Natarle's violet eyes rapidly scanned the medical report from side to side.
After a moment, her brows furrowed: "Director, this report shows—"
Though Zhou Tianming held little hope for the examination results, Natarle's reaction piqued his curiosity. He stealthily leaned in to peek over her shoulder. Interrupted by his movement, Natarle shot him a razor-sharp glare: "Weren't you refusing treatment? Stop looking and sit properly!" Unable to be firm with his woman, Zhou Tianming meekly sat back down, muttering, "I was just curious..." With a cold snort, Natarle resumed questioning the director.
The director gave Zhou Tianming an odd glance before explaining: "As you've seen from the report, truthfully I don't know how to interpret these findings." She looked at Zhou Tianming again: "Most of his genetic material couldn't be identified. To rule out equipment malfunction, we repeated the tests over three times with identical results."
"To conclude, I can't say whether this gentleman will die, but I can confirm he's definitely not human."
The room fell into dead silence.
After a long pause, Natarle slammed the table, her expression grave: "Please don't joke about this."
The female director shook her head: "I'm completely serious. The majority of his genetic makeup differs from all known human or biological specimens. The reason we couldn't detect anything is because there's no existing reference data for comparison."
"I can tell you with certainty—any hospital you visit will give you the same results."
"Is there any treatment?"
"None." The director stated unequivocally.
"Can't we perform Coordinator Surgery to modify his genes?"
The director looked surprised: "That's quite the idea, but unfortunately no."
"Why not!" Natarle leaned forward urgently, "Isn't that exactly what Coordinator Surgery does for fetuses?" The director raised two fingers: "First, let me correct you—the procedure is performed on fertilized eggs, not fetuses."
"Second, genetic modification is impossible on living subjects. Imagine the human body as a car running at high speed. Trying to alter engine components mid-operation... you understand what would happen if we changed even the slightest detail..."
The director clasped her hands together before dramatically spreading them in an "explosion" gesture.
The answer struck Natarle like a physical blow—her legs gave way as she collapsed weakly.
Zhou Tianming swiftly caught her, holding her tightly against his chest: "Natarle..."
"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!" Burying her face in his chest, Natarle weakly pounded his torso and arms, her voice breaking with sobs, "Why! Why!"
Zhou Tianming felt a surge of sorrow, his eyes turning red.
He blinked and sniffled. "Let's go home."
Watching the two embrace and walk away, the female dean sighed deeply and picked up the phone. "Teacher, just as you predicted, the child's condition is worse than expected. At this rate, he likely only has about ten days left."
"Ah..." Hua Bolin sighed on the other end of the line. "Heaven envies talent. Their family's children, one after another... ah..."
After hanging up, the dean swiveled her chair and gazed silently at the night sky through the window.
In the hospital corridor, Zhou Tianming carried Natarle in his arms, walking quietly.
Natarle leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, tears uncontrollably spilling from her eyes and dampening his clothes.
"How much longer do you have...?"
"I don't know. My birthday might be the turning point. If I don't make it past that..."
As they spoke, a girl with straight black hair and two playful braids on either side walked toward them. She wore a blue-and-white school uniform and carried two silver thermoses.
Zhou Tianming, holding Natarle, blocked most of the path. Noticing this, he turned sideways to make way.
The girl smiled politely and bowed slightly in thanks, but when she caught sight of Zhou Tianming's face, she froze. Her eyes widened, and even after passing them, she kept glancing back.
Once outside the hospital, Natarle regained her composure. "Put me down."
Zhou Tianming tightened his grip instead. "I want to hold you a little longer."
Natarle blushed but her eyes remained dull. "Is there really no other way?"
"Fate has decided it, I suppose..."
"Are you afraid...?"
After a long silence as they walked, Zhou Tianming finally spoke. "I'm only afraid of how much it'll hurt you all."
"You jerk..."
"Yeah."
"Let's go home. I don't want to be apart from you."
