Chapter 376: Unexpected Proposals and Operating Room Tension

Director Lou probably never expected Dr. Xu to agree to this.

Both he and Dr. Xu had plenty of life experience, so they naturally understood the risks involved. His original intention was for Dr. Xu to turn this down.

But now that Dr. Xu had given his support so directly, there was no way to back out.

“Alright, since Dr. Xu thinks there won’t be any issues, I’ll find a chance to talk to Head Nurse Niu about this. The doctors are under my management, but the nurses are overseen by the Nursing Department. We need her approval.”

Director Lou really had no other choice but to use Head Nurse Niu as a shield for now.

“Thank you for handling this, Director Lou!”

Zhou Can wasn’t worried about anything unexpected happening.

If the Emergency Department wanted to grow, Director Lou would definitely find a way to get him a full team as soon as possible.

After Zhou Can left, Director Lou pulled Dr. Xu aside. “Old Xu, why did you agree to this just now? Zhou and Qiao Yu are both young. If something sparks between them at work and rumors spread, wouldn’t that ruin Zhou’s future?”

To Director Lou, losing a nurse didn’t really matter. He could always hire another.

Tuyu Hospital was so prestigious—plenty of nursing graduates were eager to join.

But Zhou Can carried all his hopes. He was the linchpin for the Emergency Department’s turnaround. Any mistake was unacceptable. That’s why he was so anxious.

“Don’t worry about it. Zhou’s not the kind of guy with a messy personal life. Nothing will happen between him and Qiao Yu. Our Emergency Operating Room is already outdated. Now that Zhou’s back, he’s full of energy—just what we need to boost our performance. Maybe we can even secure a top-tier cleanroom in the future!”

Dr. Xu didn’t have a single worry about the matter.

“You really are a laid-back mentor! Alright then, I’ll go ask Head Nurse Niu for help. But keep an eye on Zhou—you can’t let anything happen to him. He’s the future of our Emergency Department!”

Director Lou had no choice but to agree.

“Zhou’s not just the hope of the Emergency Department, he’s also my star protégé. There’s no way I’d let anything happen to him.” Dr. Xu rolled his eyes.

In many things, he was far more open-minded than most.

……

Stepping out of the Emergency Department’s office, Zhou Can spotted Ye Tingting sashaying toward him.

“Hey, I heard you’ll be back on the Emergency team tomorrow. How about letting me be your nurse?”

Ye Tingting lifted her chest with pride.

She had a strikingly curvy figure—truly a head-turner for any man.

Clearly, she’d heard something about Zhou Can’s promising future and wanted to latch on to a rising star while she could.

“You’re a head nurse, Tingting. I wouldn’t dream of asking you to be my dedicated nurse.” Zhou had always kept things cordial with her—helping out when needed, but nothing more.

Bringing her into the operating room as his scrub nurse? He wouldn’t even consider it.

Every role here demanded high levels of expertise. Even nurses had their own specialties. She was good at starting IVs in the observation ward or helping out with odds and ends in the resuscitation room, but that was about it.

Putting her into surgery would bring nothing but trouble.

“Haha, look at you—so nervous! Relax, I know my limits. I wouldn’t try for a job I can’t handle. Besides, I know that spot is reserved for Qiao Yu, isn’t it?”

Ye Tingting was sharp.

She seemed to know everything that went on.

Zhou just gave her a thumbs up and tried to make a quick escape.

Even after dating his girlfriend for two years, he still found these encounters with married women tough to handle.

She flaunted her curves without a hint of embarrassment.

“Hold up! On a more serious note, I have a cousin working as a nurse here at Tuyu. She’s just finished over three months of internship and is currently a triage nurse in the main outpatient hall. If you ever need someone, could you keep her in mind?”

Ye Tingting dropped her voice to a whisper.

Tuyu Hospital had thousands of employees—its web of relationships was complex.

As long as you weren’t blatantly violating the rules or breaking the law, nobody really cared.

Pulling strings for friends or relatives to get them hired? That was even more accepted.

Because positions at big hospitals all had strict requirements.

If someone met the qualifications and passed the HR interview, that was it. No one cared whose relative you were.

