As pressurized water was pumped in, the two sets of chicken intestines, sealed at one end, swelled to the thickness of a little finger.
Suddenly, a stream of water as fine as a sewing needle shot out from the fourth or fifth suture line on one set of intestines.
The sight was hard for the ever-confident Yan Feifan to accept.
He took a few breaths to get his emotions in check and asked, "Teacher, you already knew I was going to lose."
"I thought my work was pretty much perfect. Please, Teacher, point out where I went wrong."
Just as Yan Feifan finished speaking, a suture on the intestine Yu Suye had stitched also burst.
At a nod from Qin Ying, He Junxing shut off the two irrigation machines.
"Yan Feifan, you actually did very well. Your suturing technique was textbook-perfect, an artistic demonstration."
"It's just that compared to Yu Suye…"
Qin Ying analyzed, "You still lack some practical experience."
"In other words, Yu Suye, who has received medical training since childhood, has more hands-on experience than you."
"Compared to you, she's more adaptable with the depth and tension of her sutures."
Hearing this, Yan Feifan understood.
'Even though I've practiced countless times in my mind, the scenarios were always limited by my own knowledge. No matter how they changed, there were only ever a few variations.'
'There's a significant gap when compared to the complexity of a real-life situation.'
Just then, Qin Ying turned her gaze to Yu Suye and criticized, "Your problem is even more serious than Yan Feifan's."
"You deliberately sacrificed time to achieve a perfect suturing result."
Her voice grew serious. "Limb severance is usually the result of a sudden accident. Proper on-site preservation and transport are often lacking, as is the knowledge of how to do so."
"Combined with travel time and other factors, by the time the patient gets to the hospital, our window for surgery is usually quite small."
"Furthermore, every minute we save in surgery is another minute of recovery for the replanted limb."
"For us doctors, time is always of the essence."
Yu Suye straightened her posture and said respectfully, "Teacher, I was wrong."
Qin Ying spoke again. "Yan Feifan, Yu Suye, both of you still lack practical experience, generally speaking…"
She instructed, "Starting today, I will give you some guidance in the mornings."
"In the afternoons, you will both go to the emergency department to treat trauma patients. You will continue until I think you're ready to proceed to the next stage of practice…"
The Yan siblings had lunch together that day.
Yan Feifan heard a piece of news from his sister.
When Song Yan came to the hospital for a cardiac check-up and physical exam the day before, he had also donated ten million yuan to be used for training outstanding young doctors.
"Hehe, Feifan, you're as outstanding as a young doctor can get. You'll definitely get a piece of that donation."
Seeing his sister's delighted expression, Yan Feifan said disdainfully, "Is that all it takes to buy you? Just a little potential benefit?"
"Do you think I'm that easily bought?"
Yan Ziruo defended herself, "Feifan, I heard the hospital wanted to hold a donation ceremony, but he turned it down."
She added, "And I still haven't seen any news online about him funding the cancer treatment for that filial daughter's mother. It looks like I was wrong about him before."
"Maybe he genuinely had a change of heart and just wanted to do something good."
"Perhaps," Yan Feifan agreed noncommittally.
Yan Ziruo took a sip of her seaweed soup and noticed her brother seemed a bit listless. "Feifan, was this morning tiring?" she asked with concern.
Yan Feifan shook his head. "I took a bit of a blow."
"I had a small competition with Yu Suye. I was way ahead and thought I had it in the bag, but I ended up losing…"
He briefly recounted the morning's events to his sister, then said dejectedly, "I know what the problem is, actually."
"It's like two martial arts masters. My forms and fundamentals are excellent, way better than Yu Suye's."
"But Yu Suye has more real-world combat experience."
"When we face off, I come up just a little short."
Yan Ziruo smiled and comforted him, "Feifan, don't be so down."
"Isn't that Yu Suye known as the most outstanding of the Yu Family's younger generation?"
"The Yu Family is a renowned and established medical family. Yu Suye must have been meticulously tutored by more than one famous medical expert since she was a child."
