“Rest well. I’m going back now,” Su Yun said once the two department chiefs were gone.
Zheng Ren wanted to follow Su Yun but was stuck here in the hospital. Although he had a single room to himself, it was not as comfortable as their own accommodation.
Professor Gu had insisted he stay and Zheng Ren had no heart to refuse the old man.
The ward was where he would remain.
The two men parted ways and Zheng Ren returned to his single room. Feng Xuhui was still standing in a corner, in a stupor.
“Manager Feng, what are you thinking?” Zheng Ren asked.
Shaken from his daze, Manager Feng said softly, “No—Nothing much. Chief Zheng, what were you guys talking about just now?”
He wondered if his ears had failed him. Chief Zheng’s assistant had published in The Lancet? Department Chief Kong’s surgery, performed with Chief Zheng’s help, was also going into The Lancet?
Impossible. He must have heard wrong.
“I think they were talking about publishing in the Lancet, specifically how I differentiated cirrhosis and carcinoma from the scans,” Zheng Ren said with a shrug. “Is there anything else? If not, I would like to rest.”
“No, nothing at all,” Feng Xuhui quickly replied, smiling. He bade Zheng Ren goodbye and left the room.
Feng Xuhui trudged down the hospital corridor, his steps heavy, his mind a whirlwind.
There were too many things that he did not understand and he needed time to digest the information.
Meanwhile, Zheng Ren opened one of the windows in his room and breathed in a few gulps of refreshing, cold air.
He had racked his brain to make this differentiation method work. Would it make it into The Lancet? After a moment of thought, he decided he had no interest in the whole ordeal.
The benefits of publishing meant little to him.
What was more important was how his method would benefit his patients.
The Lancet was distant in Zheng Ren’s thoughts. There were many opinions and studies out there, cluttering the mind, but he wanted to focus on the things at hand. He wanted to stay true to his path.
His mission, The First Stage of The Great Beginning, gave him an abundance of surgical training time. If required, he would be willing to use those experience points.
For now, Zheng Ren was unsure if he ought to do so.
At this stage, he had the skill to handle most patients that came through his hospital’s doors.
His thoughts cleared as he gazed into the glowing light of the full moon. Then, he shut the window and blinds. After washing up, he tucked himself into bed and started chatting with Xie Yiren.
It was the most relaxing part of his day.
…
…
Qin Liren stood in the front of the hospital room and sighed.
He was once a man of stature with many subordinates who looked up to him. Those people were all gone now.
His retirement had been a huge dent in his ego. The diagnosis of liver cancer in the second year of his retirement rubbed even more salt into his wounds.
There were occasional greetings from a few of his subordinates, devoid of warmth and sincerity. They used to treat him like he was their father.
Needless to say, Qin Liren was disappointed.
Yesterday, he had received a call from Mr. Bu from Sea City.
He knew that Bu Ruotian had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that a Japanese professor had performed the surgery for it.
They had bonded over their similar conditions.
Then, Bu Ruotian had given him a recommendation—a young doctor who hailed from Sea City. Qin Liren was doubtful.
Qin Liren said nothing on the phone, but once the call ended, he had violently smashed up his study.
‘That fool thinks he can trick me? Recommending an inexperienced doctor? B*stard!’
Back in the day, when Bu Ruotian was but the owner of a small restaurant, the two had been as thick as thieves.
Qin Liren’s friendship for Bu Ruotian over the years had only earned him a rotten suggestion in return. The man’s words were a blow to him when he was already at his lowest.
The b*stard!
Anger and despair coiled within him. He blamed his retirement. No one would have dared to try to fool him back when he was still a powerful figure.
Qin Liren called up a few friends in Imperial Capital and booked a flight ticket.
Cancer was scary but the loneliness he experienced after his retirement was what truly plagued him.
Luckily, his friends in Imperial Capital were welcoming and even promised him the best doctor they could find.
Qin Liren had landed in Imperial Capital the next day.
With the assistance of his friends, he was immediately admitted into a famed Class Three Grade A Hospital in Imperial Capital, bypassing all waiting lists.
This was the ward?
Qin Liren stood in front of the hospital room with a sour expression.
There were four patients and a dozen visitors in the room. The air was stuffy and unbreathable to Qin Liren.
One of the patients was an end-stage cancer patient. Their yellowish skin and gaunt face made Qin Liren shudder—a subtle reminder of what could become of him.
It was unbearable. He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed his friend.
“Old Xu, thank you for helping me out with the hospital.
“Can I request a single room? Money is no issue. I can’t tolerate staying in such a crowded room.
“I see. I understand.”
Qin Liren hung up in disappointment. He remained by the hospital room door, unmoving.
There were many Class Three Grade A Hospitals in the country, but service varied by city. Occupancy rates differed among Sea City, Provincial Capital and Imperial Capital.
Getting warded already required significant connections. A single room…
Qin Liren’s request had immediately been denied by his friend as single rooms were reserved for people of a certain status. It had nothing to do with money. He would not have earned a single room pre-retirement, let alone now.
“Come on, let’s go in,” Qin Liren’s lover whispered.
Qin Liren let out a disgruntled huff. Being looked down upon irritated him.
He weighed his options.
Qin Liren’s mind was still sound and he came up with several alternatives.
He could go back to Provincial Capital, admit himself into a better-quality ward and invite this professor to operate on him there.
Or he could stay here and endure these living conditions…
He thought for a moment and decided to remain in Imperial Capital. He entered the room with his suitcase in tow.
“Hi mister, are you checking in? How long did you wait to get in?” a voice piped up as Qin Liren walked in. It was a young man, honest-looking and likely bored by his circumstances.
Qin Liren frowned but said nothing.
His negative response went unnoticed by the man. “I waited for almost a month. Luckily, I ran into Dr. Sun, who helped get me in.”
That lightened Qin Liren’s mood a little.
He had known from the beginning that getting a spot in Imperial Capital Hospital was incredibly difficult. Hearing the patient’s story made him feel much better about his own situation.
The air seemed more bearable now.
‘I can live with this,’ Qin Liren thought to himself.
