Chapter 163: Suspicion

Chapter 163 -162: Suspicion

In the blink of an eye, it was Monday again.

A light rain had started falling in Binhai in the middle of the night, so the morning wasn’t as hot. It finally felt a little like autumn.

For Yu Zhiming, Monday marked the beginning of an even busier week.

His routine work in the outpatient and emergency department continued.

The only difference was that the number of registered patients was reduced from the original sixty to fifty. Even so, he was busy nonstop until five-thirty in the afternoon, when his work in the outpatient and emergency department finally ended.

Given his packed schedule for the week, Yu Zhiming didn’t keep any patients for himself; all those he diagnosed were transferred to other departments.

Yu Zhiming hurried back to the Qi Yue Medical Research Center to find the fifty people recruited by the ultra-early cancer screening marker project team already lined up and waiting for him.

These fifty people were between the ages of thirty-five and fifty, consisting of thirty-seven men and thirteen women.

According to the project’s requirements, Yu Zhiming only needed to examine their stomachs and livers.

Yu Zhiming made some quick, nimble preparations and began the physical examinations once again in the much quieter examination room.

He lightly patted the patient’s stomach area with his right hand while pressing the area over their liver with his left.

Yu Zhiming was examining two of the body’s internal organs at the same time.

This method undoubtedly increased his efficiency quite a bit, averaging one minute and ten seconds per person.

It took Yu Zhiming just over an hour to finish examining all fifty people.

The result of his work: not a single suspected case of cancer was found.

At 6:50 in the evening, Yu Zhiming drove away from the hospital.

What Yu Zhiming didn’t know was that not long after he left, Academician Zhang Yuanzhao, Academician Tan Ying, Qi Yue, and Gu Qingran had all gathered in the academician’s office at the liver disease research center for a serious discussion.

Seeing both academicians turn their gazes toward him, Qi Yue said with a solemn expression, “I know what you’re thinking, but I can guarantee that Yu Zhiming is absolutely not cutting corners with his work.”

“I know this guy. No matter how wronged or dissatisfied he feels, he would never be careless with his work or neglect his patients.”

Gu Qingran also came to his defense. “I have absolute faith in Dr. Yu’s character and medical ethics.”

“First and foremost, just as Director Qi said, even if he’s angry or unhappy, he would never treat a patient’s health and life like a game.”

“The reason he didn’t find any cases this time is simply that those people’s stomachs and livers haven’t developed cancer.”

“Besides, the probability of developing cancer isn’t that high to begin with.”

Tan Ying said slowly, “These fifty people today were a high-risk group we specifically selected.”

“More than one of their immediate family members has had stomach or liver cancer, and their own lifestyles are very unhealthy.”

“We were originally hoping…”

Tan Ying stopped, sighed softly, and then continued, “But… examining one person in almost a minute… that’s just a bit too efficient.”

Zhang Yuanzhao also spoke up. “We all understand that being high-risk doesn’t mean they’ll definitely have cancer.”

“And with only fifty people, the sample size is too small. There’s no guarantee that a cancer patient would be among them.”

“Director Qi…”

Zhang Yuanzhao said in a gentle tone, “You’re the closest to Dr. Xiao Yu. Please tell him for us…”

“If he has any requests, as long as they aren’t too outrageous, Academician Tan and I can basically satisfy them with our status and position…”

Ten-odd minutes later, Qi Yue and Gu Qingran walked out of the liver disease research center together.

They exchanged a look, and Qi Yue sighed. “The two academicians are still suspicious of that kid.”

“It’s just that he’s a little too fast. Even I’m not entirely sure if he’s just going through the motions.”

“Dean Gu, you really don’t have any other thoughts?”

Gu Qingran gave a faint smile and said, “Director Qi, there’s no need to sound me out. I trust that kid one hundred percent.”

“He could have taken two million with a clear conscience but insisted on only accepting six hundred thousand. That alone shows he has extremely high standards for himself and a strong moral character.”

Qi Yue asked, puzzled, “Dean Gu, what’s this story about two million and six hundred thousand?”

Gu Qingran made an inviting gesture. “Director Qi, shall we take a trip to where Yu the Kid lives?”

