Chapter 280 - 186: A 21-year-old Attending Physician?

Chapter 280: Chapter 186: A 21-year-old Attending Physician?

The night grew deeper.

Jiang He finished his shift handover.

After a full day of high-intensity work, even a body as young as his couldn’t help but feel a trace of exhaustion.

’Time for a good four hours of sleep.’

He was suddenly reminded of an ad from his past life. How to sleep comfortably in the summer? With the magical Little Deer Cooling Blanket...

On the way back to the university, Jiang He called Shen Yu.

Shen Yu had been waiting for his call. The moment the line connected, she said immediately:

"Dr. Jiang~"

"Teacher Shen~"

Both of their voices were gentle.

Then they both started giggling foolishly.

To the outside world, Jiang He was "Chief Surgeon Asura," the "Ghost-possessed Genius Doctor," the "person in charge of a national-level P3 laboratory project."

Shen Yu was a top student in the psychology department at North Normal University, outstanding in her studies and the center of attention.

But in front of each other, they seemed to regress to the tender, blossoming age of their youth.

"How was your day?" Shen Yu asked with concern.

"Pretty busy," Jiang He said, sharing his day as he walked slowly toward Southern Medical University. "I had two surgeries back-to-back this morning, then went to check on the lab’s progress in the afternoon."

"What about that girl with severe acute pancreatitis?" Shen Yu had been following the story of Jiang He’s daring rescue operation.

"I checked on her during my rounds today. Her vitals are stable. She’s past the hardest part."

"That’s good. You’re amazing, Dr. Jiang!"

Shen Yu didn’t hold back her praise, then began sharing her own day. "I’ve been busy these past two days, too. I have monthly exams next week, so I was studying in the library today."

"A smart person like Teacher Shen will have no problem with a few monthly exams. Don’t push yourself too hard. Rest when you need to. Don’t forget what you promised me."

"I know, I know. Eat on time, get regular check-ups, and absolutely no staying up late. Oh, by the way, a guy tried to ask for my number in the library today~"

"Oh? And what did you say?"

"I showed him my ring, and he just apologized and ran off, hee hee~"

"Amazing, Teacher Shen!"

"Hee hee... Juanzi was asking me today when Dr. Jiang is coming to visit, and if you should bring Chen Hao along."

"Yeah, sure. It’s about time those two met."

They talked all the way back to his dorm.

He washed up and climbed into bed.

The call was still connected.

Jiang He placed his phone by his pillow and asked softly:

"Sleepy?"

"A little. I just lay down. Can we not hang up? And just fall asleep like this?"

"Okay."

Jiang He poked his head out and asked, "Guys, I’m not hanging up. Will this bother you?"

Li Zijian/Wang Bo/Chen Hao: "No problem! Absolutely no problem!"

The three of them repeated the same line, one after another.

Their intentions were as plain as day...

Chen Hao wanted to see Xu Juan, while Wang Bo and Li Zijian were simply thirsty for a chance with Shen Yu’s roommates.

Jiang He closed his eyes. "Go to sleep. Good night, Teacher Shen."

"Good night, Dr. Jiang."

"I’m here with you, so no nightmares allowed~"

"Hee hee, okay."

Teacher Shen almost let the words "I love you" slip out.

Thankfully, she held it back, turning it into a silly giggle instead.

Tonight would surely be filled with sweet dreams.

...

「The next morning.」

The first thing Jiang He did after getting up was his daily social media refresh (1/1).

The first post was a status update from Shen Yu:

[May the years be quiet and good.]

Jiang He stared at the phrase, stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

In this era of edgy internet slang, such a classical-sounding phrase seemed a bit old-fashioned and stuffy.

But Jiang He understood.

It was their secret code. When romanized, the phrase she wrote had the initials S.Y.J.H.

An acronym for Shen Yu and Jiang He.

In their past life, whenever they did crafts together or wrote blessing poems, they would always write down this exact phrase.

It was a secret understanding between the two of them.

He never expected that in this life, the nineteen-year-old girl would secretly discover the little cleverness hidden within the phrase on her own and even post it publicly.

’Oh my god... she’s just too cute.’

The corners of Jiang He’s mouth curved up uncontrollably.

He thought for a moment, his fingers tapping on the keyboard:

[I don’t envy the moon’s reflection in the water or flowers in a mirror; I only ask for a lifetime of years together in the mortal world.]

The key part of the phrase, "mirror-flower, water-moon," was another code.

Its romanized initials, J.H.S.Y., also formed an acronym with their names.

Jiang He, Shen Yu.

After posting it, Jiang He got up to wash his face and brush his teeth.

He knew that when Shen Yu woke up and saw his post, she would definitely understand what he meant.

’Secretly confessing our feelings with acronyms... how can something so childish make me this happy? I still can’t stop smiling, hee hee!’

...

「That morning, at Affiliated Hospital No. 1, a meeting was underway.」

Jiang He sat in the back row, complaining internally.

’Why are there so many meetings lately? In the time this takes, I could have removed two more gallbladders on the operating table...’

Still, it was a meeting called by Zhang Sui, so he couldn’t just skip it.

Seeing that everyone was present, the Deputy Director began:

"I’ve called everyone here today for two matters."

"First, I would like to make a public self-criticism to all our colleagues in the hospital."

As soon as he said this, a stir went through the audience.

Liu Jianbang, Zhao Yumin, and the others exchanged glances in confusion.

They say a new broom sweeps clean... but the first order of business for the newly parachuted-in Deputy Director was a self-criticism?

Zhang Sui ignored the reaction from the floor and continued:

"Since arriving at Affiliated Hospital No. 1, I have consistently emphasized SOPs and medical regulations. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. These rules protect both the patients and us, the doctors. However, I was wrong to be overly dogmatic."

"The night before last, a patient was brought to the emergency room with extremely early-stage severe acute pancreatitis complicated by a cytokine storm. The situation was critical. Their various metrics exceeded the scope of standard treatment guidelines. If we had followed the SOPs I previously insisted on, this surgery would not have conformed to standard procedures. No one would have been able to perform it, nor would they have dared to."

"If that had been the case, this patient would be a corpse right now."