The prospect of moving to Binhai, a premier, first-tier city, to work at a nationally renowned hospital wasn’t just tempting to Yu Zhiming. To be precise, he was incredibly excited.
When hospitals hired young doctors, they prioritized academic credentials above all else.
In this respect, Yu Zhiming fell woefully short. His credentials were not impressive.
He had graduated with only a bachelor’s degree in clinical medicine from Jishui Medical College, an obscure, third-rate institution.
When he was job hunting after graduation, forget provincial or municipal hospitals—he had to spend fifty or sixty thousand yuan and pull some strings just to get into the county-level public hospital where he currently worked.
Now, with an opportunity that was tantamount to leaping the dragon gate suddenly dropped in his lap, Yu Zhiming couldn’t help but feel his heart pound with excitement.
But...
He knew his own situation best.
Because of his hypersensitivity to sound, Yu Zhiming was particularly bad at adapting to new environments.
When he started medical school, it had taken him nearly two years to get used to dormitory life and the academic environment.
After joining the county hospital, it took him over a year to adjust to his work and life. He was only now starting to hit his stride.
As an international metropolis, Binhai had more buildings, more cars, and more people. The noise level was bound to be many times worse than in a small county town.
Yu Zhiming had no confidence that he could quickly adapt to living and working in Binhai.
Another important point was that you couldn’t just up and leave a hospital whenever you felt like it.
If the hospital administration didn’t approve and things got ugly, their extensive connections gave them plenty of ways to make his life miserable.
For instance, a ruthless administrator could easily fabricate a medical dispute or a malpractice incident, enough to get his license revoked.
In his years of working, Yu Zhiming had heard his fair share of dark rumors about the medical world...
Seeing Yu Zhiming’s silence, Qi Yue assumed he was holding out for a better offer and said slowly, "Dr. Yu, I’ve come with the utmost sincerity. I will get you into Huashan Hospital’s Young and Mid-Career Talent Recruitment Program."
"By joining this program, you will receive an official position at Huashan Hospital and be eligible for residency in Binhai."
"At the same time, you’ll receive a one-time settling-in allowance of no less than two hundred thousand yuan, plus a monthly living stipend of at least six thousand yuan for three years."
After a brief pause, Qi Yue added, "Dr. Yu, I can also guarantee that I will do everything in my power to provide you with learning resources and training opportunities."
Dean Wu quickly chimed in, "Xiaoyu, you don’t have to worry about our hospital not letting you go."
"Our hospital has limited resources. Only a major hospital like Huashan, with a great mentor and talent scout like Mr. Qi, can allow you to truly flourish."
With an emotional expression, he added, "Xiaoyu, since you have such a gift for medicine and Mr. Qi is offering you this chance, you can’t let it pass you by."
’It’s so rare to see Dean Wu being this selfless.’ The surprised Yu Zhiming was actually a little moved.
He glanced at Dean Wu, then at Qi Yue, and after a moment of deliberation, he said cautiously, "Dr. Qi, thank you for your high regard. Dean Wu, thank you for being willing to let me go."
"However, this is a very significant change for me and my family. I’ll need some time to think it over and discuss it with them."
Qi Yue nodded lightly. "Of course, I understand. That’s perfectly reasonable."
"Dr. Yu, if you have any other requests or concerns, please don’t hesitate to tell me. I will do my best to accommodate them if I can."
"Thank you!"
Yu Zhiming replied politely before asking tentatively, "That patient with the heart condition... what is his relationship to you?"
Qi Yue sighed softly. "Dr. Yu, he had his cardiac examination done at my facility. I was the one who wrote the final report."
"After he went into cardiac arrest, I pulled up all his previous test data and only then discovered minute abnormalities in his myocardial enzymes and EKG readings."
"Sigh. This kind of post-hoc analysis, tracing the cause from the effect and seeing the major issue from minor details only in hindsight... it’s truly humiliating!"
Qi Yue’s words were remarkably frank.
He met Yu Zhiming’s gaze and continued, "This case made me extremely interested in you."
"Over the past few days, I’ve learned a lot about you from various channels, especially from Dean Wu."
"The more I learn about your past and present, the more impressed I am."
Qi Yue nodded meaningfully. "Adversity truly forges a person."
"Dr. Yu, regardless of your final decision, I look forward to seeing what you’ll achieve in the future."
Qi Yue then changed the subject. "My niece here has always been in poor health. I was worried her heart might have a problem, so I brought her along to have you examine her."
Qi Yue chuckled. "Of course, it was also a chance for a live evaluation!"
"Seeing is believing, after all! Heh heh."
Yu Zhiming chuckled along, glanced at Yin Wenzhu standing quietly to the side, then shifted his gaze back to Qi Yue.
"Dr. Qi, may I see your niece’s medical records?"
"Of course!"
Qi Yue took a thick stack of documents from his briefcase and handed it to Yu Zhiming.
Yu Zhiming quickly leafed through them and found that Yin Wenzhu’s body was indeed riddled with problems.
She not only had hypotension and hypoglycemia but also a mild fatty liver and suffered from neurasthenia.
Yu Zhiming wasn’t the least bit surprised that she had fainted while showering at night.
With her physical condition, there were plenty of reasons that could cause her to faint in the shower.
