"..."
Xia Xiqing never imagined it would be for such a reason.
But he understood his niece; this child was always steady and never shot from the hip.
After being stunned for a while, he straightened his attitude and asked, "How sure is Youyou about her diagnosis?"
"No less than 70%." You Guang gave a somewhat conservative estimate.
She actually had considerable confidence in her diagnosis. Based on her last observation of Cui Hong’s face, the likelihood of Cui Hong having cancer was at least 90%, if not 100%.
"What does Youyou want to do..."
"If Auntie Cui doesn’t want surgery, I can take a look for her."
"Alright, I will have a good talk with your Uncle Zhang later."
Three days later, at Lanting Hall in Changshe Hotel, opened by Xia Xiqing.
"Brother, thank you so much. If it weren’t for your reminder, the situation would have been worse." Zhang Xuexi looked a bit haggard and wasn’t in the mood to drink; he just raised the tea in front of him to toast an old friend, showing his gratitude.
His wife, Cui Hong, sitting beside him, also raised her teacup to toast Xia Xiqing.
At this moment, her eyes were red, clearly indicating that she had cried a lot.
"Yes, I’ve been feeling tired lately and thought it was due to work stress. I never imagined it would be this illness."
"A’Hong, don’t worry too much. You are still young. Find a good doctor and get proper treatment, and you will surely be cured."
As Xia Xiqing spoke, Cui Hong’s emotions became unstable again.
"We’ve seen several experts, all advising surgery. Even with surgery, there’s only a 50% chance of recovery. I’m still so young..." Saying this, tears started falling again.
She loves her appearance and can’t accept the physical defects post-surgery.
The most despairing part for her is that even if she accepts the physical disability from the surgery, her health may not recover.
Zhang Xuexi, seeing his wife like this, also had reddened eyes out of sadness.
"A 50% chance is better than none."
The doctors said if A’Hong doesn’t undergo surgery, conservatively, she has only three years to live.
He didn’t dare to tell his wife about this yet, fearing she wouldn’t be able to handle it.
The last time the chef reminded him to take the family for a check-up, he thought it was just a suggestion for the family to pay attention to health. He never expected to find out that his wife was diagnosed with mid-stage cancer.
When they received the report results yesterday afternoon, his wife broke down. She didn’t sleep all night.
He also found it incredibly hard to believe, as his wife wasn’t even forty.
How could she have cancer?
"Have you consulted a traditional Chinese medicine doctor?" Xia Xiqing didn’t expect his niece’s diagnosis to be so accurate.
"Chinese medicine? Can TCM treat cancer?" Cui Hong.
"Can Uncle Xia diagnose it?" Zhang Xuexi.
Looking at his friends’ sorrowful faces, Xia Xiqing thought for a moment and decided to be candid.
"It’s like this, the person who reminded you to get check-ups wasn’t me; I was just the messenger."
"Then who was it?" The Zhang couple was surprised.
"It was my Youyou."
"Youyou?" Zhang Xuexi was even more surprised.
"Yes, last time when A’Hong drove you to the airport, she noted A’Hong’s complexion and guessed something was wrong with her health. So, when you returned from your trip, the first thing she did was tell me to remind you to get checked."
"...How did she...figure it out?" The Zhang couple exchanged a look of bewilderment.
"Xuexi, A’Hong, let me tell you the truth. My Youyou is not an ordinary child. She started learning medicine from my grandfather at the age of four, for over six years now. Two years ago, my grandfather declared that Youyou was ready to graduate." At this point, Xia Xiqing paused slightly, his expression of pride deepening: "You might find it amusing, and I don’t mean to brag about my child, but my Youyou, despite her young age, is gifted, perceptive, and has thoroughly mastered all my grandfather’s skills. When she advised you to get a check-up, she had already seen signs of A’Hong’s cancer."
The Zhang couple was bewildered by Xia Xiqing’s words but could grasp the meaning behind his statement.
"Did Youyou mention how to treat A’Hong’s illness?" Zhang Xuexi asked, half doubting.
"She told me that if A’Hong doesn’t want surgery, she can take a look." Finished speaking, Xia Xiqing began eating, saying no more.
He had already extended the olive branch; whether they chose to trust and seek treatment from his Youyou was no longer his concern.