Chapter 436: Unspoken Feelings and Unfinished Business

“You really should’ve gone to see Mu Qing off,” Old Qin sighed. “She worked herself to the bone for your sake—polishing that press release over and over, checking every second of video, every photo, even fighting to get your segment aired during prime time. I’ve never seen her treat anyone as well as she’s treated you…”

Zhou Can listened in silence.

The kindness of a beautiful woman is the hardest to bear.

Even if Old Qin hadn’t spelled it out, Zhou Can could guess most of what Mu Qing had done for him.

This round of publicity was such a success, even Director Lou called it a miracle.

Other doctors had been on TV too, but their impact was a far cry from Zhou Can’s. Those guys were top names in their fields. Zhou Can was just a nameless resident.

It was Mu Qing’s hard work and dedication that made this all possible.

She’s a pro—she knows exactly how to turn a phrase, which words to use. If there’s a way to move people or grab attention, she’ll find it.

“She kept turning back to look as she boarded her flight. I know she was hoping you’d show up. I just had to get this off my chest, that’s all—no other reason, not trying to change anything. Goodbye.”

Old Qin hung up.

Zhou Can stayed silent, shut his eyes, took a long breath, and let it out heavy.

After all, we’re only human. Who can truly be without feelings?

He wasn’t made of stone. But when it came to matters of the heart this deep, he honestly couldn’t see a perfect way out. Seeing Mu Qing hurt tore him up, too.

“If she ever needs help in the future, I’ll find a way to make it up to her. If I can’t give her a future, I have to be cruel enough to dash her hopes now.”

Sometimes, the gentlest people end up causing the deepest pain.

There’s nothing crueller than giving someone hope—then snuffing it out yourself.

He checked his phone out of habit.

That’s when he spotted a message from the Tibetan border medicine dealer.

“Boss Zhou, I’ll be at that same restaurant around seven tonight. Bring the rest of the 200,000 payment and I’ll hand over the goods.”

“OK!”

For Zhou Can, money wasn’t a problem.

The medicine dealer sent that message ahead of time, probably worried the bank might close before he could get the cash that night. It gave Zhou Can a chance to get ready.

After all, this wasn’t pocket change.

He’d paid a 100,000 deposit already and hadn’t rushed the guy since.

He hadn’t expected to wait this long and finally hear back. And the goods were being delivered straight to him.

This dealer really seemed like a standup guy.

After work, Zhou Can drove straight to the same restaurant as last time.

He walked in and found the Tibetan dealer eating dinner by himself. The other forager wasn’t there, so he must’ve come alone.

“Hey, sorry to keep you waiting.”

Zhou Can sat down across from him.

“I just got here too! Have you eaten? The menu’s all yours—my treat.”

The dealer looked genuinely happy Zhou Can had kept his word.

“Thanks, but I’ve got things to do later, so I’ll skip the meal. Did you bring the goods?”

“Here you go.”

Without any fuss, the dealer fished out an old-looking leather pouch and tossed it to Zhou Can.

Zhou Can took it, loosened the cord, and found a box inside.

It was slightly translucent, as if carved from a thick chunk of ice.

Zhou Can recognized it right away—it was crystal.

He could just make out inside a dried frog, about the size of a child’s palm, colored dark brown and black.

“You giving away crystal boxes with every purchase now?” Zhou Can joked.

“That’s its original box—came with it. If you want to check the goods, we can do it in the restroom or your car.”

The dealer acted all mysterious.

“Alright, let’s wait till you finish eating, then we’ll check it in my car.”

After the dealer ate, Zhou Can paid the bill and led him outside to his car.

Zhou Can sat in the driver’s seat, the dealer in the passenger seat.

“Go ahead, open it and check. The origin of this item can’t see daylight. Be very careful when you hand it over to your buyer—best to switch it out of this box.”

“Got it. Thanks for the heads up.”

The lengths this man went to get the thing showed just how hard it’d been to acquire.

Zhou Can didn’t ask where it really came from.

To save his girlfriend, he didn’t care if it was stolen or smuggled—he’d still buy it.

If things blew up later, he’d be just an innocent buyer, so legally he could dodge trouble.

He pulled out the crystal box and noticed strange symbols engraved on it. It honestly looked like a tiny coffin.

Carefully, he opened the lid. At once, a strange, luxurious scent filled the car.

It was a bit like musk, but not quite the same.

Inside, the dried frog had no moisture left. Its belly was split open, but the organs still remained.

Up close, Zhou Can could see lines and small bumps all over its shriveled brown skin. Its limbs were even longer and thinner than a normal frog’s.

“It’s fine. I’ll transfer the rest now.”

Without delay, Zhou Can sent the final 200,000 payment.

“Thank you, Boss Zhou. Remember—don’t tell your buyer where it came from, and swap out this box, period. I’ll see myself out.”

With the money in hand, the dealer left quickly and didn’t look back.

Zhou Can took the item home.

Scoring this main ingredient left him thrilled, filling his heart with joy. Only one ingredient left to go. The purple-backed mayapple was rare, true, but he still had a shot at finding it.

But instead of heading home, he dropped by a drugstore, paid cash, and bought a toad.

Of course, all they had was preserved stock.

He also grabbed a sealed jar. Back in his car, he put the drugstore toad into the crystal box, then stored the real rainbow toad in the sealed jar.

Once he knew the item’s source was shady, Zhou Can’s first reaction was to prepare for the worst.

This classic bait-and-switch could save the real medicine if things went south.

It’s like buying insurance—you’d rather never need it, but if something goes wrong, it’ll protect the real thing.

Once home, he set everything in its place.

He didn’t tell Su Qianqian anything. When it comes to this, he’d rather the one he loves most stay in the dark. That was his way of protecting her.

