Super Doctor - Chapter 210

“Harsh punishment…” Upon hearing these words, Dr. Ji let out a soft sigh and then looked at Director Qian. “Director… While it’s true this student committed a serious disciplinary violation, his intentions were good, and he did save a patient. We should consider these mitigating circumstances. After all, he’s quite talented. It would be a real shame if his entire future were ruined because of this…”

Seeing Dr. Ji’s concerned expression, Director Qian nodded. He understood the reasoning perfectly. If this student were given the most severe punishment possible, it could indeed mean expulsion. However, completely destroying someone’s future prospects isn’t something one does lightly, unless the offense is truly unforgivable or driven by deep-seated malice. No one would resort to such harsh measures without cause.

Director Qian then sighed and said to Dr. Ji, “This matter is indeed serious. Playing with matters of life and death is not something to be taken lightly. Had anything gone wrong, it would have been a monumental disaster… Since nothing went awry, and since you, Dr. Ji, hold this student in such high regard, we can try to shield him to some extent…”

He continued with a slight smile, “Go and call the student over. We still need to criticize and educate him appropriately. As for the formal disciplinary action, that will be up to the Political Education Office and the Clinical Medicine College. We’ll report the facts truthfully. The punishment likely won’t be excessively severe… This should also prevent the Anesthesiology Department from finding fault.”

Hearing Director Qian’s words, Dr. Ji finally felt somewhat relieved. A truthful report meant that this student, Xu Ze, would at least keep his student status. After discussions between the Political Education Office and the Clinical College, the punishment would likely be something like a major demerit on his record… While this would leave a significant blemish on his file, it was far better than expulsion.

Dr. Ji promptly went to the other office to summon Xu Ze. While leading him to the director’s office, she carefully advised, “Your violation this time is quite serious. Director Qian’s tone might be quite stern later. Listen carefully. After that, the matter will be handed over to the Political Education Office and your college for discussion and decision regarding the punishment…”

Here, Dr. Ji sighed and looked at Xu Ze. “You need to be mentally prepared… but it probably won’t be anything too detrimental.”

Xu Ze nodded inwardly, thinking, “Just as I estimated. However, this happened because I was too soft-hearted and, frankly, unlucky and caught. I can’t blame anyone else.”

Seeing Xu Ze nod calmly without any overly emotional reaction, Dr. Ji breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, “This kid understands the gravity now. Why was he so reckless in the first place?”

Xu Ze followed Dr. Ji obediently into the director’s office, putting on a respectful demeanor. He cautiously took a seat, awaiting Director Qian’s reprimand.

Looking at the student before him, Director Qian maintained a stern expression, gave a light humph, and said in a deep voice, “Your name is Xu Ze, correct?”

“Hello, Director Qian… I am Xu Ze…”

Hearing the name “Xu Ze,” Director Qian couldn’t help but think of another name that was somewhat taboo in the Internal Medicine Department. The thought made him inwardly humph with displeasure.

He looked up at Xu Ze across from him. The student appeared respectful but didn’t seem particularly fearful. Director Qian raised his bushy eyebrows slightly and said sternly, “You have quite the nerve… daring to commit such a serious disciplinary violation… Do you realize the magnitude of your mistake? How severe this problem is?”

Xu Ze nodded very obediently, playing the part of the well-behaved student, and responded with sincere contrition, “I’m sorry, Director Qian. I know I was wrong…”

“You know you were wrong… Do you know what the consequences of such a serious violation could be?” Seeing Xu Ze’s sincere and apologetic attitude, Director Qian’s anger subsided a bit. He continued sternly, “A fourth-year student just starting clinical practical training, and you dare to perform a tracheotomy on a patient by yourself… Truly ‘a newborn calf is not afraid of the tiger.’ Even a medical intern wouldn’t be qualified to perform such a procedure…”

“I’m sorry, Director Qian… I just saw that the patient wouldn’t make it without an immediate tracheotomy… so I acted,” Xu Ze explained, lowering his head and pursing his lips in frustration.

Hearing Xu Ze’s justification, Director Qian humphed, “That may be so, but was that something you should have done? And you even impersonated an anesthesiologist! You really are utterly reckless…”

“While no serious consequences occurred, given the severity of the violation, we must report this to the Political Education Office. The specific disciplinary outcome will be communicated to you after they liaise with your college…”

“Furthermore, our department will no longer accept you for practical training.”

Xu Ze had anticipated these outcomes. However, hearing that the Respiratory Medicine Department wouldn’t accept him for future practical training made him look up at Director Qian in astonishment.

Being refused further practical training here? What about the rest of my practical training? My group’s first rotation is in Respiratory Medicine. Am I supposed to be specially transferred to another group? That would be a huge hassle…

Xu Ze furrowed his brows and said to Director Qian, “Director Qian… Could you reconsider this? If I can’t complete my practical training here, it will affect my future studies…”

“Humph… The fact that we are considering leniency and reporting the case to the Political Education Office is already the lightest possible treatment. Our department cannot risk keeping a student who has committed such a serious violation,” Director Qian stated firmly, looking at Xu Ze.

