AFMWDX Chapter 33

TL: Hua

The night before the recording of Legal Life, near midnight, the study lamp was still on. The desk was covered in peeled orange rinds.

Xu Baizhang knocked and entered. “Still not sleeping?”

Yu Qingtang rubbed his eyes. “The recording is tomorrow.”

Under normal circumstances, Yu Qingtang, as the ace anchor of evening news, had no need to spare so much effort for a weekly broadcast program, having already devoted nearly all his energy to it.

Xu Baizhang took the orange slice out of Yu Qingtang’s mouth. “Don’t eat any more; your stomach won’t be able to handle it.”

When it came to health and wellness, Yu Qingtang could never win against him.

Xu Baizhang cleared away the rinds. “Since it’s a pre-recorded show tomorrow, you need to sleep even earlier tonight.”

“I can’t sleep. I keep feeling like I’m not prepared, but I don’t know what else to change.”

Xu Baizhang stood behind him and massaged his shoulders. “This isn’t like you.”

Yu Qingtang caught Xu Baizhang’s hand and rubbed his face against the back of it, like a cat seeking affection. “My mind is a mess. Even if I lie down, I won’t be able to sleep. I’ll just overthink, and even if I do fall asleep, I’ll have nightmares.”

“If you don’t like lying down, then don’t.” Xu Baizhang hooked his fingertip under Yu Qingtang’s jaw. “Close your eyes and relax your mind. I’ll give you a massage.”

Soothing piano music played in the study. Yu Qingtang closed his eyes, sinking into the comfort Xu Baizhang provided. His acupoints felt sore and swollen at first, then gradually became loose and relaxed. He soon drifted into sleep.

After the piano track looped three times, Xu Baizhang cradled Yu Qingtang’s head and carried him back to his room.

In the four months they had been married, this was the first time he had stepped into Yu Qingtang’s bedroom. The room reflected the owner: clean, orderly, with light-colored sheets that were free of wrinkles.

Xu Baizhang turned his gaze and noticed the items on the nightstand.

There was a rabbit and a butterfly woven from straw, arranged like precious decorations, and a bracelet carefully kept in a transparent dust-proof box.

Xu Baizhang tucked him into the covers, turned off the light, and knelt halfway by the bedside. After hesitating, he took Yu Qingtang’s hand, touched the wedding ring, and began to kiss it with dense, lingering affection.

Before this, Xu Baizhang never dared to dream of such things. What he never even dared to dream of actually happened.

He gently parted Yu Qingtang’s ring finger and put it into his mouth. His tongue enveloped the fingertip, carefully licking and teasing it; his teeth pressed against it, rubbing it lightly.

Reason said he shouldn’t, but his emotions were beyond control.

Insatiable greed is the dark side of a selfish heart; he was not content with this and wanted more. He wanted to have him, possess him, and merge into his body so that he would belong to him alone, forever and ever.

The sleeping man curled his body, letting out soft breaths. “Mm… Baizhang, be gentle… mm, it hurts…”

—

Next morning at 9:00 AM, at the recording site of Legal Life.

Liu Siyan: “Everyone, five-second countdown to recording.”

“Five, four, three, two, one.”

Yu Qingtang stood in the center of the stage. “Hello to the audience here and those watching on TV. Welcome to Legal Life, which airs every Saturday night on CCTV. I am your friend, Yu Qingtang.”

On the day of the recording, the station invited a hundred audience members to attend for free. Firstly, the station wanted to determine the program’s effectiveness based on the audience’s feedback. Secondly, increased interaction would enhance the program’s atmosphere.

As the show neared its end, the camera zoomed in for a close-up of Yu Qingtang. “That’s all for today’s program. Thank you for watching. Follow Legal Life to learn the stories of the people around you. See you next week.”

Liu Siyan called “cut,” followed by a round of warm applause.

Seeing the expressions of the audience and colleagues, Yu Qingtang breathed a sigh of relief. He and Liu Siyan bowed together to all the staff involved in the production.

Regardless of the outcome, they had given it their best.

Backstage after the recording.

Liu Siyan gave him a big hug, her eyes red. “Are you playing with me? You looked so off yesterday; I was worried sick and couldn’t sleep all night. Then today, you show up like nothing happened—perfect as a god! In the end, I’m the only one who suffered!”

Yu Qingtang rubbed his face. “I have to thank my family Dr. Xu.”

“Oh~” Liu Siyan nudged his shoulder. “No wonder you’re glowing. Turns out you were ‘nourished’ by Grandmaster Xu.”

