Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Wen Miao and Nan Mu were both somewhat surprised when they met the person behind the username “Overnight View of Chang’an Blossoms.”

Their number one suspect, “Overnight View of Chang’an Blossoms,” turned out to be a young girl barely fifteen years old. For a moment, they even suspected they were being pranked.

“Of course not. ‘Overnight View of Chang’an Blossoms’ is just my online handle. My real name is Yu Jingtong.”

Compared to the two of them, the young girl seemed much more composed. “I was Gu Zhishu’s book friend. About seven months ago, I even mailed him a book. However, he stopped replying to my messages after that.”

Wen Miao and Nan Mu exchanged a look. “Gu Zhishu has gone missing, and his family is looking for him.”

“Missing?” Yu Jingtong asked in surprise. “Isn’t he sick? How could he go missing?”

Wen Miao withheld the fact of Gu Zhishu’s death, simply giving Yu Jingtong a brief explanation of how he had disappeared.

Yu Jingtong listened quietly until she finished. “So, you’ve come today hoping to learn something about him from me?”

“Yes. Anything you think might be useful, please tell us.”

Wen Miao sat on the sofa opposite Yu Jingtong, while Nan Mu stood behind them, silently observing the curio shelf in front of him.

In addition to some antique vessels, the shelf held several photographs. There was a family portrait, likely of Yu Jingtong and her parents, and several large group photos of her parents with various people. The background of those photos appeared to be international medical academic conferences.

There was also a framed admission notice. Nan Mu picked it up to take a look and found it was for the medical preparatory program at City A Medical University. City A Medical University was one of the few institutions in the country with a medical preparatory track that required a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program. They only admitted thirty preparatory students nationwide each year, making it incredibly difficult to get into.

He hadn’t expected that Yu Jingtong, at only fifteen, had already entered the program.

Nan Mu looked back with a hint of admiration at Yu Jingtong, who was sitting across from Wen Miao, lost in thought.

Yu Jingtong couldn’t think of anything particularly unusual about Gu Zhishu’s behavior at the time. She took a moment to recall their interactions seriously, recounting them to Wen Miao piece by piece.

She and Gu Zhishu had known each other for nearly two years.

They had met in a group on Douban. Since they both loved reading, they often posted their thoughts or reviews about books on their personal homepages. Sometimes, people in the group would ask for book recommendations, and they would both actively interact, providing information about shared books. In this way, they gradually became acquainted and eventually began exchanging private messages.

However, their interactions remained strictly limited to book recommendations and reviews; they rarely discussed their private lives. Yet, even in ordinary conversations, personal information would occasionally slip through.

For instance, sometimes while they were chatting, Gu Zhishu would suddenly go silent. As this happened more frequently, Yu Jingtong couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated. She would ask him where he had gone and why he had disappeared in the middle of a conversation.

Sometimes Gu Zhishu would say, “I just went to roll around on my bed for a bit,” or “I’m not feeling well, my head hurts.” Occasionally, he would even say, “I almost died just now, but I’ve come back to life.”

Gu Zhishu hadn’t been direct about his illness at first, so Yu Jingtong naturally didn’t pry. She simply thought he was a humorous person and assumed this was just his unique way of expressing himself. It was only as time went on that Yu Jingtong truly realized her book friend was a patient who had been undergoing treatment in the hospital for many years.
As Yu Jingtong reached this point, Wen Miao suddenly asked, “Did he ever say anything to you?”

“About what?”

Wen Miao paused for a moment before continuing, “For example, that the treatment was too painful, that he wanted to give up, or that he didn’t want to live anymore?”

Wen Miao’s question clearly caught Yu Jingtong off guard, as a look of visible astonishment crossed her face.

However, she quickly composed herself. She didn’t immediately answer or offer a rebuttal; instead, she pondered seriously for quite a while before speaking. “Gu Zhishu did say that the treatment was painful and agonizing. Sometimes he’d say things like ‘I don’t want to live anymore’ or ‘I’d be better off dead.’ But in my opinion, those words didn’t mean he actually wanted to die.”

Yu Jingtong explained, “I felt like he was just venting. Doesn’t everyone have moments like that? When you’re facing something terrible, you think you’d rather just be dead. When you’re feeling low, you wonder why you’re even alive and think it would be easier to just end it all.”

“But having those thoughts doesn’t mean someone is actually going to seek out death. Besides, once I knew his illness involved brain lesions, I looked into his condition in detail. According to the symptoms he described and his diagnostic reports, his condition wasn’t incurable. My parents happen to be doctors who have done research on Brain Diseases. I asked my father, and he also believed that Gu Zhishu’s condition could be treated. When Gu Zhishu found out, he seemed very happy. I think his will to live was much stronger than any desire to die.”

“Your parents are doctors?” Wen Miao instinctively turned to look at Nan Mu. Nan Mu raised a hand, gesturing for her to look at the photographs on the display shelf.

“Yes, both of my parents are specialists in neurology. However, they aren’t in City A. I only came back because I’m starting a pre-med program at the medical university this year.”

Both of her parents were specialists in neurology; no wonder she possessed such extraordinary talent in this field. Nan Mu’s gaze shifted from the photographs back to Yu Jingtong.

“Actually, I even sent him a photo of my father’s hospital and told him he should go there for a re-examination when he had time.” At this point, Yu Jingtong seemed to hesitate. “Actually, there’s one very strange thing…”

Nan Mu keenly sensed her apprehension. “Rest assured, no matter what you say today, I can guarantee that I will not disclose your words to anyone else, nor will I let this cause any trouble for you.”

Yu Jingtong looked up at Nan Mu, seemingly weighing the authority behind his words. “Logically… since it hasn’t been one hundred percent confirmed, I shouldn’t say anything.”

She sighed. “It was around January of this year when Gu Zhishu went to my father’s hospital for a follow-up examination. After my father reviewed Gu Zhishu’s diagnostic reports, he felt that Gu Zhishu’s symptoms seemed different from the diagnosis previously issued by his original hospital.”

Wen Miao was startled. “Are you saying Gu Zhishu was misdiagnosed?”