Lan Changhua’s sudden injury had a significant impact on Du Heng, causing his desire to study to fall apart completely.

Just like today, he had only received a call from Li Qin early in the morning; the rest of the day was essentially wasted.

Du Heng was capable, but the people who sought his medical help typically only had minor ailments. Those with more severe or complex cases went to other doctors, leaving Du Heng with no opportunities to treat them.

Even the tumor patients Chu Xuwei tried to introduce to Du Heng yielded similar results, as few were willing to accept his treatment.

Thus, over the past half-month, while Du Heng had built a small reputation in the outpatient service for treating common ailments, he hadn’t encountered a single case of a grave or serious disease.

Cao Binghe knew Du Heng wasn’t too pleased, so after finishing his work, he and Du Heng left about ten minutes earlier than usual.

As the two passed through the hospital lobby, Du Heng suddenly caught a glimpse of a woman out of the corner of his eye.

A woman was sitting on a long bench, her abdomen swollen like a drum.

She was leaning back on the bench, a medical check-up bag placed casually beside her. Alone, she appeared quite solitary.

Most importantly, the woman’s expression was numb and dazed.

"Doctor Du, I was saying, the fish at this restaurant is exceptional. I always..." Cao Binghe chattered as they walked, trying to find topics to liven the atmosphere.

Suddenly, he realized Du Heng had fallen silent and was looking intently in one direction.

Cao Binghe couldn’t help but look over as well, but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He asked, "Doctor Du, what are you looking at?"

"Look at that woman. Can you see anything unusual about her?" Du Heng stopped walking, turning to observe her carefully.

Cao Binghe also stopped and followed Du Heng’s gaze. After a careful look, he said, "A pregnant woman. Is there a problem?"

Du Heng shook his head. "No, she’s not pregnant."

Cao Binghe was very skeptical. The woman’s abdomen was swollen like a ball, resembling a woman about to give birth. If this wasn’t pregnancy, what else could it be?

"Look, her posture is clearly wrong. She’s almost lying on the bench, not sitting properly," Du Heng said very seriously, pointing at the woman. "And notice where her belly is distended. Even though she’s wearing a padded jacket, the swelling is noticeably higher. A pregnant belly tends to sag downwards; it’s different."

As Du Heng explained, Cao Binghe began to observe her more closely. Recalling the pregnant women he had seen, this did seem a bit different.

Just as they were speaking, the woman on the bench pushed herself up, steadying herself with one hand on the bench and the other on her belly.

This movement was almost identical to that of a heavily pregnant woman, making Cao Binghe doubt his earlier assessment again.

But Du Heng’s gaze sharpened. "She’s not pregnant; I’m certain. A pregnant belly is largest in the middle and protrudes forward. This woman’s belly, however, is swollen all over. Look at her from the side; her clothes are stretched taut."

Seeing the woman’s expressionless, somewhat vacant face, Du Heng felt a slight stirring in his heart. "Come on, let’s go ask her."

As soon as he finished speaking, Du Heng strode towards her.

Cao Binghe, feeling a bit helpless, had no choice but to follow.

"Hello," Du Heng said as they drew near.

The woman merely turned her head calmly, glanced at Du Heng who had spoken, and then continued to walk slowly forward.

Du Heng quickened his pace to position himself in front of her. "Ma’am, I’m a doctor at this hospital. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The woman remained silent, merely shaking her head calmly, then angled slightly to continue towards the hospital’s main entrance.

Her expression was placid, but her eyes were dull and lifeless, devoid of any spark.

Du Heng could discern no vitality in them.

A thought struck him, and he said directly, "Ma’am, your condition... it’s not pregnancy, is it?"

The woman stopped. Her eyes flickered faintly for a moment, but she still said nothing.

Du Heng, however, felt a surge of hope. This is a good start. "Ma’am, I’m a doctor from the hospital’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine Department. Could we talk for a moment?"

The woman hesitated, but ultimately shook her head and tried to leave. "No, thank you."

Du Heng quickly blocked her path again. "Ma’am, please don’t go. Your current condition is very dangerous."

"I know. But I don’t have any money."

Du Heng was stunned. He hadn’t expected such an answer at all.

He only snapped back to reality as the woman walked past him. Watching her labored steps, his heart clenched again, and he once more moved to her side. "Ma’am, can you tell me what illness you have?"

"I don’t know."

"You don’t know?"

Du Heng was dumbfounded again. How could she not know?

Even Cao Binghe, who had been trailing them, was baffled. What does ’don’t know’ mean?

"Ma’am, when you say you don’t know, does it mean you haven’t had any check-ups?"

"I have. They didn’t find anything."

"Here? At this hospital?"

"Yes."

After asking his questions, Cao Binghe also observed the woman’s expression and suddenly understood why Du Heng had been so insistent on questioning her.

