America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

He had scheduled a medical check-up at Catherine Cancer Center in January, and he wouldn't go to Osborne Industries to help Norman advance the experiment until the results were in.

He was terrified that Norman would use delaying tactics on him, hoping to let him succumb to cancer before the serum research was successful.

Walter White wanted to conduct human trials of the serum on himself first, focusing on solving his cancer problem.

"Dad, are you alright?"

Stephanie knocked on the bathroom door; Walter had been inside for over ten minutes.

"I'm fine, I'll be right out."

When the bathroom door opened, Stephanie looked at Walter White with concern; his face was somewhat pale.

“Okay. I’ve scheduled a follow-up appointment for January. I’ll let you know the results, don’t worry,” Walter said to his daughter.

"Is it just an examination? What about the treatment plan?" Stephanie asked.

"I have a treatment plan..."

“But it doesn’t seem to be working as well as the previous methods,” Stephanie said.

“The previous treatments seemed to work, but I know my body best. It was an illusion. I knew I wasn’t better, but the doctors thought I was,” Walter White said.

"However, treatment cannot be delayed."

“I did not let the illness develop on its own; I was taking medication.”

Walter White pulled a medicine bottle from his pocket and waved it at Stephanie. The bottle made a sound, indicating that it contained medicine.

“The label above is handwritten.” Stephanie’s observation skills are quite remarkable.

“This drug is not yet on the market; it’s still in the testing phase,” Walter White calmly told his daughter Stephanie.

"Dad, are you testing drugs on Osborn?"

"No. I'm developing a new drug, a new drug to treat my cancer."

Stephanie sighed, filled with helplessness.

Chapter 273 He had no choice.

Throughout the entire Christmas holiday period, New York City did not experience any snowfall, although it did experience several rain showers.

A warm winter is not good news; Liqun feels that there are always worrying abnormal weather events every year.

Experts on a television program predicted that New York City would experience a dry spring, posing a challenge to the city's residents' water supply.

On January 2nd, when school resumed, foggy weather was Liqun's favorite kind of weather.

The final semester of high school has begun, and twelfth-grade students are focusing on two things throughout the semester: graduating and getting into college.

To obtain a formal graduation certificate, students must complete the required 22 credits and pass the unified examination, with a minimum score of 55 points in each subject and a minimum score of 65 points in core subjects.

These are not problems at Midtown High School; only a very small number of students are unable to meet the graduation requirements.

Every year, Midtown High School's 12th-grade students complain that even though they have already finished their courses, they still have to strictly adhere to the school hours stipulated by the Department of Education, and graduation activities are delayed until June, while major private high schools in New York complete their graduation process in May.

"I had a terrible dream."

"Harry, what did you dream about?"

“I dreamt that I didn’t get my diploma,” Harry said.

"You've earned enough credits, right?" Li Qun asked with concern.

“Yes.” Harry nodded.

At the start of the semester, the school was in chaos, with many people running around like headless flies. The school broadcasts would occasionally call students by name and summon them to the office.

Li Qun, Peter, and their group gathered together to check each other's report cards.

The school will arrange make-up exams in the first week of school, and students who failed the final exams in the previous semester can get redemption in the first week.

None of Li Qun and the others needed to retake the exam.

"Does being a twelfth-grade student mean you have special privileges, like being able to post notices on the school bulletin board to inform everyone?"

"Is this considered a privilege?" Gwen said after glancing at it.

A notice posted on the school bulletin board stated that 12th-grade students would have priority access to the school's computer lab, library printers, and meeting rooms for college applications and graduation preparations.

“Who hasn’t finished their college applications yet?” Gwen asked loudly in the hallway.

Several people looked at Gwen and slowly raised their hands towards her.

Gwen shook her head.

There are fewer than a hundred students in a grade. Those with strong social skills can remember the names of everyone in their grade, and no more than thirty students attend the same classroom. Everyone knows each other.

“I can’t wait for June,” Harry said.

"Can't wait to graduate?" Li Qun asked.

