“Please come in.”
Su Xuezhen was momentarily stunned but invited her in and offered her a seat. Gu Hongqing stepped into the living room and sat down. The tea on the table had been left overnight and was no longer drinkable. Since Su Xuezhen had just woken up and hadn’t boiled any fresh water yet, she could only use the hot water from the kettle. She spoke to her gently, “Please sit for a while, I’ll go make some tea.”
While Su Xuezhen was making the tea, Gu Hongqing took the opportunity to glance around the room with her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, quietly assessing everything.
She had been wondering why the Cen couple had been selected as the comparison group. Saying it was because they were both working professionals didn’t hold water—there were two other dual-income families in the compound, so why not choose one of them?
But after this first meeting, she suddenly understood. It was simple—Su Xuezhen was just too good-looking. Just her appearance alone gave the impression of a pampered young lady living a comfortable life. The blue dress she wore was clearly made of high-quality Dacron. Then there was the setup of the house: all the “three rounds and one sound” were present (referring to a wristwatch, bicycle, sewing machine, and radio). The sewing machine was a Feiren brand, and on the tea table sat a radio. Those two items alone would’ve cost no less than 300 yuan together.
Just yesterday, she saw the couple each riding a Phoenix-brand bicycle back home. People in the compound said they didn’t really cook much either—they bought meals every day. All in all, this couple lived an enviably comfortable life. They didn’t look like people on a path of hard work and struggle.
A beautiful couple focused only on pleasure and comfort was indeed suitable as a control group for her family.
Su Xuezhen came in from the kitchen, carrying the kettle. She added some tea leaves into the teapot and slowly poured in the hot water. As she raised her hand, a wristwatch was clearly visible on her wrist—black dial, with a pure white strap—delicate and elegant. Gu Hongqing instantly recognized it as the wildly popular Titoni brand watch from the past two years.
It was said to be worth around 250 yuan, and even then, it wasn’t something you could buy just because you wanted to. How could an ordinary household afford such a luxury just to wear it like an accessory? It was far too extravagant.
Su Xuezhen took two glass cups from the tray, picked up the teapot, and poured the tea, placing one cup in front of Gu Hongqing. “It’s just simple tea, I hope you don’t mind.”
Gu Hongqing couldn’t suppress the bitterness rising in her heart. She pointed at the watch on Su Xuezhen’s wrist. “That’s a Titoni watch, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
Su Xuezhen nodded. The watch had been a birthday gift from Su Xianguo last year. She couldn’t wear it to work, but didn’t want to just leave it idle, so she often wore it at home on her days off.
She recalled how Xu Qingqing had once complained about the way she and her husband made friends, so she took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Gu Hongqing: “Congratulations on moving in.”
“No problem, let’s look after each other from now on.”
Gu Hongqing smiled perfunctorily, silently reminding herself that now wasn’t the time to quit her job and make money—she needed to patiently wait for the right opportunity. With a smile, she lifted the cover off the bamboo basket. “I just bought these sponge cakes, fresh from the steamer and still warm. I brought some over for you.”
Since it was their first meeting, Su Xuezhen didn’t want to accept a gift for nothing and quickly declined, “You’re too kind. Sponge cakes aren’t cheap—please take them back for your child.”
Gu Hongqing wouldn’t give up. She raised her hand to dump them onto the tray. “No need to be so polite, just take a few.”
The sponge cakes were oily on the surface, and dumping them directly onto the tray was clearly messy and inappropriate. Su Xuezhen instinctively reached out to stop her, but the moment her hand touched her, she suddenly heard her inner voice:
[This whole basket of sponge cakes is still cheaper than that dress you’re wearing. What’s there to be modest about? So fake.]
As the thought echoed in her mind, Su Xuezhen froze, awkwardly pulling her hand back. Her expression became a little complicated.
Gu Hongqing didn’t actually give her the whole basket—she stopped after handing over six or seven cakes, then re-covered the basket with a towel and hung it on her arm. She then grabbed Su Xuezhen’s hand and gave it a friendly pat, speaking in a warm, heartfelt tone: “I understand, it’s not easy being a dual-income household. Let’s look out for each other in the future.”
Su Xuezhen looked up at her, the smile on her face already fading. She replied politely, “Of course.”
The moment their hands touched, Gu Hongqing’s inner thoughts surfaced again:
[This poor woman is at least pretty enough.]
[If she were a bit uglier, she’d be an even better match as our control group. But I guess a pretty face and an empty head make for a good enough contrast.]
What was this all about?
Control group? Pretty but brainless?
What was being compared?
Su Xuezhen was thoroughly confused as she saw Gu Hongqing out. After sitting down again, she thought over everything she’d heard in her mind, but couldn’t make sense of it. She finally concluded: it was best to minimize contact with this person—her intentions didn’t seem pure.
That thought made even the sponge cakes on the table look unappealing. She didn’t know if it was because of morning sickness, but just looking at them made her nauseous.
After all that fuss, Su Xuezhen’s sleepiness was completely gone. She decided to go out and buy some breakfast. Just as she picked up her keys and was about to lock the door, Cen Bai walked in through the front gate, holding a paper-wrapped package. Seeing her about to leave, he paused in surprise. “Heading out?”
As he approached, the smell of roast duck was impossible to ignore. Su Xuezhen brightened. “I was just about to buy breakfast.”
“I already bought some.”
Cen Bai took his little wife by the hand and led her back into the house, heading to the kitchen to get plates and chopsticks. He smiled and said, “I asked him to include extra cucumbers since you like eating them with roast duck.”
Judging by his cheerful expression, there was no need to ask—clearly the case had been resolved smoothly. As Su Xuezhen unwrapped the package, she asked, “Did you catch them?”
