I Am Diagnosed as a Medical Titan

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: I Approve of Your Marriage

For the next two days, Jiang He took Shen Yu sightseeing.

The crowds during the National Day holiday were unbelievable.

Thanks to the 2008 Olympics, the streets of Capital City were filled with Fuwa mascots.

Whether it was Tian’an Gate Square, the Forbidden City, or Nanluogu Alley, everywhere they went was just waiting in line after line after line.

Fortunately, Shen Yu’s ankle was recovering well. While she couldn’t run or jump just yet, walking normally was no longer a problem.

Jiang He carried her canvas bag, held two bottles of Nongfu Spring water, and always walked on the outside, shielding her from the jostling crowd with his own body.

In truth, Jiang He didn’t care where they went or what they saw.

As long as he was with her, he’d never get bored—not even if it meant waiting in line on Qianmen Street for half an hour just to buy a Quanjude roast duck wrap.

Watching her stroll through the autumn sunlight, a glistening skewer of candied fruit in hand, laughing freely with sticky syrup at the corner of her mouth, Jiang He felt his heart melt.

’If only this moment, this time, could last forever.’

It was just that sometimes, he’d still jolt awake from a dream in the dead of night.

Dreaming again of that ICU room.

Dreaming of the jarring flat line on the heart monitor.

Dreaming of the Grim Reaper swinging his cold scythe, mercilessly reaping everything.

But nightmares like these weren’t necessarily a bad thing.

Behind anger is fear, and fear is the most powerful driving force in the world.

It filled him with resolve.

...

「The third day of the National Day holiday.」

Jiang He and Shen Yu went to Peking Union Medical College Hospital to visit Xu Juan.

She was actually in very good condition.

She had undergone a renal biopsy the previous morning and had been required to lie flat for twenty-four hours to apply pressure to the site. After the attending physician’s rounds this morning, she had been cleared for light activity.

Since the condition had been caught extremely early, the degree of glomerular sclerosis was low. The current treatment plan was a standard regimen of glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants.

Hearing the door open, Xu Juan turned her head.

She froze for a second when she saw Jiang He and Shen Yu walk into the hospital room side by side.

’For some reason, looking at the two of them gave me a strange impression—’

’I feel like I’m their hospitalized mother, and they’re the newlywed couple visiting together.’

”Juanzi, how are you doing?” Shen Yu rushed to the bedside, her face etched with concern.

”I’m fine,” Xu Juan said.

Still worried, Shen Yu peppered her with questions. ”Did that renal biopsy hurt? What did the doctor say? Are there any side effects from the steroids?”

Xu Juan sighed and gave a few brief answers. ”Oh, it didn’t hurt. They just gave me a local anesthetic in my lower back and pricked me with a needle. My dad said it’s a good thing we caught it early. I just need to take medication for a few months to get it under control. As for side effects... well, the meds will make my face puffy and I’ll break out. Ugh, what can you do?”

With that, she turned back to Shen Yu and began her counter-interrogation. ”Alright, enough about me. What about you? Having fun this holiday? So, when are you and Dr. Jiang going to get your marriage license?”

Shen Yu: ”!!!”

She scrambled to explain, ”N-No! What are you talking about? Dr. Jiang and I are just friends... just regular friends!”

”’Ohhh, *regular* friends,’” Xu Juan said, deliberately drawing out the words to tease her.

Jiang He, however, nonchalantly added, ”I’m twenty-one, and Teacher Shen is nineteen. We’re both still a few years away from the legal marriage age.”

”’Ooooh—’” Xu Juan’s teasing continued. ”’Not bad, you’ve even got the timeline figured out? So the plan is to head straight to the registry office the second you’re of age, is it?’”

Flustered, Shen Yu stomped her foot, unable to string a single sentence together.

’She’s so cute when she’s flustered.’

Once the teasing died down, the atmosphere in the hospital room lightened considerably.

Xu Juan’s smile slowly faded.

She then pulled back the covers, slipped on her slippers, and got out of bed.

She walked up to Jiang He, brought her feet together, and gave him a deep, formal bow.

”Dr. Jiang, thank you.”

Jiang He met her gaze, nodded, and said calmly, ”You’re welcome.”

Straightening up, Xu Juan took a deep breath and elaborated on her gratitude.

”Yesterday, after the biopsy, I was lying in bed all alone,” she began. ”I had a two-kilogram sandbag on my back and couldn’t move for a full twenty-four hours. I did a lot of thinking during that time.”

Xu Juan glanced out the window, her voice filled with emotion.

