Chapter 594: An Unexpected Trust in the Conference Room

Zhou Can sat below, listening as Dr. Tang Fei ran through five possible diseases. Almost instinctively, he ruled out most of them in his mind.

“Let’s talk about typhoid fever. First, typhoid is self-limiting—the course rarely lasts over a month, with lower digestive tract bleeding usually showing up around two weeks in. Ai Xi’s Widal and Weil-Felix reactions were negative, and blood and stool cultures didn’t reveal any pathogens. Plus, she doesn’t have the classic symptoms of typhoid. We can pretty much rule that out too.”

Dr. Tang Fei’s expertise was outstanding. She knew intestinal diseases inside and out.

She could clearly explain the reason for ruling out each one.

“Three diseases remain, and these are harder to eliminate. Dr. Zhou Can is a top talent in our Pediatrics Department and was a key trainee in both Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Surgery. He has a knack for diagnosing difficult cases. Zhou Can, could you take over the analysis and help us figure out Lin Ai Xi’s condition?”

After excluding two diseases, Dr. Tang Fei shocked everyone by handing things over to Zhou Can.

She was openly elevating Zhou Can’s standing.

At the same time, she was helping Zhou Can recover from the earlier slight.

It was an act of kindness—plain and simple.

Earlier, Lin Jinzhi thought Zhou Can was too young and asked him to limit his questions in front of everyone, saving time for the senior experts. Dr. Tang Fei had felt that was unfair. While the other experts brushed it off, she remembered it clearly.

Because Lin Jinzhi’s status was so high, she couldn’t directly call him out the way you might with an ordinary family member.

So she chose to bolster Zhou Can’s authority at this important moment.

“Thank you for your trust.”

Zhou Can kept quiet, but deep down he was full of gratitude for Dr. Tang Fei.

He could clearly see her goodwill.

Thanks to her support, working in Pediatrics had always felt like charging ahead with the courage of a general, earning countless merits.

Lin Jinzhi looked at Zhou Can in surprise.

He then turned to Dr. Tang Fei.

“So he’s Dr. Zhou Can!”

Looks like he’d heard the name before.

“That’s right, that’s Zhou Can. He looks young, but his medical skills are outstanding.”

Dr. Tang Fei nodded seriously.

“When we transferred to Tuyu Hospital, even Professor Wei Zhengru mentioned Dr. Zhou. Earlier, I didn’t recognize greatness right before me, so please forgive my rudeness!” Lin Jinzhi was clearly a seasoned boss.

He immediately grasped Dr. Tang Fei’s hidden message.

Bosses like him could put aside pride when it mattered.

He apologized to Zhou Can on the spot.

“That’s very kind of you, Director Lin.”

Zhou Can just waved it off, unconcerned.

As he kept improving, he cared less and less for empty praise.

There was a time when criticism or gossip would bother him. Now, he really just let things slide.

“Professor Wei thinks highly of you. He told me that after transferring my daughter to Tuyu, I should see how things go, and if there weren’t big breakthroughs in the diagnosis, I could reach out to you for help. He even gave me your phone number. Turns out I don’t need to—you’re already here. I just didn’t expect you to be so young.”

Lin Jinzhi lifted his phone, showing Zhou Can that he had his number saved.

“Professor Wei is too generous. I’m just a resident at Tuyu Hospital.”

Zhou Can couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

To be honest, he never understood why these professors and chiefs thought so highly of him. They either wanted to take him as a protégé or treat him as an equal—or sometimes even claimed his skills surpassed theirs.

That left Zhou Can feeling helpless sometimes.

The truth was, he just didn’t realize how exceptional he was. Very few doctors could reach chief-level in so many areas.

Plus, Zhou Can was different—he pursued a generalist path.

Most doctors specialized, maybe dabbling in two fields at most.

When he first entered his training, he was afraid of overreaching. He figured it was better to specialize rather than be mediocre at everything.

But then he found out the medical fields were tightly connected. Mastering only one or two resulted in gaps and limitations.