He was surprised to see not a flicker of vitality on her face, not a trace of emotional fluctuation.

"Ma’am, could we perhaps go to our office and sit for a while?" Cao Binghe chimed in, joining the effort to persuade her.

He was afraid. Afraid that if this woman left the hospital, she might do something desperate.

With Cao Binghe adding his voice, the woman finally agreed to go with them to the Department. Still, her expression remained unchanged.

Perhaps she only agreed to go with them because they were being too persistent.

In the office, the other doctors had already left for their meal one after another. The doctor on duty had also taken their food to eat with the nurses, leaving the office to Du Heng and Cao Binghe.

Du Heng found the woman the widest chair in the office, but even so, she could only just manage to sit down. Her posture remained as rigidly upright as it had been in the lobby.

"Let me introduce myself. I’m Du Heng, a doctor here for an academic exchange. This is Doctor Cao Binghe, an attending doctor in our Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine Department."

After speaking, Du Heng pursed his lips. "Would you mind introducing yourself?"

The woman didn’t look very comfortable in the chair, constantly making slight adjustments to her posture.

"My name is Liu Amei. I’m 25 years old."

"What is your situation? Can you tell us about it?"

When Du Heng asked this, a flicker of emotion finally appeared in Liu Amei’s eyes. But it vanished quickly, her gaze returning to its lifeless state.

After a long pause, she finally spoke. "I got married in October, two years ago. By December, my belly started to grow gradually. At the time, everyone, myself included, thought I was pregnant, so we didn’t pay it much mind."

"Who would have thought that by October of last year, there had been no movement from my belly at all. So, we went to the hospital in our town for a check-up. They said I wasn’t pregnant, but they didn’t know why my belly was so large."

Cao Binghe frowned; he found Liu Amei’s account problematic. "Didn’t you go for prenatal check-ups when you thought you were pregnant?"

Liu Amei shook her head.

Cao Binghe was about to ask why, but Du Heng gently pulled his arm, stopping him.

Du Heng knew all too well why she hadn’t gone for prenatal check-ups.

He had seen many such cases.

It usually boiled down to two reasons: one, a lack of awareness about prenatal check-ups, and two, poverty.

But the biggest reason was simply poverty.

In the mountainous regions, people could manage to eat and stay warm, but spending several hundred yuan each month for prenatal check-ups was a significant burden for some families—they either couldn’t afford it or were reluctant to spend the money.

Generations had lived this way, so people just muddled through as best they could.

Du Heng didn’t want to ask a question that might cause her embarrassment. After stopping Cao Binghe, he asked directly, "So, did you go to other hospitals for a check-up after that?"

"Later, we went to a hospital in our city. They didn’t know what was wrong either. They told us to either go to the neighboring city of Yangcheng or come directly to the Capital."

"In November, we went to Yangcheng. But they couldn’t find anything there either. They said my internal organs seemed to have disappeared, so they didn’t dare to admit me and advised us to come to the Capital Hospital."

Liu Amei recounted this calmly, but Cao Binghe and Du Heng listened with deeply furrowed brows. "Internal organs disappeared?"

"At first, we decided against further treatment. But recently, the pain has become unbearable. I can’t even squat to use the toilet anymore; I can only stand. We had no other choice but to come to the Capital."

Liu Amei even managed a faint smile. "We’ve been to several hospitals here. The problem was identified—ovarian cancer—but none of the doctors could tell me why my internal organs have disappeared."

Ovarian cancer.

Du Heng asked, "May I see the scans you have?"

Liu Amei handed the bag she was holding to Du Heng.

Du Heng and Cao Binghe took out the films and examined them carefully multiple times, comparing scans from several different hospitals. But it was just as Liu Amei had said: her abdomen looked empty on the images, with nothing visible inside.

Her internal organs...

Where had they gone?

Looking at these medical scans felt more like watching a horror film.

The two exchanged a look, both seeing utter disbelief and incredulity in each other’s eyes.

Temporarily pushing aside their bewilderment, Cao Binghe asked, "Liu Amei, since you already know it’s ovarian cancer, why aren’t you hospitalized for treatment? Why are you going from one hospital to another?"

"Several hospitals wouldn’t admit me. Besides, I’ve run out of money."

"What about your husband?"

"He left. Went back home."

Du Heng’s heart plummeted. Before he could voice his question, Cao Binghe blurted out, "He went home? He’s not taking care of you anymore?"

"He’s not." Liu Amei gave another laugh, this one bitter and heartbreaking. "He told me to just stay here and wait to die."

An inexplicable anger flared up in Du Heng. How could anyone be so heartless?

Unexpectedly, Liu Amei looked up at them. "Do you find that hard to believe? Heh, he’s done things that are even less human than that."

As she spoke of the grievances weighing on her heart, Liu Amei felt an urge to pour out her story, hoping that by voicing her suffering, she might find some small measure of relief.