Chapter 13: A Twist of Fate

“Please, Deputy Director Hu, give me one chance,”

Zhou Can pleaded earnestly.

“People with no sense of time usually lack discipline. A doctor’s duty is to save lives—responsibility above all. I’m sorry, but based on your performance, you do not meet our hospital’s residency recruitment standards. Goodbye.”

The Human Resources Department is a real pain.

They hold the power to set policies on human resources, development, recruitment, training, evaluation, and salaries.

They treat the hospital’s renowned doctors and top management with all due respect, yet when it comes to the lower-level doctors and nurses, they wield life and death power.

In a case like Zhou Can’s, a single word from Deputy Director Hu could cancel his exam eligibility.

Zhou Can had nowhere to cry.

He stopped pleading any further and turned away in dejection. A man may be humble and polite, but his backbone must never bend.

Because that is a man’s dignity.

Doing the right thing always comes at a price.

Yet he harbored no regrets.

If given another chance, he would choose to save lives again.

A true gentleman lives with an unclouded conscience.

At that moment, Zhou Can felt utterly downcast. He sat by a roadside flowerbed, head bowed, covering his face with both hands.

A real man rarely sheds tears.

Losing his exam qualification meant all his hard work was for nothing. The inner pain and disappointment were unmistakable.

Time flew by, with patients and medical staff passing by intermittently.

He felt each passing second drag on forever.

There’s nothing crueler than giving someone great hope only to snuff it out.

Earlier, when Zhou Can received the experience system, he was elated and full of ambition.

Now, with hope shattered, he felt dispirited and despondent.

It was as if even the sky had turned gray.

He felt as insignificant as a tiny blade of grass in a neglected corner of the flowerbed.

At that moment, his phone began to ring urgently.

He was startled, then noticed it was his own phone.

He pulled it out to check and saw an unknown number.

After a brief hesitation, he answered.

“Hello, who is this?”

His voice was slightly hoarse.

“Is this Zhou Can?”

A deep and authoritative voice of a middle-aged man resonated from the other end, brimming with dignity.

“Yes, who am I speaking to?” Zhou Can replied cautiously—these days, scams were everywhere, and he had learned to be wary of fraudulent calls.

Today had been unlucky enough; if a scammer managed to deceive him now, that would be the last straw.

“Hello, Dr. Zhou. This is Xin Wanshan, Head of the Medical Department at Tuyu Hospital.”

For an intern, the term ‘Medical Department’ sent chills down the spine.

Even an ordinary staffer holding that title commanded great authority.

Hearing that the call was from the Head himself meant he was dealing with someone at the pinnacle.

Zhou Can’s heart skipped a beat as he recalled the morning incident in the outpatient hall—could it be that the incident with the Elderly Woman falsely accusing him of being a medical scammer had escalated to the Medical Department?

The fact that it had drawn the attention of the Head of the Medical Department made him wonder if his lifetime of misfortune had finally peaked.

Whether it was a blessing or a curse, misfortune was unavoidable.

He took a deep breath and steadied his nerves, preparing to face whatever came next.

“Hello, Head Xin!”

Internally, he braced himself and quickly rehearsed an explanation for the morning’s events.

“A patient’s family called the Medical Department just moments ago, recounting how you, despite potentially arriving late for your residency exam, insisted on saving a life. They were so impressed by your heroism that they urged me to look into it.”

That a department head himself intervened indicated that the family had significant influence.

Zhou Can felt a sudden surge of relief as his bottled-up grievances found an outlet.

His nose began to sting with unshed tears.

It seemed there were still many kind people in the world.

A patient’s wife, upon learning of her husband’s critical condition, had immediately thought of clearing Zhou Can’s name so he wouldn’t suffer any more heartache.

Some people’s kindness is etched in their very bones.

He had saved Mr. Cui without expecting anything in return, and when Mr. Cui’s family promptly stepped up to clear his name, it filled him with warmth and comfort.