Yu Qingtang knew her mind was wandering. “Keep it clean. He just gave me a massage last night, and I slept very soundly.”

There were no nightmares and no waking up in the middle of the night. His dreams were filled only with Xu Baizhang’s embrace. It felt as if he were snuggled in his arms until dawn.

“Yes, yes, it’s all just your little couple’s fun. I don’t understand, and I don’t want any more dog food.” Liu Siyan said with a laugh. “Let’s go eat.”

“I won’t be joining. Baizhang is waiting for me to eat at home.”

“Sigh, our Great Anchor Yu has been completely conquered. Go enjoy your two-person world. This ‘solo-since-birth’ girl is out. Bye-bye!”

There were ten directors competing for Legal Life. After all groups finished recording, four would be selected for trial broadcasting. Yu Qingtang and Liu Siyan were in the final group, scheduled to air a month later.

Since the earlier programs would affect the reputation and ratings of the subsequent ones, the station would aggregate scores and conduct written exams, interviews, and comprehensive evaluations of the directors, production teams, and hosts.

In the end, Legal Group Four—the group Liu Siyan and Yu Qingtang belonged to—defeated Legal Group One, led by Director Feng, by a narrow margin of two points to win the recording rights.

This result made Yu Qingtang break into a cold sweat. Group One was indeed very strong, and their own luck hadn’t been great.

The third group had chosen very dated material, resulting in a mediocre performance. This caused the ratings, which had been steadily rising, to dip. The fourth episode hit a record low; although it grew in the later stages, it was still lacking—the rebroadcast ratings were much higher than the premiere.

Having successfully secured the recording rights, Yu Qingtang and Liu Siyan agreed that he and Xu Baizhang would host a celebratory dinner for the three of them.

They were supposed to meet at the station entrance at 6:30 PM. Yu Qingtang waited until 6:40 PM, but no one answered his call.

He went back up to look for her. Just as he stepped out of the elevator, he heard shouting from a distance—it was coming from the restroom at the west end of the third floor.

“Feng Shuoyang! If you have a problem, say it to my face! What kind of man are you, hiding in the toilet to make secret calls and badmouth me behind my back?!”

“Liu Siyan, are you crazy?! Why were you eavesdropping on me?”

“So what if I was? If you have the guts to say it, don’t be afraid of being heard! Let me tell you, I wasn’t eavesdropping—your voice is just so loud that your disgusting words carried right into the ladies’ room! Rotten! Repulsive!”

Feng Shuoyang’s voice hadn’t actually been that loud, but by pure coincidence, his stall shared a wall with the ladies’ room, and the sound traveled easily.

Liu Siyan had a fiery temper and couldn’t stand a single grain of sand in her eye; she despised people who gossiped behind others’ backs. Furious, she had kicked open the restroom door and physically dragged him out by the shoulder. No one could stop her.

The scene was chaotic. Behind a partition wall, Yu Qingtang called Xu Baizhang. “Siyan is in a bit of trouble here; you might have to wait a while.”

Liu Siyan’s shouting was so loud it reached Xu Baizhang through the phone. “Is she alright? Do we need to intervene?”

“Not for now. I’ll contact you if anything happens.”

Liu Siyan’s temper was famous throughout the station. She was usually pleasant and got along well with colleagues. If it reached the point where she was screaming at someone, it was 100% because the other person had gone too far.

She hated being interrupted during an argument; she had to win to feel satisfied, or she’d keep at it for days.

Feng Shuoyang was genuinely intimidated. As the crowd grew, he worked up his courage and shouted, “So what if I talked about you? You only got picked because of Yu Qingtang! Why act so noble? Even with him, you only beat me by two points. What are you? If Yu Qingtang had been with me, I would’ve outplayed you easily!”

Yu Qingtang: “…”

How did I get dragged into this?

Feng Shuoyang’s earlier words were somewhat tolerable, but they grew increasingly offensive. “Hmph, he got his news anchor position through an inappropriate method, and you used him to get this show. You’re birds of a feather, rotting together.”

Yu Qingtang: “…”

Now that is crossing the line.

Yu Qingtang stuffed his phone into his pocket and was about to walk out when a figure blocked him. It was Liao Wenfeng. He said, “I’ll handle it.”

Yu Qingtang: “Thank you, Director, but I prefer to handle it myself.”

When Yu Qingtang stepped out, Liu Siyan was holding her phone up to record everything. “Oh, you really have a lot to say, don’t you? Come on, say it again if you have the guts. I’m recording every bit of it so everyone can see your foul, jealous face!”

