Chapter 276: Lunch Break Connections and Rivalries at Tuyu’s Specialist Clinic

Director Tian listened to Director Zhang Bihua’s assessment of Zhou Can, a look of realization appearing in her eyes.

She was sharp—just from these few words, she instantly grasped Zhou Can’s role and standing.

From the tone of Director Zhang, it seemed Zhou Can’s place at Tuyu Hospital was at least equal to Du Leng’s. In fact, the hospital’s investment and expectations for Zhou Can might be even higher.

“Dr. Zhou, if I was ever dismissive before, I hope you’ll forgive me. Today, you saved Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital, and we won’t forget what you’ve done. I hope we’ll keep in close contact in the future!”

Director Tian took the initiative to shake Zhou Can’s hand again, openly expressing her wish to stay in touch.

“Happy to,” Zhou Can replied easily.

Zhou Can never missed a chance to expand his network.

Sure, Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital had fallen on hard times and felt empty now, but with its reputation, once it got back on its feet it would be a heavyweight in the province’s medical scene again.

Sooner or later, a connection here would prove invaluable.

“Director Zhang, Director Dai, Dr. Zhou, it wasn’t easy to save that sick child, and your skills were clear for all to see. With Tuyu Hospital’s expert clinic opening here, we’ve already had a huge success—saving the life of a child everyone thought hopeless. I’d like to have our publicity department spread word of what you’ve accomplished. What do you all think?”

Naturally, Director Tian wanted their consent before using their story for the hospital’s publicity.

“I think it’s a great idea! This really was something worth celebrating, and it has solid clinical significance too.”

Director Zhang Bihua nodded her agreement, and neither Zhou Can nor Director Dai had any objections.

After all, they had all come over to help support Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital.

Everyone understood how desperate the situation was here—and how badly the hospital needed a quick turnaround.

“It’s already noon. No matter how busy we get, eating comes first. Let’s have lunch and get some rest, then we’ll be recharged for this afternoon’s consultations.”

Director Tian checked her watch as she spoke.

With the child now out of danger, everyone was in high spirits and getting along better than ever.

Director Tian personally hosted the group for a Chinese lunch in the hospital cafeteria.

Zhou Can, always one to value loyalty, called Deputy Director Shi to join them. He was representing the Gastroenterology Department for this expert clinic, and Shi was technically his superior.

Showing such respect for his superiors earned Zhou Can extra points in the eyes of Director Tian, Director Zhang Bihua, and the others.

Every parent likes a filial child.

Likewise, every leader appreciates someone who knows how to respect those above them.

After lunch, Director Tian arranged a mid-sized conference room for the twenty-seven visiting medical staff from Tuyu Hospital to rest in during the break.

Some sat and scrolled through their phones, while others closed their eyes or chatted about the morning’s work.

A few had seen five or six patients before lunch; others, unfortunately, had barely any at all.

Du Leng stood out from the crowd, having seen a whopping eight patients—more than any of the other chief physicians. He was the morning’s undisputed consultation champion.

If Director Zhang Bihua hadn’t been pulled away for that emergency surgery, she’d almost certainly have had the highest consultation count.

Deputy Director Shi had the roughest time—little name recognition, plus few patients at Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital, meant he’d basically gone the whole morning without seeing a single case.

He wasn’t the only one; another associate chief physician and an attending physician ended up the same way.

This just showed that unless you were one of the rare celebrity doctors, once you left your home turf, even top physicians weren’t much.

Most patients chose doctors based on the hospital’s reputation, not the doctor themselves.

Who actually treated them didn’t matter all that much.

According to incomplete stats, less than 4% of patients came for a specific renowned doctor. These folks were dead set on seeing their expert—no substitutions.

The other 96% just registered randomly, depending on their needs.

When registering, most picked chief physicians skilled in their illness. If expert slots were gone, they’d settle for a regular consultation.

That’s why it was so surprising that Du Leng, who was just an attending physician, managed to attract eight patients in one morning in an unfamiliar hospital. His overseas doctoral degree made a huge impact.

Even someone like Gao Jian—an Imperial Capital Medical University grad student with a master’s—looked a little lackluster compared to Du Leng.

Gao Jian spent the morning with a neurology chief physician, but together they only saw two patients.

That was a bit humiliating for experts who held decent status at Tuyu Hospital.

But honestly, it was normal.

Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital mainly served gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics, so it was only natural that visiting neurology and gastroenterology experts weren’t in demand.

Du Leng’s high patient volume, plus his overseas credentials, gave him a rare sense of superiority.

Two young female doctors went out of their way to chat him up.

