17: Chapter 17 Competitors? You're not even in their league!
Lu Chen finished his last bite of food, picked up his tray, and stood up, preparing to go to the drop-off station.
The moment he stood up, the air in the Cafeteria seemed to freeze for a second.
Not everyone noticed him, but as he passed the row of tables, many people's eyes were indeed drawn to him.
A Nurse who had just sat down with her tray stopped her chopsticks mid-air.
A female doctor who was drinking soup forgot to take the spoon out of her mouth.
Two girls waiting in line for food turned their heads to stare at him, nearly cutting in front of others.
Lu Chen, wearing his slightly worn white coat, walked toward the tray return station at a steady pace.
Sunlight streamed through the Cafeteria's glass windows, hitting the side of his face.
That face was too clean.
Fair skin, deep features, high brow bones, a straight bridge of the nose, and a sharp jawline.
Crucially, his expression was very indifferent; when he wasn't smiling, there was a sense of cold detachment, yet it didn't make people feel he was heartless.
He was the type who made hearts race just by looking at him, yet people didn't dare to approach easily.
The chatter in the Cafeteria began to change.
"Who is that?"
"I think he's a newcomer in the Emergency Department."
"A newcomer? A newcomer who looks like that?"
"Oh my god, he's way too good-looking."
These voices weren't loud, but in the Cafeteria environment, they still managed to spread.
Gu Bai was continuing to boast about his glorious achievements in the looks department when he suddenly realized his audience's attention was no longer on him.
"What are you all looking at?"
He followed everyone's gaze.
Then he saw Lu Chen.
Gu Bai's mouth opened, then closed again.
He stared at Lu Chen for three seconds.
Then he lowered his head and silently took a bite of rice.
The guy next to him nudged him.
"Gu Bai, what were you saying just now? Three hundred and sixty degrees with no blind spots?"
"Just eat your food."
"Weren't you just saying you're the most handsome in the Orthopedics Department?"
"I said the Orthopedics Department, the Orthopedics Department, do you understand? We're discussing by department."
"He's just a newcomer, buddy."
Gu Bai's expression looked a bit sour.
He looked up at Lu Chen again.
Lu Chen had already delivered his tray to the return station and turned to walk out of the Cafeteria.
Even his walking posture was good-looking—not a forced kind of good-looking, but a natural sense of coordination.
Gu Bai fell silent for a moment.
"Which department is this guy from?"
"Emergency Department, I think his name is Lu something."
"Lu Chen." A Resident Physician nearby chimed in, "He's the newcomer who diagnosed a myocardial infarction in the Emergency Department recently; the whole Hospital is talking about it now."
"Diagnosed a myocardial infarction? What do you mean?"
"Haven't you heard? As a newcomer, he identified an inferior wall myocardial infarction before the Associate Chief Physician did. At the time, the Electrocardiogram was normal, but he insisted on it based on symptoms and medical history. Later, the patient indeed developed ventricular fibrillation. If he hadn't predicted it, the person would be gone."
Gu Bai was stunned for a moment.
"A newcomer? Diagnosed a myocardial infarction that even the Associate Chief couldn't see?"
"Yes."
Gu Bai fell silent.
He lowered his head and took two bites of food, suddenly finding it tasteless.
It was one thing to be more handsome than him, but his medical skills were also that impressive?
How was anyone else supposed to live?
"Does he have a girlfriend?" Gu Bai suddenly asked.
"I heard he doesn't. He had one before, but they broke up."
Gu Bai's expression became even more sour.
No girlfriend.
Doesn't that make it even more dangerous?
The popularity he had painstakingly built up in the Orthopedics Department for half a year might be snatched away by this newcomer overnight.
"Why are you asking that? You're not a woman," the person next to him joked.
"Can't I show some concern for a competitor?"
"Competitor? You're not even in the same league as him, okay?"
"Shut up."
Gu Bai took a bite of a chicken leg, biting down hard as if the chicken leg were his enemy.
...
Meanwhile.
In another corner of the Cafeteria, several female doctors were discussing in low voices.
"Did you see him? Did you see him? That's the guy!"