"Yes."

“I don’t know what to do at school right now,” Harry said.

“Harry, if you don’t know what you want to do, I have a list,” Gwen said.

"Is it a list like 'One Hundred Things to Do Before Graduation'?" Harry asked.

“That’s right.” Gwen nodded with a smile.

"No, no, no, Harry, Gwen, you mustn't do it!"

"Don't get yourself expelled before graduation!" Peter warned anxiously.

“There are some things you can do after graduation,” Gwen said.

“You might not know this, but there’s an option to recycle your diploma. You can’t just do whatever you want after graduation,” Li Qun reminded Gwen.

“But all of this has one prerequisite: that what we did is discovered to be our doing,” Gwen said.

"Are we to secretly accomplish our mission objectives?"

"Is it a destructive act?" Harry asked quietly.

“No, it’s creative action,” Gwen said to Harry.

Peter and Li Qun exchanged a glance. When Gwen mentioned "creativity," they immediately thought of that thing—the thing Gwen wanted to do when they first met, which had deeply moved them both.

“Stephanie, you don’t look happy?” Harry noticed that Stephanie wasn’t in a good mood.

"Did you get diarrhea when you got home?" Li Qun asked with concern.

"Why do you have diarrhea?" Harry asked, looking at Li Qun.

“No, this is the best Christmas dinner I’ve ever had.” Stephanie gave Li Qun a forced smile.

“I’m guessing, is Uncle Walter’s condition not so good?” Peter asked.

Stephanie looked at Peter and slowly nodded.

“My dad seems to be resisting treatment, and I just can’t do anything about it,” Stephanie said.

“Oh…” Gwen looked at Stephanie, and she could feel Stephanie’s feelings at that moment.

"There's nothing we can do," Li Qun said.

“There’s no other way,” Peter repeated.

"Is there really no other way?" Gwen asked.

“The adults have made their decision, and there’s really nothing we can do about it,” Harry said.

“My dad says he has a way, but I think he’s lying to me,” Stephanie said.

“There is a way, Stephanie,” Li Qun said.

Should I believe it?

"Believe first, then believe."

"He said he was developing a new drug, but I think he was just testing it."

“Stephanie, would you like to see my books? I’ve been reading these two books all vacation.” Peter opened his backpack and showed Stephanie the books inside.

"What problems can reading solve?" Harry asked.

“It can make people more at ease when facing death…” Peter’s voice trailed off.

"Does cancer always mean death?" Harry asked.

Several people looked at Harry and nodded.

Are there any people who have been cured of cancer?

“I’ve heard a few rumors. There’s an aunt in Chinatown who also had cancer, and it was already in its late stages. Her surgery failed, and the doctor opened her body up and then stitched it back up exactly as it was. But the doctor and her family told her that the surgery was successful, so she didn’t take her illness to heart and has lived a cheerful life ever since,” Li Qun said.

"Where is this lady? Is she still in Chinatown?" Harry asked.

"It's just a rumor; I don't know who this person is."

“Even if you ask around, no one will tell me,” Li Qun said to Harry.

“This seems to be a little story to comfort patients. I think I’ve heard it before. It’s like saying that cancer is a strange disease that is very affected by emotions,” Gwen said.

"If you don't care about it, it can't hurt people?" Stephanie pondered.

"Cancer is like a ghost?" Harry quipped.

"Could the key be traditional Chinese medicine? Did Aurora's traditional medicine play a role?" Stephanie looked at Li Qun.

"I do not know."

"The most amazing thing about traditional medicine in Aurora is that many people who don't understand it believe in its therapeutic effects," Li Qun said.

Chapter 274 The Man in the Rumors

When Stephanie returned home, she saw her father, Walter White, preparing dinner for the whole family in the kitchen.

The record player was playing jazz music, and Walter White swayed his feet to the rhythm of the music, clearly in a good mood.

Stephanie still remembers when her father was diagnosed with cancer, the doctor told him that he had at most one or two years to live.