The sickly one in F4 was the group's darling.

The room fell eerily quiet.

Bai Yanzhi looked up at everyone present and said, "You are all top experts in your respective fields. I would like to hear your individual judgments."

Professor Sun Weide, standing on the left, stepped forward, his tone revealing a rare sense of helplessness and candor among veteran experts: "President Bai, each of us has dedicated many years to our field and is highly experienced. But regarding your brother's case, while everyone has noticed something unusual, no one has been able to pinpoint the exact problem."

"All his data are stuck on the blurry boundary between normal and pathological, like a thin mist. You can see the outline of the abnormality, but you can't grasp the real lesion."

Several experts nearby nodded in agreement.

"We repeatedly tested and simulated stress conditions. Whenever his emotions fluctuated or he was physically exhausted, his myocardial damage indicators would spike instantly, and his cardiac load would suddenly increase dramatically."

Dr. Qin pushed the summary and comparison report in front of Bai Yanzhi: "This is the conclusion after our entire team checked it: the data from the stable period and the clinical symptoms during the onset period do not match at all, and there is an inexplicable gap."

Bai Yanzhi lowered his eyes to look at the paper. The huge gap between the two columns of data was glaring and unsolvable.

He braced himself against the edge of the table with one hand, his fingertips lightly pressing on the report paper, remaining silent for a long time.

He didn't get angry or be harsh. He knew that even these top experts in the field were helpless, so getting angry would be pointless.

"If we can't find the cause, can we control the symptoms and suppress the risk of developing the disease first?" He finally spoke, his voice low and hoarse.

Dr. Qin answered truthfully: "We can try basic symptomatic treatment, such as nutritional support, physical management, and avoiding triggers like temperature differences, emotional fluctuations, and overwork. However, this is only a conservative approach to maintain stability, not a long-term solution."

"Without a clear cause, all treatments are just tentative, addressing the symptoms but not the root cause."

At this moment, Professor Chu suddenly spoke up, his tone cautious: "President Bai, conventional medical methods have reached their limit. It's not that the Bai family lacks resources, but that your brother's illness may not fall within the framework of modern conventional medicine. We need to find a place that may have handled similar cases. I have an unconventional suggestion—find the Ji family."

Professor Chu and Dr. Qin exchanged a glance before carefully speaking: "The most complete database of rare and difficult diseases in the world is not in any hospital or research institute, but in the Ji family. Some of the medical records accumulated by their family are never made public. There's a saying in the field: if other hospitals can't diagnose a disease, go to the Ji family; if the Ji family can't diagnose a disease, you can only accept your fate."

Sun Weide added at the opportune moment: "The Ji family possesses a diagnostic lineage independent of the mainstream system, rumored to be inherited from an extinct ancient medical school. Many seemingly unrelated and scattered symptoms can be linked together into a complete etiological path in their system."

He Man, the head of the neurology department who had remained silent until now, also spoke up to corroborate: "In his early years, the old master of the Ji family treated several patients with difficult and complicated diseases who had been rejected by many top hospitals, and he cured them all. Later, when someone asked him how he did it, he said, 'We don't treat the same kind of disease.' This statement is still a secret in the medical field."

Old Master Lu nodded: "Ji Huaizhou, the current eldest grandson of the Ji family, is said to have been leading the family's core laboratory project in recent years and is the core inheritor of the Ji family's contemporary medical skills."

The name Ji Huaizhou made Bai Yanzhi's gaze narrow slightly.

The last time he saw Ji Huaizhou was at the Ji family banquet at the beginning of the year. The guests were toasting and drinking, but Ji Huaizhou stood alone on the edge of the terrace, seemingly oblivious to the commotion behind him. When someone came up to talk to him, he only replied with two or three very short words, and the person awkwardly retreated.

Bai Yanzhi had rarely seen anyone so young yet so cold-hearted.

He knew Ji Huaizhou was the leader of St. Andrew's F4, and he also knew how long Bai Ci had been treated like a ghost in that group. Bai Yanzhi knew perfectly well whether Ji Huaizhou had ever even given Bai Ci a second glance during the long time Bai Ci had lived in that villa.

But the Ji family's medical expertise is undeniable. If they were to approach the Ji family, Ji Huaizhou would most likely be the one to take over Bai Ci's case. Bai Yanzhi had no doubts about the Ji family's professional capabilities; his concern was whether the sensitive and timid Bai Ci would feel uneasy or uncomfortable having that usually aloof and distant person handle Bai Ci's illness.

"I will personally handle matters with the Ji family."

Bai Yanzhi handed the report back to Dr. Qin: "Ji Huaizhou and Bai Ci are from the same school, so you don't need to worry about this."

He changed the subject and spoke again: "Now there's one more problem."

"Bai Ci used to be extremely averse to medical treatment, withdrawn and taciturn, and never took the initiative to get close to people. But in the past few days, her personality has changed drastically; she's become gentle, sensible, and willing to rely on her family. Is this a genuine improvement?"

Dr. Qin instantly understood his concern, and her expression suddenly became serious: "Mr. Bai, are you worried about the young master's mental state?"

Professor Zhou, a psychology professor standing nearby, spoke first, speaking professionally and cautiously: "Mr. Bai, judging from clinical cases, when a person who has been self-isolated for a long time suddenly becomes cheerful, docile, and proactive in accommodating others, it is not necessarily because their inner knots have been untied."

"This is very likely a typical psychological defense mechanism being activated. The subconscious mind has been under long-term pressure and overload, automatically switching to a 'safe and docile' mode, which manifests as being cheerful, cooperative, and even deliberately pleasing those around them in order to gain attention and avoid harm. This mode is often more dangerous. It may seem like an improvement, but in reality, it is continuously depleting one's deep mental reserves and harboring hidden dangers."

"Judging from the current situation, his trust in his family is being built, which is a very good protective factor. Let's not interfere with him at this time," Professor Zhou said gently, offering a prudent solution. "The young master's emotional state is stable right now, so it's not appropriate to mention the word 'psychological problem' in front of him. Don't let him feel like he's 'sick.' We suggest continued observation; if he exhibits other personality abnormalities, then we can consider intervention."

Bai Yanzhi was silent for a moment, then nodded: "The psychological assessment will not be arranged for now; we will focus on observation first. Report to me immediately if there are any changes."

"Yes," Dr. Qin replied.

Bai Yanzhi raised his eyes and glanced around at the experts present.

"Everyone involved in today's events will be handled according to the confidentiality agreement of the Bai family's medical team. Dr. Qin and Uncle Chen will coordinate the specific follow-up arrangements. Report any progress directly to me, day or night."

"You can finish the rest," he said, looking at Dr. Qin.

"clear."

Bai Yanzhi walked out of the conference room. He didn't go back to the ward immediately, but stood by the window for a while.

Outside the window, the autumn colors of Qinglu Mountain were even more intense than in the morning. The wind blew in from the other side of the mountain, carrying the slightly astringent scent of dried grass and trees.

He was thinking about Bai Ci's transformation, about his bright eyes looking straight at him and saying, "Big brother is so good," about how he curled up in the blanket like a spring roll, and about the force with which he threw the pillow at Bai Jiheng, crisp and sharp, like a rubber band that had been stretched for too long finally loosening.

He closed his eyes briefly.

He would be happy if it were a genuine improvement. But what if it was the kind of "self-protection" Professor Zhou mentioned?

Bai Yanzhi stood by the window for a long time, then he raised his hand to straighten his cuffs and walked towards the elevator.