Chapter 288: Can't Go Back

The surgery was completed smoothly; after finishing with the ping-pong ball and repeatedly observing to confirm there was no leakage, Liu Zhuren felt a sense of pleasure.

Even if he had approached it with the utmost caution at the end, and even if Liu Zhuren had reserved a margin for a tiny bit of methylene blue leakage to still count as a successful surgery, Ji Xiang's surgery had perfectly conquered him.

No, it was a conquest once again.

Liu Zhuren looked up, watching Ji Xiang busy at work, and felt a touch of regret in his heart.

If—and he only meant if—Ji Xiang had a Physician Certificate, how wonderful that would be.

This was a young man who could make him stake all the accumulations of his twenty-plus-year career as a Doctor; he was worth helping onto the horse and escorting for a stretch.

Moreover, Ji Xiang was very magnanimous.

Once he retired, every time he went to see Ji Xiang at an academic conference and told the people around him that he had watched Ji Xiang grow step by step, the feeling of just thinking about it was satisfying.

Once he retired, no matter what matter he needed Ji Xiang for—from seeing a doctor at a top-tier national hospital to arranging for a relative at the Provincial Hospital—it would all be a matter of a single phone call.

Once he retired...

Everything Liu Zhuren was thinking about was his own future path after retirement.

What a pity.

How could he not even have a Practicing Certificate?

A thick sense of regret welled up, causing Liu Zhuren to lose focus.

"Zhuren, you go down; I'll take the Patient back." Ji Xiang squinted his eyes slightly.

Liu Zhuren knew there must be a gentle smile beneath Ji Xiang's mask.

"Hard work," Liu Zhuren said, then turned to step off the platform and tore off his sterile gown, tossing it aside.

"Lao Liu!" the Circulating Nurse was displeased. "You're the one with the most fuss; you can't wear the disposable sterile gowns, saying they're uncomfortable and like diapers. I find you a sterilized one, and you tear it off the moment you finish surgery—I have to sew it every single time!"

Liu Zhuren was in a great mood and ignored the Circulating Nurse's nagging, walking out of the Operating Room with his hands behind his back, chuckling.

The surgery was a success; the surgery he hadn't been able to complete even after exhausting all his efforts last time had succeeded with ease, and Liu Zhuren almost wanted to hum a little tune.

The noise from the entrance of the operating theater passed through the large iron door, pulling Liu Zhuren back from heaven to reality.

He cautiously leaned in and heard Bai Chuzhang "communicating" with the Family Member.

This Lao Bai, insisting on going to the Medical Affairs Department—it's life-shortening, Liu Zhuren thought to himself.

Opening the door to the operating theater, Liu Zhuren wanted to stand behind Bai Chuzhang to bolster his presence, lest Bai Chuzhang get beaten.

But the moment the door to the operating theater opened, the sea of heads outside and that irritable atmosphere completely extinguished all of Liu Zhuren's thoughts.

"Liu Zhuren, you go back and wait for me; we'll eat together tonight, I have something to ask of you." Bai Chuzhang said, his expression calm and unhurried as he faced the lobby full of Family Members, turning his head to speak to Liu Zhuren.

"Oh." Liu Zhuren didn't force his way up, but instead retreated smoothly and closed the door, as if nothing had happened.

The noise outside continued, a clamor of voices drilling in through the door crack.

Liu Zhuren wanted to turn a deaf ear, but these sounds stimulated his body to release a large amount of Epinephrine, making his heart race.

Sighing deeply, Liu Zhuren felt some regret.

When would it be possible to return to the era of public-funded medical care? Perhaps only that era was a heaven for Doctors.

Now?

Even Liu Zhuren, as the head of a department at the Second Affiliated Hospital, didn't think it was good.

Changing his clothes to go back, Liu Zhuren still felt regretful; he truly wanted to keep Ji Xiang directly, but in the end, everything turned into a sigh.

After getting off work, Liu Zhuren didn't leave either, sitting in his office waiting for Bai Chuzhang's call.

At 6:30, Bai Chuzhang's call finally came in.

