Chapter 116 - 115: Where the Real Problem Lies

Chapter 116: Chapter 115: Where the Real Problem Lies

It rained for most of the night, but by dawn, the sky had cleared. It was another bright, sunny day with fresh air.

Shortly after Yu Zhiming got up, he received a complaint call from Fu Xiaoxue.

She was extremely disappointed, whining that it would have been so much better if it had rained during the day, since now she had to go to military training again. She also said her feet hurt terribly and she just wanted to laze around in bed.

Yu Zhiming had to promise to take her out for a big meal after her military training ended, which finally cheered her up...

Today was Saturday, the day Yu Zhiming had previously arranged with Gu Qingran to work at Ning’an Hospital.

At eight in the morning, Yu Zhiming and Yu Xiangwan were waiting at the entrance of their residential complex when their ride arrived.

It was that same Maserati SUV.

Gu Qingran was the one driving, and Gu Qingning was nowhere to be seen.

After getting in the car and taking the front passenger seat, Yu Zhiming said politely, "Dean Gu, we can just get to Ning’an Hospital on our own in the future."

"We couldn’t possibly trouble a great dean like you to personally chauffeur us."

Gu Qingran laughed. "Dr. Yu, don’t be so formal. As the vice dean, my main job is to be at your service."

"I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to chauffeur you every single time you come to Ning’an, Dr. Yu, but whenever I have the time, I’ll definitely do it myself."

"Getting such special treatment from you, Dean Gu, is honestly overwhelming. I’m truly flattered."

After the pleasantries, Yu Zhiming casually changed the subject. "How’s Gu Qingning doing?"

"Is she still on leave?"

Gu Qingran merged the car into the main lane and chuckled. "That girl is just spoiled."

"She’s been physically fine for a while. It’s just rare for her to get sick, so she’s milking it for all the family’s sympathy!"

An image of the girl flashed through Yu Zhiming’s mind—her eyes welling with tears, her small face tense as she fought to keep from crying out in pain.

"I didn’t think she was spoiled. She seemed quite tough."

Gu Qingran replied casually, "She was probably just embarrassed in front of you all and was putting on a brave face."

"Don’t let her age fool you. A single injection is enough to make her sob for half the day."

Imagining her wiping away tears, Yu Zhiming couldn’t help but chuckle. "Maybe she just has a fear of needles."

"I’ve seen grown, burly men who lose it completely and sob just from getting a shot..."

After some more casual conversation, Yu Zhiming recalled what Teacher Qi had mentioned the day before and decided to drop a few hints to Gu Qingran.

’He felt comfortable around Gu Qingran. When it came to choosing a partner, Yu Zhiming felt it was better to go with someone familiar.’

"Dean Gu, my hospital is planning a major project that involves me. It’s the kind that will last for many years and might require an investment of several hundred million."

Gu Qingran’s interest was immediately piqued. "What kind of major project? Can you tell me a little more, if you don’t mind?"

Yu Zhiming chuckled. "With how well-informed you are, Dean Gu, I expect you’d find out within a day or two anyway."

"It’s like this: the hospital wants to perform a detailed examination on every early-stage cancer patient I’ve detected."

"The goal is to identify screening markers for early-stage cancer to enable widespread application."

Hearing this, Gu Qingran’s expression turned serious and solemn.

Seeing his reaction, Yu Zhiming knew Gu Qingran was interested—or at the very least, tempted.

Yu Zhiming continued, "Given the massive investment and the highly uncertain outcome, our hospital is looking for one or two partners to share the costs."

"The partnership model involves joint funding, with each hospital focusing on a specific type of cancer. For instance, Huashan Hospital will take on liver cancer, while Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital will handle breast cancer."

Gu Qingran’s expression shifted. He asked thoughtfully, "Dr. Yu, you’re quite keen for Ning’an to get involved?"

Yu Zhiming said softly, "Dean Gu, on a project this big, I don’t really have a say."

"My only responsibility is to detect the early-stage cancer patients. I won’t be involved in any of the follow-up work."

Gu Qingran said slowly, "Dr. Yu, thank you for the heads-up. I’ll find an opportunity to speak with Dean Li as soon as possible."

He paused, took a deep breath, and said in a heavy tone, "I believe this is a rare opportunity for Ning’an to make a name for itself and to elevate its status."

"I will do everything in my power to get Ning’an Hospital involved in this incredibly important project..."

After declaring his stance, Gu Qingran glanced at Yu Zhiming again.

’He thought he already had a high enough opinion of the young man, but he never expected him to be capable of making such major waves in the hospital world.’

