Chapter 191 - 141: A... Chaotic Scene?
It was Shen Yu, the one he’d been longing to see.
She was wearing a white knit sweater and light-blue jeans. Her hair was a little messy, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks. Her chest rose and fell gently; she had clearly run all the way here.
The police officer outside gently closed the door to the hospital room behind her.
The room fell silent.
They stood a few meters apart, gazing at each other in silence.
Jiang He’s gaze landed on Shen Yu’s face.
Her eyes were red-rimmed.
Seeing her red-rimmed eyes, Jiang He’s heart ached.
’I really don’t want every reunion with Shen Yu to be like this.’
He wanted to lighten the mood.
So he said, "Looks like I’ll have to put off going back to school again. Don’t your counselors and professors mind you skipping class for this long?"
Shen Yu didn’t respond.
She remained where she was, hands clasped behind her back, just watching him in silence.
She watched him for a long time.
Then, her lips parted, and she uttered a single word: "Idiot!"
The forced casualness on Jiang He’s face instantly crumbled.
He lowered his head, staring at the wood grain of the floorboards, and pressed his lips together tightly.
After a long moment, he finally looked up again. "I... can I hug you for a sec—"
Before he could finish, Shen Yu rushed toward him like a gust of wind, throwing herself into his arms.
Jiang He was caught in her tight embrace, inhaling her delicate scent.
He froze for half a second.
His hands reflexively wrapped around her back, and only then did the last syllable of his question tumble from his lips.
"—ond?"
The woman in his arms didn’t answer, only held him tighter.
Jiang He felt his shirt growing damp against his chest.
He said nothing more.
Gently, he stroked Shen Yu’s hair, letting her cry out all the worries she’d been holding in for the past few days.
...
「Half an hour later.」
On the visitor’s cot in the hospital room.
Jiang He was lying down, his head resting comfortably in Shen Yu’s lap.
Shen Yu, in turn, was giving him a head massage.
The afternoon sun spilled onto the bed, and it seemed to wash away even the smell of disinfectant.
As if it understood, time itself seemed to slow its pace.
Shen Yu murmured softly,
"Just relax. Your mind has been racing these past few days, hasn’t it? Don’t think about anything right now."
"Mm."
"...Does that feel good?" she asked softly.
With his eyes closed, Jiang He murmured, "Mmm... This is comfortable-one."
"’Comfortable-one’?" Shen Yu asked, curious. "What does that mean? Is that some kind of local dialect you picked up?"
Jiang He explained, "Oh, ’one’ means number one, first place. So ’comfortable-one’ means it’s the absolute best, number one comfort."
"Oh, I see. You doctors have an interesting way of talking."
She giggled, clearly pleased that her massage skills had received a "number one" ranking.
They chatted idly for a bit longer.
They talked about the details of their hotel lockdown and the cute stories about Chen Hao and Juanzi.
After a while, Shen Yu’s fingers traced a path from behind his ear down to his neck, her movements slowing.
"Dr. Jiang."
"Hm?"
"Can you tell me about it?"
"Tell you about what?"
"There’s something you really want to achieve, isn’t there? Something you’re afraid you won’t be able to do? Can you tell me what it is?"
Jiang He hesitated.
’How am I supposed to answer that?’
’Should I tell her that in my past life, a terrible disease took you from me, and I was reborn just to defy fate and save you? ...No, I definitely can’t do that.’
’But it’s hard to lie to her. She sees right through me. I’ve already learned that the hard way.’
After careful consideration, Jiang He said, "I want to cure pancreatic cancer."
"Pancreatic cancer?"
"Can you tell me about it?" Shen Yu asked. "How difficult is it?"
"Of course. It all starts with the pancreas itself."
Dr. Jiang’s Pancreas 101 was now in session!
"The pancreas is an organ deep inside our abdominal cavity, right behind the stomach. It has two main functions. One is to secrete insulin to regulate blood sugar. The other, more important function, is to secrete pancreatic fluid."
"You can think of pancreatic fluid as a type of Bone-Dissolving Water."
"Bone-Dissolving Water?"
"That’s right. All the fatty meat and crunchy cartilage we eat can’t be broken down by stomach acid alone. The thing that’s actually responsible for dissolving these fats and proteins into small molecules that our body can absorb is this Bone-Dissolving Water secreted by the pancreas."
"This Bone-Dissolving Water is incredibly powerful. It can completely dissolve meat. So, to keep it from digesting our own organs, the pancreas wraps it in a protective membrane when it’s secreted. It then flows down into the intestines. Only when it reaches the intestines and a specific mechanism is triggered does it activate and begin to dissolve fats. Normally, this system works perfectly."
Shen Yu asked, "And what about when things aren’t normal?"
"There are many ways things can go wrong. For example, let’s say one day you binge eat and drink. This forces the pancreas to work overtime, desperately secreting this Bone-Dissolving Water. But, just at that moment, a stone blocks the duct. The Bone-Dissolving Water is produced in huge amounts, but it can’t get out. It all gets trapped inside the duct..."
"The pressure builds and builds until, finally, the duct ruptures completely."
"That’s acute pancreatitis. After the rupture, all that Bone-Dissolving Water that was supposed to be digesting your food leaks out around the pancreas. There, it gets activated by mistake."
"And then, it begins to digest you from the inside out."
"It will devour your fat, your muscles, and even your blood vessels."
Hearing this, Shen Yu’s hands stopped their massage.
’That sounds... absolutely terrifying.’
"Only someone who’s had it can know how painful it is."
Jiang He said,
"The pain... it’s like someone taking a red-hot knife, shoving it deep into your body, twisting it around, and then pulling it back out. And that pain is constant."