”I always used to think that since I was young, I could get away with anything—staying up all night, holding it in, chugging sodas, I didn’t care. My dad’s always so busy at the hospital, and I resented him for it. I felt like he was abandoning his family. But this time...”

”This time, I saw my dad in the hallway, holding my lab results and secretly wiping away tears.”

Xu Juan turned back to face Jiang He and Shen Yu.

”You live your whole life, and you realize that things like money, possessions, and ’face’—they’re all illusions. They’re secondary.”

”The only thing that’s truly number one is your health.”

”If we hadn’t caught this disease in advance, by the time I actually developed uremia, my family would have been completely ruined.”

”So, Shen Xiaoyu, as for this marriage between you and Dr. Jiang... you have my blessing.”

Shen Yu’s head snapped up. ”Huh? Where did that come from? ...No, that’s not... What are you talking about!”

Xu Juan paid her no mind and went on. ”I’m being serious. If you’re with Dr. Jiang, at least you’ll stay healthy. How secure would you feel, having such a brilliant doctor keeping an eye on you every day? Besides, you’ve been single for so many years. All those guys who chased you, and you never gave any of them the time of day. You never found anyone you liked. Now that you’ve finally found someone you fell for at first sight, that’s a rare thing. You should treasure it.”

”Hey!!!!” Shen Yu shrieked, on the verge of a breakdown. ’Was Juanzi determined to air all her secrets?’

’Love at first sight? How could she say something like that in front of Jiang He!’

She whirled around to face Jiang He, explaining frantically, ”Jiang He, don’t listen to her! She’s out of her mind!”

Seeing Shen Yu looking so adorably flustered she was practically hopping on the spot, Jiang He couldn’t help but smile. ”I know, I know,” he said gently.

After placating Shen Yu, Jiang He turned back to Xu Juan.

”Actually, I came here today because I have a favor to ask you, too.”

Xu Juan replied instantly, ”What is it? Anything!”

Jiang He said, ”I’d like to ask you to help me keep an eye on Teacher Shen’s habits and diet at school.”

Xu Juan blinked. ’That’s it?’

Jiang He needed to strike the right tone.

He couldn’t sound too alarmist, or he’d place a heavy psychological burden on Shen Yu. But he couldn’t sound too casual, either. If he did, the two women would forget his words the second he was gone and wouldn’t take it seriously.

After a moment of thought, he said, ”I’ve been observing Teacher Shen for the past few days. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, her current condition would be described as ’spleen and stomach disharmony’ with ’phlegm-damp stagnation.’”

Xu Juan asked in surprise, ”Dr. Jiang, you know Traditional Chinese Medicine, too?”

”Of course,” Jiang He said with a perfectly straight face. ”In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the spleen is responsible for transportation and transformation. When you consume too much sugar, the spleen and stomach can’t process it all, leading to the formation of phlegm-dampness in the body. If this continues, damp-heat will accumulate in the Shaoyang and Taiyin meridians, obstructing the flow of qi and blood. This eventually creates blockages, or accumulations, inside the body. In the early stages, these blockages are very difficult to detect. But if they’re allowed to erupt, the consequences are unimaginable.”

This scared Shen Yu, who asked nervously, ”In that case... should I get a check-up, too?”

Jiang He nodded. ”A check-up is a good idea; it’s always good to establish a baseline. But as I was saying, certain minute pathologies at this stage can’t be detected by machines. This is what’s known in TCM as *zhi wei bing*, or ’treating a disease before it manifests.’”

He looked at Xu Juan, his tone grave as he entrusted her with the task. ”That’s why prevention is absolutely crucial. She has to change her habits immediately. She needs to cut out the high-sugar diet, be asleep before midnight every single night, and eat three regular meals a day. I’ll be in Southern China, so I can’t watch over her. I can only rely on you, since you’re here.”

Xu Juan’s expression turned serious as she listened.

Having just had her own brush with death, she knew exactly what it felt like to ’feel perfectly fine one day, only to be diagnosed with a terminal illness the next.’

Since Jiang He had been able to diagnose her own hidden illness with a single glance, she didn’t dare treat his assessment of Shen Yu with anything less than the utmost seriousness.

Xu Juan gave a firm nod. ”I see... Dr. Jiang, you can rest assured. I’m on it!”

With that promise, Jiang He could finally set his mind at ease.

’With his future wife up north, there was finally someone reliable to watch over her.’

When it came to pancreatic cancer, the king of all cancers, even slightly altering the external factors that contributed to a susceptible constitution meant a multiplicative increase in the odds of survival.

He watched as Xu Juan relentlessly lectured a pitiful-looking Shen Yu, who could only nod along meekly. He was very satisfied.