“Caught.”
Cen Bai sat down, instantly noticing that something had changed at home. Looking closely, he saw two teacups on the table, still warm to the touch, indicating that someone had just left. He smiled and asked, “We had a guest?”
Su Xuezhen picked up a slice of cucumber with her chopsticks—it was crisp and refreshing. “The new neighbor from across the way came over, brought some sponge cake.”
“How is she?”
“A little odd. I don’t really like her.”
Su Xuezhen shook her head. She’d been craving roast duck, so she quickly spread out a pancake and started wrapping it. “Let’s not talk about her. You haven’t told me how you caught them.”
“They committed the robbery because they needed money. The cash in the chemical plant’s safe was easy enough to handle, but the supply and marketing co-op was robbed of valuables—mostly large items that were difficult to carry. They couldn’t just throw them away, so they had to convert them to cash or ration coupons. That meant going to the black market. We stationed four officers there to stake it out. We quickly caught one of them, and then caught the other trying to flee on the highway.”
It wasn’t a particularly sophisticated scheme. Cen Bai smiled. “Both of them are locked up now. We’ll interrogate them once we’re back at work tomorrow.”
“The guys staking out the scene worked hard these past few days, so today I gave them a break.”
Sometimes listening to Cen Bai talk about his cases was more entertaining than watching a movie. Su Xuezhen listened with great interest. After breakfast, she told him to get some rest.
Cen Bai wasn’t very tired. He worried that if he slept now, he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, which would throw off his internal clock. Since both of them had a day off, Su Xuezhen, rubbing her belly, noted that this pregnancy seemed very stable—she hadn’t experienced much nausea—and couldn’t help but wonder aloud: “Do you think it’ll be a boy or a girl?”
“Either is fine.”
Cen Bai didn’t have a strong preference. As long as it was their child, that was enough.
Pregnancy checkups weren’t allowed to disclose the baby’s gender, but since Su Xuezhen was a doctor, she’d be able to tell at a glance. She just didn’t know if Cen Bai wanted to know ahead of time, so she teased him with a smile: “So are you planning to find out in advance or wait until the birth?”
“I’m going to find out anyway.”
Cen Bai froze, a conflicted expression on his face. He had originally planned to wait until the birth, but after what Su Xuezhen said, he realized that she would definitely know—and the rest of the family probably would too. He’d be the only one left in the dark, which would be torture.
“So just give me a tiny hint. That way we can start buying clothes.”
Su Xuezhen burst out laughing. The day passed in a flash, and soon it was time for her to go back to work. The next day, as soon as she arrived at the hospital, Ling Yurong called out to her, “Come with me to Room 102. Go meet the patient’s family first—you’ll be in charge of post-op recovery.”
Su Xuezhen followed closely behind. Ling Yurong knocked on the door. A voice inside responded with “Come in,” and the two of them entered.
The hospital room was very quiet. The curtains were wide open, and sunlight spilled generously across the floor. On the bed lay a twelve-year-old girl, petite in stature, with bright, watery eyes, reading a book.
“Mr. Jin, this is Dr. Su Xuezhen. She will be the first assistant during the surgery.”
Jin Ming greeted her with a polite smile and extended his hand. “I’ll be counting on you during the operation.”
Beside him, his wife looked like she had just been crying. Her eyes were still red, but she forced herself to perk up and gave Su Xuezhen a small nod.
The couple looked very young, well-dressed, and polite.
Su Xuezhen quickly responded, “Don’t mention it, it’s my duty.”
After the brief exchange, Ling Yurong led her out of the room. At 9:30 a.m., the surgery officially began.
Xie Yutian started preparing the anesthesia. Ling Yurong, calm and collected, began her preparations and casually quizzed her, “What are the common surgical treatments for renal artery stenosis?”
“Traditional surgical treatment or endovascular treatment.”
“Then why are we choosing traditional surgery in this case?”
“The patient is only 12 years old, in good overall health, and has a long lesion in the renal artery.”
Su Xuezhen answered quickly.
As the anesthesia took effect, Ling Yurong’s eyes sharpened. She focused deeply and skillfully began the abdominal aorta–renal artery angiography, still with enough attention to continue asking questions: “What’s the main purpose of this step?”
“To identify the origin, path, stenosis site, length, and extent of the renal artery.”
Su Xuezhen was extremely nervous. This was her first time encountering a renal artery reconstruction surgery outside of a textbook. She was eager to learn but had to observe and answer questions simultaneously.
The stenosis was at the beginning of the renal artery, making catheter insertion difficult. Ling Yurong opted for the loop technique to access the renal artery, then slowly guided the wire through the stenosed section into the deeper part of the renal artery.
“What’s the next step?” she asked again.
“Insert the contrast catheter, pre-dilate the stenosis, inject heparin, then once the guidewire is fixed, switch to a balloon catheter and position the balloon at the stenosis.”
Ling Yurong gave a soft “Mhm,” slowly injected the heparin, positioned the balloon, and then used a 10ml syringe to manually inject diluted contrast agent to inflate the balloon. She controlled the pressure at around 4–6 atm, maintaining it for 75 seconds. The balloon was inflated every 2 minutes, repeated 4 times.
The textbook provided only a rough guideline for inflation intervals and repetitions. The specifics had to be judged based on the operation’s progress. Over-expansion could increase the risk of complications. Yet, thanks to her skills and experience, Ling Yurong managed the rhythm of the procedure perfectly.
Su Xuezhen stared in disbelief at the now-normal values on the monitor. The post-operative angiography showed the renal artery like a masterpiece. She looked at Ling Yurong with deep admiration.
Ling Yurong calmly withdrew the catheter and applied pressure for hemostasis, then bandaged the area.
A flawless surgery was completed.
