Early the next morning, as soon as Xu Qinghe stepped into the office, she heard several colleagues enthusiastically gossiping in their private group chat.
They were talking about Shi Wenli.
Without realizing it, she started listening carefully.
“I’m so jealous of Neurosurgery.”
“Wasn’t Director Shi on leave? Did he really make scallion pancakes and bring them over?”
“Everyone from their department is waiting for them. Of course he’s going to make them.”
Xu Qinghe was completely confused. After asking what they were talking about, she finally found out what had happened.
Apparently, the night before, Shi Wenli had thanked his Neurosurgery colleagues in their group chat for all their help lately and offered to treat them to a meal.
One colleague had immediately suggested, “Forget taking us out. We want to eat the scallion pancakes you make. If we don’t get to eat them now, we probably won’t have another chance. Once you start dating someone, how will you have time to make them for us?”
The others chimed in one after another.
“Exactly! Just give us scallion pancakes. Once you get a girlfriend, it’ll be like the whole department has been dumped.”
Everyone in the hospital knew that Shi Wenli was an excellent cook.
His crispy scallion pancakes were especially famous. Normally, everyone felt too embarrassed to ask him to bring some, but since he happened to be on leave and had time, the entire department had shamelessly used the excuse of “collective heartbreak” to demand that he treat them to his famous pancakes.
“Dr. Xu, have you ever eaten Director Shi’s scallion pancakes? Are they really that good?” her colleague Fang Yu casually asked.
Xu Qinghe said, “No. I’m just as curious as you are about how good they are.”
“If you ever get the chance to eat them, remember to save me a piece.” Fang Yu bit into her egg pancake while opening the gossip group chat again to look at the selfies from Neurosurgery’s office. “Good grief! There are so many people. How many scallion pancakes does Director Shi have to make?”
Then she suddenly widened her eyes.
“How did Jiang Yang sneak into Neurosurgery?”
Xu Qinghe: “……”
The Cardiothoracic Surgery ward and the Neurosurgery ward were several floors apart. Jiang Yang must have been really determined to get his hands on those hot, freshly made scallion pancakes.
Just how delicious were they?
Fang Yu turned around and nudged the colleague beside her with her elbow.
“Hey, I heard Director Shi’s shrimp wontons are also amazing. Want to try some? How about I message him and tell him I’m heartbroken because of him too, and that I want wontons?”
Her colleague laughed. “Be careful your husband doesn’t beat you up.”
Fang Yu burst out laughing. “Those women with children can claim they’re ‘heartbroken.’ Why can’t I?”
As they chatted and laughed, Xu Qinghe took out her completely natural, nutritious breakfast—two boiled eggs her father had prepared for her and a carton of fresh milk.
Her breakfasts at the office were usually this simple.
Everyone was so engrossed in either gossiping or eating that nobody noticed when Chief Zhao Mingde walked in.
Fang Yu was still coming up with ridiculous ideas to get some wontons.
“If all else fails, I’ll just tell Director Shi that our chief wants to eat them.”
She was laughing one second.
The next, the corner of her eye caught sight of her chief’s square face, and her smile instantly froze.
The noisy office fell silent.
Fang Yu immediately started tidying things on her desk, suddenly looking extremely busy.
Zhao Mingde had long been accustomed to their occasional loose tongues. As long as they didn’t insult him to his face, he could tolerate it.
People in Anesthesiology cursed him behind his back every day, and he knew perfectly well.
They said he was too close to the surgeons and acted as though he belonged to Surgery.
He ignored Fang Yu’s casual teasing and instead looked at Xu Qinghe, who was peeling an egg.
“Qinghe, is Shi Wenli on leave? Do you know how many days he’s taking off?”
Xu Qinghe looked up.
“He’ll be back on the fourteenth.”
Today was the tenth, so he still had four days.
Zhao Mingde nodded, now that he knew.
The reason he was asking when Shi Wenli would return was because he had something important to discuss.
It was a long story.
Almost nine o’clock the previous evening, Zhao Mingde had received a call from Xu Qinghe’s father, Xu Bingduo.
He and Xu Bingduo had been high school classmates, but after graduation they had never seen each other again. It wasn’t until Xu Qinghe joined the Anesthesiology Department and her father came to pick her up after work that the two old classmates ran into each other and recognized one another.
They had been young men in their school days, and now more than thirty years had passed in the blink of an eye.
The moment the call connected, Xu Bingduo launched into a long complaint, saying that Qinghe was far too busy and sometimes had to squeeze meals into whatever little free time she had.
Zhao Mingde asked what his old classmate was really getting at with all the complaining.
