Chapter 5.5 The Beginning of Misdiagnosis You're just trying to scare people with a misdiagnosis.
Liang Siyu frantically rang the doorbell while her mind raced.
He's so dense, it took him so long to realize. She went secretly, perhaps because she didn't want to tell him about some past medical condition? Her fever last night was sudden, but she wasn't surprised at all.
Even...did her sudden breakup suggest there were prior signs of a relapse? Is that why she wanted to break up?
How could he be so slow? They were just arguing with each other.
Oh my god, Ada, open the door! Don't let anything happen, don't let anything happen.
Why hasn't she opened the door yet? Has she already fainted inside?
Right, where's the room key? He can use it to open the door. Just as he was frantically searching for the room key, the door opened.
He breathed a sigh of relief and rushed over to hug her: "You're alright, that's great, that's great."
She held her head, wondering if it was because of the time travel, but after arguing with him, she started to have a headache again, so she had been sleeping the whole time.
I was a little annoyed when the doorbell woke me up, but when he hugged me like that, I looked down and saw that he was so anxious that he hadn't even put on his slippers, so I didn't want to yell at him. I just pushed him away and asked, "What is it now?"
He loosened his grip slightly, looked down at her, his eyes even a little red: "Ada, don't hide it from me anymore, I guessed it, Autoimmune Encephalitis, isn't it?"
She was still half asleep and her mind was a little sluggish, and then he started spouting medical jargon. She scratched her head and said, "What did you say?... Can you speak like a normal person?"
Even computer science PhD students born and raised in the United States would not encounter this medical terminology.
Liang Siyu thought she was pretending to be stupid. She knew her own medical history, so how could she not have heard of this disease?
He was both angry and heartbroken. Why didn't she consider that even if she broke up with him behind his back, she couldn't keep it a secret forever if she had another episode after returning to the lab? Did she really think he was a complete idiot?
He cut to the chase: "There's no need to play dumb. You know your medical history, which is why you went for an MRI today to see brain imaging and confirm whether you've entered the clinically active phase of Autoimmune Encephalitis."
"What is all this?" she interrupted. "Ned, wait, let's come in and talk."
They sat down on the sofa, and seeing his serious expression, she could only weakly reiterate, "Ned, what Autoim... can you use a more everyday term? Besides, I didn't get my brain scanned, I just went to get my shoulder checked."
Liang Siyu looked at her suspiciously, seriously doubting that she was lying.
"To put it simply, this is a type of brain inflammation (encephalitis)."
What? She only has a headache and fever, how could he jump to encephalitis?
She wanted to tell him that this was a side effect of time travel, but she didn't know what professional name they would use in clinical medicine.
She was speechless, and asked him, "Aren't you overthinking this?"
“Ada, don’t lie to me. I have good judgment. You have all the typical symptoms of recurrent autoimmune encephalitis.”
He began to list them one by one: "Sudden headache, fever, confusion, but not particularly serious, and you recover quickly. For example, you had a high fever last night, but it completely subsided this afternoon."
That's because she died in a plane crash in her past life, so she must have had serious injuries. A fever is nothing to her.
“This encephalitis can cause strong mood swings, making people more irritable. You’ve been acting differently than usual these past two days.”
That's because he disappointed her too much in her past life, and why should she be the one reborn?!
"This disease is common in young women aged 20 to 30. This is not your first time, is it? The first time would be much more serious than this. You should have had a high fever and fainted, and had to be hospitalized urgently."
He shared all his observations and deductions, letting her know that there was no need to hide anything anymore.
Xu Aida rubbed his forehead. How could there be a brain disease with symptoms so similar to hers from time travel? Even the high-risk groups could match up. Heaven is really funny, and he really has a rich imagination.
Liang Siyu continued, “The main cause of this type of encephalitis is that your immune system is attacking your own brain. It can recur, and because the immune system attacks different areas and cells of the brain, the dominant symptoms can vary each time.”
Hsu Ai-ta had initially just listened casually and laughed it off. But when he talked about the causes of the disease, she suddenly froze.
If—and she meant just if—she really did have encephalitis, and the immune system was constantly attacking her brain, then wouldn't delusions be a possible symptom?
A cold sweat broke out on her back. Why would she so easily accept that she had been reborn, without even questioning whether she had a ridiculously erroneous belief? This doesn't make sense!
Were those all just fantasies? But the feeling of that plane crash was so real—the violent shaking, the pain in my eardrums.
She stopped herself, "Ada, calm down. You've taken some psychology classes before. People in the throes of a mental illness just believe those absurd things to be true."
She closed her eyes briefly, but couldn't help asking him again, her voice trembling slightly: "Then, is it a hallucination or a delusion?"
Liang Siyu had initially tried to correct his overreaction, pointing out that the basic incidence of immune encephalitis is not high, and the initial cases are usually more severe. If Ada did not have a relevant medical history, he should not have made such a hasty judgment.
