"Director Gao, we're doing our best to save Young Master Gao. Please... please rest assured. There shouldn't be any problem," the Superintendent said awkwardly to the visitor, his forehead beaded with nervous sweat.
"Shouldn't? Hmph!" The imposing man snorted, his words sharp. "Superintendent Zhou, you should be well aware that I didn't personally rush to the hospital just to hear you say 'shouldn't'! How is my son? Speak!"
"He's... he's in there... Dr. Liu is performing the surgery!" a doctor couldn't help but whisper.
"Dr. Liu is in there himself?" Hearing this, Gao Zhinan's expression softened slightly. He was friends with Dr. Liu and knew just how skilled he was. If Dr. Liu was personally performing the operation, it was enough to ease some of his worries.
"Director Gao! I have something to say! Although Dr. Liu is in the operating room, he is not the chief surgeon," Zheng Yi suddenly announced.
"What!?"
At his words, the Superintendent and the others went pale. Director Gao's expression, in particular, turned utterly grim. He never expected this. Dr. Liu is in the operating room, but he isn't the chief surgeon?
"Then who is operating on my son? Who is it?" he asked in a low, hoarse voice, unable to contain himself.
Hearing his tone, the sneer on Zheng Yi's lips deepened. He continued, "The chief surgeon is merely a graduate from a Third Tier university. It seems Dr. Liu wasn't confident he could complete the surgery, so he let this graduate, who has some connection to him, do it instead."
"What? A graduate from a Third Tier university?" The Superintendent's face fell. He couldn't believe something like this had happened.
To be clear, doctors qualified to perform surgery at their Municipal Central Hospital were, at minimum, associate chief physicians. To attain such a rank, one had to be an expert renowned throughout the province and beyond, or a Grandmaster of Medicine with outstanding academic or clinical achievements.
But now, Zheng Yi was telling him the chief surgeon was a graduate from a Third Tier university. Wasn't this a slap in the face to their Municipal Central Hospital?
"Superintendent, I believe Dr. Liu is being extremely irresponsible! That kid has no right to be in an operating room, especially as a graduate from some Third Tier university..." Zheng Yi continued, his expression cold, but he was suddenly cut off.
"Shut your mouth!"
Gao Zhinan glared, his eyes like ice, and said through gritted teeth, "Listen to me, and listen clearly. If anything happens to my son, I guarantee you'll be buried with him! Don't think I don't know what you're scheming. Hmph! Useless trash!" Given his status and experience, he could see right through Zheng Yi's intentions and recognized his words for the provocation they were. After all, he and Dr. Liu Changsheng were friends, and he knew exactly what kind of man he was. Irresponsible? With the doctor's ethics, he would never do anything to betray his own conscience. In other words, this damn dog was just trying to stir up trouble. Hmph! Truly worthless!
"Director Gao, you... I..." Zheng Yi's face went white. He had never expected Gao Zhinan to react this way.
"Throw him out. He's an eyesore," Gao Zhinan said coldly, waving his hand in disgust as if shooing a fly. At his command, his bodyguards emotionlessly approached the panicked Zheng Yi, hoisted him up, and threw him out.
"No, Director Gao, you can't do this to me! I'm an official employee of this hospital! I'm an associate chief physician!" Zheng Yi yelled, but no one paid him any mind.
...
Roughly one or two hours later, Chen Fei, drenched in sweat, completed the final step. "Alright, the immediate danger has passed." He had pulled the patient back from the brink of death.
"A miracle. This is simply a miracle."
Gazing at the patient on the operating table, whose condition was now stable, Dr. Liu's eyes filled with astonishment. He then said with sincere admiration, "Xiaofei—oh, no, I should call you Doctor Chen now. I have to say, your medical skills are beyond belief. It's incredible. Truly incredible!"
After all, Dr. Liu had considered the situation completely hopeless. He was certain that if he had been the one to perform the surgery, the patient would most likely have died on the table. But now, Chen Fei had performed a miracle right before his eyes. It was truly astonishing, leaving him utterly convinced of the young man's superiority.
At this moment, he knew without a doubt that Chen Fei's medical skills far surpassed his own. Yes, far surpassed!
Perhaps sensing movement inside the operating room, the voice of a middle-aged man called from outside. "Dr. Liu? It's Gao Zhinan... My son... how is he?"
"Gao Zhinan?" Dr. Liu paused, then looked to Chen Fei for consent before opening the door to the operating room.
The anxious Superintendent Zhou immediately rushed forward. He first glanced at the pale-faced Chen Fei, then whispered to Dr. Liu, "Doctor, you... you nearly scared me to death today. How is Young Master Gao? There shouldn't be any problems now, right?" At his words, everyone tensed up.
Dr. Liu nodded slightly before saying solemnly, "Director Gao, Mr. Chen is the man who saved your son's life. Aren't you going to thank him?"
"The man who saved my son's life...?" Gao Zhinan froze for a moment, then an expression of uncontrollable excitement spread across his face. Could it be...!?