Chapter 52

In the office of the specimen testing team’s leader, Liu Weiping was looking up information on the internet when Sun Jing knocked on the door and entered the room.

Noticing the smiley expression on her face, Liu Weiping said out of curiosity, “You look very happy. What’s going on?”

Sun Jing handed the report in her hand to him and said while chuckling, “This is Zhou Wen’s work today.”

Liu Weiping took the report and read it. He looked up and said in astonishment, “Is it really his first time?”

Sun Jing laughed and said, “It’s real. I sent Yang Jiawei to guide him from the side throughout the whole process.”

Liu Weiping looked at the report and exclaimed, “This boy is really talented.”

Sun Jing nodded and took a seat. She spared no effort in praising, “Zhou Wen is really impressive. Yesterday morning, Jiangzhou University held an oral thesis examination arranged especially for him and the event’s attendees were the expert scholars from the top six universities including Tongji University, Fudan University, Jiao Tong University, Tungnan University, and Nanking University…”

Liu Weiping widened his eyes in surprise the more he listened to it.

Upon noticing his expression, Sun Jing laughed secretly in her heart.

A few days ago, Zhou Wen sought help from her, saying that he wanted to get a journalist to write him a feature story. However, she felt that it would be too plain to just have her comment alone. As a result, she considered and figured that it was best to seek the team leader of the department to put into a few good words for Zhou Wen.

The feature story would be even more convincing this way.

It was precisely due to this reason that she spared no effort in glorifying Zhou Wen… Nonetheless, her action could not be described as flattering either because she was telling the truth.

In the gynecology department, Liu Aiping had been restless throughout the day today.

She nudged her acquaintance at the laboratory department and received a reply that she would be able to get the result by tomorrow night.

Yet, she was still burning with anxiety.

Receiving the test result one day later signified that her mother would be treated one day later, and the possibly existing cancer cells could multiply in her body for one more day and it also signified that her mother’s life…

Therefore, it came as a surprise to Liu Aiping when she received a call from her friend in the laboratory department before she got off work that night. The friend told her that her mother’s test result was already out and asked her to head over to the attending physician to find out more.

Liu Aiping asked curiously, “I thought it’s out tomorrow night?”

“Yes! However, someone completed it for aunty in advance.”

“Who’s that?”

“Uh… Since the report is out, you should head over to find out aunty’s condition first.”

Liu Aiping understood that there must be some unique situation in this event surely. However, since her friend refused to disclose the situation, it was better for her not to probe further. “Then, will you please help me to thank him?”

“Hmm, sure.”

Liu Aiping hung up the call and rushed over to the oncology department.

Her mother’s test result was out, just as expected.

The diagnosis was early-stage pancreatic cancer.

…

In Jiangzhou University’s south walking street at six in the evening, Chen Ziyuan dressed in a flamboyant outfit with a red sweater, red jogging pants, and red sneakers, as he held the phone and shouted, “Hello, are you coming to the karaoke tonight, Old Zhou?”

In the call, Zhou Wen said, “I’m not free tonight.”

“Why is that so? I’ve already arranged everything. Xu Shuangyu is coming too.”

“Her presence is not my preference. I have to work an extra shift tonight.”

“I thought your job is very relaxed; why do you have to work overtime?”

“It’s an ad-hoc overtime request.”

“Alright then…”

Chen Ziyuan hung up the call and said to the two beautiful girls next to him in despair, “Old Zhou said that he has to work overtime tonight.”

Xiao Lingling, who was holding a cup of milk tea in her hand, said with a smile, “Do you think that Old Zhou spends his day idling around doing nothing like you?”

Chen Ziyuan said with a helpless expression, “I want to work hard too, but it’s not within my capability.”

“Cough, spit…” Xiao Lingling spat at him.

Soon afterward, she turned and nudged at Xu Shuangyu, who was pacing next to her, and said, “So what are we going to do then? Are we still going to sing karaoke?”

Xu Shuangyu shook her head. “No, what’s the fun when there’s only three of us?”

“Shall we go for drinks then?”

“No, I’m allergic to alcohol…”

“What should we do then? We can’t just stand on the streets like this, right?”

“Uh…” Xu Shuangyu considered it for a moment, and then her eyes suddenly lit up as she said, “Shall we go to the hospital?”

Xiao Lingling shook her head profusely like a pellet drum. “No, no, why should we go to the hospital when we’re feeling fine?”

Xu Shuangyu chuckled and said, “To see if Zhou Wen is lying?”

Chen Ziyuan nodded in agreement upon hearing that. He said, “That’s right, we should check on him. If Old Zhou is lying to me, I won’t acknowledge him as my brother anymore from now on.”

Realizing Chen Ziyuan’s agreement, Xiao Lingling did not try to object to the idea, naturally. She said in helplessness, “Uh, then let’s head over there after dinner…”

In the laboratory department of the affiliated First People’s Hospital.

Zhou Wen headed to the PCR laboratory after dinner.

