Chapter 189 - 188: The Theft Incident

Chapter 189: Chapter 188: The Theft Incident

On Friday morning, Yu Zhiming’s sister drove him to the hospital. The moment he walked into the Qi Yue Medical Research Center, he was hit with bombshell news.

"What? The calligraphy was stolen?"

Yesterday, not long after seeing Ge Yunlun off, Qi Yue had someone hang the framed calligraphy piece—the one inscribed with the motto "Jingcheng and Supreme Virtue"—in his office.

It had only been one night, and it was already stolen?

’How brazen can you get!’

Yu Zhiming hurried to the director’s office and discovered that the frame was indeed gone.

In the reception area of the director’s office sat an enraged Qi Yue, breathing heavily. With him were two police officers from the local station who had come to investigate, one of whom was Jin Feng.

Yu Zhiming asked in disbelief, "Seriously? Someone stole a frame that big and nobody noticed?"

Jin Feng explained, "Dr. Yu, the thief only took the calligraphy. The frame was taken by forensic experts from the municipal bureau to look for clues."

"Ah," Yu Zhiming said, understanding now. He then asked, "Professor, besides the calligraphy, was anything else stolen?"

Qi Yue shook his head. "I checked. My tablet, laptop, gold signing pen, and the few thousand yuan in emergency cash I keep in the drawer—none of it is missing."

"The thief’s goal was very clear. They came just for the calligraphy."

"Zhiming, I was careless."

Qi Yue said, his voice laced with self-blame, "Just yesterday, Doctor Han reminded me that this piece of calligraphy is worth at least seven or eight hundred thousand yuan and that the office wasn’t very secure. He told me to be wary of someone getting desperate."

"But I didn’t take it seriously. Who knew?"

"Sigh..."

"The thief was just too audacious. You can’t blame yourself, Professor."

After offering a word of comfort to the sighing Qi Yue, Yu Zhiming turned to Director Jin and asked a question.

"Director Jin, have you found anything?"

Jin Feng said softly, "We haven’t found any useful clues yet. We can only roughly deduce that the calligraphy was stolen sometime between ten last night and five this morning."

After a pause, he asked, "Dr. Yu, just a routine question."

"During that time..."

Yu Zhiming interrupted, "I was at home sleeping. My residential complex has surveillance cameras. You can investigate and verify."

Qi Yue said in a deep voice, "Director Jin, as for the center’s staff... I can’t vouch for everyone, but the few who work in the large office next door are not suspects."

"You don’t need to waste your time on them."

Jin Feng said with a serious expression, "Director Qi, we have to conduct an investigation by elimination. It’s a requirement for solving the case..."

Although Yu Zhiming was regretful and angry about the stolen calligraphy, he didn’t feel much heartache.

’So what if it’s worth millions? It’s not like it could be cashed in.’

To Yu Zhiming, it was just a piece of calligraphy, no different from the art pieces sold in small shops for a few dozen or a few hundred yuan.

He offered a few more words of comfort to Qi Yue, then dove into his work for the day.

Yu Zhiming first went to the ward area, gave Luo Qing a physical examination, and after finding nothing wrong, he scheduled an MRI for her.

Afterward, Yu Zhiming went to the examination room and began the routine employee wellness check-ups...

At 11:10 AM, Yu Zhiming saw Luo Qing’s latest MRI scans.

The results were quite gratifying.

From the scans, the blood clot in the optic nerve region had completely broken up into tiny fragments.

These small fragments were now unlikely to exert any adverse pressure on the brain or its blood vessels.

Moreover, with the body’s natural ability to dissolve and absorb them, these small clot fragments would be completely gone in four to six months at most.

Luo Qing’s recent suffering had not been in vain; it marked a good start for her vision recovery.

Yu Zhiming offered Luo Qing some more encouragement and signed her discharge papers.

Luo Qing could go home to recuperate today.

What came next would require patience, luck, and a significant, continuous financial investment.

The medications and nutritional supplements to promote recovery from brain and optic nerve damage were not cheap...

Currently, there are no miracle drugs to repair brain and nerve damage. The clinical medications available are primarily for nutritional support.

