Chapter 655: Awakening and New Beginnings at Tuyu Hospital

As the music played and reached its climax, Mr. Song’s brainwaves spiked to an all-time high, surging with activity.

“He’s crying!”

A nurse exclaimed from the sidelines.

Zhou Can glanced at Mr. Song. Sure enough, tears trickled down both corners of his eyes.

“He’s about to wake up.”

Zhou Can and Director Liu spoke almost in perfect sync.

Once Mr. Song’s brainwave activity leveled into a steady, heightened state, Zhou Can decisively shut off the music.

Just as he had predicted, the patient’s brainwave peaks dropped slightly, but compared to before, everything was different now. Mr. Song’s mind was awake.

Over five months had passed since Zhou Can performed the surgery.

He’d always believed in his own skill, but brainstem surgery—especially one this extensive—was still riddled with uncertainty.

No matter how confident he’d been, he couldn’t shake off the doubt about whether the patient would ever wake up.

Brain surgery remains one of the most complex and unpredictable fields.

Cases like Mr. Song’s aren’t as simple as a successful operation guaranteeing a patient’s recovery.

Before surgery, Zhou Can had discussed everything with the family. Doctor, patient, and loved ones all needed confidence and cooperation to work a medical miracle.

After surgery, when Mr. Song slipped into a vegetative state, the Song family was already growing restless.

Half a month post-op, when he still hadn’t woken up, their dissatisfaction became obvious.

Yet bound by the pre-surgery agreement, they held back from causing trouble for Zhou Can.

As for Director Gao’s attempt to suspend Zhou Can, that was just him trying to curry favor with the Song family for his own gain.

Now that Mr. Song was waking up, Zhou Can felt a mix of relief, pride, and lingering unease.

When a patient shows no sign of improvement, you dream of a miracle.

But the moment it happens, peace settles in—like it’s just the natural order of things. Even so, the weight lifts from your heart, as if shedding a burden you’ve carried forever.

“His finger moved!”

Sure enough, Mr. Song’s left middle finger gave the faintest twitch.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats, nerves tight with excitement, waiting to witness another medical milestone.

Without warning, after days of silence, Mr. Song simply opened his eyes. He closed them again almost immediately.

You could tell, even opening his eyelids felt as heavy as lifting a mountain.

“Mr. Song, I’m Dr. Zhou Can. Try to wake up for me.”

Zhou Can stood by his side, calling softly.

The muscles in Mr. Song’s eyelids trembled again before he managed to open his eyes, though his gaze was unfocused and empty.

“He’s awake! He’s finally awake!”

Someone whispered, unable to contain the joy and exhilaration bubbling inside.

Sometimes, the medical staff want to see a patient recover even more than the family does.

Every patient who enters the ICU—doctors and nurses all hope deep down they’ll walk out safe and sound.

But there are times when, no matter how hard you try, lives slip away. Some families, crushed by medical bills or despair, choose to give up.

It’s the most heart-wrenching thing when a family asks for the tubes to be pulled, but sometimes there’s simply no other choice.

“Uh…ah…”

Mr. Song struggled to make a garbled sound.

“Don’t worry, you’ve just woken up. We’ll do a new assessment and make a rehab plan. Once we can remove the tube and you’re able to breathe on your own, you’ll be able to talk, eat, and breathe normally again.”

For Mr. Song, these three simple things—speaking, eating, and breathing—had become distant dreams.

The next step was for Zhou Can and his team to perform a thorough assessment and craft a new rehab plan for Mr. Song.

Early the next morning, before the Song family arrived, Director Gao appeared in the ICU for the first time in months, entourage in tow, all fired up.

He wasted no time barking out orders and making grand gestures.

He was shameless in his pursuit of taking all the credit.

When Mr. Song was comatose, Gao had washed his hands of it all. Now that things looked promising, he swooped in, eager for a slice of the glory. Some people really can set new standards for shamelessness.

Director Liu and Zhou Can exchanged glances, their contempt for Gao written all over their faces, though there was nothing they could do about him.

When someone outranks you, their word becomes law.

…

In the blink of an eye, another three months slipped by. Under the meticulous care of Zhou Can, Jiang Wei, and Director Liu, Mr. Song was finally off the respirator and breathing on his own.

He could talk again, eat by himself.

Both hands could manage light movement.

But his lower body was still paralyzed.

With help from the staff, his speech had fully recovered—he could communicate normally.

