By the time dawn was approaching, Zhu Siqi had finally finished reading the books. He then circulated Yijin Yiyuan Gong for thirty-six cycles, and all his fatigue vanished.
Zhang Aihua slept exceptionally well that night—something that hadn't happened in over ten years. It was the first time he had woken up naturally. When he got up in the morning, he even felt a bit hungry. In the past, he would always wake up from pain, and after getting up he would feel nauseous and have headaches, with no appetite at all.
When he came into the living room, he saw Zhang Mengqin preparing breakfast. He walked over and asked, "Qin'er, what are you making this morning? I actually feel a bit hungry today."
Zhang Mengqin was startled to hear this. Her grandfather had never been interested in breakfast before—at most he would drink a glass of milk. "Grandpa, what would you like to eat today? I'll make it for you."
"Soy milk, fried dough sticks, and a basket of xiaolongbao," Zhang Aihua said.
"I can't make those," Zhang Mengqin replied. "I'll have to go out and buy them for you."
At that moment, Zhu Siqi heard voices outside and came out of the room. When Zhang Aihua saw him, he immediately grabbed his hand. "Siqi, your acupuncture last night was truly miraculous. I slept better than I have in over ten years, and this morning my appetite is wide open. I'm really craving food, so I asked Qin'er to buy soy milk, fried dough sticks, and xiaolongbao."
Zhu Siqi knew that the bacteria in his stomach had been cleared and that the stomach had begun functioning normally again, but there was still a lot of damage. He quickly said, "Grandpa, you absolutely can't eat those things right now. You can only have some thin rice porridge with a bit of salt. No greasy or sweet foods at all—otherwise it will be very bad for your stomach's recovery."
Hearing this, Zhang Mengqin stopped in her tracks. "Grandpa, I'll just cook you some porridge then."
Hearing his "attending physician" say this, Zhang Aihua knew it was for his own good and could only give up the idea.
After breakfast, Zhu Siqi and Zhang Mengqin shared the same bicycle again and rode to Southeast College. Passing Nanchang University, Zhu Siqi went to the library to return the books and borrow a few more.
When they arrived at the school, Class Spring One didn't have English that day. Zhang Mengqin only taught two periods in Spring Two before returning to Nanchang University. Before leaving, she found Zhu Siqi and told him to come to her home again in the afternoon and have dinner there.
During class, Zhu Siqi listened whenever something interested him. When there was nothing engaging, he used his perception to "read" the borrowed books inside his desk. The day passed quickly, and by the afternoon he had finished reading them.
He returned to Nanchang University to exchange the books for new ones, then headed toward Zhang Mengqin's home. At the entrance, the armed police stopped him. Without someone inside calling to confirm, they would not let a stranger in.
Zhu Siqi became anxious. He didn't have Zhang Mengqin's home phone number and could only wait outside. After about half an hour, he saw Zhang Mengqin coming out. She had realized that Zhu Siqi wouldn't be able to get in on his own and had come to meet him—only to find that he had already arrived.
As soon as they entered the apartment, they heard Zhang Aihua laughing loudly. He had been on the phone. When he saw Zhu Siqi, he said a few quick words and hung up.
Walking over, he said excitedly, "Siqi, your medical skills are incredible! Today I went to the hospital for a checkup, and the doctors told me the cancer cells were gone. At first they didn't believe it and ran another set of tests with different settings. Only then did they finally confirm that there were no cancer cells left in my body!"
Hearing this, Zhu Siqi was also very happy. However, he realized that he had forgotten to explain his rules about treatment the night before, so he brought it up now.
"Grandpa, did you tell the hospital who treated you or how it was done?"
Zhang Aihua thought for a moment. "They were too busy being shocked to ask, and I didn't say anything either."
Only then did Zhu Siqi breathe a sigh of relief. "Grandpa, I have a rule for treating patients that I didn't mention last night. I'll tell you now: I require my patients not to tell anyone who treated them or what method was used. Otherwise, I will stop the treatment."
"That's quite a strange rule," Zhang Aihua said. "But I understand—you must have your reasons. I promise to follow it."
"And please let Teacher Zhang know as well," Zhu Siqi added quickly. "Apart from the two of you, no one else can know that I treated you."
"Alright," Zhang Aihua replied. "I'll tell her later. I won't even tell my son. Is that enough?"