Xu Bingduo didn’t beat around the bush.
“Find Qinghe a boyfriend. That Shi Wenli from your hospital’s Neurosurgery Department looks pretty good to me.”
He certainly knew how to pick someone.
It wasn’t that Zhao Mingde was unwilling to help. He simply warned Xu Bingduo to be prepared.
“I’ve heard our Director Jiang tried to introduce someone to Shi Wenli too. It’s been half a month with no progress, so apparently Shi Wenli turned it down. Even our hospital director couldn’t get him to agree. What makes you think I can convince him to go on a blind date?”
Xu Bingduo had replied, “Never underestimate yourself. Who says you’re not better than the director?”
The words sounded painfully insincere, but Zhao Mingde liked hearing them anyway.
He decided to give it a try. Even if Shi Wenli rejected him, there was nothing embarrassing about it.
After all, Shi Wenli had already rejected Director Jiang.
Zhao Mingde glanced at the eggshells in Xu Qinghe’s hand.
If she refused to go on a blind date later, he could use her breakfast as an argument.
If she successfully got together with Shi Wenli, given his cooking skills, she would never have to eat boiled eggs every day again.
Having finished his mental calculations, he looked around the office.
“Those who haven’t finished breakfast, hurry up. We’re moving the morning handover forward by a few minutes today. A patient wrote a letter of appreciation to one of our doctors, and I’d like to read it aloud.”
Besides the handwritten letter, there was also a bouquet of flowers, an electronic banner of appreciation, and two boxes of blue-black gel pens.
The patient had gone all out to express his gratitude. Not only had his family sent a letter, flowers, and a banner, they had also specifically called the 12345 government service hotline and the mayor’s hotline.
Now, it wasn’t just the hospital director’s office and the Medical Affairs Department that knew about it. Even the Health Commission knew that the Anesthesiology Department had been praised by a patient.
For Surgery, receiving gratitude from patients was nothing unusual.
But such a grand gesture toward the Anesthesiology Department was relatively rare.
Patients usually remembered only the surgeon who operated on them. Some even finished surgery without having the slightest idea what their anesthesiologist looked like or even what their name was.
The morning handover in Anesthesiology rarely saw this much excitement.
Before the chief revealed the recipient, everyone quietly speculated.
Had someone rescued a critically ill patient in the emergency room? Was that why the family had gone to such lengths to express their gratitude?
Fang Yu whispered, “Who is it? Why is the chief keeping us in suspense?”
Xu Qinghe shook her head.
There were two or three hundred medical staff in Anesthesiology. There was no way she could guess.
Whoever it was, it definitely wasn’t her.
The spacious office was packed with people.
The letter was quite long, so because of time constraints, Zhao Mingde selected only two paragraphs to read.
When he reached the line, “Even my eldest son, who is also a doctor, argued with me and said that given my condition, I absolutely couldn’t undergo spinal anesthesia…”
Xu Qinghe froze.
Wasn’t that the eighty-two-year-old man from General Surgery?
His spinal disease was severe, but he had stubbornly refused general anesthesia.
That night, Shi Wenli had even personally gone over to consult on the elderly man’s case.
After reading the two paragraphs, Zhao Mingde looked up from the letter.
He didn’t see Xu Qinghe among the people in the front rows.
“Xu Qinghe? Come up here. No need to be modest at a time like this.”
Xu Qinghe: “……”
Only then did everyone realize that she was the one being praised.
Xu Qinghe had always been well liked in the Anesthesiology Department. Whenever one of her colleagues had a sick child or elderly family member, she would often volunteer to cover their night shift.
Over the years, whenever she took over a colleague’s shift, she would arrive half an hour early so the other person could finish surgery sooner and go home.
When a night-shift colleague came to take over her day shift, she would finish whatever work she had in hand and sometimes even stay to help the incoming colleague for a while before leaving.
Today, she had finally received some recognition, and everyone applauded and cheered.
“Go, Dr. Xu!”
With everyone watching her, Xu Qinghe covered her forehead with one hand, laughing as she walked forward.
She was probably the person in the department—and perhaps even the entire hospital—who had been criticized by the leadership most often.
This was the first time she had ever been publicly praised.
Zhao Mingde said, “Well done. You brought honor to our department. The old man said that after his surgery, you visited him in the ward twice to ask how he was recovering and whether the numbness in his leg had gotten worse. When he called the hotline, he couldn’t stop praising you. He said that not only were you highly skilled, you were also exceptionally patient with elderly patients.”
As the department chief, Zhao Mingde knew Xu Qinghe always took postoperative follow-ups seriously. But he hadn’t expected her to visit a General Surgery patient twice after what had been a relatively minor operation.
