Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 195 - 190 Death of Cai Xing

"Senior?"

Something was very wrong with Wang Jian. He looked frightening, almost possessed, which was not a good omen. Chairman Kang called out softly but received no response. He could only call out again, "Senior, do you want to try what you did at our teacher’s house?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Only then did Wang Jian snap back to his senses and glance at Chairman Kang.

"That was merely physical treatment," Wang Jian explained, having already considered it. "If Chairman Cai’s condition were related to his cerebral blood vessels, I could indeed use qi to resolve the issue. Even if it were brain damage, I could help him recover slowly."

Mid-sentence, Wang Jian suddenly recalled the X-ray-like image he had seen the first time he observed a human brain. At that time, he had seen electrical currents constantly traveling across the cerebral cortex, as if the brain itself were breathing.

Could that be the activity of consciousness?

At this thought, Wang Jian stopped responding to Chairman Kang. He moved to Cai Xing’s side and placed both hands in front of the man’s head. When he closed his eyes, the image of pulsating currents appeared once again. The brain seemed to be glowing with a white light...

「An hour later.」

Cai Qiong and the others waited anxiously in the consultation room. Despite the cool breeze from the air conditioner, they felt flushed and parched, while their hearts were ice-cold. Ever since Wang Jian and his team had gone into the back room, there hadn’t been a single sound. They could neither see nor hear anything and had no idea how the team that helped Wang Jian set up this medical environment had managed to make it so soundproof.

The thought even surfaced in Cai Wenji’s mind: If only I had known... I wouldn’t have put so much effort into helping him back then... He was terrified of this situation where he knew nothing. As a man with a strong need for control, the discomfort of facing complete ignorance was something most people could not understand. What if Wang Jian walks out now and tells me Dad is dead? What would I do?

Although Cai Wenji’s expression remained calm, his palms were slick with nervous sweat, and he would occasionally pretend to wipe them nonchalantly on his knees. Anyone familiar with him would recognize this as a sign of his tension. However, the only person present who knew him that well was Cai Qiong, and she was too preoccupied to notice her brother’s small movements.

"Brother..."

Cai Wenji turned at the sound of his younger sister’s voice and saw her face etched with worry. In that instant, he managed to conceal all of his own unease. Just like that, the nearly perfect President of the Cai Group, whom everyone admired, had returned.

He suddenly realized that if their father were truly gone, he would be his little sister’s only support. If he also panicked and lost his composure, what would she do? He wasn’t married, and being nearly a decade older than Cai Qiong, he had practically raised her during the years their father was too busy to spend time with them. It was a sentiment, perhaps, that only he could understand.

"What’s wrong?" Cai Wenji stroked Cai Qiong’s head. It had been a very long time since they had shared such an intimate gesture. Touching his sister’s head now felt as if time had rewound to their younger days. Looking at her expression, he knew what she was thinking without her having to speak. "Don’t be afraid. It’ll be alright."

"Yes," Cai Qiong nodded. "I just can’t help it... It’s completely silent in there. What kind of treatment is Doctor Wang using?"

"That..."

That was the crux of the matter, something Cai Wenji had been pondering himself. When Cai Xing was wheeled in, this place had all sorts of monitoring equipment, but was that really enough to treat a heart condition? Doctor William had once said that the only path to a complete cure was a heart transplant. Yet, after all this time, they had never found a compatible heart, let alone performed the surgery.

Wang Jian seemed to have a background in Chinese medicine, which made a surgical procedure like a heart transplant even less likely. It was probably Acupuncture or herbal medicine... As he considered this, Cai Wenji froze. He remembered that in ancient times, Chinese medicine also involved procedures like trepanation and abdominal surgery. Could it be...?

At this thought, Cai Wenji’s certainty wavered. If he and his sister found out that Wang Jian was also at a loss, they would likely break down on the spot. That unnerving feeling of ignorance returned, and he could only force a calm facade as he said slowly, "We should have faith in Doctor Wang’s abilities."

