Chapter 155 - 154: I Want to Be the Bad Guy

Chapter 155: Chapter 154: I Want to Be the Bad Guy

Just as Yu Zhiming finished speaking with Teacher Qi and was about to leave the event hall, Dr. Zhang Rui from Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital rushed over to him, her face etched with anxiety.

"Dr. Yu, Dr. Yu! There’s an infant with umbilical cord torsion! Thirty weeks, and the situation is critical."

Umbilical cord entanglement around the neck is common in fetuses, but umbilical cord torsion is quite rare.

After all, for severe torsion to occur, the fetus would have to stubbornly spin in one direction, without variation, for eight to eleven full rotations.

Therefore, in his four-plus years as a doctor, Yu Zhiming had only encountered three infants with umbilical cord torsion, all of them this year.

The first was at the county hospital.

The second was at Jinling Gulou Hospital.

The third was one he was dragged to see in the obstetrics and gynecology department on the very day he reported for duty at Huashan Hospital; its symptoms were still relatively mild.

Today, Yu Zhiming had encountered his fourth...

Of course, with a base of over ten million newborns in the country each year, Yu Zhiming, though he had never seen specific statistics, figured there were probably at least a few dozen cases of umbilical cord torsion annually.

"Is the baby at Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital?"

Yu Zhiming asked casually, ready to hurry off. "I’ll head over right now!"

But Zhang Rui didn’t move. With some difficulty, she said, "Dr. Yu, the baby isn’t at Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital. It’s at Guangshen People’s Hospital. I have a classmate who works there."

"She told me they have a fetus there with severe umbilical cord torsion."

’In Guangshen?’

Yu Zhiming couldn’t help but stop in his tracks. That was not a place he could get to quickly.

Even by plane, factoring in the travel to the airport, the waiting, and other miscellaneous delays, it would take up the better part of a day.

Besides, Yu Zhiming had physical examinations scheduled for the next day.

He declined, "Dr. Zhang, Guangshen is too far. It’s too inconvenient for me to travel there. My hands are tied."

"If the problem is truly severe, they should just perform a C-section. With current medical capabilities, a thirty-week-old has a decent chance of survival."

Zhang Rui challenged him, "Dr. Yu, from what I understand, for that infant with umbilical cord torsion in Jinling, you drove five or six hours through the night to get there."

"Going from our Binhai to Guangshen by plane, even with all the extra time factored in, would only take five or six hours too."

Zhang Rui’s voice was not quiet; it was piercing, and many people in the event hall heard her words.

The previously bustling hall quickly fell silent as everyone turned to look at Yu Zhiming and Zhang Rui.

"Zhang Rui, what’s going on?" Wang Yaxian, a gynecology expert from Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital, walked over with a grim expression.

Qi Yue, Li Yao, Gu Qingran, and the others also made their way toward Yu Zhiming.

Zhang Rui opened her mouth, but she seemed to find it difficult to speak and ultimately said nothing.

"Dr. Wang, it’s like this..."

Seeing Zhang Rui remain silent, Yu Zhiming had no choice but to explain, "Dr. Zhang just told me about an infant with severe umbilical cord torsion."

"I was about to head to Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital when Dr. Zhang informed me that the baby isn’t there, but at Guangshen People’s Hospital."

As Yu Zhiming explained in a clear voice, nearly everyone in the hall gathered around.

Yu Zhiming didn’t try to hide anything, stating directly, "It’s in Guangshen. That’s too far, so I refused!"

"Dr. Zhang was just questioning why I wasn’t putting the infant’s life and safety first."

Zhang Rui could tell from his tone that Yu Zhiming was accusing her of guilt-tripping him. She quickly interjected, "I was just worried about the fetus’s safety, so I blurted out my question to Dr. Yu..."

After a pause, she added with a wronged expression, "Back then, for the fetus with umbilical cord torsion in Jinling, Dr. Yu drove five or six hours through the night, disregarding all the hardship, to get there."

"Now, flying to Guangshen would also take only five or six hours. Why is it not possible this time?"

Hearing this, Wang Yaxian knew her student was deliberately causing trouble.

She couldn’t possibly be unaware of the principle that circumstances change.

Back then, Yu Zhiming was just a junior doctor at a county hospital; of course he had to seize every opportunity for a freelance surgery and to make a name for himself.

The Yu Zhiming of today was in a completely different position. Why would he exhaust himself running all the way to Guangshen...

Wang Yaxian took a breath and criticized in a low, stern voice, "Zhang Rui, you’re a doctor too. You should know that a person’s time and energy are limited. One can’t be everywhere at once."

