After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The old professor from the pathology department took off his reading glasses, breathed on the lenses to wipe them clean, and then put them back on.

"Dr. Ye, there are very few case reports of necrotizing lymphadenitis in China. Our department hasn't handled a single case since its establishment. Are you sure the abnormal cells in the bone marrow aspiration aren't malignant clones?"

"What you see on the pathological sections is not a malignant proliferative morphology, but tissue cells that have engulfed nuclear debris. The difference between it and lymphoma cells lies in the shape of the cell nucleus and the depth of staining, which can be easily confused, but they are not the same thing."

Ye Zhen walked back to the microscope, clipped the second slide back in, adjusted the focus, and moved aside.

"Come and take a look."

The old professor bent down and leaned closer to the eyepiece.

Ye Zhen stood to the side, her voice calm.

"Look at that cluster of cells at the ten o'clock position under high magnification. The cytoplasm is abundant, the nuclei are roughly round, and they contain fragment-like material. This is phagocytosis, not mitosis."

The old professor stared at it for a full minute, and when he straightened up, his expression changed.

"Dr. Ye, you're right, this is definitely not the morphology of lymphoma cells."

He paused for several seconds, his voice carrying a complex emotion.

"I missed this place."

No one spoke in the meeting room.

Zhong Youwei closed the notebook.

Zhong Youwei closed the notebook he had been clutching. The hard cover slammed onto the table with a dull thud. "Dr. Ye," he began, his voice a few octaves lower than before, "if it really is the disease you described, how should the subsequent treatment plan be determined? Our department has almost zero experience with this type of...immune-mediated inflammation."

"Hormonal pulse." Ye Zhen walked to the blackboard, picked up the chalk, and underlined the words "glucocorticoid control." "But not the standard dose. This patient has vasculitis symptoms, so the initial dose must be sufficient to suppress the abnormal immune response. Once the indicators improve, the dose will be reduced very slowly, with close monitoring of kidney function and lung condition. I will write out the tapering plan, clearly listing the indicators based on each adjustment step. Follow this plan, and communicate any changes immediately."

She looked at Fang Yun.

"If this patient were to undergo chemotherapy as prescribed for lymphoma, their immune system would be further weakened, and the vasculitis would worsen. If kidney or lung problems were to develop, it would be very difficult to manage."

Fang Yun's face paled slightly.

"That means if we had been diagnosed any later, once chemotherapy started..."

"That step won't happen."

Ye Zhen unbuttoned her white coat, her voice steady.

"You made this call because you hadn't made a decision yet."

"The timing of the call is perfect."

A low murmur arose in the meeting room, like bubbles rising from the bottom of water. Young resident physicians huddled together, reviewing notes, while the older professors exchanged glances. The previously stagnant air now began to flow, carrying a sense of exhilaration at the resolution of a mystery, tinged with lingering apprehension.

Wu Wenqing stood up from his chair and walked to Ye Zhen's side.

He chuckled and said, "Xiao Ye, it seems I made the right call. Don't blame me for using our connection through that microscope."

Ye Zhen took off her white coat, carefully folded it, and placed it on the back of the chair. "Dean Wu, it's good that you've opened your mind. The reason rare diseases are rare is sometimes not because they are truly rare, but because they are not easily recognized."

"I've always remembered the microscope incident."

"You didn't even have time to leave with the official documents; you brought the disciplinary action over there on your back."

"You played a part in the success of that surgery."

Wu Wenqing's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Ye Zhen picked up her military green handbag and walked towards the door.

When she reached the door, she stopped and looked back at the room full of white coats.

"If we need to discuss the medication regimen after the subsequent immunohistochemistry results are available, please feel free to call us at any time."

Zhong Youwei was the first to stand up.

Then there's Fang Yun, a senior professor in the pathology department, the head of the radiology department, and a young resident physician.

The chair made a sound of being moved almost simultaneously.

The applause started from Zhong Youwei's side.

Then Fang Yun and the others followed.

The young resident clapped the hardest, the sound as crisp as bamboo joints tapping together.

The quiet, respectful gazes they gave when they arrived were different from those they received earlier.

When Ye Zhen arrived, they were very polite.

When Ye Zhen left, they were convinced.

The applause extended down the corridor, bouncing back and forth across the terrazzo floor and whitewashed walls.

Gu Zheng was waiting for her at the top of the stairs, his shoulder leaning against the handrail, holding her coat in his hand.

Ye Zhen walked down the stairs at a moderate pace, her expression calm, just as she had when she went in.