In truth, Zhu Siqi knew there was still a fatal loophole: he had treated Zhang Aihua using his real appearance. But it was too late for regret now. All he could do was hope that Zhang Aihua and Zhang Mengqin would keep their mouths shut.
This time, he had truly been careless. Zhang Aihua's condition wasn't urgent—there had been no need to treat him immediately. He could have created the right time, the right place, and the right "identity," just like when he had treated Tan Tian's paralyzed mother in Qiaotou Village. Even if the story spread, no one would have been able to find that person. Now, however, he had handed the initiative over to others.
What if Zhang Aihua or Zhang Mengqin let something slip? Or if, after the treatment was finished, they casually mentioned it? Or if a close friend or relative of theirs developed a similar illness and came looking for him—what would he do then? If the news spread, would he be treated like a miracle doctor? Even the U.S. president has power. A mafia boss has connections. If people like that came to him for treatment, what should he do? Treat them or not? Even if he wanted to, his true qi was limited. Treating Zhang Aihua had already consumed a great deal of it. If he refused, would they threaten him? Even if he could handle it himself, what about his family and friends?
The more Zhu Siqi thought about it, the more frightened he became. The more he thought, the more likely such scenarios seemed. He had to find a way to patch this loophole, or he would never sleep peacefully again.
Seeing Zhu Siqi standing there in a daze, Zhang Aihua thought he was simply overjoyed. Anyone who could cure cancer would be ecstatic to the point of forgetting everything else. He had no idea that Zhu Siqi was actually regretting his actions.
"Siqi, what are you thinking about?" Zhang Aihua asked.
Zhu Siqi snapped back to reality and replied casually, "Nothing. Just a bit tired."
"Young people need to rest," Zhang Aihua said. "By the way, are you this tired because you used up so much energy treating me last night?"
Hearing this, Zhu Siqi immediately thought of a way to patch the loophole. It was like being handed a pillow just as he felt sleepy. He seized the opportunity. "Yes. After treating you last night, I felt completely weak—dizzy, my hands cramped, and even now my hands are still trembling. It seems my master was right."
"What did your master say?" Zhang Aihua asked curiously.
"My master said that using acupuncture to treat this kind of illness consumes an enormous amount of energy. The whole body's muscles have to stay tense, and you can't even blink. Unless it's absolutely necessary, it must not be used. Otherwise, you won't be able to use acupuncture again for a whole year. If you force it, you could even end up paralyzed."
"Is it really that serious?" Zhang Mengqin asked, skeptical.
"It really is exhausting," Zhang Aihua said firmly. "Last night I saw Siqi drenched in sweat. After finishing, he collapsed on the sofa and didn't want to move."
"It seems that even if more acupuncture was planned for today, it can't be done now," Zhu Siqi said helplessly.
"That's fine," Zhang Aihua replied. "Your health is more important. My biggest problem has already been cured. The rest can be treated slowly."
Seeing that his improvised explanation had worked so well, Zhu Siqi felt much better.
"Grandpa, have you bought the medicinal ingredients?" he asked. "Even though the cancer cells are gone, your stomach has suffered serious damage and needs careful nourishment."
"I've bought them. They're in the living room."
Zhu Siqi walked over and checked the large bag of herbs one by one. He found that three of them were substandard. He said, "Grandpa, three of these aren't acceptable. You'll need to buy them from another place tomorrow. These particular herbs must be fresh, or the medicinal effect will be greatly reduced."
"Alright, I'll have someone buy them from a different shop tomorrow," Zhang Aihua agreed.
After dinner, Zhu Siqi made arrangements with the old man to return the next day to prepare the medicinal pills, then left.
On the small street near the school, when he passed the same computer shop as before, he felt the urge to go in and practice again. He had already read dozens of books over the past few days and now had a very clear understanding of computer structure and components. He really wanted to get some hands-on experience. But when he went inside, it was still packed with people, and there were no available machines.
Helpless, Zhu Siqi walked back out. He thought the computer shop's business was unbelievably good. The idea of opening such a shop even crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. He only had theoretical knowledge and no practical experience yet—he wouldn't do anything he wasn't confident about. Buying a computer himself wasn't realistic either. There were no power outlets in the dorms, and security was poor. He had heard that a student had already lost belongings just the other day. The school also didn't allow freshmen to rent housing outside.
It seemed he could only continue like this for now—read more books and thoroughly digest the material. Besides, there would be hands-on computer classes at school starting tomorrow. He was very much looking forward to his first time actually using a computer.