CH 230

Wang Chao didn’t dwell on the three-hour time limit issue. For him, since time was tight, they had to make the most of it, and the logic was simple.

The teenager opened his computer and found that the program was still running. He imported some node files into his tablet and said to Lin Chen, “A’Chen Gege, didn’t you ask me to check some adverse reactions to the drug? Here are some of them.”

Lin Chen took the tablet.

Since the State Food and Drug Administration didn’t notice these cases, it meant that these adverse reactions were still within a reasonable range. After all, any drug would list the possible types of adverse reactions in the instructions. Even some penicillin allergies may include hallucinations, mental abnormalities, and the like. Therefore, it was normal for adverse reactions such as cognitive impairment or emotional mania to occur when treating brain diseases.

Lin Chen looked at all 11 relevant adverse reaction cases as of February 2014, and only one case was severe.

The patient was a 73-year-old woman who was admitted due to a stroke and had organic dementia due to brain atrophy. In January 2012, she had a manic episode, injured medical staff, and accidentally fell from the stairwell.

The forensic autopsy results proved that the elderly woman had diffuse cerebral sulcal widening and cystic expansion in her brain, indicating that organic brain damage caused the mental abnormalities, thus ruling out the hospital’s responsibility.

Looking at the case, Lin Chen saw the prescription for “Cerebralcon” from Zhourui Pharmaceutical.

As always, Wang Chao was thoughtful and also attached the police investigation report to the back of the case.

In the photo, the hospital corridor was stained with blood.

According to the case information, the 73-year-old woman grabbed the nurse’s needle during an infusion, stabbed the nurse, and escaped into the corridor. She used a medical cart to hit two other elderly patients frantically, causing one of them to die on the spot and the other to be declared brain dead after an unsuccessful rescue three days later.

For an elderly person over 70 years old, this was a completely crazy act.

Three lives were lost in this case, and perhaps the victims’ families were still immersed in grief and self-blame and hadn’t yet realized that it wasn’t their fault.

……

Lin Chen put down his tablet and leaned his hand on the car window with an indifferent expression, not sure what he was thinking.

Xing Conglian was clear about why he came up with the idea of a deadline. People like him often treat themselves harsher than others, striving for perfection and accustomed to pushing themselves to the limit and finding a way out in desperate situations.

Xing Conglian stepped on the brake, and the Jeep stopped at the red light.

In a brief moment, Xing Conglian saw Lin Chen quickly glance down. It was a completely subconscious movement. He was looking at the phone in the storage box on the car door and then awkwardly moved his gaze back. He obviously wanted to make a phone call but didn’t do so.

Looking at Lin Chen’s always calm and composed face, Xing Conglian suddenly realized that Lin Chen was different from them. He and Wang Chao didn’t have to worry about their grandfathers mistakenly taking dangerous drugs made by Zhourui, while Lin Chen was probably now dealing with some elderly relatives. He handed his phone over and said, “If you want to make a call, go ahead. Three hours won’t make a difference.”

Lin Chen took the phone, and his fingertips were very cold.

“It’s my teacher.” Lin Chen guessed what Xing Conglian guessed and answered very candidly. “My teacher’s cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems have always been bad. He was hospitalized last year and has probably been taking Zhourui’s medicine all along. This kind of medicine is too widely used.”

He didn’t show any sadness, but Xing Conglian could feel his inner conflict.

Although Lin Chen had had countless teachers since he was a child, only one person—President Su of Yongchuan University—had been referred to as his teacher.

When Lin Chen took the phone, he obviously breathed a sigh of relief. He dialed the number without even looking it up. Looking at Lin Chen’s face as he waited for the phone to connect, Xing Conglian was glad he didn’t stubbornly stick to his principles.

Xing Conglian drove the car forward a bit and stopped on the side of the road near the municipal bureau. Lin Chen held the phone and looked at him for guidance. Xing Conglian waved his hand, indicating that he was waiting for someone.

The phone connected, and Xing Conglian could barely hear President Su’s cheerful voice from the receiver at arm’s length.

“Teacher, it’s me.” Lin Chen’s voice was rarely so relaxed, even with a hint of playfulness toward the elderly.

