Chapter 4 : Medical history check (1)

After a nerve-wracking morning, Tang Zhen changed out of her white coat and went to the cafeteria.

She arrived a bit late, and there weren’t many dishes left at the cafeteria window.
As she stood at the side and glanced over, the chef inside called out to her—

“How about some scrambled eggs with tomato? I’ll give you extra eggs.”

Seeing that she didn’t answer, the chef swapped the ladle in his hand and pointed to another large metal tray. “The tomato and beef brisket is also good. The beef today is super tasty!”

Tang Zhen felt that in all her years away at school, she had largely gotten over her picky eating habits.
Things she wouldn’t touch before, she didn’t fuss about now.
When she was truly hungry… she would wolf them down.
Except for one thing she couldn’t stand—tomatoes.

It was probably a lingering side effect from her internship.
Back then, she was observing a surgery behind her mentor.
The moment the abdominal cavity was cut open, blood gushed out.
She had to bite her lip so hard she almost broke her teeth to keep from reacting.
Afterward, she threw up so violently it was a horrifying sight; she almost vomited up bile.
Since then, she could no longer eat reddish, mushy things like tomatoes, especially the kind that were cooked down until they were pulpy.
The more they were like that, the more her stomach churned.

The chef was still waiting. “Little lady! Want some?”

“No, thank you.”

Tang Zhen quickly backed away.
She took out her phone and checked the time.
Just as she was thinking of going to the supermarket to buy a sandwich and make do, she heard someone call her from behind—

“Tang Zhen! Over here—”

Tang Zhen looked toward the voice.
Someone was waving at her from a seat by the window.

‘It’s her…’

The girl who had been late for rounds this morning and was publicly shamed by Chi Yuqin, who said she would deduct points.

Before Tang Zhen could even sit down, the girl grabbed her arm and affectionately pulled her into the empty seat beside her.

“My name is Liu Sisi. You’re Tang Zhen, right? I noticed you as soon as you came in this morning.”

“Noticed me?”
Tang Zhen didn’t understand what she meant.

Liu Sisi pushed the plate of food she had gotten over to her. “You came to the cafeteria so late, there aren’t many good dishes left. Luckily, I got an extra portion.”
With that, she pushed the coffee in her hand over as well.

Tang Zhen was clearly not used to such excessive warmth from a colleague.

Liu Sisi, however, was very natural and continued, “You look so young. How old are you this year?”

“Twenty-six.”

“That’s great. I’m already twenty-nine.”
Liu Sisi sighed.
“We’re really unlucky, aren’t we? To be assigned to anyone else would have been better than being under Chi Yuqin. You don’t know yet, do you?”

“I…”

“Never mind, looking at you, you probably don’t know…”
Liu Sisi changed the subject and smiled again.
“Actually, it’s nothing. Deputy Director Chi is just a bit strict, but that’s to be expected. Who can blame her when she’s so capable? A few years ago, she led the team that performed an artificial heart surgery. She was Director Wang’s student. Back then, Director Wang went against everyone’s opinion to support her. After all, if a surgery like that succeeds, it’s history in the making. If it fails, it’s eternal infamy. So many people were skeptical, but she actually pulled it off. At Renhua, strength speaks for itself. She has both the skill and the connections, so it’s not unreasonable for her to be a bit arrogant.”

At this point, Liu Sisi put down her chopsticks and suddenly leaned closer—

“Tang Zhen, you got into Renhua at such a young age. Which ring of the city do you live in?”

Before the words had even faded, Tang Zhen saw the glint in Liu Sisi’s eyes and her undisguised desire.
She understood in an instant.

So that was the reason for all the inexplicable friendliness.
After all this time… she thought she was a local, a local who had gotten in through connections.

Tang Zhen pursed her lips imperceptibly, thinking to herself… Liu Sisi had probably already staged a grand drama of ‘a connected person pulling strings’ in her mind.

“I’m not a local.”

Liu Sisi’s expression changed, the warmth in her eyes cooling rapidly.

She said to Tang Zhen, “Let’s add each other on WeChat then.”

“Okay.”

Liu Sisi brought up her QR code with her right hand and, with her left, took back the cup of coffee she had previously pushed in front of Tang Zhen.
After Tang Zhen had scanned the code and added her, Liu Sisi stood up.
Before leaving, she pointed at the box of food she had gotten as an extra portion—

“Twenty-three yuan. Remember to transfer it to me on WeChat.”

With that, she left.

Tang Zhen didn’t delay.
Liu Sisi hadn’t even gone far before the money for the meal was transferred.

‘The food tastes pretty good, just a bit salty. I should come to the cafeteria earlier next time.’

Tang Zhen returned to the inpatient department.
There was still some time.
She was a light sleeper and didn’t feel tired even without a nap.
Her best friend said her constitution was simply not normal, but Tang Zhen herself thought it was great.
It didn’t waste time, especially after she started studying medicine; it felt like a complete blessing.

