Chapter 5 : Medical history check (2)

On her first day of work, Tang Zhen admitted six patients and was assigned five more beds.
Among them, three were preparing for surgery and two were under post-operative observation, bringing her total to eleven beds under her care.

She no longer had time to worry about Chi Yuqin’s fierce, cold face.
She had to take medical histories, order urgent blood tests and examinations, transport patients for tests, check their lab results, and handle and report any abnormalities… all while also writing up their major case histories.

But none of that was the most difficult part.
The most difficult part was when patients pressed the call bell.
Anyone could follow theoretical procedures, but once it came to clinical practice, Tang Zhen was at a loss.
Fortunately, there were other resident doctors in the department who were all very helpful, especially Wang Kai, who would often come over to offer a few words of advice.

Tang Zhen was immensely grateful for everyone’s help.

They were supposed to get off work at six, but it was already eight, and the sky was completely dark, yet no one had left.

Around ten o’clock, Zhang Pei left, followed by Ge Weiwei, and then Wang Kai… the other two were on the night shift, so when a patient in the ward pressed the call bell, they went to handle it.

Liu Sisi took a packet of instant coffee from her drawer and asked Tang Zhen—

“Hey, want some?”

Tang Zhen shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m not tired yet.”

“It’s always like this on the first day. When I first started, I could pull all-nighters too. But after three days in a row, I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Liu Sisi tore open the packet, tilted her head back, and poured the contents directly into her mouth, swallowing it down without a sip of water.
She pointed to her own head and said to Tang Zhen, “My hair was falling out in clumps, and my heart was pounding like crazy. If I hadn’t studied this stuff, I would have thought I was about to kick the bucket.”

After speaking, Liu Sisi glanced at Tang Zhen’s computer screen— “Still writing major case histories?”

“Yeah, Director Chi told me to hand them in to her in an hour. Now…”
Tang Zhen glanced at the time.
Eight hours had passed, and forget handing them in, she hadn’t even finished writing them.

“Don’t look so down, okay? Who’s born knowing how to do this? It was so busy this afternoon, even if you wanted to write, you wouldn’t have had the time.”

“You haven’t finished either?”

“I’ve finished.”

Seeing the look of disappointment that instantly clouded Tang Zhen’s face, Liu Sisi burst out laughing. “Don’t you dare think I’m just talking big without a care in the world. You should know I came half a month before you. The suffering you’re going through now, I’ve already been through it all.”

No matter the industry, there’s always a food chain.
Tang Zhen was currently at the very bottom of that food chain.
She was a small shrimp, watching the small fish and big fish swim around, freely wagging their tails.
She was envious but not jealous, wanting but not covetous.
As a small shrimp, she didn’t want to eat any of the ones ahead of her.
She just wanted to do her part, handle the tasks at hand, the tasks Chi Yuqin had assigned her, and then climb up from the bottom of this food chain, one steady step at a time.

‘Just give me a small corner, and I will definitely work twice as hard.’

At half-past ten, Tang Zhen finally finished writing the major case histories.

She didn’t have the guts to send the electronic version directly to Chi Yuqin.
The thought of those sharp eyes that could see right through a person made Tang Zhen’s whole body tremble.

She pushed back her chair and stood up.
Before heading over, she downed half a glass of cold water.

‘If she’s there… I’ll give it to her. If she’s not, at least I can say I came. Setting aside the time issue, at least my attitude is correct.’

Old Tang had said that the most important thing in life was attitude.
Once the attitude was right, there were no difficult tasks.

Just as Tang Zhen reached the office door, she ran into Zhao Qin.

“Looking for Director Chi?”

“Yes, I’ve finished writing the major case histories and came to give them to her. Has she left for the day?”

“It’s still early~ You think only you have to work overtime, and we don’t?”
Zhao Qin smiled.
“Go in and wait. She just went to the ward, she should be back soon.”

“Okay, Dr. Zhao.”

Zhao Qin had only taken two steps forward when she seemed to remember something and turned back. “Tang Zhen—”

“Yes—”

“You’re new. If you don’t understand something, just ask. Director Chi might be a bit quiet, but her professional skills are top-notch. If you can really get into a discussion with her, she’ll definitely be happy.”

“I understand. Thank you, Dr. Zhao.”

“Don’t be so formal. Just call me Sister Zhao.”

“Okay, Sister Zhao.”

That was easier said than done.
It still took courage to actually do it.
Tang Zhen gripped the doorknob, took a deep breath, and slowly pushed open the office door.

There was no one inside, but she still felt as if a pair of eyes were watching her.
She tiptoed to Chi Yuqin’s workstation and stood ramrod straight beside the desk, not daring to sit.

