Chapter 170: 0167 Big Brother

Under general anesthesia she had not awakened; after the muscle relaxant wore off, Chu Yanran gave Miao Xiaohua another push of sedative, keeping her sedated, then brought her with the endotracheal tube to the ICU.

Because the incident happened suddenly and the rescue and surgery were done quickly, Miao Xiaohua's family had not yet arrived.

Zheng Ren and Su Yun pushed the stretcher, while Chu Yan zhi sat in the vehicle in place of her sister, squeezing the rubber bulb. Chu Yanran prepared the elevator all the way, trying to minimize delays on the route.

They rushed to the ICU as fast as possible, connected the ventilator tubing, switched to the ECG monitor, and only then did everyone let out a breath.

Although Miao Xiaohua's vital signs had not yet returned to normal, those values were steadily and slowly rising, the ECG had restored sinus rhythm, and everything looked good.

Su Yun seemed as if she were home, simply greeting the nearby nurses, then she fetched an A4 sheet, brought over a folding chair, sat at Miao Xiaohua's bedside, and began listing items, recording the values.

When it came to the specialized field of critical care, Zheng Ren fell silent.

With Su Yun handling the nursing, he felt more at ease. That sharp‑tongued, effeminate man may not speak pleasantly, but in postoperative patient care he had long demonstrated extraordinary ability.

He stared at the monitor, arms crossed, unblinking; after a few minutes, Zheng Ren confirmed everything was stable and said, "It's yours now."

Su Yun nodded, recording fluid intake and output every five minutes, and had already begun writing medical orders, preparing to run lab tests and administer fluids as needed.

Zheng Ren turned and left; the ICU's various instruments beeped continuously, like a symphony.

This was an unconventional symphony called 'Life'.

Leaving the ICU, Zheng Ren walked while carefully recalling the surgery that had just taken place.

The system rated the surgery's completion at 92%; in the context of an emergency rescue operation, that was already high, but it still fell short of 100%.

Zheng Ren still felt uneasy; reviewing the procedure, he felt his first incision had been too fast, severing some capillaries that had temporarily collapsed due to hemorrhagic shock. After hemostasis was completed, using electrocautery to destroy the bleeding point caused the surgery's completion rate to be slightly lower.

Could it be completed perfectly? Zheng Ren pondered.

In that situation, the main goal was to stop the bleeding from the left gastric artery within the abdominal cavity; minor oozing from the skin and muscle layers was negligible.

If one pursued perfection too obsessively, they might lose the window for rescue.

However, a master‑level general surgery skill… although impressive, still has an unbridgeable chasm compared to the peak standard.

Having once stood atop the highest peak and surveyed all things, Zheng Ren did not become complacent about his master‑level general surgery skill; instead, sensing the great gap, he grew ever calmer.

On his way back, Zheng Ren placed a call, asking where Xie Yiren was.

Now that he had a moment free, he should find her to chat, distract himself, and ease his sorrow.

Unexpectedly, the person who answered was Chu Yan zhi; she said Xie Yiren was showering in the operating room, and then they planned to go out to eat, turning grief into appetite.

Zheng Ren hung up and smiled.

If she could keep food down, Xie Yiren would probably be fine.

Returning to the emergency building, Zheng Ren suddenly saw a pair of twin‑tails brimming with boundless youthful energy appear in his field of view.

This… it seemed familiar, yet he couldn't quite recall who it was.

"Big brother, you're back." The twin‑tailed girl giggled as she ran up to Zheng Ren, lively and lovable.

"Liu…" Zheng Ren vaguely recalled; she was the little patient post‑appendectomy, not as young as she looked, already eighteen.

"It's Liu Xinyu!" The twin‑tailed girl pouted, feigning anger.

"Oh oh, what are you doing here? Where do you feel uncomfortable?" Zheng Ren recalled; this girl's name was Liu Xinyu.

Liu Xinyu did not answer Zheng Ren's words; she reached into his white coat pocket, took out a pen, grabbed his hand, straightened it, and wrote the character "Yu" on his palm.

"It's this character; don't forget it from now on," Liu Xinyu said.

"……" Zheng Ren looked at the neatly written character on his palm and smiled.

This time he probably won't forget.

"My train tonight is going to Jinmen," Liu Xinyu said.

"Oh, I remember now, you're attending tutoring," Zheng Ren said.

Liu Xinyu studies music; her specialty should be the cello. She intends to apply to Jinmen Music University, so the focus of her college entrance exam is on instrumental performance and other professional skills, requiring her to study ahead of time.

"Yes, that's why I came to say goodbye to big brother." As soon as she mentioned going to Jinmen, Liu Xinyu brimmed with anticipation for a bright, sunny future.

"You've got to work hard," Zheng Ren encouraged.

"Definitely." Liu Xinyu gave a sly, clever squint‑eyed smile and said, "Once I get into Jinmen Music University, I'll come back in the summer, and big brother has to treat me to a meal."

"Okay."

"Hand over your phone, leave a WeChat so I can find you later." Liu Xinyu skillfully unlocked it, opened WeChat, and switched to the QR code screen.

In such a conversation, Zheng Ren was completely in a dazed state; all his mental energy, despite his IQ of 140, was devoted to medical treatment and rescue.

In a haze, he added her on WeChat; Liu Xinyu bade Zheng Ren farewell and ran off happily.

The twin‑tails swaying back and forth, Zheng Ren felt as if he were back in high school, saying goodbye to his desk‑mate at graduation.

"This kid is really independent," Zheng Ren thought with a smile.

Returning to the emergency ward, Zheng Ren saw a middle‑aged couple sitting in the office, the woman continually wiping her tears, the man pacing back and forth anxiously.

"You are…?" Zheng Ren had already guessed roughly, but he needed to confirm.

"They are Miao Xiaohua's parents; they arrived five minutes ago, and I had them wait here for you," Chang Yue introduced.

"Hello." Zheng Ren extended his hand.

They shook hands; Miao Xiaohua's parents' hands were icy cold.

"Let's start with the result: Miao Xiaohua's rescue was successful; she is now in the ICU, under the care of the most specialized critical‑care physicians." Zheng Ren, facing the anxious relatives, avoided any teasing suspense and first made clear the news of Miao Xiaohua's successful rescue.

Upon hearing this news, Miao Xiaohua's parents' faces showed relief.

"Please sit; I'll explain the condition." Zheng Ren politely invited the parents to sit first, then began his explanation from the beginning.

From the gastroenterology department, through interventional angiography, to the laparotomy, the middle‑aged couple listened with bated breath.

After all, they were his own kin; what Zheng Ren spoke was not a story, but human separation and reunion.

Only a few minutes more, and they would be forever parted.

If Xie Yiren were not by his side…

If Zheng Ren had not rushed to the gastroenterology department to join the rescue…

If there were no interventional angiography…

If the Shou Bing exploration to find the left gastric artery were a little slower…

Every possibility is deadly.

Fortunately, every possibility was nipped in the bud.