“What nursing specialty did your cousin study?”

Honestly, Zhou Can was a bit resistant to this kind of thing.

‘Better starve than work for a relative, better go hungry than farm a father-in-law’s field.’

It was easy to bring someone familiar on board, but as soon as they made a mistake at work, or started slacking off, one harsh word could turn you from friend to enemy.

Thanks to his parents’ influence growing up, Zhou saw these workplace dynamics far more clearly than most.

“She majored in surgical nursing—mainly clinical care and basic medicine.”

“Those are solid qualifications! Why push her into Emergency? She’d have better prospects in one of the surgical specialties.”

Zhou didn’t want to flat out reject Tingting.

So he chose the polite approach.

“I know, but honestly, I’m just a regular nurse. Working in Emergency doesn’t give me access to the really influential department heads. The competition to get into the good surgical units is fierce. She just can’t break in.”

Ye Tingting looked helpless.

Not everyone could make the connections Zhou did just by being talented.

Truth be told, for an ordinary nurse—even reaching the head nurse level—knowing an associate chief physician in one of the surgical departments was already impressive.

As for the actual department head, knowing them didn’t help much either.

Emergency was the most overlooked major department in Tuyu.

Anyone with skills could get in without pulling strings.

The surgical specialties at Tuyu were all thriving, offering great pay and career advancement. Of course, that drew a crowd.

Hundreds of thousands of undergraduates graduated every year in China. There were more and more graduate students now, and even PhDs had stopped being rare.

In this climate, ordinary nursing graduates really had slim hopes of getting into the top departments.

“So she’s working triage in Outpatient, just waiting for a shot?”

Zhou Can had been at Tuyu for four years in all.

He’d picked up a pretty good grasp of how things worked at the hospital.

Some capable nurses with no connections started out as triage nurses, waiting for a good specialty to need an extra hand so they could jump at the chance.

It was a smart move.

No matter which department you joined, the longer you stuck around, the more influential people you could eventually get to know.

And with that, opportunities increased, too.

Most people were just regular workers—no connections, no background.

“Exactly! She’s just waiting for a vacancy in one of the better surgical units and hoping for her big break.”

Ye Tingting admitted it openly.

“Our surgical department has been growing these past few years. Every year some nurses retire, and we even add new spots. She’d be better off just waiting patiently. Sticking with me wouldn’t get her very far.”

Zhou actually had good boundaries when it came to helping people.

He might do a lot of favors, but he never made a habit out of being a pushover.

Just as with Ye Tingting’s cousin wanting to get into surgery.

With Zhou’s network, he could call in a favor and get her in with no trouble.

Back when Qiao Yu wanted some experience in surgery, Zhou paved the way for her easily.

But this time, he chose not to.

He only helped those he truly thought deserved it.

“You’re just being modest! Everyone knows you’re one of Tuyu’s most promising young doctors. How about this—are you free tonight? I’ll treat you to dinner with my cousin. Meet her, and if you think she’s up to par, consider her first if you ever need someone. If not, just pretend I never brought this up.”

Ye Tingting clearly understood what Zhou worried about.

She wasn’t eager to pressure him into anything.

She left the choice entirely up to him.

“Alright! Since you’re asking, I can’t really refuse, can I? I’ll meet her first, then decide.”

Zhou agreed to the dinner.

Actually, he hated going to these kinds of gatherings.

But this time, he couldn’t bring himself to say no.

Now he finally understood why so many managers were always stuck at dinner events after work. It’s not that they enjoyed them—they just couldn’t get out of them.

“It’s settled, then. See you tonight!”

Ye Tingting was thrilled when Zhou agreed and wanted a high five.

Zhou had no choice but to oblige, giving her a high five to show he wouldn’t back out.

In the workplace, women who were even a bit attractive definitely held a big advantage.

Take Ye Tingting asking Zhou for help—if it had been another male colleague, Zhou would have turned him down flat.

But with her, he was willing to compromise, and honestly didn’t even mind.

He could swear to the heavens—he never had any improper thoughts about Ye Tingting. Still, being around a beautiful woman was always pleasant, both for the eyes and the mind.

That was the power women held.

