Argument

Wei Yin lifted her tear-wet eyes. “Will he die?”

Hua Yu’s voice stayed steady. “At first glance, no. The operating room is right next door; as long as his head isn’t severed, he can be saved.”

Wei Yin shuddered. Hua Yu caught herself. Realizing she had frightened her, she softened a little and added, “...And he didn’t use much force. Judging by the amount of bleeding, it should be a small external artery in the neck; it’ll stop quickly.”

Only then did Wei Yin slowly begin to calm down.

“Why,” Wei Yin said after taking a big sip of water, her voice very low, “why would he try to kill himself?”

Hua Yu sat down beside her. She had seen too much of this kind of thing and was calmer than most people.

“Do you know how important the gland is to a person?” Hua Yu asked.

Wei Yin shook her head, then nodded. “It’s an organ that goes beyond secondary sex characteristics; it affects sixty percent of hormone secretion.”

Hua Yu leaned back, her gaze lowered slightly, as if she were explaining an ordinary truth. Her tone was even. “Modern medicine still can’t explain how the gland came into existence. There are currently two schools of thought. The first is gland supremacy theory; under the gland’s stimulation, the human body’s genetic potential can be awakened. In many ways, AOs show talents beyond ordinary people; for example, my medical talent, and your artistic talent.”

Wei Yin asked, “What about the other school?”

Hua Yu paused for a moment. “The other school is gland parasitism theory. They believe the gland’s appearance is a form of parasitism. It doesn’t belong to any atavistic trait, and it can’t be proven through anything found in nature. It’s as if it appeared out of nowhere, clinging to human genes and controlling human life and death.”

Wei Yin didn’t quite understand, but she could feel the seriousness and weight in Hua Yu’s voice.

“That person killed himself because he couldn’t accept having his gland removed,” Hua Yu said, looking at Wei Yin. “One thing you said wasn’t quite right. The gland’s influence on the body’s hormones is absolutely more than sixty percent; it may be seventy, eighty, even ninety percent. It can repair the immune system, and it can also destroy it completely. It can cure cancer and clear away cancer cells; the body itself will never develop cancer, but it can also make a person age overnight and die rapidly.”

Wei Yin understood then. Throughout history, the most important organ in the human body was the brain; without the brain, death was inevitable, without exception. After that came the heart. Every organ in the body had its own function; though they could be replaced by machines, the replacements were never complete.

For humans, having one more vital organ—the gland—came with obvious advantages and obvious disadvantages.

Wei Yin tried hard to remember Hua Yu’s words. “The gland is very important.”

Hua Yu’s tone grew heavier. “I’m not saying this to make you worry yourself sick. I just want you to take yourself seriously.”

Wei Yin blinked. “Mm.”

Her answer was casual. Even though she now understood how important the gland was, she still didn’t connect any of it to herself.

Hua Yu suddenly stood, walked up to Wei Yin, and crouched down in front of her.

Wei Yin’s gaze brushed over Hua Yu’s face; long hair, blue eyes, a straight nose, thin lips, calm and composed. It was a face that looked good at any time, but right now Hua Yu seemed dangerous. Her expression had darkened, her features set, and thick emotion churned in her eyes.

“You haven’t taken good care of yourself, and you haven’t taken your own gland seriously,” Hua Yu said. Every time she spoke, her lips parted only slightly, as if she were holding back both her volume and her feelings. “Wei Yin, your attitude toward yourself is very careless.”

Wei Yin instinctively wanted to say that wasn’t true.

Hua Yu’s brows and eyes were cold, so overcast that it was hard to meet her gaze. “You don’t need to deny it to me. This is your own body; you should take care of it.”

Hua Yu had a lot she wanted to say. She wanted to ask Wei Yin why, after agreeing to regular checkups once every three months, she had only gone twice in the past two years.

Yang Cha had said Wei Yin didn’t know how to use barrier patches; did Wei Yin think that if she couldn’t smell pheromones, she could just ignore everything and soak herself in all kinds of chaotic environments?

And just now—an out-of-control omega with a knife in hand, and Wei Yin still dared to rush at him.

But all of that concern and worry, all of that anger and questioning, Hua Yu forced down, burying it in the deepest part of her heart.

