Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Department of Laboratory Medicine.

Xu Wenpei stood before the express window of the laboratory, a freshly printed report in his hand.

In 2008, testing for the IgG4 subtype was impossible in the vast majority of hospitals in the country. They didn’t even have the corresponding test kits.

Fortunately, Peking Union Medical College Hospital had imported the latest special protein analyzer from Germany, which was why they were able to run the data today.

Xu Wenpei stared at the numbers on the report.

Serum IgG4: 18.5 g/L.

Combined with the "sausage-like" pancreas seen on yesterday’s imaging, the results were ironclad—

Autoimmune Pancreatitis (AIP).

Not cancer of the pancreatic head.

Xu Wenpei fell silent, pulling over a nearby stainless steel stool and sitting down.

’If I hadn’t listened to Jiang He yesterday...’

’Duodenectomy, cholecystectomy, partial gastrectomy, pancreatic head resection...’

’A massive Whipple procedure, and what would have been removed was a benign inflammatory mass that could have been completely cured with a dozen or so yuan worth of hormone medication.’

’This was a major medical malpractice incident that nearly ended in disaster.’

Xu Wenpei took a deep breath and began to review the entire sequence of events.

’How could I, a doctor of over twenty years, make such a basic, preconceived error?’

’Painless jaundice, elevated CA19-9, a mass in the pancreatic head.’

’When those three signs appear together, the words ’pancreatic cancer’ will instantly pop into any surgeon’s mind.’

’But Jiang He... he wasn’t trapped by that line of thinking.’

’His mind is so agile. Not just agile, but he also had the guts to speak up and interrupt the vice-dean of Peking Union Medical College Hospital and a room full of directors, daring to overturn their conclusion.’

’This is a rare talent.’

’An absolutely fantastic protégé.’

Just as Xu Wenpei was thinking this, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and looked. The screen displayed: My Precious Daughter.

Xu Wenpei’s stern expression instantly softened.

He stood up, walked quickly to the stairwell, found a quiet, empty corner, and said gently:

"Honey, what’s wrong?"

On the other end of the line came suppressed sobs.

Xu Wenpei’s heart sank. "Juanzi? Don’t cry. Tell Dad what happened."

"Dad... I’m at Peking University Third Hospital... The doctor said I have 3+ proteinuria and 2+ occult blood... They want me to be admitted immediately for a kidney biopsy... They said it might be uremia..."

In that instant.

Xu Wenpei felt a chill shoot up his spine to the back of his head.

It was as if all the blood had been drained from his body. His hands and feet went cold, and his vision even went black for a moment.

’Uremia?’

’How is that possible?’

Panic and dread gripped his heart. It felt like the sky was falling.

But he knew he couldn’t afford to lose his composure now.

Xu Wenpei forced himself to calm down, his voice instantly becoming urgent and stern. "Listen to me. Grab your lab reports and take a taxi to Peking Union Medical College Hospital right now!"

After hanging up, Xu Wenpei rushed out of the stairwell.

He had to find Vice-Dean Zhao Licheng.

Beds at Peking Union Medical College Hospital were extremely scarce. For an urgent admission to the nephrology department, he needed an approval slip from the hospital leadership.

He hurried all the way to the vice-dean’s office. The door was ajar.

Just as Xu Wenpei was about to knock, he heard Zhao Licheng’s hearty laughter from inside.

"Yes, yes, Boss Wang, you can rest assured... It was all thanks to the meticulous investigation by our hospital’s expert team. We peeled back the layers and finally ruled out a tumor before the surgery... completely avoiding any surgical trauma... Yes, this is a testament to the comprehensive strength of our Peking Union Medical College Hospital..."

Standing outside the door, Xu Wenpei’s steps faltered.

Zhao Licheng hadn’t mentioned Jiang He’s name at all, directly taking all the credit for the accurate diagnosis for himself and the hospital’s expert team.

His shamelessness was utterly distasteful.

But right now, Xu Wenpei couldn’t be bothered with any of that.

He pushed the door open with a BANG and said:

"Dean, sorry to interrupt, but my daughter has had a sudden onset of kidney disease. I need to arrange an emergency bed in the nephrology department immediately."

...

At 6:30 in the evening, in the back of a taxi.

Xu Juan leaned on Shen Yu’s shoulder, her eyes red and swollen, not saying a word.

Shen Yu held her hand tightly, taking out her phone with the other to send a message to Jiang He.

"Dr. Jiang, something’s happened to Juanzi. You were right yesterday. The doctors at Peking University Third Hospital said it’s very serious and she needs to be hospitalized immediately. I’m with her now, on our way to Peking Union Medical College Hospital to find her dad."

She pressed send.

Less than ten seconds later, the screen lit up.

"Okay, be safe on the way. I’ll head over in a bit, too."

Seeing Jiang He’s reply, Shen Yu felt a strange sense of reassurance.

「At the same time, in a budget hotel room.」

After reading the message, Jiang He stood up, picked up the windbreaker draped over the back of the chair, and put it on.

He quickly sorted through the current situation in his mind.

’In my past life, Xu Juan’s illness was dragged out until it was irreversible before it finally erupted.’