On the flip side, young and handsome guys often easily gained favor with female bosses.

Leaving the Emergency Department, Zhou headed toward Cardiothoracic Surgery to seek out Dr. Hu Kan.

With each passing day, Dr. Hu Kan’s condition grew more worrying. He seemed to be aging rapidly, his body weakening day by day.

Just two years ago, before his troubles started, Dr. Hu Kan was brimming with energy and confidence.

“In the prime of youth” barely did him justice.

Back then, Dr. Xu seemed much older than Dr. Hu Kan.

But now, in just over two years, Dr. Hu Kan looked as old as a man in his nineties.

He needed help just to walk, his back was stooped, and he trembled all over. He absolutely couldn’t operate anymore.

Even speaking sometimes left him breathless.

Zhou walked briskly toward Cardiothoracic Surgery.

“Dr. Zhou, you’re here! Dr. Hu is in Operating Room 2 today.”

By now, the nurses at the station knew him well.

Whenever they saw him, they greeted him with warm, sweet smiles.

Everyone knew Zhou was now a star in Cardiothoracic Surgery.

“Thanks!”

Normally, Zhou didn’t get there this early. But since he’d already checked in at Emergency and had nothing else going on, he figured he’d come by sooner.

He arrived at Operating Room 2, where the sign read: “Surgery in progress. Please do not disturb.”

Usually, outsiders weren’t allowed to open the OR doors under these circumstances.

Only medical staff inside the OR could let someone in.

He pressed the doorbell.

The door opened quickly. A nurse peeked out.

“Hi, is Dr. Hu inside?”

“Dr. Zhou, you’re early today! Dr. Hu is inside. He’s been hoping you’d come early.”

With a smile, the nurse welcomed him in.

“How’s the operation going?”

“We’re in the middle of an aortic dissection surgery. It’s really tough—we’ve already transfused a lot of blood.”

“This kind of surgery is one of the riskiest. Let’s hope the patient pulls through safely.”

Zhou headed into the changing room, put on his scrubs, and entered the surgical suite.

The operating room for Cardiothoracic Surgery here was a large one, capable of hosting two or three procedures at once.

Inside, plenty of doctors and nurses were hustling about.

There were people from Hematology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Anesthesiology, and several surgical nurses. The place was buzzing.

Looking closer, Zhou even spotted a couple of doctors from Obstetrics.

So, the patient must be a woman.

“Teacher!”

Since the operation was in full swing, Zhou kept it low-key—just coming over to greet Dr. Hu without disturbing the others.

It was a bit like paying respects to one’s elders in the old days—a show of courtesy and respect.

“You got here at the perfect time. This patient is thirty-seven weeks pregnant—we’re doing a C-section and aortic dissection repair at the same time. No need for me to tell you how dangerous this is. Go help Director Xueyan right away!”

Dr. Hu was clearly thrilled Zhou showed up early.

When it came to surgical skill, Zhou surpassed Director Xueyan in many respects—and he was known for his rapid technique.

On top of that, his meticulousness in surgery was famous; he’d never made a mistake so far.

In this regard, he really was a lot like Dr. Hu.

Director Xueyan’s forehead was slick with sweat. The aortic dissection was just too dangerous, the operation incredibly difficult. She’d already used up eight bags of plasma, but for this pregnant woman, it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

If she kept bleeding uncontrollably, no matter how much blood they transfused, it could be lost in minutes.

The patient’s blood pressure was already dangerously low, and nobody could remember how many times she’d been resuscitated—it was a nonstop battle with death, back and forth.

“Zhou, can you handle this toughest, most critical part?”

Director Xueyan had spotted him by now.

“I’m on it!”

He didn’t even hesitate—immediately stepping in.

He and Director Xueyan were as close as siblings, and their cooperation in the OR was as smooth as could be.

Slipping on sterile gloves, Zhou took his place as chief surgeon and assumed responsibility for the case.

The two obstetricians stared wide-eyed as Zhou stepped up to lead the operation. They looked like they’d just seen a ghost.

Wasn’t this Dr. Zhou fresh off his residency? Sure, he was talented, but letting him handle such a critical stage—wasn’t that going too far?