Chapter 22 From now on, I'll manage the money.

Chapter 22

The examination process to rule out various causes of illness is tedious and exhausting.

On the day the blood test and temporal bone CT scan reports came out, Zhang Jinglin sat in the consultation room and looked at the reports repeatedly.

He looked up at Yu Pan, who was sitting quietly to the side, and paused on his notebook with his pen. "Go get a head CT scan, an EEG, and a laryngoscopy."

“Okay.” Shen Yanzhou took the form without hesitation, then led Yu Pan downstairs to queue and pay.

After a series of tests were completed, it was two days later when I finally received the last EEG report.

Over the past two days, Yu Pan followed Shen Yanzhou to various departments in the hospital. Although she was afraid of being stuck in one place when having a CT scan, and her eyes watered when the tube was inserted during the laryngoscopy, she never threw a tantrum.

With all the results in hand, Shen Yanzhou, holding a stack of reports, led Yu Pan back into Zhang Jinglin's consultation room.

Zhang Jinglin took the report and carefully flipped through it page by page, his brows sometimes furrowing and sometimes relaxing. Finally, he sorted all the forms together and put them down.

"Based on the examination results, his ear structure is intact, there is no brain damage, and his vocal cord function is normal."

Zhang Jinglin leaned forward slightly, looking at Shen Yanzhou with gentle eyes: "All physiological causes have been ruled out. In this case, the first thing to consider clinically is functional disorders caused by psychological factors."

"Psychological factors?" Shen Yanzhou pressed, unconsciously tightening his grip on Yu Pan's hand.

"Yes, it can be understood as a self-protective mechanism after experiencing a strong psychological shock," Zhang Jinglin explained. "When external stimuli exceed the limits that the mind can withstand, the brain may actively shut down some functions."

"For example, hearing and language, to avoid further damage. It's like the body going into shock when it suffers a severe injury; it's an instinctive protective response."

"How should it be treated? Does it require medication?" Shen Yanzhou leaned forward anxiously.

"Medication can only play a supporting and calming role; it cannot solve the fundamental problem," Zhang Jinglin said, picking up a pen and writing a few lines on the referral form.

"I suggest you go to the neurology department and see Director Li for a comprehensive evaluation. If it is determined to be a psychogenic problem, their department has cooperating doctors who can provide systematic psychological counseling."

Seeing Shen Yanzhou's solemn expression, Zhang Jinglin comforted him, "Don't worry, it's good that we can find out the cause. The fact that all the functions are working means that as long as the source is solved, the chances of recovery are very high."

Shen Yanzhou carefully put away the referral form, thanked them repeatedly, and held Yu Pan's hand tightly as they headed to the neurology department.

There weren't many people waiting in the neurology department, and they were seen quickly.

Director Li is about fifty years old, with gray hair, wearing round-framed glasses, and speaking in a gentle and slow voice.

Instead of looking at the report first, he had Yu Pan sit opposite him and asked softly with a smile, "Have you been sleeping well at night lately? Have you been having nightmares often?"

Yu Pan subconsciously looked at Shen Yanzhou, who immediately conveyed the question to him in sign language. Yu Pan shook his head.

Director Li nodded, then picked up the stack of reports and carefully read through them. He occasionally asked Yu Pan about the details of her two hearing loss episodes.

Yu Pan's memory of her first hearing loss is hazy because two years had passed and she had experienced the devastating loss of Uncle Shen and Aunt Shen.

He remembered the second time because it was so close; he thought Shen Yanzhou had gotten into trouble and was very anxious.

Did his aphasia appear suddenly, or did it gradually worsen?

“He said he hasn’t been able to speak since he can remember,” Shen Yanzhou answered on his behalf.

"Can't you make any sound at all normally?"

“Occasionally… when she’s crying really hard, she’ll make a sobbing sound, but it’s not very coherent.” Shen Yanzhou recalled with a frown, “Sometimes she can also hum a couple of times.”

"And what about laughter? Will it make a sound?"

Shen Yanzhou shook his head.

After a thorough inquiry, Director Li put down the report and said, “Based on the examination report, it can be determined that it is not an organic lesion, and it is consistent with ‘conversion disorder caused by severe psychological stress,’ which is what we often call hysterical manifestations.”

“Our department can provide him with some relaxation training and biofeedback therapy, but more in-depth and systematic psychological counseling,” he looked at Shen Yanzhou, his attitude frank, “needs to be done by a psychiatrist.”

Noticing Shen Yanzhou's sudden tension, Director Li gently added, "Don't misunderstand, this doesn't mean he has a so-called mental illness. Psychiatry also treats all kinds of emotional problems and psychological disorders. The doctors there are more experienced and can guide him slowly through conversation to help him find his inner knot and release his repressed emotions."

"Then...where should we go to look?" Shen Yanzhou asked the most practical question.

Director Li picked up a pen, wrote a name on the back of a prescription, and handed it to Shen Yanzhou: "Our hospital's psychiatry department can handle it. I suggest you make an appointment with Dr. Wang Hongjuan. She is the deputy chief physician in the department and is very good at treating this kind of mental illness."

He pushed the note over, saying, "Her clinic hours are Tuesday and Thursday mornings. You need to go to the registration desk on the first floor to register for her yourself. Just say that it was recommended by our neurology department and that you want to see Director Wang for psychological counseling."

Shen Yanzhou took the flimsy piece of paper, carefully folded it, and put it in his pocket. He took a deep breath, glanced at Yu Pan beside him who was anxiously tugging at his clothes, and nodded solemnly, "We understand, thank you, Director."

He was willing to try any method as long as it could cure Yu Pan.