’In this life, because I provoked her at dinner last night, the disease was discovered early, which will make it much easier to treat.’

’Still, I have to go. Not just for Xu Juan, but for my old comrade, Xu Wenpei.’

「One hour later, in the emergency hall of Peking Union Medical College Hospital.」

Shen Yu came into view, supporting Xu Juan.

Xu Wenpei quickly rushed out and caught his daughter.

"Dad..." The moment Xu Juan saw her father, her tears broke through again.

"It’s okay, it’s okay. Dad’s here," Xu Wenpei comforted her softly.

He took the lab report from Peking University Third Hospital that Shen Yu handed him.

After just one glance, his fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.

Occult blood, protein, elevated creatinine.

The situation was even worse than he had imagined.

Xu Wenpei took a deep breath, forced his trembling hands to still, and stuffed the report into his pocket.

"It’s not serious, just an acute flare-up of ordinary nephritis. Dad’s already arranged a bed. We’ll do a biopsy tomorrow to determine the type, get you on an IV for a few days, and you’ll be fine. Come on, let’s go upstairs first."

Xu Wenpei personally handled everything, taking Xu Juan to her room in the nephrology ward, completing all the admission procedures, and explaining her condition in detail to the attending physician.

Once Xu Juan was settled in her hospital bed with a saline drip and her emotions had gradually stabilized, Xu Wenpei finally straightened up and turned to look at Shen Yu, who had been quietly keeping them company.

"Yu’er, come out here for a moment."

At the end of the hallway, Xu Wenpei asked, "Yu’er, what exactly happened? I know Juanzi’s temperament; she won’t even take medicine for a common cold. Why would she suddenly go to the Third Hospital for a check-up?"

Standing to the side, Shen Yu, still feeling a little shaken herself, quickly recounted what had happened the previous night.

After hearing her story, Xu Wenpei was stunned.

’Jiang He...’

’Jiang He again?’

’Just through visual diagnosis, he saw my daughter’s deeply hidden, severe kidney disease, forced her to get a check-up, and literally pulled her back from the brink of uremia.’

Xu Wenpei leaned against the tiled wall, completely overwhelmed by a thick wave of self-blame and guilt.

’What kind of father am I? What kind of director?!’

’My daughter has been right under my nose for so many years, and I never noticed a thing.’

’But a third-year university student, after meeting her just once at a dinner table, pinpointed those fatal details with perfect accuracy.’

’Just how much have I neglected my daughter’s health?’

’If it weren’t for Jiang He... if this had dragged on for another year or so, until my daughter really collapsed and needed a kidney transplant, what would I have done?’

Xu Wenpei shut his eyes in agony, then covered his face and squatted down, weeping silently.

A man does not cry easily, but only because he has not yet been pushed to the point of true sorrow...

In truth, although Jiang He’s fundamentals in visual diagnosis were solid, it would have been impossible to accurately diagnose early-stage kidney disease with just a few glances at a dinner table.

He had managed all this by relying on his knowledge of Xu Juan’s medical history from his previous life, using the information gap from his rebirth to reverse-engineer the symptoms.

"DING—"

The elevator doors opened on their floor.

Jiang He walked out of the elevator.

Shen Yu spotted him immediately and rushed over. "Jiang He!"

Jiang He looked at Shen Yu, nodded slightly, and asked in a low voice, "Is she admitted?"

"Yes, she is. Uncle Xu is here too."

His eyes bloodshot, Xu Wenpei walked step by step until he was in front of Jiang He.

Jiang He inclined his body slightly. "Director Xu."

Xu Wenpei didn’t answer.

The next second.

He suddenly bent at the waist, giving Jiang He a deep bow.

Jiang He was startled and instinctively reached out to help him up.

"Director Xu, what are you doing...?"

Xu Wenpei didn’t straighten up. He maintained his ninety-degree bow, his voice hoarse.

"Jiang He."

"This debt of gratitude is as heavy as a mountain. I, Xu Wenpei, owe you a life."

How could Jiang He dare to accept such a gesture? He quickly helped him up. "You’re exaggerating, Director. Please, get up."

After straightening up, Xu Wenpei took a deep breath and said:

"There’s something else."

"The lab results for the AIP case came back. you were right. But... when Zhao Licheng spoke with the family, he gave all the credit for the accurate diagnosis to the expert team. Your name... he never mentioned it."

At this, Xu Wenpei said sternly, "Don’t worry, I’ll handle this. Even if I have to take it to the Dean, I will get you the credit you deserve..."

"Director Xu."

Jiang He suddenly spoke, interrupting Xu Wenpei.

"Let’s not talk about that. The most urgent matter right now is Juanzi’s condition."

Xu Wenpei was taken aback, truly not expecting that even when faced with something like this, Jiang He’s first thought was still of Juanzi.

A moment later, he was moved again. After giving Jiang He a deep look, he said, "Alright."

Old Xu left, busying himself with his tasks.

Jiang He, on the other hand, took out his phone and glanced at a message from Lu Xiaolin.

’Everything is going according to plan.’

’Getting cheated out of my credit? Not a chance.’