I Am Diagnosed as a Medical Titan

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Dwarf Doctor

Night fell.

The barbecue stall downstairs from Feiyu Internet Cafe had already set up its plastic tent.

Every time they passed by, Chen Hao couldn’t help but remark, "Old Jiang, this place always reminds me of that day. If you hadn’t acted so decisively, that guy would’ve been a goner, and I would’ve been in deep shit right along with him."

Jiang He’s tone was placid. "It’s all in the past."

Just as the two were about to head into the barbecue stall, a middle-aged man walked out of the internet cafe’s stairwell. It was the owner of Feiyu Internet Cafe.

When the owner saw Jiang He, he hurried over to greet them.

"Hey, you guys! I’ve finally run into you again!"

His face was full of gratitude, mixed with a hint of chagrin. "I owe you big time for what happened last time. I meant to give you a free month-pass, but I got busy and forgot that day was the end of the month. I’m so sorry about that! This month is on me, definitely on me! You here to use the computers today?"

Jiang He shook his head. "No, we have a class get-together. We’re eating downstairs."

"Oh, right, food’s good, food’s good," the owner nodded repeatedly.

Chen Hao noticed the owner’s furrowed brow and asked casually, "Boss, you look worried. What’s wrong?"

The owner sighed. "Don’t even ask. It’s that young man from last time, the one who had the incident. He came back to the cafe today."

Chen Hao was surprised. "He’s back? He nearly died, and he still dares to come back and play?"

"Tell me about it! But he’s toned it down now. At least he doesn’t do all-nighters anymore. He just plays for a few hours and leaves on his own. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t even dare let him in. But just seeing him sitting there makes my heart pound. I’m terrified he’s going to collapse again."

After listening, Jiang He commented objectively, "As long as you get past the acute phase of a Tension Pneumothorax and recover properly, living a normal life isn’t a problem. However, the air circulation in an internet cafe is poor, so it’s really not a suitable place for him to stay for long."

The owner nodded in agreement. "That’s exactly it! Alright, you two go eat. If you need any help, just come upstairs and give me a shout."

They said goodbye to the owner and walked into the barbecue stall.

Almost all their classmates had arrived.

"Teacher Jiang, Chen Hao, over here!" Zhou Yang stood up and waved enthusiastically.

Jiang He walked over and sat down, with Chen Hao taking the seat next to him and popping open two bottles of beer.

"Now that the man of the hour is here, let’s eat! Tonight’s dinner has only one theme—"

"To congratulate our Old Jiang for taking first place in the competition! He’s the pride of our entire class! Next, he’ll be representing the school! Come on, everyone, bottoms up!"

Everyone raised their glasses.

After downing his drink, Liu Qiang smacked his lips and grinned. "Man, you guys should see the state of Old Jiang’s dorm room right now. I dropped by the other day, and when I pushed the door open—holy crap. All four of them were burying their heads in their work. I thought I’d walked into a graduate school entrance exam study hall by mistake."

Chen Hao said, "The grad school exam is nothing. Old Jiang is about to lead us to pull off something big."

"Count me in!"

"Count me in!"

Some people at the table were just joking around, but others genuinely didn’t want to be left behind.

As third-years, everyone had shed the naivety of their first two years. The conversation naturally turned to final exams, grad school prep, and future internship plans.

After clinking glasses with a few people, Jiang He’s gaze fell on Yi Xiangwan, who was sitting across from him.

Yi Xiangwan was thin and frail, standing under 1.6 meters tall.

Just then, a male classmate who was drinking with him joked, "Xiangwan, you can’t hold your liquor, can you? You’re already flushed after just half a bottle."

Yi Xiangwan chuckled. "That’s what happens when you’re short. I only have half the alcohol tolerance you guys do."

Everyone let out a round of good-natured laughter.

Yi Xiangwan laughed along with them.

It seemed as long as he kept joking about his own height, no one would notice how much it actually bothered him.

A phrase he often used was: "If the sky falls, you tall guys will be there to hold it up. Down here at the bottom, I’m super safe."

Jiang He watched him quietly for a moment, then got up and moved to the empty seat next to Yi Xiangwan.

"Can we talk?"

Yi Xiangwan was a bit confused. "Old Jiang? Talk about what? Highlighting key points for exams? No, that’s not right. You don’t need my help with that..."

Jiang He skipped the small talk and cut straight to the chase. "I have a project."

"It’s a study on early screening for pancreatic cancer using peripheral blood miRNA. It’s still in the literature review and experimental prep stage. I need talented people to join."

Yi Xiangwan froze for a second. "You mean... me?"

"That’s right. But there’s an entrance requirement. I’ve set up a week-long biochemistry assessment. You have to pass to get in. The guys from Room 402 and Cheng Xiyao are all preparing for it."

Yi Xiangwan fell silent.

