Chapter 202: Going Back for a Circumcision

"Let me handle it." Seeing Zhao Zhe looking a bit embarrassed, Ji Xiang knew he didn't know anyone in Shanghai.

He took out his phone and made a call.

"Mom, how is Qin Chu? Has he woken up?"

"He's fine. He went to the Emergency Department and was put on a cardiac monitor. I heard Academician Teng say Qin Chu's vital signs are stable and there are no other issues."

"That's good. When will you have time?" Ji Xiang smiled brightly.

"I have things to do here. You head back first; we'll talk when I get home in a few days."

As soon as the words fell, the person on the other end hung up.

Ji Xiang felt a bit helpless; his mother had always had this hurried temperament, and even after all these years, it hadn't changed.

"Qin Chu is fine," Ji Xiang said to Zhao Zhe.

"Xiao Ji, were those people with Academician Teng your parents?"

"Yeah, they probably knew I was here for a meeting and wanted to come see the excitement." Ji Xiang felt slightly annoyed. "I'm already grown up, yet they still worry."

Zhao Zhe clicked his tongue in amazement.

He had seen Ji Xiang's parents interacting with Teng as if they were friends, and now, hearing the confirmation from Ji Xiang's own mouth, he felt he had underestimated Ji Xiang.

This young man not only possessed extraordinary talent, but his family background was also formidable.

How could someone who could chat so happily with an Academician be an ordinary person?

"What are we doing next?" Zhao Zhe asked.

"After the meeting, of course, we're going home. There's no point in lingering here."

Today was Saturday, and Ji Xiang was excited at the thought of going home to perform surgeries at the Nan Ke Yi Yuan with Wang Daxiao and Mo Chenggui for a day.

The holiday would soon be over, and the number of circumcisions would drop off a cliff.

He had to seize the opportunity; even though it was just a minor surgery, Ji Xiang didn't want to miss it.

Seeing Ji Xiang so focused on circumcisions, Zhao Zhe found it somewhat amusing.

He rarely performed such minor surgeries himself; only now did Ji Xiang look like a Standardized Training Student.

"Xiao Ji, you really gave me a huge fright just now."

Just as Ji Xiang had guessed, without him even asking, Zhao Zhe's talkative nature naturally steered the topic toward the "Gaze of the Superior Doctor."

"How so?"

"You were too fierce just now. Let me think." Zhao Zhe pondered slightly. "When I first started working, that was twenty years ago, our Lao Zhuren was extremely fierce. If there was a single typo in a Medical Record, he would throw it right in your face."

"Back then, whenever I saw our Lao Zhuren, my legs would cramp up, and I couldn't even walk straight. Right! Professor Ling Tian walked with a limp later on; I bet he felt the same way."

Zhao Zhe felt what he said was a bit strange, but because his talkative nature had taken over, he didn't think much of it.

"I felt exactly that way when I looked at you just now. It was as if I had written a Medical Record wrong, or hadn't tied the knots on an artery securely during surgery; I would tremble the moment the director narrowed his eyes."

"It's really strange. Lao Zhuren has been retired for so many years, so why do I still have this feeling? For so many years, no matter who I see, even though I act like a subservient grandson, I know what I'm thinking inside—I'm definitely not that afraid; it's all just an act."

"But just now, I was truly terrified, scared to death, to the point where I felt like my heart condition was about to flare up. By the way, Xiao Ji, do you think Qin Chu has a heart condition?"

"No," Ji Xiang said. "He should have had an Electrocardiogram done; there's nothing wrong."

"Then how could he have been scolded into fainting? Strange." Zhao Zhe entered thinking mode.

"Maybe he's done too many guilty things," Ji Xiang said very calmly. "When I was in school, my teacher said that being a Doctor is a job of conscience. You might do some things to make a living, but you can't go too far, you can't cross the line; you must always act according to your conscience."

"That's right!" Zhao Zhe said. "Fifteen minutes per surgery—my heart skipped a beat just watching it. I thought it was unbelievable. Is this even a top-tier hospital? It's not even as good as those private hospitals that scam people for money."

"I initially thought their surgeries were done well, which is why they were so fast, fast as lightning. Just like when you perform surgery, Xiao Ji—going in for Super-selection, never failing once, steady and secure."

"But who would have thought they were just placing the tube on the Hepatic Artery and injecting drugs directly? Never mind the results; just thinking about how uncomfortable the Patient must be after having drugs injected into their entire liver is unimaginable."

Ji Xiang remembered how he had vomited for four whole days after experiencing that through Empathy, vomiting until the world went dark, but unfortunately, he couldn't share that feeling with Zhao Zhe.

"Maybe Qin Chu felt ashamed of himself. How could he be a director? He's not even as good as the director of our small hospital. Even though our level isn't high and our director isn't ambitious, he's still quite good to the Patients."

"I originally thought the interventional level here was high and wanted to get surgical videos to study, but the classmates I know and others just curled their lips in disdain."

Zhao Zhe talked all the way, rambling on, but he felt quite satisfied.

He had never experienced such a gossipy moment in his life. Although it seemed his years of hard work were about to go down the drain, those papers and data were nowhere near as satisfying as watching Ji Xiang scold Qin Chu until he fainted on the spot.

Just as Academician Teng said, Qin Chu was parading through the streets in the Emperor's new clothes, thinking he was so impressive.

He wanted to crush Ji Xiang with the force of a lion pouncing on a rabbit, but he didn't expect to be countered and killed by this young lad who exposed the truth that Qin Chu himself wasn't wearing any clothes.

This gossip was enough for Zhao Zhe to talk about for half a lifetime, and he was naturally thrilled to have witnessed it with his own eyes.

The two chatted as they headed straight for the Airport.

Ji Xiang was anxious to get home to perform surgeries; the fireworks at Disney weren't as sweet as performing surgery.

……

……

In the Emergency Department.

Qin Chu lay flat on the hospital bed, hooked up to a Cardiac Monitor.

Countless thoughts swirled and collided in his mind.

Especially at the moment he prepared to teach that young Doctor a lesson and use his own status and position to completely crush him, memories surged into his mind like a tide, as if he were possessed, feeling the entire process of a Patient from falling ill to surgery, and then to death.

Even Qin Chu, whose mind was as firm as a rock, was left bewildered and at a loss.

The matter was strange, but he had no time to think about why he had been possessed and experienced so much.

Qin Chu was incredibly ashamed; the medical staff passing by seemed to be pointing fingers at his back in secret, saying something.

He knew his reputation in the academic circle of interventional medicine was poor, and he always comforted himself that this was a helpless move made to treat more Patients.

But only when the knife fell on oneself did one know the pain.

Qin Chu silently recalled that "personal experience" which felt like a past life, and the emotion of fear kept rising from the bottom of his heart.

This fear included the dread of death, the helplessness of knowing the surgery was just a sham yet being unable to do anything about it, and the head-on, jolting reprimand from that young Doctor.

He stared at the ceiling, his eyes fixed and vacant, like a dead fish.

"Boss."

Ling Tian came to the Consultation Room in shame, saw that the various values on Qin Chu's Cardiac Monitor were stable, sat on the chair beside the bed, and called out softly.

(End of this chapter)