1.
In the past, I looked down on eunuchs in film and television: what meaning does a man have without that part? Now, while I still have it, its function has nearly vanished! I feel like crying without tears; here I am, a tall man at six feet, reduced to being a "grandfather."
Not only do I feel physically uncomfortable, but my mental state has also become incredibly fragile and sensitive. Whenever my wife and her mother watch historical dramas, I avoid them entirely, fearing the moment a eunuch appears and the way they might look at me, intentionally or not.
In the past six months, my thriving company has only been given the name of a Legal Entity. Coincidentally, my wife's workplace underwent layoffs. With the mindset of "making up for past mistakes," I handed over all company affairs to Jiang Xiaoli, who had been laid off. I obediently followed her arrangements and continued taking traditional Chinese medicine to improve my health.
These days, while she is on a business trip, I feel slightly relieved from the psychological pressure when she is not around. Taking advantage of her absence, I decided to try Western medicine with a mindset of treating a dead horse as if it were alive.
2.
"What’s going on?"
Who would have thought that there would be a female doctor at the Men's Clinic? The way she looked at me felt like daggers, making me instinctively hunch my back.
"I... I..."
For women, a man's impotence is not just a joke; it’s an immense shame! I almost turned to flee through the door.
"What do you mean 'I'? Just say what’s going on! Isn’t it just that matter? What’s so hard to talk about?" The doctor was about my age, her voice pleasant yet cold. With her mask on, I couldn’t see her expression, but her gaze was sharp.
"My wife and I have been married for almost five years now, and we haven’t had any children..."
I stammered.
"Get to the point! For example, can you not penetrate during intercourse or just look at each other? Or is it about endurance? Have you done any tests to confirm low sperm count, dead sperm, or low viability?"
"None of those!" The woman’s professionalism bolstered my cowardice. Wiping my face, I decided to go all out: "When we first got married, our marital life was normal. At that time, our financial situation wasn’t great; we didn’t want kids so early and took measures to prevent pregnancy. But in the last two years, we’ve wanted children but can never muster the energy; it’s not that we’re uninterested or incapable..."
"Take off your pants and lie down on that bed."
A wave of helplessness and shame washed over me; I felt like I wanted to sink into the ground. Lying there exposed felt like being a fish on a chopping board waiting to be slaughtered.
The woman put on rubber gloves and used a metal instrument to poke around down there. I turned my head away, unable to look at her, only feeling the coldness of the instruments in her hands.
"Excluding external injury as a cause, go to that Disposal Room and collect a sample for testing."
My face and neck felt like they were on fire: given my situation, are you sure I can produce a sample? The so-called Disposal Room was just a chair and a table with collection tubes and a stack of "adult" magazines on top—who knows where the hospital got those from?
Still not working!
Faced with my wife's stunning beauty, I couldn't muster any manly vigor, let alone put anything on paper. After struggling for more than ten minutes, drenched in sweat, I still couldn't produce a "sample."
I really wanted to cry. At home, only Jiang Xiaoli and her mother would know about my embarrassment, but here, it felt like the whole world was watching me.
"Knock, knock, knock." The doctor must have been anxious and was knocking on the door.
"Doctor, I can't do it!" When a man tells a woman that he "can't," there's a sense of despair within. Tears welled up in my eyes without my realizing it.
The door opened, and the doctor entered silently. She squatted down in front of me and said, "Breathe slowly... relax... yes... breathe in again... How is your relationship with your wife?"
"It's okay, I guess. She never abandoned me during my toughest times..."
"Is she your first love?"
"No, my first love went abroad the year we graduated and told me not to wait for her!"
The doctor's hand paused for a moment. "Did she tell you that herself?"
"She was best friends with my wife, sharing a bunk bed. My wife passed on the message."
The doctor fell silent.
Men really are creatures who think with their lower halves.
For the past two years, despite being married to a beautiful wife, I could never get into the mood. Yet here in front of this female doctor, I had a reaction.
It wasn't that she was particularly skilled; she had hurt me several times during the examination.
—She squatted in front of me, her white coat failing to conceal her graceful curves. I couldn't tell if it was her body scent or her hair fragrance that made me feel a bit flustered.
A milky substance that resembled milk was carefully collected into a test tube by her, which she then labeled: "Send to the second-floor lab; come back for results."
While waiting for the results, my thoughts were complex and chaotic.
Back when we had just gotten married, I was full of energy. If I had three palaces and six courtyards, I could guarantee I'd have more children than Kangxi Emperor!
But at that time, my career was just starting out. My mother-in-law and father-in-law always wore long faces when they looked at me, as if they were just waiting to scold me.
I tried hard to keep a low profile at home while busying myself outside until these past two years when my company stood tall against the unfavorable environment and began to thrive.
Unfortunately, whether it was due to overwork or some other reason, just when I proudly bought a new car and an apartment and discussed with my wife about having a child without taking further measures, nothing seemed to work out.
Without kids, what’s the point of earning all this wealth? My parents would be devastated knowing that the Hu family line would end with me!
Fortunately, my wife, Jiang Xiaoli, always comforts me by saying, "Don't worry, I will love you forever!" The more she says this, the more I feel a sharp pain in my heart, as if I am an irredeemable villain in front of her.
Comment 0 Comment Count