"Who knows how many resources the Yu Family has invested in her. The fact that you can outperform her in so many areas is something to be proud of."
Yan Feifan gave a small smile. "When you put it like that, Sis, I do feel a lot better."
He sighed softly. 'I need to adjust my mindset. I can't get too arrogant and think no one is better than me.'
'The world is a big place. There will always be someone who's better than me at something.'
Seeing her brother was still a bit down, Yan Ziruo suddenly felt a pang of heartache.
'Her little brother had always been number one, never number two, ever since he was a child!'
'Other people only saw his high IQ and talent, but Yan Ziruo knew all his accomplishments came from his own hard work and self-discipline.'
'A child with no parents has to grow up fast.'
'Her brother always had his nose in a book. She'd never seen him play video games or go out with his friends like other kids his age.'
'He was so mature, always helping around the house. He started tutoring at a young age to earn money so they wouldn't have to ask others for help.'
'Compared to him, she, his older sister, fell far short. She'd even developed a habit of depending on her little brother.'
Yan Ziruo reached out and stroked her brother's head. "Feifan, don't put so much pressure on yourself. You're already more than good enough."
Yan Feifan shook his head, batting her hand away. "Sis, don't pat my head in public," he said, annoyed.
"I'm not a kid anymore."
Yan Ziruo just laughed.
She launched another sneak attack, ruffling his hair. "No matter how old you get, you'll always be my little brother…"
Seeing the helpless look on her brother's face, Yan Ziruo chuckled. "Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. I have something to tell you."
"Feifan, you have a pretty good relationship with Mr. Qi, right?"
"It's decent enough," Yan Feifan replied simply.
"A colleague from my office has a relative—from her mother-in-law's side of the family. She's only thirty-one and wants to have a second child, but she's experiencing amenorrhea."
Yan Ziruo explained, "She got treatment back home for a while with no success, so she wants to come to the Affiliated Hospital."
"Her mother-in-law wants to cut to the chase and have her seen by the best doctor at the hospital right away."
"Feifan, can you help with this?"
Yan Ziruo quickly added, "But don't feel pressured!"
Yan Feifan scoffed lightly. "When it comes to helping people, I never bite off more than I can chew."
"It's just that gynecology isn't Mr. Qi's specialty."
"How about this, Sis, I'll take a look at her medical records first."
"If the condition is complex and difficult enough, I'll ask Mr. Qi to step in and have Mr. Cui from the Diagnostics Department, who specializes in gynecology, take over the case."
Yan Ziruo hummed in agreement, then changed the subject. "Feifan, I ran into Dr. Zhao Dongsheng this morning."
"He mentioned inviting you to do some freelance surgery. He said it was just simple cosmetic scar removal, and that you could easily make ten or twenty thousand a month."
"But you refused!"
After a pause, Yan Ziruo continued, "I told him that when it comes to medicine and work, you're the one who makes all the decisions. I don't get involved."
"I don't have time for that kind of freelance work right now!"
Yan Feifan explained simply, then added, "Sis, for the time being, I have to go to the ER every afternoon for practice."
"I don't know what time I'll get off work. If it's too late, I'll just sleep at the hospital."
"You don't have to wait for me after your shift ends."
Yan Ziruo said glumly, "So you're back to those days where you know when you start work, but never when you'll finish."
She couldn't help but complain, "Feifan, you should stay in the diagnostics department for a while longer. Wait until your body has completely recovered before getting so busy."
Yan Feifan flexed his arm, then realized his sleeve was covering his biceps, which weren't very prominent anyway.
"Sis, my body has already recovered."
He explained, then asked with concern, "Have the people from the plastic surgery center been bothering you again?"
Yan Ziruo shook her head. "No! They probably saw I'm not easy to deal with and gave up!"
"Feifan, I consulted a classmate who's studying law."
"About that matter, the most they can get me for is being careless. I don't have any legal liability…"