The Surgeon's Studio

[Emergency Mission: Resuscitation completed.

[Mission: Completed one of the emergency surgery on gastrointestinal bleeding.

[Mission Reward: 200 skill points, 2,000 experience points.

[Mission Time: 2 hours 15 minutes, remaining 2 hours 45 minutes.]

Zheng Ren sighed. He had been pampered by the System’s lavish rewards, and the ones he was now getting seemed inadequate in comparison.

There was no choice but to be more frugal.

That feeling… was something he was used to.

He took off his sterile surgical gown and walked into the operating console room wearing the isolation suit.

“Monitor postoperative coagulation,” he said.

“Sure, anything else to keep an eye on?” Chief Qian asked.

“With Su Yun here, there won’t be.”

Chief Qian was stunned.

Had he just replied with a follow-up question? It felt like he had gone back twenty years to being a clinical doctor, noting down everything his superior said and obeying orders unconditionally.

However, this person was just a chief resident while he was the department chief of the ICU in Sea City General Hospital. What kind of arrogant… As he was on the verge of getting indignant, he compared their respective surgical prowess and steadied himself.

Chief Qian offered an awkward smile, patted Zheng Ren’s shoulders and glanced at him meaningfully. Then, without saying a word, he turned around to order one of his subordinates to transport the patient back to ICU.

“Little Zheng, you’re amazing!” Chief Liu praised.

“It’s just a basic procedure,” Zheng Ren said calmly.

“If Old Chief Physician Pan is willing to let you go, come to me. I’ll make you a deputy chief right away.” Chief Liu dared not poach Zheng Ren right in front of Old Pan and left it there.

As expected, Old Chief Physician Pan glared at him. Chief Liu smirked and left the emergency operating theater some more small talk.

Mild-mannered Chief Sun, on the other hand, did not make any moves of his own.

Before this, he would not have hesitated to steal patients from the emergency department no matter how vicious they were. Now, especially when even Chief Liu backed down, he did not dare face off against Old Chief Physician Pan and his terrifying chief resident.

In this case, preoperative procedures were the key, but he had no clue what Zheng Ren had been doing. He had wanted to give it a try but was fortunate that his habitual cowardice made him turn around; otherwise, he would have just made a fool of himself.

Chief Sun left the emergency operating theater and the building. Chilly winds grazed his face, making him feel more energized. He recalled the surgery earlier and let out a long sigh.

The duo, Zheng Ren and Old Chief Physician Pan, could dominate the entire hospital.

Regardless if he understood the procedure, the interventional surgery would not have been successful were there no one to perform it.

Even if someone else could perform the radiography, Chief Sun would never take the risk inherent to such a surgery.

After Chief Sun’s departure, Old Chief Physician Pan silently stared at Zheng Ren for a long time.

Zheng Ren was puzzled. He touched his face, fearing that there were residual rice grains that could have contaminated the operating table.

“With your skill, you’re more than capable of performing a surgery like this. However, without me here, you’d have had to wait for a decade before you could do this,” Old Chief Physician Pan said quietly.

Zheng Ren understood the underlying meaning of the old chief’s words.

There was a gush of warmth in his heart. Was this the taste of home?

Even though the System’s rewards were not as generous, with Old Chief Physician Pan and Little Yiren beside him, Sea City General Hospital was much better than Imperial Capital.

His heart overflowing with gratitude, Zheng Ren stepped forward and sat down in front of Old Pan, his voice overcome with emotion and sincerity. “Thank you for everything.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Old Chief Physician Pan said with a smile.

“I’ll start my shift tonight so that Yang Lei can get some rest. He should take a few days off since he’s been working very hard recently,” Zheng Ren said.

“Sure, just call me if there’s anything.” Old Chief Physician Pan was already tired; as his adrenaline rush receded post-surgery, fatigue caught up with him and made him sluggish.

Zheng Ren informed the Chu sisters to send the old chief home as they had nothing much to do after the operation.

After sending off Old Chief Physician Pan, Zheng Ren thought for a while and returned to the operating theater instead of the emergency ward.

Since the emergency ward was still very early in development, its staff was not yet assigned. There were no anesthesiologists and nurses on assigned shifts; they had to be called in when required.

Xie Yiren and the circulating nurse had finished packing up and were about to leave.

When they saw Zheng Ren, the nurse murmured something into Xie Yiren’s ears that made the latter’s face flush bright red. With glee, the nurse passed Zheng Ren as she left and whispered, “All the best, Chief Zheng!”

Zheng Ren was well and truly embarrassed.

The operating theater was so quiet that they could nearly hear each other’s heartbeats.

Xue Yiren was nervous, her head lowered and her hands trembling a little, but she gripped her sleeve tightly and tried her best to seem as natural as possible.

Zheng Ren was like a log. In such ambiguous situations, he had no idea what to say.

Ages later, Zheng Ren finally broke the silence. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

His voice echoed in the empty corridor,

in Zheng Ren’s heart,

and in Xie Yiren’s heart.

“Sure.”

They both left the operating theater side by side.

Despite having gotten used to exchanging greetings every morning and night via WeChat, when it came to facing each other in real life, they did not know what to say.

Zheng Ren felt at peace as he walked with Little Yiren. His survival instinct, ingrained into him since childhood, seemed to have never existed at all.

How nice it would be if they could continue walking forever.

Xie Yiren was also quiet. She kept her head lowered, her thoughts opaque.

Although they did not interact or speak with each other, there was no discomfort. They simply continued walking, the smell of hospital disinfectant more intoxicating than the fragrance of spring flowers.

After reaching the basement parking lot, Xie Yiren stood by her car door and said softly, “Goodbye, Zheng… Chief Zheng.”

Zheng Ren gathered the courage to raise his arms, wanting to hug her like he did the other day.

However, Xie Yiren ran into her car without giving him a chance to.

This was awkward.

He stood in front of the car with his arms opened, looking like a puppet whose eyes were filled with disappointment and panic.

Xie Yiren waved to him to signal that she was leaving.

The engine of the Volvo XC60 roared deeply as she started the car.

She hesitated upon seeing Zheng Ren standing there, dazed. Instead of shifting into gear and driving off, she stared at him in silence.

Two young people lost and trapped in the forest of love, with no escape in sight.

After a minute had passed, Zheng Ren finally regained his senses. He put his arms down and smiled, signalling Xie Yiren to leave.

She suddenly began to fiddle with a red string at her fair-skinned neck

Zheng Ren was confused.

A heart-shaped pendant made from a micro guide wire appeared at the end of the red string. Xie Yiren placed the simple pendant between her nose and lips and smiled before putting it back into her clothes, close to her chest.

It was a simple gesture, but it seemed to have taken a chunk out of her, and a sheen of sweat covered her forehead.

She wiped her sweat away and put her hand at her heart, as if telling Zheng Ren that his gift was there.

Then, the Volvo drove off.

Zheng Ren stared at its departing shadow, overjoyed.

It was good to be home.