Chapter 400: Promises and Responsibilities

“Darling, once I recover, will you marry me?”

She had always longed for a real home.

For most women, marriage and children are just part of life, but for her, it felt like a luxury. She and Zhou Can had been together for almost three years now, and she hoped they’d finally make it official.

In these three years, her career had soared.

Even now, after letting go of most of her work, she was still earning a very decent income.

Some of her classic songs were still going strong, and one of her recent releases had blown up again, keeping her popularity sky-high.

With her livestream sales on Douyin, she’d made a fortune.

Su Qianqian did one thing especially well.

No matter how rich she got, she never became materialistic—all she cared about was her music, living life simply.

“Getting desperate for marriage?”

Zhou Can teased her with a grin.

“You’re the one who’s desperate!” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Why don’t we just go to the civil affairs office tomorrow and make it official?” Zhou Can had been looking forward to marrying her for ages.

Both their careers were going well, and they basically had everything they needed.

Get married, have a couple of kids, and that’d be about as perfect as life could get.

“Hey, come on! Marriage isn’t some small thing—it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. Even if we keep it simple, we should at least have our families and elders together, a wedding, and a proper ceremony to welcome me.”

She pouted in protest.

“Who said getting the certificate means no wedding? I know you’re eager, but legally I’d be your husband and you’d be my wife once we sign. The wedding is a ritual, a tradition, and a way for all our friends and family to bless our love.”

Zhou Can looked at life in his own unique way.

He never just followed the crowd or cared about appearances.

“When the time comes, I want to give you an unforgettable wedding and bring you home in style.”

And he definitely had the means to pull it off.

“Ha, now that’s more like it! For a second there I thought you men just want to eat and run, never taking responsibility.” She broke into a hopeful smile.

Given the choice, every woman wants a grand wedding and a lifetime of happiness.

……

The next morning, Zhou Can couldn’t bring himself to wake his sleeping girlfriend. He left a note and drove off to work.

Once she woke up, she had Wei Fang accompany her to Tuyu Hospital for a check-up.

Almost everyone in the Nephrology Department knew Zhou Can, so with a quick word, Su Qianqian wouldn’t even have to wait in line.

After reaching the Emergency Department, Zhou Can started his usual morning rounds in the inpatient ward.

Even though Lin Ping and Jiang Shuangshuang, both full-fledged resident doctors, now managed the patients, Zhou Can never let his guard down. During his rounds, he always dealt with any hidden threats right away.

Lin Ping had more seniority than Zhou Can, but his skills were nowhere near the same level.

Many problems simply escaped Lin Ping’s notice.

Prescription adjustments, medication changes—Lin Ping just went by the book, never adapting to the situation.

Forget optimizing—he couldn’t even make flexible adjustments.

Honestly, doctors like Lin Ping, with just average talent, are best at the basic tasks. You can’t expect too much from them, but at least they’re reliable and steady.

Put him in charge of the ward, and you know he won’t slack off or play games behind the scenes.

You could trust him to carry out instructions to the letter.

As for the newcomer, Jiang Shuangshuang, Zhou Can didn’t know enough about her skills yet—they hadn’t worked together much.

He’d arrived early today. Since Jiang Shuangshuang was finishing a night shift and hadn’t handed over the cases yet, it gave Zhou Can a chance to check in on her.

“Morning, Dr. Zhou!”

She was recording a post-op patient’s urine output at the bedside. As she straightened up, she spotted Zhou Can walking in.

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She smiled and greeted Zhou Can.

Almost everyone in the Emergency Department knew that Zhou Can’s status was unusually high—even higher than most attending physicians.

The resident doctors were always eager whenever they saw him.

“Morning!”

Zhou Can nodded back.

He had now secured a formal hiring contract with the hospital, holding all three required certificates, officially making him a junior resident doctor.

He and Jiang Shuangshuang were now on the same level.

