“Zhang Lizhi…” Xu Ze looked at the middle-aged man lying unconscious on the hospital bed and muttered the name softly, letting out a quiet sigh inwardly. So it was her father. No wonder the name Zhang Lizhi had sounded familiar.
He recalled standing at a distance back then, watching Zhang Linyun beside him talking with her father. He had vaguely learned her father’s name then and had a faint impression of the man…
He never imagined they would actually be considered acquaintances… It was just too unexpected…
Xu Ze lowered his eyelids slightly, no longer focusing his attention on Zhang Linyun, but turning his gaze back to Zhang Lide. However, his mind was churning gently.
Seeing Zhang Linyun’s haggard appearance just now made Xu Ze sigh softly. Zhang Linyun used to be so bright, beautiful, and confident. But now, because of her father’s critical illness, she had become so gaunt and weary. Truly, storms can arise from a clear sky. If her father hadn’t fallen ill like this, she would probably still be that proud daughter of Star University, shining brightly on campus.
Zhang Linyun, for her part, was staring fixedly at Xu Ze. Her big eyes, slightly dimmer than usual, were full of surprise. She really couldn’t understand why Xu Ze was at the First Affiliated Hospital at this time, and why he was wearing a white coat so seriously. There were less than ten days until the New Year, he had long since stopped his part-time job at the clinic, and he should be back in his rural hometown of Lianyang by now.
But seeing Xu Ze here actually made her a bit happy. Her father’s sudden illness over the past two days had brought immense pain and pressure to her and her mother. Her father was the pillar of their family; his collapse left her and her mother feeling helpless and at a loss. In Star City, they didn’t have many reliable relatives or friends. Tao Zhixiong, the only one who could offer her some comfort and warmth, had called twice with words of consolation but then nothing more.
Seeing Xu Ze here now, although somewhat awkward, reminded her of how caring he had been back then, despite being a bit reserved. So seeing him gave her a slight sense of relief, a small comfort in her heart.
Seeing her daughter staring blankly at Xu Ze like that, the mother beside her sighed softly. Back when her daughter was dating Xu Ze, she had occasionally seen very intimate photos of the two on her daughter’s phone, along with some text messages. She knew her daughter had found a boyfriend at school.
At the time, she hadn’t felt any particular dislike for the handsome boy in the photos. However, out of parental concern, she had vaguely cautioned her daughter about some things without explicitly opposing the relationship. But later, she didn’t know why her daughter seemed to have broken up with Xu Ze, and another boy’s name appeared in her phone.
Now, seeing this handsome young doctor with a faint, warm smile, who seemed to be her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, the mother felt a twinge of regret. With a woman’s intuition, she sensed that the young doctor before her had a good personality and a promising future.
Zhang Lide’s examination was also quickly completed. He nodded to Zhang Jiangyou and said: “The situation is about the same, but the condition is severe. It seems the myocardial reperfusion hasn’t achieved a good effect, which is why the patient remains in a coma. We must restore the myocardial blood flow as soon as possible, otherwise the prognosis will be very poor…”
Zhang Jiangyou nodded in agreement and said: “I also reviewed the medical records earlier. The thrombolytic drugs have been administered quite well. Director Zhang, please advise if there are any other treatments that need to be strengthened!”
Zhang Lide glanced at Xu Ze beside him, then said: “Xiao Hu, let me see the medical records. Let’s discuss on-site and try to formulate a plan as soon as possible… If there are any doubts, we can run tests immediately to confirm!”
Hearing Zhang Lide’s words, Hu Xiaojiang quickly handed over the medical records for him to review.
Zhang Lide flipped through them carefully, nodded, and casually handed the records to Xu Ze. Looking at Zhang Jiangyou and Hu Xiaojiang, he said: “The patient has been here for less than 12 hours now. We need to strengthen the thrombolytic treatment as soon as possible. The patient is already in a deep coma. If we don’t resolve this soon, even if surgery is performed later for a bypass, the prognosis will be poor!”
Listening to Zhang Lide’s words, Zhang Linyun and her mother became increasingly worried. If even Director Zhang spoke like this, then the situation was truly not optimistic.
Xu Ze looked at the medical records in his hand, then at the ECG and medication details inside. He shook his head inwardly. With such a large area of infarction, the patient in a coma, and poor thrombolytic reperfusion effects, the prognosis was certainly poor.
Closing the medical records, he looked up and glanced at Zhang Linyun across from him, her face full of tension and worry. Xu Ze sighed softly. The consultation was now underway, and a treatment plan would be finalized quickly. The subsequent treatment would proceed according to the consensus reached during this consultation. To save him, they needed to understand the situation clearly now to determine the best course of action.
