Chapter 64: A Close Call

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: A Close Call

Wei Zesheng was also quite surprised that Yu Zhiming could so easily solve the metal puzzle and retrieve the medicine inside.

Previously, he had also asked a few people known for their intelligence and dexterity to try and solve it.

Besides thanking him out loud, Wei Zesheng also took out a beautifully wrapped thank-you gift he had prepared in advance.

Yu Zhiming firmly refused to accept it.

The reason he didn’t accept the gift was that he didn’t want any further connection or contact with this family.

Next, at Yu Zhiming’s urging, He Yingjun took his leave with him, and they returned to Huashan Hospital as quickly as possible.

Upon returning to the Qi Yue Medical Research Center, Yu Zhiming headed straight for the second-floor ICU area.

He saw the patient Xu Feng’s wife and son waiting outside the room, their faces etched with worry and anxiety.

The large window that offered a view into the ICU room was now covered by a curtain.

Yu Zhiming knew this was because a rescue effort was underway inside, a scene unsuitable for the family to witness.

He pressed his palm against the window glass...

All sorts of sounds passed through the glass, traveled up his arm, and into Yu Zhiming’s eardrums and mind.

These sounds, varying in volume and nature, were like assorted building materials, and in just a moment, they constructed a three-dimensional scene in Yu Zhiming’s mind.

There were four figures in total, two on the right and two on the left, standing on either side of the hospital bed.

But as this three-dimensional image grew clearer, Yu Zhiming’s heart sank lower and lower.

The four figures weren’t performing any life-saving procedures; they were just standing quietly before the bed.

’Does this mean the patient is beyond saving, and they’re just waiting for death to arrive?’

At this thought, Yu Zhiming could wait no longer.

He changed into a sterile isolation suit, went through another sterilization and disinfection process, and rushed into the ICU room.

Yu Zhiming saw that, aside from Teacher Qi and a nurse, Deputy Chief Physician Xie Jianmin and Attending Physician Wang Zejia were also keeping watch by the bed.

"Teacher, how bad is it?"

Yu Zhiming asked anxiously, not quite daring to look at the vital signs on the various monitors, or at the patient lying quietly in the bed.

"Ah, Zhiming, you’re here!"

Qi Yue turned to look at Yu Zhiming and said, "The most dangerous moment has already passed."

"Zhiming, come take a look. I’ve never seen a herpes virus develop so rapidly."

Yu Zhiming keenly detected the relief in Teacher Qi’s voice and walked over to the bedside in a few steps.

The sight before him was enough to make someone with trypophobia cry.

More than half of the patient Xu Feng’s face, as well as the exposed upper half of his body, were covered in dense clusters of small, red blisters.

It was a truly terrifying and gruesome sight.

"Here, here, and here..."

Qi Yue pointed to the patient’s left forehead, lower right abdomen, the top of his right thigh, and his right calf, among other areas.

"These are the areas where large clusters of small blisters first appeared. They’re also the same spots where the patient previously experienced that cutting, burning pain."

"Zhiming, this is enough to prove your hypothesis was correct. The patient’s mysterious pain was indeed caused by the herpes virus."

Qi Yue added with a sigh, "Zhiming, you have no idea. Less than an hour ago, the patient had a persistent high fever of forty degrees, and clusters of herpetic blisters were appearing on his body at a speed visible to the naked eye."

"It was a truly frightening sight."

"Now his temperature is stable at a low-grade fever, and the herpes rash has stopped spreading."

"We can say he’s over the worst of it."

Yu Zhiming asked with concern, "His brain and internal organs?"

Xie Jianmin replied, "He’s relatively lucky. Only the liver showed an acute inflammatory response, and we have it under control now."

"With careful follow-up treatment and recuperation, the chances of a full recovery from this liver damage are quite high."

Hearing this, the weight on Yu Zhiming’s heart was finally lifted.

It had been a close call, but the aftereffects were controllable and treatable. All in all, it was a fairly successful treatment.

Yu Zhiming glanced again at the patient, whose body was covered in red herpetic blisters, and felt a pang of sympathy for him.

’He’ll have to endure this inhuman pain for some time.’

’Thankfully, after this major outbreak of the herpes zoster virus and the subsequent control and treatment, that sporadic, migrating pain won’t reappear in the future...’

The group of them kept watch for another ten or twenty minutes. Seeing that the patient’s temperature was stable and the blisters weren’t spreading further, they left the ICU room together.