"I saw him. Oh my god, he's even better-looking than in the photos."
"What photos?"
"Someone at the Nurse Station took a candid photo of him during rounds, and it's been going crazy in our Hospital's internal group."
"Let me see, let me see!"
"Keep your voice down!"
Several people huddled together to look at a phone; on the screen was a captured photo.
In the photo, Lu Chen was looking down while writing a medical record, with sunlight coming through the window, looking very peaceful.
"I've decided."
"Decided what?"
"I'm going to book an appointment in the Emergency Department tomorrow."
"What's wrong with you?"
"My heart feels uncomfortable. Every time I see him, my heart races. Do you think that counts as heart disease?"
"Get out of here."
...
Lu Chen was completely unaware of everything happening in the Cafeteria.
As he walked out of the Cafeteria, he was thinking about the afternoon schedule and whether he should continue reading the Emergency Medicine textbook tonight.
Just as he reached the first-floor lobby of the Outpatient Building, the phone in his pocket vibrated.
It was a call from the Emergency Department Nurse Station.
"Dr. Lu, is it convenient for you right now?"
"An Acute Abdomen patient has arrived in the Green Zone. Teacher Zhao is tied up in the Yellow Zone. Can you come and take a look first?"
Lin Xiaoyu's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Okay, I'll be right over."
Lu Chen hung up the phone and quickened his pace.
From the Outpatient Building to the Emergency Department, it took about three minutes walking quickly.
When he arrived, several people were already standing outside the door of Consultation Room 3 in the Green Zone.
A Middle-aged man was supporting a young boy who looked to be in his early twenties.
He was hunched over, clutching the right side of his abdomen, with a very poor complexion.
"Dr. Lu is here!" Lin Xiaoyu greeted him and handed him a Pre-triage Form.
"Male, twenty-one years old. Chief complaint of abdominal pain for six hours, primarily in the lower right abdomen, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Body temperature is 37.8 degrees."
Lu Chen took the triage form and glanced at it.
Then he looked up at the boy.
The Eye of Truth activated automatically.
In his field of vision, a light blue holographic projection floated above the boy's body.
A red light was flashing in the abdominal area, located in the Right Iliac Fossa region, specifically pointing to the appendix.
The system's diagnostic results popped up almost simultaneously.
[Eye of Truth scan complete]
[Patient Information: Male, 21 years old]
[Chief Complaint: Abdominal pain for six hours, primarily in the lower right abdomen, accompanied by nausea and vomiting]
[Eye of Truth Diagnosis: Acute Suppurative Appendicitis]
[Danger Level: Medium]
[Current Symptoms: Appendix is congested and swollen, purulent exudate visible on the serosal surface, increased pressure within the appendiceal lumen, risk of perforation exists]
[Recommendation: Surgery as soon as possible; Laparoscopic Appendectomy recommended]
[Warning: If not handled promptly, the appendix may perforate within 6 to 12 hours, leading to Diffuse Peritonitis]
Lu Chen's pupils contracted slightly.
Acute Suppurative Appendicitis.
And it had already reached the suppurative stage; if delayed any further, there would be a risk of perforation.
This was no longer a condition that could be handled in the Green Zone.
"Come in and sit down first," Lu Chen said to the Middle-aged man.
The Middle-aged man helped the boy into the consultation room and settled him on the examination bed.
Lu Chen walked over and first performed a basic physical examination.
"I'm going to press down; tell me where it hurts the most."
Starting from the lower left abdomen, his fingers gently pressed several points.
When he reached McBurney's Point in the lower right abdomen, the boy cried out in pain.
"Ow, ow, ow! Right there!"
The moment Lu Chen released his hand, the boy cried out again.
Rebound tenderness, positive.
"Migratory right lower abdominal pain, right? Did it start as pain around the navel or upper abdomen, and then slowly move down to the right side?"
The boy nodded.
"Yes, yes, yes. It was just a stomachache at first. I thought I ate something bad, but then it got more and more painful and moved here to the right."
"Have you vomited?"
"I vomited twice."
"What about bowel movements? Have you had one today?"
"No, I haven't had one since last night."