But what did she say? Hallucination? Delusion?
His heart sank. "It's a common symptom," he said with difficulty.
His heart was breaking. So that's how it was. She knew she was hallucinating, which was why she had been emotionally unstable these past few days and had suddenly decided to break up with him.
Did she suddenly go for an MRI scan because she realized that some of her sensations were phantom pain?
That explains everything.
She was trembling; she was panicking. He had to stay calm.
“Ada, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, it’s okay, I’ll schedule a check-up right away.” He hugged her.
He comforted you, saying, "Maybe nothing's wrong. You're just too tired lately, which is why you're a little absent-minded. You also happened to catch a cold and have a fever, so you're in a bad mood."
She trembled, struggled, and was afraid, but finally made up her mind: "Ned, all we need is a brain MRI to confirm, right? The lab has the equipment, we can do it ourselves, and you can help me look at the images."
His first reaction was to refuse: "Me? I don't have a license yet." This is against medical ethics.
She was a little anxious. She couldn't let anyone know. What if it wasn't encephalitis, but a rebirth? She couldn't let anyone else see the scans; she could only have them scanned back in the lab.
“You can do it. You’re an MD candidate. You just haven’t done your clinical rotations yet. I don’t want anyone else to know, okay? If there’s a real problem, I won’t refuse to see a doctor, but what if there’s nothing wrong? Help me, Ned.”
He suddenly realized that she didn't want anyone to know, not even her healthcare provider.
He stroked her hair. "Okay, let's do an EEG first, then an MRI."
"I'll book the tickets right away, we're going back to school." He took out his phone.
They have all the necessary equipment in their lab, and since there aren't many people during the holiday, he can ask the administrator for leniency. He can't operate it himself anywhere else.
"No, no!" she suddenly exclaimed again. The memory and feeling of that plane crash were so real that she doubted she dared to go near the boarding gate.
What to do? She needs to go back for a checkup, but this is Seattle on the West Coast, and the school is in Baltimore on the East Coast. The flight back will take six hours, crossing the entire United States.
He was taken aback. Had she changed her mind again? Did she not want to go back for the checkup?
But now her face was pale and her eyes were red. He couldn't bear to say anything more, he just hugged her.
"Then let's not think about anything for now." He tried to sound cheerful while offering comfort. "You haven't had dinner yet, have you? How about we eat in the room?"
She had to tell him part of the story. She was now deeply doubting herself, and she could only trust him for the time being. If anything seemed amiss, at least Ned would guarantee her safety and keep her secret.
“Ned…” she grabbed his hand, “I don’t want to fly, what should I do? I’m scared.”
"That dream, I'm not even sure if it was a dream, you know?"
He closed his eyes briefly. He had completely forgotten about it. She had clearly asked, "If I die in a plane crash, what will you do?"
He didn't realize anything at the time and thought it was just an ordinary nightmare.
She might be experiencing visual hallucinations, right? She might even be experiencing auditory or olfactory hallucinations, which could make her believe that she really experienced a plane crash—some of the images can be extremely realistic and appear suddenly, causing the patient great distress.
"I'm sorry, I only understand now." His heart ached. "It's okay, we won't take a plane, we'll drive back, it'll just take a few more days on the road."
"That would take six or seven days," she gently objected, "No, that's too tiring. I... I can try..."
But before she could even utter the word "airplane," the feeling of freefall returned, and she couldn't stop trembling.
He kissed her forehead: "It won't be more tiring than doing eight hours of experiments every day. Besides, we can rest when we're tired. We have such a long vacation, right?"
She didn't say anything more. She didn't know if she could get on the plane. If she lost control on the plane and started talking nonsense—if it really was encephalitis, then so be it, it would just be embarrassing.
However, if there is even a one percent chance of rebirth, and she reveals information about the future in her panic, the impact of which, whether good or bad, is impossible to estimate.
Wait! The future! Information!!
She suddenly realized something. She didn't need to go so far back to check. She clearly had other ways to verify whether it was delusion or time travel. The answer was right here in this room.
—She's so stupid!
It was all his fault for speaking so seriously and using so many technical terms. She was also feeling dizzy and lightheaded from sleeping, and began to wonder if she was sick.
What did she just say? She now wishes she could go back a minute and take back everything she said.
Forget sunk costs, let's not consider that in our decision-making. Let's address the most important issue first: she needs to verify whether she has truly been reborn.
She nudged him: "I'm hungry."
He went along with it, saying, "Yes, let's talk after we eat. Shall we order room service?"
She shook her head: "I don't want to eat hotel food. I want something hot, Asian food, like hot soup." First, she had to get him out of there.
“Okay, I’ll go buy it. Is there anything you specifically want to eat?” He agreed without hesitation.
