The Surgeon’s Studio

Chapter 233: A Tight Slap (Part 2 of 5)

The patients were all stable after surgery. There would be no serious side effects as their dosages of chemotherapeutic drugs had not been that high.

In fact, there was not even the need for ECG monitoring after surgery. Checkups were complete in no time at all.

“Little Zheng, what’s your estimated success rate?” Chief Kong asked.

The closer he was to success, the more worried Chief Kong became; his mind continued to revolve around risk and reward.

Success rate? Zheng Ren recalled seeing the System monitor at the top right corner of his vision confirm 100% completion when he finished the surgery.

They had nothing to worry about.

However, he could not tell Chief Kong this. After thinking for a minute, he said, “90%.”

“That’s really high!”

Was it really that high? He had already adjusted it.

Zheng Ren smiled and nodded before they left the ward together.

“Hello, Dr. Zheng. We meet again.” Bu Ruotian appeared in front of Zheng Ren and enthusiastically extended his right hand. It was more formal than their last meeting.

“What a coincidence. You’re here…” Zheng Ren was not surprised to see Bu Ruotian in the hospital, but was curious as to why he was in the interventional radiology department.

“And this is?” Chief Kong was slightly unhappy with the interruption. He still had many questions to ask Zheng Ren, and butting in ground his gears severely.

As a savvy socialite, Bu Ruotian reacted quickly and immediately extended his hand with a smile. “I’m one of Dr. Zheng’s patients. He performed the Whipple procedure[1] on me a while ago.”

Department Chief Kong knew Zheng Ren was from the general surgery department and assumed it was not his strongest suit, since the man clearly excelled in interventional surgery.

After all, the human body had its limits. No one could study or practice surgery 24 hours a day, not even if they were made of iron.

Chief Kong was no longer displeased by the interruption after hearing Bu Ruotian out. Subconsciously, he reached out and shook the proffered hand.

“It’s all thanks to Dr. Zheng, he conducted the surgery all by himself and is my savior,” Bu Ruotian added as if his initial explanation was insufficient to convey the full weight of his gratitude.

“…”

At Zheng Ren’s age, someone able to perform the Whipple procedure would be considered the cream of the crop. According to this man, Zheng Ren completed it alone?

What happened to all the other doctors in the hospital? Were they all gone?

Chief Kong had not expected this new information and began speculating on the circumstances surrounding that day.

Zheng Ren started sweating. He had been under the control of the System then and completed the surgery flawlessly with the help of the prime experience. Were he asked to reenact the same procedure right now, he would not be able to pull it off. It was best not to dwell further into it.

He tried to change the topic abruptly. “Mr. Bu, why are you here?”

“I’m here for a follow-up appointment. All my vitals appear to be normal. I’m also here to visit an old friend.” Bu Ruotian pointed to Qin Liren, who had not moved where he stood, contemplating the absurdity of life.

The man looked rather familiar… As usual, Zheng Ren was unable to recognize him due to his face blindness.

If that was one of his patients, he would probably have some recollection, but if it were just some passerby, Zheng Ren would probably not be able to recognize the man if they met eight or even ten times. No, his memory would definitely fail him.

“He’s the guy from Sea City who refused to be operated on by you,” Su Yun whispered into Zheng Ren’s ear.

With that, he emerged from the shadows behind Zheng Ren, extending his hand alongside a formal smile and saying politely, “Hello, Mr. Bu. I’m Mr. Zheng’s assistant.”

The gesture caught Bu Ruotian by surprise, but the man was used to such a situation and simply laughed as he shook hands with Su Yun.

He was the richest man in Sea City, after all, and no stranger to people trying to get on his good side.

“Director Fu from Sea City General Hospital is my uncle. My name is Su Yun, please treat me with kindness.” Su Yun let go of his hand, astounding Zheng Ren with his choice of words.

Zheng Ren’s eyes lit up, glinting like daggers in the dark.

Bu Ruotian understood right away. He did not reply to Su Yun and continued smiling before bringing Zheng Ren and Chief Kong to Qin Liren.

“Brother Liren, this is the doctor that I wanted to introduce to you, Zheng Ren. Dr. Zheng may be very young, but he is a skilled physician,” Bu Ruotian said.

Department Chief Kong called out, “Whose team is this man under?”

One of the professors by him responded.

“You’ll be leading the surgery; get it done by this evening,” Chief Kong ordered.

Zheng Ren’s face fell. He was getting boons one after the other.

Putting aside the fact that they had managed to invent a new surgical method, rescuing Lin Jiaojiao’s vision had put Department Chief Kong deeply in Zheng Ren’s debt.

However, Chief Kong could also remember that this was the same patient who had refused Zheng Ren’s surgery several days ago after trying to pull strings to get a private ward.

He had not paid it much attention as there were so many people attempting the same. How could he remember them all? Everyone below deputy level was insignificant to him.

Qin Liren finally gathered his courage and swallowed the last of his pride. “Dr. Zheng, can you operate on me?”

As soon as the words left his tongue, Qi Liren felt as if each one were a tight slap to his face.

His cheeks burned; it was truly painful to be the architect of one’s own misery.

Nevertheless, this was a matter of life and death, worth the strife and struggle he had to endure.

The image of Zheng Ren and Chief Kong walking side by side kept replaying in Qi Liren’s mind. It was obvious that the young upstart had gotten Chief Kong’s approval and that all of the other doctors recognized Zheng Ren’s demonstrative surgery.

Were this a multiple-choice exam, it would be a bonus question.

If Qin Liren chose the wrong answer, he would have lived his entire life in vain.

Given the choice between life or dignity, Qin Liren would choose to let Zheng Ren operate without hesitation.

Why had he brought this upon himself…

Qin Liren felt the bitter taste in his mouth, but could blame no one else.

He had rejected Bu Ruotian outright when being recommended Zheng Ren, even smashing apart his home in rage at the old dog looking down on him.

He had been presented with a second chance when he had coincidentally met Zheng Ren in this hospital, but rejected the doctor again.

This humiliation was his own doing.

At Qin Liren’s question, Chief Kong looked askew at Zheng Ren.

“I’m fine with that,” Zheng Ren answered.

Chief Kong was surprised. “But you need to visit other patients this afternoon.”

Right, he had to visit the urology department to prepare for prostate interventional embolization.

Zheng Ren began to reconsider.

“Boss, I’ve informed you about that. Did you forget it in your fevered state?” Su Yun said, “We’ll be visiting a patient in the urology department. If the condition permits, we’ll do a 64-slice CT scan and prep for surgery as soon as possible.”

“…” Zheng Ren nodded.

He had no qualms with conducting the surgery, but he had yet to do a 64-slice CT image reconstruction for Qin Liren.

“Let’s send them both to CT this afternoon,” Zheng Ren said, “Chief Kong, would that be alright with you?”

“Of course,” Chief Kong laughed and said. “It’s no big deal. Take your time with the reconstruction and surgery.”

Could he sound any more casual? Qin Liren burst into tears.

[1] Previously referred to as a pancreaticoduodenectomy.