Lin Jiaojiao and Zhou Da had many years of business experience. They could sense the lack of interest under Zheng Ren’s enthusiastic pretense.
However, Lin Jiaojiao was not bothered by it. She smiled and said, “Chief Zheng, tonight…”
“I’m sorry, Sister Lin, I have a prior engagement tonight,” Zheng Ren rejected without any hesitation.
“It’s fine.” Lin Jiaojiao was very well-mannered. She was unaffected by Zheng Ren’s blatant rejection and asked with a laugh, “What about tomorrow?”
“I’ll be performing TIPS surgery on six to eight patients at Secondary Hospital tomorrow. I don’t think I have time.” Zheng Ren shrugged.
Lin Jiaojiao was surprised. She knew the difficulty of the TIPS procedure since she was a nurse in the interventional department in Imperial Capital’s Class Three Grade A Hospital: one of the earliest places where TIPS surgery was first established in this country.
No wonder Chief Kong highly recommended this young man.
Was he even human to be able to perform six to eight TIPS procedures in a day?
If a doctor at his age could complete a TIPS procedure in eight hours, they would be the rising star of interventional surgery.
She suppressed her astonishment and asked with a smile, “Oh, that’s too bad. I’ll not bother you any further. I heard from Chief Zhang that you’re going to Imperial Capital to operate a few days later; you have to let me treat you then.”
“Sure, sure.” Zheng Ren nodded, his impression on Sister Lin got better.
After seeing the three of them enter the emergency ward, Zhou Da snickered.
“Chairman Lin, you came all the way here just to be rejected?”
Lin Jiaojiao chuckled and turned to leave.
“Let’s talk about something else. Do you know who the foreigner behind him was?” Lin Jiaojiao asked.
“No.”
“Professor Rudolf Wagner from Heidelberg University, the world’s pioneer in interventional surgery. If you can’t find anything about Chief Zheng, follow Professor Rudolf’s footsteps. Then, you’ll know why I’m trying to save your *ss,” Lin Jiaojiao said.
Zhou Da followed behind Lin Jiaojiao at the same pace, but his breath became heavier.
Zhou Da’s phone started ringing; his assistant brought it to him with both hands.
“Hello.” Zhou Da halted his footsteps and lowered his voice. He frowned when he saw Lin Jiaojiao continue walking with no intention of waiting for him.
“President Zhou, there’s an update on the thing you asked for.”
“Go on.”
“Dr. Zheng Ren participated in prostate interventional surgery research in Imperial Capital and became a candidate for main surgeon.”
‘Prostate?’ Zhou Da hummed lowly.
“I heard that his patients are recovering very well.”
The person on the other end paused for a moment, suppressed his voice to a minimal volume, and continued.
“President Zhou, I have inside news that this Dr. Zheng will be appointed to the National Central Health Agency soon.”
Erm…
He started to piece things together. Lin Jiaojiao’s constant reminder not to dig his own grave kept replaying in his ears like morning bells.
Health Agency…
His mind went blank and his body went limp. He held to the wall when he was about to fall.
“President Zhou, are you okay?” His assistant rushed over and helped him up.
Zhou Da shook the assistant’s hand away in disgust. He then leaned against the wall and tried to think things through.
He was not stupid. He would not be running such a huge business if he was.
Everything fell into place now that he had the key information.
After a few minutes of silence, Zhou Da stood up with a serious expression.
“President Zhou, Lawyer Wang called and said that the Young Master has something to discuss with you.” The assistant held the phone in front of Zhou Da.
Zhou Da flung his hand and sent the phone flying.
Nevertheless, he quickly suppressed his anger and said indifferently, “Call Lawyer Wang back and stop the appeal.”
“…” His assistant was stunned.
It was no secret that Zhou Da loved his only son very much. Why did he ask the best lawyer in Imperial Capital to stop appealing? He would be facing a three-year sentence…
This…
After Zhou Da gave the orders, he rubbed his face with both hands. As his hands left his face, he put on a kind and sincere smile before running toward where Lin Jiaojiao left.
…
…
Zheng Ren returned to the ward and performed a routine checkup. The patients were all stable.
He glanced at the time; it was 3:45 p.m.
Su Yun saw that Zheng Ren’s mind was somewhere else and teased, “Chill, it’ll be just like your first surgery. You’ve seen the anatomical structures and tissues countless times, but you’re just nervous because it’s your first time.”
He was definitely not a professional psychologist, but his example was quite on point.
Zheng Ren took a deep breath, calmed himself, and recalled the last time they went for a movie.
He took out his phone and clicked open the app to check the showtimes.
The latest showtime for IMAX was 5:15 p.m. Zheng Ren did not care about what movie it was and texted Xie Yiren.
[Have you seen this?]
[We’re going to the movies tonight? Great, I’ve been wanting to go for a while, but the timing’s been a little rushed.]
[No worries, we can go straight after work. I’ll treat you to dinner afterward.]
Zheng Ren had a genuine smile on his face.
Su Yun watched in disgust and left to chat with the professor.
[Okay, we probably won’t have time for ice cream.]
[Oh, I can go get the tickets and you can go buy ice cream. Do you want popcorn and cola?]
[Oh, no thanks, I’ll book the tickets then.]
Zheng Ren was delighted to read Xie Yiren’s messages.
[Let me do that. You can buy the ice cream while I collect the tickets so we can save time.]
Zheng Ren switched back to the app and booked two tickets.
He clearly remembered the last time Xie Yiren bought tickets for the ninth row of the middle seats toward the right.
They were not the best seats, so he thought that it was Little Yiren’s preference.
Zheng Ren chose the same seats and confirmed the purchase.
This was the first step to success. He just needed to succeed one step at a time! Zheng Ren cheered himself on.
“Relax, you don’t look too good.” Su Yun approached him and said. “There’s nothing to worry about. Take it slow. It’ll happen naturally.”
“Right,” Zheng Ren nodded with a serious expression, as if he was a soldier about to go to war.
Su Yun shook his head. He could sense Zheng Ren’s nerves. He knew that no matter what he said right now would just make him more anxious.
“Call me if there’s an emergency tonight,” Su Yun told the doctor on shift.
After that, Zheng Ren was restless. He could not even sit quietly in his chair, let alone read. He kept pacing around the office and checked the time on his phone every now and then.
After he got off from work, he happily changed clothes and went to the basement parking lot without waiting for Xie Yiren’s text.
