"Oh, I see now. No wonder you keep insisting he can't be saved. Xiang Hua, are you secretly hoping Han Weicheng doesn't make it? That way, you wouldn't be implicated, right?"
Long Xingyue's face lit up with a look of sudden realization. "Are you afraid he'll wake up and spill something that could hurt you? Or is it because you were involved in his experiment too?"
"You—what nonsense are you spouting?" Xiang Hua's face turned red, veins bulging in his neck. "Officer, I swear this has nothing to do with me. I have no idea what Han Weicheng was researching, and I never wanted him to get hurt."
"Xiao Anning was indeed once my student, but after realizing his character, I kicked him out of the National Hospital and cut all ties. Whatever happened after that has nothing to do with me."
Officer Cai's expression was stern. "Whether you're involved or not, we'll get to the bottom of it. For now, please don't interfere with our rescue efforts. Unless you do want something to happen to him?"
"N-no, of course not… I-I'll leave. I won't go back in. I'm leaving now." Xiang Hua, looking terrified, scurried out of the operating room.
How did it come to this? Xiang Hua fumed internally.
All he wanted was to teach Long Xingyue a lesson. Back when Long was just a department head, he had shown some respect to Xiang as the hospital director. But now that Long had been promoted to deputy director, he'd grown more and more arrogant.
As far as Xiang was concerned, that woman Shu Lanzhou couldn't possibly have real skills. After all, Mu Yanning had been in the hospital for years without making any waves. What could her disciple possibly achieve?
Given the severity of Han Weicheng's poisoning, saving him should've been impossible. Xiang had deliberately waited this long so that Long Xingyue would give up, making it seem like he wasn't just targeting Long personally.
Yet even after all this time, Long still hadn't given up. He still believed Han could be saved? Fine, Xiang would like to see them try.
And that police officer…
It was all Xiao Anning's fault. That bastard! Even after being gone for so long, he was still dragging him down. How could Xiang have been so blind to take on such a greedy, self-serving disciple?
Thankfully, he had severed all ties after firing him.
But that research of Han Weicheng's... it was Xiang who had submitted the application for it.
Could Han's poisoning really be linked to the experiment? If he woke up, would he expose Xiang too? The thought filled Xiang with dread.
That cunning old fox, always so calculating—how did he end up trapped in the operating room himself?
Xiang Hua couldn't make sense of it.
After he left, Long Xingyue turned to Officer Cai.
"Thank you, Officer. If not for you, he probably would've barged in. Don't worry—so long as Shu Lanzhou is still inside, there's hope. We won't give up on the patient."
"I'm no doctor," Officer Cai replied, "but I believe Dr. Shu is a good doctor, and I trust her. Also—" He raised the journal in his hand. "Everything I said just now is true. I found this in Xiao Anning's office drawer when we searched the research center. I haven't had a chance to hand it over yet since the incident."
"I skimmed through it just now… Since you're so determined to protect Dr. Shu, I figure you must be a good doctor too. I want to help."
Long Xingyue was stunned. He hadn't expected Han Weicheng's research to really involve Xiang Hua. He remembered his father once mentioning that Han had been applying for a certain research project.
But the project's goals conflicted with medical ethics, so his father had always blocked the application.
After Xiang Hua became the director of the National Hospital, he gained approval authority. Any research endorsed by heads of official hospitals would usually be greenlit directly.
It seemed Han had gone through Xiang Hua to gain legitimacy for the project.
Long opened his mouth but said nothing. He simply turned and stared at the operating room—hoping the patient could be saved. Whatever Han Weicheng had been researching, they had to get to the bottom of it.
Inside the operating room
Han Weicheng let out a faint groan but showed no signs of waking.
"The patient is showing a pain response—proof that our detoxification acupuncture is effective. His vitals are stabilizing. He can be transferred to a regular room," a doctor reported.
Zhao Huanhuan straightened up and walked over to Shu Lanzhou, gently wiping the sweat from her forehead. "How's your hand?"
Shu Lanzhou waved it off. "Still holding up. Get someone to move him to the ward. Then do two sessions of acupuncture a day. Once his blood test shows toxin levels down to a safe, metabolizable range, we can remove the chest needle."
"Got it. I'll get someone right away." Zhao helped Shu Lanzhou sit down. "The new technique is amazing. You've improved so much. You're incredible, senior."
Shu Lanzhou didn't even have the energy to smile. "Stop the flattery. Let's finish up and go eat—I'm starving."
"Gotcha." Zhao opened the OR door. Before she could step out, Long Xingyue rushed in. "How is he? Where's Shu Lanzhou?"
Zhao glanced back. "Senior's exhausted after repeated treatments. Director Long, please get someone to transfer the patient to the ward. I need to take her to eat."
"Right away!" Long's face lit up—if she was eating, it meant the patient was alive. "Wait for me! Dinner's on me tonight. Order anything you want!"
Officer Cai stepped forward. "When will the patient regain consciousness?"
"In about three or four days," Zhao replied. "You're a cop? Han Weicheng's the suspect you're after?"
Cai didn't answer. "I'll assign someone to guard him."
"…Alright then." Zhao didn't press. Once Han was wheeled away, she turned to support Shu Lanzhou.
After changing clothes, Shu Lanzhou greeted Officer Cai and got into Long Xingyue's car.
It was already late—way past dinnertime—and she was so depleted from the procedure that she felt faint with hunger.
At the restaurant
Long Xingyue grinned as he watched her eat. "Slow down, no one's fighting you for it. Want anything else? Uncle Long will order for you."
"Uncle Long, just ask what you want to ask. You watching me like this is creeping me out," Shu Lanzhou said, sipping her soup and finally slowing down.
Long didn't stand on ceremony. "I do have a few questions. What kind of toxin was it? How did you save him?"
"Well… it was a drug-induced poisoning, but not quite a conventional one." Shu paused. "Did you test the medicine bottles Officer Cai brought to the hospital?"
Long nodded. "There wasn't time for full analysis, but a few pharmacology experts identified dozens of substances in there on the spot. I found it hard to believe."
"It's true." Shu put down her chopsticks.
"Han Weicheng was researching a form of cellular regeneration. But unlike typical regenerative studies, his method involved destruction followed by rebirth—essentially, using external forces to kill off aging cells…"
Long was stunned. "He's nuts! Using the human body as a testing ground, pitting old cells against new in a blood-borne deathmatch—sacrificing the old to preserve the new? All for some kind of reverse-aging effect?"
"Did he even think? Elderly people don't have the strength for that kind of internal warfare. Before the new cells can win, the battlefield collapses, and it's game over. What's the point of 'rejuvenation' if you're already dead?"
"…."
Ha! Shu Lanzhou suddenly found Long's metaphor surprisingly apt. Why hadn't she thought of it that way?
"Tell me again—how exactly did you save him?" Long leaned in, genuinely curious.
Just as Shu Lanzhou began to explain the treatment principles and procedures, back at the National Hospital, inside Xiang Hua's office…
"What?! Shu Lanzhou already left? And Long Xingyue too?" Xiang shot to his feet in fury. "Then Han Weicheng—is he dead?"
"I knew they couldn't save him. That's why they snuck off—they were too ashamed to face me. And Long Xingyue—that coward—he didn't even dare show his face! He dreams of taking my place? Ha!"
"He's absolutely delusional!"