Great Doctor Ling Ran

When they turned up at the Emergency Department, Ling Ran sent the two patients to the operating theater. He also declined the invitation of staying back to perform the surgery.

Abdominal surgery was still uncharted territory for him. Ling Ran might want to join it, but he was not in a good condition to do so. He had worked for an entire day, and after holding out his arms for many hours, it was now almost impossible to lift them up anymore.

Even if he had Energy Serum, he would not even be able to operate the retractor well if he stood by the operating table with his current condition.

After he took a shower in the Operating Area, Ling Ran got out of his bloodstained clothes. He gave them a thorough rinse, changed into his scrubs, and tightened his trousers around his waist. He put the wet clothes into a plastic bag, deciding to handle them back home.

The scrubs were a poor fit, because they were all made in a single size. After the surgeons retrieved the scrubs from the Operating Area, they would be thrown into a bucket for the care workers to take them away for cleaning and sterilizing. Those who were too fat, too thin, had a bust size too big, or had legs that were too long would find that these scrubs did not fit their bodies.

Ling Ran wore his white coat over his scrubs and held a plastic bag in his hand. He was ready to go home.

He was not going to his dorm. Chen Wanhao and Wang Zhuangyong had been pulling late night shifts recently, and even so, they continued chatting away in the dorm. He would not be able to rest if he went there.

Doctor Zhou similar plan. The two doctors wore white coats over their blue scrubs. They smiled at each other in the Emergency Department and shook their heads.

“I’m going to take a day off tomorrow,” Ling Ran spoke to Nurse Liu at the nurse’s desk.

This was most definitely not the normal procedure of things. Doctors had to follow a scheduled timetable, and even if they were scheduled to have a day off, junior doctors would still need to perform ward rounds and so on. Being able to rest for half a day was considered fortunate. If they had a stroke of bad luck, they might get caught and end up spending half a day performing surgeries.

However, Ling Ran was an intern. He would not be scheduled to be on shift, and he also only needed to take care of his own surgeries. Even his ward rounds were done by Lu Wenbin. He lived a free life, and it was a life that was even more comfortable than those of attending physicians.

The nurses who were usually non-negotiable took to Ling Ran kindly. They were willing to let him off easy, be it whether he wanted to use the operating theaters or whether he did not want to use them.

Nurse Liu did not make things difficult for Ling Ran. Right after she heard his words, she brought out the record book and said, “I have made a note. You can rest easy.”

“Right, is tomorrow’s surgery confirmed?” Ling Ran remembered the most important matter.

“No, not yet. I’ll just make sure to make no arrangements.”

“Wait. Let me think about it.” Ling Ran could not help but hesitate.

The patients who would “respawn” tomorrow would normally turn up at the hospital early in the morning.

If Ling Ran did not do it, they would either be sent to the Hand Surgery Department or to another hospital.

But if he chose to do it in the early hours of the morning, he was worried that his hands would not have recovered by then.

Microscopic surgery was very delicate work. Tired hands could easily lead to a mistake.

‘How about the afternoon?’

Ling Ran was tempted to do so. However, the patients who arrived in the morning would have to wait a little too long if they had to wait until afternoon to receive their surgery. They would most likely go to other hospitals. If that was the case, it was highly possible that all of them would have wasted their time coming here.

“People need rest.”

Doctor Zhou could not stand it anymore. He pulled Ling Ran aside and said to Nurse Liu, “Clear out Ling Ran’s surgery for tomorrow. We just treated a patient with severe abdominal injuries when we went out to eat. He was sent after Ling Ran stopped the bleeding with his bare hands for more than an hour. If he performs any surgery tomorrow, he will be crippled.”

All of the nurses at the nurse’s desk felt their emotions surge after they heard this, and everyone said,

“Doctor Ling, don’t push yourself so hard.”

“Other doctors start complaining after performing twenty surgeries a month. Doctor Ling, you’ve already done enough.”

“That’s right. Doctor Ling, please take a break.”

“Doctor Ling is too hardworking.”

A group of nurses surrounded Ling Ran and showed him great concern.

Ling Ran was indeed exhausted, both in body and in mind.

And so, Ling Ran said, “I’ll have a good sleep and take a day off tomorrow.”

“That’s the spirit.”

“Have a good rest, Doctor Ling.”

