The Surgeon's Studio

Zheng Ren was exhausted after the dinner.

His soul was tired. He had to promise Director Zhang he would pass on the TIPS method to one of the doctors at the Secondary Hospital.

As a human being, Zheng Ren knew he had to participate in these social events despite how much he hated them.

They were the bane of his existence.

Feng Xuhui served as their waiter, running errands and refilling glasses; hence, he remained sober all through the night. Occasionally, he had to drop a line here and there to keep the mood alive.

After attending multiple events, Feng Xuhui had graduated from wallflower to a professional at addressing the crowd.

He was tired, but excitement buzzed through his body.

Every hospital was a castle and he had successfully penetrated the defenses of one. With the Secondary Hospital sourcing supplies from them, the company’s business report would show a significant boost in sales. Feng Xuhui looked forward to the hefty bonus at the end of the year.

These pleasant thoughts occupied his mind as he served the crowd.

Feng Xuhui recalled the words of that restaurant owner in Imperial Capital. He was told to hold on tight to Chief Zheng; the man was a rising star.

Feng Xuhui did not know what a TIPS procedure was, but he could tell the doctors from the Secondary Hospital were impressed by Zheng Ren’s performance.

As the night ended, Feng Xuhui escorted Zheng Ren and Professor Rudolf home.

“Chief Zheng, shall I drop you or the professor off first?”

The professor had one too many and was snoring soundly in the back seat.

“Drop the professor off at Shangri-La first.” Zheng Ren wound down the window and lit a Ziyun cigarette. He took a drag and let the menthol in the tobacco linger in his mouth. The cold Northeastern air blew into the car, clearing Zheng Ren’s mind. “You help him up. I’ll wait downstairs.”

“Okay.” Feng Xuhui could sense that Zheng Ren wanted some silence. He kept his focus on driving.

After Professor Rudolf Wagner was dropped off at the hotel, Feng Xuhui asked Zheng Ren about their next destination.

When he heard Zheng Ren mention the neighborhood, Feng Xuhui’s eyes widened.

No wonder Zheng Ren was able to wholly focus on surgery; money was not a worry for him. He lived in one of the fanciest neighborhoods.

Only the rich could abandon the usual worries in life and truly pursue what they loved.

Surgery was a hobby to Chief Zheng.

In that instance, Feng Xuhui’s impression of Zheng Ren strayed further and further from the truth.

Zheng Ren was texting Xie Yiren on his phone.

He wanted to go to Xie Yiren’s place and bid her goodnight with a hug.

If he could do that, the night would be perfect like the TIPS surgeries he had done that day.

However, Chu Yanzhi was at Xie Yiren’s house today as she was working on-call.

Given Xie Yiren’s personality, with the presence of another human being… Zheng Ren sighed and gave up on his idea.

It was late and he had things to attend to tomorrow.

Zheng Yunxia’s 64-slice CT scan required his attention. He needed to evaluate the efficacy of the second embolization treatment.

He needed to visit the patients in the wards, and there was still the old man who was faking ill.

Never mind… He would go home and wash up. An early rest would do him good as he would be required to replace Su Yun in the emergency department. The man had been working for two days straight.

With Zheng Ren’s guidance, they arrived at Xie Yiren’s manor.

Feng Xuhui watched as Zheng Ren entered the house. He was still shocked to find out how loaded the man was.

Zheng Ren was a man of many surprises. He had never flaunted his wealth. His attire was ordinary and his taste in food was nothing unusual, but the manor he lived in was spectacular.

The image of Zheng Ren as a rich person was surprising.

Feng Xuhui gathered his thoughts and quickly drove off.

He still had a lot of work to do when he got home. He had to assess today’s surgeries and evaluate future business between Changfeng and the Secondary Hospital.

Although these were usually done by the company’s data analysts, Feng Xuhui felt he had a better feel of the ground and could provide a more accurate and realistic number.

He patted himself on the shoulder. He drove off with thoughts of one day living in a manor like Zheng Ren.

Self-motivation was important in his line of work.

…

The next morning, Zheng Ren was invited by Xie Yiren to breakfast.