Dr. Ji Xueping, standing nearby, heard this and saw Xu Ze’s anxious expression. Her heart softened, and she also pleaded on Xu Ze’s behalf, “Director… Perhaps this…”

“Dr. Ji… How can we keep such a seriously undisciplined student in the department? That is absolutely out of the question!” This time, facing Dr. Ji’s plea, Director Qian showed no sign of relenting and spoke coldly.

“Director… If we don’t take him, other departments likely won’t accept him for practical training either…” Dr. Ji glanced at Xu Ze beside her, sighed softly, and continued to plead for him.

Director Qian said coldly, “Dr. Ji, there is no room for discussion on this. Given his serious violation, it’s naturally impossible for him to stay in our department. Please say no more on the matter…”

Then, looking at Xu Ze, he said calmly, “Alright… That’s all for now. Your practical training is temporarily suspended. After your disciplinary outcome is determined, you can discuss your practical training arrangements with your Student Affairs Office…”

Seeing that Director Qian’s decision was final, Xu Ze knew he couldn’t change it. He simply smiled, said nothing further to the director, and turned to Dr. Ji with a smile, “Thank you, Dr. Ji. It’s alright…”

Seeing the composed expression on Xu Ze’s face, Dr. Ji sighed inwardly, thinking this young man probably didn’t fully grasp the seriousness. If his practical training was suspended over this, even if he tried to switch to another group or department later, no department would likely accept him…

However, since Director Qian had made the decision, there was nothing more to be done. They could only wait and see…

Because Xu Ze’s practical training was suddenly suspended, news of his alleged serious violation at the hospital, though not officially announced, spread among his groupmates through internal channels in the Respiratory Medicine Department.

Upon hearing that Xu Ze had single-handedly performed a tracheotomy on a patient and done it quite skillfully, his classmates weren’t overly surprised. However, they were extremely worried about his practical training suspension and the possibility of severe punishment.

Xu Ze himself, however, didn’t seem too concerned. With his practical training suspended, he leisurely headed to his usual spot by the lakeside after everyone else had gone to their training sessions, to continue practicing his energy circulation exercises.

He had now progressed to the second cycle of the second major circulation. His practice in recent days had shown some improvement; after entering the second level, he had moved from the first to the second cycle.

Nevertheless, Xu Ze didn’t relax at all. Through daily practice with three different musical instruments, his mental strength training had also greatly increased.

Therefore, mental strength was no longer a major limitation for him. What he needed now was simply the accumulation of energy within the circulation cycles.

As long as he continued striving diligently to break through to the third major circulation and successfully advance to a Level 3 Medical Corpsman, the system’s functions would become more complete, bringing him one step closer to his goal.

So, he returned to his usual spot under the tree by the lake, continuing to run his energy circulation, drawing the abundant energy particles from the North Lake into his Ren and Du meridians and his dantian, strengthening the energy cluster within…

Tao Yiyi passed by the North Lake again. When she hopefully glanced towards that large tree, she finally saw the figure she had been longing for.

Gently smoothing her hair to ensure it wasn’t messy, she suppressed her excitement and quietly walked over to the spot under the tree.

Approaching near Xu Ze, she saw his eyes were slightly closed as if in sleep. Tao Yiyi didn’t make a sound. She simply sat down on the grass nearby, quietly gazing at this handsome young man.

She hadn’t seen Xu Ze since that Freshman Welcoming event. Yet, her desire to see him had grown stronger. After hearing him play the piano, the violin, and sing that song at the event, she had grown to like him even more, her fondness deepening.

However, due to Xu Ze’s seemingly close and confirmed relationship with Sun Lingfei, she couldn’t bring herself, with her youthful pride, to actively contact him. She would often walk past this large tree by the North Lake, frequently hoping to see if that familiar figure would appear beneath its secluded shade.

Today, she finally saw him. So, Tao Yiyi happily sat down nearby, quietly watching Xu Ze, showing no signs of impatience…

For some reason, she felt particularly comfortable when Xu Ze was here. When he wasn’t, she had sometimes sat here alone, but it never felt as soothing.

Thus, she cherished this moment. Sitting not far from Xu Ze, she opened the book in her hands and began reading softly, careful not to disturb him…

The sun gradually dipped westward. Tao Yiyi sat near Xu Ze for several hours without any intention of leaving. The gentle lake breeze softly ruffled her shiny black hair, making it flutter lightly on the grassy bank.

She would often gaze fixedly at Xu Ze lying on the ground for long moments. After snapping out of it, she would occasionally flip a page of her book. It was unclear whether she was looking at the person or the book… or whether she was actually absorbing anything she read…

A long time later, as the sunset was about to sink below the lake’s surface, Xu Ze finally slowly opened his eyes. He had been aware of Tao Yiyi sitting nearby for a long time but didn’t expect her to still be there after several hours.

