I Am Diagnosed as a Medical Titan

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Are You Sick?

Xu Juan was fuming all through this year’s National Day Golden Week.

The family had made plans long ago for the three of them to visit Xiangshan to see the autumn leaves and stay for a couple of nights during the holiday.

But as it turned out, first thing this morning, her dad Xu Wenpei’s phone rang again.

A VIP patient had come from Jin City. The heads of several departments and the hospital’s vice president were all waiting for him to return for a joint consultation. He had to leave immediately.

Xu Juan was furious on the spot.

’More overtime! Another consultation!’

Ever since she was a little girl, a single call from the hospital was enough to make her dad drop everything and run, even if he was in the middle of New Year’s Eve dinner.

In this family, her doctor father was a perpetually absent figure.

’Rather than sit around at home bored, I might as well go back to school and find Shen Xiaoyu!’

Besides, Shen Xiaoyu had really thrown her for a loop last night.

’Getting a room with a guy she’s known for one day? And now she’s going to drag her limping self over to deliver a meal to him?’

Xu Juan felt that the silly girl had definitely run into a pro. She was the type who’d still be counting the money for the person who’d just sold her.

She had to see for herself just who this mysterious figure was that could charm Shen Xiaoyu into losing all common sense.

Six o’clock in the evening, outside the Cantonese restaurant.

Xu Juan spotted Shen Xiaoyu from a distance, and her anger immediately flared.

She walked over and pinched Shen Xiaoyu’s cheek.

”Shen Xiaoyu, you look very nice today. Got the little tactical earrings out and everything, huh? Hey, I’ve been your roommate for a year now, how come I’ve never seen you in a dress? I thought your wardrobe was nothing but jeans and sweatpants. So you do own a dress, after all?”

Shen Xiaoyu guiltily tugged at the hem of her dress and mumbled, ”Oh, well, the weather was nice today, so I just threw it on...”

”Just threw it on? You’re even wearing makeup?”

Shen Xiaoyu tried to explain, ”Just a little bit. Only some foundation...”

”You might as well have not worn any makeup. What’s the difference? It’s way too light. Who can even tell?”

”Hey, it’s not like I have much experience, you know?”

After saying that, Shen Xiaoyu stepped forward and hugged Xu Juan. ”Juanzi, I’m sorry to trouble you. You came all the way back just for my sake during the holiday. Thank you.”

Xu Juan’s nose twitched. She was so angry she started to laugh. ”Well, aren’t you something? Don’t be in such a hurry to thank me, Shen Xiaoyu. You even put on perfume?”

As she spoke, she reached out to grab the canvas bag slung over Shen Xiaoyu’s shoulder.

”Here, give me the bag.”

Shen Xiaoyu protected her bag. ”Why are you searching my bag!”

”I’m checking if you brought your ID!” Xu Juan glared at her. ”Are you planning on not coming back to the dorm tonight? Let me tell you, as long as I’m here today, you can forget about it!”

”Oh, of course not!” Shen Xiaoyu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and quickly assured her, ”I’m not going to stay out with him. You can rest assured about that. I’m definitely coming back to the dorm after dinner.”

Xu Juan was highly skeptical.

She leaned close to Shen Xiaoyu’s ear and whispered, ”You’re really not being blackmailed? If he has some dirt on you, if you’re being threatened, just blink.”

Shen Xiaoyu forced her eyes wide open, staring without blinking. ”I’m really not!”

Now Xu Juan was truly curious.

”Let’s go, let’s go, get inside. I want to see exactly what kind of man could bewitch our Shen Xiaoyu to this extent.”

Shen Xiaoyu led the way, but with her ankle bandaged, she could only limp along with small, shuffling steps.

As she walked, she tried to smooth things over. ”He’s actually a really nice person. Maybe it’s because he’s a doctor. I think I have a natural affinity for doctors. I feel like guys who study medicine are very reliable and responsible.”

Hearing the word ”doctor,” Xu Juan frowned, her thoughts turning to her father, who had rushed out the door with his bag this morning...

”Oh, give me a break! Never, ever date a doctor! After graduation, they’re busy as hell, constantly on night duty, writing case files... once they’re in the operating room, they’re working for over ten hours straight. You’ll never even see them. They have absolutely no time for you. When that happens, you’ll have to handle everything at home, big and small, all by yourself. How can a family be happy like that?”

Shen Xiaoyu’s face flushed red. ”Hey!” she said anxiously. ”What are you even talking about? We just met, we’re not even dating!”

Xu Juan couldn’t be bothered to respond. Seeing they’d arrived, she pushed open the door to the private room.

The door opened.

Jiang He, who had been sitting by the window drinking tea, stood up.

