Chapter 258 - 171: Dreaming Of (2)

Chapter 258: Chapter 171: Dreaming Of (2)

Then, the first thought that popped into his head was:

’Holy shit, am I about to fall in love?’

The second thought was:

’Hell yeah, Sun Changming lost!’

The third thought:

’Holy shit, don’t tell me Professor Wang wants to become an academician too?!’

...

「Back at the Southern Medical University dorm.」

Wang Bo turned his head. "Old Jiang, you’re back?"

"Yeah," Jiang He replied. "How’s the novel writing going today?"

"I’m getting ready to start a new book. Didn’t we talk about writing a medical story last time? But I feel like there are no satisfying plot points..."

"Saving lives isn’t satisfying?"

"I mean, of course I think it is, but I’m afraid the readers won’t like it."

Jiang He thought for a moment and casually offered an example. "There are some classic tropes you could use. For instance, the main character treats a top billionaire and gets a consultation fee of tens of millions. Then he goes and rubs it in the faces of his ex-girlfriend who looked down on him and some rich heirs."

Wang Bo was stunned. "Holy shit, Old Jiang, that plot is kind of brilliant..."

"Uh, it is?"

Jiang He scratched his head.

’He thinks that’s brilliant?’

’If I really gave Wang Bo some advice, like a ’Return of the Dragon King’ plot, wouldn’t his head just explode?’

"Don’t sit for too long. Remember to get up and walk around after writing for a while. Authors tend to have poor health, so you need to be careful. Also, like I told you last time, you need to control your sugar intake. Zijian, help me keep an eye on him."

Li Zijian: "You got it!"

Wang Bo tried to negotiate a little leeway for his sugar consumption.

But Li Zijian scolded him, "Shut up! You’re not going to listen to Professor Jiang, are you?!"

Wang Bo: "I’ll listen, I’ll listen! Why are you yelling so loud...?"

Jiang He chuckled and went to take a shower.

While he was at it, he reviewed the day’s work in his mind.

’The progress on reducing jaundice in the Bismuth type IV hilar cholangiocarcinoma case, Feng Ye’s algorithm architecture, the purity data from today’s miRNA extraction at the lab... Hmm, everything is proceeding according to plan.’

After his shower, he took out his phone.

He saw that Shen Yu still hadn’t replied to his message.

Jiang He couldn’t help but frown, scrolling up through their text history from the past few days.

The day before yesterday.

Jiang He: [My work is going great. I had a breakthrough.]

Shen Yu: (Replied three hours later) [That’s amazing! Dr. Jiang is the best! *Reward: one little red flower.jpg*]

Three days ago.

Jiang He: [The temperature dropped today. Remember to wear a jacket when you go out.]

Shen Yu: (Replied four and a half hours later) [I know, I’m already in the study hall. It’s very warm.]

’Something’s not right.’

In the past, no matter when he sent a message, Teacher Shen would almost always reply instantly.

But over the last week, her reply times had been getting longer and longer.

’Is she busy with the exchange student program?’

Jiang He: [Busy with the exchange program? Don’t get too tired. Rest up.]

After looking at it for two seconds, he deleted the words one by one.

He poked his head out. "Chen Hao!"

Chen Hao: "Here!"

Jiang He: "I have a mission for you. Over the next couple of days, help me ask Juanzi about how Teacher Shen is doing."

Chen Hao: "Roger that! I guarantee the mission will be a success!"

...

「Capital City.」

Shen Yu startled awake from a dream, only to realize that at some point, tears had begun streaming down her face...

She threw back the covers and slowly sat up.

Her heart ached so much she could barely breathe. She had to take several gasping breaths before she could calm down a little.

She’d been dreaming a lot recently.

Always the same dream.

She often felt dazed upon waking.

It was as if her soul had been hollowed out. She didn’t know where she was, or even what day it was...

She fumbled for the phone by her pillow and glanced at the time.

Three-thirty in the morning.

Shen Yu wiped the tears from her face, quietly put on a sweater, and tiptoed downstairs.

The campus path was deserted. The ginkgo trees on either side rustled in the wind.

Shen Yu walked to a bench and sat down.

She tilted her head back and looked at the night sky.

"It was too real..." she couldn’t help but murmur.

The dream was so real that even breathing felt exhausting.

In the dream, it was also winter.

She was lying in a hospital bed, her body so thin she was just a bag of bones. Even lifting her arm took all her strength.

The person sitting by her bed was Jiang He.

He looked like... an old Jiang He.

He was looking down, peeling an apple.

Then he cut the apple into small pieces, stuck a toothpick in one, and held it to her lips.

"Want a bite?"

"I don’t want any."

"Mm, that’s okay."

Jiang He forced a smile.

"There’s a new targeted therapy drug out in the United States. I’ve already contacted the experts there. They’ve seen your medical records and said we can use it. Once the drug arrives next month, we’ll start."

Shen Yu lowered her head and didn’t argue.

In truth, the pain radiated from her pancreas to her back, like a knife scraping between her bones.

It was a daily reminder that her life was on a countdown.

Late-stage pancreatic cancer. The cancer cells had already metastasized long ago.

The miracle drug Jiang He spoke of didn’t exist.

At this stage, a simple search online would tell you it was hopeless.

’The new drug was just something Dr. Jiang used to lie to her, and even more so, to lie to himself.’

’How could such an excellent doctor not know what late-stage pancreatic cancer meant?’

In the dream, Shen Yu didn’t expose his lie. Instead, she said, "The apple... I’ll have a bite."

Jiang He quickly fed the piece of apple to her.

Shen Yu put on an act of being easily fooled and took a small bite.

She smiled. "It’s so sweet. Dr. Jiang, will the new medicine be very bitter? I don’t want to take bitter medicine."

Jiang He: "It’s not bitter. Not bitter at all."

His voice was clearly gentle.

But Shen Yu could see his shoulders trembling slightly.

’At that moment, the ache in her heart for him instantly overshadowed her physical pain.’

’Yes, of course she was afraid of dying, too.’

’But she was even more afraid of seeing the person she loved most become like this.’

’Jiang He was supposed to become an outstanding doctor.’

’But now, she had to watch him wither away day by day...’

「The scene shifted.」