Lin Yu ignored him and directly called Elder Song, who happened to be upstairs. Elder Song said he’d be right down and asked Lin Yu to wait a moment.

  "Hmph, if Elder Song refuses to treat my mother from now on because of you, I won’t let you off!" Li Xiaotian said coldly.

  No sooner had he spoken than a sprightly old man in black clothes and pants strode out of Jishitang. From a distance, he called out cheerfully to Lin Yu, "Xiao He! Why haven’t you come to see me lately? I’ve been waiting for you to death!"

  And indeed, he had—he still wanted Lin Yu to treat his granddaughter.

  As he approached, he patted Lin Yu’s shoulders and nodded approvingly. "Hmm, you’ve gotten sturdier."

  Seeing this, Li Xiaotian and his family were stunned. They hadn’t expected Lin Yu to actually know the renowned Dr. Song, let alone be on such familiar terms with him.

  Li Xiaotian’s face flushed with shame as he recalled his earlier words. Anger and resentment welled up inside him—how had this "good-for-nothing" He Jiarong undergone such a transformation in just a year or two, rising so meteorically?

  If he knew it had all happened in less than two months, he might’ve fainted from sheer frustration.

  "Elder Song, it’s not that I didn’t want to come, but I was afraid I might not be welcome," Lin Yu said lightly, glancing subtly at the male physician.

  "Nonsense! Who would dare make you unwelcome?" Elder Song’s eyes widened in indignation.

  The two physicians, seeing how warmly Elder Song treated Lin Yu, paled in fear—especially the male physician, who didn’t dare breathe too loudly and stared pleadingly at Lin Yu.

  "I was joking, Elder Song. You seem even more spirited than the last time I saw you," Lin Yu smoothly changed the subject.

  Truthfully, he didn’t intend to punish the male physician—he just wanted to teach him a lesson. As a doctor, one should have compassion; patients seeking help shouldn’t be met with such hostility.

  "Come, come inside! Who are these people?" Elder Song finally noticed the others behind Lin Yu.

  "Hello, Dr. Song! I’m Li Xiaotian. I contacted you a few days ago through Director Qian. These are my parents," Li Xiaotian hurriedly stepped forward, hoping to curry favor by name-dropping.

  "Li Xiaotian? So it’s you." Instead of granting him any courtesy, Elder Song’s face darkened. "I won’t treat your family. Please leave."

  Elder Song remembered all too well how Li Xiaotian had tried to bribe his way into securing treatment, and he despised such behavior.

  Li Xiaotian’s face instantly turned ashen, while his parents stiffened, too afraid to utter a word.

  "And this is…?" Elder Song turned to Jiang Jingren.

  "This is my father-in-law, Jiang Jingren," Lin Yu quickly introduced.

  "Ah, what an honor! You’ve got yourself a fine son-in-law!"

  Elder Song enthusiastically greeted Jiang Jingren, though inwardly, his heart bled—Xiao He was already married? Heaven is blind!

  "Elder Song, I have a favor to ask. I hope you’ll be magnanimous and not hold our younger generation’s mistakes against us. Could you please treat this auntie?" Lin Yu requested respectfully.

  Elder Song glared at Li Xiaotian before reluctantly agreeing. "Fine. Since Xiao He asked, I can’t refuse."

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  If Lin Yu could treat her himself but chose to defer to Elder Song, there must be a reason—so Elder Song didn’t press further.

  "Thank you, Dr. So—"

  "Xiao He, don’t forget about treating my granddaughter!"

  Before Li Xiaotian could finish his thanks, Elder Song ignored him entirely, pulling Lin Yu inside.

  After administering acupuncture and prescribing medicine for Auntie Sun, Elder Song assured them that a month of treatment would yield results.

  Once the medicine was prepared, Uncle Li and his wife left, effusive with gratitude.

  Before departing, Li Xiaotian shot Lin Yu a resentful glare, then slumped in defeat. He knew Jiang Yan was forever beyond his reach.

  "Xiao He, my granddaughter’s company opened recently, and she’s now based in Qinghai. When would you have time to meet her?" Elder Song asked cautiously, though his heart ached—such a fine young man, already married! Heaven is blind!

  "Any day works for me. I’m free."

  "How about tonight? No time like the present!" Elder Song’s eyes sparkled eagerly.