Xing Conglian remembered the file he had peeked at. When Lin Chen was young, all of his older relatives had already passed away. Now, thinking back, President Su probably acted as both a teacher and a friend to him, fulfilling his desire for elder care.

Xing Conglian’s hand rested on Lin Chen’s delicate neck, waiting for his next words.

“I have encountered a problem.” Lin Chen held the phone calmly and said so.

The old man probably asked something like, “What kind of problem have you encountered?” And then added, “It’s not a problem with your relationship with that captain, right?”

Xing Conglian only heard a general idea and stared at Lin Chen with his eyes wide open. Why are people surnamed Su so astute nowadays?

“That’s not it. We’re together.”

Lin Chen said this casually in a cool voice, causing Xing Conglian’s hand on his neck to tighten a bit. After all, this was him coming out of the closet, so he felt he should give Lin Chen some encouragement, but Xing Conglian was disappointed again.

Elder Su’s voice on the phone became two tones brighter, and Xing Conglian didn’t hear any nervous or worried tone coming out but instead heard a lot of fragmented gossip questions, making him feel at a loss for words.

The old man asked all sorts of questions, and Lin Chen only mentioned trivial matters. This made Xin Conglian mistakenly think that this phone call wasn’t about Lin Chen telling the old man about the medication issue but rather a special report to the elders at home about his love life, and that they were unusually open-minded.

Lin Chen talked on the phone for a while, and Xing Conglian felt as if cold sweat was about to drip down his back, fearing that the old man would suddenly want to talk to him, but it seemed that the old man hadn’t yet reached that level of gossip.

“We’re done talking about your relationship. Now tell me, what’s the matter with you?” the old man suddenly asked.

Xing Conglian looked at Lin Chen and saw him squinting in the distance. He paused, pulled his hand down from his neck, and then clasped Lin Chen’s fingers. “Something big has happened, but I can’t say it.”

“If you can’t say it, why did you call me? You’re going to drive me crazy!” the old man exclaimed.

“It really can’t be said for the time being, Teacher. Just watch the news, and when I can say it, I’ll call you first thing.”

Xing Conglian could feel Lin Chen’s hand trembling lightly, but he was still pretending to speak in a relaxed tone.

“Quick, tell me. What was the life principle I taught you guys when you graduated?”

Lin Chen smiled and answered, “Don’t show off, and surrender when you need to.”

Xing Conglian could no longer laugh.

“That’s right, there’s no savior in this world,” Elder Su comforted.

“But isn’t the meaning of the second half of The Internationale* that one must rely on oneself to be a good person?” Lin Chen countered.

*An international anthem; it has been adopted as the anthem of various anarchist, communist, socialist, democratic socialist, and social democratic movements.

“Hey, hey, how come you’re back-talking your teacher just because you’re in love? Your teacher is getting old,” Elder Su hummed discontentedly. “But you are indeed stronger than many people, so I’d rather entrust my life to you than anyone else.”

The old man’s voice was very relaxed, but Xing Conglian shuddered. Lin Chen hadn’t revealed anything from start to finish, but Elder Su’s words were saying, “I know everything. You can go ahead and do it with confidence.”

Lin Chen was also silent, holding the phone with a straight back, as if he were holding a heavy load.

“Okay.”

“When you have time next time, come home for dinner and bring that person along.”

On the phone, Elder Su said a few more words casually and was about to hang up.

“Teacher!” Lin Chen suddenly spoke up as if waking up from a dream, stopping the old man before he hung up.

“Hmm, is there anything else?”

“I’m sorry,” Lin Chen said, unsure if he said it before or after hanging up the phone.

This casual chat was really idle, like a beautiful conversation between a teacher and a student on a sunny afternoon. However, now it felt heavy.

Lin Chen handed back the phone as a police officer ran over from the distance. Xing Conglian lowered the car window, saluted the officer, and was handed a thick stack of files.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Xing Conglian asked as he closed the car window and started the engine.

“My feelings are no different from those of other family members of patients. They didn’t have the opportunity to give notice in advance, and neither should I.” Lin Chen paused and added, “Most importantly, if I did, my teacher would scold me to death.”

