My daily work as a doctor: My treatment value is increasing.

On surgery days, Lu Renxin feels that time flies by, as he gains a lot from following his mentor's surgeries.

He went straight back to his office and plopped down in a chair.

With my eyes closed, I went through the steps of He Dong's surgery in my mind like a movie, carefully reviewing each movement.

"It's still not perfect."

Lu Renxin muttered to himself, his fingers involuntarily gesturing on the table as if he were performing the actions of separating tissues on an operating table.

"I hesitated a bit when I was peeling it off. If I had been more decisive, the patient's wound would probably have been cleaner."

This was the first time he had performed surgery independently. Although it was the simplest and most basic procedure, it was a beginning for him.

"Next time will definitely be better." Lu Renxin clenched his fist, his eyes full of determination.

……

"It's my shift again, when will this ever end?"

Lu Renxin leaned back in his chair and slammed his pen on the table, making a crisp sound.

He rubbed his dry eyes, which were sore from staring at the computer screen for too long, and felt his consciousness fading.

"Ring ring—" The phone rang.

"Hello, proctology department." Lu Renxin answered the phone, and a nurse's urgent voice came through the receiver.

"Dr. Lu, could you please take a look at the blood test results for patient 53? There's one indicator... that doesn't seem right."

"Something's not right?" Lu Renxin frowned, hung up the phone, and quickly opened the computer system.

I just finished writing the medical record and haven't had a chance to look at the test results yet. What went wrong?

In surgical departments like theirs, some patients are admitted quite late, and the test results aren't available until the end of the workday.

The on-duty doctor needs to take a look to make sure there are no problems so the surgery can proceed normally tomorrow.

"Complete blood test results: white blood cell count is normal, platelet count is also acceptable... liver and kidney function tests, creatinine is slightly elevated, but that's normal for an elderly person..."

"These are all common issues and won't affect the surgery."

Lu Renxin manipulated the mouse wheel to slide down rapidly.

Suddenly, a glaring plus sign froze his finger in mid-air: HIV (+)

Lu Renxin froze, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and opened them again.

The words on the screen are still there.

"Clam?"

He glanced at the patient's information subconsciously; age—72.

Admission diagnosis: 1. Mixed hemorrhoids, 2. Anemia, 3. Grade III hypertension.

"What exactly did the old man do?"

Lu Renxin felt a pang of doubt in his heart, his brows furrowing into a deep frown.

Completely baffled, he closed the interface, got up, and walked towards the ward.

Pushing open the ward door, I found the old man already asleep, breathing steadily, occasionally letting out heavy snores.

On the cot, a middle-aged man in his forties lay curled up, the light from his phone screen reflecting on his face.

He was the son who came to accompany the old man during his surgery.

Lu Renxin gently knocked on the door frame and said softly, "Hello, could you please come out for a moment?"

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment. Seeing that Lu Renxin was staring at him, he quickly put down his phone, slipped on his slippers, and followed him out.

This person looks quite honest, but he has deep crow's feet around his eyes, which makes him look like the kind of person who is honest and hardworking all year round.

Lu Renxin stopped walking only after reaching the end of the corridor and making sure he was far away from the ward area.

"Doctor, what's the matter? My dad's surgery isn't until tomorrow, is it?" He rubbed his hands together, his eyes filled with caution.

Lu Renxin looked at him and sighed inwardly: I wonder if the family knows.

He didn't dare to ask directly; based on past experience, such matters must be handled tactfully.

So he lowered his voice, trying to keep it calm: "Is your father... in a chaotic daily life?"

The corridor lights shone on the middle-aged man's face.

Upon hearing this, Lu Renxin clearly saw the uncle's eyes darting around, and he dared not look directly into his eyes.

"He... has a very regular life." The middle-aged man chuckled dryly, his voice a little strained.

"What can an old man do? He just takes walks and buys groceries every day. How can his life be chaotic?"

He's lying, he's lying.

He definitely knows something.

Lu Renxin stopped beating around the bush, stared at the older man, and dropped a bombshell:

"But his blood test results showed a positive HIV preliminary screening, did you know that?"

"What?!"

The middle-aged man suddenly looked up, his pupils contracting sharply, and he instinctively wiped his face.

In an instant, Lu Renxin saw not only surprise on his face, but also... a sense of despair and shame that he had expected.

The corridor fell silent for a moment.

Finally, as if all his strength had been drained, the man leaned against the wall, covered his face with his hands, and his voice came out muffledly through his fingers:

"I really... have no face to say it."

Lu Renxin didn't speak, he just waited quietly.

The middle-aged man's voice carried a suppressed sob:

"What elderly person is like him? He's so old, yet he still acts so disrespectfully..."

He lowered his hand, his eyes slightly red, and said in a trembling voice, "It's shameful, utterly shameful."

From his fragmented narration, Lu Renxin pieced together the truth.

It turns out the old man had been retired for over twenty years, and his pension wasn't much, only two or three thousand yuan a month.

His children didn't rely on him financially; they left the money in his hands for him to spend as he pleased.

Everything was fine at first, but ever since his wife passed away eighteen years ago, the old man developed a peculiar hobby—visiting prostitutes.

Oh, no, according to age, she should be called "elder sister".

As soon as the money arrives in his account each month, the old man gets all excited and heads straight to the square dancing area, specifically looking for the frivolous older women.

That's probably when I got infected.

"Isn't this illegal? If you don't want him to go, why don't you just call the police? If he gets arrested a few times, he'll be scared and won't go anymore, right?"

Lu Renxin thought to himself, but couldn't help but say it aloud.

"Call the police? Why didn't I call them?" The middle-aged man waved his hand excitedly, then let it fall limply.

"At first, the police could arrest him and detain him for a few days, but as he got older, the police stopped taking him in."

"Each time it's just a fine, a few words of criticism and then they're let go."

"At such an advanced age, if something were to happen to him in the detention center, the police would be afraid of taking responsibility."

The middle-aged man gave a bitter laugh, his eyes vacant: "It's true, all the neighbors know about it, and my whole family is embarrassed because of him."

"Now... now I think it's normal for him to have this disease."

By the end, his voice was barely audible, filled only with exhaustion.

That's it, the old man's resistance is already maxed out, no one can do anything about it.

"Don't panic." Lu Renxin's tone became serious. "This is just a possibility. Our hospital isn't qualified to make a diagnosis; you'll have to go to the public health center. Since a problem has been identified, your father's hemorrhoid surgery can't be performed for the time being."

"Why?" the uncle asked, bewildered.

Lu Renxin explained, "The most urgent task is to get a diagnosis, and if so, to control the disease first."

"Although hemorrhoids are painful, they are not the most serious problem compared to this."

The middle-aged man nodded blankly, like a child who had done something wrong, his departing figure stretching long under the corridor lights.