There had been no dramatic rescue or life-threatening emergency.
She had simply shown a little extra patience and responsibility, yet that was enough for the patient to remember her.
Zhao Mingde folded the letter, put it back into the envelope, and handed it to her.
“The patient’s family delivered the flowers and thank-you letter to the director’s office. Director Jiang had a meeting today and couldn’t make it, so he asked me to convey his recognition of your work.”
“Thank you, Chief. And thank you, Director Jiang.”
Xu Qinghe accepted the letter and picked up the bouquet of flowers from the table.
The two boxes of gel pens were tucked beside the flowers.
The old man clearly knew exactly how to express gratitude through the proper channels. He had his eldest son, who was a doctor, to thank for that. His son knew exactly how to make a commendation carry more weight.
After the handover, Fang Yu made Xu Qinghe hold the flowers in one hand and the letter in the other while she took several photos of her.
“We absolutely have to capture this moment!”
She didn’t even have time to send the photos to Xu Qinghe before everyone hurried off to their respective operating rooms.
Xu Qinghe’s first anesthesia case that morning was a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in General Surgery.
The patient reported no known drug allergies.
Before induction of anesthesia, Xu Qinghe routinely conducted the preoperative check.
“Are you allergic to any medications or foods?”
The patient shook his head.
“No.”
“Any allergies to cephalosporins or penicillin?”
“No. Didn’t you just ask me that?”
Xu Qinghe was already accustomed to confirming things repeatedly.
She had once encountered a patient who had been instructed not to drink anything before surgery but drank soybean milk anyway, forcing the operation to be postponed.
So every time, she asked in several different ways to make absolutely sure.
She continued gently.
“What about eggs, milk, or seafood?”
“Doctor, I’m really not allergic to anything.”
Xu Qinghe proceeded with the standard anesthesia protocol.
A few minutes after induction began, the monitor suddenly sounded an alarm, emitting a piercing tone.
For everyone in the operating room, the sound they dreaded most was the monitor’s alarm.
The patient’s oxygen saturation suddenly plummeted, the heart rate shot up, and the blood pressure began falling.
Then they noticed the patient’s flushed face and large patches of hives spreading across his neck.
An acute allergic reaction.
Xu Qinghe immediately instructed Zhang Xun:
“Stop the medication!”
She quickly diluted epinephrine and administered it to the patient.
The circulating nurse urgently established another IV line and increased the fluid infusion.
But the monitor continued to shriek, and the patient’s blood pressure kept dropping.
It was the first time Zhang Xun had encountered a situation like this since beginning his internship, and he panicked.
“Sis, the systolic pressure is only 60!”
Within just a few minutes, the patient had become pale, with cyanotic lips.
Xu Qinghe calmly assessed the situation.
Severe anaphylactic shock.
She decisively administered another dose of epinephrine.
After several people worked continuously to resuscitate him, the patient’s vital signs finally began to stabilize.
Zhang Xun glanced at the monitor. His heart rate and blood pressure had finally come back up, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Xu Qinghe patted him on the shoulder.
After calming down, he was still shaken.
“Sis, how did he suddenly become allergic?”
“Either the patient concealed it, or he didn’t know about the allergy himself.”
The surgery had to be canceled.
The patient was transferred to the post-anesthesia care unit for further observation, and the suspected allergen would be investigated later.
Xu Qinghe completed the incident report and submitted it as an adverse event.
Zhao Mingde happened to be in the operating room next door. When he heard what had happened, he came over specifically to check on them.
He told Xu Qinghe, “Bring this case up for discussion at next week’s case conference. It’s been a long time since we’ve encountered anaphylactic shock, so everyone can easily become complacent.”
Xu Qinghe nodded.
“Okay.”
After the chief left, she immediately began preparing for the next case.
One operation followed another.
Xu Qinghe became so busy that she completely forgot to ask Fang Yu for the photos.
She also forgot all about Shi Wenli’s scallion pancakes.
Before she knew it, the fourteenth arrived.
During his few days off, Shi Wenli had not been idle for a moment.
He sold the old house under his name, then looked at more than ten apartments in the residential complex where his sister and brother-in-law had bought their wedding home. In the end, he settled on one.
His new home was only a few hundred meters from his sister’s building.
His sister’s wedding home was a top-floor duplex with soaring ceilings, spanning more than a thousand square meters, complete with a swimming pool and a spacious scenic terrace.
The first time he visited, he had thought it was far too vast.
But his sister loved it.