She was only Wei Yin’s attending physician. Right now, the most important thing was curing Wei Yin’s illness; she couldn’t drag up the past or demand that Wei Yin do exactly as she said.

Wei Yin was left speechless, unable to come up with a single rebuttal.

She instinctively felt Hua Yu was wrong, but if she thought carefully, everything Hua Yu said was true.

Wei Yin pressed her lips together and lowered her head. “You don’t know.”

Hua Yu: “Hm?”

Wei Yin was a little angry, but more than that she felt wronged. She sat there dumbly, tugging at her fingers without speaking.

Hua Yu leaned closer. “Don’t know what?”

Wei Yin pushed her away with very little strength. Hua Yu didn’t move, and Wei Yin’s hand ended up resting on Hua Yu’s shoulder.

Hua Yu was criticizing her, saying she was irresponsible, saying rushing forward had been wrong; but, but she had really done her best.

Wei Yin’s palm tightened unconsciously.

Hua Yu didn’t move at all. Her tone softened, urgency threading through her gentle voice. “Tell me. What is it that I don’t know?”

Wei Yin shot to her feet. “Sorry, I need to go back to the ward.”

Hua Yu watched Wei Yin run off, closed her eyes in frustration, and let out a heavy sigh.

In the ward, Zhao Qi’s mother was coaxing her to eat one more bite of vegetables.

“Mom, I hate broccoli the most,” Zhao Qi said, pouting as she tried to lean back. “Why did you make a whole plate of it for me?”

Zhao Qi’s mother looked very gentle. Her short hair rested at her shoulders, tucked behind her ears, and when she smiled with her eyes half-lidded, fine lines gathered at the corners. “You’re being naughty again. Last week you said broccoli was your favorite.”

“That was broccoli stir-fried with meat. This is just boiled in water; it’s different,” Zhao Qi said with perfect confidence. “Mom, Mom, Mom, I want meat.”

Zhao’s mother took it in stride, agreeing with her out loud, but her hand feeding the vegetables didn’t stop. “Fine. Come on, have another bite.”

“Mom!”

Wei Yin stood at the door watching. Zhao Qi’s mother noticed her and smiled in greeting. “You’re Qiqi’s wardmate, right?”

Wei Yin walked in and answered, “Mm. Hello, Auntie.”

Zhao Qi immediately pointed at Wei Yin and complained, “It’s her. Every day she eats all kinds of meat. Yesterday it was chicken soup; I could smell it. I was dying of envy!”

Zhao’s mother laughed. “Don’t point at people when you talk; that’s rude. Tomorrow I’ll bring you a piece of chicken breast.”

Then she turned and gave Wei Yin an apologetic smile. “Please don’t mind her. We spoiled her rotten since she was little. She speaks very directly; don’t take it to heart.”

Wei Yin shook her head and sat down on her own bed. “Zhao Qi is very cute.”

Unlike Zhao Qi’s lively personality, her mother was calm and steady. No matter what Zhao Qi said, it was always fine with her; the look she gave her daughter was always indulgent.

Wei Yin burrowed into the quilt and wrapped herself up, unable to help thinking of her own mother.

In her memory, the expression she saw most often on her mother’s face was a smile whenever she looked at her.

It was the kind of smile that came from seeing your precious child, a smile so full of love it couldn’t help but spill out.

It spread first from the eyes, then across every feature, carrying affection, gentleness, pity, and pride; it was a hopeful look, like a great tree standing over her head.

There’s nothing better than a mother, Wei Yin thought. No one in the world could love her selflessly the way her mother had.

Take meals, for example. Besides a mother, who else would feel sorry for a child eating badly and living poorly in the hospital? Who would make food by hand and bring it right to the bedside? Who would tolerate a child’s little temper, let her order whatever she wanted, and listen to her complaints?

Thinking of this, Wei Yin thought of Hua Yu.

Her attitude just now had been bad; she shouldn’t have spoken to Dr. Hua like that.

Especially after having eaten Hua Yu’s meals several times already.

Those beautifully prepared, healthy dishes were obviously made with care. Whether they were bought outside or made by hand, they were Hua Yu’s thoughtful gesture and should be thanked properly.

Wei Yin had nothing right now, so she cherished even the smallest bit of kindness.

She thought that next time they met, she must apologize to Dr. Hua.