Chapter 44: A Medical Miracle

After an entire sleepless night, Gu Ci had no intention of going to school. She called Jin Jie to ask for leave, then headed home to catch up on sleep.

Lu Qinghuan emerged from the kitchen, his freshly shaven face looking exceptionally pale and clean as he carried a teacup, still somewhat bleary-eyed. Seeing Gu Ci arrive from outside so early in the morning, he was puzzled and immediately sobered up. “Ci, were you out thieving all night?”

He’d only meant to joke, yet to his surprise, Gu Ci answered seriously.

Lu Qinghuan was instantly at a loss, half amused, half exasperated. “Alright, Ci, don’t joke with me like that.”

Gu Ci touched her nose, offering no explanation. She was about to head upstairs to sleep when Lu Qinghuan stopped her again. “Ci, aren’t you having breakfast? I’ve already made it.”

“You eat first, I need some sleep,” Gu Ci declined gently. At that moment, sleep was all she desired.

Lu Qinghuan’s eyes brightened with a sudden thought, and he grinned. “Ci, have you been resting here in Songdu all this time?”

Gu Ci’s brow twitched, wary that Lu Qinghuan might drag her into questioning. She quickly spoke to halt his eager curiosity. “No, I usually go to school.”

“Is it doctoral research? Or guest lectures? Academic exchanges?” As he spoke, Lu Qinghuan tried to recall if Songdu had any renowned universities, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of a single institution worthy of statewide prestige, nor any notable academic events lately.

Gu Ci’s face remained impassive. “No, I attend high school.”

At that, Lu Qinghuan spat out his tea, his expression contorted with disbelief and embarrassment. He coughed several times before he could speak, grumbling, “Ci, if you don’t want to tell me, at least make up a believable excuse! Isn’t this a bit too perfunctory?”

Well, not a word of truth was believed.

Suppressing her brow, Gu Ci stopped responding to Lu Qinghuan, went straight to her room, and fell asleep.

In the afternoon, Gu Ci went to Sacred Heart Hospital.

By the time she arrived, Xiao Yang’s room was crowded. Besides Xiao Yang himself and Huo Shuyue and Shi Xuetong, there were many doctors present, including the hospital’s director and deputy director.

Surrounded at the center was a man in his forties. His features still hinted at his youthful handsomeness, and age had not diminished his appearance but rather added a unique charm of maturity.

He must be the Dr. Gu whom Huo Shuyue had specially asked Rong Ye to invite.

They were gathered, discussing Xiao Yang’s leg.

Gu Ci raised an eyebrow, entered, and took a seat quietly in the corner, not intending to interrupt.

However, Shi Xuetong spotted Gu Ci immediately and, pointing at her, called out with a frown, “Gu Ci, why are you here again?”

Her outcry instantly drew everyone’s attention.

The director frowned, worried that Dr. Gu might take offense. The accompanying nurse hurried to warn Shi Xuetong, “Young lady, no shouting in the hospital.”

Huo Shuyue was also displeased. Shi Xuetong had begged to come today, promising only to observe and not cause trouble. Yet now she was shouting, disrupting the doctors’ discussion.

She said bluntly, “Xuetong, if you can’t be quiet, you should leave.”

When it came to matters concerning Xiao Yang, Huo Shuyue’s stance was unwavering.

As for Gu Ci, Huo Shuyue shot her a glare, but had no mind to quarrel at this moment.

Shi Xuetong’s complexion shifted, anger and humiliation rising once more toward Gu Ci.

She protested, aggrieved, “Shuyue, I’m worried about Xiao Yang too! Have you forgotten what she did to him the other day?”

She put on a concerned expression and turned to Dr. Gu and the director, complaining anxiously, “Dr. Gu, Director, she randomly stuck needles in Xiao Yang’s leg a few days ago. Could you please check if his leg was harmed? I’m really worried…”

“Yes, Gu Ci gave Xiao Yang acupuncture herself—could that be a problem?” prompted by Shi Xuetong, Huo Shuyue also grew anxious and asked nervously.

She had been so pleased to see Dr. Gu arrive, eager for him to heal Xiao Yang’s fracture, that she’d forgotten to mention Gu Ci’s earlier acupuncture.

The director’s face hardened upon hearing this.

His gaze swept over Gu Ci, unmistakably disapproving. He admonished, “Do you have a medical license? Acupuncture? A patient’s life is not a joke. If something goes wrong, can you take responsibility?”

Shi Xuetong fanned the flames. “Exactly, Director! And not only that, she makes some dubious pills for Xiao Yang to eat. I think she has no respect for life, nor for medicine! People like her should be thrown out!”

By now, the director’s brows were tightly knit, his expression dark as he looked at Gu Ci. “Young lady, medicine is not child’s play. Please leave—you're not welcome here!”

Gu Ci said nothing more, got up, and prepared to step outside.

Just as Xiao Yang was about to call after her, someone spoke first.

“Wait a moment, young lady!”

At those words, everyone froze.

The person who called out to Gu Ci was Dr. Gu.

Shi Xuetong thought Dr. Gu meant to sternly reprimand Gu Ci before dismissing her, but instead, he spoke kindly.

“Young lady, you gave him acupuncture before?”

Gu Ci paused, looking at the gentle-faced doctor, and finally nodded. “Yes.”

Dr. Gu asked urgently, “Exactly how many days ago?”

Gu Ci replied, “Two days ago.”

At her answer, a hint of excitement appeared on Dr. Gu’s face.

In fact, Dr. Gu had been troubled. When he was sought out, he’d thought it was a complex bone disorder, but upon arrival, he found the patient merely had a small fracture. What was wanted, however, was rapid bone healing—a request far more vexing than a difficult case.

Bone fractures differ from surface wounds; the latter can heal quickly with special medicines, but bone injuries are not so easily resolved.

Though Dr. Gu had expertise in various skeletal disorders, injuries that simply required time to heal left him helpless.

No matter how many times he explained that Xiao Yang couldn’t recover in the timeframe they hoped for, Huo Shuyue remained stubbornly insistent, inexplicably confident that he could restore Xiao Yang in a short period.

He’d thought it impossible.

But after a series of examinations, he had discovered a miracle on Xiao Yang’s leg!