Though still severely disabled, the Song family was more than content.

One day, while Zhou Can was working in the ER, the head of the Song family arrived in person.

He even asked to see Zhou Can specifically.

Since Zhou Can was in surgery at the time, the family head had to wait.

That wait dragged out for nearly half an hour.

When Zhou Can finally left the OR and hurried to the deputy director’s office, Director Gao was already there, fussing over the Song family head.

Once again, Gao was jumping at the chance to flatter and claim credit, a display everyone found despicable.

The moment Zhou Can stepped through the door, before he could speak, Director Gao’s face soured and he barked, “Zhou Can, what are you playing at? The bosses have been waiting for you for over half an hour! Apologize to them right now.”

Zhou Can barely spared him a dismissive glance.

Then he turned to the head of the Song family.

“Sorry for the wait, I was in the middle of a crucial surgery. Are you here to take your brother home today?”

“Yes.”

The Song family head looked at him, stern but with a trace of kindness.

“Did you not hear me, Zhou Can? I said apologize to the bosses! Quit acting so high and mighty in front of me!”

Truth be told, Director Gao had been holding a grudge against Zhou Can for ages.

But with Zhou Can’s influence in the hospital, Gao could never really do anything about it.

Now, trying to force an apology in front of the family head and watching Zhou Can ignore him completely—that was enough to ignite all the anger Gao had been bottling up.

“Director Gao, is this really how you treat your doctors? The last two directors were much more reasonable. Go on, you’re dismissed. I’d like to speak privately with Dr. Zhou.”

The Song family head met Gao’s gaze coldly.

His words nearly scared the life out of Gao, leaving him feeling frozen to the core.

Gao couldn’t figure out what he’d said to offend the Song family head.

After all, scolding Zhou Can was supposed to score him brownie points here!

“Of course—please, go ahead. I promise to do better from now on.”

Director Gao might have ranked high, but in front of someone like the Song family head, he had no fight in him at all.

He offered no excuses, didn’t dare say another word, humbled himself and promised to change.

Everyone watched Director Gao shuffle out of the room, tail between his legs.

He bowed low and closed the door gently, more like a servant from ancient times than a modern administrator.

Some people really do fit the role of a lackey down to their bones.

It’s just how they’re wired—always bowing to those above and stepping on those below.

“How does Director Gao normally behave at the hospital?” The Song family head usually wouldn’t care about hospital politics.

But maybe out of thanks for Zhou Can saving his brother’s life, and seeing Gao’s arrogant attitude, he decided to ask.

“Overbearing and bullying. He has none of Director Zhu’s compassion or vision. To be honest, the whole hospital is on edge because of him—frustrated but afraid to speak up.”

Zhou Can sensed this was his chance to take Gao down.

He offered a calm, honest account of Gao’s conduct.

If Gao heard him talk like this in front of the Song family head, he’d probably strangle Zhou Can on the spot.

“Good!”

The Song family head nodded simply, acknowledging every word.

“I came today to thank you in person. If you hadn’t taken such a huge risk for my brother’s surgery, he’d still be caught in that living-dead state. I’ve already visited him—after years, we finally had a normal conversation again. In that moment, it felt as if time had turned back. None of this would’ve happened without your and the team’s dedication.

Especially you. You gave so much.”

“Through you, I’ve truly seen what it means to be a compassionate doctor. Thank you.”

The Song family head expressed his heartfelt gratitude.

It was written all over his face.

“Really, I only did what any good doctor should.”

Zhou Can stayed humble, never angling for recognition.

“Of all the doctors, only you were willing to take such a risk, and I know that well. If you ever need my help, you can call me anytime.”

With a gesture, the family head signaled to the butler, who handed Zhou Can a sleek, black business card.

It had nothing but a name and a phone number.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Zhou Can accepted it with both hands. To be given the Song family head’s private number was no small honor.

People of his standing rarely hand out their contact info.

Especially not to those below them on the social ladder.

Give out your number, and you open the door to all sorts of trouble.

Just look at how an official is hounded by relatives and acquaintances whenever they gain a little power.

“If I may—there’s nothing I need personally. But I’d like to ask for grace on behalf of my mentor, Dr. Xu Chen. Years ago, in order to save your brother, he made a risky call, but his intentions were good. If he hadn’t removed that malignant tumor, I never would’ve had the chance to operate on him later. The two-year survival rate for malignant brain tumors is less than one percent.”

