From somewhere out of sight came the sound of unhurried footsteps.

Liuxian walked back in and looked at Guiying first, the way he always did, that brief assessing glance that took in everything without appearing to.

"Sit down Little Xian," Doctor Gu said, already pulling out a fresh chart. "Your turn."

Liuxian sat.

"When did you last have a proper checkup?" Doctor Gu asked, settling back into his chair.

"Six months ago," Liuxian said.

"And your gastritis?"

Liuxian was quiet for a fraction of a second. "Manageable."

Doctor Gu looked at him with the flat patience of someone who had known this person for thirty three years and was not impressed by that answer. "Manageable meaning you are taking your medication consistently, or manageable meaning you are ignoring it and hoping it resolves itself?"

Liuxian said nothing.

"That is what I thought." Doctor Gu made a note. "Are you eating on schedule?"

"When I can."

"That is a no." Another note. "Skipping meals, working through lunch, high stress environment, irregular sleep." He looked up. "You are actively making it worse."

"I am aware," Liuxian said.

"Good. Then stop." Doctor Gu set the pen down and stood. "Let me check you properly."

The examination was thorough and efficient. Doctor Gu checked his blood pressure, his weight, ran through the standard markers, pressed carefully along his abdomen and noted Liuxian’s jaw tightened slightly at one point without commenting on it.

He checked the pheromone levels last.

He looked at the results, glanced briefly at Guiying sitting in the corner chair, and set them down without particular surprise.

"Your pheromone levels are elevated," he said. "Which is entirely understandable given the circumstances." He looked at Liuxian. "Everything else is within range. You are approximately eighty four percent healthy, which for someone who treats his body like a business asset he can run into the ground and repair later, is frankly better than you deserve."

Liuxian looked at him. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Gastritis needs consistent management," Doctor Gu continued, already writing. "Medication every morning without exception, meals at regular intervals, reduced caffeine, reduced stress where possible." He paused. "I know that last one is aspirational. Do the other three." He tore the prescription from the pad and held it out.

Liuxian took it.

"Also," Doctor Gu said, sitting back down and folding his hands on the desk, looking between both of them with the easy, unhurried expression of a man who had just spent an hour with two people and had formed several opinions he had not been asked for, "feed your husband properly. His malnutrition did not happen overnight and it will not correct overnight either. Three proper meals a day, no skipping, no excuses." He looked at Liuxian. "You own a hospital and a mansion with a full kitchen staff. There is no reason."

Liuxian looked at Guiying.

Guiying looked at the ceiling.

"Three meals," Liuxian said.

"Every day," Doctor Gu confirmed.

Doctor Gu looked at Guiying pleasantly. "Would you mind waiting outside for a moment?"

Guiying looked between him and Liuxian, read the room accurately, and stood without argument. He picked up his phone and walked out, pulling the door shut behind him.

Doctor Gu waited until the footsteps had faded down the corridor.

Then he looked at his cousin.

"Why," he said, "did you marry the illegitimate child of the Xue family? Of all the ways to get out of an arranged marriage, Liuxian, that is genuinely one of the more unhinged options available to you."

Liuxian’s expression shifted slightly. "Brother Yanchen. Do not call him that."

Doctor Gu raised an eyebrow.

"He is my wife," Liuxian said. "I would prefer you address him by his name. It is not his fault he was born out of wedlock. He has been unlucky his entire life because of something he had no part in." A pause. "And it was not something I planned initially. But he has piqued my interest. He is also very pretty."

Doctor Gu looked at him for a long moment.

"He is pretty," he agreed. "I will give you that." He leaned back in his chair. "Your mother is not going to be happy about this. You know how she feels about reputation. She has been telling everyone who will listen that you are going to marry Dia An." He tilted his head. "I also did not know you were gay."

"I am not," Liuxian said.

"Not yet."

"Not yet." Liuxian agreed, without apparent concern.

Doctor Gu looked at him for another moment, then laughed, a short and genuine sound. "Well. I am quite happy for your little bunny."

Liuxian’s expression did something that was not quite a smile but was in the same neighborhood.

"Enough about me," he said. "When are you getting married? You are thirty six. I can only imagine what Auntie has been saying to you."

Doctor Gu chuckled, a low and unhurried sound. He leaned back further in his chair and looked at the ceiling with the expression of a man who had made peace with a situation he found mildly absurd.

"Honestly?" he said. "I do not know. I have spent so much time in school and then building the practice that I feel too old for the whole process now. The older men my age do not meet my standards." He paused. "And I do not want to marry someone younger. That is a whole different kind of hassle I have no patience for."

Liuxian looked at him. "So your plan is to simply not get married."

"My plan," Doctor Gu said pleasantly, "is to let my mother exhaust herself on your situation first and hope that by the time she circles back to me she has lost some of her momentum."

Liuxian looked at him for a long moment.

"That is not a plan," he said.

"It is working so far." Doctor Gu said.

Liuxian stood up, and turned to the door.

"I’ll take care of my parents. I know it won’t be easy for Guiying, but I’ll protect him from the worst."