Plus, a pretty and young nurse used the excuse of asking about nursing techniques to chat for ages. Having beautiful nurses and doctors chasing after him—now that was something to envy.

Still, despite the attention from young doctors and nurses, Du Leng wasn’t satisfied.

It was a bit like an emperor, bored of palace concubines, daydreaming about beauties outside the palace.

With his credentials, chasing after regular doctors or nurses was almost too easy.

But there was one woman he wanted and couldn’t have.

Yang Chan.

She was nearly as beautiful as Su Qianqian. Add in her independence and the high-profile support of Director Zhang Bihua, and she just grew more confident—the kind of confidence that made her ever more attractive.

Her unique charm made Du Leng restless, like a cat with an itch it couldn’t scratch.

But Yang Chan was like a rare frosty flower—growing atop a snowy mountain, and covered in thorns. Not easy to pick at all.

Du Leng had pursued her in every way he could think of, again and again, openly and secretly. The only thing he got for his trouble was a door slammed in his face.

Coming to Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital with her for this expert clinic should have been a golden opportunity.

Especially after he’d just topped the patient charts this morning—it gave his confidence a major boost.

Straightening up, he strolled over to Director Zhang Bihua and Yang Chan wearing his signature confident and scholarly smile.

“Director Zhang, I had two cases this morning I’m unsure about. Would you be willing to give me some guidance when you have time?”

He was nothing but polite.

“No need to be so formal, Dr. Du! If there’s anything you’re unsure about, just say the word and we’ll all brainstorm together. You’re a top talent from an overseas university. ‘Guidance’ is too strong!”

Director Zhang Bihua replied with a warm smile.

It was clear she held Du Leng in high regard.

“The first tough case was the severely obese female patient with sleep apnea. If it’s not caused by obesity, what else do you think might be at play?”

The woman had tried meds and even surgery—nothing had cured her sleep apnea.

Du Leng had arranged for her to get a contrast-enhanced CT and bronchoscopy; results should be ready this afternoon. Most likely she’d be back with them soon.

He wanted Director Zhang’s opinion now, so he’d be prepared when the patient returned.

“There are lots of factors that can cause sleep apnea! Genetics, alcohol, smoking, increased pharyngeal muscle tone, and more. Best to wait for the test results before diagnosing anything specific.”

Clearly, Director Zhang’s expertise wasn’t really in this area, so she couldn’t offer more detailed advice.

Medically, sleep apnea syndrome was referred to as SAS.

It was a pretty rare disease.

Its biggest danger was sudden death from suffocation during sleep.

No luck with the first question, so Du Leng moved on to the second.

“The other case is even stranger. The patient’s 32, had uterine bleeding a year ago and a curettage. Pathology showed endometrial tissue. About two months ago she started drinking over ten liters of water a day and sometimes became confused. She’s seen multiple hospitals and no one’s found the cause. Her family heard this might be neurological, so they came here hoping the Tuyu experts could solve it.”

Du Leng’s profile said he specialized in neurosurgery and breast surgery.

His glowing credentials were probably what convinced that high-difficulty case to land on his desk.

But if you take on challenging cases without the skill to match, all you get is embarrassment.

Especially at a big public event like this expert clinic.

Smart doctors were always the most discreet.

Eight patients looked impressive, but it remained to be seen how many Du Leng could actually help.

“Do you have the full patient file? Going by just the description—uterine bleeding and curettage—it’s hard to link that with her excessive thirst and confusion.”

Director Zhang wasn’t a miracle worker—she simply had years of clinical experience in obstetrics and gynecology, along with some impressive academic achievements.

And when it came to gynecology and obstetrics surgery, she was easily among the top ten in the province.

“The full test results are with the family. I advised they get fasting urine and bloodwork, which should be ready this afternoon. Previous outside hospital scans showed thickening of the pituitary stalk and elevated prolactin. She was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.”

Unable to provide the full file, Du Leng just summarized the main points.

“Checking urine and bloodwork is the right call. If she’s really drinking over ten liters of water daily, she must be urinating constantly—maybe even diabetic insipidus. But nailing down the cause needs all the data and her physical exam. Let’s wait for the labs before making any call.”

Director Zhang was careful and never drew conclusions without evidence.

All great doctors took the same approach: thorough and pragmatic, to avoid missing or misdiagnosing anything.

Even though he’d struck out on both questions, Du Leng wasn’t disappointed.

The cases were never really the point anyway.

His gaze naturally shifted to Yang Chan. “Dr. Yang, I heard you took part in rescuing that feverish little boy this morning—must’ve been intense!”

He was just making conversation.