Qi Yue also gave instructions to move the patient back to his original general ward for continued treatment and recovery...

Around seven in the evening, Yu Zhiming rode a shared bike back to his apartment in the Zijin Garden District and saw his eldest sister busy in the kitchen.

"Eldest Sister, you’re back? Why didn’t you stay with your husband and Xiaobo for a couple more days?" Yu Zhiming said, his face alight with joy.

Yu Xiangwan, who was also in the kitchen, said with a hint of jealousy, "See, Eldest Sister? Fifth Brother still likes you best!"

"If he had a tail, it’d be wagging like a fan."

"Oh, stop. That’s no way to talk about your younger brother."

Yu Zhaoxia gave Yu Xiangwan a firm pat on the back, then took a plate from the cupboard to serve the dumplings.

"Those two are busy rushing to finish some work, so two days was enough."

"Fifth Brother, go wash your hands. It’s time to eat..."

A few minutes later, Yu Zhiming was at the dinner table. He ate a chive and pork dumpling, followed by a few bites of the other dishes.

With a satisfied expression, he said, "Eldest Sister’s cooking is still the best."

Yu Zhaoxia’s eyes crinkled with a smile. "I happen to know you’ve been eating big meals out every night for the past two days."

Yu Zhiming laid on the flattery, "That’s different. Nothing beats the taste of home. Even dragon’s liver and phoenix marrow can’t compare to the dumplings you make, Eldest Sister."

Yu Zhaoxia chuckled. "In that case, I’ll make a big batch of dumplings these next few days and freeze them."

"Whenever you want to eat them, just have Fourth Sister cook them for you."

Yu Zhiming chuckled. "Eldest Sister, you’ve come all the way to Binhai. I can’t have you cooped up at home doing chores."

"Fourth Sister..."

Yu Zhiming instructed, "Over the next few days, take Eldest Sister and show her around Binhai properly. Don’t worry about the cost."

Yu Xiangwan’s expression immediately brightened. She cheered, "Fifth Brother, I guarantee I’ll make the arrangements perfect and keep Eldest Sister happy!"

Fu Xiaoxue chimed in anxiously, "Uncle, what about me? What about me?"

Yu Zhiming chuckled. "You’ll be in charge of holding the umbrella for your mom, fanning her, and handing her water."

"You can just visit the free attractions!"

Yu Zhaoxia put some more food on Yu Zhiming’s plate and said casually, "Fifth Brother, I have something to tell you."

"Xiaoxue has a paternal aunt who married and moved to Guangshen many years ago, you know that, right?"

Yu Zhiming nodded lightly.

"She has a daughter who also got into a university here in Binhai this year—an oceanography university, studying aquaculture."

"She and her daughter are coming to Binhai tomorrow or the day after, and they were thinking we could all have a meal together."

Yu Zhiming said, "Oh. Of course. We’re close relatives, after all. Since fate has brought us together in Binhai, we should definitely get together. We can look out for each other in the future."

He looked at Yu Xiangwan and said, "Fourth Sister, can you take care of the arrangements for this?"

"As for the meal, we’ll be the hosts."

Yu Xiangwan readily agreed, "No problem..."

After ten o’clock that night, Yu Zhiming was in his bedroom reading when he received a video call request from Su Tong.

"Zhiming, did you find the cause of my neighbor’s illness?"

Yu Zhiming hummed in affirmation, then noticed that Su Tong’s background was a collection of lit-up buildings.

"Are you back in Jinling?"

"I came back two days ago. I’m still missing a lot of experimental data for my thesis, so I have to rush."

A trace of exhaustion showed on Su Tong’s face, but she smiled and said, "Expert Qi really lives up to his reputation. You’ve found a great teacher, Zhiming. Make sure you seize the opportunity."

Yu Zhiming gave a dry laugh.

He was too modest to say that finding the cause so quickly was all thanks to his own absurd hypothesis.

"Hey, Zhiming, that beautiful woman, Gao Yun, specifically contacted me today to ask some things about you."

"I guess she’ll be looking for you in the next few days. Looks like you’re in for some good fortune with the ladies."

Yu Zhiming laughed heartily. "Are you jealous?"

"Hmph, why would I be jealous? We’re just classmates and friends. There’s no reason to be jealous."

"But out of our friendship as classmates, I have to remind you..."

"The pharmaceutical sales industry... relationships are a mess, and it’s full of deceit and complexity."

"I’m worried you’ll think you’re getting a good deal, but you’ll end up being sold out without even knowing it..."