Chapter 127 - 126: High-Sounding

Chapter 127: Chapter 126: High-Sounding

The next morning, Yu Zhiming cycled to the shantytown, arriving about ten minutes earlier than usual.

He immediately spotted Luo Qing waiting at the alley intersection. She wore a simple, elegant long dress, looking as graceful as a willow swaying in the breeze.

"Morning, Luo Qing!"

"Good morning, Dr. Yu!"

Yu Zhiming took the large bag of medical scans from Luo Qing’s hands.

"It’ll probably be a day or two before I can get back to you."

Luo Qing gave a faint smile. "There’s no rush, Dr. Yu. I’m very patient. Your own work is more important..."

Zhiming hurried back to the main office at the Qi Yue Medical Research Center. He changed into his white coat, put on his work badge, and clocked in on his work tablet.

Then, he sat at his desk, took the half-finished self-criticism letter out of his briefcase, and began to write.

He had gotten back from the outpatient and emergency clinic too late last night.

So, Zhiming had to use the time he normally spent reading and studying this morning to write the letter.

But he’d never written one of these before and had no idea where to start. He ended up looking up a few examples online first.

After grasping the key points and general spirit from the samples, Zhiming adapted them to his own situation with a few creative modifications. A self-criticism letter of profound self-awareness began to take shape.

But the morning had been too short.

Zhiming had to finish the second half in the office, rushing to get it down while his train of thought was still clear...

He was so absorbed in his writing, he’d completely zoned out. It wasn’t until he’d finished and was signing his name with a flourish at the bottom that he realized Zhou Mo was standing right beside him.

Zhou Mo was looking at Yu Zhiming’s letter. Her right hand, still holding a cloth, was subconsciously wiping the potted jade plant on his desk.

She had kept her word.

Almost a month had passed, and under her care, the jade plant she had given Zhiming looked even more vibrant and green.

Zhiming brandished the three pages of densely filled letter paper. "So, what do you think?"

"Shows a profound understanding of my mistakes, right?"

Zhou Mo nodded. "It’s heartfelt, sincere, and shows a thorough understanding. A true masterpiece of the self-criticism genre."

"Your handwriting, on the other hand... is hard to put into words."

Zhou Mo tactfully pointed out the flaw, then suggested, "Why don’t I type it up for you? Then you can just sign it."

Zhiming glanced down at his own messy scrawl, which looked like something a juvenile delinquent would write. "Handwriting shows more sincerity."

"I can’t help having bad handwriting. I never practiced enough as a kid, and it’s too late to fix it now."

"Anyway, the task is done. This is good enough."

As Zhiming put the letter away, Zhou Mo’s voice dropped to a whisper next to his ear.

"Dr. Yu, I heard that when Dr. Chi Yan, the director of psychiatry, was giving you a psych consult, you turned around and diagnosed *him* with cancer?"

"Has the news spread already?" Zhiming retorted.

Zhou Mo nodded. "Mhm, it’s all over the work group chat! Dr. Chi. Esophageal cancer, early stage."

"So, um... can I ask why you were getting a psych consult in the first place?"

Zhiming shot her a sidelong glance. "You’re asking me why?" he retorted bluntly.

"Weren’t you the one who tattled to Teacher Qi, saying my method of dissecting pathological organs was ’somewhat twisted and terrifying’?"

I...

Zhou Mo’s face turned bright red.

She explained sheepishly, "I’m a girl, and I’m not in the medical field! Of course I’m going to be scared when I see you cutting up human organs into little pieces."

"You can’t blame me for that."

"I may have been working here for two years, but I’ve never seen anything so bloody and disgusting."

Zhiming waved a hand dismissively. "That’s why I’m not blaming you."

"From now on, if I’m in the lab and you need me, just call for me from outside the door."

"I’ll be able to hear you."

Zhou Mo murmured an "oh," then asked with concern, "So, Dr. Yu, do you still need to go for counseling?"

Zhiming shook his head. "Not anymore."

"Dr. Chi said I’m perfectly sound mentally and don’t need any psychological counseling whatsoever."

Hearing this, Zhou Mo secretly breathed a long sigh of relief...

