Although Yan Feifan desperately wanted to uncover the cause of the deceased’s sudden cardiac arrest, the family’s refusal left him utterly helpless.

He couldn’t exactly force them into it.

Still, with the cause remaining an unsolved mystery, it gnawed at Yan Feifan endlessly, completely ruining his appetite.

“Feifan, don’t dwell on it too much!” Wang Chuan advised.

“People here place great importance on the remains of the deceased. It’s common for them to refuse autopsies because they can’t bear the thought of the body being desecrated.

“As for unsolved medical mysteries, they’re as numerous as the stars in the sky. One more won’t make a difference.”

Yan Ziruo shot him a sideways glance. “Chuan, Feifan has always been obsessed with getting to the bottom of things. This situation is no exception, especially since it involves his reputation…”

Pausing, Yan Ziruo suddenly gasped.

“Do you think it’s possible that someone knows the patient’s death wasn’t caused by Feifan’s mistake, so they secretly persuaded the family to refuse the autopsy, deliberately keeping the truth ambiguous?

“That way, they can say whatever they want in the future, and Feifan won’t be able to produce any concrete evidence to refute them.”

Wang Chuan nodded slightly. “From a conspiracy theorist’s point of view, that’s not entirely out of the question.”

Seeing the distress on Yan Feifan’s face, he knew this incident might genuinely become a lingering sore spot for him. After all, this was the very first patient to die on Yan Feifan’s operating table. He undoubtedly wanted to uncover the exact cause.

Wang Chuan stood up. “Sitting here discussing it won’t solve anything. Let’s go to the funeral home and try to persuade the family.”

His proposal received unanimous agreement.

Liu Xia stayed at home to rest, while the Yan siblings, Yu Suye, Wang Chuan, and Duan Yu headed out to the funeral home together in a car. However, over two hours later, when they arrived at the funeral home in the suburbs, they were told that the deceased had already been cremated. The family had taken his ashes and returned overnight to their home in another province.

This left the group incredibly disappointed.

Yan Ziruo frowned. “To have the cremation done so quickly… there has to be something fishy going on!

“Duan Yu, can you have them look into it again?”

Duan Yu glanced at the grim-faced Yan Feifan. “I can report it up the chain, but whether they investigate it isn’t up to me.”

“They’re from out of town,” Wang Chuan reminded her. “Rushing the cremation to travel back overnight is also standard procedure.”

Yan Feifan let out a long breath. “Whether there’s foul play or it’s standard procedure, the body has already been cremated. We’ll never find the cause now.

“Let’s just leave it at that. Let’s go back.”

Seeing her brother looking so devastated, Yan Ziruo felt a pang of heartache and stepped forward to hug him.

“Feifan, we all know that you are always incredibly cautious. That’s why your surgeries have always been successful.

“This time wouldn’t have been an exception either. It’s just that unexpected factors aren’t something you can control.”

Wang Chuan also stepped forward and gently patted Yan Feifan’s shoulder. “Feifan, facing death is an inevitable milestone on the path to becoming a legendary physician.

“I can assure you, Feifan, you will encounter patient deaths again in the future. In fact, you’ll only see more of them, not less.

“After all, the patients you treat from now on will mostly be in critical condition or have highly complex illnesses.”

While Wang Chuan was speaking, Yu Suye silently hugged Yan Feifan from the other side.

Comforted by the group, Yan Feifan squeezed out a faint smile. “I admit I’m a bit frustrated and upset about this, but I’m not as fragile as you all think.

“Growing up, I’ve always known that life rarely goes according to plan. That’s how I’ve lived my life up until now.

“It’s just that for the past six months, things have been going a bit too smoothly, making me a little complacent.”

Yan Feifan sighed softly and wrapped one arm around his sister and the other around Yu Suye. “If I could be knocked down so easily, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“That’s true!”

A beaming smile spread across Yan Ziruo’s face as she hugged her brother tightly.

“Feifan, I still remember…

“On my eighth birthday, you gave me a tiny little cake and told me like a little adult not to worry, that you would take good care of me.

“Looking back on it now, you really did do that.”

Yan Feifan couldn’t help but laugh. “Sis, you actually still remember that day?”

“Of course I do!”

Yan Ziruo and Yu Suye both released him, and his sister began adjusting his collar and smoothing out the wrinkles on his clothes.

“That day, no one remembered my birthday. I was hiding in my small room, feeling sad and wronged, when you brought me that little cake.

“I can still remember its sweet smell…”

Pausing for a moment, Yan Ziruo felt a sudden sting in her nose, and her eyes welled up with redness.

“I know that growing up, it was actually you who was taking care of me, not me taking care of you.

“When we were little, I used my status as the older sister to bully you all the time. I’d take all the money you worked so hard to earn and use it to buy snacks, pretty things, and toys for myself.”

Yan Feifan chuckled. “Sis, back then, whenever those bad kids bullied me, you were the one who always stood up for me and taught them a lesson.”

Hearing this made Yan Ziruo feel even worse, and tears began to stream down her face.

“It’s all my fault. You knew how to earn money for me to spend since you were little, yet you still constantly got bullied by others.

“SOB SOB…”

Watching this scene, Wang Chuan and Yu Suye felt a twinge of sorrow, their hearts aching for the siblings. From the few words shared between the brother and sister, they could tell that their childhood had not been easy.

Come to think of it, how much love and care could children abandoned by their parents and sent to live with their grandparents really receive?

Growing up under those circumstances, the siblings hadn’t gone astray. Yan Feifan, in particular, had blossomed into a genius doctor. It was already a miracle that his only flaws were being a bit unsociable and somewhat aloof.

With this sudden trip down memory lane, Yan Feifan realized that the whole cremation incident really wasn’t a big deal after all. In an instant, a heavy burden seemed to lift from his mind and body.

Seeing the tears spilling from his sister’s eyes, Yan Feifan pulled a tissue from his pocket and wiped them away.

“Sis, how old are you? Crying like a little girl, aren’t you embarrassed?”

Yan Ziruo snatched the tissue from him, dabbing her tears as she huffed, “What’s there to be embarrassed about? When a woman wants to cry, she shouldn’t hold it in.

“You men, who make us cry, are the ones who should feel embarrassed!

“Isn’t that right, Su Ye?”

Yu Suye hurriedly chimed in, “Exactly. Like that old song goes, a good man won’t let the woman he loves get hurt and cry.

“If we cry, you men should be reflecting on yourselves.”

Yan Feifan couldn’t help but roll his eyes, thinking that women were truly masters at changing the subject.

He looked around at the dim yellow lights and the pitch-black darkness in the distance. “Let’s get out of here.

“Even though I know that death is like a snuffed-out candle and ghosts don’t exist, this place really gives off a bad vibe.”

Hearing him say that, Yan Ziruo hurriedly urged, “Let’s go, let’s go! Feifan, this is all your fault, making us stay in this creepy place for so long…”

The group got into the car and left the funeral home like the wind.

Shortly after entering the city limits, Yan Feifan spotted a KTV sign flashing past the car window and suddenly felt a burst of inspiration.

“Hey, it’s been a long time since we went to karaoke. Why don’t we go sing some songs?”

“Sure, let’s go sing!” Yan Ziruo agreed happily.

Yu Suye cautiously reminded him, “Feifan, it’s so late, and you have surgery tomorrow!”

Yan Feifan waved his hand. “It’s fine, I know what I’m doing. It’s just a single brain tumor puncture and injection surgery tomorrow morning.”

Seeing him in such high spirits, Yu Suye and Wang Chuan exchanged a glance and helplessly agreed…

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