Chapter 238
After the physics preliminaries, there was a day off to rest.
Rong Yu decided to accompany her old son to Li's Hospital to take a look. She was mainly worried that this old fellow was so desperate to prolong his life that he might get scammed.
Early in the morning, right after breakfast, Ji Zhiyuan arranged for a car and took the two elders there together.
Li's Hospital was the largest private hospital in Hong Kong. Founded over thirty years ago, it had quickly gained a firm foothold in the city and had been growing stronger day by day.
Walking into the hospital, they headed to the lounge to wait for reception. They happened to pass by a conference room, and a clear English conversation drifted out from the half-open door: "...I think this gene-editing target must be re-evaluated."
The woman's voice was crisp and decisive. Ji Zhiyuan subconsciously turned his head and saw the scene inside the conference room through the glass window.
Seven or eight blonde, blue-eyed foreign experts sat around a long table. An Asian woman stood in front of the projection screen, holding a laser pointer in one hand. A light apricot silk shirt peeked out from under her white lab coat. With a light tap of her finger, the slide switched to a set of chromosome maps.
"It's Dr. Wen," Old Master Ji said. "To think Dr. Wen is actually holding a medical seminar at Li's Hospital."
Ji Zhiyuan's eyes deepened. "She is very outstanding."
At such a young age, she had already reached the position of deputy director of pediatrics. She spoke with ease and remained calm and composed in front of so many medical experts. He really appreciated this kind of woman.
They always say women admire the strong.
The same goes for men.
"Excuse me, are you Old Master Ji?"
A young doctor walked over and asked, interrupting Ji Zhiyuan's focus.
Old Master Ji's voice was authoritative: "That is me."
"This way, please." The young doctor led the group into the elevator and went straight to the office on the eighteenth floor. "Director Li, Old Master Ji has arrived."
"Please have a seat, Old Master Ji." Director Li, who was in his sixties, stood up, poured a cup of tea, and set it down. "If Old Master Ji has thought it through and wants to proceed with this project, we can go ahead and arrange the physical examination."
Old Master Ji glanced at Rong Yu.
Whether or not to do this project still had to be decided by his mother. After all, a single injection cost a staggering thirty million dollars, and he didn't have that much money.
Rong Yu spoke up, "What are the exact ingredients of this Rejuvenation Injection? Is it convenient to disclose?"
"It seems Old Master Ji's granddaughter still has some doubts about our project." Director Li turned around and took out several stacks of reports from a drawer. "These are the three most recent elderly patients who received the injection. Their myocardial cells have become ten years younger on average. These numbers are enough to prove the efficacy of this Rejuvenation Injection."
Rong Yu flipped through the reports. Looking at all the data, she couldn't see any problems.
Director Li paused for a moment and continued, "Anyone in this industry knows that telomerase activators can delay aging and increase lifespan. But why is it that only our Li's Hospital has managed to develop it? It's because the Li family established this project twenty years ago. The annual research and development investment is as high as twenty trillion US dollars. Year after year of investment has finally brought about today's success. An asking price of thirty million dollars per injection is really not expensive."
"Moreover," he smiled, "for someone of Old Master Ji's wealth, thirty million dollars should be just a drop in the bucket. Using such a small amount of money to make your body ten years younger is a great deal, isn't it?"
Old Master Ji's heart raced wildly when he saw those numbers.
He was already seventy-eight years old and could clearly feel that his bodily functions were failing in all aspects. In the past, he figured that getting old was just getting old, and dying was just dying; he didn't care much.
But now.
His mother was so young, only eighteen years old.
And he was old and frail.
How could he accept being separated from his mother.
How could he bear to let his mother lose him.
Meeting her old son's longing gaze, Rong Yu's heart softened.
She closed the report. "Then let's do the physical examination first."
Director Li smiled and said, "To prevent any accidents during the injection process, we need at least one family member to accompany the patient for a blood test. I wonder which one of you it will be?"
Rong Yu's brow furrowed. "Accidents?"
"Don't be nervous, miss," Director Li said. "Even ordinary people having babies can encounter accidents. However, with modern medicine, the incidence rate of such medical mishaps has been reduced to a negligible level. The biggest risk when injecting the solution is an allergic reaction. But please rest assured, we have specific countermeasures in place..."
Only then did Rong Yu nod.
Ji Zhiyuan spoke up, "I will accompany him for the examination."
The group was taken to the examination room. It was just like a regular physical checkup, involving blood tests, X-rays, color ultrasounds, and so on.
Over an hour later, it was finally over.
However, some of the test results wouldn't be available until tomorrow, so the injection was scheduled for the next day.
Old Master Ji was full of anticipation. "Old Xu from the Hong Kong Bank was able to climb a mountain the day after his injection. Mom, just you wait. From now on, I will accompany you to climb mountains and row boats every week, traveling all over the beautiful mountains and rivers of our motherland."
Rong Yu patted his head. "Alright."
"Well..." Ji Zhiyuan coughed lightly. "I've had the bodyguards bring the car around. Great-grandmother and Old Master Ji can return to the hotel first. I still have some things to take care of."
Old Master Ji asked curiously, "What things..."
But Rong Yu covered his mouth. "Don't pry into young people's business."
Ji Zhiyuan sat near the entrance of the lounge for over half an hour before he saw Wen Yan, still in her white lab coat, getting ready to get off work.
He stood up and walked over. "Dr. Wen."
Wen Yan was pondering over work matters and was startled by his sudden call. "Mr. Ji, why are you here?"
"I accompanied my elders for a physical examination and happened to see Dr. Wen busy at work." Ji Zhiyuan glanced at his watch. "At this hour, Dr. Wen should be off work. Do you have time to grab a meal together?"
Before Wen Yan could refuse.
He continued, "Don't misunderstand, Dr. Wen. I wanted to ask for your help in picking out a gift for Duoduo here in Hong Kong. Treating you to a meal is my way of saying thank you."
At the mention of Duoduo, Wen Yan's smile became much gentler. "Alright, wait for me to change my clothes."
She took off her white lab coat and put on a black trench coat with flat shoes on her feet. Standing next to Ji Zhiyuan, the top of her head just reached his ear. Her height was considered quite rare among women.
At this moment, Ji Zhiyuan suddenly remembered Duoduo once saying that because she was the tallest in her class, she was always placed at the very back whenever they lined up. The little girl had felt incredibly wronged.
Last month, when he took Duoduo for a physical, the doctor also mentioned that Duoduo had good genes and would grow to be at least 1.7 meters tall in the future.
He was tall.
Duoduo's mother was also tall.
About the same height as this Dr. Wen.
Wen Yan turned to look at him. "Mr. Ji, what's wrong?"
Ji Zhiyuan pulled the car door open. "Get in, let's go eat first."
He chose an ordinary Chinese restaurant and simply ordered a few dishes, which made Wen Yan relax a lot.
After the meal, they went to buy a gift for Duoduo.
Ji Zhiyuan subconsciously started heading into those luxurious shopping malls.
Wen Yan reached out and stopped him. "Little girls don't like these things. They love shiny, fluffy things. Let's go to that street."
It was a pedestrian street, and the roadside was full of various creative handmade doll shops, attracting many young girls to browse and choose.
"What do you think of this one?" Wen Yan picked up a little toy rabbit. "It blends right in with the local Harbor City culture and is really unique. Don't you think Duoduo will love it?"
She had just turned around when a boy suddenly crashed hard into her.