He stared at the empty beer bottle on the table, not saying a word for a long time.

After a moment, he cracked a smile. "Forget it, Old Jiang. You guys are playing in the big leagues. Doing extractions in the lab... the workbenches are so high, I’d probably need a stool just to reach. If I fell and smashed a sample, I could never afford to replace it."

Jiang He didn’t respond to that. Instead, he said, "The results of this project will be published in a top-tier journal. Think about it."

Yi Xiangwan didn’t say anything.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the barbecue tent.

A young man pushed aside the plastic door flap and walked in.

He glanced around before his eyes locked onto Zhou Yang’s table.

"Excuse me, is the doctor who performed first aid at the internet cafe at this table?"

Chen Hao recognized him at a glance—it was the patient with Tension Pneumothorax.

To avoid causing a scene, Chen Hao stood up and pulled him aside. "Keep your voice down. This is Dr. Jiang, the one who saved you. Did you need to see him about something?"

The man stared intently at Jiang He, his eyes turning red. "Dr. Jiang, I was just at the internet cafe upstairs. The owner told me you were eating down here, so I came looking for you."

The classmates at the table exchanged confused glances.

The man said, "Last month at the cafe... if you hadn’t made that split-second decision to puncture my chest, I’d be long gone. I wouldn’t be able to play games anymore. I haven’t had a chance to thank you properly in person for saving my life!"

The area fell silent in an instant.

Class president Zhou Yang looked at the man, then back at Jiang He. "Wait... saving someone at the internet cafe? Old Jiang, the legend who went viral on the school forums for making a closed thoracic drain out of a water bottle... that was you?!"

Lin Yue also looked astonished.

Although everyone had heard the rumor about the emergency rescue, no one had ever connected it to the always-low-key Jiang He.

Jiang He’s expression remained impassive.

He said, "I appreciate the thought. From now on, don’t stay up so late, and avoid spending too much time in enclosed spaces. Go home and get some rest."

The man resolutely walked over to the owner and paid the bill for their table. Before he left, he gave Jiang He another deep bow, then turned and walked away.

Once he was gone, the table erupted.

Exclamations of shock, shouts of "Holy shit!", and words of admiration filled the air.

Jiang He sighed helplessly. After briefly calming everyone down and telling them not to make a big deal out of it, he turned his attention back to Yi Xiangwan beside him.

At that moment, Yi Xiangwan was also staring at him, unblinking, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions.

Jiang He was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"Saving lives has nothing to do with external factors. Whether it’s improving a surgical technique or developing an early screening method in a lab, the essence is the same: to save people."

"...Pancreatic cancer doesn’t show mercy to someone just because they’re tall. Neither do data and samples. Don’t waste your talent."

With that, Jiang He patted Yi Xiangwan on the shoulder.

Yi Xiangwan pursed his lips.

Outside the tent, the night wind made the plastic sheeting RUSTLE loudly.

’So Jiang He... he was the legend who risked everything to save someone at the internet cafe. The risk was huge, but he did it anyway. When he talks about saving lives, he doesn’t just say the words.’

Yi Xiangwan admired Jiang He from the bottom of his heart.

After a long while, he poured himself a full glass.

"Alright, then... I’ll give it a try?"

After drinking it down, he added jokingly, "But let’s get this straight. If the lab benches really are too high, you’ll have to approve a budget for me to get a booster stool. And you’d better put a sign on the door—Attention, esteemed researchers: All stools in this laboratory have four legs. Please do not mistake any creature under 1.6 meters for a stool and sit on it."

Anyone else would have laughed along with the joke.

But Jiang He didn’t laugh. Instead, he said solemnly:

"Xiangwan, in the face of death, humanity and life itself are small. What allows us to stand taller than death has never been the length of our bones."

"Let’s do something great together. Not just to save more people, but to strive for the rise of Chinese medicine. Let’s work hard together."

In the noisy barbecue stall, Yi Xiangwan’s hand tightened slightly around his glass.

He pressed his lips together, speechless for a long time.

He didn’t find those words grandiose.

On the contrary.

Deep inside, a surge of passion and impulse welled up, seeming to overwhelm his flickering self-consciousness in that instant.

That night, he continued to joke about his height, making the others roar with laughter.

「Back in his dorm room.」

The first thing he did was pull open his drawer and take out his specialized textbooks.

Staring at the pages, his mind was filled with the sounds from the barbecue stall.

’Saving lives... Striving for the rise of Chinese medicine...’

’Damn it, Jiang He.’

’If you hadn’t reminded me, I would have almost forgotten. Back when I wrote the words "Clinical Medicine" on my university application, this was what I wanted too.’

Yi Xiangwan took a deep breath and opened the book.

’Thanks for today.’

’I’ll do everything I can to help you. I’ll strive to become a competent, short doctor.’