Gu Zheng unfolded his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

"Is it over?" he asked, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Okay." Ye Zhen walked down the last two steps.

"How about it? Are they convinced?" Gu Zheng walked out side by side with her, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible smugness.

"The illness hasn't even been diagnosed yet, why are you getting so worked up?" Ye Zhen glanced at him. "I've just sorted out my thoughts, waiting for the test results."

She pushed open the hospital door, and the May sunlight rushed in, making her squint slightly. The sycamore trees below the steps were a deep green, and when the wind blew, the leaves turned up to reveal their pale undersides, rustling softly.

Ye Zhen squinted at the patch of green for a while, then suddenly turned her head away.

"Let's go to that foreign language bookstore in Xidan."

Gu Zheng opened the car door, a slight smile curving his lips.

"Alright, Professor Ye, please get in the car."

Ye Zhen glanced at him.

"Be poor."

Gu Zheng closed the car door, walked around to the driver's seat, and the engine sputtered to life.

As the jeep drove out of the east gate of Xiehe Hospital, the row of doctors in white coats in the rearview mirror were still standing on the steps, watching the thin layer of dust kicked up by the jeep.

The car passed the Xidan Department Store and turned west onto a slightly narrower road. The sign for the Foreign Language Bookstore appeared ahead. Gu Zheng parked the car under the shade of a tree by the roadside and turned off the engine.

The two got out of the car. The bookstore wasn't large; the wooden door creaked as it opened. The interior was dimly lit, and the air smelled of old paper and ink. Tall bookshelves reached the ceiling, densely packed with all sorts of books, mostly in foreign languages. Several young people wearing glasses stood in front of the shelves, browsing through the books. Hearing the door open, they glanced up, then returned to their books.

Ye Zhen walked in with practiced ease, heading straight to a row of bookshelves against the wall. She ran her fingers along the spines, searching through the books one by one. Gu Zheng followed behind, not quite understanding the colorful foreign language titles, so he looked around. He noticed a stack of newspapers on the counter, the top one's front page headline reporting on an international conference.

"Found it." Ye Zhen's voice came, carrying a hint of satisfied joy.

Gu Zheng turned his head. Ye Zhen was holding a thick hardcover book with a gray-blue cover printed with complex diagrams of the human body's internal structure, and a line of German text next to it.

"Is this it?" Gu Zheng walked over.

"Yes, it's the third edition, which is quite rare on the market." Ye Zhen flipped open the cover and quickly browsed the copyright page. "It has many more new chapters than the second edition I saw in the library, and the intervention section has also been updated."

"Buy it." Gu Zheng said without hesitation.

"It's a bit expensive." Ye Zhen glanced at the price; it was equivalent to a considerable amount of foreign exchange certificates.

"Books are something you should spend money on if necessary." Gu Zheng gestured to the counter. "Besides, we should buy the books that Dr. Ye reads, even if they're expensive. Who knows how many good doctors he might train in the future."

Ye Zhen closed the book without saying anything more and went to the counter to pay. Gu Zheng followed and naturally took out his money. The clerk behind the counter looked at the book, then at the two of them, her eyes filled with curiosity.

After paying, the clerk wrapped the book in brown paper and handed it to Ye Zhen. Ye Zhen took it and carefully put it into her handbag.

Outside the bookstore, the sun shone even brighter. Gu Zheng opened the car door and waited for Ye Zhen to get in before walking around to the driver's seat. He started the car, and the Jeep merged into the sparse traffic on the street.

"Where to next?" Gu Zheng asked. "Straight back to the compound? Or do you want to eat something?"

Ye Zhen thought for a moment. "Let's find a small restaurant and grab something to eat."

"Okay." Gu Zheng turned the steering wheel. "I know a small noodle shop in the alley that makes authentic mutton noodles, with generous portions and good value."

The car drove deeper into the alley. The shade of the trees grew denser, and the sunlight was cut into patches, falling on the hood of the car. Ye Zhen leaned back in her seat, her eyes slightly closed. After a morning of intense mental work, she relaxed, and waves of drowsiness washed over her.

Gu Zheng slowed down, trying to drive smoothly. He drove with one hand, and with the other, he gently pressed Ye Zhen's temples. "Take a nap, I'll wake you when we get there."

Ye Zhen hummed in response, without opening her eyes, but her brows relaxed a little.

The jeep moved slowly through the narrow alley, crunching over a few locust petals that seemed to have drifted down from nowhere. In the distance, the faint sound of a radio playing Peking Opera drifted in, its soft, melodious notes blending into the midday silence.