"Little Wan?"
Seeing Wan Yunting's gaze fixed on Ouyang Liqun, Gu Yuanbai beside him lightly patted his shoulder. With a puzzled look, Wan Yunting snapped back to reality. He tried to turn his head to look at Gu Yuanbai, only to find Ouyang Zhixin's eyes, filled with surprise and excitement, staring intently at him!
This made Wan Yunting look confused. As their eyes met, he felt a strange sensation, as if sensing something profound within him.
It was that peculiar feeling of blood connection, both unfamiliar and familiar!
"Cousin, what's wrong?"
Ouyang Zhihui saw Ouyang Zhixin staring intently at Wan Yunting with a dazed expression, which he found strange.
Sima Wentang and his son Sima Xuanyu, along with Ouyang Liqun who had also reacted, noticed Wan Yunting and Ouyang Zhixin gazing at each other with peculiar expressions. Upon closer inspection of their faces, they noticed a resemblance, as if they were father and son!
Ouyang Zhixin, having regained his senses, waved at Ouyang Zhihui and couldn't help but ask, "What... what's your name?"
Wan Yunting, also having snapped back to reality, felt a strange sense of familiarity but didn't overthink it. Knowing the person before him was Ouyang Zhixin, he politely replied, "My name is Wan Yunting. Elder Gu asked me to come see your daughter."
"Wan Yunting..."
Ouyang Zhixin repeated the name, mumbling it. Ouyang Zhihui looked at Wan Yunting and said, "You're that young calligraphy master, Wan Yunting, whom the art world has been abuzz about recently?"
Wan Yunting's gaze flickered towards Sima Wentang standing beside Ouyang Zhihui, and the unfamiliar young man. He nodded and replied with a humble smile, "Indeed, but it's just a false reputation."
Ouyang Zhixin, who had remained silent, kept his eyes fixed on Wan Yunting, never looking away. He hadn't heard of titles like "young calligraphy master" or "Huasheng City anti-drug hero."
However, Ouyang Zhixin felt that the young man before him bore a striking resemblance to his lost son, Ouyang Fanyu!
"How old are you, and when were you born?" Ouyang Zhixin couldn't help but ask.
Wan Yunting was taken aback by the sudden question but still replied, "I am 27 this year, turning 28 after the New Year. I was born on the night of October 13th."
This date of birth was the birthday Wan Tianlin and his wife had given Wan Yunting when they adopted him, which was the time they found him that night.
"The age matches, but the birthdate doesn't..."
Ouyang Zhixin frowned, muttering to himself. Ouyang Zhihui, unable to hear him clearly, asked, "Cousin, is something wrong?"
Wan Yunting, however, heard his mumbling and looked at Ouyang Zhixin with even greater confusion. He couldn't understand why this man gave him such a strange feeling, as if he already knew him.
"Nothing."
Ouyang Zhixin shook his head and waved his hand. He glanced at Wan Yunting and didn't ask further.
Ouyang Liqun, standing nearby, narrowed his eyes and had been observing the peculiar exchange between his uncle and Wan Yunting. Subtly, he seemed to have guessed something...
"Principal Gu."
At this moment, Sima Wentang spoke, looking at Gu Yuanbai and smiling, "Should I be addressing you as Chairman Gu now?"
Gu Yuanbai hadn't expected to encounter Sima Wentang here either. He smiled, "It's just a title. You can call me whatever you like, Wentang."
Sima Wentang smiled and said, "Then I should still call you Chairman Gu. After all, you've established your own faction, and it's unrealistic for me to deny it."
Gu Yuanbai understood his implication and didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, he turned to Ouyang Zhixin and said, "Mr. Ouyang, I've come today to bring Doctor Wan to treat your daughter. After all, Wan Yunting, the Vice Chairman of our Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association, has some experience with difficult and rare diseases, which is why I brought him to try."
"Heh heh."
Sima Wentang chuckled and said, "Chairman Gu is referring to palmar keratosis, right?"
Gu Yuanbai and Wan Yunting turned to look at him. Sima Xuanyu chuckled and said, "Palmar keratosis is indeed a rare and difficult disease, but it's not incurable. It's just too uncommon, I haven't encountered it myself yet."
"However, our Sima family has an ancient prescription that has always been used to treat palmar keratosis. Therefore, your paper and insights on palmar keratosis that you uploaded to the forum are only of reference value to others."
This implied that they, the Sima family, disdained the paper and insights Wan Yunting had written about palmar keratosis. This made Wan Yunting smile, and he couldn't be bothered to refute Sima Xuanyu's meaning.
