The voice inside paused for a moment, then the female voice continued, "You shouldn’t be worrying about these two thousand yuan right now. Your most pressing concern is to urgently determine if it’s lung cancer. I’ll give you a phone number. Tell him I referred you, and he’ll arrange a check-up for you as quickly as possible." Silence. A deathly silence. Moments later, a young man in his twenties emerged from the consultation room, looking downcast and disheartened. Only then did everyone understand why he had been so furious earlier. He was still so young; how could he not be terrified at the mention of cancer? Watching the young man’s retreating figure, everyone sighed. However, their minds quickly started working, especially those holding appointment numbers for Clinic 1. The young man had been scared stiff by the cancer diagnosis and further led astray by a few glib words from this doctor. But they weren’t. This female doctor had spent three weeks without being able to diagnose the young man’s illness, let alone cure him. Moreover, just moments ago, there was another patient she couldn’t handle, whom she had sent over to this other consultation room. That being the case, why not go directly to Consultation Room 2 instead of insisting she see them? Recalling that Doctor Du was only in on Wednesdays, they suddenly grew anxious. People could wait, but illnesses couldn’t. So, they all swarmed downstairs. Zheng Yuanchao, inside her consultation room, had no idea that her act of sending a patient to Du Heng had been the last straw. If she knew, she probably would have coughed up blood from anger. At that moment, she was still congratulating herself on her quick thinking, unaware that she had so easily defused a potential medical dispute with just a few words. How brilliant of me! If it had been any of those other idiots in the department, they’d be in a complete panic by now. Zheng Yuanchao savored her self-satisfaction for a moment, then took a sip of water from her cup and said calmly to the intern, "Call the next number. Let’s continue." But the intern stood up hesitantly, not calling out a number as usual, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t. Zheng Yuanchao frowned, clearly displeased. "Call the next number. Why are you dawdling? If you can’t even do such a small thing right, what good are you? With this attitude, I won’t be giving you a high mark on your internship report next year." A flicker of anger crossed the intern’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a look of dejection. "Director Zheng, there are no more patients." "What kind of joke is that? There were so many people at the door just a moment ago." Zheng Yuanchao didn’t believe the intern and rose to walk out of the consultation room. But what she saw was not a single patient before her own door; they were all lined up in front of Consultation Room 2. Zheng Yuanchao was completely bewildered. After observing for a moment, she walked towards the nurses’ registration desk at the front. The nurses at the registration and queuing desk would know best whether there were patients or not. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽 "Xiao Liu, how come there’s no one on my side? Are there fewer registrations today, or what’s the situation?" "It’s , Deputy Director Zheng. You originally had over twenty patients scheduled after the current one. But just now, all of them went to the downstairs window to process a transfer. Now, they’re all registered under Doctor Du." Hearing the nurse’s words, Zheng Yuanchao suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, and a pang of pain. She then snapped, "What’s going on? Is this your doing?" The nurse called Xiao Liu pursed her lips, not at all intimidated by Zheng Yuanchao. They belonged to different systems. If you were pleasant, I’d greet you politely and address you respectfully as Director. But if you want to throw your bad temper around, who do you think you are? It’s one thing if the Department Director loses their temper, but a Deputy Director like you with no real standing? If I decide to ignore you, I’ll do just that. Do you really think nurses are inferior to you doctors? That you can just push us around as you please? "I’m sorry, Deputy Director Zheng, but patients choose their own doctor. We don’t have that kind of power." "If you weren’t behind it, why would all the patients transfer?" "Patients aren’t fools. Naturally, they’ll choose whoever is more competent." "What do you mean?" Zheng Yuanchao felt as if a sore spot had been jabbed, and she began to flush with agitation. The nurse, however, merely smiled faintly. "Deputy Director Zheng, you’re an experienced doctor; you must understand the registration process better than I do. You know perfectly well whether we had anything to do with this. Besides, all the patients are watching. Are you sure you want to argue