When Chi Yuqin returned, this was the scene she saw—beside her desk, a ‘little poplar tree’ stood tall and straight.
If it weren’t for the lack of markings, it could have been used as a ruler.

Tang Zhen heard the sound and turned her head.
The light from above shone on her face, bright and white, making her complexion appear a shade lighter.
A small, palm-sized face with evenly distributed features.
When she suddenly looked up, she had the cute look of a young cub.

Looking at her like this, Chi Yuqin felt she no longer looked like a ‘little poplar tree,’ but more like a little daisy, waiting to be picked.

“What is it?”

Chi Yuqin walked over, unscrewed a bottle of soda water, and took a small sip.

Her lip color was pale, her lip shape beautiful.
When she spoke… the corners of her mouth would pull into a shallow dimple on her left cheek.
Her two sleeves were rolled up, revealing a small section of her fair, slender arms.
With the added halo of a doctor’s white coat, she naturally exuded an extraordinary air—noble and self-possessed, cool and refined.

“The case histories you asked me to write, I’ve finished them.”

“I asked you to write them?”

“No, no, I mean the ones I was supposed to write.”

A stray wisp of hair by her temple tickled Chi Yuqin.
She reached out to tuck it away, but before her hand could touch the stray strand, the low ponytail hanging down her neck unexpectedly came loose.
Chi Yuqin turned and looked down to see that the black hair tie had broken.
Judging by the frayed edges, it had probably been on its last legs for a while.
It was a miracle it had held on until now.

She casually tossed it into the trash can and turned to rummage through her drawer.
She remembered having a spare one, but after searching for a long time, she couldn’t find it.

Since she couldn’t find it, Chi Yuqin gave up.
She slammed the drawer shut with a bang, grabbed a pen from the pen holder, wrapped her hand around the back of her head, and with a few twists, she had fashioned a bun.
Her hair was neatly coiled at the nape of her neck, the pen inserted diagonally through it to hold it in place.

Tang Zhen held out the case histories with both hands, humble and respectful.

Chi Yuqin took them, glanced down at them, then looked up at Tang Zhen.
Tang Zhen was still standing, maintaining her previous posture, only her waist was bent a little, and her head was lowered a little.

The newcomer’s attitude was good, but perhaps a bit too humble.

Sometimes, excessive modesty and restraint could also reflect a fact—she didn’t trust herself.

Tang Zhen had confused two things: humility and confidence.

Chi Yuqin wanted her to be humble, but she wanted her to be confident even more.
As a doctor, from the moment you put on that white coat, if you don’t trust yourself, how can you expect patients to trust you?

A strong general has no weak soldiers under his command.
This was a principle Chi Yuqin had always upheld.

Tang Zhen waited for a long time, but Chi Yuqin didn’t speak.
Her heart began to pound again.
Time ticked by, second by second, as Chi Yuqin flipped through the major case histories she had written, page by page.
The occasional blink of her eyelids grated on Tang Zhen’s sensitive nerves.

Her inner turmoil was becoming unbearable.
‘Whether it’s good or not, she has to say something.’
Finally, Tang Zhen summoned the courage to ask—

“Director Chi, did I make a lot of mistakes?”

“Indeed, a lot.”

Although she had already prepared herself mentally, hearing Chi Yuqin say it out loud still made Tang Zhen’s heart sink.

Chi Yuqin sat in her chair, leaning back against the backrest.
One hand rested on the desk, the other propped up, her index and middle fingers tapping lightly against her temple, exuding a sense of seriousness amidst her relaxed posture.

Suddenly, she looked up—

Her eyes held a hint of a smile, but it was definitely not a gentle gaze.
Tang Zhen didn’t know if it was nervousness or fear… her face turned red again, her cheeks and ears burning.

Tang Zhen didn’t know what she should say next, or rather… she didn’t know what was appropriate to say.
Should she admit her mistake or try to defend herself, explaining that it was her first day and she wasn’t familiar with many things, that if she were given more time, she would definitely do better, at least better than this time?

“Director Chi, I’m sorry.”

After much thought, Tang Zhen ultimately only said this.
There was no other reason.
A poor job was a poor job.
Even if there were a thousand reasons, they were all just excuses.

If this ‘I’m sorry’ had been said to someone else, perhaps, seeing her proper attitude, they might have replied with a ‘it’s okay,’ and maybe even received an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
Unfortunately, the person Tang Zhen was speaking to was Chi Yuqin.

Chi Yuqin was never the type of person who had to say ‘it’s okay’ just because you said ‘I’m sorry.’
Moreover, based on Tang Zhen’s performance today, this ‘I’m sorry’ was—deserved.