Technically, she’d already been working for over two years, and just needed to reach the three-year mark to automatically become a senior resident.

In terms of experience, she edged out Zhou Can just a little.

“How’s this patient’s temperature?”

Zhou Can skipped asking about urine output and went straight for temperature—he had his reasons.

Every surgery and condition is different, so the key indicators to watch change too.

“Just checked. It’s at 37.1°C—a low-grade fever.”

She paused for a second, then answered.

“Did you check the patient’s temperature every three hours overnight like I ordered?”

Zhou Can picked up the record sheet for a look.

A lot of people don’t get why doctors make nurses’ lives difficult—orders are a big part of it.

Especially for senior residents. Their orders carry weight, even with attending physicians, and nurses can’t always get other doctors to revise them easily. The doctor can refuse if he wants.

Take something simple: checking blood pressure and temperature every two hours at night, recording urine output every thirty minutes. One patient following those instructions could keep a night nurse up all shift.

If a nurse ignores those orders, the next morning, the doctor only needs to mention it to her supervisor, and she’s sure to get scolded.

If anything happens to the patient, things get much worse.

Accusations of negligence stick fast—at that point, even begging won’t help the nurse.

If there’s trouble, nearly every hospital will protect the doctors first, especially senior doctors, leaving nurses—and then trainees—out to dry.

It’s no different from other workplaces blaming everything on temps when things go wrong.

Reality really is that harsh.

But a word to the wise: many head nurses have strong backers. Don’t go causing trouble. The nurse you find annoying might just be the director’s lover—or even have his child.

Mess with her and it’s game over for you.

That’s why in some departments the head nurse can even boss the chief physician around.

With connections like that, what can you do?

Jiang Shuangshuang wasn’t a nurse, but as the attending doctor, there were things she had to handle personally. Patient monitoring for high-risk cases was one of them.

Doctors trained in clinical medicine always trump nurses when it comes to clinical judgment.

“I… dozed off for a bit in the on-call room. I didn’t record the 3:00 am temperature. But at midnight, I checked and it was about 37.8°C, still a low-grade fever, so I didn’t think it was risky.”

Her cheeks flushed as she admitted it.

She’d ignored Zhou Can’s orders, and that was on her.

Even though they were on the same level, orders from Zhou Can might as well be from a superior. Her job was to follow them.

Of course, if she caught an obvious mistake, she could and should report it up the chain.

“Night shifts are tough. I get it.”

Zhou Can took pity on her—after all, she was a young woman.

“Next time, if you need a short break, just ask a nurse to cover you.”

“I’m new here and not that familiar with the nurses yet. Didn’t have the nerve to ask. Last night at midnight, the patient’s temp was 37.8°C, but this morning it dropped to 37.1°. Looks like the fever’s breaking. Shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Just starting out, Jiang Shuangshuang was shy and hadn’t built a rapport with the nurses.

So she had to do everything herself for now.

If it were Zhou Can on the night shift, as long as his patients were stable, he could sleep soundly till morning. He’d ask the nurses to handle certain things, or just have them keep an eye out and call if something came up.

Afterward, he might bring them milk tea or snacks—next time, they’d happily help out again.

“Some patients spike fevers at night, but by morning, the temperature drops. That’s why I ordered checks every three hours. I reviewed the urine output earlier—it was normal. But—it was dark yellow, like strong tea, and foamy. That’s a warning sign. When you hand off to Dr. Lin, make sure to explain it and have him keep a close eye on the patient.”

When it came to clinical skills and experience, Jiang Shuangshuang was no match for Zhou Can.

She didn’t grasp the deeper risks, but he saw them clearly.

“Understood! I’ll pay more attention next time.”

She promised, sticking out her tongue, a little embarrassed.

She hadn’t realized a simple oversight could become a major issue.

Zhou Can checked on that patient himself, asked a few more questions, then continued his rounds.

……

The emergency inpatient ward was now up to six beds, and even the hallway was packed—eight extra beds, and still not enough.