After all, getting both the pediatric and obstetrics directors to drop everything and work a two-hour rescue could only mean it was touch-and-go.

But Yang Chan clearly wasn’t interested in chatting.

She just answered with a cool, “Mm.”

Director Zhang didn’t interfere with matters of the heart.

Nor could she, really.

Though Yang Chan was her student and reported to her at work, that was where her authority ended. No one could force personal relationships—not even someone’s own father.

“I overheard some nurses in the cafeteria saying the child nearly didn’t make it. They praised Director Zhang and a young doctor for working together to save him. Honestly, I was really impressed by that young doctor—I know it had to be you.”

Du Leng tried his best to compliment her.

When chasing a girl, complimenting her looks, kindness, intelligence—whatever—was a classic move.

And Du Leng had plenty of experience with this game.

“It wasn’t me.”

She glanced over at Zhou Can, who was quietly studying on his phone.

Compared to Du Leng’s showy approach, Zhou Can stayed pragmatic in everything.

People really did hate being compared.

Next to Zhou Can, Du Leng looked worse and worse—while Zhou Can only seemed more admirable.

“Not you? That can’t be! Weren’t you the only young doctor with Director Zhang? Wait—was it him?”

Suddenly, Du Leng realized Director Zhang had specially brought over Zhou Can with Deputy Director Shi’s help.

So if it wasn’t Yang Chan, it had to be Zhou Can who’d helped save the child.

He’d meant to compliment Yang Chan to get closer to her, but ended up praising his own rival instead. It was a real slap in the face.

“Dr. Du guessed right—the hero who saved the boy was Zhou Can!”

There was a sly look on Yang Chan’s face as she called out to Zhou Can.

“Zhou Can!”

“What’s up?”

Zhou Can looked up at her voice.

“Dr. Du said he really admires you after hearing how you saved that child. He wants to talk with you.”

For such a beautiful woman, Yang Chan could be wicked.

She saw straight through Du Leng’s intentions, and now she’d dragged Zhou Can into it. Du Leng probably felt like he’d swallowed a dead fly.

And he’d done it to himself.

“You flatter me, Dr. Du. I’m just a trainee, not one-tenth as skilled as you. But of course, I’m always happy to share ideas anytime.”

Zhou Can didn’t think much of Du Leng—there was always something sly and fake about him.

But he didn’t actually hate him.

After all, if you wanted to get promoted or secure institutional resources, it was a fair fight.

If Du Leng was jealous, that was his own problem.

It made no difference to Zhou Can.

“Cough, cough… We’re still on duty this afternoon. I’ve got a few morning cases with unclear diagnoses—need to do some more research. Sorry, no time to chat with Dr. Zhou today. Maybe next time.”

Approaching Zhou Can now would just put him further in the spotlight. No way was Du Leng going to play wingman to his rival.

He’d rather not help an opponent shine.

“Alright!”

Zhou Can was only too glad not to waste time and went back to studying.

Reading medical textbooks on his phone was handy, though physical books still felt better to him—especially for big anatomy diagrams. The phone’s screen was just too small for fine details.

That really hurt the reading experience.

When Gao Jian heard Zhou Can had been a key player in saving the boy’s life, he couldn’t help but look at him deeply. Their rivalry had started with the residency entrance exam.

But the gap between them kept widening.

Now Zhou Can’s reputation at Tuyu Main Hospital rivaled Du Leng’s. To many chiefs, he was already more respected.

Gao Jian kept his head down, working hard to catch up.

But Zhou Can was a born overachiever—always pulling further and further ahead.

It was hard not to feel a bit defeated.

They’d started at the same place, but Zhou Can had left him in the dust. It was something that made Gao Jian both envious and inspired.

After about half an hour in the conference room, everyone headed back to the outpatient hall at one sharp to continue the clinic.

Because it was their first time running such a large special clinic at an outside hospital, there were still plenty of things to learn.

Director Zhang needed to keep reflecting on the day’s issues and call a meeting in the evening to make things better.

For example, when the child collapsed that morning and the emergency team rushed over, all the experts were pulled away and the outpatient clinic was left short-handed.

That left patients with a pretty lousy experience.

They’d barely sat down again when patients started coming up with their test results.

“Dr. Du, could you please take another look at these results for my wife? Here’s the urine and blood work.”

A middle-aged man led a woman—her eyes a little vacant—over to Du Leng’s desk.

Zhou Can’s attention sharpened. This must be the woman with the extreme water intake and mental confusion.

Challenging cases like this were Zhou Can’s absolute favorite.

Not only could he earn a hefty 100 experience points, but he could also genuinely help someone in need. Best of both worlds.