Xing Conglian started the engine and asked, “Then why did you make the call?”

“Because I wanted to hear my teacher say, ‘Go ahead and do it with confidence’.”

Xing Conglian stepped on the accelerator and prepared to send Mr. Xiao Zhan back to the factory. He placed the files he had just received on Lin Chen’s lap. The file bag had “Shen Lian” clearly written on it. Xing Conglian added, “Just do what you’re good at. I’ll take care of everything else.”

……

The Jeep headed toward the outskirts. Fields and factories passed by like flowing water outside the window.

Lin Chen fumbled through the thick stack of materials. He had called his teacher because he realized that he was really not good at this case. He lacked an adequate knowledge base about drugs, couldn’t understand molecular formulas, and was always led by the nose by Shen Lian or Zhourui Pharmaceutical. He didn’t know what kind of impact long-term medication would have on patients, didn’t know Shen Lian’s true intentions, and didn’t know what to do next. Precisely speaking, he just didn’t know.

Fortunately, although people had many areas where they didn’t excel, they also had their own fields to be proud of. Lin Chen opened the file and began to truly understand Shen Lian for the first time.

In her childhood file, the girl had two braids and was smiling with her mouth open, but her eyes were devoid of warmth.

Shen Lian grew up on the most ordinary old street in Hongjing. Lin Chen only remembered that the noodles with pickled vegetables and shredded pork in a shop on that street were particularly good. Apart from that, there was nothing beautiful about it. The low bungalows and slightly cold and narrow streets always seemed to be in the shade, even in the height of summer.

He first flipped through Shen Lian’s childhood academic records. She didn’t choose a prestigious school, and her elementary and junior high school performances were mediocre. According to her old report cards, except for two perfect scores in the first and second grades of elementary school, there was no sign that this girl would have extraordinary intelligence, enough to manipulate a multinational pharmaceutical company more than ten years later.

As Lin Chen flipped through page by page, he suddenly paused.

Xing Conglian turned the car onto a rarely traveled road with an abandoned chemical plant on both sides. Guanghua Chemicals was standing at the end of the road.

“What’s wrong?” Xing Conglian noticed his sudden pause.

“It’s strange. Shen Lian’s grades suddenly improved in the second year of junior high school. In the third grade of junior high, she managed to place first and was admitted to Hongjing No.1 High School.”

“She had an awakening?”

“Shen Lian scored 697 points in the high school entrance exam, ranking 9th in the city. Even Wang Chao’s intelligence level would find it difficult to get this score.”

Wang Chao interjected from the back seat, “A’Chen Gege, you can’t say that!”

“Why not? Xiao Wang from Lao Huang’s family, I remember you didn’t get first in the city in the high school entrance exam either.”

“That’s because I didn’t take the high school entrance exam!” Wang Chao angrily pulled on Mr. Xiao Zhan’s collar. “Are you the same age as Shen Lian? What did you get in the exam that year?”

“I think… I got first place?”

Wang Chao choked for a while and couldn’t speak. Finally, he said, “After we finish this, give me a test paper. I want to prove myself!”

While Wang Chao was making a fuss, no one responded to him in the car because Lin Chen was silent.

Xing Conglian looked over to his side and saw Lin Chen bowing his head slightly, with his fingers resting on the old file paper. A beam of sunlight fell beside his ear, but it didn’t bring any warmth.

“Did something happen to Shen Lian’s parents?” Xing Conglian asked, following the principle that all abnormal psychology may have childhood trauma.

Lin Chen flipped through the file for a while, pulled out the part about Shen Lian’s parents, and then turned to her junior high school years, answering, “Her parents are alive. Her father is a security guard at the Hongjing Department Store, and her mother is an ordinary salesperson at the store. It seems that they are busy with work and their family isn’t wealthy, but they’re not destitute either.”

“Do her parents have criminal records?”

“No, they seem to be honest and hardworking people.”

“Are there any extramarital affairs, child abuse, or childhood trauma?”

“No.”

“So, what caused Shen Lian to be so abnormal?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is this ‘I don’t know’ a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It’s probably not a good thing.” Lin Chen replied.