“No need. You should have asked Chu Yi already. I’m doing fine now. Someone is treating me.”
Fu Lingzhou interrupted his father calmly.
Father Fu frowned slightly.
“Azhou, don’t joke about your own health. Others may not understand, but you should know your condition very well. You’re letting a young girl treat you—no matter how capable she is, how could she possibly cure your long-standing illness?”
“She can cure it!”
Fu Lingzhou’s dark eyes were steady and resolute.
Father Fu frowned even more.
“You trust her that much? Chu Yi said you’ve taken a liking to her. Is that true?”
Fu Lingzhou did not deny it.
“Dad, she’s the little girl who saved me back then. If she could save me once, she can save me a second time.”
Hearing this, a trace of surprise flashed through Father Fu’s eyes.
Back then, his son had been kidnapped. If not for that little girl, he might have died long ago.
Later, he sent his son abroad.
Over the years, he often asked whether anyone had come looking for him with the jade pendant.
But no one ever did.
He never expected that more than ten years later, the two of them would meet again.
Looking at his son’s calm and handsome face, Father Fu knew his temperament well.
Once he made a decision, he would never turn back.
It seemed that his son really had fallen for that girl.
But he already had an engagement.
Still, as long as his son could recover, everything else was secondary.
Thinking of this, he said, “If you want her to treat you, then let her do it. But I will also invite that reclusive old doctor for you. When the time comes, you should come back and meet him as well.”
Fu Lingzhou wanted to refuse, but after thinking for a moment, he nodded.
He could roughly guess that Su Yao was that old doctor’s disciple.
After all, the only other female doctor who had been able to cure his illness had died nearly thirty years ago.
And the person who harbored the deepest resentment toward the Fu family—and who had once declared that he would rather treat a dog than treat anyone from the Fu family—should be that female doctor’s husband.
In other words, Su Yao’s master.
Before telling Su Yao his real identity, he really needed to meet that old man and win him over.
Otherwise, if the old man found out that Su Yao was treating him, he might make things difficult for her.
At Su University.
After lunch, Su Yao informed her supervisor and then went to the hospital with Ling Lin and the others.
On the way to the inpatient building, they happened to run into Li Ya, who had just finished eating and was taking a walk in the garden.
“Uncle!”
Ling Lin called out instinctively.
“Oh, Linlin is here!”
Li Ya smiled warmly. His gaze fell on Su Yao, and his eyes lit up.
“Secretary Su—no, I should call you Doctor Su now. What brings you here with Linlin today to visit me?”
Su Yao smiled, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
“Director Li, are you related to Ling Lin?”
Li Ya and Ling Lin froze at the same time.
Oh no.
They had spoken too quickly and forgotten something.
“Haha, what a coincidence,” Li Ya said quickly, trying to smooth things over.
“I only found out while chatting with Lingzhou earlier that our families are distantly related.”
Ling Lin nodded repeatedly, her heart pounding.
Su Yao did not pursue the matter and instead asked, “How are you feeling now? Are you doing okay?”
“Thanks to you, I can probably cling to life for another twenty or thirty years!”
Li Ya laughed.
“Doctor Su, I can never repay you for saving my life. Don’t worry—this favor will stay with me forever. From now on, as long as you say the word, I’ll do whatever you need.”
Su Yao waved her hand and teased him lightly.
“Just drink less and stop taking advantage of women.”
Li Ya’s old face turned red. He clasped his fists and bowed.
“Yes, yes, yes. I will strictly follow the doctor’s orders.”
Then he leaned closer and lowered his voice.
“But, Doctor Su… could you give me a little face in front of others?”
Su Yao laughed and casually teased him a couple more times.
Just then, Zhou Wen’s phone rang.
After answering and speaking briefly, her face immediately turned anxious.
“Sister Su, what should I do? The caregiver just called me and said the doctor has issued a critical condition notice for my dad and asked me to go sign the consent form immediately. They’re going to arrange surgery for him right away! I’ve been hiding my dad’s cancer from him, but now he’s found out and almost fainted!”