Pausing mid-step, Zhou Tianming chuckled. "Should I try my best to leave you with a child?"
"Mm..." Her voice was barely a whisper.
Awkward...
I was just joking!
Though he thought that, his body acted otherwise. In the end, they didn't go home but found "somewhere" to spend the night.
Back in the hospital, inside a spacious, luxurious ward—
The girl frowned, lost in thought.
On the nearby bed lay a gaunt, elderly man around 60 with a darkened complexion. Even in stillness, an air of authority lingered in his brow. Seated beside him was a woman in her 30s with long black hair tied into a braid draped over her left shoulder. Her delicate features were accentuated by a beauty mark near her lips.
She wore a black martial arts uniform, sitting upright in her chair like an ancient East Asian sword—both firm and supple.
The woman adjusted the elderly man's blanket, then turned and smiled at the girl's distracted expression. "Weiwei, what's got you so lost in thought?"
Wei Weiwei snapped out of it, glanced at the woman, and pressed her lips together as if steeling herself. With a determined look, she stood. "Auntie, come here."
She turned and walked out of the ward, peering back to make sure her aunt, Wei Bailing, followed. When Wei Bailing didn't move, she waved urgently. "Auntie, it's important. Come quickly!"
"What's so urgent you can't say it here?" Wei Bailing checked on the elderly man before rising and stepping out of the ward.
Wei Weiwei first peeked inside to confirm the old man was still asleep, then gently closed the door.
Wei Bailing watched with amusement but didn't interfere, quietly observing.
After a moment, the preparations were complete. Wei Weiwei leaned close to Wei Bailing's ear and whispered in an extremely low voice, "Auntie, I just saw a young version of Uncle."
Wei Bailing's expression froze instantly, then her willow-like eyebrows shot up as her face turned icy. Her gaze swept over Wei Weiwei.
Wei Weiwei shivered, her hair standing on end. She hurriedly added, "It's true! I just saw a boy about my age who looked sixty to seventy percent like Uncle."
Wei Bailing stared coldly at Wei Weiwei until beads of cold sweat rolled down the girl's forehead.
"Where did you see him?"
Letting out a long breath, Wei Weiwei suddenly felt the pressure ease. "Near the dean's office. He came out from inside, carrying a girl in his arms."
"Take good care of your grandfather. I need to step away for a moment."
With that, Wei Bailing turned and strode off.
Watching her leave, Wei Weiwei patted her chest. "Wow, no wonder Dad refused to come no matter what. That was terrifying."
Dean's Office
A sharp knock sounded at the door.
The female dean was startled. Glancing at the time—already past 10 p.m.—she called, "Come in."
The door opened, and Wei Bailing walked in with purpose.
At the sight of the visitor, the dean immediately understood. "If you're here for that boy's records, you can leave now. I won't give them to you."
Wei Bailing frowned. "You know me? And why I'm here?"
Suddenly laughing in anger, she took a step forward. Her entire demeanor shifted, like an ancient sword unsheathed, radiating sharp, biting cold.
The dean suddenly found it hard to breathe, as if needles were pricking her skin—an almost hallucinatory sensation. She managed with difficulty, "My teacher instructed me. That child's information cannot be disclosed."
"You're Hua's student?" Wei Bailing's imposing aura eased slightly. "Is that child Liu Che's?"
Gasping for breath, the dean shook her head. "I don't know. This is my first time seeing him. Before this, I only participated in studying his medical records."
"Medical records? What's wrong with that child?"
Sighing, the dean looked at Wei Bailing. "You really don't need to look for him. Whatever you're thinking, it's pointless. That child doesn't have long to live."
Wei Bailing's breath hitched, her voice trembling slightly. "What exactly is wrong with him?"
The dean shook her head in silence.
Clenching her fists, Wei Bailing turned away. "I'll find out myself."
"Why bother? Sometimes, not seeing hope isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Without looking back, Wei Bailing strode quickly out of the room.