I See through Everything

December arrived quietly.

The company’s various projects were in full swing.

Jiang Miao was still immersed in his research.

He didn’t have much scheduled for the next few days, other than waiting for Yang Hejun from Chengyi Group to visit on the 6th.

However, at noon on the 3rd, just as he stepped out of the lab, he saw a familiar figure in the distance, chatting and laughing with a young woman in glasses.

"Brother Jianming, what brings you here?"

Li Jianming turned at the sound of Jiang Miao’s voice and broke into a smile. "Ah Miao, long time no see."

After five months of treatment, Li Jianming looked much healthier. His wife had gotten pregnant last month, and he had even called specifically to thank Jiang Miao.

"And this is?" Jiang Miao asked, puzzled. ’After all, his friend’s wife just got pregnant. This young woman clearly isn’t pregnant, and what’s more, she seems to have some serious health problems.’

"Let me introduce you. This is He Youwei, the daughter of my father’s old comrade-in-arms. She’s a Capital City local, twenty-six years old. She just returned from an exchange program at the University of Melbourne last year. She’s a Ph.D. student in the experimental medicine program at Wudaokou University and is currently interning at Peking Union Medical College Hospital." Li Jianming then turned to the young woman.

"Youwei, this is the founder of Hailufeng Company and the inventor of the technology for artificial eel breeding. His wife, Lin Shuya, is the inventor of the technology for artificial White Truffle cultivation."

"Hello, Mr. Jiang!" He Youwei said with a smile, extending her hand.

Jiang Miao shook her hand. "Hello, Ms. He. Brother Jianming, let’s head up to the restaurant on the second floor. We can eat and talk there."

"Okay."

The three of them went up to a small private room in the second-floor restaurant.

After they were seated, Jiang Miao asked, "What would you like to eat?"

"Don’t go to any trouble. A boxed meal is fine," Li Jianming said with a smile. He had eaten the boxed meals at Hailufeng Company a few times and found they were actually quite good. Most importantly, they were clean and hygienic.

"The same for me," He Youwei added with a nod.

Jiang Miao turned his head. "Zixuan, can you get the boxed meals for us? Get the standard office meal for Brother Jianming, and have a special meal prepared for Ms. He."

The words "special meal" made Li Zixuan instantly attentive. He took out a small notebook and a ballpoint pen. "Boss, any special requirements for the meal?"

"Mr. Jiang, you don’t need to go to so much trouble," He Youwei said, a little flustered.

"It’s no trouble at all," Jiang Miao said with a smile, then listed his instructions. "No celery, cilantro, shiitake mushrooms, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, raw garlic, fried foods, animal offal, or dairy products. For everything else, use your judgment."

Li Zixuan quickly jotted everything down, repeated the list back to confirm, and then promptly left to arrange for the food.

After Li Zixuan had left, Li Jianming spoke up. "It seems you’ve already figured it out, Ah Miao."

He Youwei was equally stunned. If she hadn’t specifically asked Li Jianming not to mention her condition beforehand, she would have suspected he’d tipped Jiang Miao off.

"Dietary restrictions are important for systemic lupus erythematosus," Jiang Miao stated. The moment he saw He Youwei, he knew she had the condition.

It is an autoimmune disease.

In terms of its pathogenic mechanism, the patient’s own immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues and organs.

Normally, the immune system identifies and defends against foreign pathogens. In patients with SLE, however, the antibodies and immune complexes it produces attack the body’s own cells and tissues.

In short, the body is in a constant state of self-harm.

"Ah Miao, the reason I brought Youwei here today was to ask if you could take a look and see if traditional Chinese medicine might be able to treat her."

Jiang Miao glanced at He Youwei and said, "Judging by your condition, Ms. He, you must be taking medication regularly."

He Youwei adjusted her glasses and nodded. "Yes. I currently take hydroxychloroquine and mycophenolate mofetil regularly. If it gets severe, I add methylprednisolone to the regimen."

"And are you finding the corticosteroids to be less effective, with more noticeable side effects? Like frequent proteinuria, for example?"

He Youwei’s eyes widened in an instant. She distinctly remembered only telling Li Jianming that she had systemic lupus erythematosus, without going into detail. She was completely taken aback. She nodded slowly. "Yes. I was on prednisone before, but now I’ve switched to methylprednisolone."

"I’ll be frank. For your condition, treatment plans relying solely on traditional Chinese medicine or conventional Western medicine won’t be very effective. You’re interning at Peking Union Medical College Hospital; you should be well aware of this."

"I understand." He Youwei’s expression fell.

"Is there really nothing that can be done, Ah Miao?" Li Jianming was clearly very concerned about He Youwei. After all, when they were children, she had always trailed after him, calling him "big brother," and their families were very close.

Jiang Miao waved his hand dismissively. "Dietary therapy alone won’t have much of an effect. This requires gene-targeted therapy."

"Gene-targeted therapy?" He Youwei asked. "Isn’t that technology still rather undeveloped?" Of course, she was familiar with the concept.

To be precise, the reason she had joined the experimental medicine program at Wudaokou University was its international exchange mechanism, which allowed students to study at the University of Pittsburgh or the University of Melbourne.

He Youwei had chosen the University of Melbourne, where she had interned and collaborated with a team at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

In 2023, a team at that very institute had discovered a unique mechanism controlling different types of immune cells in the skin. This allowed them to distinguish between the cells that trigger autoimmune diseases and the "good" cells that maintain protective immunity, providing precise targets for curing skin conditions like psoriasis, vitiligo, and alopecia areata.