The words had barely left his mouth when they heard a click from the treatment room’s door lock.

"The door’s opening!"

Cai Qiong and Cai Wenji rushed forward, with William and Niu Deyuan gathering around as well. The person who emerged, however, was not Cai Xing. It was Wang Jian, and he was alone. What sent a chill down Cai Wenji’s spine was the grim expression on his face.

"Doctor Wang..."

Before Cai Wenji could finish, Wang Jian interrupted him. "Wait... Everyone, please don’t panic. There’s an emergency. I need a family member to come in. You two..."

Wang Jian looked between Cai Wenji and Cai Qiong, his gaze finally settling on Cai Wenji. Cai Qiong looked unwell, and Wang Jian didn’t want to subject her to any more stress. He feared she would not only be devastated but might also complicate matters.

"You, come with me," Wang Jian said to Cai Wenji. "The rest of you, please wait a little longer."

Without waiting for a response, Wang Jian pulled Cai Wenji inside. Cai Qiong made a move to follow, but Wang Jian shot her a sharp glare, and she was nearly hit by the door as it slammed shut. Seeing the look on Wang Jian’s face, Cai Qiong’s sense of dread intensified.

In a hospital, when they suddenly call for family, it usually means something terrible has happened, like a critical condition notice or a surgery consent form... In any case, it’s never good news... How could she possibly remain calm? If not for her mental fortitude, fainting right then and there would have been a completely normal reaction.

Cai Wenji, following Wang Jian inside, felt much the same. The two siblings, though different in personality, were both deeply sentimental and emotional people. Having been singled out by Wang Jian, Cai Wenji had already braced himself for the worst. However, the moment he looked past Wang Jian’s back toward the hospital bed, his world truly began to crumble.

Barely ten minutes later, Cai Wenji emerged from the room. The dignity and seriousness that usually graced his face were gone, replaced by a look of bewilderment and sorrow etched into his features.

Before Cai Qiong could speak, Cai Wenji’s choked voice filled the silence. "Dad... he’s gone."

What? Dad was dead?

The words struck Cai Qiong like a thunderclap. Her vision went black, and she collapsed.

Cai Wenji hadn’t expected this reaction. He caught her in a panic, but she remained unconscious no matter how desperately he called her name.

Niu Deyuan and William exchanged a look of dismay. They had held such high hopes for Wang Jian. It seemed no miracle had occurred. Yet, as their eyes met, they both saw the same flicker of doubt. The whole thing felt... too sudden. When Cai Xing had been brought here, he was merely unconscious, but his vital signs had been stable. That was before he had even taken Wang Jian’s medicine, with no other treatment in sight. Now, with Wang Jian present and all the necessary equipment available, how could he suddenly be gone? There was no surgery, so where could an accident have come from? Without any external factors, how could a person just die?

Still, as medical experts, they both knew that in their field, any accident was possible, and sudden death wasn’t unheard of. Doctors were just doctors, after all, not immortals. But with Cai Xing’s passing, the Cai Group was sure to be thrown into chaos.

As his thoughts raced, Niu Deyuan glanced discreetly at the two other Cai family relatives, Cai Qiang and Cai Zhi. Their brows were deeply furrowed, and it was impossible to know what they were thinking. Niu Deyuan had heard from Cai Xing himself about some of the family’s internal conflicts. Those two were wily veterans; the siblings likely wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

Looking back at Cai Xing’s children, their grief was so palpable that even he, an outsider, could feel it. Niu Deyuan sighed. Although Cai Xing’s relatives were questionable, his son and daughter were both deeply filial. For a father, that was an accomplishment in itself.

Niu Deyuan whispered, "Can we see Chairman Cai?"

His question seemed to snap someone else back to reality. Cai Zhi, who had already been contemplating the shift of power in the company, was jolted by the words. Is he really dead? Without even bothering to ask, he strode to the treatment room door, grabbed the handle, pushed it open, and burst inside.