The next morning.
Jiang Town First People's Hospital.
Staring at the bustling hospital entrance, Zhao Wanqiu's face was filled with disbelief.
"Yi-ge, this is the interesting place you were talking about yesterday? Seriously?"
She had been so excited last night, looking forward to something fun…
"Yi-ge, why did you drag us to the hospital this early in the morning?" Shen Hao yawned beside her, grumbling with visible irritation.
"Could've been at home in bed! You know how precious sleep is?"
Just last night, Shen Hao had solemnly vowed to himself that he would catch up on every single hour of sleep he missed during the last three years of high school.
And now, on the very first day of summer break, he'd been dragged out of bed before dawn by none other than Fang Yi.
"My dad gave me three free medical exam vouchers last night. We'd be stupid not to use them," Fang Yi replied casually, pulling out three health checkup forms from his pocket and handing one to each of them.
Many big factories had collaborations with hospitals, offering annual free health checkups for their workers as a kind of employee benefit.
Last night, Fang Yi had pestered his dad into getting him three.
To his surprise, Fang Yucheng hadn't just agreed—he'd actually supported the idea.
Though his father wasn't some high-ranking official—just a workshop supervisor—getting three extra vouchers was easy enough.
"Yi-ge, we're healthy as horses! Why are we getting checkups? I'm heading back," Shen Hao muttered under his breath.
Health checkups were such a hassle—blood draws, urine tests, EKGs, X-rays. The full package would eat up half the day.
Not to mention how exhausting it all was. Shen Hao hated the very thought of it.
Fang Yi frowned. "Stop whining. You're already here—just get it done and then go home."
Seeing the stern expression on his face, Zhao Wanqiu pressed her lips together and said no more.
Shen Hao, though clearly annoyed, obediently followed him inside the hospital.
This was a habit formed over more than a decade.
From the time they were little, their small circle had always revolved around Fang Yi.
They might bicker or tease each other daily, even play a few pranks, and no one would really mind who came out on top.
But the moment Fang Yi made a serious decision, Zhao Wanqiu and Shen Hao never questioned it.
…
Oncology Department, Outpatient Clinic.
The doctor adjusted his glasses and said with a grave expression,
"Based on our preliminary tests, we can confirm… it's lung cancer."
Lung cancer?
At that word, Shen Hao, who was standing to the side, visibly blanched. His face turned pale with disbelief.
Fang Yi remained calm—he'd already known the results in advance.
But Zhao Wanqiu, the person at the center of it all, fell into stunned silence.
In that instant, it felt like her mind had gone completely blank. The world around her faded away, replaced by a loud, high-pitched ringing in her ears.
It took her a long moment to come back to herself.
Finally, she lifted her head slightly, staring at the doctor, her voice trembling with tears,
"You… you've got to be joking, right? I came in for a basic checkup—how did it turn into lung cancer?"
As she spoke, tears instantly welled up and spilled over.
The news was just too sudden. Too heavy.
Lung cancer.
Even with no medical knowledge, Zhao Wanqiu knew what that meant—how deadly it could be.
She was only eighteen.
The brightest, most vibrant time in her life was just beginning. She was about to enter university, to open a whole new chapter.
And now, with just two words, all her dreams had been shattered.
Honestly, the fact that she was still sitting upright and not collapsed in tears was already a feat of incredible strength.
At that moment, a pair of warm, steady hands rested gently on her shoulders.
A familiar voice came from behind her, firm and comforting:
"Qiu-ge, I'm right here. What're you scared of?"
It was a simple sentence, almost teasing in tone, but it landed like a rock anchoring a storm-tossed ship—calming the violent waves surging in her chest.
Feeling the warmth of the hand on her shoulder, Zhao Wanqiu's fragile emotions slowly steadied.
She turned her head, sniffled, and looked at him through tear-filled eyes.
"Yi-ge… I heard lung cancer can't be cured."
"Who told you that?"
Fang Yi scoffed and reassured her, "Don't worry. If it's caught early, lung cancer can absolutely be cured."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better," she whispered.
Looking at her tear-streaked face, so delicate and vulnerable, Fang Yi gently wiped her tears and said seriously,
"I'm not lying. I mean it—it can be cured."
The intimacy of that gesture sent a shiver through her. Her face flushed faintly with embarrassment.
It brought back memories—memories of childhood, when she'd fall or get bullied by other kids, and Fang Yi would always wipe her tears the exact same way.
As they grew older, she cried less, and that familiar action had gradually faded into the past.
Now, not only had it returned, but it stirred something new within her—an emotion she couldn't quite name, quietly blooming in the depths of her heart.
Just then, the elderly doctor chimed in,
"This young man is right. If it's early-stage, the cure rate is quite high. No need to despair, young lady."
"Really? Is mine early-stage?" she asked hurriedly.
"Judging from the X-ray, it looks like early-stage," the doctor replied. "But to be sure, we'll need you to do a bronchoscopy."
As he spoke, he picked up a pen and wrote out a referral for the test.
Fang Yi took the form and led the other two out of the consultation room.
Line up. Pay the fee. Take the test. Wait for results.
Hours later, they returned to the clinic with the report in hand.
After carefully reviewing the data, the old doctor beamed kindly.
"Young lady, you're lucky. The lesion is only 1.8 centimeters and hasn't reached the main bronchus. It's classified as stage 1A.
As long as we surgically remove the cancerous tissue and nearby lymph nodes in time, the affected area can be completely cleared."
Upon hearing this, both Zhao Wanqiu and Shen Hao let out a deep breath of relief.
"Go home and talk to your parents," the doctor added. "Set a date for the surgery as soon as possible. Don't delay—it's not something to wait on."
"Okay, thank you, doctor!"
…
On the way back, the three of them walked their bikes slowly down the street.
Zhao Wanqiu's eyes were still red, clearly not fully recovered from the shock.
"Thank goodness for Yi-ge," Shen Hao muttered, still visibly shaken. "If he hadn't brought us here, we'd never have known Qiu-ge had lung cancer. Damn… from now on, I'm getting a full checkup every year."
He really had been scared out of his mind.
Who would've guessed that someone like Zhao Wanqiu—always full of life, energetic, seemingly healthy—would suddenly be diagnosed with something like this?
It was enough to rattle anyone.
"That's more like it."
Fang Yi chuckled. "Next time I tell you guys to do something, don't complain. Just shut up and do it."