Even though they had already escaped the "danger," Lu Junran's heart was still pounding. He looked at his junior sister's profile and felt like he was gradually finding the answer.
"Let's head back first." Lu Junran couldn't actually be certain that the family member intended to harm anyone, but judging by how relentlessly they had been chased, he knew that "running" was definitely the right call.
The two of them wound their way through the hospital's labyrinthine corridors until they reached the newly opened cafeteria. The newly renovated building was magnificent, practically reeking of money. At the far end of the cafeteria was a specially marked private dining area: the Professors' Dining Hall.
Only physicians at or above the associate chief level could enter to dine there. The food was served buffet-style, with unlimited access.
Lu Junran watched his junior sister stop at the entrance of the dining hall, staring at the closed glass door, and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Ye Wushu turned around, her eyes blazing with ambition. "Senior brother, I'm going to eat in this dining hall someday too!"
How could one describe those eyes? Full of vitality, brimming with hope, radiating all the spirited confidence of youth.
Ye Wushu spread her arms wide like a young eagle unfurling its wings, chattering excitedly about her hopes for the future. "Senior brother, I heard that if you stay on as a doctor at the hospital, get promoted to associate chief, and meet certain conditions, you can be incorporated into the university system. From then on, you'd count as faculty of Haidu University, and your children would get priority admission to the affiliated schools."
Never mind becoming an associate chief physician—even just staying on at the hospital required extremely stringent conditions. As a second-year PhD student, Lu Junran had already seen through all of this, but Ye Wushu, a first-year master's student, still harbored naive ideals.
If it had been anyone else—say, some junior male student—Lu Junran would have unceremoniously doused them with cold water and advised them to face reality sooner rather than later.
But with Ye Wushu, he didn't want to do that. He was even willing to believe she had what it took.
"So, after you graduate from your professional master's program, do you plan to pursue further studies?"
"Huh?" Ye Wushu looked a bit lost. "Well, of course! But it's really hard for professional master's students to get into PhD programs…"
Ye Wushu was the first person in her family to study medicine. Everything she did was like crossing a river by feeling for stones—there was no one to give her guidance.
She had chosen the professional master's track because it offered "four certificates in one," saving three years of time and even providing a stipend. But over the past month, Ye Wushu had gradually come to realize that major hospitals in Haidu City placed particular emphasis on research output. Everyone talked about publishing papers, but with professional master's students spending all their time on clinical rotations, when would they find time to publish?
Without publications, how could she apply for a PhD? How could she stay at the hospital? How could she advance in rank?
At that thought, Ye Wushu felt somewhat deflated. A master's degree definitely wouldn't be enough to stay at a top-tier tertiary hospital—her only hope would be a second-tier hospital in the suburbs.
"It's fine. You've only just started. If you focus on research now, there's still hope of producing results." Lu Junran mapped out a path for her future. "Or you could try applying for a PhD abroad. For one, the program duration is shorter, and for another, staying on at the hospital now basically requires overseas study experience. Of course, if your advisor is a doctoral supervisor who has real say in the department, staying here for your PhD would be the best option."
Lu Junran couldn't resist reaching out and patting his junior sister's head. "It's okay. Senior brother believes in you. You've got this."
The junior sister was still in a daze when Lu Junran quickly withdrew his hand. He couldn't explain his own strange behavior—he wasn't a frivolous man, but his junior sister's hair was so fragrant and soft, his fingers felt like they were threading through a silky chocolate waterfall, and he was endlessly reluctant to let go of that sensation.
On the way back to the 6th-floor intensive care unit, Lu Junran walked half a step behind his junior sister, his mind in a constant haze. Even the most oblivious person would have realized what was happening by now.
Once they returned, everyone could tell that Lu Junran was distracted, but Ye Wushu took the initiative to explain on his behalf: "Teacher, Senior Brother was just scared!" She vividly described how the family member had suddenly "attacked," and how Senior Brother Lu had decisively grabbed her and bolted, narrowly avoiding a bloody disaster.
The supervisor looked at them again and again, feeling that something didn't quite add up—it seemed more like her own bratty son in middle school, when he first fell for a girl and got caught sneaking around the playground with her during early romance.
Of course, this wasn't something Deng Lingxiu needed to manage. Both of them were adults, and she wasn't their "homeroom teacher" who needed to break up a pair of "young lovebirds."
Deng Lingxiu said, "I'll go talk to the doctors in cardiothoracic surgery and the ICU about this. You two don't need to worry about it, and don't go back there again. If you ever encounter something like this in the future, prioritize your own personal safety above all. You're still students…"
Deng Lingxiu spoke very politely: "Even when you become doctors in the future, don't have too much sympathy for patients and their families. Even if you do, keep it in your heart. Otherwise, you won't be suited for this profession."
After the supervisor left, the office area was once again left with just Ye Wushu and Lu Junran.
The junior sister looked dejected, as if she were doubting herself.
Lu Junran certainly thought Deng Lingxiu was right, but an inexplicable sense of displeasure rose in his heart. Why did she have to say that to a student who had just started clinical work? Who hadn't come through being a student themselves?
Did being a doctor mean you had to cast aside all human emotions from the very beginning and become a "robot" that responded by the book?
His junior sister looked at him, seeming to want to say something but holding back.
