ryethenovel Chapter 9: The killer is my roommate's foot?! That's outrageous!
Chapter 9: The killer is my roommate's foot?! That's outrageous!
"Does your dorm have a communal bathroom?"
"No, our dorm room has a private bathroom."
Lin Mo crossed his arms over his chest, pondered for two seconds, and suddenly thought of a possibility.
He put his gloves back on, squatted down, and examined the male student's toes more closely.
Then, in a very light and casual tone, he asked a question.
Does your roommate have athlete's foot?
The male student was stunned.
He stared blankly at Lin Mo, his lips moved, and he uttered a very soft syllable: "Huh?"
The live chat exploded at that moment.
"Hahahaha, school doctor, are you Sherlock Holmes?"
My roommate was furious.
"The plot took a turn; they started asking about my roommate's feet from his medical history."
"I know the answer to this question. My roommate wore the person's slippers."
"No, upstairs, the person in question slept barefoot, which means the fungus is somewhere else."
Lin Mo stood up, took off his gloves and threw them into the trash can, his tone as calm as if he were explaining the cafeteria menu for tomorrow.
"Fungi can survive for a long time in warm and humid environments."
"If your roommate has athlete's foot, the floor he walks on, the doormats he uses, and even the slippers in the common areas can all become sources of infection."
"If you step on it barefoot, the fungus will get between your toes and onto your toenails."
"If you just trimmed your toenails the day before, and there are tiny wounds on the edge of the nail, the fungus can get in even faster."
He paused, looked at the male student's face that was gradually losing its color, and added the most crucial sentence.
"So I suggest that when you get back, you check your dorm room floor, bathroom mat, and shared slippers. And while you're at it, have your roommate check it out too."
The male student's pupils began to dilate.
The comments section was completely overwhelmed.
Roommate: Thank you so much.
Roommate: I'm just sitting in the dorm, but the trouble comes from the school clinic.
"The school doctor solves the case online; the culprit turns out to be the roommate's foot."
"I've already taken a screenshot and sent it to the dorm group chat. Now my roommates are asking me what it means."
"This live broadcast is even more entertaining than 'Today's Talk'."
"From syphilis diagnosis to solving athlete's foot cases, just how extensive is Dr. Lin's scope of practice?"
Lin Mo turned around and walked to the medicine cabinet.
While rummaging through ointments and disinfectants, he spoke without turning his head.
"In your case, applying ointment alone is not enough; you also need to take oral antifungal medication."
"Let me treat the secondary infection first, disinfect and clean the wound, and apply medication. Try not to wear sneakers for the next two days, wear breathable slippers, and keep your toes dry."
He came back carrying gauze, iodine, and topical ointment.
She dragged a chair over and sat down next to the male student, deftly unscrewing the iodine bottle.
I dipped a cotton swab in the swab and began cleaning the red, inflamed skin around my toenail.
The male student winced in pain.
His toes were twitching, so Lin Mo grabbed his ankle.
His hands moved steadily and gently, while he kept muttering to himself.
"Bear with it, it's already festering, it'll only get worse if you don't clean it properly."
"Remember this for the future: change your shoes and socks frequently, and don't share slippers and towels with others."
"Also, when you get back, clean your dorm room thoroughly, especially the bathroom and the shoe rack area."
The male student's eyes welled up with tears from the pain, and he gritted his teeth as he managed to say, "School doctor, you're saying... this really was transmitted to me by my roommate?"
Lin Mo didn't even look up, continuing to change the dressing: "In most cases, fungi don't just appear out of thin air. Since you didn't go to a public bathhouse or a swimming pool, the source of infection can only be within your daily life radius."
"Your roommate's shoes, socks, towels, and shower mat could all be potential sources of infection."
"Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that you had a mild infection before, but it just didn't manifest, and this time it just happened to worsen."
After changing the dressing, he wrapped the gauze properly, secured it with medical tape, and then sat up straight and clapped his hands.
"Okay, I'll change this ointment for you every day. You should come back for three days in a row."
"I'll prescribe a week's supply of oral medication for you. Take it according to the instructions, and come back for a follow-up check-up after you finish the course."
"Remember, fungal infections are very stubborn. The disappearance of symptoms does not mean that you are cured. You must complete the full course of medication, otherwise it will keep recurring endlessly."
The male student looked down at his big toe, which was wrapped up tightly, and nodded gratefully.
Lin Mo suddenly changed the subject, his eyes showing a hint of cautious consideration.
"However—regarding the situation you just mentioned, I do think it's necessary to go and take a look at your dorm room."
The male student looked up.
"Huh? You want to go to my dorm room?"
"right."
Lin Mo placed the medicine bottle on the table and rotated his wrist.
"If the source of infection is really in your dorm, what's the point of treating just you? You'll just go back and step on it again, and come back to me in a couple of days."
"I need to check out your dorm room and find out what's going on. And by the way—"
He smirked slightly. "Show it to your roommate too."
The male student's expression became extremely subtle, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
"My roommate... he... he does have really smelly feet."
Lin Mo chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.
"Then we definitely need to see it. Let's go, lead the way."
Lin Mo took off his white coat.
He casually took a medical mask from the drawer and put it in his pocket.
He gestured with his chin towards the door: "Let's go, lead the way."
The male student stood up in his slippers, carefully placing his right heel on the ground.
He walked with a limp, like a penguin that had just come ashore.
Lin Mo shook his head when he saw his disheveled appearance.
He walked over and draped his arm over his shoulder.
"Help me walk, don't touch the ground with your toes, or you'll reopen the wound."
The two of them walked out of the school clinic, one supporting the other.
To get from the school clinic to the student dormitory, you have to walk through most of the campus.
The sun was blazing at 2 PM.
The heat from the cement floor rose up.
The shade of the plane trees on both sides of the road doesn't provide any real shelter.
Lin Mo helped the male student walk under the shade of a tree.
The sound of basketballs hitting the ground echoed from the distant basketball court.
A few passing students recognized Lin Mo.
Take a second look, then secretly take out your phone and snap a picture.
"School doctor, are you still live-streaming?"
The male student suddenly remembered something and glanced nervously at the small phone stand in Lin Mo's hand.
"It's on, what's wrong?"
"Then what about mine..."
He looked down at his foot, which was wrapped in gauze.
"It's okay, it's not like you have any shameful illness."
Lin Mo spoke in a relaxed tone.
"When we get to your dorm room, I'll show the guys in the live stream what a real boys' dorm looks like."
The comments section is already making predictions.
"I don't know why I started to get nervous."
"High-energy warning ahead, we suggest you hold your breath."
"The boys' dormitory is a place where even the school doctor has to wear a mask."
"I can already smell it through the screen."
"I suggest the anchor wear two masks."
The male students' dormitory is on the third floor.