His gaze passed over Shen Xiaoyu and landed on Xu Juan behind her.

Memories from his past life came flooding back like a tidal wave.

’Xu Juan. The only daughter of Xu Wenpei, the Director of General Surgery at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Shen Xiaoyu’s best friend.’

In his past life, it had been the same dinner with the same three people.

To vet him for Shen Xiaoyu, Xu Juan had drunk half a bottle of baijiu, slammed her hand on the table, and warned him that if he dared to hurt Shen Xiaoyu, she’d find someone to break his legs.

’She was a good person—loyal and straightforward.’

’Unfortunately, her resentment toward her father’s job since childhood made her extremely resistant to going to hospitals. She even skipped the annual physicals organized by her employer. In the end...’

Meanwhile, when Xu Juan saw Jiang He for the first time, her heart skipped a beat.

’First impression: he’s handsome. Very attractive.’

’He’s tall and stands ramrod straight. He has a very calm and composed air about him.’

But Xu Juan felt this was definitely not a good sign!

’So handsome, yet his eyes are so calm and collected. He sees his girlfriend show up with her best friend and isn’t the least bit nervous?’

’That kind of composure, that kind of aura... he’s definitely been in countless relationships. You can tell at a glance he’s a pro who’s perfectly at ease around women.’

’It’s over, it’s all over. An innocent like Shen Xiaoyu has absolutely been played for a fool by him.’

Although she had already sentenced Jiang He to death in her mind, Xu Juan had to maintain a calm facade.

She took the initiative to step forward, offering a polite smile.

”Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Xu Juan, Shen Xiaoyu’s roommate.”

Jiang He nodded. ”Hello. I’m Jiang He.”

He pulled out the two adjacent chairs, gesturing for them to sit.

He smoothly pushed a glass of warm water that was already poured in front of Shen Xiaoyu, then poured a cup of tea for Xu Juan.

The three of them sat down.

Each had a different demeanor.

Shen Xiaoyu sat in the middle, cupping the glass of water with both hands, looking subdued.

Jiang He leaned back in his chair, his expression relaxed. He picked up the menu and handed it to Xu Juan. ”See what you’d like to eat. Don’t be shy.”

Xu Juan didn’t take the menu. She folded her hands on the table and, with a smile, threw out her first question:

”Jiang He, you’re so good-looking, you must be popular at your school, right? You’ve been in a lot of relationships, haven’t you? Come on, tell us about them. Your exes must have been gorgeous, right?”

Shen Xiaoyu’s ears immediately perked up as she secretly listened in.

Jiang He shook his head. ”I’ve never been in a relationship.”

Xu Juan raised an eyebrow. ”For real? Looking like that, and you’ve never dated?”

Jiang He said, ”I really haven’t. I’ve been busy with research these past few years. No time, and I never met anyone I wanted to date.”

Hearing this, Shen Xiaoyu, sitting beside him, couldn’t help but smile.

She looked up and eagerly added on Jiang He’s behalf, ”That’s right, that’s right! Juanzi, Dr. Jiang is amazing! Just the other day, he won first place in his school’s clinical pathology competition. And with a perfect score, too!”

Xu Juan turned her head, smiled, and shot Shen Xiaoyu a look.

’Shen Xiaoyu, whose side are you on?’

Receiving her best friend’s death glare, Shen Xiaoyu immediately shut her mouth, not daring to speak another word.

Xu Juan looked back at Jiang He, not ready to give up. ”Fine, Mr. Top Student. You must have an ideal type, right? What kind of girl do you like?”

Jiang He swirled the teacup in his hand.

After a moment of thought, he said softly,

”I don’t really know myself. I guess it just depends on the feeling.”

”But... I’d probably prefer a girl who smiles a lot, who’s kind... one who doesn’t usually dress up much, but will occasionally wear a dress. And ideally, a girl who wants to be a teacher.”

Xu Juan was utterly speechless.

’Bro, you call that ”depending on the feeling”?’

’You might as well have fucking read out Shen Xiaoyu’s ID number! That description was tailor-made for her, wasn’t it?!’

Shen Xiaoyu was completely caught off guard by that direct hit.

’But then again, it’s probably just a coincidence,’ she thought. ’I shouldn’t overthink it!’

Xu Juan picked up her teacup, drained it in one gulp, and said,

”Alright, alright, let’s order. I’m starving. It’s all your fault, Shen Xiaoyu. I was so mad last night I couldn’t sleep. I woke up this morning with my eyelids swollen like walnuts, and my back is still sore.”

The words were spoken casually, but one listener took them to heart.

’Fatigue, edema, back pain, anemic appearance.’

’If there’s no immediate intervention, it will progress to irreversible kidney failure within a few years.’

