Chapter Eighty-Nine: An Unspoken Burden

"Uh, didn’t I tell you to go back to the orphanage?" Lin Tian hurriedly changed the subject.

Zhang Ding said, "Nothing was going on at the orphanage, so I just ran back here."

"Oh, by the way, how are things going with Zhang Ting?" Lin Tian asked with a smile. Since Zhang Ting had nowhere to go, she had been placed at the orphanage to care for the children. Every day she drew a steady salary and did work she loved, and it was as if she had become a different person altogether, living each day in high spirits.

"Well... Boss, why would she ever fancy someone like me? I’m divorced, and I’m several years older than her," Zhang Ding said a little awkwardly.

"At most five years older. That doesn’t count as old. As for whether she’ll take a liking to you, how would you know the answer if you never try? Some things only succeed after you try them. If you don’t even try, then you don’t even get the chance to fail," Lin Tian said slowly.

Seeing Zhang Ding looking embarrassed and timid, Lin Tian went on, "Zhang Ting is a model. In both figure and looks, she’s a top-notch beauty. More importantly, she has a kind heart and is a good girl. I feel you two are very well matched. Besides, it seems to me she has a little interest in you too."

Zhang Ding looked as though he wanted to speak but hesitated, opening his mouth only to swallow the words back down.

"What is it? Do you have some kind of hard-to-say reason?" Lin Tian took Zhang Ding’s lack of confidence for the answer and teased him a bit, hoping to ease the mood.

Zhang Ding lowered his head, embarrassed, and said, "Boss... you really did guess it. I do have something I can’t bring myself to say."

Lin Tian was almost tempted to curse. What on earth was this? He had just thrown out a casual remark, and it had hit the mark. "What exactly is going on?" he asked.

For a man, nothing mattered more than his performance in that department. Even if he was impotent, he still liked to boast everywhere about how mighty he was, claiming he could fool around for an hour or more, as if he were nearly rubbing sticks together to make fire.

Because of that, many men who had problems never dared to speak of them, and wouldn’t even go to the hospital, afraid of losing face. For Zhang Ding to say such things in front of Lin Tian now meant he clearly regarded Lin Tian as one of his own, and he truly liked Zhang Ting. He was afraid she would be forced into a life of widowhood while still unmarried, and for a young woman in the bloom of youth, that would be unbearably cruel.

Lin Tian patted Zhang Ding on the shoulder and said with earnest concern, "It’s all right. Medicine is so advanced these days. Go see a male health specialist at the hospital; it should be treatable."

Zhang Ding looked as if he might burst into tears. He stared at Lin Tian with a face full of misery and said, "Boss, I’ve already been to the hospital. They said there’s no cure for me. This is how it’ll be for the rest of my life. Damn it, I used to be full of life, and now I’m reduced to a shrimp. I have to hold myself up just to pee, or I’ll end up pissing all over my shoes."

Lin Tian laughed and scolded, "Nonsense. Who doesn’t hold themselves up when they pee? If you don’t aim properly, it goes everywhere."

"Boss, after spending this time together, I’ve realized Zhang Ting has some feelings for me too. But I really don’t want to hold her back. She’s still young, and I don’t want her to stay with me and live like a widow. That wouldn’t be fair to her," Zhang Ding said very seriously.

"Let me take a look. What exactly is going on?" Lin Tian frowned slightly. Since Zhang Ding had said as much, it was obvious the problem was real enough. As for that sort of thing in men, Lin Tian understood a little; in truth, much of it was a matter of the mind. One had to remember that the subconscious was immensely powerful.

Zhang Ding’s face went pale with fright, and he stammered, "You want to look now?"

"Yes, right now," Lin Tian said with certainty.

"Here?" Zhang Ding asked miserably.

"Yes, right here," Lin Tian confirmed again.

Zhang Ding looked as though he might cry. While fumbling to undo his belt, he said, "Boss, could we go out into the courtyard? If I take my clothes off here and someone sees me, they’ll think I’m crazy."

Lin Tian was both amused and exasperated by him, and quickly said, "I said I’d take a look, not that I was asking you to take off your pants. Roll up your sleeve. I’ll take your pulse."

Only then did Zhang Ding hastily fasten his belt again. He let out a long breath of relief and handed his arm to Lin Tian. "You scared me to death. I thought you were really making me take off my pants."

Lin Tian placed his index finger on Zhang Ding’s wrist and carefully examined his meridians. He discovered that Zhang Ding’s yin and yang energies were out of balance, causing a blockage at the perineum.

Once the root of the ailment was found, the rest was easy. Lin Tian sent a trace of true energy through him, spending ten minutes gently opening Zhang Ding’s meridians and clearing the blocked passage, while also replenishing some spiritual energy. When he was done, Lin Tian smiled and said, "It’s nothing serious. The reason you’ve been unable to perform in that area is simply that your body is out of balance."

Just now, Zhang Ding had felt piercing pain everywhere in his body, especially below the waist, as though needles were stabbing him. So intense was the agony that every pore on his body seemed to open. Yet he clenched his teeth and did not make a single sound, enduring it with sheer stubbornness. That made Lin Tian admire him all the more; he was a real man. If it had been anyone else, he would probably have been howling long ago.

"I feel much lighter all over," Zhang Ding said in surprise.

"Most likely your wife ran off with someone else, and you were hit hard by it. Then you gave up on yourself and lived without any regular routine, which caused your body to fall out of balance. In truth, this doesn’t count as an illness. Even if I hadn’t helped you, as long as you kept a good routine and healthy habits, you’d be back to normal before long," Lin Tian explained.

With a thud, Zhang Ding dropped to his knees before Lin Tian. "Boss, I don’t even know how to thank you."

Lin Tian helped him up and said with a smile, "A man has gold under his knees; don’t kneel so easily. All right, get up."

Zhang Ding wiped his slightly swollen eyes. At the lowest point of his life and career, Lin Tian had appeared. He had not only changed Zhang Ding’s life, but also his destiny. "Boss, I really don’t know how to repay you," Zhang Ding said sincerely.

"We’re brothers. Why talk about repayment? If you really want to repay me, then hurry up and make Zhang Ting your wife. She’s a good girl; if you miss this chance, there won’t be another like it," Lin Tian teased.

Zhang Ding gave a simple, honest smile and said, "I’m actually worried that I’m too capable. If I marry Zhang Ting in the future, I’m afraid she won’t be able to handle it."

Damn it! Such an honest-looking fellow, and yet he could say something so shameless. They say that once a man gets married, he acquires a third of a rogue’s mannerisms; it seems that’s true after all. Lin Tian muttered inwardly.

"Matters between men and women are like oxen plowing fields: there are no ruined fields, only exhausted oxen. As the saying goes, good food taxes the rice jar, a hot fire taxes the charcoal, and a good woman taxes the man. Even if you’re a diamond drill, a woman can still handle you with ease. That’s called softness overcoming hardness," Lin Tian said with a grin.

"Brilliant! Boss, what you just said is truly brilliant. I’m completely convinced," Zhang Ding said, giving Lin Tian a thumbs-up with an expression of deep admiration.