After finishing morning rounds with Teacher Qi, Zhiming returned to the main office. He took out Luo Qing’s three MRI scans and gave them a preliminary glance.

He noted that the scans had been taken two years ago at Binhai Huiming Eye Hospital.

Zhiming clipped the scans onto the light box on the wall.

As he carefully examined the three sets of cranial optic nerve images, his heart sank.

’This is really bad.’

The images clearly showed that the optic nerve had been torn away from the brain at its root.

The area of the tear was also scattered with numerous undissolved blood clots of various sizes.

This showed how severe the original injury must have been, as a large number of clots from the initial hemorrhage were still present.

"Brain tumors?"

Zhiming turned to Zhou Mo, who had come up beside him. "No, those are blood clots, large and small."

"These scans primarily show the optic nerve injury. It’s been almost completely torn from its connection to the brain..."

He stopped mid-sentence.

’He had just said "almost." That implied there should still be a part of the optic nerve connected to the brain.’

Zhiming looked at the scan again. He saw that one area was obscured by blood clots.

From this scan, he couldn’t determine if the optic nerve was completely severed from the brain.

Suddenly, Zhiming understood why he had subconsciously used the word "almost" instead of "completely."

’Nerves have elasticity.’

’If it had been completely severed, it would have atrophied. It wouldn’t have remained its original length after so many years, as shown in the scan.’

This small discovery ignited a spark of hope in Zhiming.

The possibility of restoring some of Luo Qing’s sight wasn’t completely gone.

Zhiming excitedly dragged Teacher Qi from the office next door to look at the scans, explaining his small discovery and his analysis.

Qi Yue knew that Zhiming’s own past experiences were causing him to identify with the girl who had lost her sight in an accident, creating an unusual level of empathy.

Although Qi Yue didn’t want to extinguish the young man’s hope, he still had to remind him to be realistic.

"Zhiming, I agree there’s a possibility the optic nerve is still partially connected. That’s certainly plausible."

"But her injuries are so severe, and so many years have passed. Forget about restoring partial vision; I think even the possibility of regaining light perception is incredibly slim."

"I suggest you don’t waste your time on this."

But Zhiming was exceptionally insistent. "Teacher, as long as there’s any hope, any possibility at all, we have to try."

"Outsiders can’t possibly imagine how strong the desire to see light again is for a blind person, especially someone like Luo Qing who lost their sight in an accident."

"Unless we’re one hundred percent certain there’s no hope, I don’t believe Luo Qing herself would give up on treatment."

"If the patient doesn’t give up, then I can’t give up either."

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade him, Qi Yue changed the subject. "Then how do you plan to help her?"

Zhiming paused for a moment in thought. "First, we need to determine the current state of her optic nerve."

"The resolution on these MRI scans is too low, plus they’re from two years ago."

"Dean Gu was bragging that Ning’an has the most advanced MRI machine in the country. If Luo Qing agrees, I’ll take her to Ning’an to get another scan."

"We’ll plan our next steps based on the results."

Qi Yue asked another question. "One important issue: money."

"Do the girl and her family have enough money for the necessary tests and treatments?"

"Or are you planning to generously open your own wallet for her?"

Well...

Eye-related exams and treatments are extremely expensive.

During the two or three years that Zhiming’s own vision was gradually recovering, he’d had a constant supply of nutritional supplements and medications.

That period had been a major financial strain on his own family and the families of his older sisters.

Zhiming considered this. "I’ll ask about her financial situation first. If it’s not good, I’ll shamelessly apply for some discounts and try to pull together some funding for her."

"You’re not going to contribute yourself?" Qi Yue asked, amused.

Zhiming replied self-righteously, "With my personal finances, I might be able to help one person, or maybe two, but I can’t help everyone."

"As a doctor, the greatest charity I can offer is to improve my skills so that more patients can avoid dead ends and get an accurate diagnosis and treatment from me."

Standing off to the side, Zhou Mo struggled to keep a straight face, trying not to laugh out loud.

’This guy... I really thought he was so concerned for his patient. But the second it came down to a real-world problem like cold, hard cash, he immediately showed his true colors and backed away.’

’And to say it all so pretentiously, too. He’s really something else...’