Today was her first day reporting for duty.
Tang Zhen wasn’t very familiar with what she could and couldn’t do.
But she knew one thing: work was something you had to find for yourself, especially now that she was a newcomer.
Listening more, doing more, and speaking less was always a golden rule.
Tang Zhen didn’t want to be like a walnut, only moving when struck by a hammer.
That would be too passive.

She thought of the few patients in the wards that morning.
It might be a good idea to go and familiarize herself with their situations again.

Just as she reached the door of the ward, Tang Zhen subconsciously glanced inside.
A familiar profile made her stop in her tracks—it was her.

Chi Yuqin’s hair wasn’t long, tied low at the back of her head.
Her hair color was very dark, with a slight sheen under the light.
The ill-fitting white coat looked inexplicably perfect on her.
How tall was she?
Probably around one meter seventy.
And she was wearing flat shoes.
If she wore even a slight heel… Tang Zhen inexplicably thought of herself, she would be at least half a head taller than her.

In the ward, Chi Yuqin was talking to a family member.

“Dr. Chi, my mom says she’s in pain,” the woman said.

Chi Yuqin bent down and examined the old woman.

This person’s bones seemed very hard.
Even when bending over, her spine remained straight.

“It’s nothing serious. It’s normal to feel pain right after surgery. The body needs a process of acceptance and recovery. However, considering the possibility of wound infection during the recovery period, it’s necessary to take good care of the wound area. The wound must not get wet. The family must pay close attention to this.”

As she spoke, Chi Yuqin seemed to sense a pair of eyes staring at her from outside the ward.
A casual glance confirmed it was not her imagination… a person was standing bolt upright next to the wide-open door—Tang Zhen was caught red-handed.

Just like being caught peeking during morning rounds, Tang Zhen felt she was being a bit reckless today, always doing stupid things that put her in an awkward position.

She wasn’t as lucky as this morning.
Director Wang wasn’t here now, so no one could divert the attention.
And since she had been seen, pretending not to have seen anything would be inappropriate, not just to Chi Yuqin… but even to Tang Zhen herself.

She thought about it.
She hadn’t intentionally come to see her.
The path back to the office just happened to pass by here, and the ward door was wide open.
Even if it were someone else, they would probably have glanced in subconsciously.

With this thought, Tang Zhen’s logic straightened out.
So, she nodded politely at Chi Yuqin.

To be honest, Chi Yuqin didn’t mind being watched, especially by a newcomer.
After all, the newcomers she had mentored, when they first arrived, would more or less look at her like this, regardless of their motives.

It was a form of assessment… very normal, just as she would assess them in the same way.
But there were few like Tang Zhen, who, even after being discovered, remained so openly and unabashedly unafraid of arousing suspicion.

Chi Yuqin thought of the way this person had peeked at her during morning rounds.
She was much bolder now than she had been then.

“Is the cardiac MRI for bed eleven out yet?”
Chi Yuqin said as she walked toward Tang Zhen.

“It should be out…”

“Should be?”

A single rhetorical question caught Tang Zhen completely off guard—

“I’m sorry, I haven’t gone back to check yet.”

“No time to go back and check, but time to loiter here? Do you think this is a wet market where you can stroll around to aid digestion?”

“I’m sorry, I’ll go back and check right now.”

“Wait—”

Tang Zhen’s heart skipped a beat.
She felt as if she had been stared at by Medusa, completely petrified.
Whatever Chi Yuqin said, she did.
She stood frozen in place, not daring to move.

“Please speak—”

“You’re in charge of the new patients admitted this morning. Write up their case histories and hand them to me in an hour—”

“An hour…”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, no.”

“Also—”
Chi Yuqin paused, her gaze sweeping over Tang Zhen’s face, finally moving down to her white coat.
“No running in the hospital.”

After saying this, Chi Yuqin walked past her without waiting for Tang Zhen’s reply.

And Tang Zhen?
She didn’t run, indeed, but the speed at which her feet were moving was fast enough to compete in a walking rave event at an athletics meet.

Chi Yuqin stopped at the corner, frowning at the fleeing figure… Renhua was a top-tier hospital in Jingbei. What kind of people were they recruiting? Did they scamper away like a mouse seeing a cat after just a few words?

She thought of Director Wang’s words again— ‘If there’s a gap between the old and new generations, how will we continue?’

Indeed, if this continued, how could they possibly continue?

Tang Zhen rushed into the office in one breath.
Liu Sisi, whom she had met in the cafeteria earlier, was sitting opposite her.
Seeing her forehead covered in sweat, she asked strangely, “What’s wrong with you? Did you see a ghost?”

‘Didn’t I just see a ghost?’

Tang Zhen shook her head.