Yu Qingtang took the phone and pulled Liu Siyan behind him. He calmly said to the man, “Director Feng, you should know that the provincial TV station building is equipped with high-definition cameras all around, and your every word and action will be recorded.”

“As a journalist, you know the power of language, so you should be all the more careful with your words. You claim I obtained my anchor position through an improper method—do you have evidence? In a society ruled by law, we focus on factual proof. Otherwise, I can sue you for defamation.”

“It seems you have a significant blind spot regarding the law. How can someone who doesn’t understand the law produce a good legal program?” Yu Qingtang continued, “I’ll send you two books another day to help you brush up on basic legal knowledge. I’m sure you’ll improve.”

Feng Shuoyang’s face turned beet red, his mouth clamped shut as if wired.

“On one hand, you say I rely on connections and have no talent; on the other, you’re jealous that Liu Siyan was able to invite me. Director Feng, don’t you find that contradictory?”

“Our station has always let talent speak for itself. Underhanded behavior is not honorable. Before doing your job, learn to be a decent human being.”

“Finally, I hope you understand that if Liu Siyan hadn’t won this show through her own merit, you wouldn’t have even qualified as a runner-up.”

Yu Qingtang pulled Liu Siyan away while she continued to yell, “Don’t stop me! This grandson’s mouth is so foul, this grandma is going to fight him to the death!”

“Enough. You called him a grandson yourself, so why lower yourself to his level? Calm down.”

Liu Siyan was baffled. “Aren’t you angry?”

“Baizhang is waiting. I don’t have time to be angry at him.”

Liu Siyan: “…Fine, fine. I finally see the fundamental difference between us. I’m a single dog, and you’re part of a pair. Sigh, tragic, so tragic.”

“I’ll treat you to a great meal tonight to soothe your soul.”

Liu Siyan scoffed. “Just eating your dog food has already stuffed me to death.”

Finally, she calmed down. But the moment they got into the car, her anger flared up again. She pulled out the video. “Grandmaster Xu, look at this. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, do people like this—bitter, manipulative, and petty—get bad karma? Are they destined for a miserable end in this life and the next?”

Yu Qingtang: “…”

Is she confusing TCM with fortune-telling?

Xu Baizhang took the phone and studied the person in the video seriously. He watched it twice before speaking. “I cannot predict his future, but based on the present, I suggest he see a doctor.”

“What’s wrong?”

Both of them leaned in.

“This person likely has decent abilities, but he is irritable and moody, likely suffering from insomnia, excessive dreaming, and anxiety.”

Xu Baizhang’s observation was spot on. Looking across the entire station, Feng Shuoyang was also a standout in terms of professional skills. His programs were highly innovative and achieved top ratings, and his talent was recognized throughout the station.

The main reason his group lost this time was that his programs had frequent accidents over the past six months. Three months ago, he was removed from his previous show and was currently serving as an assistant director for the children’s channel.

Xu Baizhang asked, “Is he married?”

Liu Siyan replied, “I heard six months ago he was getting married. He was telling everyone and inviting us to the wedding. Then it just went quiet. I heard from others that the marriage fell through.”

As Yu Qingtang listened, he truly admired Liu Siyan’s ability to gather intel.

Xu Baizhang took a screenshot of the video where the man had his mouth open, enlarged the photo, and studied it for a moment. “Yes, that fits.”

“What do you mean?” Liu Siyan asked impatiently. “What fits?”

Xu Baizhang: “He might be suffering from a… private ailment.”

Liu Siyan’s ears perked up. “What kind of ailment?”

Xu Baizhang handed the phone to Liu Siyan without answering.

“Hey, Dr. Xu, tell me! Stopping halfway like that is pure torture.”

Yu Qingtang tried to persuade her: “Alright, if someone is sick, you shouldn’t keep prying.”

“No way! Master Xu, if you don’t tell me, I’ll be an insomniac tonight. If you tell me, I can at least remind him to get treatment. You have no idea how nasty he was being earlier—if he hadn’t been targeting Qingtang, I wouldn’t be this fired up!”

Xu Baizhang’s expression darkened. “What did he say to you?”

Yu Qingtang: “It’s nothing, just a minor conflict. He couldn’t win the argument against me anyway.”

“That’s true,” Liu Siyan added. “When we left, his face was purple like a pickled eggplant—so cowardly he didn’t dare say a word. But Dr. Xu, just tell me.”

“Look at the surface of his tongue. A greasy coating indicates dampness. A pale, swollen tongue with a white coating usually points to dampness in the lower burner, belonging to the pattern of kidney yang deficiency.”