Director Li is a very kind person. After learning that they were not locals, he talked to them a lot. He explained that psychological counseling involves a course of treatment, told them to find a place to stay first, and even told them that there were short-term rental houses in the suburbs.

It was nearly 3 p.m. when they came out of the hospital.

"What did the doctor say?" Yu Pan gestured.

Shen Yanzhou smiled and gestured, "The test results are all good. Let's come back in a few days to make an appointment."

"Why do you still want to see a doctor?" Yu Pan frowned. "I don't want to see a doctor anymore."

"You have to watch it." Shen Yanzhou reached out and ruffled his hair. "I'll stay with you."

Yu Pan looked at him and nodded reluctantly.

They ate at the same casual restaurant from the first day. It wasn't that Shen Yanzhou hadn't taken Yu Pan to other restaurants, but whether it was due to poor hygiene or Yu Pan's stomach problems, Yu Pan would get a stomachache every time she ate there.

The proprietress recognized them well. Since there were fewer people around, she chatted with them after serving the dishes.

Shen Yanzhou took the opportunity to ask her if there were any houses for rent nearby.

It was quite a coincidence that, as soon as they heard that they wanted to rent a room, the landlady said, "I happen to be planning to rent out the second floor of my house. Would you like to come and take a look?"

“Okay.” Shen Yanzhou nodded. After Yu Pan finished eating, the two followed the proprietress to the brick building in the alley.

The building is small, with a small courtyard. The stairs leading to the second floor are on the left side of the courtyard. The second floor has a single room and a small balcony. The kitchen and toilet are shared. There is a water pipe on the balcony, and there is a shower shed built by the previous tenant in the corner.

The hospital was only a ten-minute walk away, which suited Shen Yanzhou perfectly.

The landlady saw that the two brothers had a hard life, so she didn't charge them much. It was 28 yuan a month, utilities were extra, and she would collect a ten-day deposit.

Shen Yanzhou agreed and paid the money immediately.

The proprietress was delighted to see how agreeable he was. "Starting from the day after tomorrow, you can move in today or tomorrow, it's fine too."

Yu Pan followed along in a daze until she saw Shen Yanzhou pick up a broom and start cleaning, then she realized how they had suddenly rented a house...?

They quickly cleaned the house, opened the windows to let in some fresh air before leaving, and the next morning, they checked out of the hostel and came over with their luggage.

Although the kitchen and toilet were supposed to be shared, Shen Yanzhou still bought a small honeycomb briquette stove and a kettle for convenience.

After all, they have a shower stall and running water on their balcony. Using a public toilet to shower is somewhat inconvenient, but more than that, it's something they're not used to.

With the door closed, this simple little room became their "home" in Lanzhou.

Taking advantage of the clear weather, Shen Yanzhou moved the bed boards outside to air them out and boiled water to scald the mats. Yu Pan sat at the table, opened the wooden box, and began counting money.

Looking at the wooden box whose lid couldn't be closed before, now that the lid could be closed easily, Yu Pan still felt a tightness in her chest, even though Shen Yanzhou had told her not to be sad about money.

Before he could feel bad for long, Shen Yanzhou came in after washing the mat. Seeing Yu Pan staring blankly at the money box again, he reached out and flicked his forehead.

Yu Pan looked up and glared at him.

Shen Yanzhou moved the money box on the table aside and gestured, "I'll manage the money from now on."

Yu Pan frowned, gesturing wildly with her hands: "No way! You don't think at all when you spend money! Yesterday, when buying dates, the ones that cost 70 cents a pound were perfectly fine, but you insisted on buying the ones that cost 1.2 yuan a pound!"

"How long has that 70 cents a pound stuff been sitting there? Have you forgotten your stomach aches these past few days?" Shen Yanzhou gestured as well, "I didn't waste any money."

"That won't do!" Yu Pan slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her eyes serious. "You yourself said you'd let me manage the money!"

Looking at his puffed-out cheeks, Shen Yanzhou was both annoyed and amused. She reached out and pinched his cheek. "This time is different. The doctor said that psychological counseling needs to be done long-term. You feel uncomfortable whenever you see Qian Shao and can't sleep at night. How can you have the energy to cooperate with the treatment?"

Seeing that Yu Pan was pursing her lips and ignoring him, Shen Yanzhou softened his attitude and gestured, "Let me take care of it for now. I'll return the money box to you once your hearing is better, okay?"

Yu Pan stared at his gestures, then looked at the wooden box on the table, and began to pick at it with her fingers again.

He knew that Shen Yanzhou meant well, but Yu Pan also knew what kind of person Shen Yanzhou was. He would definitely buy him the best of everything, and would give him a piece of paper if he had one.

He was genuinely worried about letting Shen Yanzhou manage the money. After agonizing over this for a long time, Yu Pan finally had a breakthrough—

If you keep worrying about money and delay your treatment, wouldn't that just cost even more money?

After Quan Heng finished speaking, Yu Pan finally nodded and gestured, "Then you have to keep a daily record of how much you spend. I need to see it when I'm better."

"Okay, whatever you say." Shen Yanzhou smiled and pulled Yu Pan into a hug, writing on his palm, "Let's go downstairs to buy rice and eggs, and cook egg porridge for dinner."

Shen Yanzhou understands Yu Pan best; when it comes to food, Yu Pan can forget about many things.

Sure enough, Yu Pan immediately nodded and gestured, "I also need to buy scallions!"

Egg porridge is most delicious when sprinkled with chopped green onions!

"good."

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Author's Note: Treatments for these... are purely fictional creations based on the author's own research and imagination. Just read it for fun...! Please be gentle with your criticism (bows).