“I can tell you the details on the way.”

“Alright…”

When Qi Yue and Gu Qingran arrived at the place Yu Zhiming was renting, they saw him lying face down on the sofa with Gu Qingning walking all over his back.

The scene made Gu Qingran a little jealous.

He, her dear older brother who was practically a father figure to her, had never enjoyed such a massage service.

‘Is this what they mean by a daughter favoring outsiders?’

Yu Xiangwan, who opened the door, explained, “As soon as Zhiming got back, he complained he was dead tired and had no appetite.”

Only then did Gu Qingran notice the four dishes and a soup on the dining table, still untouched.

He made himself right at home and said with a smile, “Director Qi and I haven’t had dinner either. Since we’ve arrived just in time, we’ll have to impose on you for a meal.”

Well…

The meal Yu Xiangwan had made today was quite simple and ordinary. The only substantial dish was the braised chicken.

The other three dishes were scrambled eggs with green peppers, home-style tofu, and Gu Qingning’s specialty, a fruit salad.

The soup was even more of an afterthought—a seaweed and egg drop soup, and Yu Xiangwan had even forgotten to add the dried shrimp.

At a time like this, Yu Xiangwan couldn’t just kick them out, so she had no choice but to get two more sets of bowls and chopsticks and seat Qi Yue and Gu Qingran.

Then, she went back to the kitchen to boil some dumplings.

The dumplings, handmade by the eldest sister, were about the only delicacy in the house suitable for guests…

Qi Yue tried a piece of the braised chicken, forced himself to swallow it, and shot Yu Zhiming a sympathetic look.

“Zhiming, you still look a bit drained. Were you really that tired today?”

Yu Zhiming gave a wry chuckle. “I was actually feeling fine, but the moment I got home and relaxed, I suddenly felt exhausted and sore all over.”

“Teacher, Dean Gu, is there a reason you both came here together? Is it for a house call? I can still manage.”

Qi Yue chuckled lightly. “It’s not a house call. We were just in the neighborhood and thought we’d stop by.”

“Say, Zhiming, I noticed today you were using both hands at once, examining a person’s stomach and liver at the same time.”

“Have you been practicing the Left-Right Mutual Combat Technique? Or can you simply split your focus?”

Yu Zhiming said, a note of pride in his voice, “I guess you could call it splitting my focus! Teacher, I was just trying it out at first. I didn’t think I could actually do it.”

“Perhaps that’s why I feel especially tired today—from splitting my focus.”

“That must be it. More work done means more energy consumed.”

Gu Qingran spoke up. “Dr. Yu, by splitting your focus like that, does it affect the accuracy of your examinations? Could it lead to oversights?”

Yu Zhiming said, full of confidence, “No, I don’t let my guard down for even a second. If there’s a patient with stomach or liver cancer, I won’t fail to detect it.”

He paused, then added cautiously, “Of course, it’s possible that I could miss a case if it’s a type of cancer that’s beyond my current range of knowledge.”

“I still need to study and improve further.”

Qi Yue chuckled. “You’re not a god. Naturally, you can’t be expected to catch everything. Just doing your best is enough.”

He then added, “As for studying, both Academician Zhang and Academician Tan have said that you can ask them for guidance anytime.”

Yu Zhiming smiled. “I’ll definitely ask for their guidance, but I’d be even happier if they’d open up their collected specimen banks and let me use them freely for my research.”

Gu Qingran readily promised, “That’s a given. The two academicians will certainly agree.”

Qi Yue couldn’t help but shoot Gu Qingran a look.

‘You have no idea how Yu the Kid does his research. Once he’s ‘researched’ a specimen, it’s gone.’

‘It would probably break the hearts of Academicians Zhang and Tan… ‘

Imagining the pained yet reluctant expressions on the faces of Academicians Zhang and Tan, Qi Yue suddenly found the thought very amusing…

A short while later, Yu Xiangwan brought out two plates of dumplings.

Not expecting much, Qi Yue ate one. To his surprise, the taste was unexpectedly good.

He quickly pulled one of the plates closer to himself…