "

"If it's okay, I'll go back first, the patient is still waiting for me." He stood up and flicked the non-existent dust on the white coat.

The dean waved his hand impatiently when he saw that he didn't eat oil and salt, "Go, go."

Du Zhinian left the office with a smile, his face changed suddenly the second the door closed.

He stood at the stairs with an ugly face, and cursed in a low voice: "Damn it's unlucky!"

24 and 25 have been slightly revised, and there will be a chapter later.

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