"If Dr. Yu had to treat every single infant with umbilical cord torsion, he’d spend his days flying all over the world and have no time for anything else."

Zhang Rui put on a display of having been properly chastised, saying pitifully, "Teacher, I was wrong."

"When I thought about that poor infant whose life is in danger, and how Dr. Yu is the only one who can save them, I just couldn’t hold back..."

She turned and bowed slightly to Yu Zhiming. "Dr. Yu, I’m sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me. I was impulsive."

"I’m truly sorry..."

Yu Zhiming’s brows furrowed.

He felt a visceral disgust for this woman, Zhang Rui, and felt her apology was completely insincere.

Moreover, in this situation, if Yu Zhiming didn’t fly to Guangshen to save the infant, it would make him seem cold, heartless, and indifferent.

At that moment, Luan Guoqing stepped forward and asked, "Dr. Zhang Rui, when you told Dr. Yu about this, were you merely informing him, or were you extending an invitation on behalf of the family?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed Zhang Rui’s face before she adopted a self-reproachful expression. "I heard from my classmate that they had a case of an infant with severe umbilical cord torsion."

"My first thought was that Dr. Yu had the ability to save the infant, so without thinking of anything else, I informed him immediately."

Luan Guoqing gave a faint smile. "Dr. Zhang Rui, you’ve been a doctor for five or six years, haven’t you?"

"How can you still be so reckless and disorganized in your work?"

"The regulations for freelance surgeries are strict these days. Not a single procedure or document can be skipped."

"And what about the round-trip airfare, travel arrangements, and all the various fees? Don’t those need to be communicated and confirmed in advance?"

"To put it bluntly, what if the family refuses to pay?"

"Dr. Zhang Rui, surely you’re not unaware of this, are you?"

Zhang Rui’s face flushed crimson as she tried to defend herself, "I was negligent."

"I was just thinking about the child’s critical condition and wanted to save time by telling Dr. Yu first."

"I thought that since a life was at stake, all these trivial matters could be communicated and confirmed on the way."

Hearing this, the many doctors around them all looked at Zhang Rui with scrutiny and doubt.

They all understood one thing very well.

Many of the procedures and regulations governing doctors seemed tedious and useless, but every single one was born from blood and tears.

Before any treatment, the required agreements must be signed and all necessary issues confirmed. Not one of these prerequisites could be skipped.

This Dr. Zhang Rui kept talking about a life being at stake, yet she acted so naively. She was nothing like a doctor who had trained for five or six years at Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital.

’This woman must be harboring ill intentions, deliberately setting a trap for Yu Zhiming, right?’

If word of today’s incident got out, no matter how it was spun, many people would come to one conclusion.

That Yu Zhiming refused to save an infant that only he could treat because he found the journey too far.

It seemed Yu Zhiming would be unable to escape the reputation of being a callous man who disregarded life.

Many of the doctors could see this, and of course, seasoned veterans like Li Yao, Qi Yue, and Gu Qingran could see it too.

They didn’t question Zhang Rui, but instead cast accusatory glances toward the director of Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital and others like Wang Yaxian, who was specifically in charge of the breast cancer project.

At this moment, Wang Yaxian deeply regretted her moment of soft-heartedness in not sending Zhang Rui away earlier.

’How dare Zhang Rui do this?’

’No one is a fool. Given how highly regarded Yu Zhiming is now, did she not think about the consequences?’

By now, Yu Zhiming had already left the event hall with Fourth Sister and Qiao Lei.

Zhou Mo trotted to catch up, reminding him softly, "Dr. Yu, you’re just leaving like this?"

"But this incident... what about your reputation?"

Yu Zhiming gave a slight smile. "I’m not a saint, nor do I want to be one. Why should I care about my reputation?"

"I’ve realized that a person shouldn’t be burdened by their reputation."

"No matter how terrible my reputation gets, as long as I have skills and am useful to others, those who need me will still come to me. If I have no value to offer, a good reputation is useless."

"Just think about Teacher Qi. People gossip about him so much, but doesn’t he still live a carefree and comfortable life?"

As he said this, Yu Zhiming seemed to have an epiphany, and a sense of clarity washed over his mind and body.

With a liberated air, he said, "In today’s society, good people worry about this and that. It’s too exhausting to live that way."

"Mmm, it’s more comfortable to be the bad guy. At least you won’t feel so stifled inside."

He let out a long breath, turned to Qiao Lei, and instructed, "Relay a message to Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital for me. Tell them that my examination techniques for breast cancer still require further study and improvement."

"The examinations for breast cancer patients are postponed... indefinitely."