Two knocks on the door made Dr. Qi, who had just entered his office, look up to see Qi Yue leaning against the door, smiling.

"Heading home for the weekend? What have you been so busy with that you haven't been home for weeks?" Father Qi asked.

Qi Yue walked in with a smile.

"I'll be back this week. Surely the house won't coincidentally have guests again, right?" she asked, spinning a pen on the desk.

"Your mother worries about you too," Father Qi chuckled. "You're almost thirty..."

Before he could finish, Qi Yue quickly gestured to stop him.

"Dad, Dad, twenty-nine, twenty-nine, still a year away from thirty," Qi Yue said. "Don't make your daughter sound so ancient."

"You were born in the second lunar month, and the New Year has long passed," Father Qi reminded her.

"Being born in the second month doesn't mean I'm thirty yet," Qi Yue scoffed. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I can't just get married because my ex-boyfriend got married—what kind of logic is that?"

"Suit yourself. I'm not interfering with that matter," Father Qi replied.

Qi Yue paused her pen spinning for a moment.

"Dad," she called out, hesitating again.

Father Qi looked at her.

"Tell me, how real can a dream be? How utterly real can the most real dream be?" Qi Yue asked, choosing her words carefully.

Father Qi laughed, leaning back in his chair.

"How unusual. Little Dr. Qi, whose rationality reigns supreme, is discussing such a topic?" he asked with curiosity. "What dream was it? Tell me about it."

"I dreamt I won the grand prize," Qi Yue said, pushing the desk away and standing up.

Father Qi smiled.

"Don't be shy now, tell me what it was," he chuckled, watching Qi Yue start toward the door. "You just arrived; are you heading back already?"

"I'm on the swing shift in the Emergency Room today," Qi Yue explained. "I just sent a patient over to your department."

"What's the illness?" Dr. Qi inquired.

Before the words were fully out, voices could be heard in the hallway.

"...What kind of joke is this? Why send an ophthalmology patient over here?"

Qi Yue made a face at her father and turned to leave.

In the corridor, a doctor was studying a medical record, followed by a grim-faced family member of the patient.

"Director Lu, here's the situation. During our on-call consultation, we suspected this patient might have some intracranial issues," Qi Yue said, walking over.

Director Lu glanced at her.

"Little Qi," he said blandly.

"We already did a cranial CT scan," the patient's family member stated, shaking the film strip with indignation.

"I've seen it. The CT scan is clear," Director Lu replied.

"Has an MRI been done?" Qi Yue asked.

"Look at this, look! It’s all because they want us to do more tests! We wasted money on a CT scan already, and it’s not over!" The family member grew agitated, raising his voice and pointing at Qi Yue. "Director Lu, what is wrong with doctors these days? Do they know nothing besides ordering tests? Are they only interested in maximizing commissions? If the illness is obvious, why must they drag us through all this running around?"

The commotion drew attention; people in the corridor turned to look, and some even emerged from offices.

Seeing Qi Yue, Peng Jiahai, who had been about to enter a room, stopped in his tracks.

Father Qi also stepped out of his office.

"She's doing it for your own good. Isn't it better if we can confirm there's no such disease?" he said quickly, trying to smooth things over.

"Besides running tests, is there anything else you people know how to do?" the family member fumed. "What can you do without the machines?"

"Actually, it’s quite fortunate and a blessing that these tests can be done," Qi Yue commented.

The family member spat.

"Don't think I don't know the tricks of the trade here," he said, reaching out to snatch the chart and films from Director Lu's hand. "Idiots."

He started to leave, then stopped, leaning close to Qi Yue.

Father Qi instinctively moved to shield his daughter.

"Thoracic Surgery, Qi Yue," the patient's relative read from Qi Yue's name badge. "I've noted it down. I'm filing a complaint against you."

"Sir, sir, let's discuss this calmly..." Father Qi quickly tried to restrain him.

Qi Yue also quickly turned to intervene.

"Scared now? Too late!" he shouted. "If I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know what fear is!"

"Sir, your father's condition is indeed somewhat irregular. It is definitely not just poor vision due to cataracts," Qi Yue said, ignoring his outburst.

"I ask you, why must you insist on saying this? Other doctors said it was fine, didn't they? Isn't the eye exam also normal?" the family member asked, frowning.

"Has your father had any headaches recently?" Qi Yue continued, disregarding his mockery, pausing, and pointing toward the right side of his head. "Pain on the right side?"