When he sat up and saw Tao Yiyi not far away, he couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback.

“You’re awake…” Tao Yiyi gently smoothed the skirt of her pleated dress, stood up slowly, and smiled at Xu Ze.

Seeing Tao Yiyi’s lovely face, touched with a faint golden glow from the setting sun, and her slender figure beneath the beautiful pleated dress, Xu Ze was momentarily struck by her beauty.

However, he quickly regained his composure and smiled, playing along, “Yeah… slept very soundly… When did you get here?”

Seeing the brief daze in Xu Ze’s eyes when he first noticed her, along with the flicker of appreciation, the smile on Tao Yiyi’s face deepened. “I’ve been here reading for a few hours… You really can sleep… It’s almost dark now. If you hadn’t woken up…”

“Oh, right… Don’t you have practical training in the afternoons? Why are you slacking off here?” Tao Yiyi asked curiously.

Hearing her question, Xu Ze inwardly smiled wryly but replied with a light laugh, “Ran into a minor issue, so my practical training is temporarily suspended.”

“Ah?” Tao Yiyi was startled…

——-

Bai Kezhang, the head of the Political Education Office at the First Affiliated Hospital of Star University, received Director Qian’s report. Reading it, his face filled with astonishment. A practical training student had dared to impersonate an anesthesiologist and perform a tracheotomy on a critically ill patient! Thankfully, nothing went wrong, or the consequences would have been immense.

Naturally, he took such a reckless and serious violation extremely seriously. He immediately contacted Zhang Kezhang, the person in charge of the Student Affairs Office at the Clinical Medicine College, demanding strict punishment for Xu Ze…

Fortunately, the head of the Student Affairs Office, Zhang Kezhang, was also extremely indignant about one of his students acting so recklessly. Initially not paying too much attention to the name, he also agreed that severe punishment was necessary.

His attitude satisfied Bai Kezhang from the hospital’s Political Education Office. They began discussing specific punitive measures…

“This Xu Ze must be dealt with strictly. While he may have contributed somewhat… but…”

As Bai Kezhang from the Political Education Office was righteously and earnestly outlining his views on punishing such a seriously undisciplined, and in his opinion, almost brainless student, the person in charge of student affairs at Star University’s Clinical Medicine College, upon hearing the student’s name, was stunned. Xu Ze… It’s actually Xu Ze. For anyone else, he might not have cared much; punishment would follow the rules.

But it being Xu Ze posed a problem. As the person specifically in charge of student affairs at the Clinical Medicine College, he had of course heard of Xu Ze and knew about his significant reputation within the university. He greatly admired some of the things Xu Ze had done. Due to certain events, even the university leadership was well aware of who Xu Ze was.

He had also heard about Xu Ze’s background, knowing he was far more capable than the average student. So, him knowing how to perform a tracheotomy wasn’t particularly surprising.

Xu Ze was considered one of the most outstanding students in the university. Naturally, the university wanted to protect such a student and couldn’t let him get into major trouble. If such an excellent student were to face severe punishment, even the university leadership would likely inquire about the matter.

Therefore, Zhang Kezhang from the Clinical Medicine College’s Student Affairs Office quickly interrupted the other party, “Director Bai, regarding this… this student… while he did violate discipline, he is still young and impulsive. We should give him some chance… Otherwise, it could overly impact his future, which wouldn’t be good…”

Hearing the other party suddenly change his tune after previously expressing righteous indignation and vowing strict punishment, Bai Kezhang from the Political Education Office was momentarily taken aback. After a moment, he asked into the phone, puzzled, “Director Zhang… you… what did you just say?”

“Oh… Director Bai… I said this student is still very young and impulsive. However, he is an exceptionally outstanding student at the university. This time, he might have been a bit reckless, acting out of good intentions… which led to this rash action. We should focus on education and give him more opportunity…” Director Zhang from the Student Affairs Office quickly added with an awkward laugh.

Hearing Director Zhang’s attitude do a complete one-eighty from before, Director Bai was also stunned. It took him a while to recover before responding into the phone, “Director Zhang… This student performed surgery on a patient without authorization and impersonated an anesthesiologist. This is a serious violation. Punishment is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, if others start acting so recklessly in the future, they might not be as lucky next time, and a major disaster could occur…”

“Director Bai… Of course, of course…” Hearing this, Director Zhang knew that for such a serious matter, avoiding punishment entirely was impossible. But at least they could aim for a lighter penalty.

He then said with a smile, “Xu Ze is an extremely outstanding student at the university, one whom the university leadership holds in high regard…”

“Director Bai… While Xu Ze did violate rules, he did perform a tracheotomy and helped save a patient without causing any mishap… We should consider these facts. Regarding the punishment… we should still be prudent…” Director Zhang said with an awkward laugh, doing his best to mitigate Xu Ze’s responsibility. He was quite familiar with Director Bai and knew that if he advocated strongly for Xu Ze like this, the other would likely show some consideration.