"Doctor Zheng, the surgery…" Zhao Jia's father spoke with a chalk-white complexion and shaking legs.
How long had it been? Ten minutes? Why did they come out?
Every possibility started pouring into his mind and overwhelming his senses.
For example, a tumor had been found in the middle of an operation. It was a misdiagnosis and another signature was required in the informed consent doc.u.ments.
That, or modifications in the surgical plan were required due to iatrogenic damage to some major artery intraoperatively. An explanation was compulsory and informed consent would have to be taken again in that situation.
No matter which scenario it was, one thing was for sure. His son was in danger.
"The surgery is complete. Please help me pull the bed from the front and I'll push it from behind. Zhao Jia's mother, please press the button for the elevator," said Zheng Ren.
"..." Finished? The operation had been successfully finished with no obstacles?
"The surgery was a success. If you want to take a look at the appendix, the nurse responsible for sending the specimen to the pathology lab will show it to you later."
"Doctor Zheng, thank you so much!"
Not only were the anesthesiologist and the patient's family members were not used to such a fast surgery, even the nurses in the first general surgery department had not even finished preparing a bed slot for the patient.
The nurses, who were taking their time with dinner, jumped like scared rabbits when the patient returned from the operating theater. One of them rushed to prepare a bed while the other searched for the necessary equipment, such as the electrocardiogram.
"No hurry, take your time," Zheng Ren advised rather than scold the nurses, who had not had dinner at ten o'clock at night. Only those who had endured the agony of on-call duty would understand and empathize with their exhaustion.
After assisting with the patient's transfer to his bed, Zheng Ren explained the patient's condition to his family members and wrote the surgery records before changing in the operating theater locker room.
There was an unread message from Xie Yiren on WeChat, stating that she had already changed her attire and was currently waiting for him in the underground parking lot.
Zheng Ren was not used to having supperl. When he was still working in the general surgery department, the clinical work would be so overwhelming that he regularly got off work in the middle of the night, when he was too tired for supper and all food delivery services were closed.
Most importantly, he had to monitor every patient after their surgery, so he did not even have the chance to sneak out of the hospital for supper.
This was the biggest difference between a clinical surgery department and an operating theater.
Zheng Ren, who was constantly on edge from the twenty percent progression rate in his appendectomy mission, called the emergency department to inform them about his temporary absence for supper and instructed them to notify him immediately upon encountering an appendicitis case.
Finally, he reached the underground parking lot after finishing his work.
A red Volvo XC60 was parked near the elevator with Xie Yiren in the driver's seat.
Zheng Ren was actually trying to guess Xie Yiren's car—he was stuck between a Ferrari or Porsche—on his way to the parking lot.
However, he did not expect Xie Yiren to drive a sports utility vehicle that was completely at odds with her size.
"You came."
"I did."
Xie Yiren put her phone down, fastened her seatbelt, and started the engine.
"Are you okay with having crayfish for supper?" asked Xie Yiren.
"It's fine as long as it's fast. A surgical case may arrive at the emergency department any time," answered Zheng Ren.
"You're really dedicated to your work. When I was in the operating theater, I heard from the other sisters that you remained single after all these years because of poverty and unattractive facial features. Well, I don't think that's true," replied Xie Yiren.
"..." Zheng Ren's colleagues gossiping about him was completely unexpected, and that they thought he was lacking both financially and aesthetically… Well, he had to admit that they were speaking the truth, but it was still heartbreaking.
"You can easily earn a fortune, especially with your surgery skill. I believe even a fly-in, fly-out surgeons would earn more than the chief surgeons of our hospital." Without realizing what she was about to say would deal ten thousand damage to Zheng Ren's health bar, Xie Yiren added, "What do you have to fear even if you're slightly ugly? Besides, you look handsome when you perform a surgery. To be honest, you aren't exactly ugly, just a little plain-looking, that's all."
Critical hit x2!
