The patient’s surgery had been successfully completed. After he recovered from general anesthesia, the Chu sisters and a doctor from the second general surgery department pushed him back to the emergency ward.
The Chu sisters, who initially had their lips pursed in annoyance, happily escorted the patient this time.
Uncle Lin had ignored the Chu sisters’ initial recommendation to consult Zheng Ren for surgical treatment, but the fact that Zheng Ren ultimately performed the surgery made them feel extremely proud.
Zheng Ren and Chief Surgeon Sun went to the locker room afterward.
In a sense, a locker room was like a bathhouse in that people could bare their souls and engage in heart-to-heart conversations.
“Little Zheng, your skills really are amazing,” Chief Surgeon Sun complimented while changing out his attire, “Sea City General Hospital seldom invites surgeons from Imperial Capital and Sorcery Capital to perform surgery, but I’m still aware of the highest surgery standards ever achieved in this country. The way you lysed the adhesive tissue around the bowel was very similar to that of Professor Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. If I didn’t know you’ve never furthered your studies anywhere else, I would have definitely believed that he mentored you personally.”
“Chief Surgeon Sun, you flatter me,” replied Zheng Ren with a smile.
“By the way, you don’t have a girlfriend yet, right?” Chief Surgeon Sun was much more open-minded than Chief Surgeon Liu. He knew the younger generation held the power to change the world and everyone would get old eventually.
Senior consultants had been reluctant to perform endoscopy more than a decade ago. When they finally retired, only then did Sea City General Hospital experience a tremendous growth in minimally invasive surgery.
Previous senior consultants had ruled the departments with an iron fist but no longer visited Sea City General Hospital for consultation, which prompted Chief Surgeon Sun to learn from his past mistakes and treat his subordinates, especially talented youngsters, with kindness.
However, he had not expected to encounter such an outstanding young doctor.
Chief Surgeon Sun admired Zheng Ren’s proficiency in surgery and wanted to improve their relationship. What did Zheng Ren need the most? He did not have the faintest idea.
However, the easiest and most common method was to introduce potential life partners to a young bachelor.
When Zheng Ren became successful in the future, Chief Surgeon Sun could also boast of his kindness and care toward the young surgeon over drinks after retirement.
Zheng Ren was stunned upon hearing the question and responded with a bitter smile.
“What’s wrong?” asked Chief Surgeon Sun.
“I’m still single, but I don’t plan on finding a girlfriend or getting married anytime soon,” answered Zheng Ren.
“Why?” Chief Surgeon Sun grinned and added, “A flower may blossom again, but a person can’t reverse the onset of age. Youngsters nowadays… are like my frivolous son who has countless girlfriends, but you seem to be acting a little too extreme.”
“Chief Surgeon Sun, you also know that I’ve been promoted to chief resident recently.” Zheng Ren smiled humorlessly.
Chief Surgeon Sun immediately understood what Zheng Ren was trying to imply.
Being a chief resident meant that he had to stay in the hospital for at least a year.
One could call the hospital a home when he had to work twenty-two hours almost every day. Getting involved in a relationship? Who would want to spend a romantic evening in an environment that smelled like disinfectant?
The doctors often joked that death had occurred in every bed and chair in the hospital.
Romance aside, even if true love was to be found in this place, the relationship would probably deteriorate after going cold for a year.
How many chief residents were cheated during their stay in the hospital? It was an undeniable fact.
That was precisely why Chief Surgeon Sun felt helpless to do anything about it.
Sighing heavily, he said, “The emergency department will hire more staff in the future.”
“Well, we’ll have to wait and see for the time being. I still don’t have a surgical assistant right now,” replied Zheng Ren.
“Huh? Wasn’t Su Yun transferred to the emergency department? Are you two not getting along well? That can’t be. He insisted on the transfer despite Director Fu’s firm disagreement,” said Chief Surgeon Sun, surprised.
“Su Yun is an ICU doctor. Does he know how to perform surgery?” asked Zheng Ren.
“Oh, he is good. His surgery skills are slightly inferior to mine, but the differences aren’t much,” Chief Surgeon Sun stared deep into Zheng Ren’s eyes and continued, “You know, he was just a medical student who hadn’t even started clinical practice when he first came to Sea City General Hospital. Even if there had been many surgeries in Union Medical College Hospital at the time, it would be impossible for him to operate on the patients frequently and personally. He is the kind of talented man who can pick any skill up after one look at it.”
‘The ability to learn something by eye immediately? That’s an aura a protagonist possesses, right?’ The thought of that skill falling upon a Nancy boy made Zheng Ren feel slightly depressed.