Xu Juan was looking down at the menu. ”Let’s get the boiled shrimp, and a roast goose... Shen Xiaoyu, are you having any...”

”Xu Juan.”

Jiang He suddenly spoke, cutting her off.

Xu Juan looked up, a little baffled. ”What’s wrong?”

Jiang He asked, ”Are you sick?”

”...”

The private room fell instantly silent.

Shen Xiaoyu was stunned, staring at Jiang He in disbelief.

Xu Juan was also dumbfounded. ”Huh? Who? Me? ...Are you insulting me?”

Jiang He shook his head and explained, ”I’m not insulting you. I mean, you might have a serious illness.”

Xu Juan: ”???”

After a few seconds of silence,

Xu Juan slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet. ”Jiang He, you’re the one who’s sick! Cursing me the first time we meet?!”

Jiang He’s expression was calm.

He had used those slightly ambiguous words on purpose.

As an old friend who had known her for over a decade in his past life, he knew Xu Juan’s personality all too well.

Trying to persuade her to get a check-up with nice words? A pipe dream.

Only by goading her, by saying things in the harshest way possible and then making a bet, could he force her to rush to the hospital to prove him wrong.

What’s more... running into Xu Juan today was actually a pleasant surprise.

Things on the Peking Union Medical College Hospital front had only just begun.

In the future, winning over Xu Wenpei as a powerful backer in the Capital City was a crucial move.

Saving his precious daughter from the brink of disaster would put him in his debt in a massive way.

Jiang He sighed and thought to himself,

’Sorry, old friend. Time is tight and the mission is heavy. I don’t have time to slowly build a rapport with you in this life. I can only use this method to raise your favorability score.’

He said, ”I’m not cursing you. Your eyelids have been swollen in the mornings for more than a day or two, haven’t they? You get tired easily, your back is sore, and when you go to the bathroom, does the foam on your urine take a long time to go away?”

Xu Juan’s pupils constricted, and a flash of panic crossed her eyes.

He was right on all counts.

Besides, she was still a young woman. Having something like this pointed out so directly was a bit embarrassing.

”You... you investigated me?” Xu Juan looked extremely wary.

”I’m a doctor. Diagnosis by observation is a basic skill. Since you don’t believe me, how about a bet?”

”Bet on what?”

”Tomorrow morning, on an empty stomach, go to any top-tier hospital and get a routine urinalysis and a kidney function test. They only cost a few dozen yuan. If all your levels are normal, it means I was mistaken. I’ll apologize to you, and you can chew me out as much as you want. But if I’m right, and you have proteinuria or even occult blood... you have to obediently follow the doctor’s orders and get treatment. Do you dare?”

Xu Juan had a fiery temper herself, and she could tell Jiang He didn’t mean any harm. She slammed the table on the spot. ”A bet’s a bet! When my results come back clean tomorrow, you just watch me slap this lab report in your face! Shen Xiaoyu, you’re my witness!”

Suddenly being called upon, Shen Xiaoyu was in a panic.

’Weren’t we just talking about ideal types a minute ago? How did it suddenly turn into a medical diagnosis and a bet? And why does it feel like they’re about to start a fight?!’

”Um, uh...”

Shen Xiaoyu pleaded for her friend in a soft, sweet voice, ”Dr. Jiang... please don’t be so harsh with Juanzi. She’s a good person, she means no harm... Can you please not fight?”

The moment Jiang He’s eyes met Shen Xiaoyu’s,

all his calculations and his sharp edge melted away in an instant, becoming as gentle as a spring pond.

”I’m not being harsh with her. I just want her to see a doctor. We’re not fighting.”

Jiang He picked up the menu and naturally passed it to Shen Xiaoyu, saying softly, ”Here, see what you’d like to eat.”

Shen Xiaoyu glanced at it obediently, then said, ”Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs?”

Jiang He nodded. ”Sure, let’s get that.”

Xu Juan: ”???”

’Seriously, bro? What’s with the face-changing act? Could your double standards be any more obvious?!’

’And also, who the fuck comes to a high-end Cantonese restaurant to eat stir-fried tomatoes and eggs!!’

What Xu Juan didn’t know was,

Shen Xiaoyu had actually ordered that dish to save Jiang He money. She already felt bad about him treating her, and now she had brought a friend along. She was planning to find a chance to sneak off and pay the bill later.

And Jiang He, while seeming to go along with his future wife’s intentions, had actually turned around and ordered several top-tier Cantonese dishes that were inconspicuously expensive and also placed very little strain on the kidneys. Furthermore, he had anticipated her move to snatch the bill and had already paid for the meal in advance.

When you eat with this couple, you just eat. They’ve got it all handled without saying a word...