Lu Junran didn't hesitate any longer and spoke up to give her affirmation: "Junior sister, this isn't your fault. Do you remember the Hippocratic Oath?" Then, Lu Junran struggled to recall it, only to find he could remember just two lines—"Health entrusted, lives committed"—and he suddenly froze.
But Ye Wushu could pick it up without a moment's hesitation: "…I will strive with all my might to eliminate human suffering, to perfect health, to uphold the sanctity and honor of medicine, to heal the wounded and rescue the dying, to spare no hardship, to pursue relentlessly, and to dedicate my life to the development of the medical and pharmaceutical cause of the motherland and the physical and mental health of humanity.[1]"
Every medical student had once sworn an oath before the statue of Hippocrates, but at this moment, Lu Junran looked into his junior sister's eyes and felt his soul stirred like never before.
When most people had become numb and indifferent, when even students like him held a pessimistic attitude toward medicine and clinical practice, there were still people in this world who held onto the purest wishes and the purest ideals.
Lu Junran had never imagined that these words would one day sound so thunderous and stirring. Perhaps it was because they had recited the oath mechanically and taken photos back then, but few had truly kept it in their hearts as a vow.
"So, the original purpose of medicine is to let us empathize with and understand the suffering of patients. It's just that the current medical environment is too harsh, and we need to protect ourselves."
Lu Junran was a rational man, but he had to admit he admired his junior sister's sensibility—her pure, unadulterated passion for the profession, her meticulous attitude toward work. Even for so-called "grunt work," she never cut corners.
Ye Wushu looked at Lu Junran with tears welling in her eyes. Senior brother truly understood her! From now on, she would be his loyal comrade-in-arms!
Ye Wushu patted her chest and promised her senior brother, "From now on, if you have any questions about medical orders you don't understand, just ask me! Or if it's convenient, I'll just handle it for you!"
Lu Junran: "…Thank you." His junior sister's words sounded fine on the surface, but for some reason, he didn't like hearing them.
Just as the two had thoroughly exchanged their sincere hearts devoted to the study of medicine, the ICU got busy—four critically ill patients were admitted at once.
Two of them were a married couple. According to reports, due to marital discord, they'd gotten into an argument at home over trivial matters and hacked at each other with kitchen knives. By the time the wife arrived at the hospital, her head and neck were connected by only a layer of skin. Neurosurgery came by, took one look, and decided it wasn't within their department's surgical scope. Orthopedics came by, took one look, and decided it involved nerves and blood vessels—not something they could handle.
So in the end, she was pushed to the Spine and Neurosurgery department, where they managed, through much persuasion, to sew her head and neck back together.
Ye Wushu had heard about this "legendary couple's" story (or perhaps "incident" was more fitting?) two hours earlier, but she'd only seen the bed carrying the wife arrive. It was her fault for asking one extra question of the accompanying anesthesiology attending.
The anesthesiology attending said with utter calm, "Oh, her husband? He went into cardiac arrest in the ER. They're doing CPR on him now—he's probably already cold."
Ye Wushu quickly recited a silent prayer to Amitabha.
"This woman got lucky—no major blood vessels were hit, or she'd be dead too. The most pitiful ones are their kid, who came along with them. I heard both sets of grandparents live in their hometowns out of town and are on their way here. We and the surgical team had the police sign the consent forms first. Once the family arrives, you can find them to sign."
Ye Wushu could already anticipate what a dangerous situation this was.
Senior sister hadn't lied to her—the ICU and ER were indeed the departments most likely to get attacked. Yes, doctors were also prone to being attacked.
Because this attacked woman required multidisciplinary surgery, in the end no department claimed her, and she became a self-managed patient of the ICU.
Supervising physician Deng Lingxiu sighed again and again at the outstanding balance on the bill.
Ye Wushu couldn't handle this woman's medical orders, so she sat back down and whispered to her senior brother, "Marriage requires caution, or else it's one dead and one injured, leaving a poor kid behind. How pitiful."
Lu Junran didn't want to respond, because he still wanted to get married. Finally, he said vaguely, "Well, you certainly can't marry someone with violent tendencies. Like me—I have no violent tendencies."
Ye Wushu nodded in agreement, then realized belatedly, "Huh? I didn't say you had violent tendencies, senior brother."
Senior brother brushed it off.
Ye Wushu continued gossiping, "But what kind of trivial matter could cause such a tragic outcome? They hacked at each other—it must have been something serious at least."
But Ye Wushu thought for a long time and still couldn't figure out what kind of reason could make a married couple treat each other like mortal enemies.
Lu Junran said, "Maybe infidelity. Or else financial conflict."
Ye Wushu asked casually, "Senior brother, how do you know so much?"
Lu Junran coughed twice. "Isn't that how it always goes in TV dramas?"
Ye Wushu looked at him suspiciously.
Lu Junran had no idea where his junior sister's thoughts had wandered off to, so he quickly clarified, "It's not me. I didn't cheat, and there's no financial conflict either."
Ye Wushu hadn't been thinking along those lines at all—she simply wondered if her senior brother might be having family problems or difficulties.
His family did have some conflicts, but no financial hardship.
Lu Junran suddenly fell silent, then said softly, "People who were once deeply in love can later come to loathe each other utterly. I suppose it must be because one of them changed."
Ye Wushu was shocked. "Senior Brother, the person you liked changed their heart?" Hadn't he said he'd never been in a relationship? Why was he suddenly so profound and reflective?
The person he liked?
Lu Junran gazed at his junior sister.