The Surgeon's Studio

Red Stethoscope read the films and brought the girl from the outpatient department to the inpatient department.

Worried, the girl’s family brought their thick stack of films with them.

The girl attracted a lot of attention, presumably due to her severe emaciation, which was a rare sight.

“Probably an advanced cancer of the gastrointestinal system,” said a young doctor beside Su Yun sympathetically.

“Her malignant tumor is so aggressive at such a young age. I don’t think there is much chance of recovery now.”

“I would suggest she receive traditional Chinese treatment in China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Guang’anmen Hospital; she could probably live for another year or so.”

Su Yun kept quiet and stole a peek at Zheng Ren.

Zheng Ren failed to notice his gaze as he was deeply immersed in his own train of thought about the emaciated girl.

Half an hour later, Red Stethoscope had changed into casual attire and returned briskly.

“Let’s go,” he said.

“What’s wrong with that patient from your hometown?” someone else asked.

“Advanced esophageal cancer with multiorgan metastases.” Red Stethoscope sighed and said, “It’s too late for surgery or even targeted drug therapy. I’m actually sneaking out while Boss Gu is reading the films.”

“…” Everyone remained silent.

“I don’t think so,” said Zheng Ren after a few moments of hesitation.

“Huh?” Red Stethoscope stared at Zheng Ren in disbelief. He had been quiet throughout the journey and his first sentence was to question the diagnosis?

Who the hell did he think he was?

Su Yun merely stood aside with his arms crossed.

“Brother Yun, how good is your young boss?” another young doctor asked softly as he approached Su Yun.

“Very good.” Su Yun’s answer was plain and simple.

“Is he really your boss? Is he a professor with a baby face?”

“No, he is a few months younger than me, but his surgery skills are much superior to mine,” replied Su Yun truthfully.

“…” The young doctor was flabbergasted, and his expression even more exaggerated than when he had laid eyes on the emaciated girl.

“What? He guides you in surgery? Are you kidding us?” Pretentious shock was written all over another man’s face. “Brother Yun, your words are getting more unbelievable.”

“I’m telling the truth. Your intelligence worries me greatly,” Su Yun said coldly, “I think you should all pack your stuff and return home. Your presence here will just get in the way of patients’ recoveries.”

All of them, including Zheng Ren, had gotten used to his harsh words, so nobody took him seriously.

“Er…” Red Stethoscope hesitated for a while. “Boss, what did you just say?”

Boss… Zheng Ren was unaccustomed to this title.

“My name is Zheng Ren,” he said, “The patient doesn’t seem to have advanced esophageal cancer; I recommend doing an esophagoscopy with a tissue biopsy.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. The patient’s investigation reports, including a PET-CT scan, indicate that she indeed has advanced esophageal cancer with multiorgan metastases,” replied Red Stethoscope coldly as he understood Zheng Ren’s meaning.

“How dare you speak to my boss in such a derogatory tone.” Su Yun’s lips curled into a sneer, an otherwise extremely punchable sight.

“Brother Yun, what do you mean?”

“Just perform a tissue biopsy. It won’t take long, anyway.” Su Yun said, waving his hand, “Since it’s still early to be having dinner, perhaps you’ll be surprised by the results.”

Red Stethoscope could ignore Zheng Ren’s opinion, but when Su Yun gave his, he started to hesitate.

“Brother Yun, are you being serious?” Red Stethoscope asked doubtfully, “She already has advanced cancer, it’s inhumane to torture her any further.”

Su Yun glanced at Zheng Ren, who had a confident expression, and said, “Give it a try. If it isn’t advanced cancer, dinner is on you, and vice versa. You can choose anywhere you want and order anything you like.”

“I want to eat foie gras at Da Dong until you go bankrupt,” joked another man, who pushed Red Stethoscope toward the inpatient department.

“Then I’ll go back and have a look,” replied Red Stethoscope, firmly believing that it was unnecessary. After all, the PET-CT results had clearly stated the diagnosis, and the patient’s family merely wanted to try their luck in Imperial Capital.

Was it really necessary to torture the young girl by performing esophagoscopy with tissue biopsy?

The tumor cells could seed through the biopsy tract and worsen her condition.

However, he decided to do it due to Su Yun’s persistence.

Su Yun shook his head and smiled. “Boss, how sure are you?”

“One hundred percent,” said Zheng Ren confidently, not recognizing the mockery in his tone.

Zheng Ren’s attitude toward Su Yun and Professor Pei varied hugely.

The rest of the group found it interesting that Su Yun’s “boss” was convinced that it was a misdiagnosis when the investigation results clearly stated otherwise.

What a joke.

“Oh, what do you think she has?” asked Su Yun.

“Active phase of gastrointestinal tuberculosis with extrapulmonary manifestations. Once the diagnosis is confirmed via tissue biopsy, she can undergo an antituberculosis regimen,” replied Zheng Ren.

“…”

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Even Su Yun was unable to accept it.

What the heck was this?

Gastrointestinal tuberculosis was a rare disease.

It was no longer a terminal illness after the development of antituberculosis regimens.

Tuberculosis had been an “incurable disease” just like cancer a century ago.

Moreover, intestinal tuberculosis was more commonly seen in gastrointestinal tuberculosis; as for esophageal tuberculosis… It was too rare. Even the doctors in Class Three Grade A Hospitals in Imperial Capital had only seen a few cases in their careers.

How uncommon was esophageal tuberculosis?

Disregarding the number of cases, the mechanisms of primary and secondary tuberculosis remained clinically ambiguous. Some suspected that primary esophageal tuberculosis simply did not exist, and all esophageal tuberculosis happened due to secondary infection by bacterial infiltration from the mediastinal lymph nodes and the tissues surrounding the esophagus directly into the esophageal wall.

Dead silence reigned around Zheng Ren.

“I really have no idea what your confidence is based on,” Su Yun mumbled and sighed while tapping on his phone.

It looked like he could not prevent his WeChat Wallet from bleeding money this time. Hematemesis directly from a phone seemed like it would be a gruesome sight.

A doctor patted Su Yun’s shoulder in consolation.

After hearing Zheng Ren’s diagnosis, everyone seemed to lose interest in Su Yun’s “boss” and merely considered it all a joke by Su Yun.

They casually sat and began engaging themselves in their phones.

Nearly an hour later, Red Stethoscope returned with long strides. His walking was so quick that his hood fluttered with every movement.

“Let’s go for dinner.” A man put down his phone, rubbed his eyes and said lazily, “Brother Yun, I’ve actually made reservations in Da Dong.”

Su Yun waved his hand casually to indicate that he did not mind at all.

“We’re having dinner in Da Dong?” Red Stethoscope’s complexion instantly became pale.

“Why not? Dinner is on Brother Yun today, so let’s not have dinner somewhere else. I want to eat foie gras at Da Dong.”

“…” Red Stethoscope’s expression looked like he was constipated. He scratched his head and said, “Let’s have dinner elsewhere.”

“Huh? That’s strange, why are you helping Brother Yun save money?”

“Visual inspection during tissue biopsy suggested that it wasn’t a tumor…” said Red Stethoscope, embarrassed.