Zhou Wen took a seat on the chair and picked up the medication bottles placed on the bedside cabinet to take a look.
Gefitinib, Erlotinib, Afatinib were all conventional targeted therapy drugs to treat lung cancer.
The cost of these medications was not cheap. A 10-tablet Gefitinib bottle would cost 2,500 RMB, making one tablet 250 RMB.
A 7-tablet Erlotibin would cost 4,500 RMB, making one tablet 640 RMB.
Also, the 7-tablet Afatibib cost about 2,450 RMB a box, making one tablet 350 RMB.
The worst part was that these medication bottles were already emptied. Moreover, these medications would not be very effective based on Ye Haiming’s condition. Furthermore, he would have developed drug tolerance too.
Soon afterward, he noticed a box of Bangladesh generic Osimertinib, commonly known as 9291.
9291 was a replacement drug after a patient developed drug tolerance toward targeted therapy drugs such as Gefitinib and Erlotinib. It was expensive and yet to be listed under medical coverage for the moment. It would cost 5,100 RMB a box for the locally-produced drug, with 30 tablets in the box, making one tabler 170 RMB.
On the other hand, the Bangladesh generic drug would cost around 5,000 RMB for a box on the market.
Zhou Wen stretched out his hand and picked it up to find that the medication bottle had been emptied as well.
Just as he was studying the medications, Ye Ziyao held her father’s hand and begged Zhou Wen with tears covering her face, “I’m begging you, uncle. Will you please save my father…?”
Zhou Wen planned to give a dose of Biotype Pain Relief Medication to Ye Haiming, just like how he treated Guo Baichun. However, he changed his mind after seeing Ya Haiming’s situation.
Ye Ziyao was not an adult yet. She was only a young maiden who lacked the steadiness and reservation that the old woman possessed. On the other hand, Ye Haiming was also tormented by the agony of the illness to the point where he had lost his head, unlike Guo Baichun.
If Ye Haiming discovered a pain relief medication that could eliminate his pain completely, he would certainly entangle Zhou Wen like a drowning man holding onto the last straw.
If information of Zhou Wen administering drugs without permission were to spread, the consequences could prove disastrous. It would be a small matter to get fired, but the implication of exposing the Biotype Pain Relief Medication would be severe.
As a result, he could not afford to take this risk.
All of a sudden, the familiar mission prompt sound was heard in his ears.
Zhou Wen brought up the system to take a look.
[Mission: Ye Ziyao’s Appeal
Explanation: Ye Ziyao hopes to acquire a sum of money urgently that she can use to ease her father’s illness
Requirement: Donate 5,000 RMB.
Reward: 500 Course XP, 500 Points. 1x Loot box Chance (black metal)]
Since the system had already decided on his behalf, there was nothing much for him to be bothered anymore.”
Zhou Wen chose to accept the mission, and then he asked softly, “Do you know where to buy the medicines?”
Ye Ziyao nodded and said sobbingly, “I… I do.”
“Alright then, follow me.”
Zhou Wen took a glance at Ye Haiming lying on the bed, and then he turned around and led Ye Ziyao out of the ward.
Ye Ziyao’s smartphone was already sold, so she only had a normal phone that she used for contact purposes. There was no way Zhou Wen could transfer her the money, so he brought her downstairs and withdrew 10,000 RMB from the ATM machine in front of the inpatient department for her.
If he wanted to help someone, he would go the whole hog.
Ye Haiming was already on the verge of dying. He would pass at any moment, just like a candle in the wind. Meanwhile, Ye Ziyao would still need to continue to live and also manage her deceased father’s funeral.
“Here is 5,000 RMB for you to purchase the medications for your father, and you can keep the rest of the 5,000 RMB for your own use. Be careful; don’t lose the money. Also, take care of your safety when you’re out alone…”
Before Zhou Wen could finish his sentence, Ye Ziyao kneeled on the ground in front of him with a loud thump. She wailed and said, “Thank you, uncle…”
“Alright, alright, stand up quickly…”
Zhou Wen could feel tears welling up in his eyes.
At the entrance of the laboratory department, not long after Zhou Wen left, Xu Shuangyu, Chen Ziyuan, and Xiao Lingling had showed up.
However, they were incapable of entering the building.
This was because there were Biosafety Level-3 laboratories inside the laboratory department where ordinary people were strictly forbidden from entering.
They could only convey their message through the intercom on the door and sought the help of the security guard to pass on their message.
The security guard inside answered impatiently, “He has already left work. Come and see him tomorrow.”
The security guard was under the assumption that Chen Ziyuan and the others were here to seek favor, so he reacted so impatiently.
This was because ordinary people would not come to the laboratory department to look for a friend. Meanwhile, the rest of the people that were acquainted to the employees would just call them up. There was no need for people to come over on purpose. On the other hand, he was already accustomed to encountering a situation like this from before, so he used his best judgment based on past experience.
“How is that possible? He said that he is working overtime today.”
“I told you… he has already clocked off; it’s up to you if you want to believe it or not.”