"Just buy whatever you like, I'm a little tired," she replied casually.
Once he leaves, she can check his suitcase. If there really is an engagement ring, wouldn't that mean she has been reborn, or that she is delusional due to encephalitis?
He changed his clothes and went out.
Xu Aida silently counted down the seconds, quickly locked the door from the inside, and began to rummage through his suitcase, her heart pounding.
She had never felt guilty about doing so—after they got married, she had never touched his things without permission.
Her rebirth was truly a mess; in just two days, she almost completely lost all the dignity she had accumulated in her previous life.
At first, when she couldn't find it, her heart skipped a beat, fearing she might actually have encephalitis and be experiencing a mental disorder. Then, she felt a small bag in the corner.
Her fingers trembled as she pulled open the box, revealing a red velvet ring case. She let out a long sigh, then collapsed to the floor, her palms sweaty.
Logically speaking, this is enough to prove that her rebirth was not a delusion, and she should put it back.
But she opened it anyway, and sure enough, it wasn't a common white diamond, but a square yellow diamond, sparkling like honey.
Later, he gifted her even larger diamonds, such as the classic bird-on-a-stone high pearl, but this simple and petite Bezet ring remained her favorite.
Unfortunately, it seems we'll never be together in this lifetime.
With a snap, she closed the ring box, carefully put it back in her suitcase, and covered her clothes up as if nothing had happened.
If only life could be restored so easily, as if nothing had ever happened.
She slumped on the sofa, feeling her headache starting again.
Liang Siyu chose a Korean tofu soup restaurant. As he walked briskly, he tried to guess what was in her hallucination.
She said three things: "If I die in a plane crash, what will you do?", "You've been very mean to me", and "I'm in so much pain".
Did she think she was dead? Or was she seriously injured and unconscious?
Did he make some medical decisions? Did insisting on resuscitation cause her great pain? Or did giving up resuscitation cause her great distress?
So that's why she wanted to break up? That's why she said in the taxi that she cared, but he didn't, and they couldn't be together.
No, that's not how it is. He definitely cares about her, and she can't just dismiss him so hastily.
He couldn't imagine what choice he had made—even the most rational mind and the most mature doctor would feel heartbroken when making such a decision for their beloved.
The only thing he could guarantee was that whichever choice he made, he did it with love, and he wanted to do good for her.
In such extreme circumstances, wanting to keep her is love, not wanting to torment her, and letting go is also love.
He brought back two bowls of beef and tofu soup, but she was still very down. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but he felt powerless.
She was distracted and ate very little, only about half of her usual amount.
After dinner, she said slowly, "Ned, I've thought about it carefully. I'm fine. I don't need to go back for a checkup."
He'd been through so much in the past two days that he was getting used to her unpredictable behavior and could still stay calm: "Ada, don't avoid seeking medical help."
She insisted that she was fine, just a normal fever, a normal bad mood, and that the nightmare of the plane crash was so real it was almost terrifying.
She was still half asleep and her mind was foggy. His serious tone and medical terms startled her, and she really thought she was sick. But when she calmed down, she knew from the start that it was a nightmare.
"You're just trying to scare me with a misdiagnosis, understand? I haven't even asked for compensation for emotional distress yet!" She's like a cat with its tail wagging.
Liang Siyu shook his head: "Okay, let's not talk about the nightmare of the plane crash. What about the phantom pain in your left shoulder?"
Ironically, if he really got entangled with her about that plane crash nightmare, Xu Aida felt a little guilty, afraid that her lying skills weren't up to par—she wasn't the kind of person who could lie through her teeth, and she was very afraid that he would ask for specific details.
But for her left shoulder, she had ample imaging evidence: "I already said it was an old injury, how did you come up with phantom pain?"
She quickly opened her phone's photo album. "Look for yourself, this is the shoulder MRI I took this afternoon."
He took it and examined it; he could indeed see soft tissue damage, occasional tenderness that disappeared afterward, which made sense.
But just now, the expression on her face when she talked about "delusions and hallucinations" was really strange. There must be another reason why she suddenly wants to break up with him.
Even if it's not autoimmune encephalitis, other diseases cannot be ruled out, such as mental disorders or mood disorders.
She didn't give him a chance to ask any more questions, and stood up directly, saying in a relaxed tone, "Okay, I'm going back to my room."
He instinctively stopped her: "You can't be alone unless the examination rules out the possibility of a disease."
She turned cold: "If you keep being so paranoid, I'll start to suspect that you're the one with delusions."
Anyway, it's all about hurting each other, so who's afraid of who?
She stole his lines! Liang Siyu closed his eyes, feeling a lump in his throat.
What's most annoying is that he dares not say anything to her. She is ignorant and fearless, but he is full of worries. What if he says something too harsh and upsets her?
A note from the author:
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