Chapter 378 - 251: When the Stars Shine

Chapter 378: Chapter 251: When the Stars Shine

December 21st, the winter solstice.

The ice storm that had raged for days finally subsided. The venue for the miRNA early screening project press conference was bustling with people.

Jiang He prepared to go on stage.

Before he did, his thoughts drifted back to the five days they had been trapped in the hotel.

Flights were grounded, highways were closed, and everyone was forced to remain in the hotel.

It felt a bit like one of Agatha Christie’s snowbound manor mysteries, just without a clever murderer.

「A few days earlier, in the hotel suite.」

Shen Yu was reading a book, taking notes from time to time.

Gazing at the girl’s focused profile, Jiang He’s mind began to wander.

He was suddenly reminded of a time in a future life when everyone worked from home.

Couples who were usually busy with their own lives were forced into a high-intensity cohabitation mode, staring at each other all day... which then led to a baby boom.

He and Teacher Shen were, in a way, getting an early taste of this kind of intense cohabitation.

Aside from playing cards with the old professors and chatting over tea with the top scholars Professor Weber had brought, he spent the rest of his time cuddling with Teacher Shen in their room.

Unfortunately, Teacher Shen was still in school and was still young.

’Can’t make a baby, what a shame.’

’...A real shame, a real shame.’

Jiang He brewed a cup of tea and placed it on the desk for Teacher Shen.

While he was there, he glanced at what she was studying.

Foundations of Medical Psychology and Intervention for Disaster and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Her notebook read:

["After experiencing an extremely stressful event, patients often exhibit compulsive, repetitive behaviors (such as high-intensity work). As their partner, the focus of intervention should not be on stopping the behavior, but on providing stable emotional companionship..."]

Jiang He couldn’t help but chuckle. "Studying for so long, aren’t you tired?"

"I’m fine." Shen Yu turned her head to look at him, a smile in her eyes. "Let’s go?"

"Okay~"

Living together these past few days had brought the young couple many new emotional experiences.

They were no longer as clingy as they had been at the beginning of their relationship. Instead, they had the comfortable air of a long-married couple.

A single glance or a single word was all it took to understand each other.

This wasn’t their affection cooling down; on the contrary, it was an evolution.

A transformation from lovers to family.

Of course, during those five snowy days, a crisis was also unfolding in the nearby emergency centers.

To put it a little more poetically: the ice and snow froze the city, but they couldn’t freeze humanity’s instinct to survive. Only in the blackest of nights can we truly see the stars shine.

During this crisis, Jiang He witnessed many exceptionally skilled doctors in action.

For instance, there was Professor Weber, who had stopped a gunshot victim’s bleeding with his bare hands in the lobby that day, and several emergency medicine specialists from Northern Europe.

It was thanks to the efforts of these top-tier doctors that the mortality rate of the injured victims was reduced to its lowest possible point.

This was, in a way, a miraculous butterfly effect.

Because of Jiang He’s rebirth, Miller had gathered top scholars from all over the world in Baltimore.

The academic seminar had unintentionally provided a deluxe medical rescue team for this sudden ice storm.

Having them there was a stroke of luck amid the misfortune for the stranded patients.

As for why Jiang He didn’t personally intervene? The answer was simple.

According to local laws and regulations, in such extreme circumstances, the most he could do was perform emergency procedures like the one he had for Grandmaster Chen.

Getting into an operating room was absolutely out of the question.

Besides, even if he wanted to go to the hospital, he couldn’t. The provincial department had assigned people to watch him around the clock...

When Su Zhi finally managed to get in touch with Minister Lin, the conversation went something like this:

"Su Zhi, you listen to me and listen carefully!"

"Minister, I’m listening."

"You keep a close eye on Jiang He! I’m worried that hothead will rush off to save people again on a whim! He’s not allowed to go anywhere except to eat or use the bathroom! Jiang He is the treasure of our provincial department, the future of China’s medical community! Nothing can happen to him, do you hear me?!"

"Understood!"

After that, Su Zhi and the staff began to strictly manage Jiang He’s movements...

When the weather improved slightly and phone calls could get through reliably, Minister Lin was the first one to call Jiang He’s cell phone.

Jiang He said, "Minister Lin."

Lin Zhenhua’s tone was like that of a kindly old father. "Jiang He, my boy, are you all right? Is Student Shen Yu all right?"

"We’re both fine, very safe."

"That’s good, that’s good! After the press conference is over, the country will arrange a chartered flight to pick you up. I’ll be waiting in Yangcheng for your triumphant return!"

Jiang He felt a warmth in his heart as he listened. "Understood."

After hanging up, Jiang He went into full-on slacker mode, enjoying an early taste of retirement.

His afternoons were usually spent in the living room of their suite.

The three old professors, Zhou Deming, Fu Yunshu, and Guo Fengwan, became frequent visitors to Jiang He’s room.

While it was freezing cold outside, the four Chinese doctors gathered around the coffee table to play Guandan.

Jiang He had just taught them how to play.

At first, the old men were hesitant. "Oh, we’re too old and our brains are slow. We don’t want to learn, we won’t know how to play."

But as soon as they sat down at the card table, they got more into it than anyone.

Not only did they get into it, but they often got heated.

This was especially true for Zhou Deming and Fu Yunshu. They always ended up on the same team, and despite being partners, they’d relentlessly criticize each other for playing poorly, like true tryhards from ’08.

Jiang He was endlessly amused watching from the side.

Teacher Shen sat quietly nearby, reading her book, occasionally refilling the professors’ tea or massaging Jiang He’s shoulders.

After one round, Fu Yunshu sighed with emotion as he shuffled the cards and looked at Jiang He. "Honestly, Xiaojiang, on this trip abroad, we’ve really made a name for ourselves! Last night, I even dreamed about you debating all those scholars at the press conference again."