She opened her computer, about to check the cardiac MRI for bed eleven, when she suddenly remembered something and slapped her hand on the desk—

‘That’s not right! It hasn’t even been half an hour since the test was done, how could there be results?!’

Before her brain could process it, Chi Yuqin floated past the doorway like a gust of wind, holding a cup of coffee.

Liu Sisi bit her lip and propped her hands on the desk—

“This sister lives in a mansion, she’s so cool!”

The office wasn’t small, with a total of seven workstations.
Medical record carts, desks, and a separate small, long table against the wall, on which were disposable paper cups, hand sanitizer, and various other odds and ends.
A water dispenser stood by the table, making a clicking sound whenever water was dispensed, which made the space feel a bit crowded.

The colleagues she hadn’t had time to get to know in the morning, she finally met about ten minutes before the lunch break ended.

Among them, Zhang Pei was the oldest.
He was here for advanced training from a neighboring city and had been here for over six months.
In another year, he would have to return to his original hospital, but this time, a promotion and a raise were practically guaranteed.

Ge Weiwei and Wang Kai, along with two others, were resident physicians, the pillars of the hospital in their thirties.
In their own words, they did the dirtiest and most tiring work.

Liu Sisi was also in residency training.
In a sense, she and Tang Zhen were in a competitive relationship.

Zhang Pei, playing the role of the big brother, lowered his head and sniffed his cigarette pack to satisfy his craving.
When he looked up again, he waved his hand cheerfully—

“You’re Tang Zhen, right? Only twenty-six~ so young, really young. Don’t call me uncle in the future, call me brother, just call me brother!”

“Cut it out. Your son is taking the college entrance exam next year, and you have the nerve to have her call you brother~”

“Aiyo, titles, you have to go with the younger ones. The younger you’re called, the younger you feel. You don’t know shit.”

The few of them chatted back and forth, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
In this relaxed and stress-free environment among colleagues, Tang Zhen finally laughed without restraint.

Tang Zhen was the youngest in the office.
In the medical field, it was rare to see someone so young.
Everyone more or less had a good impression of her.
Even someone like Liu Sisi, who was always gossiping about which ring of the city people lived in, liked to sidle up to Tang Zhen for a chat.

The humorous jokes were a kind of seasoning in the tense and high-pressure environment.
At this moment, Tang Zhen felt full of energy again, ready to go!

She faced the computer keyboard and started typing away.
‘So what if it’s a major case history? I’m not afraid!’

Work time arrived, and everyone gradually went out to work.
Tang Zhen was focused and didn’t notice someone walking over until a cheerful male voice sounded above her head.
She looked up.

“Tang Zhen, keep it up~”
Wang Kai’s smile was bright.
After speaking, he walked around behind Tang Zhen’s chair and left the office.

As soon as he left, Liu Sisi came over—

“Handsome, right? He was the campus heartthrob back in school.”

“…”
Tang Zhen felt there was a hidden meaning in her words.
“You like him?”

“Pah! Am I that shallow?”
Liu Sisi raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“A handsome guy is nice to look at, but I prefer beautiful women, especially the tender and fair kind like you, delicious and juicy with one bite!”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Liu Sisi giggled. “I’m not teasing you anymore. If his family was in Jingbei, maybe I’d consider it. But he’s from the same place as me, and his hometown is even more remote than mine. Not suitable.”

The conversation stopped there.
Liu Sisi didn’t say more, and Tang Zhen didn’t ask.

She silently sketched out a map of Jingbei in her mind—

‘A mansion… would mean she’s worth over a hundred million, right?’

Tang Zhen thought of the time when Old Tang got an extra two hundred yuan for his year-end bonus, and he was so happy you could see his back molars~

“Why are you still here?”

The door was suddenly knocked on.
It was the attending physician, Zhao Qin.

Tang Zhen jumped. “I’m writing the major case history.”

“What major case history are you writing now? Hurry up and go admit patients.”

“Coming.”

Zhao Qin walked briskly ahead, with Tang Zhen following closely behind.

“There will always be new patients coming into the inpatient department. I don’t care how many you admitted this morning. Here, a doctor averages at least six to ten patients a day and manages at least fifteen to twenty-five beds. You have to learn to manage your time yourself, or at your pace, you won’t be going home tonight.”

“I understand, Dr. Zhao.”

By the time Tang Zhen reached the ward, Chi Yuqin was already there.

Tang Zhen clutched the notebook in her hand and subconsciously wanted to go to the foot of the bed again.
But Zhao Qin gave her a push.
Propelled by inertia, Tang Zhen took a step forward, brushing past Chi Yuqin’s arm and standing almost pressed against her, right by her side.

Zhao Qin greeted Chi Yuqin and then went to another bed.