Zhou Can looked the Song family head straight in the eye.

Most patients with malignant brain tumors only make it a few months—sometimes even less.

Zhou Can’s intent was crystal clear.

He was using the good deed to clear Dr. Xu’s name.

The Song family head went quiet for a couple of seconds, then sighed softly.

“Perhaps I did overreact back then. Now that my brother is awake, that’s all that matters to me. What’s done is done. I’ll have Secretary Liu call right away—Dr. Xu’s punishment should be lifted within a week.”

Faced with Zhou Can’s request, and knowing Dr. Xu had been atoning for years,

The Song family head felt genuine closure.

The key was simply seeing his brother awake and steadily improving.

“Thank you, truly. One more thing—once your brother goes home, is it alright if my team and I continue developing his rehab and nutritional plans? I feel like he can still make more progress.”

Having fought so hard and staked his own future to clear his mentor’s name, Zhou Can’s heart soared with relief.

He knew Dr. Xu would be even more thrilled when he got the news.

However, Zhou Can didn’t plan on telling Dr. Xu himself—he’d let the official notice deliver the surprise.

“My brother can recover even further? That’s fantastic! I trust your skills, Dr. Zhou. I’ll tell the family doctor and nurses to follow your plan completely.”

When he heard his brother could get even better, the usually stoic Song family head broke into a rare smile, a flicker of hope lighting his face.

Their meeting wrapped up quickly.

The Song family head hurried off to his car and left.

He was a busy man—coming to the hospital at all was no small feat.

The very next day after the Song family head’s visit, several key oversight departments showed up at Tuyu Hospital.

They didn’t ask for meetings—they directly sent in a work team.

Every manager and department leader was summoned to the conference room.

Rumors swirled—what big shake-up was coming next?

Director Gao sat at the head table, acting as self-important as ever before subordinates, but nervously deferential toward the higher-ups.

He clearly had no clue that disaster was about to strike.

Watching it unfold, Zhou Can marveled at the hidden power wielded by these influential figures.

One word from him, and so many departments moved in to investigate Director Gao.

“Welcome to the leadership teams from our higher authorities, who are here at Tuyu Hospital for a week’s safety and integrity campaign.”

Director Gao finished, leading the applause.

Everyone followed, clapping along.

A senior official pressed his hands for quiet, leveled the microphone, and swept his stern gaze across the room.

“We’ve received credible tips—someone has reported Director Gao for ruling Tuyu Hospital with an iron fist and suspected violations. Preliminary investigations show that during his tenure, he suppressed senior staff, promoted unqualified favorites, and took bribes for procurements and construction projects, using sneaky and sophisticated methods…”

No one expected it. Right out of the gate, they swung the executioner’s blade at Director Gao.

Normally, someone at Gao’s level, even if guilty, would only be taken in for investigation.

But here, in front of everyone, his crimes were read aloud for all to hear.

That meant he’d lost all hope of making a comeback.

By the end, nearly thirty hospital leaders were led away.

Of Director Gao’s five hospital assistants, only Hospital Assistant Qin escaped.

The other four were all swept up in the investigation.

It was nothing short of a bloodbath.

Even the new Administration Office head and Deputy Chief of the Medical Department, Ying, were taken away too.

As disciplinary investigators escorted Ying off, she could barely stand.

Zhou Can alone remained completely calm.

He’d seen it all coming.

“With Director Gao suspended from all positions, Tuyu Hospital needs a leader with vision and integrity. After our review and discussion, we believe Vice-Director Zhou Can can shoulder this responsibility as acting director. All in favor, raise your hands.”

The visiting officials moved fast—no holding back.

They nominated Zhou Can on the spot to become acting director.

That’s standard procedure.

Acting director is a probationary role, lasting about a year. If all goes well, you become the official director.

When the vote came, over eighty percent supported Zhou Can.

Such strong backing put a real smile on the higher-ups’ faces.

“Seems like making Zhou Can acting director is what everyone wants. Dr. Zhou, apologies for not consulting or prepping you first—we couldn’t risk leaks, given so many leaders at Tuyu were involved.”

Normally, you’d be vetted or interviewed before stepping up.

“No offense taken. I’m honored to serve Tuyu Hospital. But with my clinical workload, and my heart in surgery, I’m not suited for management. I’d like to nominate someone else for this post.”

