In front of Yan Keqing, Qin Jiang asked, “Ou Jiaojiao, besides the headache, have you noticed any problems with your memory lately?”
Ou Jiaojiao thought for a moment, then nodded.
“A little bit, actually. I feel like there’s a lot of stuff I can’t remember.”
“Do you remember your parents’ phone numbers?”
“Yes, I’ve been able to recite them since I was little.”
“Then recite one for me.”
Ou Jiaojiao opened her mouth, but suddenly it was as if her mind went blank — she couldn’t remember the actual numbers at all.
Yan Keqing frowned from the side.
“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been memorizing that number since you were a child and now you can’t remember it?”
“Think harder right now. If you can’t recite it, no dinner tonight.”
Ou Jiaojiao was getting anxious too. The number was right on the tip of her tongue, but for some reason, she just couldn’t recall it.
Qin Jiang frowned and said, “Ms. Yan, you often don’t let your child eat?”
Ou Zhenhua quickly tried to explain.
“It’s not often — just occasionally.”
“I read online that kids their age get all sorts of illnesses because they eat too well and have too much nutrition.”
“So skipping a meal every now and then shouldn’t be a problem.”
Hearing Ou Zhenhua say this, the viewers in the livestream all started complaining.
“Are these really her biological parents? That’s way too harsh!”
“They won’t let her sleep, and now they won’t even let her eat enough? I can’t believe this kind of thing still happens in this day and age.”
“Just looking at this guy, you can tell he has no backbone. Whatever his wife says, he just does. Total pushover. Poor kid.”
Everyone was speaking up for Ou Jiaojiao.
But Yan Keqing didn’t think this was a big deal at all.
When she realized that Ou Jiaojiao still couldn’t recite the phone number no matter what, she said to Qin Jiang, “It’s just a phone number. If she can’t remember it, then forget it. It’s not a big deal.”
Seeing that Yan Keqing still hadn’t realized how serious the situation was, Qin Jiang explained, “Phone numbers — pure numbers like that — aren’t easy to memorize.”
“Most people use associations to help themselves remember phone numbers.”
“That is, they take a small string of numbers and use homophones or create a story to add logic, making a completely random set of digits more memorable.”
“Generally speaking, once a person has memorized a phone number and goes over it in their head every day, they can remember it almost permanently. Ou Jiaojiao just said she’s been able to recite your phone numbers since she was little, right?”
“So why can’t she recite it now? It’s because her cognitive function has already been compromised. She can’t form a complete logical chain in her mind anymore — she can only produce fragments. This is a very serious condition.”
Qin Jiang’s words left both parents stunned.
They never imagined that simply not being able to remember a phone number could be so serious.
But the truth is, all serious illnesses start with simple things.
Like not being able to hold chopsticks steadily, not being able to drink water, not being able to remember names, not being able to sleep.
These are all small, simple things.
But when you can’t do them anymore, that means something has gone seriously wrong with your body.
Ou Zhenhua finally realized the severity of the situation. He asked in a low voice, “Doctor, are you saying my daughter doesn’t just have a simple migraine? That she might have some kind of illness?”
“Exactly. The specific illness will require further testing. The migraine might just be one clinical symptom of a larger condition. Just prescribing painkillers won’t do anything to treat it.”
After saying this, Qin Jiang called Zou Moli over and signaled for her to take Ou Jiaojiao for a comprehensive examination.
After Ou Jiaojiao went into the pharmacy, Qin Jiang continued asking, “I need to understand Ou Jiaojiao’s daily routine so I can make a better assessment.”
“Ou Jiaojiao said earlier that her headache started after she did three sets of practice problems at night. Can you explain that? Is the homework pressure really that heavy these days? Does she have to do three sets of problems every night when she gets home?”
Qin Jiang had been a student himself, so he understood exactly what three sets of problems meant.
One set of math problems — for an average student — takes a solid ninety minutes.
Three sets would be at least two hundred and seventy minutes. That’s four and a half hours!
Ou Jiaojiao didn’t get home from evening self-study until after nine o’clock. That meant even if she started doing problems the moment she got home without eating or drinking, she wouldn’t get to sleep until nearly one in the morning.
Ou Zhenhua quickly explained, “It’s not three sets every day. That day she made a small mistake, so her mother gave her two extra sets of test papers.”
“Our approach to parenting is a bit different. Other families use the rod — they hit their kids directly.”
“But in our family, we never hit our child. We use extra problems as punishment. We think that’s better for her.”
Hearing this, the viewers in the livestream all felt a chill run down their spines.
“Why do I feel like doing test papers is even more terrifying than getting beaten?”
“One hurts your body, the other hurts your brain. If I had to choose, I’d rather take the physical pain.”
“That’s actually true. After all, if you get beaten and have actual injuries, those are easy to treat. But if you bury your head in test papers every day and end up with some kind of internal damage, nobody even knows what’s happening.”
“These parents are terrifying. I can’t imagine what kind of family atmosphere Ou Jiaojiao lives in every day.”
Soon, Ou Jiaojiao’s test results came out.
Qin Jiang looked at the various test data, and his expression gradually darkened.
Seeing that something was off with Qin Jiang’s face, Ou Zhenhua quickly leaned in and asked, “How is it, Dr. Qin? My daughter should be fine, right?”
Qin Jiang looked at Ou Jiaojiao and asked, “You went to school the day before yesterday, right? What did your math teacher teach? Tell me.”
Ou Jiaojiao opened her mouth. Just like when she tried to recite the phone number earlier, the words were on the tip of her tongue but immediately slipped away.
Ou Zhenhua was watching anxiously from the side.
“What’s wrong with you? Usually you talk just fine, all smooth and fluent. Why are you stumbling today?”
“Come on, tell Dr. Qin what your teacher taught you.”
Qin Jiang added, “It doesn’t have to be math. English, Chinese, biology — anything. Just tell me what any of your teachers taught you.”
Ou Jiaojiao racked her brain, thinking harder and harder. The more she tried, the more anxious she became. In the end, she burst into tears.
“I can’t remember! I… I don’t know what the teachers taught me. I can’t remember anything at all right now!”
Hearing Ou Jiaojiao say this, both parents were completely stunned.
