Top-tier doctoral supervisor, reborn as a first-year graduate student in standardized residency trai

Zhao Guofeng's eyes remained largely unchanged. He didn't trust Gu Lin much anymore, and he was more inclined to believe that everything before was just a coincidence.

Zhao Guofeng looked at him and spoke.

"Come in."

Gu Lin nodded, pulled out a chair and sat at the back without saying a word.

The meeting continued, and the head of the rheumatology and immunology department then analyzed the medical records.

"The child suffered from recurrent high fever, photosensitive rashes, oral ulcers, and neurological symptoms."

"From a rheumatic perspective, systemic diseases do need to be considered."

The head of the neurology department chimed in.

"But the cranial MRI showed no specific findings, and the cerebrospinal fluid did not support it."

His brows furrowed even deeper.

"Something just feels off."

Gu Lin listened quietly, a thick stack of medical records in front of him. He flipped through them page by page, not quickly, but very attentively.

No one in the conference room paid attention to him; everyone's attention was focused on the several senior directors.

Suddenly, Gu Lin stopped turning the page. He saw a photo, a record of a rash taken during his hospitalization.

The photo is a bit blurry, and it was taken about two weeks ago.

He zoomed in on the photo and examined it closely.

The distribution of erythema on the bridge of the nose, both cheeks, and sides is symmetrical, with a slightly unusual shape.

This is not a normal rash at all.

A word flashed through his mind—

Butterfly-shaped erythema.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the conference room, the discussion had reached a stalemate.

The directors each held their own opinions, but none of them could completely convince the others.

Zhao Guofeng rubbed his temples, looking extremely tired.

For a whole month, the entire pediatrics department explored almost every possible avenue, but the patient's condition continued to worsen.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the corner.

"Director Zhao."

The sound wasn't loud, but it made everyone instinctively look over.

Gu Lin stood up, and everyone else stopped discussing. Zhao Guofeng looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

Gu Lin didn't state the conclusion directly, but instead asked first:

"Director, may I see the child?"

The directors exchanged glances, clearly somewhat surprised.

They originally thought Gu Lin would give his opinion directly, but his first words were actually this.

Gu Lin remained calm, because his countless experiences in his previous life had taught him this.

Medical records can lie, tests can be missed, but patients don't.

The real answer often lies within the patient.

Zhao Guofeng stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly nodded.

"Okay, I'll take you there."

The ward door was gently pushed open, and a faint smell of disinfectant filled the air.

The little girl in the hospital bed was even thinner than she looked in the photo. The oversized hospital gown was loose on her body, and her exposed wrists were so thin that they looked as if they would break at the slightest touch.

The girl's mother immediately stood up beside the hospital bed.

She's gotten used to having doctors come for consultations all the time.

"I'd like to check on the child. Is now a convenient time?"

Hearing Gu Lin speak, she looked up and then her expression clearly froze for a moment.

Compared to others, Gu Lin was far too young, more like an intern than a doctor.

The expectation in her eyes faded slightly, but she still nodded politely.

"sure."

Gu Lin responded softly, without looking at the medical records first. Instead, he walked to the bedside, squatted down, and made sure his line of sight was level with the child's.

The little girl was lost in thought, clutching a faded, washed-out rabbit doll.

Upon seeing Gu Lin, she blinked and spoke very softly.

"Doctor brother."

The ward was quiet, and Gu Lin couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What's your name?"

"Candy."

How old are you?

"Seven years old."

What grade are you in?

Second grade.

Tangtang answered very seriously, but as she spoke, her breathing became noticeably rapid, as if she were easily fatigued.

Gu Lin's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't interrupt and continued chatting.

Do you like going to school?

"like."

What subjects do you like?

Art class.

At this point, Tangtang's eyes finally lit up.

"I want to be a painter when I grow up."

At the bedside, the mother suddenly lowered her head, her eyes instantly reddening. She dared not speak, afraid that she would burst into tears if she opened her mouth.

Gu Lin was silent for two seconds, then asked softly:

"Have you been experiencing any aches or pains lately?"

Tangtang thought for a moment and nodded.

"pain."

"Where does it hurt?"

"My legs hurt, my arms hurt, and sometimes my head hurts too."

Gu Lin continued to ask:

"And when you're sunbathing?"

Tangtang was stunned for a moment.

"It itches, and my face turns red."

The head of the rheumatology and immunology department next to him suddenly looked up and made eye contact with Zhao Guofeng.

They had already heard this answer from the family once, but they didn't expect Gu Lin to think of this as well.

Gu Lin didn't stop and continued asking.

Do you often get mouth ulcers?

Tangtang nodded.

"Yes, it hurts a lot, even eating hurts."

Gu Lin's gaze shifted slightly downwards.

"Can you open your mouth so I can see it?"

Tangtang cooperated and slowly opened her mouth.

When Gu Lin saw the condition inside the mouth, his expression changed.

On the left buccal mucosa, there is an ulcer that is almost healed, and another one has grown next to it.

It's not big, but it's typical.

Gu Lin didn't speak, but continued to observe, then gently pulled open the child's sleeve.

There are several faded red patches on my arm.

It's almost impossible to notice unless you look closely.

The ward was eerily quiet. Everyone was watching him, but Gu Lin seemed completely oblivious and continued his examination.

Then, in the next second, his movements suddenly stopped.

Tangtang's fingertips had several tiny bleeding points. The bleeding points were so slight that they didn't even look like pathological changes, but rather like marks left by ordinary bumps and knocks.

Gu Lin stared at it for a long time.

He had seen it in his previous life.

That was in a case report from abroad, about an extremely rare childhood autoimmune disease.

The onset is insidious, the symptoms are complex, and the misdiagnosis rate is extremely high.

Many children are not diagnosed until they develop severe neurological damage.

One of the earliest signs is recurrent oral ulcers, photosensitive rashes, and tiny vascular damage that is easily overlooked.

Gu Lin slowly stood up, his heart beginning to race.

But at the same time, his brows furrowed even more, because there was another crucial symptom of the disease that he needed to confirm before he could be certain.

Just then, Tangtang, lying on the hospital bed, gently tugged at her mother's clothes.

"Mother."

"Um?"

"I need to use the restroom."

The woman immediately helped her up. Just as Tangtang got out of bed, she suddenly staggered, her body tilting sharply to one side, and she almost fell.

The girl's mother anxiously reached out to support her, her whole body trembling, clearly terrified.

Gu Lin's pupils suddenly contracted because of that brief second.

He noticed a very small detail that was easily overlooked.

Tangtang isn't simply weak, but rather—

The left leg was noticeably slower than the right leg.

It seems like there's a problem with nerve conduction.

Gu Lin closed his eyes, and countless scattered clues began to be pieced together frantically in his mind.

Oral ulcers, photosensitive rashes, joint pain, fever, nervous system involvement, and microvascular damage.

Now, focal neurological dysfunction has also emerged.

At that moment, he finally vaguely grasped what was behind that fog.

But at the same time, an even bigger question arises.

If it really is that disease, then there should be another extremely important symptom in the medical record. Why has no one mentioned it from beginning to end?

Or is it that everyone has overlooked it?

Gu Lin slowly turned his head to look at his mother standing beside him, and suddenly asked a question that no one had expected.

"Has your child ever had recurrent genital ulcers before?"