Zhou Can declined the acting director role.

The leadership was caught off guard.

Most thought he was out of his mind. This was the prized director seat everyone scrambled for, and with it handed to him, he turned it down?

But everyone has their own path.

He disliked being confined, loving clinical medicine more than administration.

“Oh? Who would you recommend for acting director, Dr. Zhou?”

All eyes turned to him, expectant.

Hospital leaders close to Zhou Can were especially eager.

“I’d recommend Hospital Assistant Qin. After many in-depth talks, I’ve found him both full of positive energy and with a far-sighted vision for Tuyu’s growth. He’s studied top hospitals overseas and brings experience and new ideas. That’s why I strongly endorse him.”

No one expected Zhou Can’s pick to be Qin, the least favored assistant.

Now everyone was stunned.

Qin’s eyes nearly popped out.

“I—I…”

He wanted to demur, but deep down, he craved the director’s seat—now he could realize his ambitions.

“Director Qin, this isn’t the time to be humble. All those big dreams you shared over drinks—everyone’s counting on you to lead us forward.”

Zhou Can winked at him with a smile.

Qin met Zhou Can’s eyes, too moved for words. His eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

“Alright! Thank you, brother. Thank you for trusting me and giving me this chance.”

He accepted, not bothering to hide his excitement anymore.

After all, he was never planning to say no.

…

When the votes were counted, Hospital Assistant Qin barely scraped up sixty percent. That was thanks to Zhou Can’s strong endorsement.

But he finally made it to the acting director’s seat.

Right then and there, Zhou Can also cleared Director Lou’s name. The scandal was always about pacifying the Song family for Mr. Song’s accident.

Now that Mr. Song was not only awake but thriving, the Song family’s anger was gone, replaced by deep gratitude toward Zhou Can.

Director Lou’s disciplinary action was promptly dismissed.

A week later, Director Lou returned to his position as ER chief.

Meanwhile, Zhou Can was promoted to Tuyu Hospital’s first-ever Inspector General, with considerable authority.

During major events, he could exercise supervisory powers even above the director, bringing in outside authorities or calling hospital-wide meetings.

It was like being an imperial inspector in ancient times.

This was a good thing—Tuyu Hospital needed someone like Zhou Can, loyal and upright, to watch over it.

That same day, Dr. Xu finally welcomed a turn for the better.

He received an official notice that all punishments against him had been reversed.

After ten years, the news brought tears to Dr. Xu’s eyes. He knew it was all thanks to his disciple, Zhou Can.

“Back then I took him as my student because he seemed bright and pitiful. Who would’ve thought that was my luckiest and wisest move? For my sake, he went all-in against fate…”

Colleagues rushed over to congratulate him.

Hearing the long-lost title of ‘Director Xu’ touch his ears again, Dr. Xu was overwhelmed.

A month later, with Zhou Can at the helm, the elite forces of Tuyu joined together to form the ‘Virtuous Doctors’ Hall.’ Experts from every department tackled challenging cases and impossible surgeries as a team.

The Virtuous Doctors’ Hall quickly became the hospital’s highest honor, surpassing even the famed Wall of Renowned Doctors.

Getting in was an honor—doctors and nurses had to be not only top experts, but also truly compassionate. Only those approved by Director Zhou could join.

In no time, the group solved numerous cases stumping the nation’s finest. They even reversed a patient’s ‘death sentence’ from the Imperial Capital Renhe Hospital, with Zhou Can leading a team through a sixteen-hour surgery.

As Virtuous Doctors’ Hall gained fame, patients from all over China flocked for help.

A whole new Tuyu was starting to rise.

Tuyu Hospital shot from seventeenth place nationally into the top three in several fields.

With every miracle, their rating soared. Sooner or later, they’d be the undisputed number one.

…

Four years later, Virtuous Doctors’ Hall had grown into a household name.

If you had a tough case no one else could treat, everyone said to try Tuyu’s Virtuous Doctors’ Hall.

That day, the Hall welcomed one of the world’s top nurses: Qiao Yu.

Hospitals everywhere offered her staggering salaries, but she turned them all down, choosing Tuyu’s Hall and its humble base pay of 300,000.

On Qiao Yu’s first day back, Director Zhou himself met her at the door, and together they completed a nearly impossible neurosurgery side by side.

After the operation, Director Zhou praised their teamwork in front of everyone: “That was the best collaboration I’ve ever experienced!”