HPDBC Chapter 10 The Face of a Celebrity, the Substance of a Doctor
Chapter 10 The Face of a Celebrity, the Substance of a Doctor
Lin Wan'er sat on the slightly chipped wooden chair, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.
That expensive Chanel jacket seemed somewhat out of place at that moment.
She wore large sunglasses and a mask, covering herself up completely, but the anxiety that emanated from her very bones could not be hidden.
The noisy atmosphere in the pharmacy had subsided.
Mr. Liu was enthusiastically introducing various ways to eat eggs to the woman in the red vest, occasionally glancing over here with curiosity in his eyes.
The older woman also craned her neck, looking like a gossip who wanted to see but dared not.
"Take off your mask." Wang Minyu's voice was flat, revealing no emotion.
He didn't look at Lin Wan'er, but instead lowered his head to add some hot water to his stainless steel tea mug, where a few dried lotus leaves floated in the water.
Lin Wan'er hesitated.
Who is she? She is Lin Wan'er! She is a popular young actress with 50 million followers on Weibo, whose selfies can easily trend on social media.
Her face is her livelihood, an "asset" insured at an exorbitant price.
This face underwent minor cosmetic surgery in South Korea a month ago to make it look more perfect on camera.
As a result, not long after returning to China, she realized that something was wrong.
The muscles on my right cheek started to malfunction, and when I smiled, my mouth was always a beat behind, like a signal delay.
This is a devastating blow to an actor.
She secretly consulted the best experts in the country. Western medicine diagnosed her with nerve damage, saying that she could only recover slowly with nutritional injections and physical therapy. It would take three to five months at the fastest, one to two years at the slowest, and she might never recover.
The traditional Chinese medicine doctor said she had been infected by wind and prescribed several large packets of bitter and astringent medicine. After drinking it for half a month, her face did not improve, and she became weak.
With her set to join a big-budget fantasy drama next month, if her face still looks like this by then, the breach of contract penalty could bankrupt her.
Just when she was in despair, her agent sent her a live stream link.
She watched as the young doctor named Wang Minyu, in front of the camera, accurately revealed all the hidden ailments of the unscrupulous reporter. His composure and certainty ignited a glimmer of hope in her.
"Dr. Wang," Lin Wan'er's voice was low and pleading, "My...my situation is a bit special, could we...talk in the inner room?"
She pointed to the small cubicle where Wang Minyu had come out.
"No." Wang Minyu refused decisively, without even looking up. "That's my bedroom. Besides, here, unless there are special circumstances, there are only patients. If you don't take it off, it means you're not ready to be a patient."
That was very impolite, even rude.
Lin Wan'er's assistant, a young girl who followed behind her, barely daring to breathe, turned pale.
She had never seen anyone dare to speak to Lin Wan'er like that before.
Lin Wan'er's temper flared up as well. Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years and used to being pampered, she had never experienced such treatment before.
"Do you know who I am?" she couldn't help but raise her voice.
Wang Minyu finally raised his head, his gaze falling on her face hidden by a mask and sunglasses. He said calmly, "I know, Lin Wan'er. Twenty-six years old, eight years in the industry, fifteen TV dramas, and three movies. Fans call you 'Princess Wan'er.' Last month you just won a rather insignificant 'Breakthrough Actress of the Year' award. Right?"
Lin Wan'er was completely stunned. How did he know so much?
"What your fans don't know," Wang Minyu continued, "is that in order to maintain your figure, you've been eating only boiled vegetables for years, which has led to a weak spleen and stomach. To look good on camera, a month ago you had a facial thread lift and canthoplasty at 'Beautiful You' plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The surgeon's name is Kim Jae-min, and he told you the recovery period would only be two weeks."
With each word Wang Minyu spoke, Lin Wan'er's face paled a little more.
These details are something that no one but her and her closest agent could possibly know!
She felt completely transparent in front of this young man, as if all her secrets had been laid bare.
That fear was far greater than facial paralysis.
"You...how could you...?"
"I'm a doctor," Wang Minyu interrupted her. "To heal and save lives, you must first understand the root cause of the illness. Your root cause isn't your face, it's your heart. You care too much about this face, to the point that you're willing to harm it. Now it's backfiring, and you're scared."
The shop owner, Mr. Liu, and the woman in the red vest standing next to them were completely dumbfounded.
Although they didn't know who Lin Wan'er was, they could piece together a rough outline from those few sentences of conversation—she was a big star who had come to see Dr. Wang for a face check!
Mr. Liu was so excited that his hands were shaking. If word got out, his pharmacy would be packed with customers.
Lin Wan'er took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind. She slowly raised her hand, took off her sunglasses, and then her mask.
A face that could be described as perfect was exposed to the air.
She has delicate features and fair skin. However, upon closer inspection, one can notice that her right cheek appears somewhat stiff, and the placement of her cheekbone looks unnatural.
When she tried to make a smiling expression, the left corner of her mouth turned up, but the right corner remained motionless, creating a strange and heartbreaking scene.
"Is it okay now?" she asked, her eyes already red.
"Okay." Wang Minyu stood up, walked in front of her, and stretched out two fingers to gently press several acupoints on her face.
From Yingxiang acupoint, to Dicang acupoint, and then to Jiache acupoint.
"Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt, it's just... numb."
"Your meridians are blocked, and your qi and blood are not flowing smoothly." Wang Minyu withdrew his hand, his tone still calm. "Your condition is due to damage to the nerve endings in your face during the cosmetic surgery. In addition, your spleen and stomach are weak and cold, so your qi and blood are not being generated properly and cannot nourish the meridians in your face. Therefore, your recovery is extremely slow, and you have even shown signs of nerve paralysis."