Even with that realization, he never set out to become a true generalist.

Dr. Xu, Director Hu Kan, Director Tan, and others had all advised him to pick one or two specialties and focus most of his energy there.

But by the end of his training, he was already excelling in multiple areas.

Several years as a resident gave him even more clinical experience and knowledge. He could only sigh—he was becoming a true generalist.

When his Pathology Diagnosis skill hit level six, he really noticed it.

After Pharmacological Reasoning reached level six too, it was like a new chief physician of general aspects had emerged. Sure, he still had a few weaknesses, but even those were shrinking.

For example, he used to struggle with orthopedics—joints and complex cases were tough.

Now, as a postgraduate, he’s focusing on orthopedic training to close that last gap.

He also wasn’t initially outstanding in Pediatrics.

Even though he’d built a bit of a name there, it mostly came from strong diagnostic and emergency skills.

But after several years in Pediatrics, handling all sorts of tough cases, challenging surgeries and emergencies gave him new depth and major breakthroughs.

Before he knew it, his skills in Pediatrics were on par with the department’s chief physicians.

Take Dr. Zhuang Sheng—an expert in Neonatology.

Now, Zhou Can was skilled in Neonatology too.

Or Director Yan, a specialist in pediatric respiratory disorders. Zhou Can could handle that as well.

In short, Zhou Can was like a collection of N pediatric chiefs all rolled into one.

And that’s just Pediatrics—he was also top-notch in Cardiothoracic Surgery, the Emergency Department, and more. That’s why every professor and expert who met him came away impressed.

“Before transferring my daughter to Tuyu, I’d already heard about Dr. Zhou’s reputation. Over a year ago, colleagues told me the province had a crop of talented new doctors, and your name at Tuyu came up again and again. But from what I heard, you were especially strong in Emergency and Cardiothoracic Surgery.”

Lin Jinzhi was well-connected in the healthcare world; he stayed up to date with every talented doctor.

He knew more about top talent than most people could imagine.

He basically had a whole roster of the best doctors in the province.

Of course he couldn’t remember every single name and specialty.

More likely he’d flip through the list when someone was needed.

For Zhou Can to be mentioned by supervisors and included among the elite—especially at his age—was an honor.

“Dr. Zhou is extremely low-key. He’s great at much more than emergencies and Cardiothoracic Surgery; he’s spent years working in Pediatrics too. Director Lin, you probably don’t know how in-demand Dr. Zhou’s consultation slots are. Whenever a new slot opens, it’s always gone in ten seconds. Most days he has to take on extra cases just to keep up. For instance, today alone he’s added dozens of patients. Not long ago, he even saved a critically ill child who’d been transferred from another hospital!”

Dr. Tang Fei introduced him with a warm smile.

She made sure this hero of the Pediatrics Department never suffered injustice.

She never hesitated to honor him with recognition, bonuses, and opportunities.

“So Dr. Zhou is that remarkable? No wonder Professor Wei so strongly recommended you.” Lin Jinzhi glanced at Zhou Can, his gaze completely changed.

It was full of respect and hope.

“I’m really not that amazing, everyone gives me too much credit. Let’s focus and get back to examining the patient!”

After so much praise, Zhou Can was a bit embarrassed.

The other experts in the room had their own quiet agendas.

With Lin Jinzhi’s esteemed status, plenty of experts were looking to curry favor.

Earlier, after Zhou Can’s first few questions earned him a cold shoulder from Lin Jinzhi, several experts quickly jumped in to ask their own. They were just hoping to steal some credit.

Now that Dr. Tang Fei had singled him out, their efforts looked pointless.

At least Lin Jinzhi would certainly remember Zhou Can now.

“The group just identified five possible illnesses for Lin Yu Xi. Dr. Tang has already ruled out two—I can rule out the last three: Crohn’s disease, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma can all be eliminated.”

The moment Zhou Can spoke, jaws dropped all around.

Lin Jinzhi was especially stunned.

He couldn’t believe Zhou Can had dismissed the remaining three at once.

