The Surgeon’s Studio

“Brother Yun, you’ve arrived.” Chief Resident Wang from the general surgery department stood to give his greetings.

“Eh? How did you get out here?” Su Yun picked out Zhao Yunlong sitting beside Li Xiaochen, the executive deputy director that he and Zheng Ren were just talking about. Next to Zhao Yunlong was an empty seat, which seemed to be reserved for him.

There were also a few doctors of middling seniority from the hospital.

“Despite being a chief resident, I still have the basic human right of one day off per month.” Chief Wang took Su Yun’s coat and hung it in the closet with a smile, seemingly unperturbed by his own subservience.

Su Yun skipped the formalities and occupied the seat beside Zhao Yunlong with a smile.

“Director Li, this is Su Yun—Brother Yun—in the flesh,” Chief Wang said, making the standard introductions.

“Mr. Su, this is our second meeting. It is a pleasure to see you again.” Li Xiaochen stood and extended his hand with a light bow.

Su Yun did not bother standing, opting instead to casually extend his own hand to take Li Xiaochen’s for a short shake, his fringe swaying in the air as usual.

Li Xiaochen did not display any offense and continued to exchange a few pleasantries, brushing off Su Yun’s coldness. They did not dive right into business; instead, they started toasting and drinking, a warm atmosphere permeating the room.

After talking for a while, Su Yun understood what was going on.

Chief Wang had a simple name: Wang Lu. He would be completing his PhD next year and would most likely not continue working in the same hospital. Coincidentally, Li Xiaochen had been recruiting and clicked with Wang Lu instantly. The latter had even signed a letter of intent to work as an attending physician in the general surgery department in Straits Hospital after his graduation.

Acquiring a job was a joyful event, which was why Wang Lu had brought a few of his friends along to dinner at Li Xiaochen’s invitation.

They talked about recent gossip at the hospital over the table. Since Zheng Ren and Su Yun had both been involved, Li Xiaochen brought them both up repeatedly, possibly even deliberately. Zhao Yunlong called Su Yun over.

Zheng Ren was not a sociable person but had a good enough personality that did not gain slander.

After three rounds of drinks, they had emptied several bottles of Feitian Maotai. Li Xiaochen stood, raised his glass to Su Yun and said, “Mr. Su, I may be older than you, but you’re a legendary figure. May I call you Brother Yun?”

Su Yun knew the climax of the evening was about to start and nodded with a smile.

“Cheers, Brother Yun.”

Li Xiaochen had a huge glass that could hold half a pint of alcohol. The rich aroma of clear Maotai wafted from it.

After studying abroad, Li Xiaochen did not enjoy Maotai, preferring wine or whiskey. However, he went with his targets’ preferences in his homeland.

“Cheers.” Su Yun remained seated. He picked up a glass similar to Li Xiaochen’s, filling it to the brim. He waved his hand briefly and downed it in one shot without waiting for Li Xiaochen to speak.

“You can certainly hold your liquor!” Li Xiaochen exclaimed before finishing his own as well. “Brother Yun, it’s probably not my place to do so, but may I say something?”

“If you don’t think it’s your place to do so, don’t do it. Let’s eat.” Su Yun was not sarcastic and acerbic to only Zheng Ren. It was said that gifted people were usually arrogant, but… most people disliked his attitude.

With the exception of the fairer sex, of course.

“Director Li, don’t mind him. That’s just how he is.” Zhao Yunlong took a sip from his glass and tried to ease the tension. “Go ahead and say what you want.”

Li Xiaochen’s smile remained unchanged and he accepted Zhao Yunlong’s invitation: “Brother Yun, have you thought of leaving Sea City General Hospital? Give me a figure. If it’s within my authority and I can’t match it, I’ll drink all of the alcohol on this table.”

“Don’t bother wasting your energy.” Su Yun huffed, fringe swaying gently in front of his forehead. “I just asked Mr. Zheng about this and he said that he has yet to make up his mind.”

“You can come over first,” Li Xiaochen prodded, refusing to give up.

After leaving Zheng Ren’s room, Li Xiaochen had done a lot of work to try and understand the partnership between Zheng Ren and Su Yun.

The more he learned, the more amazed he was.

Zheng Ren had a fairly simple resume. There was nothing outstanding before this; it was as if he had appeared from the bottom of a rock.

On the other hand, his assistant Su Yun had a shiny list of credentials that almost blinded Li Xiaochen.

Between their accomplishments, Li Xiaochen deeply regretted his rashness. Had he planned beforehand, he would not have offered Zheng Ren a mere 1.5 million yuan a year after tax.

Even his assistant was also a savant, deserving of at least two million yuan annually; what manner of joke was he trying to pull with such a measly offer to the one who actually performed the surgery?

Over the meal, he had also learned about Zheng Ren’s general surgery skill from Wang Lu, including the rescue from a few days ago.

They would likely have been able to manage without him, but it had certainly turned out better by leaps and bounds with his help.

Zheng Ren’s value skyrocketed in Li Xiaochen’s eyes. After some consideration, Li Xiaochen decided to start by recruiting Zheng Ren’s assistant since the main man would be a tougher nut to crack.

It was all part of the plan.

“You’re poaching me.” Su Yun laughed gleefully. As his smile grew, the colors in the hotel’s private banquet room seemed to turn monochromatic, while their two beautiful waitresses faded into the background like two lifeless puppets.

Li Xiaochen was stunned by the sight. This man could really make a living out of his face. If he was a celebrity, he would surely be one of the most popular ones.

“Director Li, are you aware of the recent projects I’m in?” Su Yun asked, his smile dissolving.

“I’ve heard about it. Differential diagnosis and targeted interventional treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma nodules.” Li Xiaochen was prepared. “We should be seeing it in The Lancet within a few months’ time, right?”

Zhao Yunlong patted Su Yun on the back with his hand open like a palm-leaf fan. “Good for you. You’re writing another paper for The Lancet?”

Su Yun shook his head and said, “That’s old news. The only reason I’m choosing to publish in The Lancet is that I’m friends with one of the reviewers, so it’ll save me a lot of trouble.”

“…”

“…”

The table fell silent in shock.

Why was Su Yun acting like publishing in The Lancet was no big deal, even implying that he was doing the journal a favor?

This man… was unbelievably narcissistic.

Su Yun lowered his head, ignoring the looks he was getting before continuing slowly, “Director Li, I believe Straits Hospital has their own recruitment procedure that adds value if one has published an article in The Lancet or is experienced in the Whipple procedure.”

“Brother Yun, you’re well-informed,” Li Xiaochen said.

“I’ll be sending out the paper on prostate interventional surgery after I return to Sea City.”

“Also to The Lancet?” Whether Zhao Yunlong’s eyes were red due to alcohol or envy was difficult to tell.

“The Lancet? What about it?” Su Yun said disdainfully. “I don’t even think The Lancet had the highest impact factor among all medical journals last year.”

“It was the New England Journal of Medicine. They have an impact factor of 72.4.” Li Xiaochen had all the numbers on hand.

“Director Li, I’m starting to like you.” Su Yun chuckled. “I’ve already contacted the New England Journal of Medicine. Theoretically, it shouldn’t have any problems with the paper.”

“…” Li Xiaochen wanted to cry.