This explanation was clearer and more thorough than any of the previous experts'. For the first time, Lin Wan'er felt she had found the right person.
"Is there... any hope?" she asked cautiously, her voice trembling.
"Yes." Wang Minyu's answer was only one word, yet it sounded like heavenly music.
"Really?!" Lin Wan'er was so excited she almost stood up.
"Don't get too excited," Wang Minyu said, pouring cold water on the idea. "There is a method, but the process... you might not be able to accept it."
"I can accept it! I'll do anything as long as I can be cured!" Lin Wan'er promised eagerly.
"Okay." After returning to the counter, Wang Minyu picked up a pen and paper and began to write quickly.
Lin Wan'er leaned closer to take a look, full of anticipation. She thought it might be some rare medicinal herb or a lost secret recipe.
As a result, only two lines of text were written on the paper:
First, go to the market next door and buy a piece of raw pork cheek meat, with the skin on.
Second, every morning at five o'clock, get up, no makeup allowed, take this piece of pig face meat, go to the People's Park across the street, find the aunties who dance in the square, and slap your own face with the pig face while dancing with them for an hour.
"..."
Lin Wan'er stared at the words on the paper, stunned for a good ten seconds. She wondered if she was hallucinating from insomnia for too long.
"What...what does this mean?" she asked, pointing at the paper, her voice trembling.
"Literal meaning." Wang Minyu leaned back in his chair, picked up his teacup, and said, "Your problem lies in poor blood circulation and nerve paralysis. Slapping yourself with a pig's face is called 'using form to nourish form, using movement to cure paralysis.' The fat and collagen under the skin of a pig's face are considered 'vital substances' in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Through physical slapping, it can stimulate the capillaries and nerve endings under your skin, which is called 'invigorating blood.' Dancing with the aunties in the square, especially the kind with a strong rhythm, can mobilize the flow of blood and qi throughout your body, making you active from the inside out, which is called 'rising yang.' Most importantly," Wang Minyu paused, looking at her, "this process can cure your 'idol baggage.' When you feel that slapping yourself with a pig's face in public isn't a big deal, your face will be close to being healed."
"You...you're humiliating me!" Lin Wan'er trembled with anger. "I'm a public figure! You want me to do this kind of thing in the park? If this gets photographed, my life is over!"
"So you're not done with it now?" Wang Minyu retorted. "Is it worse to be rejected by the production team with a face like a freak and ridiculed by the whole internet, or to lose that ridiculous face and get your face fixed? The choice is yours."
After saying that, he ignored Lin Wan'er and turned to the woman in the red vest, saying, "Auntie, it's your turn. With your high blood pressure, are you usually a worrier, taking care of everything at home?"
Lin Wan'er stood frozen, her mind a jumbled mess. Wang Minyu's words were like a knife, piercing precisely into her most vulnerable spot. Humiliation? Anger? Or... a flicker of doubt, as if her words had been spoken?
Her assistant, sweating profusely, whispered, "Sister Wan'er, this...this is too outrageous. Let's go and think of another way."
Leave? What other option is there?
Lin Wan'er looked at Wang Minyu's nonchalant expression, then at the bizarre "prescription" on the paper, and gritted her teeth.
She took a bank card out of her bag and slapped it on the counter.
"If I follow these instructions, how long will it take to see results?"
Wang Minyu glanced at the black card without even lifting his eyelids: "It will be effective in three days, 70% recovery in a week, and you'll be smiling more brightly than flowers in half a month."
"Okay!" Lin Wan'er picked up the paper as if it were a pledge, "I'll trust you this time! If it doesn't work, I'll not only expose you, I'll sue you until you're bankrupt!"
She put on a mask and sunglasses, turned and left, her steps carrying a resolute air of desperation.
The assistant quickly followed, and before leaving, glanced back at Wang Minyu with the look in his eyes, as if he were looking at a madman.
After they left, Boss Liu came over, picked up the bank card, and said with trembling hands, "Xiao Wang, what... what kind of card is this? I've never seen it before."
"Centurion Black Card, no PIN, unlimited spending," Wang Minyu explained casually, then took the card from Boss Liu and stuffed it into his pocket.
Mr. Liu gasped, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.
Unlimited?
Looking at Wang Minyu, he felt as if he wasn't talking to a doctor, but making a deal with a devil.
"Then... then slapping someone's face with a pig's face can really cure diseases?" Boss Liu's voice was weak.
"cannot."
"what?"
"But if you can shift her focus from 'being afraid of losing face' to 'actually losing face,' her anxiety will be relieved, and her blood and energy will naturally flow smoothly. This is called emotional therapy, the same principle as having your apprentice count rice." Wang Minyu shook his teacup. "Besides, getting up early to dance and get some exercise can't hurt."
Mr. Liu opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. He felt that his worldview had been completely overturned today.
Wang Minyu ignored him; the system's notification sound had already rang in his mind.
[Congratulations, host, you have started a high-value "harvesting韭菜" (a metaphor for exploiting unsuspecting investors) mission: 'The Redemption of a Celebrity'.]
[Task objective: Induce patient Lin Wan'er to experience the extreme emotion of "Am I insane, or is the world insane?", and successfully cure her facial paralysis.]
[Mission Reward: Depending on the healing effect and the degree of emotional impact, a cash reward ranging from 100 million to 1000 million will be given, and the advanced skill 'Remote Acupressure' (Beginner) will be unlocked.]
Wang Minyu looked out the window, a subtle smile playing on his lips.
Ten million? This leek is really fat.
He was looking forward to seeing what kind of special "dance partner" the square dancing aunties in Changxiang City's People's Park would welcome in three days.