Experts had spent ages narrowing things down to these five, only for him to shoot down the rest.

It even sounded a bit reckless and arrogant from someone so young.

“Dr. Zhou, if you rule out those three, what do you think it is?”

An older specialist asked, clearly displeased.

“Crohn’s usually has a long course—at least six months—and starts off aggressively, not with repeated attacks. Its problem stays inside the intestines. So that’s an easy one to exclude.”

Zhou Can calmly explained why he ruled out all three.

“Multiple myeloma is out, too. The bone marrow biopsy didn’t reveal malignant cells—just unexplained fever. That’s not enough to make the diagnosis.”

“Lymphoma sounds plausible, but from my experience, it’s rare to feel such a large cord-like mass at the ileocecal region. Plus, the mass didn’t feel tumor-like at all, and the symptoms and signs just don’t fit lymphoma. So that’s out as well.”

With his reasoning laid out, Zhou Can looked around the room.

Finally, his gaze landed on Lin Jinzhi.

“I believe the most likely diagnosis is malignant histiocytosis of the intestine—it’s extremely dangerous.”

As soon as he finished, that same elderly expert immediately shot back, “You rarely see a mass in the abdomen with malignant histiocytosis.”

Everyone here was highly skilled and experienced.

They all had a deep grasp of both common and rare illnesses.

“That’s true—abdominal masses are rare in this disease. But given the child’s range of symptoms and how fast things are progressing, it fits malignant histiocytosis very closely. Even if the experts at the Provincial Children’s Hospital already ruled it out, I’m still highly suspicious.”

Zhou Can’s unique insight into tricky cases showed again.

“Director Tang, I think it’s better if you lead the discussion of the diagnosis. Dr. Zhou has that youthful daring—but he’s too impulsive and approaches things from odd angles, a bit stubborn even. This child is Director Lin’s pride and joy. We should be cautious and not take too many risks.”

The old specialist, like Director Yan, was a senior pediatrician called back from retirement.

Whenever a case involved both her and Zhou Can, she always seemed eager to challenge him.

It was true, some people got crankier with age, and Zhou Can didn’t bother arguing anymore.

Right now, it was clear the elderly woman had an ax to grind with Zhou Can.

Her dislike might as well have been written on her face.

“Director Qu, haven’t you heard the saying—it takes strong medicine for a severe illness? No matter what, I think we should listen to Dr. Zhou’s explanation. His track record in case discussions is nearly flawless.”

Dr. Tang Fei stood firmly by Zhou Can.

But she still gave these veteran experts their due respect.

Otherwise, their childish outbursts would be a huge hassle.

“Is he really that accurate? The last time I consulted with him—it was that little boy with a brain tumor—didn’t he misdiagnose it? He insisted it was a cardiovascular issue, while I said it was a brain tumor. Later, the surgery proved I was right!”

Director Qu didn’t try to hide her annoyance.

She even brought up Zhou Can’s past mistakes.

“Oh, that boy… Don’t get me started.”

Dr. Zhuang could only shake his head and sigh.

“I’m not bringing it up to blame anyone. I just want to remind folks not to put Dr. Zhou on a pedestal. Otherwise, the praise could be dangerous. This is about Director Lin’s daughter’s life—we have to be careful.”

Director Qu’s words were righteous and firm.

No one knew why she was trying so hard to win over Director Lin.

Adults almost always have a motive for what they do.

She definitely had hers.

“Director Qu, I didn’t want to reopen this, but it should be said. Later, it was confirmed the boy’s brain tumor was benign and didn’t harm him. Even after it was removed, his symptoms continued. We transferred him to Cardiothoracic Surgery, where Dr. Zhou and Director Xueyan operated and cured him. We were just worried you wouldn’t take the news well due to age, so we never told you the whole story.”

Dr. Zhuang spoke with resignation.

Director Qu’s face froze, and the atmosphere in the conference room grew painfully awkward.

Everyone held back laughter.

No one wanted to embarrass the old lady—if she really did have a medical emergency right there, things would get messy.