Chapter 26: Right Thumb Function Restored

Ye Dali spoke up from behind, a little embarrassed.

Ye Qinghe couldn't feel anything himself, but as the person who had been caring for him these past three years, Ye Dali knew that after such a long recording session, Ye Qinghe needed to take care of some personal hygiene.

Of course, the same went for him. Ye Qinghe was seated and had no sensation, but he did — and he'd been standing the whole time, growing more and more tired.

It was time for a break.

"Sorry, sorry — we completely forgot about that! Go ahead, and we'll come find you in the lounge in a bit!"

Brother Xiang immediately apologized with a sheepish expression.

He and Xiao Min had long since gotten used to this rhythm — eating and drinking as little as possible before going on stage, and resting whenever the cameras weren't on them. The recording was nothing to them, but for Ye Dali and Ye Qinghe, it was a different story entirely.

"See you in a bit!"

Ye Qinghe nodded to the two of them, then let Ye Dali wheel him backstage to the lounge.

Knowing his physical condition, Zhao Qingyang had arranged a large lounge for him — one that included a private bathroom, which saved them a great deal of trouble.

The livestream continued, but the camera didn't follow the contestants. Instead, it stayed with Brother Xiang and Xiao Min, who took turns sitting in front of the lens and chatting.

During this break in the program, word of Ye Qinghe's performance had already begun spreading online like wildfire.

Since the edited version of the show wouldn't air until the evening after next, screen recording of the livestream was strictly prohibited — including the practice of recording the screen with a second phone. Once caught, the TV station would contact the platform, have the video taken down, and ban the uploader. So most people could only share a screenshot or two to talk about what had happened.

"A fully paralyzed patient steps onto the Stand Till the End stage and takes down ten healthy contestants?"

"Shouldn't someone like that be lying in bed all day, hooked up to tubes, staring at the ceiling waiting to die? How does he have the heart to come on a show like this?"

"This guy is so heartbreaking — just looking at the photos, I can't take it. I have to go watch the livestream!"

"This is real. I was his high school classmate. He really did suddenly have health problems in his second year of high school, and then he dropped out to get treatment."

"Watching him answer questions, I get the feeling that heaven made him like this because he was too smart — just like Hawking."

"His looks are seriously off the charts. If he went into entertainment, he'd have fans absolutely obsessed. What a shame."

Even though it was just a handful of photos, Ye Qinghe's natural presence combined with the headline about his full-body paralysis was enough to draw people in. A wave of viewers flooded into the livestream room, and the viewer count shot up dramatically — much to Zhao Qingyang's delight.

"Go check on Qinghe — see if he's done with his personal matters. If he is, can we use this time to have him meet the viewers?"

Everyone who had come to the livestream was there for Ye Qinghe, and now that he was gone, the bullet comments were flooding in asking the production team to stop letting Brother Xiang and Xiao Min chat and bring Ye Qinghe back instead. Zhao Qingyang waved over a staff member and asked them to go check whether Ye Qinghe could come out for a moment.

"Qinghe, are you up for it? If not, we can say no."

Hearing the staff member's message, Ye Dali asked with concern.

He himself was exhausted — and Ye Qinghe, who had spent every day lying motionless at home, must be even more so.

Cooperating with the show was one thing, but he didn't think it was absolutely necessary.

"I'm fine. Chatting with the viewers for a bit is no problem."

Ye Qinghe, however, wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.

"But your body—"

Ye Dali was still a little worried.

"Dad, don't worry. Maybe it's because I've worked through some things these past few days, and because you've been taking me out — this morning, my right thumb started moving too."

As he spoke, there was a visible movement beneath the blanket where his hand rested.

"Really?"

The moment he heard that, Ye Dali pulled back Ye Qinghe's blanket. Sure enough, Ye Qinghe's right thumb was moving. Tears of joy welled up in his eyes.

This was no illusion. Ye Qinghe's body really was getting better, little by little.

It was only two fingers, but it meant that Ye Qinghe was no longer in the hopeless state he'd been in before. If two fingers could recover now, then one day his whole hand could recover — then his arm, and eventually his entire body.

This excited Ye Dali even more than when Ye Qinghe's right index finger had first moved.

"So you don't need to worry about me. I can do this."

"Alright! I'll wheel you over. But if you feel uncomfortable or tired at any point, don't push through it — tell me right away, okay? We've finally started to see some recovery. We can't afford to let exhaustion set things back."

Ye Dali nodded and gave his instructions.

Ye Qinghe gave a sound of agreement, and then Ye Dali wheeled him toward the studio.

The truth was, the recovery of his right thumb had come from yesterday's Lottery Draw. They had traveled so far by high-speed rail to get here, and he'd only had one draw — and on the wheel, there had been only one physical recovery option. But Ye Qinghe had gotten lucky and landed on it.

It had just happened so soon after the last recovery that Ye Qinghe hadn't mentioned it to Ye Dali at the time.

"Hello everyone, I'm Ye Qinghe!"

Back in the studio, standing before the livestream camera, Ye Qinghe greeted the viewers after Brother Xiang introduced him.

"Qinghe, a viewer is asking — how do you remember all of this stuff?"

Brother Xiang had pulled a few questions from the audience and was now posing them to Ye Qinghe.

"It's simple, really. Because I can't move, all I can do every day is read and watch things. So maybe because there are fewer distractions, things just stick better."

Ye Qinghe replied.

"Qinghe, someone's asking — is your paralysis total? Are you receiving any treatment?"

"Yes, aside from my head, my whole body is immobile. But recently there's been some improvement — my hands can move slightly now. The specialists have said there's a possibility I could recover in the future, though they can't say exactly when, and it's only a possibility."

Ye Qinghe believed that one day he would have the chance to fully recover, so he had no intention of hiding it. He said it openly in front of the viewers — that way, if he did recover in the future, there would be a record showing the signs had been there all along.

It would protect him from anyone later claiming he had faked his paralysis to gain sympathy.

"Is that so? That's truly wonderful news! Let me take this moment to wish you a speedy recovery and a return to full health — and when that day comes, I'd love to invite you back on our show!"