These include Monosialotetrahexosylganglioside, Cerebroside and Carnosine Injection, Compound Cerebroside and Ganglioside, Mouse Nerve Growth Factor, and so on.

These drugs cost anywhere from several hundred to over a thousand yuan per dose, and they aren’t covered by medical insurance...

After eating lunch in the cafeteria and returning to the large office, Yu Zhiming learned from Zhou Mo that Qin Yuan’s neurosurgery had been successful.

Zhou Mo told Yu Zhiming that his diagnosis was correct—it really was gouty tophi.

The lead surgeon had removed thirty to fifty tiny uric acid crystals from the inner wall of Qin Yuan’s spinal canal, around the second and third thoracic vertebrae.

These uric acid crystals were small, fragmented, and spread in a thin layer on the inner wall of the spinal canal, which was why they hadn’t been detected in previous imaging scans.

Yu Zhiming knew that although the surgery had once again proven his examination correct, it was still uncertain whether Qin Yuan’s chest pain would disappear as a result.

Fortunately, he wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.

In another hour or two at the earliest, once Qin Yuan had fully woken up from the anesthesia, they would know.

Qiao Lei rolled up a piece of paper like a microphone and pretended to be a reporter. "Dr. Yu, the moment of truth is almost here. How are you feeling?"

"Are you nervous?"

Yu Zhiming shot the guy a sidelong glance. "What’s there to be nervous about?"

"If a doctor was on edge about the outcome for every single patient, they’d end up with a nervous breakdown and depression sooner or later."

"I just have to do my best and have a clear conscience."

Zhou Mo nodded lightly and agreed, "If you put your all into every step of the examination and diagnosis, a good treatment outcome is a natural result."

"Dr. Yu isn’t just lucky; he has real skill and a conscientious, responsible attitude."

Flattered, Yu Zhiming felt pleased and chuckled lightly. "Luck is something doctors need too."

Just then, a courier delivered a thick file folder. It was about a charity project for artificial eyes.

Inside the folder was an invitation letter, information about the Artificial Eye Company and the sponsoring company, and an introduction to the charity and medical institutions involved.

"Dr. Yu, the ceremony is next Friday at 8 PM, so it won’t conflict with your work schedule."

Qiao Lei took out the brochure for the Artificial Eye Company. "I’ve looked into this Artificial Eye Company. They’re well-known in the industry, with a solid reputation and resources."

Zhou Mo picked up another company profile. "But the one actually footing the bill is this optical lens company."

"Molan Optical Lenses? Ever heard of them?"

Qiao Lei shook his head. "It’s a specialized company that doesn’t deal directly with consumers, so I’ve never really heard of them."

"But if they can put up five million to sponsor a charity event, they must be pretty capable."

"Dr. Yu, what about this event?"

Yu Zhiming noticed that, according to the materials, the ophthalmology department of Huashan Hospital was also one of the participating medical institutions.

He said thoughtfully, "Let’s not reply just yet. I’ll go to the ophthalmology department and ask around about this project first."

"In principle, when it comes to charity events, if I can support them, I should do my best to do so..."

A little after 2 PM, Zhou Mo came running excitedly into the examination room to tell Yu Zhiming that Qin Yuan’s chest pain was gone.

"Qin Yuan said that even though his thoracic spine hurts now, the original heavy, unbearable pain in his chest—like a huge boulder was crushing him—is completely gone. He said he feels a huge sense of relief."

"Qin Yuan also said that you live up to your reputation, Dr. Yu, that you’re truly amazing. He also said you must really be a person of great fortune."

After a pause, Zhou Mo changed the subject. "Dr. Yu, the director asked me to let you know there’s a dinner gathering tonight."

"The professor is in the mood for a dinner party tonight?" Yu Zhiming asked, a little surprised.

Zhou Mo chuckled. "Dr. Yu, our center used to have a get-together about once a month."

"The director said that in the past month or so, we’ve only had that one gathering on the day you reported for duty, so it’s about time for another one."

"As for the stolen calligraphy, that was an accident. It won’t stop us from eating and drinking. When it’s time for a get-together, we have a get-together..."