"No," the relative replied curtly.

"Think again. Go ask the patient carefully again," Qi Yue advised.

"How do you know? Who told you? My father never mentioned it," the family member challenged.

"I..." Qi Yue hesitated. "I could tell from his pulse..."

Pulse.

Not only did the family member freeze, but even the other doctors were momentarily stunned.

The relative looked around, then dug his ear with a finger.

"Did I take a wrong turn?" he asked. "This isn't the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, is it?"

"Sir, I'm serious. I'm not joking with you. Although your father can't articulate it clearly, I took his pulse..." Qi Yue tried to press on.

"Crazy," the family member interrupted, dropping the comment and storming off.

"Hey," Qi Yue called out, starting to follow.

She was pulled back by Father Qi's hand.

Father Qi shook his head at her.

Director Lu also shook his head.

"Old Lu, about this situation..." Father Qi said to him with a hint of apology.

"Forget it, it’s fine," Director Lu replied. "She's young; impulsiveness is inevitable."

Father Qi smiled and thanked him.

"Little Qi, learn well from your father. Come over to Neurology in the future," Director Lu advised, patting Father Qi's arm. "Don't worry, I'll handle the complaint."

The crowd in the hallway dispersed. Peng Jiahai remained standing, looking thoughtfully at the scene.

"Dr. Peng?" someone called him.

Peng Jiahai snapped back to attention.

He watched Qi Yue exchange a few words with her father before leaving.

"Dr. Qi, she also studies Traditional Chinese Medicine?" he couldn't help but ask.

The doctor next to him smiled and shook his head.

"Little Qi is an outstanding graduate from Yenching Western Medicine. Don't mention TCM to her; she almost bankrupted the TCM pharmacy department back then," the colleague chuckled. "She's the 'Quick Scalpel' of Thoracic Surgery; she wouldn't bother learning from a slow practitioner like that."

Peng Jiahai nodded thoughtfully, then looked again at the woman's straight silhouette disappearing into the stairwell down the hall.

This incident didn't seem to affect Qi Yue much, as she got off work that afternoon due to her swing shift schedule.

Her phone chimed incessantly as she unlocked her apartment door and answered a call.

"I know, I'm heading out for a big grocery run now. What do you all want to eat, and I'll make it... Okay... Play Landlords... Yes... I remember the red wine you wanted..." she said, closing the door, kicking off her shoes, heading straight into the kitchen to grab shopping bags, quickly changing her clothes, and stepping out again.

Meanwhile, Huang Ying hung up the phone and nearly bumped into someone just outside the door.

"Sister Huang, what's the rush?" Peng Jiahai asked with a smile.

"Hey, Director Peng is doing rounds?" Huang Ying was even happier to see him. "Are you free tonight?"

Peng Jiahai thought for a moment.

"I'm free," he said. "I'm the only one here from the mainland; one satisfied stomach means no one goes hungry."

Huang Ying smiled and patted his arm.

"Great! Then come eat with us," she suggested happily.

"This time, I'll treat. It's not right to always eat at your place," Peng Jiahai said with a polite smile.

"No need, it's a gathering at Yue Liang's place," Huang Ying laughed.

"Yue Liang?" Peng Jiahai questioned.

"Oh, that's Dr. Qi's place," Huang Ying clarified, winking at him. "Dr. Qi is a fantastic cook; we often gather there."

Dr. Qi...

Peng Jiahai nodded.

"Is it perhaps too sudden?" he asked.

"Oh, what's too sudden? We're colleagues; familiarity comes with time," Huang Ying said cheerfully. "It's settled then."

As Peng Jiahai nodded, a flurry of activity erupted from a nearby ward.

"Dr. Peng, a patient sent over from the Emergency Room!" a nurse called out.

Peng Jiahai and Huang Ying hurried over.

The patient brought in was in his sixties, already unconscious, receiving oxygen, and hooked up to an IV drip by the emergency doctor, but he was clearly in critical condition.

The MRI report soon arrived: Acute Ischemic Stroke.

"Looks like I won't be able to make tonight's dinner," Peng Jiahai said to Huang Ying.

"Hurry on then, you need to take care of this," Huang Ying urged.

Family members arrived one after another, turning the ward into chaos.