But when he saw the conclusion given in the medical records, Yu Zhiming was genuinely surprised.
"Fainting due to lychee-induced hypoglycemia?"
Qi Yue grunted in affirmation and explained, "That night, Wenzhu attended a business reception and ate a lot of lychees."
"After running various physical exams and investigations, we concluded this was the most likely judgment matching the circumstances."
Yu Zhiming knew that two substances in lychees, hypoglycin A and methylenecyclopropylglycine, inhibit glucose metabolism. Consuming them in large quantities can cause symptoms of hypoglycemia.
And Yin Wenzhu already had a history of hypoglycemia.
On top of that, showering causes superficial blood vessels to dilate, reducing the volume of circulating blood to the brain and body, which can lead to hypoxia.
With multiple factors combined, fainting was almost inevitable.
As Yu Zhiming was reviewing the medical files, Qi Yue’s voice sounded in his ear again.
"Wenzhu works at a private equity firm. Not only is the work pressure immense, but she also frequently stays up all night researching information and data."
"I’m very worried about her health and her heart."
Yu Zhiming let out an "oh" and said, "Dr. Qi, based on my examination, your niece’s heart is fine. The possibility that her sudden fainting spell was due to a cardiogenic cause is quite small."
He flipped through a few more test reports and casually asked Yin Wenzhu a question.
"Ms. Yin, on the night you fainted, besides eating too many lychees, did anything else happen that was out of the ordinary for you?"
Yin Wenzhu froze for a second, then shook her head. "Nothing special happened!"
"It was a client event my company held at a hotel."
"After the eating and drinking was over, I drove home, went straight to the bathroom to shower, and then I fainted."
Hearing this, Yu Zhiming didn’t think much of it and blurted out, "When you got home, wasn’t your first order of business to use the restroom?"
"You’re a bit of a germaphobe, right? You probably wouldn’t have wanted to use the hotel restroom, would you?"
The question was a bit forward, and Yin Wenzhu shot Yu Zhiming a glare without answering.
Qi Yue’s expression, however, hardened. He chided her, "Wenzhu, when a doctor asks a question, you must answer truthfully."
"This is a matter of medical diagnosis, not personal privacy!"
Qi Yue pressed on, "Hey, Wenzhu, think back. Was your urine any different from usual at that time?"
Faced with Qi Yue’s and Yu Zhiming’s stares, Yin Wenzhu’s face grew hot, and she lowered her head.
"Um... well... I felt all sticky and uncomfortable, and I also... really had to go."
"So I was showering and... took care of it... at the same time."
Her voice grew softer and softer until it was nearly inaudible.
Yu Zhiming met Qi Yue’s eyes and asked in a solemn tone, "Dr. Qi, have you considered the possibility of micturition syncope?"
Micturition syncope refers to fainting during or after urination.
It is a relatively rare condition caused by a neural reflex triggered by the sudden emptying of the bladder.
Its underlying mechanisms and root causes are quite complex.
The best way to prevent micturition syncope is to urinate while squatting or sitting down.
Of course, having micturition syncope doesn’t mean you will faint every time you urinate.
Generally, patients with this condition have a higher chance of fainting when they urinate after holding it in for a significant amount of time.
Qi Yue also wore a serious expression as he said, "I admit, I didn’t consider that possibility."
"That’s simple. We can do a simple test by having her hold her urine..."
Qi Yue looked toward Yin Wenzhu, but before he could even speak, he saw her, face beet red, quickly stride out of the hospital room.
A little embarrassed, Qi Yue took the opportunity to say, "It’s getting rather late, Dr. Yu. We’ll be taking our leave now..."
After seeing Qi Yue and Dean Wu out, Yu Zhiming had just returned to the hospital room when a heavy weight suddenly landed on his back.
That rascal, Yu Xiangwan, had been hiding behind the door and leaped onto his back.
The two of them, being twins, used to play like this often.
"Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother, a job in Binhai! What an amazing opportunity! Why didn’t you agree on the spot?"
"Do you really not want to go?"
"Or are you just playing hard to get, trying to negotiate for better terms?"
Yu Zhiming tried to shake his body, but he couldn’t dislodge Yu Xiangwan, who was clinging to him like a sloth.
So he just let himself fall back onto the hospital bed, taking her with him.
"Fourth Sister, of course I want to go to Binhai!"
"It’s just..."
Yu Zhiming said with a frustrated tone, "Fourth Sister, I’m afraid I won’t be able to adapt to the living and working environment in Binhai."
"If I go to Binhai and can’t get into the groove at work, and then I make a mistake, I’ll probably be sent packing right back here."
Yu Xiangwan sat up, patted Yu Zhiming’s shoulder, and said nonchalantly, "Fifth Brother, you have to believe in yourself."
"At Jishui Medical College, you made it through."
"Working at the county hospital, you made it through that too."
"If you go to Binhai, you’ll definitely be able to handle it."
Yu Xiangwan poked Yu Zhiming’s chest and declared, "Fifth Brother, in my heart, you’ve always been strong and capable of anything. There’s nothing you can’t do."
"Unless you’ve gotten complacent and started to fear new environments and dread change!"
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Yu Zhiming shot up into a sitting position.
"Me, afraid?"
"Fourth Sister, you’ve got to be kidding me..."