The Surgeon's Studio

Zheng Ren was numb from disappointment.

After the nurses checked her vital signs and completed their laborious preparation, Zheng Ren went to look for the patient’s son.

As silence was the norm in the wards, he could not shout out for the young man. If he raised his voice, some old grandfather could suffer

a heart attack.

He suspected the man might not even hear him if he shouted.

When Su Yun came down and found Zheng Ren and Chang Yue only halfway done with the informed consent documents, he brought the middle-aged woman into the operating room.

Zheng Ren spent ten minutes searching for the patient’s son. He found him in the fire escape.

The man was seated on the steps, focused on his game.

Zheng Ren dragged the man, who was visibly annoyed, back inside.

He sat him down in the office and activated a video recorder to begin informing him about the appendectomy.

Zheng Ren explained every line and item, from anesthesia risk to assisted ventilation, in detail.

The patient’s son kept playing his game. Zheng Ren was not sure if he was listening to the many risks that came with surgery.

Zheng Ren did his duty, suppressing the urge to slap the man. He continued his explanation.

It took fifteen minutes for Zheng Ren to finish explaining the simple appendectomy.

This was the most difficult informed consent procedure that he had ever encountered.

To complete the procedure, Zheng Ren needed the man to sign the document. As the man’s attention was mostly on his phone, Zheng Ren insisted he write a clause at the bottom of the page. With exasperation in his eyes, the man wrote as Zheng Ren instructed, ‘I have been informed of the risks accompanying the appendectomy and agree to the procedure.’

He had been on his phone for too long. There were many characters that he had forgotten how to write.

Zheng Ren had to ask him to follow the printed characters on the document. For some, he had to write them out on a blank piece of paper so that the young man could copy them down.

The whole ordeal was more draining than performing a surgery.

Once consent was given, Zheng Ren called the operating room to begin preparations. He carefully placed the documents in his office drawer and locked it before leaving.

He headed straight to the changing room, changing into scrubs at record speed.

The surgical lamp was blinding but Zheng Ren found it reassuring. Its familiar light was more welcoming than the bastard he had faced minutes ago.

Su Yun stood by his side in the assistant’s position. The lower right quadrant of the abdomen was covered in a piece of white, sterile covering.

Xie Yiren had her hands on the surgical tray. Only one of the Chu sisters was present but he was not sure if it was Chu Yanran or Chu Yanzhi.

The three were casually talking about Miss Yun’s surgery in the operating room.

When Su Yun saw him, he greeted Zheng Ren with a mocking remark, “Hey! What took you so long to get consent? Did you swallow your bedside manners?” The man was in a much better mood than yesterday night.

“…”

“No wonder you eat so little.”

Zheng Ren shook his head and proceeded to wash his hands.

“You don’t have to operate,” Su Yun said.

“Huh?”

“Take a look. If there’s no issue, I’ll perform the removal.” Su Yun removed the covering to reveal the surgical site.

The abdomen had been cut open cleanly. The ligament and appendicular artery were visible under the surgical light.

Su Yun had done the initial work and waited for Zheng Ren to arrive.

The guy was capable.

Zheng Ren studied the site. “Go ahead, then. I won’t scrub in,” he replied.

He stood aside and observed Su Yun like a mentor.

Zheng Ren assessed Su Yun’s methodology. He was using an advanced technique and his ability was only slightly below Zheng Ren’s.

This assessment was reaffirmed by the clean laparotomy Su Yun performed prior.

A swollen appendix was tossed into the surgical tray and Su Yun began closing up the abdomen. The surgery proceeded swiftly with cooperation between Su Yun and Xie Yiren.

“Good,” Zheng Ren commented.

“Not as good as you, but close. As a perfectionist, I have to admit that,” Su Yun said as he stitched up the subcutaneous tissue.

Zheng Ren ignored the competitiveness in Su Yun’s words. The surgery had gone well without interference and that was a win.

“When will Miss Yun’s scan be ready?” Xie Yiren handed over the sterile dressing, then started to pack away the instruments.

“I’ll follow up with them later.” Su Yun applied the dressing expertly and announced the surgery to be complete.

They lifted the patient onto a trolley stretcher and prepared to return her. Su Yun put on his white coat and left alongside Zheng Ren.

Beyond the operating room, the patient’s son was seated with his knees up on the red plastic chair. The man was so engrossed in his phone that he did not notice the door open.

He was totally cut off from the world.

Zheng Ren spoke up in an icy tone, “Come look at your mother.”

His words fell on deaf ears as the patient’s son continued to play with his phone.

“Hey!” Zheng Ren raised his voice.

The corridor outside the operating room was empty and his voice bounced off the walls, echoing off into the distance.

“Xiao Heng…” The patient’s head lolled to one side in search of her precious son. Her body was positioned awkwardly as it was still under the effects of continuous epidural anesthesia.

“Don’t move too much. You might tear the stitches,” Zheng Ren warned.

Behind him, Su Yun spoke up: “Chief Zheng, you go ahead and send the patient back. I’m gonna go change.”

Without waiting for Zheng Ren’s reply, he turned his back to the deplorable scene and went back into the operating room.

‘What a nimble escape,’ Zheng Ren thought. A few seconds too slow and now he was stuck alone with the abhorrent young man.

There was nothing that could be done. Zheng Ren called the young man a few more times, volume rising a notch with each call. Suddenly, the young man looked up and shouted back, “Why are you yelling? Where are your manners?”

Zheng Ren was speechless at the young man’s outburst.

Manners? Did he even know what manners were?

Zheng Ren did not take kindly to being lectured by a bastard like him.

Nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut. Even with Su Yun’s cutthroat remarks, Zheng Ren was never this outspoken.

The young man looked at his phone and an angry expression flashed across his face. Perhaps in his few seconds of inattention, his character had been killed?

He was furious. He gritted his teeth as he contained his anger at the great injustice.

“Come help me push the stretcher,” Zheng Ren implored tiredly.

The young man shot him a hateful glare but switched the phone off. With one hand at the foot of the stretcher, he tugged it along as Zheng Ren pushed.