It was 9.30 p.m. when they both arrived at the emergency department.
This was the department’s busiest and most chaotic hour.
However, in the winter, most patients required attention from internal medicine for conditions such as acute gastroenteritis, acute myocardial infarction and acute cerebral infarction.
Zheng Ren was not worried about internal medicine as their patients simply needed to be admitted into the inpatient department. His main aim was to identify any misdiagnosed patients in the emergency observation ward.
After surveying a few observational units, Zheng Ren chose a few patients to speak to about their conditions. Doctors from the emergency internal medicine department had given appropriate treatment, so there was no need for Zheng Ren to do any extra work.
This should be the norm. He felt very relaxed.
Around the corner, he saw a girl who looked around eighteen or nineteen, possibly a university student, crouching on a chair beside the door to the internal medicine consultation room, hugging her stomach in agony.
An internal medicine physician was talking to her solemnly.
After checking the System’s monitor on the upper right corner of his vision, Zheng Ren was stunned.
There was nothing wrong with the girl. The light green background of her diagnosis shone bright and lively.
What happened?
Could something be wrong with the System?
He suddenly felt anxious.
His medical skill had vastly improved in the last few months with the assistance of the System, especially in both surgery and diagnoses.
However, it was also why he feared that any problems with the System would cause a misdiagnosis…
Were it only a business transaction, Zheng Ren could not care less about a hiccup in the System. The worst that could happen would be having to start all over from the beginning.
However, as a doctor, a simple mistake could cost someone their life. There were no such things as second chances.
The fault tolerance in this specific profession was minimal.
That was why he was always very cautious about it.
As expected, today was the day of such an occurrence.
Zheng Ren hurried over. Su Yun was surprised by his alertness and followed him.
“What happened?” Zheng Ren asked.
“Chief Zheng, I was considering acute gastroenteritis, but she refused to be admitted for observation and resisted the relevant anti-inflammatory treatment. She’s suffering pain but does not want to be checked nor receive treatment. What do you suggest?” the emergency internal medicine doctor reported, relieved to have him present.
“Can you take a look and advise her, Chief Zheng? Patients are piling up in there, I need to go.” The doctor turned and reentered the consultation room.
Usually, doctors were reluctant to take on intractable, rare diseases or patients with low medical compliance. One wrong move could turn into a land mine and blow them to pieces.
What was the use of a superior?
To take the hit, of course.
Zheng Ren glanced at the girl. There was a boy beside her asking awkwardly about her condition.
Seeing the bumbling boy made him lose track.
He also wanted to show his concern to Xie Yiren, but where would he start?
“Hey, why are you staring at her boyfriend?” Su Yun prodded Zheng Ren softly.
“Ahem…” Zheng Ren was slightly embarrassed. He then bent down to ask, “How are you feeling?”
“Doctor, my stomach hurts,” the girl said gloomily.
She did not seem to be in much pain. From her expression, Zheng Ren could not read any signs that she was experiencing insufferable agony.
Moments before, he was worried that her stomach pain could have been related to ectopic pregnancy and ovarian torsion that were very difficult to diagnose.
That did not seem likely.
“When did it first start?” he asked.
“I felt a sudden pain after dinner,” the girl replied, gritting her teeth.
“Doctor, is her condition serious?” the boy asked worriedly.
“Have you taken any tests?”
“I didn’t bring any money for tests,” the girl said.
“I did,” the boy interjected, “but she wouldn’t allow me to use it.”
Zheng Ren was baffled. Why had she refused to get checked if her stomachache was that serious? Who would be responsible if her treatment was delayed?
“This is not right, young lady.” Zheng Ren tried to gently encourage her. “You need to be checked if you’re feeling unwell and treat the issue. It’s not good for your health if you keep on tolerating it.”
“No, I won’t get checked,” the girl said stubbornly.
“…” Zheng Ren was speechless.
“Let’s go to the treatment room and check on her,” Su Yun said behind Zheng Ren.
“Doctor, just do anything you have to. I have money,” the boy insisted.
“I’ll leave if you proceed with payment.” The girl was furious, pinching his arm as she lay in his chest.
No matter how he looked at them, they seemed to be torturing him for his bachelorhood… Zheng Ren felt frustration rising in his chest.
“We’ll put the tests on hold. How about just a simple body checkup?” he said cautiously.
The girl finally agreed. As the internal medicine consultation room was crowded, they headed to the treatment room.
The boy explained their history intermittently between bouts of pain as they walked.
They were both students from a university in the development zone and had been together for almost a month.
Tonight, they had a movie date before dinner. It was then that the girl began to experience abdominal pain.
Since they were near Sea City General Hospital, they hurried over.
Su Yun approached the boy and whispered something into his ears; he looked startled before shaking his head determinedly.
“No history of intimacy. You can rule out ectopic pregnancy, but if you’re doing the checkup, might as well take a look at it too,” Su Yun said upon returning to Zheng Ren’s side.
“Alright.” Zheng Ren told the girl to lie on the treatment room bed, bend her legs and turn her head left. Then, he started examining her.
Her abdomen was tender, with no signs of hardening.
The most peculiar part was that there were no tender points. As he examined her body, the girl mentioned a tenderness in the middle left side of her abdomen.
However, Zheng Ren was very experienced in this regard; he had kept on checking other areas while he spoke to her and already pressed on it without her knowing.
It had not elicited any reaction, which was a stark contrast from the way she acted before.
Was she pretending to be sick? Why would she do that? Zheng Ren was confused.
The affection between the boy and the girl did not seem like they were here to make a scene.
Besides, medical troublemakers had disappeared after the incident in the gynecology department.
Was the girl pretending to be sick at such a late hour just to torture him for being single? When had the youth learned to play the game so well? Was this a new courtship tactic?
Zheng Ren was troubled.
The System’s report on the health status remained green and there were no obvious signs after examination as well.
He determined that she was most probably faking her symptoms.
However…
Su Yun waved Zheng Ren over to the door. “Boss, come here for a minute.”
Zheng Ren thought about it and acceded.
“What do you think?” he asked softly upon leaving the room, making sure the couple were not watching his departure from the corners of their eyes.
“10 o’clock. The girl should be fine by then,” Su Yun said mysteriously.
He had also noticed Zheng Ren’s trick during the examination. Such things would never escape his eyes as he was also a doctor.
What did he mean that she would be fine after 10 o’clock?