Liu Siyan nodded like a diligent student in class. “And then?”

“He likely suffers from frequent anxiety and irritability; he is timid and suspicious, overuses his brain, overthinks, and is prone to constant fantasies.”

Liu Siyan: “Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly how he is now—muttering to himself like he’s possessed.”

“Coupled with the recent changes in his marriage prospects, he is depressed and frustrated. His emotions are suppressed, leading to excessive grief, which causes the liver to lose its governing of flow. This results in poor drainage, stagnant qi, and relaxation of the ancestral sinew. Furthermore, he overindulges in rich, greasy foods and alcohol, brewing damp-heat that blocks the middle burner. This lack of robust qi and blood leads to kidney deficiency. Since the kidney governs the storage of essence, therefore…”

Liu Siyan: “Therefore what?”

Xu Baizhang pulled the car to the curb. “We’re here.”

“Hiiyah, what is it?” Liu Siyan was dying of curiosity. “Master Xu, you can’t do this! You’re killing me.”

Xu Baizhang didn’t answer, so Liu Siyan started analyzing it herself. Kidney deficiency, poor flow, storage of essence, and he didn’t get married. “Does he have ‘functional obstacles’ in that department? Like impotence?”

Yu Qingtang: “…”

What on earth is she blathering about?

Xu Baizhang didn’t say anything, but his expression was one of tacit agreement.

Yu Qingtang: “…”

Liu Siyan covered her mouth, taking a moment to process it. “Oh, no wonder. Okay, suddenly I’m not angry anymore. Hiiyah, it’s not easy for him to have to carry all that.”

After dinner and dropping Liu Siyan off, Xu Baizhang drove toward home.

Yu Qingtang still remembered the conversation from before dinner. Although Feng Shuoyang had been out of line today, that kind of illness was a heavy burden.

Yu Qingtang asked, “Are you sure about his diagnosis?”

Xu Baizhang: “Nine times out of ten.”

Yu Qingtang: “Can it be cured?”

“His condition seems to have persisted for a long time, compounded by a long-term sub-healthy lifestyle. With internal obstruction of the middle burner and damp heat steaming the liver and gallbladder, treatment will be a long process.”

Yu Qingtang listened silently, breaking into a cold sweat.

Xu Baizhang said, “Young people today don’t prioritize their health. They push themselves to the limit before thirty, exhausting their essence and blood just because they’re young. After middle age, everything they did to their bodies comes back to haunt them.”

In today’s society, the pressure of life and work is high, making people prone to depression and anxiety. If left unresolved for long, chronic suppressed anger damages the liver, causing it to lose its function of maintaining smooth flow.

“In terms of sexual health, overindulgence and excessive strain lead to deficiency of kidney essence and impaired yang energy, resulting in weakened vital fire. The essence and qi become cold and deficient, leading to a lack of vigor. Or, due to the depletion of kidney yin, the source of transformation becomes insufficient, resulting in exhaustion and, ultimately, impotence.”

“At the same time, excessive lust damages fluids and consumes blood, harming the kidney yang. When the vital fire fades, the zongjin loses its nourishment, becoming flaccid and unable to rise. Taking large amounts of aphrodisiacs or hormonal drugs only creates an illusion of stamina. Or, using external devices long-term to gain pleasure… they don’t realize they are just draining their vitality.”

“Blindly taking medication might increase hardness, but the semen cannot be discharged, or it is sparse and watery. Meanwhile, long-term excessive masturbation leads to weakened sensitivity. When it comes time for the actual act, they find themselves flaccid or lacking firmness. By the time they regret it, it’s too late.”

“Moreover, many patients are too embarrassed to speak up. They hide their illness and avoid doctors, unwilling to speak publicly and silently bearing a heavy psychological burden, which only makes the symptoms worse.”

Perhaps in a doctor’s eyes, this was all professional territory, but listening to it made Yu Qingtang’s face flush. His mind felt like it had been doused in chili oil, and he asked a question he immediately regretted: “Then what about you? Is your health good?”

The air felt like it had been shoved into a freezer at -10 degrees; the surroundings seemed to solidify.

Yu Qingtang wanted to explain but couldn’t. Words once spoken can’t be taken back. He suddenly understood the meaning of “having a mouth but being unable to speak.”

As the car drove into the underground garage, the surroundings flickered between dark and light. He only heard Xu Baizhang’s slow, deep voice: “My health is very good…”

After a few seconds, Xu Baizhang added leisurely, “Especially my kidneys.”

Prove it with action Dr. Xu (¬‿¬)