  "Jiarong, didn’t Yan’er say she’d cook for you tonight?" Jiang Jingren, sensing danger, quickly interjected.

  "Cook for me? Since when does she know how to cook?" Lin Yu frowned. At home, his mother-in-law always handled the meals.

  *Ahem.*

  Jiang Jingren nearly choked on his own saliva and hastily cleared his throat. "Well, your mother just started teaching her. You’re the first one she wants to cook for."

  "That can’t be. She won’t even look at me—"

  "It’s getting late. Let’s go!"

  Before Lin Yu could finish, Jiang Jingren grabbed him and hurried out. Any more talk would expose the truth—if people knew their marriage was rocky, someone might swoop in.

  But he was too late. The shrewd Elder Song had already caught on, a triumphant smile curling his lips. Heaven is just!

  Just as Jiang Jingren and Lin Yu walked away, Lin Yu’s phone rang. To his surprise, it was Li Haoming, an internal medicine specialist from Qinghai People’s Hospital.

  They’d met once when Lin Yu treated Old Master Wu’s granddaughter but hadn’t spoken since. Though Lin Yu had his number, he’d never called—so why was Li Haoming reaching out now?

  "Hello, Director Li."

  "Brother He, are you busy?"

  Li Haoming’s voice was urgent. "I have a patient with a very strange condition. It’s critical—could you come and take a look?"

  "Of course. I’ll be right there."

  Without hesitation, Lin Yu agreed and hailed a taxi to Qinghai People’s Hospital.

  Upon arrival, he was escorted to the emergency ward, where a large group of white-coated doctors stood in hushed, frustrated discussion.

  "Director Li, your guest is here."

  Li Haoming turned and brightened at the sight of Lin Yu. "Brother He, thank you for coming on such short notice. I’m truly sorry to trouble you."

  Lin Yu waved off the apology. "What’s the patient’s condition?"

  "Better if you see for yourself." Li Haoming smiled wryly.

  The crowd parted, revealing a middle-aged foreign man in his fifties with blond hair and blue eyes.

  His appearance was alarming—his face gaunt, complexion pale, eyes sunken and bloodshot, with dark circles so pronounced they looked almost grotesque against his deep European features.

  Though his pallor suggested exhaustion, his restless gaze and twitching body betrayed unnatural agitation.

  After a glance, Lin Yu chuckled and shook his head. "Director Li, this is just sleep deprivation. Give him some sleeping pills, let him rest for a day or two, and he’ll be fine."

  "The patient already tried that. No effect—he took several pills but still couldn’t sleep. It’s been four days and nights now. Fearing complications, he came to the hospital."

  Li Haoming sighed. "From a Western medicine perspective, we diagnosed neurasthenia and administered sedatives—two doses already, with no improvement. We didn’t dare give more."

  "That must be agonizing," Lin Yu remarked sympathetically.

  "We’ve run every test. All his vitals are normal, but he simply can’t sleep. If sedatives don’t work, this is beyond Western medicine’s scope. I remembered your expertise in traditional Chinese medicine, so I took the liberty of calling you."

  Li Haoming looked helpless. He wasn’t sure Lin Yu could cure the foreigner, but with no other options, he had to try.

  "Why not consult Elder Song from Jishitang?" Lin Yu asked.

  "I called him at noon. He said he could treat it, but it would take time. The patient’s condition is critical—five days without sleep can be fatal. He’s already on day four and can’t even speak. He might not last the night."

  "Enough discussion! Can you treat him or not?"

  A sharp voice cut through the room. Lin Yu looked up to see a bespectacled Chinese woman in a gray suit—the foreigner’s assistant—glaring at the doctors.

  "We’ve been here all day with zero progress. Are you all quacks? You can’t even handle insomnia?"

  "We’re still discussing solutions," one doctor said defensively.

  "By the time you’re done, he’ll be dead! If anything happens to our chairman in Qinghai, not only will this hospital’s reputation be ruined—every one of you will be fired!"

  Her threat wasn’t empty. The foreigner was the China agent for Versace, invited by the Qinghai government. If anything happened to him, the mayor would hold the hospital accountable.

  "We can’t wait any longer. I’ve booked a flight to Beijing tonight!"

  A crisp, urgent voice rang out from the hallway, followed by the click of high heels as a striking young woman hurried in.