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nQu Xiao was pleasantly surprised. She excitedly hugged Lei Qiming, seeing hope for Shang Yan to stand on his two feet again.

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nLei Qiming pushed her away, feeling more than a little awkward. He patted his wrinkled Chinese tunic suit with a small frown.

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nHe handed the leatherbound notebook to Qu Xiao and said, “These are some of the ancient prescriptions I have researched and restored. They might be able to help you.”

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nQu Xiao quickly accepted the notebook, flipping through its contents seriously.

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nLei Qiming’s love for Chinese medicine was close to an obsession. Qu Xiao discovered many ancient prescriptions, once thought to be lost, restored with comprehensive notes detailing the process and results of the restoration. Those results were not published and remained inaccessible to the general public, being of far greater worth than all the information she had gathered from her time in the Medical Hall.

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n“Professor Lei, I once tried to use a bubble bath to relieve the lesions on his legs.”

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n“I also tried to use silver needles to unclog the clogged acupoints in his legs. It produced knee-jerk reactions on occasion.”

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n“But there has not been any improvement where his legs are concerned. Is my treatment plan wrong, or…” Qu Xiao’s eyes shone intensely while discussing Shang Yan’s condition with Lei Qiming.

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nAfter Lei Qiming learned of Qu Xiao’s identity, he asked his good friend in the medical sector about Shang Yan’s condition. For the Shang family’s youngest and most influential member to appear in generations and be confined to a wheelchair was beyond pitiful.

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n“Perhaps… Could Mr Shang’s inability to stand lie not solely in a physical impairment but also with his mental frame of mind?”

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nQu Xiao blinked in surprise when she heard Lei Qiming’s words.

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nLei Qiming walked in front of the whiteboard and used a marker to draw a diagram of the human leg, including the acupuncture points and nerve tissue surrounding the muscles.

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n“From my understanding, Mr Shang has already undergone systematic rehabilitation. Therefore, the muscles in his legs should be functioning as they are supposed to. My concern is that his nervous system may not have been properly stimulated. In layman’s terms, you might be treating the wrong things, and the problem may lie elsewhere.”

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nQu Xiao had never thought of such a possibility. It was as if she had received a revelation.

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nShe pointed at a few acupuncture points on the leg diagram, “You’re saying that I should…”

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nLei Qiming gave his input now and then, as Qu Xiao hypothesised. Such a smart and talented young lady made him smile in satisfaction.

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n“If Mr Shang is always in a wheelchair, he’ll develop a reliance, which may be hampering his ability to stand on his own. Even if he is physically fine, so long as his subconscious holds on to the wheelchair as its crutch, Mr Shang will find it difficult to return to a life of normality. In which case, you need to prepare yourself for that possibility,” Lei Qiming said.

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nQu Xiao nodded with determination in her eyes, “I will make him stand up!”

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n–

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nThat night, Qu Xiao stayed in the teaching building. She and Lei Qiming adjusted the prescription repeatedly, changing the herbs and dosage according to Shang Yan’s specific situation.

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nThey exercised extreme caution while pairing the different medicinal ingredients and their effects to prevent an adverse reaction. It was a delicate balancing act where the slightest change could affect the effectiveness of the prescription.

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nLei Qiming did not usually stay up late, and he had not done so for many years, but at this moment, he was in high spirits. Nothing could tire him despite his advanced age.

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nWhile the two of them were adjusting the prescription dosage, they also discussed contemporary academic issues faced by traditional Chinese medicine. Qu Xiao’s sharp insight and ability to think outside the box allowed Lei Qiming to gain a wellspring of inspiration, and his attitude towards her changed.

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n“So you hated me, didn’t you?” Qu Xiao casually remarked as she stretched, working the kinks and knots out of her arms and shoulders. She took note of the time. It was quite late.

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nLei Qiming took off his protective eye mask and looked at the powdered prescription. Using one hand to support himself against the desk and the other to massage his aching waist, he answered, “I hated you.”

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n“But now that I think about it, I probably judged you as a threat somewhere deep down inside. The student surpasses the teacher… I suppose I felt disgruntled.”

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nLei Qiming’s confession was the highest praise Qu Xiao could receive, and it took her by surprise. “Professor, I’m different from you. You want to create a legacy for future generations; I just want to save the person I love most,” Qu Xiao murmured while putting away the medicinal powder, “I can’t compare to you.”

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nQu Xiao bade the wizened old man goodbye, leaving in a flurry of excitement. She could not wait to test the powder’s effects on Shang Yan.

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nLei Qiming shook his head helplessly. He picked up the prescription modified repeatedly and compared it again. Soon, he realised that something was not right. “Why does the mixture of these two herbs look so familiar?”

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nHe frowned and quickly opened his mouth in realisation. “Isn’t this an aphrodisiac…”

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n“Forget it.”

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nLei Qiming originally wanted to call Qu Xiao to inform her, but when he thought of the relationship between Shang Yan and her, he shook his head and took a pen to mark and modify the prescription.

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n–

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nIn the Shang family’s villa, Qu Xiao dragged Shang Yan back to the bedroom and gave him the medicinal powder to consume.

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nShang Yan lay on the bed. Qu Xiao held her breath nervously as she sat beside him. She did not dare blink, not wanting to miss any signs in the event of an adverse reaction. Every two to three minutes, she would ask, “How do you feel?”

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nShang Yan chuckled as he rubbed her head. “I keep feeling like a lab rat,” he muttered helplessly.

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nQu Xiao kept her mouth shut. She did not think to answer, too busy keeping track of the time.

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nShe was so nervous that she frowned and muttered to herself, “You should be feeling the effects of the medicine. Why aren’t you showing any signs of a reaction?”

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nShang Yan felt an inexplicable heat in his heart and lower abdomen. A layer of sweat also appeared between his brows.

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