Chapter 259: Gifts (Part 3 of 5)
Tang Xiu had been extremely busy lately.
She had flown from Sea City to Imperial Capital after obtaining approval from the chief editor for her interview proposal, then dedicated all her time and effort into collecting the necessary information.
However, before she could finish gathering intel, the news broke that Zheng Ren had successfully completed the surgery; livestreamed, no less.
Tang Xiu was not sure how major his achievement was, but knew that she would only get busier.
Her work continued non-stop twenty-four hours a day.
She did interviews and recordings in the mornings, organizing her findings and editing videos at night.
After three hectic days, Tang Xiu’s round face had become sunken.
Her thoughts were getting clearer after every interview and video.
Her own breakthroughs astounded her.
Nevertheless, she was grateful.
“Editor Tang, we’ve finally finished our work in Imperial Capital.” Her photojournalist yawned and stretched.
“We’re almost done. All that’s left is one more day of interviews after our return to Sea City,” Tang Xiu announced.
“Arghhh…” the photojournalist whined.
“Could you pump yourself up a little? This could be the peak of your career,” she said.
“I’m not being fussy, I just need to sleep. I haven’t slept in three days. h.e.l.l, I might doze off the moment I close my eyes.”
“At least your sleep is sound. I slept for 32 seconds while you guys were talking and it felt great,” the other journalist said drowsily, his eyes half-open.
“Just keep it up! We can catch a break on the flight back to Sea City. After that, just watch me! I promise you guys a surprise within the last two days!” Tang Xiu clapped loudly in an attempt to lift the spirits of her team.
No amount of motivation could fend off the spectre of the Sandman, however. Her subordinates were so tired that they did not have the energy to acknowledge her.
…
…
Two days later, Zheng Ren was extremely bored.
Cui Heming was recovering slowly. He had been transferred to a normal ward and was able to walk. However, his grat.i.tude towards Zheng Ren was so strong that his blood pressure fluctuated whenever the young doctor dropped by. Zheng Ren decided his second visit would be his last until they had all returned to Sea City, whereupon they would have dinner together.
Lin Jiaojiao brought her daughter to visit Zheng Ren to express her thanks. As Zheng Ren had completely forgotten about her, things became a little awkward, but she had heard about his facial recognition disorder from Department Chief Kong and was thus unsurprised.
Fang Lin was also doing much better, having been transferred to a regular ward as well and becoming the subject of an interview. He became emotional upon meeting Zheng Ren once more; everything had happened so quickly on that fateful day and he was extremely blessed to even be alive.
Perhaps, in a past life, he had saved the entire galaxy.
Zheng Ren did not spend all his time visiting and being visited by patients. When he could, he went out to buy a souvenir with Su Yun.
Su Yun snickered. Had the man not claimed to have prepared a gift for Xie Yiren? What a pretentious loser.
Zheng Ren rejected every one of Su Yun’s suggestions as they were all… well and truly beyond his price range.
Finally, Zheng Ren settled on four plushies, a bottle of Maotai and an e-cigarette lighter. Thus ended his gift-shopping journey.
Su Yun bought nothing.
At Zheng Ren’s questioning, his proclaimed that his return was the best gift anyone could hope for.
…
The wait was mind-numbingly boring.
Zheng Ren felt his fingers starting to rust.
Still, this step was unavoidable. He had to monitor the postoperative recovery of the patient.
Despite the System’s 100% surgery completion rate and Zheng Ren’s confidence in his abilities, he could not let the matter go without confirming the final outcome with his own eyes.
After all, this was a novel surgical procedure and n.o.body knew what could happen with the patient after surgery.
However, he ultimately had nothing to worry about. After 24 hours, the patient’s ureter was removed and he was able to urinate normally. His test results were also very promising; post-void bladder residual urine volume was almost similar to the average 60-65 year old man.
Even though it was only two days post-surgery, the patient had almost fully recovered.
The surgery could be considered a success at this point.
Zheng Ren could not wait to return to Sea City and booked an early morning flight.
He had been away from home for a long time and missed being chief resident, especially one able to perform surgery every day.
Of course, no one truly knew if he longed for surgery or Xie Yiren.
They were seen off at the airport by Department Chief Kong and several doctoral students who had gotten to know them.
Zheng Ren had gained a lot from his trip to Imperial Capital.
Despite his encouragement, Old Chief Physician Pan had likely never expected someone as unsocial and sincere as Zheng Ren to expand his social network to such a degree.
Zheng Ren and Su Yun checked in their luggage before going through security, promising to stay in touch with their companions as they bade their farewells.
As they were waiting to board the plane, Su Yun approached Zheng Ren with a strange expression.
“Are you having a stomachache?” Zheng Ren asked, looking up from the group chat.
“On the way here, you encountered a patient with Type I aortic dissection on board,” Su Yun said earnestly, a serious look on his face. Zheng Ren knew that something nasty was about to leave the man’s mouth. “What kind of patient do you think you’d meet on the way back?”
“An insane patient like you whose cerebral cortex was overstimulated by microcurrents,” Zheng Ren snapped back at him.
“In our half-month trip, you achieved a level of brilliance that took me three years as a postgraduate researcher. Are you going to tell me that nothing’s going to happen on our way back? I don’t believe it.” Su Yun’s use of the word “brilliance” to describe Zheng Ren and himself was unabashed.
To him, it was an objective description.
“What makes you think so?” Zheng Ren put down his phone. “I don’t want to see emergency cases everywhere I go. I enjoyed my time in Imperial Capital. There’s no lack of emergency cases in our own ward.”
“I knew you would say that.” Su Yun pulled out his phone and captured a selfie with Zheng Ren before saying, “I’ve already finished writing both papers and sent them out.”
“So fast?” Zheng Ren was shocked.
There was a fixed structure when it came to writing a paper. Zheng Ren knew that Su Yun was familiar with the style, but was the man taking a shortcut to finish two whole papers, fit for the world’s top medical journal, within two days?
More importantly, it was one of the most prestigious journals in existence. They would not accept any ordinary paper.
Its reviewers were usually very busy. Email submissions from unknown figures would receive a glance at best and most submissions did not even elicit a response.
From Su Yun’s confidence, Zheng Ren suspected that the man had pulled some strings abroad.
Su Yun maintained his enigmatic expression and did not respond to Zheng Ren’s question.
Their short conversation over, Zheng Ren started reading his novels while Su Yun scrolled through his phone.
They started queuing to board the plane not long after.
Feng Xuhui had reserved a first-cla.s.s seat for Zheng Ren and Su Yun, which allowed them to board first through the VIP lane.
When a beautiful flight attendant laid eyes on them, the smile on her face turned to astonishment.
“Oh, it’s you guys!”