Chapter 540: The Sense of Distance in Enthusiasm

The surgery went very smoothly; after a definitive diagnosis, a cholecystectomy is merely a basic procedure for a Grade A Tertiary Hospital of the Affiliated Hospital's caliber.

As for post-operative anti-infection and symptomatic treatment, there is a high probability there will be no issues, so the surgery became more and more relaxed as it progressed.

Kong Zhuren left, but Ji Xiang did not follow; he quietly watched Yang Zhuren and Zhai Yuhan perform the surgery. He had not yet improved his surgical skills in hepatobiliary and Gastrointestinal Surgery, so watching a few more times and accumulating more experience was a good thing.

Especially with Fan Dao waiting outside, Ji Xiang also had a headache about this; he did not want to face Fan Dao and the camera lens.

He had no interest in becoming famous, only wanting to be a quiet Doctor.

"Yang Zhuren, why did you come back up?" The Instrument Nurse saw that the surgery was entering the finishing stages and began to chat idly.

"I came to see Xiao Ji Yisheng's diagnosis." Yang Zhuren looked at the image on the television screen, his eyes narrowing unconsciously.

"Xiao Ji, Ji Xiang!" The Instrument Nurse was a little excited. "You were really handsome on the show. Call me once you've changed your clothes; I'll go to the door to see the real you."

"Sigh..." Ji Xiang was helpless.

"Leave me an autograph—no, I need a dozen. Classmates have already started asking me about this show and you; one is definitely not enough."

At this moment, Ji Xiang finally felt truly awkward.

More awkward than misdiagnosing.

More awkward than when the anesthesia was too light during an incision.

Fame, sometimes, is not necessarily a good thing; at least Ji Xiang did not like being recognized everywhere he went.

"Xiao Lin, don't mess around." Yang Zhuren blocked the nonsense of wanting an autograph for Ji Xiang, then said, "Let me test you young people with a question."

Ji Xiang saw Zhai Yuhan's sterile cap seem to move, as if her ears had perked up with Muscle Memory after hearing the word "test."

"What question? If it's a medical question, let Xiao Ji Yisheng answer; we can't do it," the Instrument Nurse said with a laugh, not feeling constrained at all.

"A life question."

Usually, when a surgery reaches the finishing stage, it is time for "driving" (making dirty jokes), but since Ji Xiang was a guest, there had to be some restraint in front of him.

Secondly, "driving" was an old routine that had long since lost its appeal, so everyone had little interest in it and usually just chatted about daily life.

"My son said a few days ago that his newly bought bracelet had a problem. Every night at nine o'clock, it automatically disconnects from Beidou positioning, and his night run distance record gets interrupted. You tell me, what's going on?"

"It's in power-saving mode," Ji Xiang answered immediately.

"Hm?!" Yang Zhuren was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected Ji Xiang to give the answer without even thinking, and he looked back at Ji Xiang, full of suspicion. "How did you know?"

"What exactly is the matter? I didn't understand," the Instrument Nurse didn't understand at all; this life question seemed even harder than a professional one.

"Power-saving mode automatically disconnects from Beidou when the time is up. I encountered a similar problem five years ago," Ji Xiang answered with a smile. "At the time, I looked for the manufacturer and the sales department. My mom said she wanted to find the technical department to solve it, but I didn't agree. It was too much trouble, so I changed my night runs to morning runs."

"..."

"..."

What kind of answer was that?

Who would have thought Ji Xiang was actually a mama's boy?!

"Anyway, it's all running. After changing to morning runs, I discovered the benefits of morning runs—no need to stay up late, and my schedule became much more regular. So, after knowing that it was me setting the power-saving mode that caused the electronic system to disconnect from Beidou, I didn't change it."

Yang Zhuren turned back to continue the surgery, but Ji Xiang's words seemed to affect his surgical rhythm; he only recovered after a few seconds of centering his heart and calming his spirit.

"Ha, how strange! I thought there was some bug!" the Instrument Nurse laughed. "I also encountered a bug this year."

"During that time, I was working overtime on surgeries, extremely busy, and my sleep wasn't good. Very quickly, I discovered something very eerie."

"What happened?" Zhai Yuhan asked, trying to have some sense of participation.

"I would have a black mark on my chin."

"A mark?!"

"Yes, at first I didn't pay attention, thinking I had bumped into something or accidentally gotten it dirty. But it was there every day. Twice during overtime surgeries, it was the circulating Nurse who reminded me that I noticed it."

"At the time, the more I thought about it, the more scared I became. It just so happened that I was watching a Thai thriller at the time, and seeing a black mark appear for no reason, my mind was filled with all sorts of messy thoughts."

"Ha, how could that be," Zhai Yuhan laughed.

"Of course, it wouldn't be." The Instrument Nurse handed over the warm Saline and continued, "Later, one day I observed carefully, and it was actually numbers! Zhai Jie, do you know? At the time, I was thinking of *The Three-Body Problem*. But I'm just a small Instrument Nurse; what virtue or ability do I have to make the Trisolarans give me a personal death countdown?"

"Tsk tsk, your imagination. But Xiao Lin, you have self-awareness, knowing that aliens have nothing to do with you," Zhai Yuhan said. "What was it actually?"

"During that time, to ensure sleep, I drank a cup of milk every night at eight o'clock. I drank it while binge-watching shows, and my chin would press against the milk carton. The production date was printed on the chin, and I discovered it and mistook it for a death countdown."

"Hahahaha."

"Xiao Ji Yisheng, they all say you people from the Northeast are quite fierce, is that right? You shouldn't be scared when encountering something like this, right?" the Instrument Nurse asked.

"Not at all. There are plenty of places in the country with fierce folk customs; we in the Northeast don't count," Ji Xiang said. "However, a few years ago, there was an internet streamer who immigrated to the United States. She was about forty years old at the time, called San Houzi."

"One day, a thief came to her house. Her husband and... let's call him a robber, were fighting intensely. Big Sister San Houzi grabbed a newly bought revolver, went downstairs, and bang-bang-bang fired all the bullets in the house at the robber."

"..."

"..."

"Self-defense, Big Sister was fine. But what's interesting is that in the United States, you generally need psychological counseling if you kill someone for the first time, but that Big Sister was completely fine, just thinking it was a very ordinary small matter."

Yang Zhuren finished flushing the abdominal cavity, confirmed that the site of the removed Gallbladder was intact and not bleeding, and took another look at the appendix with Feng Zhuren.

While performing surgery, he listened to Ji Xiang and the Instrument Nurse chatting heatedly, and his favor for Ji Xiang grew stronger and stronger.

High technical level, humble yet with a bottom line; he wasn't as servile as Li Ming, Li Zhuren, was when facing Qin Chu.

Moreover, Ji Xiang didn't "drive" or make dirty jokes during surgery. No matter the topic, he could keep up and chat; he was enthusiastic yet maintained a subtle, imperceptible sense of distance.

This child is truly excellent.

It's a pity he can't stay.

Yang Zhuren had a profound understanding of Ji Xiang, and the more profound it was, the clearer he was that the Affiliated Hospital would absolutely not be the final destination for someone like Ji Xiang.

It is truly a pity; Yang Zhuren was completely unaware that in his own perception, the Affiliated Hospital was already vaguely unworthy of Ji Xiang.

(End of chapter)