Fourteen beds total, but the Emergency Department was doing forty or fifty surgeries a day.

Zhou Can’s own team alone handled twenty or thirty every day.

So it was a major struggle to rotate patients through so few beds.

They’d really need about thirty beds to properly meet the demand for surgical inpatients.

As for internal medicine patients, the Emergency Department just couldn’t cope—after a few attempts, they’d given up.

It just wasn’t worth the trouble.

The internal medicine cases were challenging, and the Emergency Department’s physicians had limited skills, low cure rates, and got more complaints.

Even though medications for internal medicine patients were pricey, actual treatment fees for those cases stayed low.

They’d love to take cases requiring expensive imported meds, but didn’t have the expertise.

Those patients were incredibly sick and complicated—even Deputy Director Han would end up overwhelmed, sweating but unable to come up with a solid plan.

If a patient actually died, it’d be a total disaster.

So Director Lou, Deputy Director Han, and others agreed to temporarily stop admitting internal medicine patients.

If someone came in with a critical condition, they’d be admitted to the emergency ICU as a stopgap until the right specialists could take over.

The Emergency Department was still just a transit hub.

It’s true—a good doctor can lift a whole department.

Since Zhou Can returned, the surgical performance shot up, and the department’s reputation actually improved. If that wasn’t thanks to him, what was?

“Dr. Zhou, wait up!”

After finishing his rounds, Zhou Can headed for the operating room, but Jiang Shuangshuang hurried to catch up.

“Is there something else?”

He gave her a curious look.

“The patient in extra bed six—I missed a temperature check last night. I’m sorry.”

She apologized earnestly.

This girl really was something—so honest and straightforward compared to those who’d been around the block.

The Emergency Department officially had just four beds—the rest were all extras.

That’s why it was called extra bed six.

“Don’t beat yourself up. What’s done is done. I’ve done night shifts myself and know how exhausting it is. Just be more careful next time. In front of the patient and family, I couldn’t say this, but that patient needs close watching—organ failure or myocarditis could appear. Post-op complications can be the scariest part.”

When he brought up the dangers, Zhou Can’s expression turned serious.

“Really? That serious? Good thing nothing happened or I’d have to change careers.”

She looked honestly rattled, her face tight with worry.

“Don’t lose sleep over it. As long as you spot potential risks early and deal with them, most patients make it through just fine. The idea is to stop complications before they ever start.”

Whether working or dealing with people, Zhou Can cared most about character.

Ability came second.

Jiang Shuangshuang’s words and actions left a great impression on Zhou Can—this honest young doctor deserved a shot.

A close relationship joined the inpatient ward and the operating room.

If the inpatient ward wasn’t well-managed, it didn’t matter how smooth the surgeries were.

With the right growth, someone like her could take on real responsibility.

That’s why Zhou Can was more than willing to give her time and space to learn.

He’d support her development however he could.

“Are you saying that patient’s temp could’ve spiked at three or four in the morning yesterday?”

She was still a little puzzled.

“Have you never managed an inpatient ward before?”

Instead of answering, Zhou Can asked right back.

“Of course! Every internal medicine doctor starts out as an attending. It’s all part of growing up.” She straightened her not-so-impressive chest with pride.

From their internships onward, clinical doctors always spent time as attending physicians.

At first, a senior doctor would always guide them.

“And you’ve done night shifts while in charge?”

Zhou Can pressed on.

“I have. Just not that many times.”

She nodded.

“Then next time, pay close attention to temperature changes at night. Some patients only get fevers after dark, and their temperature keeps rising. There are even cases where someone’s fine all day, but has a spike and convulsions at night. The doctor on call might miss it, and if the family’s sleeping, nobody notices until it’s too late. Sometimes, the patient doesn’t make it.”

Zhou Can shared a few stories he’d picked up from senior doctors.

Some of them were lessons the chief physicians had passed down to him.