58: Chapter 58 Don't be so impulsive next time.
"Surgery finished," Lu Chen said.
His voice had returned to its usual steadiness.
The First assistant stood nearby, mouth agape, eventually only managing a single word.
"Awesome."
Outside the Operating Room, Deputy Director Qin took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The Attending Physician next to him whispered a comment.
"Director Qin, this Xiao Lu really has some skill."
Deputy Director Qin didn't speak.
After a moment, he put on his glasses and turned to leave.
After a few steps, he stopped and said to the Attending Physician behind him.
"Go back and write a self-reflection on why you had a patient with appendicitis hospitalized for a week without diagnosing it."
The Attending Physician's face turned pale.
"Director Qin, the CT scan didn't report it either."
"If the CT didn't report it, you stop checking? A Resident Physician from the Emergency Department knows to perform the Psoas sign and Obturator sign tests; did you?"
"No."
"Three thousand words for the self-reflection, hand it in tomorrow morning."
Deputy Director Qin walked away.
When Lu Chen came out of the Operating Room, he saw Director Li Sen waiting at the end of the corridor.
"How was it?"
"21 minutes, zero blood loss."
Director Li Sen nodded.
His expression didn't give much away, but Lu Chen noticed the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"Let's go, back to the Emergency Department."
"Okay."
...
The two of them walked toward the elevator.
Passing the observation window on the way, several doctors from the General Surgery Department were still standing there discussing.
Seeing Lu Chen approach, they all made way for him.
The eyes of some held surprise, some held admiration, and some held complex emotions.
A Resident Physician from the Emergency Department had performed a surgery observed by the entire department on General Surgery's home turf.
21 minutes, zero blood loss, and a perfect Purse-string suture.
And then he just walked away without a word.
This was something the people in General Surgery probably wouldn't forget for a long time.
By the time they returned to the Emergency Department, it was already 5:30 PM.
Zhao Yaqin was waiting at the Nurse Station.
"How did it go?"
"It's done."
"The result?"
"Appendicitis, confirmed, surgically removed."
Zhao Yaqin let out a long breath.
"You got lucky, kid."
"It wasn't luck, it was judgment."
"Fine, fine, fine, you're amazing, it was your judgment."
Zhao Yaqin waved her hand.
"But don't be so impulsive next time. What if it wasn't? Have you thought about the consequences?"
"There are no 'what ifs'. I only speak when I'm certain."
Zhao Yaqin looked at him, wanted to say something, but swallowed it back.
"Alright, get to work. There are a few Suturing cases piled up in the Red Zone waiting for you."
When Lu Chen changed and walked into the Red Zone treatment area, he saw a scene that gave him a headache.
Long Ge.
That "big brother" from society with the deep laceration in his Thenar space from last time.
Gold chain, tattooed arms, buzz cut.
He was currently sitting on a chair in the treatment area, his left hand wrapped in a towel already soaked with blood.
In his other, uninjured hand, he held a plastic bag filled with fruit.
Seeing Lu Chen enter, Long Ge's face immediately broke into an overly enthusiastic smile.
"Dr. Lu! We meet again!"
Lu Chen paused.
"Long Ge, how are you injured again?"
"Sigh, just an accident."
"How long has it been since the last wound? A week?"
"Six days, six days."
"The wound in your Thenar space from last time hasn't fully healed yet, has it?"
"It's fine, the new injury doesn't interfere with the old one."
Lu Chen walked over and took a look after removing the towel.
A laceration about five centimeters long in the left palm, deep into the dermis, with active but not severe bleeding.
"How did you get hurt?"
"Cutting watermelon."
"Cutting watermelon?"
"Yeah, cutting watermelon for my brothers, the knife slipped."
Lu Chen looked at the direction and depth of the cut.
This wasn't from cutting watermelon.
But he didn't press further.
The rule in the Emergency Department: treat what you can, and don't ask what you shouldn't.
"Sit still, I'll treat it for you."
"Thanks, Dr. Lu. I only trust you."
Long Ge set the fruit bag aside.
"Brought these for you—mangoes and cherries. Didn't know which you liked."
"No need, Long Ge. Hospital regulations forbid accepting gifts from patients."
"Tsk, you said that last time too. Did I buy them for nothing?"
"Then don't buy them next time."
"That won't do. I've been showing off that scar in my Thenar space you stitched to my brothers for days. They all say you can't even tell it was stitched."
Lu Chen began disinfecting.
"Let's skip the showing off of scars."
"Hehe."
Long Ge chuckled, then suddenly turned toward the treatment area entrance.
"Xiao Shen! What are you looking at? Come in and sit!"
Lu Chen looked up.
Shen Xiaoning was standing at the door.
There was someone else standing behind her.
Shen Yu.
Shen Xiaoning's older brother.
The one who was sent to the Debridement Room at Guangfu Hospital with a knife wound last time.
Shen Yu was wearing a black casual outfit today, and he looked much more energetic.
His left forearm was still wrapped in gauze, but it was clearly almost recovered.
His gaze went directly to Lu Chen.
It was a very direct look.
Not scrutinizing, but assessing, with a hint of recognition and something else.
Shen Xiaoning ran in.
"Dr. Lu! My brother came to see you!"
"See me?"
Shen Yu walked in.
His pace was steady, and his aura was completely different from his sister's.
Shen Xiaoning had a soft temperament, while Shen Yu had a silent toughness.
"Dr. Lu."
Shen Yu stood before him and gave a slight nod.
"I haven't thanked you in person for what happened at Guangfu last time."
"No need for thanks. It was just standard medical treatment."
"I'm not talking about the medical stuff."
Shen Yu looked into his eyes.
"I'm talking about when those three men burst in."
Lu Chen's hands didn't stop.
"No need to thank me for that either. Anyone would have done the same."
"They wouldn't."
Shen Yu's tone was calm but certain.
"Most people wouldn't."
Listening from the side, Long Ge suddenly interjected.
"You're Xiao Shen's brother?"
Shen Yu glanced at Long Ge.
"And you are?"
"I'm Long Ge, one of Dr. Lu's old patients."
"Old patient? This is only the second time," Lu Chen said while Suturing.
"Twice counts as old. I come to you every time—that's loyalty, right?"
Shen Yu didn't respond to Long Ge, looking instead at Lu Chen's hands as he sutured.
His gaze lingered on Lu Chen's fingers.
Even while chatting, Lu Chen's hands continued the Suturing operation steadily.
Every stitch was precise.
It was fast, but without a trace of haste.
Shen Yu's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Shen Xiaoning stood nearby, looking at Lu Chen's profile.
Since Lu Chen returned from General Surgery today, his overall state seemed even more composed than usual.
She didn't know what had happened, but she felt Lu Chen looked exceptionally handsome today.
No, he was handsome every day.
Shen Xiaoning felt her face start to heat up again.
"Done." Lu Chen cut the last thread.
Long Ge looked down at his palm.
That five-centimeter wound had now become a row of neat sutures.
"Awesome, really awesome. Even better than last time."
"Long Ge." Lu Chen put down the instruments and looked at him.
"Hmm?"
"What did I tell you last time?"
"What?"
"Get into fewer fights."
"I was cutting watermelon this time."
"Long Ge, the angle and depth of this wound aren't something that can happen from a knife slipping."