Chapter 2032: 1960 The Reason for Being Fresh and Unconventional

"Big sister, this really won't do." Zhou Litao said with a worried face.

Is this a red envelope? No way—people who stand in the hallway handing out red envelopes are rare.

Besides, Zhou Litao is an emergency department doctor; who would give him a red envelope for no reason?

This place is like a busy government office: either the patient's condition is mild and just needs observation in the ER, or it's serious and they get admitted.

"Doctor, my son really hurts so much he can't bear it." The woman's facial muscles twisted a few times, as if she were trying hard to show her feeling of distress.

But her expression was affected and slightly exaggerated; any doctor with a bit of clinical experience could see through it.

Feigning illness?

Feigning illness!

Usually people fake illness after car accidents or fights, to get more compensation and maybe a free full checkup—any little advantage is welcome.

But looking at the little boy, he doesn't seem like the kind of case Zheng Ren usually sees.

Zheng Ren was curious, so he walked over.

"Boss Zheng, you're here." Zhou Litao greeted him familiarly, about to slip away, but the woman grabbed his arm.

"Doctor, my son is in so much pain he can barely stand it—please admit him." The woman neither shouted nor scolded; she wasn't fierce at all, even seemed pitiful, just pleading desperately.

"What's wrong?" Zheng Ren asked.

"Boss Zheng, they say this child has lower right abdominal pain and needs to be hospitalized for an appendectomy." Zhou Litao said anxiously, "But the physical exam shows only weak tenderness, and the lab tests are all normal."

"Hmm?" Zheng Ren carefully examined the woman and the child; their facial features were somewhat similar, especially the brows and corners of the eyes, almost as if carved from the same mold.

He must be her biological son, but why hospitalize a healthy child for an appendectomy?

"Come to the treatment room." Zheng Ren called out and headed straight there.

When the woman heard Zhou Litao address Zheng Ren as "Boss Zheng," she took him for a senior doctor. She let go of Zhou Litao's arm and led the child to the treatment room.

"Lie down, let me check your abdomen." Zheng Ren said gently.

Zhou Litao walked in with a worried frown and handed the lab report to Zheng Ren.

The blood and urine routine were completely normal, not even a plus or minus sign. The lower-abdomen ultrasound showed no inflammatory reaction—just a normal report.

Adding the System Panel's assessment, Zheng Ren became even more puzzled.

Who would come to the hospital for no reason and insist on surgery? Everyone knows surgery hurts, so this is strange.

I've only seen people who should have surgery refuse because they fear pain, but never someone who shouldn't have surgery insist on coming to the hospital to be cut.

No wonder Zhou Litao didn't admit him—there was really nothing wrong.

That's what he thought, but Zheng Ren still performed a thorough physical exam, to avoid any lab error or a Big Pig Trotter crash leading to tragedy.

Zheng Ren habitually rubbed his hands together to warm them, minimizing the temperature difference with the skin, then placed his hand on the boy's upper left abdomen.

"Does it hurt?" Zheng Renxian gently pressed.

"No..." the boy said.

Zheng Ren pressed other spots and noticed the boy's eyes kept staring at whatever was behind him.

"Big sister, stop squinting your eyes—I'm getting tired just watching." Su Yun blew out a breath, her black hair fluttering in front of her forehead, as if echoing the sentiment.

"I didn't..." the woman defended.

"Let's speak openly—if you have any difficulties on your side, we won't ignore them." Su Yun began to comfort her, "But if you're trying to fool the doctor, that might be quite difficult."

While the boy was listening to Su Yun and his mother talk, Zheng Ren quickly pressed on his lower right abdomen.

The boy showed no reaction; he looked at his mother, waiting for the next instruction.

"It's fine, get up." Zheng Ren chuckled and patted the boy's belly.

"How can it be fine? My son is in terrible pain!" the woman exclaimed.

"Big sister, don't do that." Su Yun said, "Does your son have insurance?"

"Yes."

"This is insurance fraud." Su Yun began to spout nonsense.

"Big sister, cracking down on insurance fraud is serious now. If the insurance company finds out, not only will we be punished, but your son's medical benefits will be revoked for ten years." Zheng Ren launched into an earnest, good-cop bad-cop plea.

"Yeah, I heard the credit check could be problematic too—later you might not be able to fly or take high-speed rail." Su Yun added.

"The medical insurance people couldn't possibly know." The woman said this, her tone beginning to waver.

"Give us a straight answer, stop with the half-truths." Su Yun asked, "If you really have any difficulties, let's work something out—what do you think?"

Zhou Litao listened to the two of them spouting nonsense and felt dumbfounded.

Yun Ge'er is willing to go along with the fog and mist, Zhou Litao knows. How can Boss Zheng, with his thick brows and big eyes, lie without blinking?

"..." The woman looked at Zheng Ren and Su Yun, silent for nearly a minute.

"Mom, can I get up?" the boy asked weakly.

"Get up, the bed's cold—don't catch a chill." Zheng Ren pulled the child to his feet.

"Sigh." The woman exhaled and said, "Doctor, my son has the middle-school entrance exam next year; I'm not afraid that if his appendicitis acts up then, it will jeopardize the test."

That reason was refreshingly unconventional—Zheng Ren had never heard it before.

Su Yun also laughed despite herself and advised, "Big sister, do you know what illness the little boy fears most?"

"What?" the woman looked at Su Yun in surprise.

"Let me tell you... Manager Zhou, take the child outside first." Su Yun said.

Zhou Litao wanted to hear how Su Yun was persuading the patient's family, but since Su Yun had already spoken, he couldn't very well refuse.

He had no choice but to reluctantly lead the child out.

"Big sister, what the little boy fears most is a spontaneous pneumothorax during growth. To put it simply, the alveoli are like balloons, and a spontaneous pneumothorax is when one of those balloons bursts."

Su Yun made an exploding gesture with her hand, startling the woman.

Zheng Ren knew Su Yun wasn't just spouting nonsense; it was just that her gesture was a little violent, which frightened the child's mother.

Encountering this situation, it's not as simple as removing an appendix. You need to undergo a major Shou Bing; let alone the middle school exam, even if it were the college entrance exam, you wouldn't be able to attend.

The woman's complexion had worsened considerably.

"You think about it, you can't just remove the lungs to prevent pneumothorax." Su Yun said.

"Older sister, you're thinking too much." Zheng Ren said on the side: "Don't be so Tension, your emotions will be transmitted to the child. Being too tense, with too much pressure, will instead lead to unpredictable events."

Besides, we're not talking about medical insurance. If the appendix develops complications, the wound won't heal, it'll fester and fester, no matter how you change the dressing it won't get better. By then you'll regret it too late.