Chapter 1719: 1660 Lao He… it

Zheng Renyi woke up early, feeling refreshed.

Sitting at the dining table on the first floor, he watched Xiao Yi Ren in a cartoon dog‑patterned pajama making breakfast, while Heizi crouched beside him, panting in anticipation of food.

Life could not be more tranquil than this.

"Have you washed your hands?" Xie Yiren asked.

"I have, and Heizi has too," Zheng Ren said, laughing awkwardly.

"There are six surgeries today, will you assist?" Xie Yiren asked about today's work, not noticing Zheng Ren's slip of speech.

"I'll watch from below; Fugui'er and Old Liu can handle it," Zheng Ren said. "The hepatobiliary department has admitted another liver‑cancer patient; today we'll do embolization, and in two days the surgery."

"Still busy—can you come down at noon?" Xie Yiren asked.

"Sure thing," Zheng Ren said with a grin. "If we're short on time, I'll kick Fugui'er aside—each case will take just a few minutes."

【They said to quickly write a love song, something both refined and popular…】

While chatting idly, Zheng Ren's phone rang.

"Lao He, what's up this early?" Zheng Ren answered the phone and asked gently.

It was a little odd for Lao He to call so early, but Zheng Ren didn't dwell on it—after all, Lao He was just an anesthesiologist; what big trouble could he have?

But as soon as Lao He spoke, Zheng Ren froze.

"Huh? Impossible."

"All right, wait for me in the CT room—I'm coming right now." Zheng Ren said and sprang to his feet.

"What's wrong with Lao He?" Xie Yiren said while frying eggs, the aroma already drifting out.

"Lao He gave someone an epidural anesthetic, and afterward the patient ended up paraplegic in both legs," Zheng Ren said hurriedly, turning to go upstairs to change clothes.

"…"

After a few minutes, Zheng Ren changed clothes, ran downstairs, put on his shoes, with Su Yun trailing behind, complaining: "How did Lao He pull this off? I've never heard of an epidural leaving someone paralyzed in all these years."

"Shall I bring you lunch?" Xie Yiren asked.

"No need, just eat early at noon," Zheng Ren waved dismissively and ran out.

They took the elevator down and ran all the way to the hospital.

These past few days they had fallen into a routine: after breakfast they'd go to the community hospital to check on post‑op patients, then head to room 912.

Today there was no time; they ran straight to the CT room.

Lao He stood at the CT room door, torn inside.

Bearded and disheveled, he looked down on his luck.

Seeing Lao He listless, Zheng Ren sighed.

It didn't matter who the patient was—whether it was Section Chief Mao or an ordinary one; anyone facing this situation would be filled with remorse, unable to recover for a year or more.

Moreover, such an incident would invite disciplinary action, possibly even revocation of the medical license.

"Don't panic, I'll look at the films," Zheng Ren said.

"Boss Zheng… I…" Lao He said upon seeing Zheng Ren, his honest, mountain‑like face almost bringing him to tears.

A belly full of grievance.

"How pathetic," Su Yun said scornfully. "I'm telling you straight—this couldn't possibly be your fault."

Lao He's tears welled up, going round and round in his eyes.

"Many interns have done epidurals without issue—how did you end up causing this? How old is the patient?" Su Yun asked.

"Section Chief Mao of the Science and Education Department…" Lao He wiped his tears haphazardly and said.

Zheng Ren knew the situation, but like Su Yun he remained silent, striding quickly into the CT room.

With an hour left before work, the film‑reading room was empty.

Zheng Ren found a machine and pulled up Section Chief Mao's images.

A high‑density shadow at thoracic vertebrae 8‑9 stood out starkly.

Zheng Ren and Su Yun had originally thought it was an intraspinal tumor, with problems arising from the surgery.

If that were true, Lao He could be cleared of medical‑accident liability.

But…

At a glance, the image at that level was the classic sign of hemorrhage—no doubt needed.

Su Yun fell silent.

His forehead hair lay limp, listless, occasionally fluttering like morning breath, but then it lay flat again, utterly still.

Zheng Ren stared at the image without blinking.

"Boss Zheng, look…" Lao He's waist bent as he sensed, in the instant he saw the image, the shift in Zheng Ren and Su Yun's demeanor.

His heart had already sunk into a bottomless abyss.

"Lao He…" Su Yun sighed and shook her head slightly.

Zheng Ren said nothing, his eyes locked on the film.

After 12.35 seconds, Zheng Ren suddenly asked, "Lao He, where did you insert the needle?"

"T12‑L1," Lao He replied, his voice already hoarse.

Now, recalling last night's epidural procedure, he himself wasn't sure whether he'd nicked a blood vessel.

"Even if the bleeding were caused by the anesthetic, it shouldn't appear here," Zheng Ren said calmly. "But strangely, the image shows fresh bleeding exactly at that spot."

That's harsh, but it must be said outright.

Otherwise we'd be giving Lao He false hope—would we just get slapped at the hospital‑wide consultation?

By then, would I have to go up and kick him too?!

Lao He's waist bent a little more, his facial lines deepened, and in an instant he looked ten years older.

"Su Yun, take Lao He out for a smoke." Zheng Ren said in a low voice.

"And you?"

"I'll look at the film again."

Su Yun glanced at the film again; it was definitely bleeding, no mistake. Lao He... this time it's over.

If this goes wrong, it's enough to revoke a medical license.

Being a doctor, one foot inside the door, one foot outside—it's no exaggeration.

Although they're normal complications, a blood vessel abnormality could cause bleeding during anesthesia.

But once something goes wrong, who will forgive the anesthesiologist?

If it were my own family, I certainly wouldn't think it was a blood vessel abnormality; I'd be full of hatred and want Lao He dead.

"Come on, Lao He, have a smoke to perk up." Su Yun smiled and said, "It's nothing big; just get through it."

Lao He lowered his head, bent his waist, his hair faintly graying, his beard having grown a bit.

Down and out, nothing could be worse.

Fate is so unfair; if it had been a month ago, Lao He might not have felt so hurt and disappointed. Anyway, I'm just a salted fish, still doing small shifts near fifty.

Even if I got kicked out of 912, as long as my medical license isn't revoked, I can scrape a living anywhere.

However, just now I went on a mission with Zheng Lao Ban, acted arrogantly in Nanyang for a while. After returning, I went to the Capital Medical University Affiliated Hospital to save a patient—this is the peak of Lao He's career.

What happened a few days ago, now recalling it, feels like a dream.

I thought my luck had turned, but I didn't expect heaven to strike another bolt of lightning on my head.

This time, I'm doomed beyond recovery.

Lao He lowered his head and bent his waist, staring at the ground, walking unsteadily with Su Yun.

Zheng Ren coldly looked at the film, mentally reconstructing it.

64-slice CT 3D imaging, blood vessel CTA, nuclear magnetic resonance...

He didn't care about the mental exhaustion, frantically reconstructing.