'Xie Yiren is a cute young lady.' Zheng Ren was repeating the same sentence in his mind at that moment.
The duo arrived at the restaurant in no time as it was not far away from the hospital.
Xie Yiren waved her hand and yelled, "One spicy and one original flavor."
The busy waiter acknowledged her order and responded with a smile. It seemed like she was a frequent customer and had familiarized herself with the staff.
She only remembered she was not alone after making the order. Turning to Zheng Ren, she stuck her tongue out and asked apologetically, "Doctor Zheng, which flavor do you prefer?"
"Anything will do," replied Zheng Ren with a smile as he shifted his gaze toward the table next to theirs.
Xie Yiren followed his gaze out of curiosity.
Three women were happily enjoying crayfish at that table. Two of them were actually beautiful twin sisters in their early twenties, whereas the eldest among the trio was presumably their mother, who was in her late forties or early fifties.
The munching of the crayfish gave their cheeks a rosy hue, but there was something strange about the mother's behavior. Every time when she finished a crayfish, she would press her cheek onto her shoulder for a couple of seconds before resuming her eating.
"Relax, our crayfish will be served soon," said Xie Yiren who assumed Zheng Ren was getting famished.
"Little Xie, can you please ask one of the young ladies to come over? I've something to say to her," asked Zheng Ren.
What the hell? Xie Yiren was dumbfounded.
Was Doctor Zheng trying to solve his bachelor issue at that moment? Was it possible that whatever she mentioned just now had triggered him?
Well, it seemed to be a good thing, after all. Doctor Zheng was almost thirty years old, and if he failed to get into a relationship soon, it would be extremely difficult for him to find a girlfriend in the future.
Xie Yiren nodded in response as the crayfish was not served yet. Then, she stood up, walked toward one of the twin sisters, and started whispering into her ear.
The chosen young lady was taken by surprise and gave Zheng Ren a contemptuous gaze.
Soon, Xie Yiren and the young lady returned to Zheng Ren's table.
The young lady sat down and mocked, "Attempting to court a girl when there is a lady beside you. This is the first time I encountered such despicable sc.u.m."
Chapter 18 - Beautiful Twin Sisters in Intensive Care Medicine
"..." Zheng Ren had not expected the young lady to misunderstand so completely. However, he was simply a doctor who frequented only two places—his rented house and the hospital—so it was not unexpected that he knew nothing of courtship and romance.
Survival was difficult and punishing enough for Zheng Ren, and so it was impossible for him to spare time for trivialities.
He had absolutely no idea how much harassment beautiful young women encountered in public.
Whatever Zheng Ren had in his mind failed to leave his mouth.
"Sister, Doctor Zheng may lack in the looks department, but he is actually a good and skillful man." Xie Yiren tried to lend Zheng Ren a helping hand.
Critical hit x10.
The young lady made no attempt to continue the conversation. Instead, s
he stared at Zheng Ren coldly with an icy smirk on her face, waiting patiently for him to continue his charade.
"Lady, your mother is sick." Zheng Ren cut straight to the point after soothing his broken heart.
"Bang!" The young lady slammed the table in exasperation and yelled, "Your mother is the one who's sick!"
Xie Yiren helplessly stole a glance at Zheng Ren. His courtship skills were atrocious… Why did he initiate a conversation with a verbal assault?
She was mortified; it was as if invasive tumor cells of shame were rampaging through her body. How she wished the earth would open up and swallow her whole so that she could escape this awkward situation.
Zheng Ren apologized quickly after realizing his mistake. "Sorry, I'm terribly sorry. What I'm trying to say is your mother is having a heart attack, so stop eating crayfish and please go to the hospital as quickly as you can."
"Your mother has a heart attack!" shouted the vexed young lady, who seemed to have lost all sense of rationality.
The attention of every diner in the restaurant was drawn by her thunderous voice.