Hearing this, a trace of doubt flashed across Su Yao’s eyes.
She had already learned about Zhou Wen’s father’s condition in general.
Just earlier during lunch, she had even video-called him.
Judging from his complexion and appearance, he did not look like someone with cancer.
Why would the doctor issue a critical condition notice and rush him into surgery like this?
“Don’t panic. Let’s go to the ward first and take a look,” Su Yao said gently.
After saying goodbye to Li Ya, they headed for the inpatient ward.
Li Ya let out a long breath and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.
That was close. He had almost slipped up.
Fortunately, he had managed to cover it in time.
Watching Su Yao’s back as she walked away, and seeing how anxious the group looked, he worried that there might be trouble in the ward.
So he followed them.
He already knew that Su Yao was treating Fu Lingzhou.
Han Guang had also warned him privately not to reveal Fu Lingzhou’s true identity.
Otherwise, Su Yao would refuse to treat him.
Li Ya knew some of the Fu family’s old secrets.
There had once been a female doctor who could treat Fu Lingzhou’s illness, but she was killed because of conflicts among powerful families.
Her husband, who was also a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, withdrew from the medical world and disappeared completely.
It could be said that, apart from that couple, no one else in the world could cure Fu Lingzhou.
And now, another doctor capable of treating Fu Lingzhou had appeared.
Whether as his own lifesaver or as his nephew’s attending physician, he had a duty to protect her.
Su Yao took the elevator to the ward where Zhou Wen’s father was staying.
When they entered the room, a resident doctor was speaking to Zhou Wen’s father.
He had become extremely thin.
He looked dazed, as though all the life had drained out of him after hearing the bad news.
“Dad,” Zhou Wen hurried over.
“Wenwen, you’re here.”
Seeing his daughter, Zhou’s father finally seemed to come back to life.
His slightly sunken eyes were red.
Holding back his tears, he said,
“Director Fan said I have cancer and need surgery immediately. Every day of delay means greater danger. Maybe I just shouldn’t be treated. Even if I am, I probably won’t live for many more years. Let’s go home now.”
He had thought it was just ordinary enteritis. He never imagined it would be cancer.
He had no idea how much the surgery would cost.
That money was supposed to be his daughter’s dowry.
If he only had a few years to live anyway, he would rather not have the operation.
He lifted the quilt and tried to get out of bed.
Zhou Wen rushed forward and hugged him, crying.
“Dad, don’t do this. You’ll be fine, you really will. I haven’t even let you live a good life yet. You haven’t seen me get married or have children. You can’t just leave me behind!”
Seeing his daughter crying, Zhou’s father could no longer hold back his tears.
“I’m useless as a father. I want to live well too… but heaven won’t allow it.”
The father and daughter hugged each other and wept.
Even Ling Lin wiped away her tears.
The young male doctor standing nearby frowned impatiently.
“Alright, stop crying. You’re Zhou Zhong’s daughter, right? You came at the right time. Hurry up and sign this. Director Fan is very busy. Your father’s surgery was squeezed into his schedule.”
Zhou Wen looked at Su Yao in panic.
“Sister Su…”
“Don’t rush. Let me take your father’s pulse first,” Su Yao said calmly.
Zhou Wen quickly stepped aside.
“Wenwen, who is this?” Zhou’s father asked, wiping his tears.
“Dad, Sister Su is a very skilled traditional Chinese medicine doctor. She can definitely cure your illness,” Zhou Wen explained quickly.
Su Yao smiled gently at Zhou’s father, sat down beside the bed, and carefully took his pulse.
XCDThe young doctor’s face darkened.
“Miss Zhou, what do you mean by this? You don’t trust Director Fan’s medical judgment, so you brought in a traditional Chinese medicine doctor to check your father?”
“Let me be clear—you father has cancer. Our director only made special arrangements for surgery because he felt sorry for your situation. If you miss the best treatment window, you’ll have nowhere to cry later.