with me here?" Zheng Yuanchao was taken aback. Her anger had muddled her thoughts, and she’d overlooked that. Turning her head now, she saw all the nearby patients looking at them, and a wave of panic hit her. "I’m going to find your head nurse and ask her how she trains her staff!" With that, she spun around and hurried away. Xiao Liu, however, just curled her lip disdainfully. Our head nurse is fiercely protective of her own. Besides, I’ve done nothing wrong, so I have nothing to fear. Even if she goes to the Director or the Dean, I’m not afraid. Du Heng was unaware of what was happening outside. His full attention was on treating his patients. But watching the Auntie who took the prescription slip to pay, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she seemed a little timid around him, perhaps even avoiding his gaze. However, before he could dwell on it, an old man entered, accompanied by a very fashionably dressed woman. A quick glance suggested this woman still possessed a mature charm; she looked to be forty-five at most, not a day older. He swiped the medical card, and the information appeared: Qin Linhai, male, 59 years old. There was no other information. It seemed this was his first visit to the Provincial First Hospital, or perhaps he had a new card. Du Heng offered a slight smile, looked at Qin Linhai who had just sat down, and asked, "Where are you feeling unwell?" Unexpectedly, Du Heng’s warm approach was met with a cold reception. The old man’s face was grim. "If I’m here to see you, then just examine me. Why ask so many questions? If I tell you everything, what’s the use of your examination?" Du Heng was taken aback for a moment, unsure how to react. In all his years as a doctor, this was the first time he’d encountered someone . Still, he replied patiently, "I need to ask about your basic condition to prescribe the correct medicine, don’t I?" "Don’t Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors just take your pulse to diagnose illnesses? If I tell you everything, then you’re just parroting back what I said. How would I know if you’re right or wrong, or if you’ve truly identified the problem?" The old man had barely finished speaking when the woman beside him nudged his shoulder. "Mind your manners! Why are you being so difficult about a simple doctor’s visit? Who are you trying to provoke with that snarky attitude?" The old man retorted, still unconvinced, "Was I wrong? If he’s so capable, let him find the problem himself. If I tell him what it is, how will I know if he actually diagnosed it or not?" What’s going on here? Is someone trying to cause trouble? Or have I finally encountered a Traditional Chinese Medicine black? Gu Ping and the other two looked indignant and were about to retort, but Du Heng gestured for them to stop. Seeing that the other patients who had crowded into the office were all looking at him curiously, Du Heng chuckled lightly. "Alright, sir, please extend your hand. Let me take your pulse." The old man, his face still dark, reluctantly placed his hand on the pillow. After Du Heng had taken the pulse in both wrists, examined the old man’s tongue, and then observed his complexion, he said, "Everyone, please wait outside the office. I need to speak with the patient privately for a moment." After completing the check-up and a moment’s thought, Du Heng began to usher the onlookers out of the office. The old man, however, interjected, "Why are you asking everyone to leave? If you’ve diagnosed the illness, just say it. Or is it that you haven’t found anything at all and want them to leave to save yourself some face?" He then chuckled derisively. "Hmph, claiming to diagnose illnesses just by taking the pulse? What a joke. You people only fool the uneducated." Du Heng didn’t get angry. Instead, he smiled and asked, "This concerns your personal privacy. Are you sure you want me to discuss it in front of everyone?" "Go ahead and say it. There’s nothing I can’t let others hear." He’s trying to sound all cultured, but is this really the time or place for it? Du Heng wanted to laugh. He looked at the woman beside the old man and asked, "Are you a family member of the patient? Do you also agree to me discussing this in front of everyone?" The woman glanced at Du Heng, startled by the peculiar smile on his face, and quickly said, "No, no, no! That’s personal privacy. Absolutely not." Du Heng then turned to the crowd. "Alright, everyone, please step outside for now." He then signaled Gu Ping and the others to help persuade the curious patients to leave. Noticing the woman hadn’t moved, Du Heng said to her, "You should step out too. What I’m about to say isn’t really appropriate for a daughter to hear." The woman exclaimed, "Ah? I’m his wife, not his daughter!" Du Heng raised an eyebrow, a cryptic smile playing on his lips as he glanced at the old man. "Well then, that’s fine."