Zheng Ren greeted them respectfully. “Chief Bao, Chief Kong, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
“Please have a seat,” Chief Bao said jovially, “You’re one of us; there’s no need to be so formal.”
After the customary refusals, both chiefs were seated on the sofa while Zheng Ren sat on a small stool beside the bed. Su Yun stood behind Zheng Ren with his head lowered.
Feng Xuhui was stuck in an awkward position, not knowing whether it was appropriate to leave the room.
“Let me introduce you both,” Chief Bao said, filling the role of host. “This is Dr. Zheng Ren, as I’m sure you know. This is Dr. Zheng’s assistant, Su Yun, also known as the rising star of cardiothoracic surgery.”
“Hmm?” Chief Kong was taken aback at the mention of Su Yun’s name. It felt familiar.
“You left Imperial Capital for almost two years. Do you remember at all?” Chief Bao looked at Chief Kong sardonically, as if quizzing him.
Feng Xuhui, already an anxious wreck from the beginning, was standing in the corner contemplating whether or not to leave.
He was startled by Chief Bao’s words.
Chief Zheng had made a great impression on this visit to Imperial Capital. Could it be that the handsome, quick-witted assistant beside him was also somebody?
He had to be, or Chief Bao would not have brought it up.
“I’m losing my memory due to old age.” Chief Kong thought for a few seconds before asking, “Who is this talented fellow?”
“His research was not related to interventional surgery, so it’s understandable if you don’t remember him. However, Su Yun represents the latest generation of cardiothoracic surgeons,” Chief Bao said, “Do you recall an article published on The Lancet two years ago?”
Chief Kong stopped smiling, his expression turning serious.
The Lancet was the most renowned journal in the field of general surgery, with an impact factor of over 30. In the world of medicine, it surpassed other prestigious journals such as Nature and Science.
Nowadays, it was harder to graduate with a master’s degree or PhD as they required a publication in a journal with the Science Citation Index (SCI).
Chief Kong had stopped taking in Master’s students and was thus unfamiliar with any of these.
Only half the PhD students under him managed to graduate on time. The rest took at least five years to complete their studies.
Why?
Aside from writing their graduate thesis, a PhD student also had to publish at least two short articles indexed by the three main international scholarly literature databases, namely SCI, Ei Compendex (EI), and Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP).
In addition, the journal had to have an impact factor of 4 to 5.
The Lancet? Most postgraduate students would never dare publish in that journal. Even Chief Kong himself would have to think twice.
It would be nearly impossible to have their article published.
Su Yun was not even thirty years old, and yet at such a young age, he had already published an article in The Lancet…
“You’re Su Yun?!” Chief Kong asked in astonishment.
“You finally remember,” Chief Bao said, amused, “Su Yun went to Sea City because of that. Who knew he would return after less than two years.”
“It’s all a coincidence. I’m only here to observe,” Su Yun said, keeping his head bowed.
His explanation sounded far-fetched, but the two chiefs were unbothered.
Feng Xuhui started to see stars in his vision.
Who knew that the assistant beside Chief Zheng had had such a remarkable past?
He had no idea how much gravity publishing in The Lancet had, but it did not stop him from comprehending Su Yun’s reputation.
A young doctor under thirty had been able to leave an impression on a professor from Imperial Capital, recognizable by name alone.
As Feng Xuhui thought it over, his heart started to accelerate uncontrollably.
Had Dr. Su been playing dumb to take advantage of Chief Zheng when…
No!
Had it not been for the presence of others, Feng Xuhui would have slapped his own mouth.
Su Yun was only Chief Zheng’s assistant. With such an amazing assistant, one could only imagine how incredible Chief Zheng had to be!
He retreated further into the corner and dared not speak a word, trying his very best not to attract the attention of either chief.
Manager Feng’s inexperience was apparent.
He had missed the opportunity to make his presence known in front of two department chiefs by serving them tea. Especially with Department Chief Kong around, the only thing going through his mind was how not to get chased out of the room.
“Haha, you can’t stop the passion of a talented young man.” Chief Kong laughed and said, “I remember you writing an article about a heart transplant?”
“It was a collaboration with West China University,” Su Yun answered frankly, raising his head. “It was a transplant of a 3D bioprinted heart with autologous stem cells.”
“Little Su was amazing.” There was a hint of regret in Chief Bao’s praise. “He managed to reach the animal testing stage back then. Little Su successfully transplanted the heart into a mouse and it survived 107 days post-surgery.”
“…” This caught the attention of Chief Kong, who was not all that interested in heart transplant surgery.
After all, he was a medical pioneer on the national scene. The significance of a successful heart transplant with an animal model surviving over 100 days post-transplant was crystal clear, needing no further elaboration.
The mouse living 107 days post-transplant meant that they had passed pre-clinical trials. They would have been able to move on to the next phase of clinical trials after wrapping up the animal study!
Zheng Ren was also stunned by the news. This had all been accomplished by the sissy behind him?
‘It seems unlikely from the way he carries himself,’ he thought.
A heart transplant in a mouse was much more intricate than that of a human’s as it required skill in microsurgery, post-transplant monitoring notwithstanding.
No wonder he was so good with postoperative care. It had to be all the training with mice.
Had the lab mice played a role in his dream for a veterinary hospital?
Nonetheless, this was the first time Zheng Ren had heard of Su Yun’s outstanding achievements.
“It was such a pity that you left Imperial Capital. But you’re back now, and that’s all that matters,” Chief Kong lamented. After hearing of Su Yun’s achievements, Chief Kong was tempted to poach the man even if they were from completely different departments.
“This is my superior, Zheng Ren. I’m here as Mr. Zheng’s assistant.” Su Yun lowered his head and stared at his toes, his black fringe swaying. “We’ll return to Sea City after completing the interventional surgery,” he continued.
“…” Both chiefs looked at each other with sadness and surprise. They had digressed after meeting Su Yun and forgotten their original topic of conversation.
At that moment, Chief Kong’s gaze shifted towards Zheng Ren.
Su Yun was a rising star of cardiothoracic surgery. Even if he decided to throw that away, he ought not to have stayed in the middle of nowhere and chosen a random guy as his superior.
A young man like him was definitely prideful. Were Chief Kong in those shoes, he would never have settled for a random doctor.
He watched Su Yun standing behind Zheng Ren with his head lowered. The blank expression on Zheng Ren’s face made it clear that he was just a newcomer and completely lost.
It seemed that he had come to the right place.
Chief Kong straightened his back and said seriously, “Dr. Zheng, I have something to discuss with you.”