“How do you know he is good at performing surgery?”
“His ex-girlfriend had appendicitis and he had single-handedly performed her surgery all the way from anesthesia to recovery,” Chief Surgeon Sun said, “That brat didn’t even let anyone into the operating theater at the time. Everyone initially waited for a good laugh but failed to anticipate her ambulating post-op on day one and being discharged three days later.”
Zheng Ren had heard about this incident on the grapevine, but remained doubtful of its credibility. Besides, it was only appendicitis.
“Anyway, it’s better for you to get a girlfriend soon. I can see that Old Chief Physician Pan treats you very well, and a chief resident has to work tirelessly in the hospital for one year at most. Find a suitable target first, and then you can spend some quality time with her afterward.”
Chief Surgeon Sun changed his attire and went downstairs together with Zheng Ren.
Old Chief Physician Pan, who personally attended garrison duty in the emergency ward, stood up and joined them to check on the postoperative patient.
After regaining consciousness from general anesthesia, the patient mumbled something and fell asleep.
His vital signs were stable, and naturally, Lin Yuanshan was thankful for it.
He also felt slightly embarrassed after finding out that Zheng Ren had completed the surgery in the end.
After leaving the ward, Lin Yuanshan kindly invited everyone that had been involved in the surgery over for dinner.
This was a common practice where family members would treat the surgical team to a meal after a successful operation; it was primarily to express their heartfelt gratitude and strengthen the relationship with the team, easing future consultations.
There was absolutely no need for Lin Yuanshan to establish a social connection with anyone, however, and so his sole intention was to thank the surgical team for their efforts.
Zheng Ren had no choice but to accept the invitation. Old Chief Physician Pan and Chief Surgeon Sun decided to let a deputy senior consultant of the second general surgery department temporarily watch over the emergency department while the group went to the hotel.
The presence of hospital directors and senior consultants from the relevant departments made the atmosphere stressful for Zheng Ren. The dishes appeared exquisite, but to him, they did not emit any rich smells that promised a delightful taste.
In his opinion, the food skewer stall in front of his house had the most delicious food in the world.
The Chu sisters were able to behave naturally and gracefully in this manner of social gathering, enriching the lively atmosphere even further with their words.
A few hours later, all the moguls took their leave after their appetites were sated.
Zheng Ren sat in Xie Yiren’s car and as usual, Su Yun tagged alongside him like a shadow. After dropping off Old Chief Physician Pan at his home, he suddenly received a phone call from one of the Chu sisters.
It turned out that they were still hungry and had invited Chang Yue to have supper together.
Young people were usually outgoing and being on-call in the emergency department, which demanded zero alcohol consumption, could not stop them from enjoying a hectic lifestyle.
Since someone was on duty in the emergency department, Zheng Ren made use of this opportunity to enjoy himself like a prisoner being rewarded with free time.
Xie Yiren drove straight to the designated location.
The weather was getting cold. It looked like snow would fall within the next few days.
Food stalls could not operate, but the chilly wind failed to extinguish the insatiable fire that gnawed at their stomachs. If they could not enjoy supper at the roadside, they would move their battlefield indoors.
The Chu sisters had chosen a location—the crayfish restaurant near the hospital.
According to them, the crayfish would soon be gone and they would have to wait until next year for the next batch to arrive.
Soon, all of them gathered in front of the restaurant.
The Chu sisters excitedly took a group photograph of this medical “family”.
This was the first group photograph involving Zheng Ren, Su Yun, the Chu sisters, Chang Yue and Xie Yiren.
“You guys are so boring.” Su Yun habitually brushed back his wispy bangs while waiting for the crayfish and added, “Those old guys aren’t here, so why don’t we have some beer? Haven’t you guys heard of the phrase ‘enjoy life to the fullest’?”
“There might be emergency cases at night.” Xie Yiren politely refused the offer.
She failed to detect the provocation in Su Yun’s tone. Perhaps, to her naive self, everyone was a good person, and negativity such as contempt or mockery did not exist at all.
The Chu sisters made eye contact before one of them said that she could have a sip.
Zheng Ren ignored Su Yun’s taunt and rejected him immediately.
Su Yun then glanced at Chang Yue, who had been silent all along, and asked, “How about you?”
“No,” replied Chang Yue coldly.
Some people were unaffected by appearances but would still treat others with courtesy, unlike Chang Yue, who was frank and direct in her approach. This sort of intense boredom made Su Yun feel very uncomfortable.
“Now I know why they had chosen you to be the scapegoat,” Su Yun said with a wicked smile, “What a boring girl.”
