Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a common childhood illness—nothing particularly tricky. So Qin Jiang simply prescribed the usual medication.
After giving his instructions, Qin Jiang pointed to the QR code on the table.
“Seven hundred and sixty yuan total. Scan the code to pay.”
Just as Huang Shao and his wife were about to pay, Meng Fan, who was standing nearby, spoke up: “Doctor, since we all came together, could we combine the bill? I’ll pay for everything after my consultation.”
Qin Jiang blinked in surprise, and the livestream chat erupted.
“Whoa—their friendship is that close? They’re even splitting medical bills together?”
“I’ve seen people show off their love lives, but this is the first time I’ve seen anyone show off their friendship like this.”
“This is insane. I can’t wrap my head around this kind of friendship—’let me cover your medical bills,’ hahaha.”
Huang Shao quickly chimed in, “Old Meng, don’t joke around. This is my medical bill—how can you pay for it?”
Meng Fan smiled and said, “Didn’t you cover my hospital bills last time? I tried to pay you back privately, but you wouldn’t take it. This time, it’s my turn.”
The two men went back and forth, while their wives stood by beaming, clearly pleased with the scene.
Qin Jiang felt there was something off about the four of them, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Seeing the two men being overly polite over a few hundred yuan, Qin Jiang said, “Alright, it’s just a few hundred bucks. Just combine the payment later.”
He then gestured for Meng Fan to sit down.
“So, what’s going on with you?”
Meng Fan sat down and said, “Dr. Qin, I’ve had a sore throat lately, no appetite, and I keep feeling drowsy at work.”
Hearing that, Qin Jiang motioned for him to place his wrist on the table and took his pulse.
It didn’t take long for Qin Jiang to get a clear picture of Meng Fan’s condition.
Qin Jiang spoke: “Your digestive system isn’t in great shape. You mentioned a decreased appetite recently?”
Meng Fan nodded repeatedly.
“Yeah. I used to eat several bowls of rice a day, but now I don’t feel like eating anything. I just have some fruit and drink water to get by.”
He then asked with a serious expression, “Dr. Qin, I’ve heard that when a person loses their appetite, it means they’re sick—or even close to death. Is that true?”
Qin Jiang glanced at him and said, “There’s some truth to that, but it’s not entirely accurate.”
The human body is made up of multiple complex systems. The digestive system exists to provide nutrients and energy by processing various foods.
So when the digestive system malfunctions, the underlying problem is often even more serious.
That’s why, when elderly people fall ill, if their appetite remains good, the condition usually isn’t too severe—because they can still absorb nutrients on their own.
But if an elderly person loses their appetite and refuses to eat, then from the perspective of energy expenditure and nutritional intake, their condition becomes dangerous.
Understanding this logic, Meng Fan was convinced he had some serious illness.
But Qin Jiang’s next words left him completely stunned.
“You have hand, foot, and mouth disease too—caused by low immunity. You probably caught it within the last couple of days, right?”
Hearing that Meng Fan also had hand, foot, and mouth disease, Gao Man looked confused.
“I thought hand, foot, and mouth disease was a children’s illness. Can adults get it too?”
“And my husband doesn’t have any blisters or rashes either.”
Qin Jiang said calmly, “As I mentioned earlier, while hand, foot, and mouth disease primarily affects children, adults with weakened immune systems can also be infected.”
“Besides, your husband’s overall health is already compromised. Not only does he have a weak digestive system, but he also has kidney deficiency, often experiences chest tightness and shortness of breath, and frequently feels fatigued in his limbs—right?”
“These are all signs of low immunity. And in adults, hand, foot, and mouth disease often doesn’t present with blisters. Instead, symptoms include fatigue, low-grade fever, and loss of appetite—which fits your husband’s case perfectly.”
After hearing Qin Jiang’s explanation, Gao Man grew even more puzzled.
“But that doesn’t make sense. Dr. Qin, you just said hand, foot, and mouth disease is contagious, didn’t you?”
“My husband stays home every day trading stocks—he hardly ever goes out. Where could he have caught it?”
As soon as Gao Man said that, Meng Fan looked visibly guilty.
Ding Fang, who was holding her baby, also turned away slightly, gently patting the child, avoiding Gao Man’s gaze.
Gao Man immediately noticed something off about both of them.
She furrowed her brow and asked, “Meng Fan, don’t tell me you’ve been sneaking out while I’m not home?”
Meng Fan said awkwardly, “Come on, what are you saying? Sometimes when I get tired from trading, can’t I just go out for a walk?”
“Hand me your phone. Let me see it.”
Meng Fan hesitated.
“We’re at the doctor’s right now. Why do you suddenly want to see my phone? Let’s talk about this at home. Don’t make a scene here—be reasonable.”
The more reluctant Meng Fan was, the more suspicious Gao Man became.
She said firmly, “Give me your phone right now. Now.”
Clearly, Gao Man held a lot of authority at home. With her stern expression, Meng Fan—despite his reluctance—had no choice but to obediently hand over his phone.
Once Gao Man had the phone, she started scrolling through his chat history.
The livestream viewers were already sweating bullets.
“This hits too close to home. So terrifying. My wife did the exact same thing to me before.”
“I was envious of this guy earlier, but now? Not one bit.”
“Yeah, exactly. After I got married, I made it clear to my wife: she can do whatever she wants, but she cannot check my phone. It’s not that I’ve done anything wrong—it’s just that some chats with my buddies are not for her eyes.”
“The person above me? Sounds like you’re hiding something. If you haven’t done anything wrong, why are you afraid to let her see?”
“Let me ask this instead: how many women are willing to hand over their phones for their husbands to browse freely? Would you want your husband reading your ‘girls’ group chats’?”
Sometimes, women’s conversations can be even more explosive than men’s.
So even between spouses, it’s best to respect each other’s privacy.
Gao Man thoroughly scrolled through Meng Fan’s chat history and found nothing suspicious.
Meng Fan let out a sigh of relief and said, “See? Nothing wrong, right?”
“I told you—I just go out for a walk occasionally. Maybe I caught it then?”
Qin Jiang interjected, “If it was just a walk in an open outdoor environment, it’s highly unlikely you’d catch hand, foot, and mouth disease that way.”
And with that, Qin Jiang’s words reignited Gao Man’s suspicion.