Zheng Ren waved his hands quickly and gestured for her to lower her voice. "No, please listen to me. Your mother recently suffered symptoms such as lower jaw pain, right?"
"Huh?" replied the young lady doubtfully. This hideous man was really a doctor?
"That is an atypical symptom of a heart attack, not just a toothache or random pain due to facial nerve damage. Spicy crayfish will stimulate and aggravate her condition quite a bit so it's better if she stops taking it now," Zheng Ren explained seriously.
His words convinced her to some extent. Her mother had recently visited the hospital for a consultation and, after ruling out periodontal diseases, the doctor suspected she might have neuralgia.
Still, she remained suspicious. Had a god of medicine descended to the mortal world to give her a definitive diagnosis of her mother's condition while they were eating crayfish? What were the odds?
The mother wiped her mouth with tissue after hearing her daughter's irritation and asked, "Yanran, what happened?"
"Auntie… No, older sister, can you please come over?" asked Zheng Ren.
"Yes?"
Zheng Ren explained himself once again and gave the mother a shock.
"That's one symptom of a heart attack. The symptoms aren't obvious yet due to your age and the severity of the disease, but you must go to the hospital and get yourself checked. If you experience a sudden major heart attack at home, your life will be in danger," Zheng Ren concluded.
The mother was left in a difficult position. She was merely experiencing slight discomfort rather than intense pain, so the diagnosis of a heart attack seemed difficult to believe at best and unconvincing at worst. "Where can I get myself checked at this hour?"
"An electrocardiogram, serum myoglobin, troponins, and myocardial enzymes are some of the basic tests we can do to diagnose a heart attack. I'm a doctor in the emergency department at Sea City General Hospital. Please trust me," replied Zheng Ren.
The mother was deeply perturbed after listening to his explanation.
However, the twin sisters were not entirely convinced. They both stared at Zheng Ren and said in unison:
"My name is Chu Yanran."
"My name is Chu Yanzhi."
"Oh… I'm Zheng Ren, a doctor in the emergency department at Sea City General Hospital."
After the brief introduction, Chu Yanran said calmly, "We're both postgraduate students in intensive care medicine at West China University. I have some questions that need clarification."
Zheng Ren immediately got a headache. Those who went to well-reputed universities and were completely assured their opinions were absolutely correct, despite a complete lack of clinical experience, were the most annoying people in the world. Working in the clinical field for more than five years would make them realize that the knowledge they acquired from medical institutions was just the tip of the iceberg.
"The diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction should—"
Zheng Ren interrupted Chu Yanran with a wave of his hand and said, "Fine, you're a student from West China. Now that I've given you a diagnosis and an explanation, it's up to you to proceed with the consultation and investigation for your mother."
Zheng Ren was not a saint; he was merely fulfilling a doctor's responsibility by diagnosing and advising a stranger with a life-threatening disease. Whether the patient went to the hospital or not… Well, that was none of his concern.
"How could you say that?" The twin sisters pouted in response.
"I only had a few cold dumplings for dinner and performed a surgery afterward. I'm very hungry right now. Since you're both medical students, you should have some preliminary judgment about your mother's condition. The decision is yours, that's all I have to say," replied Zheng Ren, completely disregarding their coquettishness.
"What was your name again?" asked Chu Yanzhi.
"Zheng Ren."
"A doctor in Sea City General Hospital?"
"Yes."
"Alright, we'll go to Sea City General Hospital and see if you're a liar." The twins dared not overlook the issue, though, since acute myocardial infarction was a life-threatening disease. It was better to be safe than sorry.
They were naturally aware as postgraduate students in intensive care medicine.
After the twin sisters and their mother paid their bill and left the restaurant, Zheng Ren checked the time. They had been out for forty-six minutes.
"Doctor Zheng, you were trying to consult the patient instead of courting that young lady?" asked Xie Yiren curiously after staring at Zheng Ren for a while.
"Yes, of course."
