Chapter 140: The Vegetable

Mu Yuncheng had touched upon the most critical issue. For a girl in the prime of her youth, blessed with such extraordinary beauty, her appearance was everything.

The doctor frowned, struggling to find the right words.

Seeing the doctor’s hesitation, Mu Yuncheng looked up, closed his eyes for a moment, and let out a deep sigh. "Please, speak plainly. I am a doctor myself; I understand what must be faced."

"Very well. It is unlikely that your daughter’s appearance will ever be fully restored. Based on our current medical capabilities, we had to remove the necrotic tissue because the facial muscle tissue itself has died; there is barely any capacity for natural regeneration," the doctor explained in clinical, granular detail.

Shen Yali shrieked in shock, "How can this be? It’s impossible, it’s impossible! Doctor, you must heal my daughter. What about plastic surgery? Surely, with plastic surgery..."

Mu Yuncheng pulled Shen Yali close, comforting her. "Rest assured, the doctor will find a way."

After soothing Shen Yali, Mu Yuncheng waited for the doctor to continue. The doctor added, "I am aware of plastic surgery options, but the issue is the tissue necrosis and the recurring nature of the decay. Even with reconstruction, the tissue would likely atrophy. We will do our absolute best, however."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yali burst into inconsolable tears, a sight so heartbreaking that it moved everyone who witnessed it.

Director Song turned to the doctor and said, "Doctor, I know you are a renowned expert in this country. I implore you to do everything in your power. You know as well as I do what one's appearance means to a young woman."

The doctor nodded. "Of course I understand. Director Song, please rest assured. I take my responsibility to my patients very seriously, as I carry their hopes in my hands. I will spare no effort to ensure they are not disappointed."

Nearby, Qin Shuhua was also weeping uncontrollably. Bai Fanhao still showed no signs of waking; the toxicity had been suppressed for now, but for him to regain consciousness, he would need to be treated abroad. The new drug in his system originated overseas, where it was already being utilized in medical research, whereas in this country, such treatments were still in the experimental stages and not yet fully perfected.

The implication was clear: if Bai Fanhao were to wake up and recover his health, he had to be taken abroad. There, he might survive and lead a normal life; here, the best-case scenario would be remaining in a vegetative state.

"Liye, I won't let Fanhao become a vegetable. I want him to live a full life! Liye, let’s handle this now. Buy the tickets. We must go abroad immediately."

As she spoke, Qin Shuhua began pulling Bai Liye toward the exit, desperate to leave that very instant.

Bai Liye looked at his wife with a throbbing headache. She was always one to act on impulse, so he explained, "Shuhua, we will certainly go abroad, but we need to know which country and which hospital to target, don't we? Don't rush. I will make the arrangements now, and we will leave first thing tomorrow morning."

On both sides, there were critically ill patients. One would eventually wake up without leaving the country but faced permanent disfigurement. The other might survive and live normally if taken abroad, but without such intervention, faced the prospect of death or a permanent vegetative state.

Once the doctors had said their piece and finalized the arrangements, they departed.

Nurses wheeled out Mu Qingxi and Bai Fanhao, and a crowd of people surged forward, desperate to see their son and daughter. However, because they were in intensive care, no one was permitted to touch the patients to prevent infection. The nurses kept the crowd at a distance of several paces from the beds.

Everyone could only gaze from afar at the figures lying on the hospital beds.