If Ning’an Hospital got involved and successfully identified the screening markers for a certain cancer—say, for extremely early-stage stomach cancer...

Then Ning’an Hospital would become famous overnight, becoming the national research center for stomach cancer.

By then...

Just the thought of it made Gu Qingran tremble with excitement.

He took a deep breath to calm himself and decided on his next steps.

He would convene an emergency meeting of the hospital’s shareholders to obtain maximum authorization.

That way, when he negotiated with Dean Li, he could make decisions on the spot and demonstrate their sincerity.

He had already deduced from Yu Zhiming’s words that besides Huashan Hospital, the project would only have two or three other partners at most.

As a private, for-profit hospital, Ning’an Hospital was at an inherent disadvantage when vying for a partnership with public hospitals.

Gu Qingran also realized another thing: his efforts to win over Yu Zhiming were still far from enough.

’Looks like I can’t keep spoiling Qingning,’ he thought. ’It’s time for her to make some sacrifices for the family’s future.’

’If she doesn’t listen, should I break her legs?’

Gu Qingran immediately dismissed the thought.

’He couldn’t even bear to lay a hand on the little sister he’d helped raise.’

Suddenly, he had an idea.

’A little competition always makes things more appealing. He’d threaten Qingning, and if she didn’t agree, he’d just arrange for someone else to step in.’

Gu Qingran started mentally filtering through the single female cousins in his extended family.

’Which one of them was on the worst terms with Qingning again...?’

After arriving at Ning’an Hospital, Yu Zhiming first went to the obstetrics and gynecology center to adjust the positions of fetuses in cases of severe nuchal cord entanglement and difficult labor presentations.

The work kept him busy for the entire morning.

At twelve-thirty in the afternoon, Yu Zhiming was led to a conference room where he, along with Teacher Qi (who had arrived at some point), Hua Si Fan from Huayu Medical Technology, and Gu Qingran, signed the cooperation agreement for the Waking Device project.

After signing his name on the agreement with a flourish during a small ceremony, Yu Zhiming walked with Teacher Qi and Gu Qingran to Tingfeng Tower for lunch.

As for Yu Xiangwan, not long after arriving at Ning’an Hospital, she had met up with Gu Qingning and the two of them had gone off somewhere to have fun...

Strolling along the picturesque shore of Ning’an Lake under the shade of the trees was a relaxing and enjoyable experience.

However, being a weekend, there were a few too many tourists by the lake.

Especially all the children running around.

Yu Zhiming wasn’t particularly fond of it.

It was mainly because the sound of children crying gave him a headache; their screams were unusually loud and piercing.

"Zhiming, take a look at that child."

At Teacher Qi’s prompting, Yu Zhiming looked about four or five meters ahead.

It was a family of three, also out for a walk around the lake.

A cute little girl, about three or four years old, was perched on her father’s shoulders, blinking her big, dark eyes as she stared at them unceasingly.

Yu Zhiming quickly offered the little girl what he hoped was a kind and handsome smile and gave her a little wave.

"Teacher, that’s a very cute little girl."

Qi Yue said with some amusement, "I wasn’t asking you if she’s cute. I was asking if you noticed anything."

’So this is a test,’ he realized.

Having realized this, Yu Zhiming quickly turned his gaze back to the little girl’s face.

’Her eyes were dark and bright. No problem there!’

’Her other features... mouth, nose... all seemed normal, and her facial proportions were fine. Nothing seemed wrong.’

’Her ears were covered by her hair, so he couldn’t see them.’

Just a moment ago, the little girl had even raised her own little hand in a cute wave, responding to his smile.

’That means her responsiveness is fine, too.’

’But Teacher wouldn’t have asked me to observe her for no reason. He must have seen something.’

’So what is this little girl’s problem?’

Just as Yu Zhiming was considering whether he should get closer for a better look, he suddenly noticed something.

The little girl was blinking a bit too frequently.

Most people have a blink rate of fifteen to twenty times per minute, with each blink lasting between 0.2 and 0.4 seconds.

This little girl’s blink rate, however, was around thirty times per minute.

Upon further observation, Yu Zhiming discovered something else.

Every six seconds, the little girl would execute an extremely rapid blink.

The blink was as fast as a camera shutter, lasting no more than a tenth of a second.

Furthermore, it was quite forceful and looked completely unnatural and uncoordinated, more like a blink caused by a muscle spasm.

Most importantly, this abnormal blink occurred punctually every six seconds with extreme regularity.

This was the real problem...