The Surgeon’s Studio

Su Yun, lunchbox in hand, smiled at Zheng Ren’s diligence. “You were indeed born to be a chief resident.”

“I’ve nothing to do at home, anyway. Besides, it’s better to be ready for emergency cases and potential emergency surgery in the hospital.” Zheng Ren stood, accepted the lunchbox and walked to the on-call room.

“What’s your purpose in life?” Su Yun was obviously trying to mock him.

“Perform surgery, earn money, raise a family and make ends meet. Are there any other purposes in life?”

“That’s so austere.”

“It’s essential.”

Zheng Ren opened the lunch box, still warm to the touch, in the on-call room and saw his main dish—stir-fried chili pork with white rice.

“Stir-fried chili pork from Denver House. This is a secret family recipe that has been passed down over the generations, but I think it tasted alright.” Su Yun sat down on the other side of the table and introduced the food to Zheng Ren.

If he was a server in a restaurant, he would undoubtedly be the worst. There was a complete absence of enthusiasm and it carried across.

Zheng Ren took a bite. It tasted just fine.

The food was not unpalatable, and he was not a picky eater, so anything would be fine as long as his stomach was filled.

The fact that Zheng Ren devoured the food without savoring its taste fueled Su Yun’s urge to criticize him out of discomfort.

However, before he could do so, Zheng Ren suddenly asked, “How about you?”

“What about me?”

“Why did you leave Union Medical College Hospital?” asked Zheng Ren.

An eerie silence dominated the on-call room, punctuated only by Zheng Ren’s chewing.

“I guessed there had to be a story.” Zheng Ren, wiping his mouth after finishing his food, cleaned up the table and asked, “I heard that you had been accepted as a doctoral student in Union Medical College Hospital, so why didn’t you continue your studies?”

“Does it have anything to do with you?” Su Yun raised his head and shot back. His sharp gaze penetrated his black bangs as if trying to pierce Zheng Ren’s heart.

“You’re my assistant, and I think something is bothering you. If we don’t sort it out, I worry that you might become lost in the throes of passion and commit a crime.”

Needless to say, Zheng Ren’s awful joke only made the situation even more awkward, so Su Yun merely responded with a disdainful gaze.

Zheng Ren did not seem like he was looking for an answer. Perhaps he was merely asking out of boredom, or he just wanted the nancy boy to shut up and stop criticizing him.

Since Su Yun chose to remain silent, Zheng Ren started making his bed and brushing his teeth.

Su Yun was still quiet when he was done.

“Goodnight,” said Zheng Ren, turning off the lights when Su Yun made no attempt to respond.

After a long time in the dark, Su Yun sighed softly.

The sound was full of helplessness and sorrow.

‘What an emotional guy,’ Zheng Ren thought after hearing him through a semi-conscious state.

“I had an unfortunate encounter that year.” Su Yun’s voice was cold and hardly discernible, making it echo around the room.

The sudden statement startled Zheng Ren and he jolted awake.

“A patient with an indifferent family had come to Union Medical College Hospital for consultation, and it was a fairly new encounter for us at the time.”

Patients from overseas generally visited Union Medical College Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the country, for treatment, hence the rarity of such an occasion.

Zheng Ren had encountered countless family members who were indifferent and unsupportive towards patients, so it did not surprise him.

“The surgery had been scheduled, but no one signed the preoperative informed consent documents for some reason.” Su Yun seemed to be trying to recall a memory that he had tried but failed to bury in the dusty recesses of his mind.

“That day, I noticed that the family was acting strangely. Sometimes, being observant is not a good thing. If you were in my shoes, none of these would have happened.”

“…” Zheng Ren was speechless; he had not expected Su Yun to insult him even on his way down the memory lane. Perhaps in Su Yun’s eyes, he had no other value apart from his expertise in surgery.

“I noticed one family member had added something to the infusion bottle, so I immediately contacted my teacher. He arrived shortly, sealed off the flow and found evidence of tampering, but the worst was yet to come. As we were resuscitating the patient, that family member struck my teacher’s head with a chair.

“I was dazed at that time. I never knew such people existed.

“Blood gushed out of the exposed wound on my teacher’s head, and its metallic scent filled the entire ward. The ward was no longer a place of rescue; it had become a nightmarish hell.”

Like a devil crawling out of an abyss, Su Yun struggled and mourned silently. Negative emotions—anger, reluctance, helplessness—filled the entire room, causing its temperature to drop by several degrees.

After a long while, Zheng Ren asked, “What happened after that?”

“The resuscitation was successful and the patient was discharged from the hospital, but my teacher suffered side effects of intracranial hemorrhage and has been unable to perform surgery since.”

“The man who had struck him—”

“That’s absolutely pointless,” answered Su Yun coldly. Zheng Ren could imagine him brushing his black bangs aside and feel the contempt at the corners of his lips.

“Despite saving countless lives, he became crippled in the end.” Su Yun sighed heavily again and added, “We live in an unjust world.”

“Is that why you came back?” asked Zheng Ren.

“Yes,” Su Yun said, “I didn’t want to perform surgery anymore. In fact, I didn’t want to involve myself with saving human lives any longer. Had it not been for you, I would have resigned and started a pet medical center.”

“I’m sorry for you, then.” Zheng Ren tried to make a joke to alleviate the dark, gloomy atmosphere in the on-call room.

“It’s okay.” Su Yun accepted his ‘condolences’ and asked, “I’m curious. How did you get so proficient in surgery at your age? More importantly, who taught you interventional radiology?”

“It’s just talent.”

“Pooh!” Su Yun replied scornfully, “you have greater innate talent than I do? I don’t believe it. You’re just a hard worker who became an expert after repeated practice. Are you bullsh*tting me?”

Zheng Ren was taken by surprise. Despite his narcissism and complete ignorance of the matter, Su Yun was closer than anyone to the truth.

His suspicion was technically right. Zheng Ren’s competency in surgery was due to countless days of intensive training in the System.

“Curing disease and saving lives? I’m not that noble, and my teacher’s hemiplegic state haunts me whenever I think about it.” Su Yun smiled and said, “Let’s go to sleep. I think I’ll dream about my teacher and that dreadful hell tonight. How nice, here come those nightmares again.”

‘This man’s view of the world…’ Zheng Ren had no response. How traumatised was this man to be able to speak so dejectedly?

‘The mist has dissipated and I’ve awakened from a dream, finally seeing the truth after an eternal silence,’ Zheng Ren’s mind suddenly recalled, but he could not remember where he had seen this phrase from or its author’s identity.

Was it true or false? Zheng Ren preferred not to overthink it. It was better to remain ignorant in life, anyway.

The temperature in the room gradually normalized following Su Yun’s silence, and he eventually fell asleep.

He woke up naturally the next morning, a rarity in the department as an emergency doctor would require extreme luck to sleep without disturbance three to five times a year.

As he got up, he saw Su Yun sitting on the bed with his back against the wall, absent-mindedly staring at the blue sky outside the window.

Had this man gone mad?

“You—” Just when Zheng Ren initiated a conversation, Su Yun snapped out of his thoughts and said with a wicked smile, “I’ll push for the contrast-enhanced CT result and strive to get things done today.”