"Oh my God!" Xie Yiren expresed herself with an exaggerated gesture. "They are beautiful twin sisters! As a man, were you not interested in them at all?"
"The patient with myocardial infarction caught my attention the most," answered Zheng Ren.
"No wonder you've been single for so long. You know, I think you're actually paranoid. Poverty and ugliness aren't why you have an unattached life. You can't find a girlfriend because you don't want one. Well, poverty and ugliness are still your main obstacles, of course. Otherwise, there would be many girls surrounding you at all times," replied Xie Yiren, not giving up the chance to stab Zheng Ren's heart.
Zheng Ren figured he should start acclimatizing himself to Xie Yiren's manner of speech, or else his sanity would fall to pieces under these daily critical hits.
"Perhaps I shouldn't let her assist me in surgery anymore," he thought.
However, he discarded the idea almost instantaneously.
What a joke. Apart from Xie Yiren, who else possessed such extraordinary skill as a young scrub nurse?
Being young meant that she had enough physical strength and energy for unlimited overtime; in addition, her incredible skill increased his odds of performing a perfect surgery.
How could he possibly give up such a great asset?
For that, he would forgive Xie Yiren and her plain-spoken attitude. Besides, she spoke the truth.
Once the crayfish was served, Xie Yiren immediately switched to silent mode and focused all her attention on the food before her.
On the other hand, Zheng Ren nibbled the crayfish absentmindedly. In all honesty, he disliked shellfish as it was extremely troublesome and time-consuming to remove the shell before he could consume it. If someone could help him with that… Whatever… Suddenly, Zheng Ren's cell phone rang.
Zheng Ren quickly wiped his hands and accepted the call after realizing it was from the emergency department.
"Chief Zheng, there are two patients with acute appendicitis on the way via ambulance right now. They should be arriving soon," informed the nurse on duty.
Zheng Ren scratched his head, hung up and said, "Two patients. We'll return immediately."
Were it not for the fact that the mission had a countdown timer, who would perform a surgery in the middle of the night?
Xie Y
iren nodded vigorously as she swallowed the sweet, juicy crayfish in her hands.
He could eat crayfish any time, but it was impossible to get an appendicitis case in the middle of the night.
Chapter 19 - They are All Complicated Cases of Acute Appendicitis
In the surgical demonstration classroom, both Chief Surgeon Liu and Chief Physician Pan occupied one side of the room without acknowledging each other.
Just like tigers who had marked their territories, they eyed each other with covetous gazes.
Chief Surgeon Liu appeared dispirited, however, especially with his messy hair and bloodshot eyes that stared blankly into emptiness. On the other hand, Chief Physician Pan, wearing spectacles with presbyopia lenses, sat next to the window leisurely with his legs crossed while reading an old book called Limited Views.
Someone popped his head into the room furtively through the half-closed door.
"Chief Surgeon Liu, please come here for a while," whispered Cen Meng.
The anxious Chief Surgeon Liu, who was on a couch, was momentarily stunned upon hearing Cen Meng's voice. Pretending as if nothing had happened, he stood up and ensured that his outfit was neat before leaving the room and closing the door.
Chief Physician Pan stared at Chief Surgeon Liu's back and sneered. "What scheme are you cooking up for us now?"
"Two patients with acute appendicitis are coming in right now."
"Yeah, and?"
"A twenty-eight-week pregnant woman is suspected to have acute appendicitis as well as symptoms that threaten miscarriage. Her family made it very clear that the baby must survive, and other hospitals didn't dare to accept this case," replied Cen Meng with a grin.
"Oh." Chief Surgeon Liu nodded in response.
Acute appendicitis in pregnancy was one of the trickiest and most troublesome diseases in the world. Moreover, this patient was twenty-eight weeks pregnant with signs pointing to potential miscarriage, which greatly increased the difficulty of an appendectomy.
They would not have accepted this risk into the hospital were it not for the fact that they wanted to make things difficult for Zheng Ren.
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