Dai Haidong from the PCR laboratory had to ask for leave due to some urgent matters at night. He could not get someone to take his shift all of a sudden, so he called up Zhou Wen and sought his help.

Dai Haidong was half a teacher to him so how could he possibly reject him?

Moreover, the system gave him a small mission too.

Zhou Wen was already very skilled in performing PCR tests now. In fact, he had even helped someone to perform a paternity test out of boredom.

He performed the amplification for over an hour, according to Dai Haidong’s instructions, before he completed it. There would be someone else who would perform the product analysis next.

Zhou Wen washed his hands, got changed, and left the laboratory. He took a stroll around the sixth floor and found that everybody else went home after work.

Then, he turned around and boarded the elevator to go downstairs. He checked his phone when he was at the door and found that it was not even eight o’clock yet.

The inpatient department on the west was brightly illuminated and interwoven with the silhouettes of men.

He walked toward the west entrance swiftly.

He crossed the street and was about to walk to the shopping mall on the northern side when he saw a young maiden kneeling on the ground begging at the crossing signal.

The people crossing the road would cast her a glance occasionally because she was a girl, but most people were bustling about in a hurry without even looking at her.

Using his Truevision, Zhou Wen could see that the tears on the young maiden’s face had already dried despite her lowered head, leaving only two dark-gray streaks on both sides of her nose bridge. Her expression was droopy and numb, and she appeared to be shaking unsteadily as if she would faint at any moment.

On the other hand, she propped up a cardboard in her hand with the writing that her father was gravely ill and needed money for the treatment and sought people’s pity on her.

Her other hand clutched a small bunch of notes consisting of 100s, 50s, 10s, and 5s.

Through the minute changes in her expression, Zhou Wen could tell that the young girl was not a swindler.

In reality, it was way too common to see this situation happening in the areas around the hospital. Many families suffered from losing all their fortune in an effort to treat an illness. In the end, they were completely bankrupt, yet they refused to see their family members, so they had no choice but to succumb to this situation.

These people would kneel at the door of the attending doctor’s office, the entrance of the hospital, or the crowded areas around the hospital.

All sorts of situations could be seen.

Zhou Wen turned around and took two steps forward.

He pondered for a moment before he turned around again.

God bestowed him with a system for the purpose of letting him save the lives of even more people. He could not allow himself to do nothing and watch a man die.

He had to find out the situation, at the very least.

He made his way to the young maiden, kneeled down, and asked, “What sort of illness does your father have?”

The young maiden answered with a grim voice, “Late-stage lung cancer.”

Zhou Wen was prepared to inquire further when he discovered that there was a diagnostic report placed next to her knees.

He picked it up, read it, and shook his head in his heart.

The lung cancer had metastasized to both his lungs, and it was already at a late stage. There was no need to treat the condition anymore.

“Did the doctor tell you that your father…”

Before Zhou Wen could finish his sentence, tears gushed down from the young maiden’s eyes, where her dried tears had previously flown, and splattered on the cardboard in front of her.

Zhou Wen switched the Truevision’s mode and looked toward the young maiden once again.

[Name: Ye Ziyao. Gender: Female. Age: 15. Occupation: Student. Physical state: Hungry. Mental state: Depressed.]

‘Yikes…’ Zhou Wen heaved a sigh, stood up, and said, “Let’s go; take me to see your father.”

Ye Ziyao kneeled over there without budging at all.

“Don’t worry; I’m not a bad man.”

As he was speaking, Zhou Wen took out the employee ID in his pocket and passed it to Ye Ziyao. “Here, this is my employee pass.”

Ye Ziyao relied on the light shining from above her head to read the words on the employee ID. Soon afterward, she looked up to Zhou Wen with her face drenched in tears and with trembling lips. She appeared to want to say something but did not manage to utter a word.

Zhou Wen was a sentimental person, and he could not stand seeing something like this.

“Let’s go.”

He turned around and walked toward the hospital.

On the 12th floor of the inpatient department, Ye Haiming, the father of the young maiden, was moaning in agony as he laid on the bed.

Pathological symptoms related to late-stage lung cancer emerged on Zhou Wen’s mind automatically.

The pain that came with late-stage cancer applied to lung cancer as well.

This was because the chest cavity where the lungs were positioned inside the body was a complex space made up of the thoracic cavity, parietal pleura, muscles, ribs, and fat. It surrounded a large portion of the lung’s surface.

When the tumor invaded any part of this thoracic wall, it would trigger intense pain.

On the other hand, the nerves that originated from the cervical column controlling the upper limbs would also pass through the thoracic wall. Due to the implication of the tumor, the upper limbs would be showing symptoms of pain and weakness too.

Furthermore, there would be extensive edema, hemorrhage, ulceration, and other complications as well.

All in all, it would be an exceedingly agonizing experience to suffer from lung cancer without adequate money to purchase targeted therapy drugs.

One of the main causes of lung cancer was smoking.

Looking at Ye Ziyao’s father sweating profusely from the pain on the bed, Zhou Wen made the decision to… smoke less from now on.