The two agreed to meet at Feiyang Barbecue across from the hospital; this was the old rule, an old rule from over twenty years ago.

Changing clothes and going downstairs, Liu Zhuren saw Bai Chuzhang coming out in high spirits, and he waved his hand.

"Lao Bai, finished handling it?"

"Basically."

"How much did you pay?"

"Not telling you."

In such matters, one definitely had to pay compensation, even if there was no fault. Liu Zhuren only asked casually; knowing about similar matters was useless to him anyway.

"As long as it's resolved," Liu Zhuren said. "Lao Bai, why are you looking for me?"

"Dazhi, I suddenly remembered something while watching the surgery today, but I was busy dealing with the Family Member, so I only just got free now," Bai Chuzhang said.

He didn't play coy, waiting for Liu Zhuren to ask him, but said directly, "I'm planning to bring Zhao Zhe over."

"!!!"

Liu Zhuren was startled.

"Lao Bai, have you gone muddled from being busy? I remember over twenty years ago when we were playing World of Warcraft together, I asked you how to get from Tie Lu Bu to Bao Feng Cheng, and you told me to run there."

"Hahaha."

Speaking of the past, Bai Chuzhang laughed heartily.

"There was a damn subway, and you told me to run there! I dragged my corpse for a whole day, a whole day!!"

"Why bring that up."

"Are you trying to scam me again!" Liu Zhuren clenched his fists, as if he had returned to that day twenty years ago, taking the subway from Tie Lu Bu to Bao Feng Cheng, preparing to settle the score with Bai Chuzhang.

"You..." Bai Chuzhang relaxed for a rare moment, glancing at Liu Zhuren with eyes full of emotion. "Your brain is still so stubborn; do you want to go get an MRI now to see if you have a cerebral infarction?"

"Pfft, Zhao Zhe is just a grassroots Doctor; why would I transfer him over? Not to mention how much trouble and work it would take, this matter is something I can't even handle, damn it." Liu Zhuren spat. "And that's not even mentioning that once he's transferred, he wouldn't be able to do a damn thing!"

"Ji Xiang, you aren't planning on wanting him?" Bai Chuzhang looked at his old friend of many years with the gaze of someone looking at an idiot.

"Sigh."

Speaking of Ji Xiang, Liu Zhuren's depression welled up, and he sighed deeply.

"I want him, I've even been pondering recently whether to apply for a provincial natural science grant for Ji Xiang."

"Oh? The difficulty of the Provincial Natural Science Foundation is not much lower than transferring Zhao Zhe." Bai Chuzhang said with a smile.

"That's right."

"Then what are you thinking?" Bai Chuzhang asked.

"Xiao Ji hasn't even gotten a Doctor license yet; the exam isn't until two months from now. Even if we apply for the Provincial Natural Science Foundation, the lead person would still be Zhao Zhe. Why would I go to all that trouble just for Zhao Zhe?"

Speaking up to this point, Liu Zhuren paused in surprise.

Why did he also bring up Zhao Zhe? It coincided exactly with Bai Chuzhang's thoughts.

"I'd say your brain just isn't good enough," Bai Chuzhang said with disdain. "No wonder you believed back then that a level ten-something low-level character could run from Tie Lu Bu to Bao Feng Cheng."

Liu Zhuren blocked out that sentence and asked with a frown, "Lao Bai, what are you thinking?"

The two had already walked to the entrance of Peiyang Barbecue, and Bai Chuzhang laughed when he saw the "advertisement" at the entrance of Peiyang.

"They really are getting better at tricking people. It's clearly a price hike, even if it's not by much. To be able to put on a show that makes the owner look like an idiot and makes people rush to take advantage of it—that's not simple!"

"Your brain is still faster; I had to react for a while after seeing it before I figured it out," Liu Zhuren laughed.

Bai Chuzhang raised his hand and shouted, "The usual."

The dark and thin owner of Peiyang Barbecue shouted back, and the two walked into the back room.

"Lao Bai, hurry up and tell me what's going on!"

(End of this chapter)