Zhou Can composed himself for a moment.

“Thank you, Head Xin, for your concern. I have already lost my residency exam qualification due to being late.”

With the Head of the Medical Department personally involved, not voicing his grievances would be foolish.

“Ah… where are you now?”

Head Xin clearly had the authority to handle this matter.

Hearing a trace of urgency in his voice, Zhou Can sensed that his situation might soon take an unexpected, positive turn.

“I’m sitting by the flowerbed next to the Teaching and Research Building.”

“Alright, I’ll come over immediately. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this today.”

“Once the misunderstanding is cleared, I won’t feel aggrieved.”

“Could you wait for me at the exam hall entrance? I’m wearing black suit pants, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a red tie. I should be there in about five minutes.”

“Sure!”

Zhou Can returned to the exam hall entrance.

A few security guards, seeing him return, advised, “Kid, we feel for you, but since Deputy Director Hu won’t let you in, there’s nothing we can do. You should leave so we don’t have to cause a scene.”

Zhou Can smiled broadly, “I won’t trouble you. The hospital leadership will be here shortly to handle this. I’ll just wait outside the exam hall.”

Hearing that the hospital leadership was coming, the guards no longer tried to push him out.

They exchanged knowing looks, sizing him up.

This kid clearly had connections.

Being late and still managing to summon hospital leaders to advocate on his behalf…

Before long, a stout man with a beer belly and an air of authority arrived with two colleagues.

Wearing black suit pants, a white shirt, and a red tie—he was indeed the Head, Xin Wanshan, from the phone.

Just as Zhou Can was about to greet him, Xin Wanshan approached briskly, a smile on his face.

“I presume you are Dr. Zhou Can?”

“Yes, Head Xin, nice to meet you!”

“Rest assured, the hospital will never let a hero like you suffer. We will proudly promote you as a symbol of the hospital. Come in with me.”

The security guards, well-aware of Head Xin’s authority, dared not stop him and instead wore expressions of servile admiration.

Yet they wondered silently: how did a guy who was late for his exam become someone the hospital would champion?

Could there be more to this story?

Deputy Director Hu, stationed at the exam hall, noticed that Zhou Can had managed to get inside.

Her face lit up with immediate anger.

“How do you keep showing up?”

But before she could finish speaking, she saw three others entering alongside Zhou Can.

“Head Xin!”

Deputy Director Hu quickly stood to greet them in a show of respect, as befits hospital leadership.

After all, these were all hospital executives.

When it came to hierarchy, the Human Resources Department managed the people, while the Medical Department oversaw the doctors and clinical work.

Her position as Deputy Head of Human Resources was clearly inferior to Head Xin’s.

“Deputy Director Hu, I’ve come to clear up a misunderstanding regarding this intern,”

Deputy Director Hu asked incredulously, “But wasn’t he late?”

She looked at him with puzzlement.

“It’s true he was late, but there were extenuating circumstances. He delayed because he was busy saving a patient…”

Xin Wanshan briefly summarized the events.

The usually stern Deputy Director Hu couldn’t help but be moved.

Her gaze toward Zhou Can shifted from cold disdain and irritation to admiration, respect, and even a tinge of remorse.

“Kid, you did something truly remarkable—why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Zhou Can was speechless.

After all, she had practically sentenced him to a death sentence that very moment. Had I ever had a chance to explain?

“I’m very sorry you suffered because of my oversight. Fortunately, everything is being cleared up in time to mitigate the damage. Leave the rest to me,”

Deputy Director Hu finished her sentence and phoned the Head of Human Resources to report the incident.

Before long, she received a call from her superior.

What began as a small issue had unexpectedly drawn in several top hospital leaders.

They had surely been discussing how to handle the matter.

A decision had now been reached.

Zhou Can’s only request was to have his exam eligibility reinstated.

“Come, come with me into the exam hall.”

Deputy Director Hu led Zhou Can into the exam hall.