Lin Jie didn't take Li Ting's angry departure to heart. When they used to sit together, they often had little tiffs.

By the time he got home, it was almost 9:30 PM.

As soon as Lin Jie entered the house, he saw Zhang Xiaoxiao in pink pajamas, hugging a pillow, lounging on the sofa watching TV.

Zhang Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at Lin Jie and said, "You came back just in time. I'm thirsty, get me a glass of water!"

Lin Jie poured a glass of water for this lazybones, then walked into the kitchen to make a late-night snack for Lin Miao. Usually, it would be noodles, dumplings, or something similar.

Tonight, he saw there was leftover rice in the rice cooker, so he planned to make fried rice!

While he was busy, Zhang Xiaoxiao came over, leaned against the doorframe, and said, "Hey, let me tell you something!"

"Today, a girlfriend dragged me to a plastic surgery hospital for a consultation. She wants to remove a birthmark on her face!"

She habitually touched the scar on her forehead and said softly, "A colleague pointed to my forehead and asked the doctor if the scar left after the birthmark removal could be like mine."

"The doctor told her it mainly depends on the recovery after the surgery!"

Zhang Xiaoxiao laughed out loud, "The colleague immediately dragged me out of that hospital and angrily said, a dignified plastic surgery hospital's results are worse than those of an amateur, it's just a money-grabbing hospital."

"Well, this indirectly shows that your skills are not bad at all!"

Zhang Xiaoxiao became excited and shouted, "You should open your own cosmetic clinic. It's very profitable now!"

Lin Jie said helplessly, "Opening a clinic requires a doctor's license. Treating your injury was an emergency first aid. If I opened a clinic to treat others, that would be illegal practice. I'd have to go to jail."

Zhang Xiaoxiao oh-ed with realization and regretfully said, "It would've been great before; you could be a barefoot doctor, a traveling doctor. Now, everything requires certification."

"Hey, how was your class reunion? Fun?"

"It was okay, we just had a meal together. They had other activities, but I left early!" Lin Jie replied perfunctorily.

Zhang Xiaoxiao, being a salesperson, is skilled at reading people.

Seeing Lin Jie unwilling to say more, she didn't press on. Many class reunions involve a lot of bragging, and she didn't want to add to Lin Jie's discomfort.

After Lin Jie finished making a mixed fried rice with ham, eggs, and greens, plus a seaweed egg drop soup, Lin Miao came home from work.

Watching Lin Miao relish her meal, Lin Jie felt a sense of achievement.

Zhang Xiaoxiao, after joining Lin Miao for late-night snacks for a while, was horrified to find she'd gained a few pounds.

To maintain her figure and resist the tempting aroma of the food, she would hide in her bedroom every time Lin Miao had a late-night snack, either playing on her phone or computer.

"Brother, was the reunion fun?" Lin Miao asked with a mouthful of food.

"It was alright!"

Lin Jie didn't tell her about meeting Han Wenbin, only about seeing his middle school deskmate Li Ting, saying they had a pleasant conversation.

Lin Miao chuckled and softly asked, "Brother, is she still that fat?"

"Yeah, still that fat, a level-12 typhoon couldn't blow her away!"

Lin Jie reached out, pinched a grain of rice stuck to Lin Miao's mouth, and affectionately said, "Eat more, you're a bit too skinny!"

Lin Miao wrinkled her cute little nose and said discontentedly, "Still skinny? I'm several pounds heavier than I was a month ago! I'm strong; customers all say my grip is no weaker than other masseuses!"

Looking at Lin Miao's face, which had recently gained a slight rosy glow, Lin Jie was deeply moved.

In other families, at nineteen, it's the age of going to college, being pampered, carefree.

But Lin Miao had already taken up the responsibility of a small household early on. It's probably only in the past half month that she'd gotten used to not being startled awake at midnight, needing to check her room before she could sleep soundly.

After dinner, Lin Miao, as usual, enthusiastically recounted to Lin Jie some fun stories from work and the diverse array of customers she met.

Then they each cleaned up and went to their rooms to rest.

Just about to lie down, Lin Jie discovered a few unread text messages on his phone, all from Luo Shanshan.

"The case I took over the day before yesterday still hasn't found a specific cause. Lin Jie, please help!"

"Female, 39 years old, has fever with general discomfort, physical exam: T38.5°C, P120 bpm, BP 80/50 mmHg, conscious."

"She suffers from anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency, with little effect from daily B12 supplements. Her family says she often falls for no apparent reason."

"Tests show no cerebellar lesions, no spinal inflammation or tumors!"

"The attending physician just dumped this patient on me, giving me full responsibility! I've done a blood count and various regular checks, but still have no clues! Please! Please!!"

The end of the text was a string of pleading emojis.

Reading it, Lin Jie chuckled.

It was unclear if it was intentional difficulty or purposeful training, but after Qian Guanglin's surgery, Luo Shanshan was sent to the emergency department, not only busy but also often tasked with treating difficult-to-diagnose patients.

Luo Shanshan was just an intern; if the attending physician found it hard to diagnose, she was even more at a loss.

She stubbornly researched on her own while not hesitating to ask for advice, often turning Lin Jie into her go-to for questions.

Lin Jie also used this as an opportunity to test, familiarize, and flexibly apply his medical knowledge, always giving detailed answers to Luo Shanshan's inquiries.

Gradually, their interactions increased.

Luo Shanshan admired Lin Jie immensely, unconsciously treating him as a most revered teacher.

Lin Jie subconsciously flipped his phone, pondering the patient's symptoms!

On the surface, the most likely causes for this patient were cerebellar or spinal issues, but tests had ruled those out.

If only he could personally examine this patient, Lin Jie thought wishfully.

Due to individual differences in complexity, even the same disease can manifest vastly differently, like one feeling feverish while another feels cold.

Only through comprehensive examination and assessment of all symptoms can the root cause be identified.

Right now, Lin Jie could only rely on the information from the text messages for judgment, which was significantly challenging.

Lin Jie read the message description again, muttering, "The low fever is mainly due to body inflammation or self-rejection responses. She has anemia due to B12 deficiency, yet B12 supplements show little effect..."

"Could it be that her body doesn't absorb B12 or something is consuming the B12?"

"Something consuming the B12..."

Lin Jie suddenly recalled a condition: diphyllobothriasis, a parasitic infection with worms up to ten meters long.

In rare cases, diphyllobothriasis can cause tapeworm anemia because the tapeworm absorbs large amounts of B12, related to blood production.

Aside from general anemia symptoms, patients may experience sensory abnormalities, movement disorders, and loss of deep sensations due to nerve dysfunction.

Lin Jie checked again and found that this helminth infection matched the patient's symptoms well.

With improved living standards and medical conditions over the last two decades, such parasitic infections have nearly vanished domestically, so doctors overlooking it is understandable.

With this realization, Lin Jie replied with a message: "Do a stool ova and parasite test!"

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