Chapter 11 : Emergency Patient (2)

In just one morning, the news of Chi Yuqin and Liu Renzong’s disagreement spread throughout the inpatient department.
No one mentioned it openly, but there was plenty of discussion in private.

“Seventy-three and eighty-four, if Death doesn’t come for you, you go yourself.”
Zhang Pei stretched, letting out an incredibly long yawn. “Normally, we doctors shouldn’t be so superstitious, but there’s always some truth to the old sayings. To be stuck at eighty-three, and with all these life-threatening illnesses… if it were me, I probably would have sent him to the Second Hospital too. Dr. Chi is still a bit too young.”

“That’s not how you should put it. What has Renhua relied on all these years to establish itself in Jingbei? Isn’t it these difficult and complicated cases, snatching people from death’s hands? If it were an illness that could be easily cured, why come to Renhua? A regular hospital could handle it.”
Ge Weiwei twisted open her water bottle cap and took a sip.

“Is cardiac surgery so easily done? How much work does one surgery entail? What if the patient doesn’t make it off the table, or makes it off but doesn’t survive? We’d be lucky if the family doesn’t cause a scene. If they do… how many people will be implicated? It won’t be just Dr. Chi who has to bear the responsibility.”

“The surgery hasn’t even been done yet, and you’re already thinking about failure. What if it’s a success? Then… not only Dr. Chi, but our entire cardiac surgery department will share in the glory.”
Ge Weiwei’s voice rose a few decibels as she tightened the cap on her water bottle. “And… don’t you guys think the cover of our hospital’s website is particularly ugly? That big, half-bald head, makes it seem like every doctor has to be bald. The old ways really need to change, starting with changing the website cover.”

Zhang Pei glanced at her. “Change it to who?”

Ge Weiwei didn’t even think before blurting out, “Whoever is good at surgery, change it to them.”

“Yo, yo, yo… you’ve decided all by yourself.”

Zhang Pei turned to look at the other people in the office.
Everyone was busy with their own work, no one taking the bait.

His eyes scanned the room and finally landed on Tang Zhen.
Half-joking, half-serious, he asked her, “Little Tang, you tell us… who should we change it to?”

Tang Zhen looked up.
The computer screen happened to be on the hospital’s homepage—Liu Renzong’s large, half-bald head, powdered to a shine, his whole face greasy, and his loose white coat stretched round over his belly.

“I…”

Just as she said one word, Liu Sisi suddenly reached over—

“Tang Zhen, do you have any tissues? Quick, find some for me, my stomach hurts!”

With that, she stood up and walked out the door.

Tang Zhen, holding the tissues, quickly followed.

“Hey! Sisi, are you okay?”

As soon as she stepped out of the office, Tang Zhen’s arm was grabbed and she was pulled toward the emergency exit.
The heavy brown door was pushed open and slammed shut.
It was just the two of them.
Looking at Liu Sisi now, with her hands on her hips, where was any sign of discomfort?

“Your stomach doesn’t hurt anymore?”

“My stomach never hurt in the first place.”

“Then just now—”

“You’re still talking about just now? Do you know how much danger you were in just now?”

Liu Sisi frowned and sighed—

“Can’t you see that Zhang Pei is using you as a pawn? Don’t be so silly, okay? He sets a trap for you, and you just walk right into it. Didn’t you see that in the whole office, besides the two of them… no one was taking the bait?”

Although she had only known Tang Zhen for less than a week, Liu Sisi had noticed her slowness in certain matters.
She felt that if she didn’t point it out to this person, she would probably make the same mistake next time—

“Let me be blunt with you. Ge Weiwei is a Jingbei local. Her parents are both cadres in the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. They have at least a dozen properties under their name and deep connections. It’s one thing for her to say it, after all, her family background is there, no one will take her seriously. As for Zhang Pei, he’s here for advanced training. He’ll be gone in another year. So he can say what he wants, it doesn’t matter if it gets back to anyone. But it’s different for us. No money, no car, no house, no background. They’ll use a magnifying glass to find problems with even the smallest things. What if some big mouth fans the flames and gives you a hard time… can you handle it?”

“I didn’t want to say anything. I just think that since the patient is here, they should be treated.”

“Whether they’re treated or not is not for us to decide. Old Man Liu is very petty. This time, Chi Yuqin made him lose face. In the future… you just watch… if there’s even the slightest mistake, Liu Renzong will definitely make a mountain out of a molehill.”

Tang Zhen thought for a moment—

“Then… who do you side with?”

“Do you even need to ask? Of course, it’s Dr. Chi!”

