"Sister Li, will Doctor Liu be okay?" Xu Dan asked worriedly.
"He'll be fine. Shi Lei is with him," Zhou Li said, though her thoughts were less certain.
Today's matter could go either way. It all depended on what the hospital's leadership thought. If it was considered a small matter, the patient's family members would be grateful, and that would be the end of it. But what if it was considered a big deal? If they wanted to make an issue out of it, Liu Banxia would be in trouble.
Just as they were anxiously waiting, they saw Liu Banxia and Shi Lei chatting and laughing as they walked over.
"Shoutian, are you okay?" Zhou Li hurried over to Liu Banxia.
"Sister Li, our leaders are fair. Today, I truly came across some big shots," Liu Banxia said with a gleeful grin.
"You kid, well done!" Zhou Li gave him a playful punch, genuinely happy for Liu Banxia.
"Sister Li, it's all thanks to my boss today. Otherwise, things could have gone really bad," Liu Banxia said with a sigh of relief.
"What does it have to do with me? Everyone knows what happened. Your actions were the only choice," Shi Lei stated casually.
"Don't believe my boss's false humility. You guys didn't know what was going on at the time!" Liu Banxia declared.
"Just when the punishments were about to be handed down, my boss stood up abruptly. Do you know what he said? He declared to everyone that he's got my back. If they wanted to punish me, they'd have to get through him first."
"Would it kill you to stop spouting nonsense?" Shi Lei said, exasperated and amused.
What was he talking about? They sounded like heroes from the martial world. He regretted defending Liu Banxia. This guy was getting way too cocky.
"Wow... Doctor Shi, did you really say that?" Xu Dan asked, her eyes wide.
"Why are you listening to his nonsense? When have his words ever been accurate?" Shi Lei responded, exasperated.
"Hehe, it's great to have a boss. My boss said that if they wanted to punish me, he'd take the punishment with me. Since I'm a resident intern under his wing, he has to take responsibility for me," Liu Banxia finally said seriously.
"If anyone else said this, I wouldn't believe it. But I have no doubts about Shi Lei," Zhou Li said, nodding in approval.
"It's no wonder people look down on you. Can't you be a little more serious? I had planned to get you a fistulotomy, but now I'll have to seriously reconsider," Shi Lei said, glaring at Liu Banxia.
"Thanks for your guidance, Boss! So, when are we doing it? And why a fistulotomy? Do you know someone in the proctology department?" A previously smug Liu Banxia suddenly became serious.
Shi Lei felt his head buzz with all the questions, and upon noticing Zhou Li's expression, he regretted his words.
"Sister Li, it seems like you're privy to some insider information?" Liu Banxia asked, noticing Zhou Li's odd expression.
"Zhou Li, you need to take this matter seriously," Shi Lei spoke sternly.
"Shi Lei, what are you going to do, scare me? Anyway, my shift is over," Zhou Li said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Back in the day, my Old Wang and Shi Lei were interns together. My Old Wang once mentioned that when Shi Lei was still a resident, he was famously known at our Second Hospital as the 'Little Prince of Chrysanthemums'."
"Internal hemorrhoids, external hemorrhoids, mixed hemorrhoids, anal fistulas, anal fissures, perianal abscesses—he can handle them all. Got a problem with your 'chrysanthemum'? Go find Shi Lei at the Second Affiliated Hospital!"
Liu Banxia blinked, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Shi Lei. His boss truly hid his talents well.
"What are you scheming now?" Shi Lei shot him a glance.
"People often say your fiercest competitor might not be from your own field, but could come from a completely different one," Liu Banxia said thoughtfully.
"If anyone had said that before, I wouldn't have believed it. But now I do. To carry on my boss's legacy, I volunteer to join the 'Chrysanthemum Squad'!"
"HA HA... HA HA HA!"
Watching Liu Banxia make such outrageous claims with a perfectly straight face, Xu Dan was so amused she doubled over with laughter.
Shi Lei shook his head helplessly. "Come with me. You've never assisted in a fistulotomy, have you? I'll get you some notes."
"Thanks, Sister Li," Liu Banxia said with a smile.
"Get out! You and Old Wang can come over together later if his afternoon surgery goes smoothly and he gets off work on time," Zhou Li said, glaring at him.
Liu Banxia wasn't bothered at all. He felt like he was beginning to understand some of the hospital's inner workings.
Qin Hai was simply arrogant because he'd been at the Second Hospital for a long time and was nearing retirement. As long as I perform well and continue to learn, there's a good chance I can stay at the Second Hospital.
"Boss, you head back to your office. I'm going to have a word with Doctor Wei," Liu Banxia said upon seeing Wei Yuan attending to patients.
Shi Lei nodded.
"Doctor Wei, I was too reckless today. I'm afraid I might have caused trouble for you. I apologize," Liu Banxia said, slipping into the second treatment room during a lull in patients.
Wei Yuan just smiled and shook his head. "You don't need to feel burdened. Director Zhou already asked me about the situation. I just couldn't find you earlier. It seems you're okay now?"
"Thank you, Doctor Wei. I'm fine now. I was just worried that my actions today might have implicated you, especially since you gave me so much support," Liu Banxia hastened to say.
"Ha ha, no need to be so polite with me. Next time we're on the same shift, you can do more of the work and let me take a breather," Wei Yuan joked.
"Rest assured, Doctor Wei. If you need anything, just call me. I've learned a lot from you already. I'm going to get some materials from Doctor Shi now, but I'll be back to assist you," Liu Banxia said earnestly.
Wei Yuan nodded, feeling quite satisfied with Liu Banxia.
Although the incident hadn't directly involved him, he had indeed been assisting with the emergency treatment at the time. When Director Zhou had asked him about it, he had actually said many good things on Liu Banxia's behalf. This kid coming over to thank him showed he was perceptive. Quite different from that stiff Shi Lei.
"Wow, Boss, you made all these notes?" Liu Banxia exclaimed upon entering Shi Lei's office and seeing five thick notebooks on the desk.
"Study them carefully. Director Jiang just called me. The surgery is tomorrow afternoon," Shi Lei said.
"I did observe a few surgeries when I was an intern," Liu Banxia said, casually flipping through one of the notebooks.
DING! You gained 3 experience points. Fistulotomy skill proficiency increased by 2 points, Diagnosis skill proficiency increased by 1 point.
Just as he stacked the notebooks together, ready to take them away, a system prompt appeared, making Liu Banxia freeze.
What's going on? Why did I gain experience? I haven't even done anything!
"What's wrong with you?" Shi Lei asked, frowning as he noticed Liu Banxia's constipated expression, worried this guy was about to cause more trouble.
"Nothing! I was just amazed at how detailed your notes are, Boss!" Liu Banxia said with a huge grin, then dashed out the door.
I've struck gold!
This is a shortcut to increasing skill proficiency! It seems as long as I seriously study, truly understand, and master the knowledge, I can make it my own and increase my skill proficiency.
This must also be a hidden benefit from my increased Mental Strength. By reading books and watching videos, I can accumulate a lot of experience for surgeries that seemed completely out of reach before. If I combine this with that... uh... Dream Space, could I improve rapidly?