“Don’t just say you’re sorry. Do you know where the problems are?”

Since she had already said sorry, it wouldn’t hurt to admit she didn’t know.

Tang Zhen shook her head.

“In that case, I’ll be direct. It’s so late, let’s not waste each other’s time.”

Dealing with life and death all day, either on the way to the operating room or in it, Chi Yuqin had developed a habit of racing against time.
If something could be explained in one sentence, she would never use two.

“You were distracted during morning rounds. I called on you… and you were still dazed. A whole ward of people listened to you recite from a book. That’s your first point. This afternoon, when admitting patients, if Dr. Zhao hadn’t gone to call you, were you planning to hide in the office and not come out? This is a hospital, not your school’s laboratory. That’s your second point. Third point—”

Chi Yuqin paused for a moment, not even half a second, but Tang Zhen’s heart was already in her throat.

“Who taught you to conduct a physical examination like that?”

“…”

“You’ve been here all morning, and you still don’t understand the procedure for admitting patients? First step, verify the patient’s information. If I weren’t here today, how could you be sure that the person lying in the hospital bed is the patient assigned to that bed? If a mistake occurs, will you take responsibility for it?”

At this point, Chi Yuqin stopped.

“Do you want me to continue?”

Tang Zhen’s face was flushed red. “Please speak—”

“You’re quite smart.”

Chi Yuqin’s change of topic once again left Tang Zhen at a loss.
Mainly because Chi Yuqin didn’t play by the rules.
Plus, Tang Zhen knew her own limitations.
At this moment, with this person’s personality, it was impossible for her to say anything complimentary.
A sarcastic remark, however, was more likely.

Sure enough—

“Dr. Zhao asked ‘is there any other discomfort,’ and you immediately used it yourself.”

This was unexpected for Chi Yuqin.
At that moment, she had really thought Tang Zhen would be so panicked she would lose her composure.
She hadn’t expected her to still have the presence of mind to listen to what the person next to her was saying.

Just like now… after being stern with her for so long, besides blushing, this person was still able to listen to her seriously.

To be honest, Chi Yuqin found it quite amusing.

She had seen many smart people, but smart people all had one thing in common—pride.

Even when they knew they were wrong, though they might outwardly submit due to the pressure of rank and seniority, they were inwardly unconvinced.

But there were very few like Tang Zhen, who wore both intelligence and foolishness on her face at the same time.
It was almost non-existent.
Her expression seemed to say— ‘I know I’m smart, and I also know I didn’t do a good job.’

To put it bluntly, she accepted both the good and the bad.

Tang Zhen sensed Chi Yuqin looking at her.
She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt that those eyes had suddenly become gentler.
Actually, this person’s eyes were quite beautiful.
The corners of her eyes were like they had been opened, with a slight upward tilt at the end.
Tang Zhen had heard from Old Tang that people with eyes like that had very high IQs.

For a moment, Tang Zhen thought Chi Yuqin had recognized her.
Although it had been seven years since the lecture on heart disease prevention and first aid where they first met, neither of their appearances had changed much.
And they had spoken back then, so it was impossible for her to have no impression at all, right?

Indeed, there was no impression at all.
Chi Yuqin was only twenty-five when she first came back.
Now, she was thirty-three.

And she had attended too many similar lectures.
She had done so many CPR demonstrations that she was numb to them.
Let alone not remembering Tang Zhen, she didn’t even remember giving a lecture at the medical university.

So when Tang Zhen looked at Chi Yuqin with expectant eyes, Chi Yuqin only found it inexplicable.
‘Just a moment ago, she looked so pitifully humble, and now she dares to stare at me so directly?’

“Is there something wrong with your eyes?”

“No.”

“Then is there something on my face?”

Tang Zhen was startled and immediately lowered her head, retracting her gaze.

‘So clueless.’

Chi Yuqin sighed silently, feeling a bit tired.

She continued from where she had left off—

“Your résumé is very impressive. You’ve worked on some projects with your mentor, won some awards, and your thesis is well-written. Actually… given your current situation, is it possible that research would be more suitable for you than clinical work?”

“I didn’t study medicine to do research.”

“You look down on research?”

Tang Zhen was stunned.
Chi Yuqin raised an eyebrow, not thinking there was anything wrong with what she had said—

“Or are you in it for the money? You’d better not have that idea. A doctor’s salary is not as high as you think. My commission for one surgery is only eight hundred yuan.”

Before Tang Zhen could answer, Chi Yuqin’s phone on the desk rang.

Chi Yuqin glanced at it and pressed the button to silence it.

It rang again, and she silenced it again.

After three or four times, Chi Yuqin finally answered it impatiently—

“Have you had enough?”