Rebirth of a Doctor Without Regrets

Wang Xiao had just finished a cosmetic suturing surgery involving multiple wounds. The patient had suffered minor injuries in a car accident, with lacerations of varying degrees on the face, abdomen, and legs. It took Wang Xiao a full hour to complete the suturing.

Cosmetic suturing and regular suturing require completely different levels of energy; an hour of intense concentration can be extremely tiring.

Wang Xiao rubbed his aching temples, intending to go to the doctor's office to find some instant coffee to relieve his fatigue.

Xue Jia promptly served a steaming cup of coffee.

"Thank you." Wang Xiao took the coffee. "It's a habit I just started recently, and you've already noticed it."

"That's the duty of an instrument nurse. But Dr. Wang, you should also take care to rest more; it's not good to overwork yourself." Xue Jia smiled sweetly at Wang Xiao's praise.

Knock knock knock! A female doctor who looked to be in her early thirties knocked on the door. She had fair skin, black-rimmed glasses perched on her high nose, and the cuffs of her white coat were neatly rolled up to the middle of her forearms, revealing her clean-lined wrists.

"Who are you?" Wang Xiao felt that she looked familiar, but he couldn't remember her name.

"It's Deputy Director Zhu Chunhua," Xue Jia whispered to Wang Xiao, then welcomed Zhu Chunhua in, "Deputy Director Zhu, please come in and have a seat."

Wang Xiao had only seen Zhu Chunhua once before, during Zhong Lao's surgery. At that time, everyone was fully armed and their faces were not visible.

She now appears to be a sophisticated and elegant woman.

Zhu Chunhua didn't exchange any more pleasantries; her gaze passed over Xue Jia and landed on Wang Xiao.

"Dr. Wang Xiao, do you have a moment? Regarding the last surgery, I wrote a paper on emergency management when CTA angiography is not applicable, and I plan to add your name to it. You can take a look."

Zhu Chunhua handed a printed document to Wang Xiao.

"A thesis?" Whether in this life or the previous one, scientific research was a weakness for Wang Xiao, and he had never thought about writing a thesis.

Wang Xiao flipped through it and found that it was entirely in English. The title, when translated, should be: "Application of Intraoperative Ultrasound Emergency Localization in Cardiovascular Surgery for Patients with Contraindications to CTA Angiography".

Even for a research novice like Wang Xiao, it's clear that this paper is quite rigorous and well-written, demonstrating considerable skill.

"I plan to publish in a core English journal, and this document is just a draft..."

Wang Xiao looked up in astonishment. This level of skill in a draft? No wonder he's a genius who returned from the US.

"If you'd like to join my treatment group later, you can complete this paper under my guidance, and you'll be the first author, of course."

Wang Xiao suddenly realized that this was clearly an attempt to win him over, and with a clearly stated price.

For any young doctor, a first-author English core journal paper is a highly valuable asset.

How high is it? With just this one paper, the research task of being promoted from resident physician to attending physician has already been completed.

Wang Xiao swallowed hard, rationally considering the consequences.

This Deputy Director Zhu's surgical skills are a weakness. If you join her group, the level of surgery you can access is very low. Moreover, once you become one of her people, it's like choosing a side, and it will be difficult to get access to other people's surgeries in the future.

If I were to return to cardiac surgery, the best outcome would be to learn from Director Lin, and the next best option would be to learn from Deputy Director Shen Hao, in order to have any chance of learning the surgical techniques I want.

"Thank you so much for your kind offer. But what if I don't want to join?"

Zhu Chunhua's fair and jade-like hand twitched slightly, clearly not expecting Wang Xiao to refuse so decisively.

She adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, seemingly somewhat unwilling but quickly regaining her composure. "Then I will list you as the second author, after all, you were the first to raise objections during the surgery, which was crucial to the success of the operation."

Being a second author is an honor that young doctors covet and can also help with promotions.

Wang Xiao quickly stood up to express his gratitude, "Thank you for your recognition and understanding, Deputy Director Zhu."

Zhu Chunhua also stood up and extended her flawless white hand to Wang Xiao, "It's a pity this time, but I hope there will be opportunities to cooperate in the future."

Wang Xiao grasped Zhu Chunhua's delicate, smooth hand. "Of course, of course, definitely next time. I'll see you off."

Wang Xiao escorted Zhu Chunhua out of the emergency building and all the way back to the outpatient building before reluctantly returning.

Rejecting a paper is painful enough, let alone rejecting such a beautiful woman.

Having drunk too much coffee, Wang Xiao went to the restroom and happily relieved himself, humming a little tune along the way.

"Husband and wife return home together; you till the fields while I weave cloth; I fetch water while you water the garden..."

As soon as Wang Xiao entered the bathroom, she heard the sound of running water and a burst of hysterical sobbing.

In front of the sink, Chang Wei braced his hands on the cold tiled surface, his shoulders twitching.

Even with the tap turned on full blast, the rushing water couldn't drown out his suppressed sobs.

Wang Xiao was startled and quickly tiptoed out.

But just as he moved to the door, Chang Wei's hoarse voice came from behind him: "Wang Xiao, wait."

Wang Xiao stopped and turned around. Chang Wei had already wiped his face, and his eyes were red.

He turned off the tap, and the bathroom instantly fell silent.

Chang Wei sniffed, his voice still trembling, "I'd like to discuss a collaboration with you."

"I don't know what happened to you, but I have no interest in cooperating with you." Wang Xiao turned to leave.

Wang Xiao certainly wouldn't forget who caused his medical record entry to time out.

"You know very well that the better you do in the emergency department, the less likely you are to return to cardiac surgery."

Wang Xiao stopped in her tracks. "What? A crying attending physician can get me back into cardiothoracic surgery?"

"You can't go back because Director Gong doesn't want you to leave. If you leave, who will provide him with specialized cosmetic injection services? Don't you have to train someone to take your place?"

"so what?"

"Hmph! See? I told you so. I know you're good at cosmetic needles, so you teach me cosmetic suturing, and I'll take care of all the work in the emergency room for you. Then you'll naturally have a chance to go back to cardiothoracic surgery, how about that?"

Wang Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately wondered if there were any other candidates.

It's indeed unlikely that anyone else could replace him. After a moment of silence, Wang Xiao said, "I admit your suggestion is good."

Hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Chang Wei's eyes, and he quickly nodded, "Okay, from now on you're my teacher. See you in the practice room tonight!"

After using the restroom and returning to the treatment room, Wang Xiao told Xue Jia about her strange experience in the restroom.

Xue Jia's smile instantly turned wicked as she lowered her voice and said, "You don't know, Chang Wei's wife divorced him. I heard he's getting involved with a deputy director at Chunda First Hospital, and custody of the child was awarded to his wife. I heard it's because he was transferred to the emergency department and can't go back, and his wife thinks he has no future."

Wang Xiao suddenly realized what was happening and cursed inwardly, "Serves him right!"

However, the scene of his repeated rejections of his submissions, Zhu Chunhua pointing her finger at him and yelling at him, threatening to divorce him, flashed through his mind again.