Healing Doctor

Chapter 195 Let's Face It Head-on (Bonus Chapter by Alliance Leader Deng Chaohong x2)

"What I'm worried about is that Qin...Chu might be detrimental to you," Zhao Zhe said helplessly.

"Disadvantages? It's just an academic conference, isn't it? Besides, I didn't do anything wrong. Although there were disagreements, they were for the patients' benefit," Ji Xiang said calmly.

"Sigh, that's true, but... I don't know either. I'm just an ordinary doctor. I've never met any big shots, and I don't know how they do things. But I have eyes, I can see."

Zhao Zhe extended his right index and middle fingers, pointed to his own eyes, and then pointed to Ji Xiang's eyes in return.

"For example, you know about that research institute and that seemingly prestigious organization in Shanghai that took advantage of the chaos to sell Banlangen (Isatis root), right?"

"I've heard about it; it happened many years ago," Ji Xiang said.

"What we think of as academia is an ivory tower, but it's actually just a business transaction," Zhao Zhe said earnestly.

"Uh, haha." Ji Xiang paused for a moment, then laughed, "Brother Zhao, let me tell you a story."

"What story?"

Ji Xiang's reaction was different from what Zhao Zhe had imagined; he became even more curious about this young man.

"I have a childhood friend whose family is... pretty rich," Ji Xiang said. "He went to an Ivy League high school in the US and had a girlfriend, who was his childhood sweetheart. But back then, his family didn't give him much pocket money, and his girlfriend disliked his family because they were poor. Later, when he went to college, she ran off with a rich kid from China."

"How rich?" Zhao Zhe asked gossipily.

"He seems to be the owner of a small listed company," Ji Xiang said casually.

Zhao Zhe clicked his tongue in amazement.

Did Ji Xiang get it backwards? In Zhao Zhe's world, the boss of a listed company is the most elite kind of rich person.

"Later, this guy got another girlfriend, and he was really devoted to her, even posting photos of them together on Weibo. But some netizens said she was an escort, and he disagreed, arguing with them for thousands of minutes."

"..."

"Then someone produced video evidence, and my childhood friend gave up. Now his Weibo status is all about being widowed."

"..."

Zhao Zhe was speechless; he didn't understand why Ji Xiang was bringing this up at all.

"I talked to my dad about this, and he said it's just a young boy's longing for love."

"Many beautiful things only exist in fantasy."

Ji Xiang calmly recounted his understanding of the world.

"What does your dad do?" Zhao Zhe asked curiously.

"Stock trading."

"Hahaha, don't you have any liabilities?" Zhao Zhe laughed. "A few of my colleagues used to trade stocks. Our anesthesiology director was completely fooled. A long time ago, one day when I was in surgery, the anesthesiology director excitedly said that PetroChina was going public today and that he wanted to invest in it for the long term and become the Warren Buffett of China."

"You bought it for over forty?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Around forty-six years old, it is said that he sold one of his houses before buying PetroChina. Later, until his retirement, it seems that he did not make any money."

"My dad's alright," Ji Xiang said. "But I'm not interested in these things, and my dad won't let me get involved. He says it's fine as long as I'm happy, but he also wants me to achieve something. In short, my parents are very conflicted."

Zhao Zhe, a chatterbox, was led astray by Ji Xiang and it took him a long time to remember what he was talking about at the beginning. He was already used to this kind of conversation and didn't find it strange.

"Xiao Ji, to be honest, it's best not to attend the conference tomorrow. You know about those reports of academic fraud, and the youngest biology expert who couldn't get elected to the academician but became one in the US—these are all cautionary tales."

"Heaven knows what these academic cliques are capable of. I used to think they were far removed from me and didn't care. Today, while you were performing surgery inside, I was watching the operation and observing Old Qin... Qin Chu's expression was getting increasingly grim."

"Your successful superselection angiography revealed that a branch of the right supraclavicular artery is supplying the tumor, which is something to be happy about. But Qin Chu didn't try to hide anything after seeing that the supplying blood vessel was found. He just turned around and left with a dark face."

"I feel like this isn't that simple. The two of us—no, you alone—are outnumbered and outmatched. And we're in Shanghai, we can't fight them."

Ji Xiang laughed heartily, "Brother Zhao, why did you leave me behind so quickly?"

"I can't be used as a human being. You see, I'm a chatterbox, I seem to have social butterfly syndrome, but I can't say a word in front of the boss, I'm a coward. Today in the operating room, I wanted to speak up for you, but my calves cramped up, it was as if my calves were the ones speaking."

"You definitely can't do it alone. If they really label you as someone who committed academic fraud, you'll never be able to hold your head up high again."

Ji Xiang smiled slightly. This was something he'd have to discuss with the system NPC. Just like Zhao Zhe said, he couldn't help.

However, the system NPC is obviously a veteran, and on his first trip abroad, he dared to directly challenge the international cardiothoracic surgery community, going it alone and showing great courage.

"Let me think about it. If I get scared, I'll go see my mom tomorrow, and then we'll go back. But if..."

"Don't think you can just go and get away with it. This isn't an online game. Besides, Qin Chu is better than us in terms of connections and everything else. To him, we're just ants. What do you do when an ant is blind? Of course, you go up and crush it to pieces," Zhao Zhe grumbled.

"Don't worry, Brother Zhao."

Ji Xiang comforted Zhao Zhe for a long time, and then changed the topic to various strange sights and sounds, and Zhao Zhe seemed to forget about them.

Back at the hotel, Ji Xiang washed up and lay down.

"teacher."

Upon arriving at the system's operating room, Ji Xiang greeted the system NPC.

"You were very patient during the superselection today, not bad." The system NPC gave an evaluation.

"Hey." Ji Xiang chuckled, "The keen observation is very useful. In the end, I found that the blood vessel was located, and by working backward, I discovered that there seemed to be a clue in one frame of the angiography. I didn't see it this time, but with this experience, I'll realize it next time."

How should I put it? It was just a feeling in an instant.

"Indeed, this fleeting feeling sounds rather mystical, but the most advanced surgeries have no set rules; they rely solely on that instantaneous feeling. Of course, this feeling is rooted in a solid theoretical foundation..."

The system NPC started rambling on.

Ji Xiang listened attentively with a smile. Although the system NPC had a motivational tone, there was actually a lot of useful information in it.

He's just too serious and never drives, which makes him seem boring.

After a while, Ji Xiang thought of Professor Zhou, whom he had met when he felt the same way. If Professor Zhou were to tell him these things, he would probably find it very interesting.

After a long time, the system NPC stopped, and Ji Xiang finally asked about his concerns.

"Of course you have to face it head-on," the system NPC said casually. "This is a challenge. It's not a big deal to keep dodging it, but every time you dodge, your confidence will suffer. For top-tier spellcasters, confidence is the most crucial thing."

(End of this chapter)