As Peng Jiahai prepared for surgery, he bumped heads with a family member who had just rushed in. The man was visibly distraught, stumbling around while weeping loudly.

"Dad, Dad... What happened? He was fine when I left at noon..."

Peng Jiahai, on his way into the operating room, froze mid-step, turning back to look at the man clutching the patient's bedside and crying! It was the same man from that afternoon!

I suspected intracranial issues...

Has an MRI been done?

Sir, has your father had any headaches recently?

That woman pointed to the right side of her head.

Pain on the right side...

Peng Jiahai quickly entered the operating room and looked at the suspended films.

Multiple subacute infarcts in the right occipital lobe and left cerebellar hemisphere...

Night fell, and Qi Yue's apartment was bustling with activity.

In the living room, a movie played softly on one side, while the game of Landlords raged fiercely on the other. The partition separating the kitchen was a small bar counter, now laden with bottles of beer, red wine, champagne, and various appetizer platters.

Qi Yue leaned against the back of the sofa, clutching a can of beer.

"You're hopeless! Wrong, wrong..." she patted Huang Ying's shoulder.

Huang Ying had four or five slips of paper stuck to her face, shaking her shoulders.

"Quiet down, quiet down..." she shouted back.

As her opponent played the final card, she let out a sigh of despair.

"Come on, I'll personally stick this one on Sister Huang," Lele said cheerfully, picking up a slip that read "I am the most beautiful woman in the world" and sticking it on her.

"Ugh, you're so slow! I've been asleep for a year, and you haven't improved at all," Qi Yue laughed, pushing Huang Ying's head lightly.

"Go away, go away," Huang Ying argued, reshuffling the cards. "Again, again!"

Qi Yue laughed and walked away, shaking her now-empty beer can before grabbing another bottle. She surveyed the lively room and slowly pulled open the glass door, stepping out onto the balcony.

A cool early summer breeze drifted by. From the eighth-floor terrace, the entire city lay spread out before her eyes.

The sounds of laughter and music drifted from behind her through the glass doors, while before her lay the dazzling neon glow of the city.

Qi Yue looked up, faintly discerning scattered stars in the night sky.

"Cheers," she murmured, raising her hand in a toast.

The glass door was suddenly yanked open, startling Qi Yue.

"Yue Liang, what are you doing?" Huang Ying asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just drinking to the moon," Qi Yue smiled.

Huang Ying snorted, shaking her phone.

"Uh, I invited a colleague over. He couldn't make it at first, but now he's coming. Is that okay?" she asked.

"It's fine," Qi Yue replied readily. "Isn't your colleague also my colleague?"

Huang Ying smiled and nodded at her.

"Then I'll go meet him; he can't find the place," she said, turning to run out.

"Hey," Qi Yue called out, stopping her, pointing at her face. "If you go out looking like that, you'll scare your colleague to death."

Huang Ying burst out laughing and pulled off the slips of paper from her face.

"Hey hey! Don't take them off! I'm going out like this!"

The colleague on the other side protested and shouted encouragement.

Laughter and teasing filled the room. Qi Yue took a deep breath, looked up at the night sky, took a long swallow of her drink, thinking, A dream. It must be waking up soon. She turned and stepped back inside.

I know what you all want to see, but don't rush me. The details of what she learned, changed, and comprehended—I must write those down. If you can't wait, you can put this aside and check back at the end of the month.

Thank you to Zhuangzhuang's Dream, Xia Xi, Nianshao Qingxian, Jin Qin, Cat Mom Cat Baby, Fan Cai de Dou, Wu Qianyu, Yi Jin You Yi, Lan Yangyang Hao, Gui Zhen Qin Xiang, La Ma※Meng, Yu Xiao Kai, Lang Qu, Xiao Sansan, Mo Shang Hua Kai 0831, Luo Yuan, Qing Yue'er, Book Friend 130215022724781, Dongfang Fengyun, Gagu Baobei, Book Friend 130816131802275 for the Ping An Fu reward on September 15th-16th. Thank you to Xiaoyao Benben Xian, Jinsede Dupi, Yizhen Qingfeng Shuo You Gui, Qingcai Shuchongzi, Qingyu Mingyang for the Xiang Nang reward. Thank you to shana0912 for rewarding two He Shi Bi. Thank you to San Yue Feng Ming for the Xian Pa Yuan reward. Rewards. At such a sad moment, you all shed tears and still spend money—grieving together once more. RS