……

Time flew by, and before he knew it nearly a year had passed.

Zhou Can’s career at Tuyu Hospital’s Emergency Department just kept rising. Since the big publicity push, he’d noticed more and more patients specifically seeking him out.

Some even traveled long distances just for him, especially those suffering from gangrene, festering wounds, or persistent infections.

Whenever he felt confident, Zhou Can took them on.

If the situation was risky but the patient wanted to try, he’d assess first, then consult with Dr. Xu for a final decision.

With more cured cases on his résumé, Tuyu’s Emergency Department started building a real reputation.

Patients with severe wound rot began coming from all over.

At first, they were mostly from the provincial capital. Later, word spread to counties across the province. Even other doctors started recommending difficult patients to Zhou Can and Tuyu Hospital.

He found it oddly amusing.

Zhou Can had never even met most of these recommending doctors. He had no clue how news of his skill spread.

Later, he asked Dr. Xu and realized that patients cured by Zhou Can often told their original docs. That’s how the word spread—there was now a resident doctor at Tuyu who specialized in these tough cases.

Most doctors genuinely want patients to recover.

So, when their own methods failed, it made sense to suggest Zhou Can to their patients.

The more difficult cases he handled, the more hands-on experience he gained, and also plenty of new insights. His Debridement Technique leveled up fast—sometimes earning 100 experience points at a time.

Once, he even scored 1,000 experience points in one go for Debridement.

He was now just shy of 100,000 points—any day, he’d hit level six, the Chief Physician standard.

It would be his very first surgical skill at chief level.

Zhou Can couldn’t be more excited.

At deputy chief level, you master surgical details, everything flows just right.

But chief level—now, what kind of mastery was that?

There was something else worth mentioning: Tuyu Hospital gave him special permission to work alone in the lab on research experiments. That was a big deal.

It meant the hospital’s leadership now saw him as a contender for the title of eminent physician.

Basically, only research group leaders did solo projects like this.

He’d now been bumped up to group-leader status with all its perks.

With this qualification, writing papers got way easier.

Sometimes, after work, he’d invite Qiao Yu to the lab to research tissue and pus samples from his patients. They’d examine bacteria, study disease mechanisms—get to the root of it.

Bringing only Qiao Yu wasn’t about any funny business.

The truth was, he trusted her.

He didn’t trust Ma Xiaolan and Luo Shishen nearly as much. Research leaks and data thefts happen all the time.

Ma Xiaolan and Luo Shishen were just colleagues. Qiao Yu and Dr. Xu were his real teammates.

There’s always a difference between friends and true allies.

Not everyone could be trusted with the important stuff. When money’s on the line, even the loyal can turn.

Besides running his own project, Zhou Can also got a ton of support from the hospital.

The hospital even put him on Director Tan’s prestigious research group.

In other words—they were boosting his credentials.

Zhou Can gladly accepted and threw himself enthusiastically into the group.

“Dr. Zhou, there’s a man outside who says he wants to see you,” Ma Xiaolan said as she brought in a patient.

“You could’ve just turned him away for me! I’m in surgery—I don’t have time to chat with random people!”

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Zhou Can frowned, a little annoyed.

He was run ragged all day and night—he really didn’t need to deal with random visitors.

Now that he was getting more well-known, families and patients often came to the hospital just to ask if he could cure some relative’s wound.

Honestly, Zhou Can found these situations pretty exasperating.

Some people didn’t even bother with basic manners.

If you want to ask about an illness, at least bring the patient! Even if they can’t walk, come when he’s on duty, have the records and reports ready—then let him take a look.

But no, people would waltz in empty-handed, flash a photo, and ask if Zhou Can could treat so-and-so. That’s not how it works.

He couldn’t give them an answer anyway.

“He says he’s a doctor from our hospital,” Ma Xiaolan clarified.

“Just tell him I’m busy. If it’s important, he can wait until I’m off duty.”

Since it was a fellow doctor, Zhou Can couldn’t just brush him off.

At least he would hear what it was about.

Soon, Ma Xiaolan came back. “He said that’s fine. He’ll wait until you’re done.”

It was already past 5:30. For departments with strict hours, many were already off shift.

There were times Zhou Can was so swamped, he and his team didn’t finish up until after eight.

With the new top-of-the-line laminar flow OR, performing surgery was a thousand times better than before.

The types of operations they could do had grown as well.

They could now attempt even the most demanding third-level surgeries.

……

He finally wrapped up work a little after seven.

“I’ve ordered food—go ahead and start without me,” he called out.

The new surgical suite had a break room for meals, quick rests during nonstop surgeries, or even impromptu discussions about cases and plans.

It was a huge improvement from before.

Dragging his tired body out of the OR, Zhou Can spotted a tall, slim man in his thirties sitting quietly on a bench. The man looked honest and patient, no sign of impatience on his face.

As soon as he saw Zhou Can coming out, he jumped up to greet him.

“Dr. Zhou, sorry to bother you like this.”

“It’s fine. Sorry I kept you waiting so long. What brings you here?”

Zhou Can guessed—maybe this guy wanted a favor for a relative, or what?

Usually, if a hospital staff member’s family or friend got sick and Zhou Can was the attending, they’d give him a heads-up—in the medical world, it’s just how things go.

Everyone has family and friends. When they get hospitalized, doctors look out for each other’s people.

Because, one day, your loved ones might need the same help.

“I’m a surgical doctor too, and I’ve been following your work for a while. I’d like to transfer and become your surgical assistant. Of course, you can test my surgical skills and assess my ethics and attitude before you say yes.”

The man got right to the point.

“You want to be my assistant? Which department are you from?”

This was a first for Zhou Can.