“Goodbye, Doctor Ling.”

The nurses felt happy, as if they had just won over something.

Back at the nurse’s desk, Nurse Liu took out the shift schedule. At the same time she made a note, she said, “Doctor Ling, you’re still on shift the day after tomorrow, but you should rest as much as possible.”

“I’m here!” Su Mengxue had purposely ran out of the operating theater to send Ling Ran off. She instantly raised her hand. “I prepared Roman chamomile and orange essential oil, it’s good for sleeping.”

“There won’t be anymore problems, then. Su Mengxue, you can also make two more cups of coffee for the doctors on duty,” Nurse Liu replied sternly.

Su Mengxue nodded vigorously and said, “The head nurse taught me how to make coffee with double the caffeine.”

“Three times the concentration works, too. Oh, don’t make any espresso, it is bothersome and expensive. Use instant coffee, put four packets of them in a cup. I don’t believe they would still fall asleep after that. Once they work past three or four o’clock in the morning, they won’t be thinking about sleeping either,” said Nurse Liu before she smiled at the few nursing interns who came to watch the commotion. “Remember this, you have to take a test for this in the future.”

The nursing interns nodded.

“Don’t forget coffee for the second-string doctors. Put three times the amount of tea leaves for those who drink tea. Don’t let them sleep too early, or they’ll never wake up. But if they can’t sleep, it’s none of our business.” Nurse Liu uttered another secret, causing the nurses to laugh cheekily.

Ling Ran and Doctor Zhou left the Emergency Department, which was still bright and filled with people.

In the night, Yun Hua City was pitch-black and cold.

Doctor Zhou wrapped his arms around his chest and tugged his white coat tighter around himself. He said, “I remember that the both of us are on shift the day after tomorrow. If we’re lucky, we should be able to sleep. If we’re not, we can still go through one night without sleep. If you can’t handle, just apply for leave. Your shift duties were given to you by Department Director Huo, after all. The other interns are not even on shift duty.”

“It’s okay, I don’t think that being on shift is tiring.”

“Young people are sure able to stay up late.” Doctor Zhou laughed and looked down at his phone before he said, “My car is here. We’ll part ways here. I will go home first.”

Doctor Zhou then stood on the side of the road, right in front of the car, allowing the headlights of the car to shine on him, and waved at it.

A shiny Mercedes-Benz S-Class stopped in front of Doctor Zhou.

“Auntie Miao?” Doctor Zhou saw an old lady on the passenger seat. She was the kind car owner who sent them over earlier. He could not help but ask, “What happen to the big G-Class?”

The old lady opened the door and got out of the car before she asked gently, “I sent it for a wash. Doctor Zhou, is Doctor Ling done with his work? Is he going home?”

The shy girl who sat in the driver’s seat waved, but she was too embarrassed to get out of the car.

“I was getting ready to go back.” Ling Ran walked a couple of steps towards the roadside to make it easier to speak.

Auntie Miao smiled and said, “It’s not quite convenient to call for a ride now. Why don’t we send you back?”

“I already called for a car.”

The old lady smiled and said, “You can cancel it. Isn’t it much more convenient for us to send you? What now? Are you afraid that we will pull you to a remote area, torture you, and ask for the car washing fees?”

When he remembered that they were the ones who offered their car and indirectly saved two lives, Ling Ran said, “Alright then. Sorry for troubling you.”

“You’re welcome. You can have the front passenger seat. Young’uns should mingle more often.”

Auntie Miao took the initiative to open the front door and ushered Ling Ran into the seat.

Doctor Zhou hesitated. He was uncertain as to whether he should go around the other side and get into the car.

Auntie Miao coughed and said, “Doctor Zhou, we might not pass through your place.”

“Oh.” Doctor Zhou stopped moving, embarrassed. “Um, about the car washing fees we promised… Once you are done cleaning the car, just give me a number. No matter what, I am an attending physician…”

“Nevermind. I’ve asked Lan Lan to add Doctor Ling on WeChat. We’ll just let the young’uns settle the issue later.”

Auntie Miao waved and went to the back seat. She then looked ahead with a satisfied expression.

The black car disappeared into the night.

Doctor Zhou waited calmly at the side of the road. Something occurred to him. ‘The old aunt did not even ask where my house was. How did she know that she might not pass by where I live?’