"Oh, I've finished introducing him to Chairman Gu."
Sima Wentang smiled and said, "This is my son, Sima Xuanyu. He just returned from abroad recently. I brought him here today to treat Mr. Ouyang's beloved daughter."
"So, it's Wentang's son. Truly a distinguished young man."
Gu Yuanbai observed Sima Xuanyu for a moment. The young man had an extraordinary demeanor and was likely not an ordinary talent. He smiled and said, "So, Wentang, you are also here to treat Mr. Ouyang's daughter. It seems we've arrived at the same time. Otherwise, we would have come another day. Xiao Wan, let's go."
"Alright."
Wan Yunting nodded, understanding the rules of practicing medicine – two doctors cannot examine the same patient at the same time!
After all, the methods and prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine differ from Western medicine. If two doctors treated and prescribed medicine for the same patient simultaneously, how would the patient take the medicine?
Because traditional Chinese medicines can counteract each other and cannot be taken carelessly, and since Sima Wentang arrived first, they would naturally be the ones to examine Ouyang Zhixin's daughter. If they couldn't cure her, then it would be timely for Gu Yuanbai to bring Wan Yunting.
"Wait!"
Unexpectedly, Ouyang Zhixin suddenly called out to Gu Yuanbai and Wan Yunting, as well as Gu Sinuo and Gu Zichen. He said, "Doctor Gu, since you are all here, please stay and examine my daughter together. If Chairman Wentang and his son cannot cure my daughter's illness, you can then proceed. There's no need for you to come and go."
Sima Wentang and Sima Xuanyu's expressions changed slightly, and they felt a bit displeased. What did Ouyang Zhixin mean? Was he implying he didn't trust them to cure his daughter's peculiar fish-odor disease?
Also, why was Ouyang Zhixin looking at Wan Yunting so strangely? Did they know each other, or was there some relationship?
"Mr. Ouyang, this is not in accordance with professional conduct..."
Sima Wentang spoke up, but Ouyang Zhixin turned to look at the father and son and asked sternly, "Can you guarantee that you can cure my daughter's illness?"
"This..."
Sima Wentang and Sima Xuanyu exchanged glances, looking troubled. They said, "Mr. Ouyang, there are no absolutes in medical treatment, but..."
"No 'buts'."
Ouyang Zhixin waved his hand and said, "I've heard too many of your so-called promises of curing all illnesses, and I don't have the patience to waste words with you. If your treatment methods are effective and you cure my daughter's illness, I, Ouyang Zhixin, will definitely not mistreat you."
"However, if you ultimately fail to cure my daughter's illness, I will have to seek someone else. Therefore, do you have any objections now?"
Sima Wentang and his son exchanged glances, and finally chose to shake their heads, indicating they had no objections.
Gu Yuanbai and Wan Yunting also exchanged glances. Since Ouyang Zhixin had spoken this way, they would stay and see what methods the Sima family would use to treat Ouyang Zhixin's daughter's peculiar fish-odor disease.
Ouyang Liqun stood by the side, observing silently throughout, but his gaze was constantly shifting to Wan Yunting. Although this was their first meeting, Ouyang Liqun wished he could personally kill this fellow and grind his bones to dust.
Wan Yunting seemed to sense a glint of fierce light in Ouyang Liqun's eyes and couldn't help but look back at him askance...
Although he had heard of Ouyang Liqun long ago, this was their first meeting, so Wan Yunting said nothing to him. He, along with Gu Sinuo and Gu Zichen, followed Gu Yuanbai. Together with Sima Wentang and his son, they followed Ouyang Zhixin out of this villa and headed towards another villa where his daughter lived separately.
"Liqun, why are you coming?"
Ouyang Zhihui frowned and asked, seeing Ouyang Liqun following.
Ouyang Liqun smiled and said, "Uncle Zhihui, I haven't seen Fancheng in a long time. I want to see how she's doing now."
A hint of surprise flashed in Ouyang Zhihui's eyes, and he sneered, "Liqun, you have more conscience than your father."
Ouyang Liqun maintained his usual calm and indifferent demeanor, smiling and saying, "Uncle Zhihui, it's actually my father who asked me to come."
"Heh heh, everyone knows what's going on, so you don't need to say such empty words."
Ouyang Zhihui sneered and waved his hand, "Forget it. You're the younger generation, I won't make things difficult for you. Let's go see Fancheng together."
"Alright, thank you, Uncle Zhihui."
Ouyang Liqun nodded with a smile. However, he wasn't going because of his cousin who had contracted the strange illness, but rather to see if Wan Yunting really possessed the abilities rumored about him!