Chapter 61: The Greatest Kindness

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: The Greatest Kindness

On Tuesday at noon, after a hurried lunch, the Yan siblings arrived at Inpatient Building Two with a fruit basket.

In a room on the eleventh floor, they found Xiao Man, who had already undergone surgery.

Because Xiao Man’s thyroid cancer was in its early stages and had been discovered very quickly, the surgery only involved removing the affected thyroid lobe.

Given her specific condition, only the thyroid isthmus was removed, leaving part of the thyroid gland intact.

This way, the remaining part of her thyroid could still produce the hormones her body needed.

This meant Xiao Man wouldn’t need to take thyroid medication long-term post-operation.

In essence, Xiao Man’s procedure was a minor one, with minimal physical trauma.

When the Yan siblings entered the hospital room, they saw Xiao Man, a piece of medical tape on her neck, propped up in bed. She was hooked up to an IV drip while flipping through a stack of documents.

"Reporter Xiao, my brother here is a bit clueless..."

Yan Ziruo immediately disparaged Yan Feifan, then continued, "He should be letting you rest and recover peacefully, but instead he’s imposing on you, making you worry about all this."

Xiao Man let out a faint smile, but the movement pulled at the wound on her neck.

She gently touched it with her right hand and said softly, "Mr. Yan has the heart of a truly benevolent doctor."

"Otherwise, he wouldn’t have told me so directly at the wedding that I needed to come to the hospital for a check-up."

"A benevolent doctor like Mr. Yan is someone we should praise and protect."

Yan Ziruo glanced at her brother and sighed softly, "Reporter Xiao, thank you for being so understanding."

Xiao Man gave a small smile and patted the thick stack of documents on the bed. Her voice filled with sympathy as she said, "These children are truly in a pitiful state. They deserve every one of us championing their cause."

She then picked up the file on top of the stack. "A cochlear implant, plus a year of dedicated training..."

"...can allow a deaf child to hear the sounds of nature, just like us, and to communicate with others through speech."

"This is work of immeasurable good."

Xiao Man looked at Yan Feifan and said solemnly, "Mr. Yan, I have one more radiotherapy session, and then I can be discharged tomorrow."

"My boss gave me a ten-day vacation. I’ll make good use of this time to call on my personal connections and seek help from some philanthropists."

Yan Feifan said very seriously, "Reporter Xiao, thank you!"

Prompted by a look from his sister, he added, "Um, Reporter Xiao, your health is what’s important."

"There’s no rush with this, no rush at all..."

Xiao Man smiled faintly again. "Someone was emphasizing just last night that the little girl’s window of opportunity is closing."

"The sooner she gets the cochlear implant, the better..."

Seeing Yan Feifan’s embarrassed expression, Xiao Man found it quite amusing.

Her gaze shifted to the little girl’s photo clipped to the documents, and she said slowly, "With a child this adorable, it’s hard not to be anxious for her..."

After leaving Xiao Man’s room, while waiting for the elevator, Yan Ziruo couldn’t help but lecture him again, "Feifan, don’t be so reckless in the future."

"It’s only because Reporter Xiao is kind-hearted and willing to take this on."

"If you had run into someone else... I mean, they’ve already got cancer, they’re not in a good mood. Wouldn’t they have just cussed you out on the spot?"

Yan Feifan wasn’t bothered. Instead, he said happily, "In any case, what matters is that it’s getting done."

"Sis, stop nagging."

Yan Ziruo was so angry she wanted to slap her troublesome little brother.

Just then, the elevator doors opened.

The two siblings walked into the elevator, which already had four or five people inside.

Just as Yan Ziruo was about to speak, a woman with a grayish complexion said to Yan Feifan, "Are you that young doctor from the wonton shop?"

Yan Feifan turned to look at the woman who had spoken.

A sense of familiarity made him immediately remember who she was.

Without makeup, her face was haggard, her complexion was awful, her cheeks weren’t as full as they had been that day, and her cheekbones were noticeably prominent.

Yan Feifan noticed she was wearing casual clothes and asked, puzzled, "That’s me. Are you being discharged?"