It wasn’t the size of the house that she loved. It was the fact that Min Ting had specifically chosen it for her. From the terrace, she could look out over the city’s countless lights, and the location also made commuting convenient.
The apartment Shi Wenli had chosen was completely different in style from his sister’s home.
It was a simple single-level apartment with a spacious open living room and floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows. The size was just right.
The previous owner had bought it with a high-end Italian-style interior, then completely renovated it into a warm natural-wood style. But before even moving in, they decided to go abroad.
The apartment was on the third floor. In spring and summer, the lush branches of the golden-rain trees outside would fill the view from the living room with greenery.
That was ultimately why he chose to buy it.
Yesterday, on the final day of his leave, he completed the property transfer with the seller.
He hadn’t decided on the exact moving date yet. It would probably be sometime before or after the Lunar New Year.
He had surgery that morning and didn’t leave the operating room until nearly one o’clock.
The cafeteria had already passed its lunchtime rush.
Zhao Mingde had also finished surgery not long before. When he spotted Shi Wenli from a distance, he waved.
“Director Shi, sit over here.”
Shi Wenli carried his tray over.
Zhao Mingde was around his parents’ age. Apart from their professional interactions, they had almost no contact outside work.
As soon as Shi Wenli sat down, Zhao Mingde began making casual conversation, laying the groundwork for trying to set him up with Xu Qinghe.
“Qinghe chose Neurosurgery Anesthesiology as her first choice for her subspecialty. You know how stubborn she is…”
He sighed.
“You’ll have to take good care of her over in Neurosurgery in the future.”
Shi Wenli replied, “Chief Zhao, you’re too kind. Dr. Xu has a pretty good temperament.”
Then he changed the subject.
“Wasn’t she praised by the entire hospital a few days ago?”
Besides praising the Anesthesiology Department during the hospital-wide meeting of department chiefs, Director Jiang had even made a special post on his social media account.
By now, everyone in the hospital knew that Xu Qinghe had been praised by a patient’s family.
Every department received thanks or praise from patients from time to time, but Xu Qinghe was the first person to receive enough recognition for the hospital director to personally post about it.
Perhaps because she was normally the subject of so many complaints, the director had taken the opportunity to improve her reputation.
As they were talking, the very person they were discussing—Director Jiang—walked over carrying his tray.
As hospital director, he had countless responsibilities, but he still maintained two scheduled operating days every week.
“Director Jiang.”
Shi Wenli and Zhao Mingde greeted him simultaneously.
Zhao Mingde pushed his phone aside to make room for Director Jiang’s tray.
Director Jiang sat down beside him.
“What are you two talking about?”
Zhao Mingde answered, “We were talking about Qinghe’s subspecialty assignment.”
“So she chose Neurosurgery as her first choice.”
“Yes. She’s always been interested in Neurosurgical Anesthesiology. Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology was something I encouraged her to pursue in the first place. She has a real talent for it.”
Director Jiang nodded.
“Qinghe has been doing pretty well lately. Orthopedics hasn’t complained about her.”
Zhao Mingde paused before saying, “That’s because we haven’t scheduled her for Orthopedic surgeries lately. Starting next week, she’ll be back on them.”
Director Jiang: “……”
Shi Wenli: “……”
No wonder Wu Xiaofeng hadn’t mentioned Xu Qinghe recently whenever he ran into Shi Wenli.
Talking about Xu Qinghe while eating could easily cause indigestion.
Director Jiang promptly changed the subject and looked at Shi Wenli.
“Now that your sister has taken care of the biggest milestone in her life, you don’t have to worry about her anymore. Your aunt and uncle talked to me quite a bit at the wedding. They’re genuinely worried about you.”
Zhao Mingde thought to himself:
Don’t worry. I’m about to arrange a blind date for him.
Director Jiang didn’t seem concerned about Zhao Mingde being there. He asked Shi Wenli directly.
“That Monday afternoon after you returned from abroad, you came to my office to deliver the project materials. I happened to have a friend there. Do you remember?”
Shi Wenli remembered the incident, but he had absolutely no recollection of what Director Jiang’s friend looked like.
Director Jiang told him it didn’t matter whether he remembered.
“The moment you left, my friend immediately asked me whether you were married. Later, when he heard you were still single, he was thrilled. His daughter is single too, and she’s two years younger than you. He’s called me four times over the past few days, urging me to introduce the two of you as soon as possible.”
Shi Wenli had barely reacted.
Zhao Mingde, however, was getting anxious.
What am I supposed to do now?
He had clearly been the first one to sit down with the intention of introducing Shi Wenli to someone.
And now the hospital director had beaten him to it.