Seeing Tang Zhen’s dazed look, Liu Sisi burst out laughing—

“Do you think I’m particularly conflicted? Let me tell you, one thing is one thing. If they want to form cliques and stick together, that’s their business. As for us… to put it nicely, we’re honest. To put it bluntly… whether we join a clique or not is not for us to decide. When it really comes to that… even if you don’t want to take a side… you have to. But then again, whether you’re in a clique or not… what matters in the end is skill. Why is Liu Renzong so anxious? It’s because he doesn’t dare to do it himself. As for Dr. Chi, her temper is indeed a bit foul, but for her to admit someone to the hospital in the middle of the night over the phone, I admire her for that!”

A breeze blew through the emergency exit.
The gray steps led down and up.
The white coat hung straight down, giving off a sacred, pure white aura.

“Then do you think, if she does the surgery, she can succeed?”

“Who knows? No matter how skilled Chi Yuqin is, she’s not a god.”

As soon as they came out, they saw a crowd of people in the corridor.

“What’s going on here?”
Liu Sisi stretched her neck to look forward.

Before she could see anything clearly, she heard Zhao Qin’s voice— “Alright, alright, everyone disperse now~ Don’t crowd here. The air isn’t circulating, it’s not good for your health.”

This was a hospital, after all.
As soon as something was said to be bad for one’s health, everyone scattered like birds and beasts.

As everyone dispersed, Tang Zhen saw an old woman with a full head of white hair, supported by Zhao Qin and the head nurse on either side, slowly walking toward the ward.

Tears streamed down the old woman’s face.
As she walked, she turned her head back—

“Dr. Chi, you must save my old man. Our whole family will be grateful to you.”

“Dr. Chi will definitely do her best. Let’s not get emotional. You have to go back and take care of him later. The old man is counting on you now.”

Zhao Qin and the head nurse took turns persuading her.

Liu Sisi was an impatient person.
She pulled over a caregiver auntie who had witnessed the whole thing and asked, “What happened?”

“Sigh… the old lady just knelt down to Dr. Chi in front of everyone.”
The caregiver was old and had been at the hospital for a long time.
Although she had seen such scenes many times, the sadness in her heart was still the same as the first time, her eyes and heart all wet.
“Why is it so hard to be old? I really can’t stand this.”

Knelt?

Tang Zhen and Liu Sisi looked at each other.

Liu Sisi sighed. “…Sigh, if you have something to say, say it. Why kneel? How much pressure does that put on a person? And it’s not a good look either.”

Someone at the nurse’s station called for her, so Liu Sisi left first.

Only Tang Zhen remained standing there.
She had only seen scenes of patients kneeling to doctors on TV, never in person.

At this moment, Chi Yuqin was leaning against the wall.
Occasionally, someone would peek out from a ward to look.

She had no expression, only her face was a little pale.

After a while, Zhao Qin came back from the ward—

“You don’t look well. Are you alright?”

At their age, they were in their prime.
Not only did they have to endure the physical strain of working around the clock every day, but the mental pressure was also imaginable.
Director Wang often said at major meetings that a healthy body was the capital of the revolution.
While treating patients, they also had to take care of their own bodies.

They were all experienced veterans of clinical practice.
If there was any mishap, it wasn’t just themselves who would suffer.
The precious experience gained over time was priceless.

“Why were you in such a hurry? Director Wang has repeatedly stressed that a healthy body is the capital of the revolution… you just let it go in one ear and out the other. If you wear yourself out, how can you save others?”

Chi Yuqin could have come back the next day, but she received a call at the last minute.
The old lady kept crying.
Fortunately, her daughter was there to explain the situation.
Chi Yuqin didn’t know how they had gotten her phone number, but from the old lady’s choked sobs, she knew there must have been some unspeakable hardship in between.

And so, the emergency admission in the middle of the night happened.
And it was a good thing it did.
The old man had just come in when he went into heart failure… by the time Chi Yuqin arrived at the hospital, he was already in the intensive care unit.

Chi Yuqin had been busy since last night.
During that time, let alone food, she hadn’t even had a sip of water.
How could her complexion be good?
It was a miracle she hadn’t collapsed.

“Do you want me to get you a bottle of glucose?”

“I’m not that delicate.”

“If you’re tired, rest for a while.”

“Mm.”

Tang Zhen just stood there, watching Chi Yuqin’s tired and somewhat disheveled side.
Suddenly, she seemed to understand that phrase—with great power comes great responsibility.

If Chi Yuqin hadn’t taken that call, or if she had taken it but not done the surgery, she wouldn’t have been so tired.

What was this person looking at?

Did she really like to stare at people so much?

Although Chi Yuqin was exhausted, her senses were still sharp.
She turned her head, a hint of impatience in her eyes.

Tang Zhen panicked.
She panicked because she didn’t know how to explain to Chi Yuqin that she was indeed just passing by, and not, as it appeared now—caught peeking.

What was chaotic were her two legs, slowly backing away, moving in a strange posture, like a moving ‘tree.’
She even gave a sudden, slight bow and said, “Hello, Director Chi.”

Hiss…

Chi Yuqin was getting a little annoyed.

What the hell was that posture?? What kind of bow was she doing?!