The woman shook her head, a bitter expression on her face. "My surgery is tomorrow, and after that, there’s a whole series of radiation and chemotherapy."

"I’m so worried that after the surgery tomorrow, I might not have the strength, or even the chance, to get out of bed ever again."

"So I was thinking, while I still feel okay today, I’d go out for a walk, have a look around..."

Yan Feifan nodded silently.

The elevator reached the first floor and opened. The passengers got out one after another.

Yan Feifan stopped and said to the woman, "The first thing a tumor defeats is a person’s spirit."

"Medical research is advancing every day. Maybe someday soon, a miracle drug or a definitive cure will be discovered."

"Don’t give up!"

"Thank you!"

The woman thanked him softly and walked slowly toward the entrance...

"Feifan, who was that?" Yan Ziruo asked quietly, curious.

"Last Tuesday, on the food street..."

Yan Ziruo’s eyes widened in realization. "The one who let out that foul fart..."

After leaving Inpatient Building Two, Yan Feifan and his sister parted ways.

He rushed to the Plastic Surgery Center without stopping to meet the children with cleft lips who had come from the orphanage for an examination.

To his surprise, he saw two children with cleft lips.

A four-year-old girl and a boy a little over three.

"Hello, Doctor-Uncle!"

Prompted by an accompanying staff member from the orphanage, the two small children greeted Yan Feifan indistinctly.

"Hello there, little ones!"

Yan Feifan returned the greeting politely, then went to Wang Chuan’s side and asked in a low voice, "Director, why is there an extra girl?"

Wang Chuan replied softly, "Another student of mine, Tang Zheng, heard about this charity event and decided he wanted to contribute as well."

"He will be covering the costs for the little girl’s cleft lip surgery, and he will also be the lead surgeon."

Yan Feifan said happily, "I see."

"Hey, Director, this is something we should heavily publicize."

"I heard that the medical staff here in the Plastic Surgery Center earn quite a bit."

"If every one of them made a donation, we could help improve the conditions for several more of the disabled and deformed children at the orphanage."

Wang Chuan stared into Yan Feifan’s eyes for a moment. Seeing that his expression and words didn’t seem feigned, he was sure.

He asked again, "Regarding Tang Zheng’s involvement, is that really what you think?"

"Director, that’s exactly what I think. What else would I think?" Yan Feifan looked somewhat confused.

From his choice of a work assistant yesterday, and now his thoughts on Tang Zheng, Wang Chuan could see it clearly.

This guy, Yan Feifan, was simple and direct when handling ordinary matters; he wasn’t one for cunning schemes.

You could say he had a pure and innocent heart.

Or, to put it another way, he lacked real-world experience, had a low EQ, and was terrible at handling social situations.

Last night when picking an assistant, Ye Lin was clearly the most unsuitable choice.

Someone a bit more savvy would have used the excuse of being unfamiliar and asked him, the director, for a recommendation.

Tang Zheng’s act of charity this time was clearly a move to one-up Yan Feifan, spurred on by some rumors he’d heard.

While Wang Chuan was slightly disappointed in Yan Feifan, he had another thought.

’Perhaps it’s precisely because Yan Feifan pays no mind to anything outside of medicine that he’s able to focus all his energy on his profession and achieve results far beyond his peers.’

’Just like Tang Zheng, who has become quite the social operator in the past year, always busy with something, but his medical skills have all but stagnated.’

At that thought, Wang Chuan smiled faintly and said, "Feifan, we welcome acts of charity like Tang Zheng’s."

"However, we never organize fundraisers or call on our staff to donate."

"Why not?" Yan Feifan was thoroughly baffled.

Wang Chuan patiently explained, "Feifan, a hospital is filled with pitiable, tragic people. You can find them at every turn."

"There’s no ’most pitiful’ or ’most tragic’; there’s always someone worse off."

"Even if we were billionaires, we couldn’t afford to keep donating again and again."

"Besides, we earn our money through hard work and skill to live comfortable, enjoyable lives. Our consciences are clear, and no one has any right to criticize us."

Wang Chuan said in a low, serious voice, "Feifan, for us doctors, the greatest act of charity is to do everything in our power to treat and save every single patient."

"In all other matters, we can only follow our hearts..."