“F*ck you, what sort of attitude is that…” Chen Ziyan cussed into the intercom. He turned around and chuckled while he said, “Old Zhou is impossible. He didn’t tell us when he got off work either. Let me give him a call to see where he is?”
Xu Shuangyu shook her head. “Forget about it. If he’s not around, leave it be. Let’s go.”
Upon saying that, she turned around and left.
Xu Shuangyu felt rather furious deep inside.
He could choose to disregard her and hang up on her too. All these did not matter to her, but the act of lying was an issue of his moral standing.
A person whose moral standing was flawed was unworthy to date, even if the person was outstanding.
“Don’t be mad. Old Zhou has always been a very reliable person; there must be some reason… It’s better for me to make a call to him first.” As he was speaking, Chen Ziyuan took out his phone.
Meanwhile, Xiao Lingling, who was walking on the right side of the road, said, “Hey, look. Isn’t that Zhou Wen?”
“Where?” Chen Ziyuan followed Xiao Lingling’s gaze to look in the direction of the inpatient department. He saw a silhouette that looked like Zhou Wen from behind in the distance, who led a young girl to walk down the steps.
Chen Ziyuan took out his phone, turned on the camera and aimed it at the person whose silhouette looked like Zhou Wen and then zoomed in.
Upon close inspection, it really was Zhou Wen!
A young girl that looked to be 14 to 15 years old was standing by his side.
Chen Ziyuan was preparing to call out to him when Xu Shuangyu said, “Don’t call him. I would like to see what he’s up to.”
“Uh… That…” Gazing after Zhou Wen’s silhouette, Chen Ziyuan muttered to himself, ‘Old Zhou can’t be a pedophile, right?’
The few of them made their way to a spot under the shade of a tree in front of the inpatient department.
Soon, they saw Zhou Wen withdraw some money and passed it to the young girl. Then, they watched the scene of the young girl kneeling to him.
The few of them stood gazing at one another.
“What… What the heck is going on?”
“How would I know? Let’s go over there to ask him.”
Chen Ziyuan took the lead to walk toward Zhou Wen.
“Old Zhou, what are you doing?”
Zhou Wen had just helped Ye Ziyao to stand up over here when he heard someone calling out to him. He turned around to see that it was Chen Ziyuan. Xu Shuangyu and Xiao Lingling were also there, following behind him.
“Huh, why are all of you here?”
Chen Ziyuan chuckled and said, “We’re here to check up on you to see if you’re lying!”
Zhou Wen laughed and said to Ye Ziyao soon afterward, “Go ahead and buy the medications, quick.”
“Mmhmm…” Ye Ziyao, who was standing by the side, answered. She wiped away the tears on her face and then bowed deeply in salutation toward Zhou Wen. “Thank you, uncle.”
Upon saying that, Ye Ziyao took off.
Chen Ziyuan asked in puzzlement, “What the heck is going on?”
Zhou Wen explained the situation briefly. Then, Chen Ziyuan asked, “So you’re giving her money to buy medications?”
“Uh… yes.”
Chen Ziyuan was well aware that Zhou Wen did not come from a wealthy family so he asked, “How much did you give her?”
“Not much.”
Xu Shuangyu was aware that she had misunderstood Zhou Wen, so she could not refrain herself from saying, “The targeted therapy drug for late-stage lung cancer costs 4,000 to 5.000 bucks a box, even if it’s just a generic drug.”
Upon hearing that, Chen Ziyuan said in astonishment, “Damn it, Old Zhou. You can’t be giving her all your salary, huh?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“How could you still say you didn’t? You’ve just started working recently, so where does your money come from then?” As he was speaking, Chen Ziyuan picked up his phone in preparation to transfer some money to Zhou Wen. “Consider this as my donation…”
Upon hearing that, Zhou Wen hastily rejected, “You don’t have to, really. I have money… I sold my patent for over 10,000 RMB some time ago.”
Zhou Wen had no other choice but to tell the truth of how he sold his patent.
“What?” Chen Ziyuan immediately stopped his action after hearing that. “Since when did you sell your patent? What sort of patent is that?”
Zhou Wen explained briefly. Upon hearing the incident, Chen Ziyuan immediately howled and said, “Old Zhou, you didn’t even tell us that you’ve made a fortune. Do you still consider me as your good friend? You must treat me to a trip to the spa center… Uh no, to a proper massage parlor…”
Xu Shuangyu and Xiao Lingling beamed with joy as they watched both of the guys quarreling over there.
One of them had talents, while the other had a fortune.
It really was rather great.
…
After finding out that Zhou Wen stayed in an area near the hospital, Xu Shuangyu proposed taking a look.
Nevertheless, Zhou Wen could not allow that to happen. He was staying under the same roof with two beautiful, young doctors. He would be found to be in suspicious circumstances, and it would be hard to explain the situation to them.
Zhou Wen used the excuse that he was sharing the rent with someone else, so it was inconvenient for him to bring visitors. This was done to reject Xu Shuangyu’s request.
Xu Shuangyu did not insist either upon noticing Zhou Wen’s reluctance.
Frankly, she was already used to Zhou Wen’s heartlessness by now. Even if he were to become very enthusiastic someday, perhaps she would even find it suspicious.