Physical Examination Report

The physical examination report lay on the table, the words "Healthy" boldly printed in black on a white background. Li Wei squinted and looked it over several times, afraid she had missed something. All the indicators were normal, like a smooth mirror reflecting her flawless health. Half a month ago, she had even taken half a day off work specifically for this report, braving the winter wind to stand in long queues at the hospital.

"Healthy is good, healthy is good," Li Wei murmured to herself, getting up to pour a glass of water in the kitchen. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the glass, its surface shimmering like her mood at that moment.

In the afternoon, Li Wei attended an important meeting. She spoke eloquently, her thoughts clear, filled with confidence in her future plans. She felt life was like the winter sunshine, warm and full of hope.

However, just as she was immersed in the lively atmosphere of the meeting, her phone suddenly vibrated. A text message, from the hospital, was concise and cold: "Dear Ms. Li Wei, the biopsy results of the stomach tissue from your physical examination half a month ago are out. The result is late-stage stomach cancer. Please come to the hospital for a follow-up consultation as soon as possible."

Li Wei felt a buzzing in her brain, and the pen in her hand dropped onto the table with a thud. Everyone around her stopped talking and looked at her curiously. Li Wei opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a sound.

"Li Wei, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" a colleague asked with concern.

Li Wei shook her head, picked up the pen, and smiled calmly, "It's nothing, nothing, just a little tired all of a sudden."

The meeting continued, but Li Wei couldn't hear anything anymore. She felt as if she was in a huge black vortex, unable to break free. The word "Healthy" on the physical examination report kept echoing in her mind, like a huge irony, whipping her hard.

She remembered a few days ago, she had posted on WeChat Moments about that health report, with the caption "Another year, feeling great, and eating like a champ!" Under the post, there were countless likes, and comments were filled with blessings and envy.

In the evening, Li Wei sat in the empty room, picking up the physical examination report again, carefully flipping through every page, trying to figure out where it went wrong. Every indicator on the report was normal, and every line of text seemed to be mocking her ignorance and naivety.

Suddenly, Li Wei noticed a word crossed out in the corner of the report. She leaned closer to identify it, and it was a small word "cancer," hastily crossed out as if it had never existed.

Li Wei suddenly laughed, her laughter getting louder and louder, echoing in the empty room, like a madwoman. She thought of the doctor’s impatient expression and the perfunctory procedure during the physical examination, of the money and time spent in pursuit of "health," of those likes and blessings, all ultimately turning into absurd bubbles.

She finally understood that this "healthy" report was just a beautiful disguise, concealing the cold reality, and she was like a bird trapped in a transparent cage, struggling in vain, unable to escape this absurd fate.

The next day, Li Wei didn't go to work. She went to the hospital, paid the hospitalization fees, and then sat calmly on the hospital bed, watching the gloomy sky outside the window. She knew that the days to come would be a complete farewell to this absurd "health" report.