"This one..."
The doctor was speechless for a moment.
Nikki forced a smile and said, "Dr. Brian, to tell you the truth, I'm divorced. Although I still have my parents, our relationship is just so-so. I also have a son, but he's too young. So I can accept whatever the outcome is. Just tell me the truth."
Dr. Brian hesitated helplessly, but finally could not resist Nikki's eager gaze. "Conservatively speaking, it won't take more than a year. But medicine is always developing. As long as you cooperate with the treatment, there is still hope."
Hope.
Nikki was stunned, and her heart sank into an abyss.
After a long while, she finally heard her own numb and hollow voice. "If I undergo chemotherapy and can have brain tumor removal surgery at the right time, then... how long can I live?"
"It's hard to say. It depends on the chemotherapy and the outcome of the surgery, and it also varies from person to person."
Dr. Brian said a lot more, but his words were only meant to comfort Nikki. He never gave an accurate number.
But Nikki knew her physical condition better than anyone else. She also understood medicine. Given her condition, even if she underwent chemotherapy and surgery, she was afraid that she would not live for more than three to five years.
So young, and her life was already on a countdown.
Nikki was so distressed that she did not even know what she was feeling. In the end, she only said to the doctor, "Let me think about it."
After several hours, she finished receiving several bottles of medication. During a brief, shock-like sleep, her condition improved somewhat.
As Nikki left the ward, she was still looking at her phone as she called a taxi to return to the research institute, but she accidentally bumped into someone.
"You... Nikki?"
Hearing the other person call out her name, Nikki looked up in surprise at the man in front of her.
The other person was wearing a white coat and holding a patient's medical record, so he was obviously a doctor in this department. He was tall, slender, and handsome, with exceptionally good-looking features. He gave off the impression of a deep and stylish man. Moreover, with his gentle face and fair skin, his smile was a sight to behold.
Nikki looked at the other person with confusion. "You know me?"
"In the medical circles of Washington, I think there's no one who doesn't know your name." Aster Martinez smiled brightly. His joking words were accompanied by a clear voice, his long eyelashes casting dappled shadows as he lowered his eyes.
Nikki was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, I'm so sorry. I bumped into you by accident."
"It's nothing." Aster Martinez raised an eyebrow slightly and extended his hand. "My name is Aster Martinez."
Nikki shook hands with him. As they walked side by side down the corridor, she saw a fountain pen sticking out of his white coat pocket, with the tiny letters "AM" engraved on the cap, gleaming faintly under the corridor lights.
"Your name," she began, "Aster, is it taken from the stars?"
Aster raised an eyebrow. "It seems that Nikki is not only good at scientific research, but also quite accomplished in literature."
"My older sister taught me things like this when I was little." Nikki looked down at the ground, the reflection on the tiles making her eyes sting. "She said that the stars in the south and the north, though seemingly pointing in opposite directions, actually belong to the same Milky Way."
Aster was still smiling. Seeing that she was not in good spirits, he accompanied her to the elevator.
"Excuse my intrusion, but what illness do you have?" he asked.
Nikki thought for a moment. Without telling the truth, she replied casually, "It's nothing. I just felt a little unwell and came to get checked out."
Aster nodded slightly. Seeing Nikki about to enter the elevator, he quickly took out his phone. "Um, could we exchange contact information?"
Nikki turned around hesitantly.
Aster also felt somewhat abrupt. His awkward gaze swept over her pale face before landing on the winding strip of light from the streetlights in the distance.
"Seven years ago," he began slowly, "I attended the International Neuroscience Symposium in Cambridge and heard Professor Paul give a lecture. He mentioned an unfinished project and a brilliant researcher who designed a triple-targeting mechanism during the animal testing phase."
Nikki's fingers suddenly clenched the hem of her clothes. Those long-buried memories suddenly surged up. In the Cambridge conference hall, fluorescent curves danced on the projection screen while applause rose and fell from the audience. At that time, she stood behind Paul, watching her model being discussed by scholars all over the world. She had thought her life would continue smoothly along this brilliant path.
"Later, news came that the project had stalled." Aster's voice lowered a few decibels. "People in the industry were speculating about the reasons. Some said you married into a wealthy family and became a full-time housewife; others said you went abroad to study. There were many rumors, but they all disappeared quickly. But no matter what, I never saw your name in any academic journals."
Nikki's frustration deepened. She quickly turned her face away, looking at the light from the LED strip, which was hazy, much like the seven years she had wasted.
"Let's add each other on WhatsApp then." She snapped out of her thoughts and readily took out her phone to display the QR code.
After scanning, Aster took a fruit candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and handed it over. "Want some candy? It's lemon-flavored, good for waking you up."
Nikki subconsciously wanted to say no, but she couldn't help but reach out her hand because of the other person's enthusiasm. The moment their fingertips touched, she hurriedly pulled away.
Aster smiled calmly and waved his phone at her. "Keep in touch when you have time."
Nikki didn't take the polite reply to heart and simply nodded casually. "Okay."
Watching her enter the elevator and seeing the doors close, Aster's smile faded. He turned and headed straight for the nurses' station. "Could you please retrieve Nikki's medical records?"
The nurse responded naturally, but after working on the computer for a while, she apologized. "Nikki is Dr. Brian's patient. Her medical records are confidential, so I can't access them. Deputy Director Martinez, why don't you ask Dr. Brian?"
Aster was slightly taken aback, but then he heard another nurse say, "Nikki? I have her previous medical orders here."
"Could you please let me see this?" Aster said, extending his hand to take the prescription from the nurse. His gaze immediately darkened.
Sorafenib, levetiracetam, mannitol...
This was a typical list of targeted drugs for treating cancer, and mannitol also relieved severe pain.
He was so shocked that he could hardly breathe. After a long while, he finally managed to say, "This was prescribed by Dr. Brian for her?"
Seeing the nurse nod, Aster frowned in surprise and murmured in confusion, "She's had brain surgery? No, I'm afraid she has something in her brain."
Where was Dr. Brian?
Before the nurses could say anything more, Aster had already disappeared towards the office. His unusually flustered state surprised the nurses.