Chu Yanzhi was interested in his visit to the Secondary Hospital and asked a bunch of questions. Xie Yiren ate her breakfast quietly, occasionally glancing at Zheng Ren.

After breakfast, Zheng Ren went to the emergency department wards and asked about the patients.

Unexpectedly, Su Yun had had two rather free and easy days at the hospital.

“You must have neglected to worship the Night Shift God,” Su Yun laughed at Zheng Ren.

‘This lucky bastard,’ Zheng Ren cursed in his mind.

At 7:55 a.m, Professor Rudolf Wagner walked into the emergency wards. At the sight of Zheng Ren, the professor immediately got his attention. He wanted to share the reflections he had about the TIPS procedures they did yesterday.

However, Zheng Ren rejected his advances.

Zheng Ren had to oversee the handover, make the rounds and check on some patients. He had no time to entertain the professor.

This was not Heidelberg University. Sea City General Hospital had limited medical personnel on duty.

The medical staff were jaded from the many years of service at the hospital. They were no longer excited about their jobs and the toil was slowly grinding away at their souls.

Even with insufficient staff, the hospital took in patients and the staff cared for them at the expense of sleep. Medical research was far from their minds. They would rather have more time with their family than be roped into some research project.

After the rounds, Old Chief Physician Pan went back to his office while Chang Yue dragged the professor off to help with something. Zheng Ren was not sure what she needed help with, but refrained from asking.

Zheng Ren and Su Yun started to check on the patients whom they had operated on. They made note of each patient’s condition: what was the blood oxygen level of the TIPS surgery patient, when could they remove the extra shunt, how was the ICU patient doing? It was a lot of work.

Once they were done, they exited the emergency ward. Zheng Ren was shocked to find a crowd in front of the emergency ward.

There were a bunch of elementary school kids and two adults. The adults looked prim and proper.

Which of their patients was a teacher? Teachers were held in high regard these days. A sick teacher often beckoned worried parents to the hospital.

Zheng Ren had heard complaints from coworkers who regretted joining their children’s class chat group. After joining the group, they realized the group’s content consisted of only two things: the teacher berating the parents and the parents trying to impress the teacher.

Zheng Ren rifled through his memory, but found no sick teacher in his list of patients.

The children were quite young. Could it be…

As Zheng Ren was lost in his thoughts, the child who looked the eldest in the group held up a newspaper. The child was comparing Zheng Ren to a photo in the newspaper.

“Uncle, are you Dr. Zheng?” The child had an angelic voice, which Zheng Ren found cute.

“Yes, I am.” Zheng Ren studied the situation. The newspaper in the child’s hand was the Sea City Metropolis Daily. He could not see the publication date, but he saw the front page headline photo; it was him.

“Good day, Uncle. We are students from No. 9 Elementary School. Our class teacher is Miss Yang Lili,” the child who was leading the group said. “We’re here to visit Miss Yang and to thank you.”

Zheng Ren chuckled at the child’s serious tone. He ruffled the child’s head and said, “You’re welcome. It’s my job to save people.”

The adults of the group approached Zheng Ren and bowed. “Dr. Zheng, the children were insistent on coming over to express their gratitude. Really sorry if we’re interrupting your work.”

Zheng Ren panicked at the sudden show of gratitude. “Thank you, thank you.”

Social encounters were not Zheng Ren’s forte.

Su Yun stood behind Zheng Ren, a playful grin on his face as he watched the scene play out.

“Students from Second Year Class One, Miss Yang’s condition is improving. We can come back in a few days to visit her. This is Dr. Zheng, the doctor who saved Miss Yang’s life. How do we show our gratitude?”

The first child who interacted with Zheng Ren must have been the class monitor, as she quickly turned to face the other students and said, “Class, attention!”

All the children stood up straight, shoulder to shoulder.

The class monitor turned to face Zheng Ren. Her expression was as serious as an adult’s.

“Dr. Zheng, we of Second Year Class One from No. 9 Elementary School sincerely thank you.” The class monitor raised her right hand and led a Young Pioneer’s salute.

The 30 or so children followed her gesture.

It was not a neat salute, but the effort was enough to impress the adults.

Zheng Ren felt his heart swell.