At that moment, Zhang Lide turned to Xu Ze and asked: “Xu Ze, do you have any suggestions?”
Xu Ze frowned slightly, then said: “Let’s do another ECG.”
Zhang Lide paused for a moment, then quickly understood Xu Ze’s meaning. The condition of a myocardial infarction can change rapidly. The cardiac monitor couldn’t show subtle changes. If they wanted to understand the current situation, doing another ECG was the clearest option. He nodded in agreement: “Alright, let’s do another ECG!”
Hearing Director Zhang agree, Hu Xiaojiang didn’t dare delay and quickly instructed an intern behind him: “Go and do another ECG!”
The intern acknowledged, walked over to the emergency cart, took out an ECG machine, connected it, and began the procedure.
The cardiology doctors were already accustomed to Director Zhang valuing Xu Ze’s opinions so highly. But Zhang Linyun and her mother beside them were utterly astonished.
Both of them knew Xu Ze’s background. He was still just a student. At most, in the hospital, he should be an见习生 or intern. But why did this old director not only actively ask for his opinion but also value it so much, immediately agreeing to his suggestion?
And what was even stranger was that the other doctors around seemed to take it for granted. The mother and daughter were truly bewildered now, even more confused about Xu Ze’s actual status at the First Affiliated Hospital.
The ECG results came back quickly. The intern carefully handed the ECG paper to Zhang Lide.
Zhang Lide looked at the waveforms on the paper, frowned, and then handed the ECG paper to Zhang Jiangyou beside him.
Zhang Jiangyou frowned as he looked at the undulating, jumping waveforms on the paper, saying nothing. Instead, he casually passed the ECG paper to Xu Ze. He was well aware of Director Zhang’s regard for Xu Ze, so instead of giving it to Hu Xiaojiang, he gave it to Xu Ze, letting him take a look as well, especially since Xu Ze had suggested doing the ECG.
Looking at the ECG, Xu Ze’s long, slender eyebrows also furrowed slightly, forming a small knot between his brows.
The T waves in leads V3, V4, V5, and V6 on the ECG were still prominently elevated with a upward arch, essentially identical to the ECG done a few hours earlier. This indicated no significant improvement in the condition.
Seeing the three of them frowning, Zhang Linyun and her mother watched tensely, their eyes wide, afraid to blink lest they miss a single word.
Xu Ze gently lifted his head, shifting his gaze from the ECG. He looked at Zhang Lide, then at Zhang Jiangyou. Seeing both of them frowning in contemplation, he finally spoke: “Coronary artery bypass graft…”
“Coronary artery bypass…” Zhang Lide looked at Xu Ze, then at Zhang Jiangyou, and said: “It won’t be easy…”
“There are difficulties…” Zhang Jiangyou also gave Xu Ze a deep look, a flicker of a strange light in his eyes. He nodded and said: “In the patient’s current state, he might not be able to tolerate surgery.”
Xu Ze nodded, but still looked at them and spoke slowly: “It’s been nearly twelve hours… No significant improvement. Surgery offers hope; without it, delaying further offers little hope. If the organs are severely damaged… it won’t make much difference.”
Zhang Lide and Zhang Jiangyou exchanged a glance, both showing a flicker of hesitation. They didn’t understand why Xu Ze was so knowledgeable about such situations, but they were already used to Xu Ze’s insights. What Xu Ze said was correct. However, the risk of such surgery for this patient in his current condition was indeed high.
Conservative treatment might be effective, of course, just might be… But precisely because conservative treatment still held some hope, one would generally choose the relatively safer conservative approach rather than opting for a high-risk surgery.
Thinking this, they exchanged another glance. Then Zhang Jiangyou said to Zhang Linyun and her mother: “Please come to the office. We need to discuss the condition with you.”
In the Cardiology Department Director’s office, after listening to Zhang Jiangyou explain the condition, Zhang Linyun and her mother looked helplessly at each other, their eyes filled with grief, hesitation, and uncertainty.
Like Zhang Lide and Zhang Jiangyou earlier, they were also hesitant. When even the doctors couldn’t make a clear choice, the patient’s family, especially two women, found it even harder to decide.
Zhang Linyun looked at Zhang Jiangyou, then at Zhang Lide sitting nearby sipping tea. Seeing their impassive faces waiting for a decision, she finally couldn’t help but turn her head and look at Xu Ze, who was standing by the window with his hands behind his back, seemingly gazing at the scenery outside.
“Xu Ze…” Looking at that upright figure, Zhang Linyun finally couldn’t hold back. After hesitating for a moment, she softly called out his name.