With Chi Yuqin standing beside her, Tang Zhen felt an inexplicable panic.
She had studied for so many years, and the mentors during her internship were no less strict than Chi Yuqin.
But for some reason, Tang Zhen felt an unfounded nervousness around her.
Even now, when Chi Yuqin wasn’t even looking at her, she felt like she wanted to shrink her head into her neck.

“How long has it been hurting?”
Chi Yuqin asked, looking at the man on the bed.

“Well… about half an hour.”
The man clutched his chest, his face a little pale.
“Before, it was just a dull ache, so I didn’t think much of it this time. Who knew it would hurt for half an hour and not get better? I didn’t dare to wait any longer, so I came.”

Chi Yuqin looked at the ECG, then her gaze shifted to Tang Zhen’s face.
She was wearing a mask, revealing only the part above her nose.
Her eyes held a sharp gaze.
With a quick blink, she handed the task to Tang Zhen—

“You do the screening.”

Tang Zhen’s only clinical experience was from her internship with her mentor and the little bit of practical learning she had gotten when her father, Old Tang, pulled some strings to get her into the local county hospital.
Other than that, she had none.

But now, in front of the patient, the patient’s family, and under Chi Yuqin’s almost oppressive gaze, she didn’t dare to refuse even if she wanted to.
She could only brace herself and go on.
The small notebook in her hand was crumpled from her tight grip.
A pile of theoretical knowledge was tangled in her mind like a ball of string.
She bit her lip and then spoke softly—

“Do you have any other medical history?”

“Be more specific,” Chi Yuqin reminded her.

“Uh… do you have coronary heart disease?”

The man shook his head. “No.”

“Then… do you have high blood pressure or diabetes?”

“I have high blood pressure,” the man nodded.

Tang Zhen glanced at Chi Yuqin out of the corner of her eye.
Chi Yuqin’s arms were crossed over her chest, her eyelids lowered, hiding her expression.
She only heard her say two words: “Continue.”

“…”

Tang Zhen felt that all the books she had read over the years had been for nothing.
None of them were useful at this critical moment.
If it weren’t for Zhao Qin also screening a patient nearby and asking, ‘Besides the discomfort in your eyes, is there any other discomfort?’ Tang Zhen wouldn’t have known how long she would have stood there like an idiot.

“So, besides chest pain and tightness, is there any other discomfort?”

“Other places?”
The man felt around his body and shook his head.
“I don’t think so.”

“Have you had any recent gastric bleeding, diarrhea, or fundal hemorrhage?”

“I don’t think so… Doctor, you’re asking so many questions, how would I know? If I knew, why would I come to the hospital?”

Tang Zhen was already nervous.
The man’s rhetorical question made her scalp sweat.
Although he hadn’t said it outright, Tang Zhen could tell from his expression that the patient no longer trusted her.

But as long as Chi Yuqin didn’t call a halt, Tang Zhen couldn’t stop.
The air conditioning in the room must have been on the lowest setting, because Tang Zhen was so hot that sweat was trickling down from her temples.

“Then… then you… you…”

“No, I mean, can you even treat patients? If you can’t, don’t just stand there fumbling around. I’m in pain!”

Just as the man was about to lose his temper, Chi Yuqin finally spoke—

“Have you been hospitalized before?”

“Yes, yes, I was hospitalized last month for a cerebral infarction, right here in your hospital.”

“Are you taking antiplatelet and statin drugs?”

“Yes, yes, I’m taking them as prescribed.”

Chi Yuqin nodded. “Take the clopidogrel as well, and use the coronary vasodilator for now. I’ll write a prescription. A nurse will come to check with you and give you medication instructions later. Stay for two days, and we’ll see how things go.”

“Alright! Thank you for your trouble!”

Chi Yuqin walked quickly out of the ward, and Tang Zhen, like a headless fly, hurriedly followed.

Just as she stepped out of the ward, she was stopped by Chi Yuqin’s questioning gaze.

“Why are you following me?”

“I…”
Tang Zhen hadn’t meant to follow her.
It was just that after the embarrassing scene in the ward, when she saw Chi Yuqin leave, she had unconsciously started walking too.

“Do you not know what you’re supposed to be doing?”

Chi Yuqin was always about the matter at hand, not the person.
This was her style of speaking.
Even if it weren’t Tang Zhen standing there now, she would have used the same words, the same tone, the same cadence.

“If you don’t know, go ask Liu Sisi, ask the other resident doctors in the department. Following me is useless.”

Chi Yuqin turned to leave.

Tang Zhen didn’t know where she got the courage, but she suddenly said—

“The cardiac MRI for bed eleven is out.”

Chi Yuqin paused for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.
As she walked away, she threw back a reply—

“Got it.”

She walked away with a casual air, leaving Tang Zhen standing there like a frost-bitten eggplant.
The energy she had just mustered to cheer herself on was now… completely drained.