Chapter 586: I think you two have some similarities

Fan Dao was very helpless, but he was quite satisfied with Lin Jiuze. Even if Doctor Lin Jiuze was slightly strange, what genius could be like a normal person?

Lin Jiuze and Ji Xiang were a bit alike; Fan Dao thought for a long time before realizing that both of them had a profound ability to talk nonsense.

At the very least, he had to tell Ji Xiang about this; Fan Dao understood the gravity of the situation. Looking at it now, it was already a bit late, and the Mars-colliding-with-Earth encounter he had imagined hadn't happened either.

So Fan Dao did not delay, calling Ji Xiang overnight.

"Doctor Ji Xiang, do you have time? There is a problem with the next episode of the show, and I would like to chat with you about it."

"I have time, but I am neither the director nor the Jian Zhi, and certainly not the investor; you don't need to tell me," Ji Xiang replied very clearly.

These words were too blunt; Fan Dao was stunned for a moment.

Participating in variety shows and being a celebrity—wasn't this what young people liked nowadays? Why did it feel like Ji Xiang had an instinctive repulsion toward it?

After calming down a little, Fan Dao composed himself.

"The show has reached this point largely due to your contributions; telling you is the proper respect," Fan Dao said.

Since things had been put this way, Ji Xiang did not firmly refuse.

Fan Dao traveled overnight to come and find Ji Xiang again.

"Doctor Ji Xiang, the show has brought in a young doctor from Massachusetts General Hospital for the next episode."

Fan Dao gave a brief introduction to Lin Jiuze.

"Oh, I heard about it from Lu Zhuren," Ji Xiang smiled indifferently. "Having fresh blood is quite good."

"He diagnosed a Patient during his audition today, and it is said..." Fan Dao didn't know how to describe it, so he spoke vaguely.

"A Patient with an Intestinal Obstruction caused by a Superior Mesenteric Artery Embolism; I heard about it," Ji Xiang said.

"Right!"

Fan Dao was surprised at how well-informed Ji Xiang was, but he didn't dwell on it, instead repeating the content of his conversation with Lin Jiuze just now.

"How should I put it? I feel like you two have some similarities," Fan Dao said hesitantly.

"In what way?"

"Your diagnostic ability is very strong; you diagnose some difficult and complicated cases very accurately. To a layman like me, you could basically be called miracle doctors. And... you are always able to divert the topic," Fan Dao said.

As he spoke, he took out a cigarette.

"Doctor Ji Xiang, want one?" Fan Dao asked.

"Sorry, I don't smoke."

"You don't smoke?" Fan Dao was startled, remembering the scene that day when he encountered the female Patient who wanted to jump off the building.

Ji Xiang carried cigarettes with him, yet he had actually told him he didn't smoke.

Was he looking down on him, or was there some other reason? Fan Dao looked at Ji Xiang's eyes with suspicion.

Ji Xiang's gaze was clear and bottomless; it didn't look like he was lying.

"Heh," Ji Xiang seemed to know what was on Fan Dao's mind, and he smiled. "I carry cigarettes because it's convenient when communicating with some depressed Patients. You know, for people who smoke, a cigarette can narrow the distance between each other."

"..." Fan Dao was stunned. He hadn't expected that this was the reason why Ji Xiang said he didn't smoke while actually being able to in reality.

"But in daily life, it's better to smoke less," Ji Xiang took the cigarette from Fan Dao, stuffed it back into the cigarette case, and smiled. "Smoking is harmful to your health."

Fan Dao let out a sigh.

He had a feeling that the topic was about to be led astray by Ji Xiang, drifting miles away from the point.

From Ji Xiang's words, Fan Dao could conclude that Ji Xiang wanted to narrow the distance with Patients and their Family Members, but did not want to narrow the distance with him.

Although Ji Xiang was always smiling, it was a mask; Ji Xiang didn't want to smile in his heart.

"Fan Dao, smoke less; this is for your own good."

Hearing Ji Xiang say this, Fan Dao felt a bit of bitterness in his mouth.

If it were possible, Fan Dao really wouldn't want to say even one more word to Ji Xiang.

But with the show at this stage, Ji Xiang had already become the pillar; Fan Dao knew clearly that if there were no Ji Xiang, this variety show would collapse by half immediately.

Before the show started, Fan Dao wouldn't have believed this conclusion at all. Who would have thought that after a few episodes, such a bizarre and incredible thought would arise?

But chatting with Ji Xiang was simply too painful. This guy sometimes wouldn't say a word, and sometimes he had the chatterbox habit like that old Attending Physician Zhao Zhe, and he would divert the topic from time to time.

With Fan Dao's experience, it was hard to tell whether Ji Xiang was intentionally steering the conversation away because he didn't want to talk to him, or if it was unintentional.

"I'm not someone who likes to meddle, but many doctors smoke..." Ji Xiang sighed.

"Doctor Ji Xiang, do you doctors and nurses feel like you want to manage these bad habits, having formed a habit of it?" Fan Dao asked with a smile.

"That's not it. Although doctors and nurses have problems with their personalities, the problem isn't here."

"The problem?" Fan Dao's eyes lit up.

"Don't look for the camera crew; let's just chat alone for a while," Ji Xiang stopped Fan Dao's thought immediately.

Fan Dao was also helpless and nodded.

"When I was in school, I heard teachers say this, and after being in Clinical work for a while, I feel it more and more deeply."

"For example?" Fan Dao asked.

"People working on the Clinical front line are divided into doctors and nurses. Doctors are generally okay; although it's hard work, there are many channels for advancement and more income. The nursing group is the other side of the coin."

"After nurses enter Clinical work, most of them will gain weight rapidly. This is called stress-fat or overwork-fat. Every day, apart from working, they are just catching up on sleep; they have almost no space of their own."

"Doctor Ji Xiang, you are exaggerating a bit, aren't you?" Fan Dao was suspicious.

"Not at all," Ji Xiang said. "Not to mention the weight issue, I'll tell you the content of a nurse's daily work, and you'll understand."

"Work starts at 8:00 AM; stricter departments require arriving 30-50 minutes early. After changing clothes, they start checking various items. At 8:00, there is the morning handover; you've seen this. After the handover, the nursing group has its own meeting, and then there are exams 2-3 days a week. Next is giving injections, which is what everyone considers the nurse's primary job."

"Nurses need to run, a light jog. And basically, they get money deducted by the Nursing Department every day..."

"Money deducted? Is your medical system all like this?" Fan Dao was surprised.

"Pretty much; the hospitals I've been in contact with are all like this," Ji Xiang said.

"This status is so low."

"It started from the year nurses were made to wash the feet and trim the toenails of patients who weren't paralyzed. It didn't actually start then, that was just when they stopped hiding it," Ji Xiang said. "It's like that for nurses, and doctors in the country aren't much better off, really."

"Doctors have high status."

"That's for top-tier doctors," Ji Xiang smiled slightly. "Like Doctor Zhao Zhe in Yuanliao City, he was oppressed by his superiors to the Extreme Point. When facing a Patient, he has no status to speak of at all."

Fan Dao scratched his head; wasn't all of this normal?

"I've said too much. Theoretically, an Expert who can lead a team at Massachusetts General Hospital shouldn't be like that," Ji Xiang said. "Fan Dao, the bit about him writing on A4 paper, then looking up at the Patient, and continuing to scribble and erase—that was just your own guess, right?"

"It was my guess," Fan Dao said candidly.

(End of chapter)