The City First Hospital Emergency Department suddenly saw a surge of patients registering and queueing up just to get a look at Wu Ting. Of course, some had come because of his newfound fame, specifically requesting him for their sutures.
The other doctors in the emergency department had mixed feelings about this phenomenon.
Some were envious that Wu Ting had gone a little viral, while others, of course, looked down on him and gossiped behind his back.
This was especially true for the current batch of residents; many were disdainful of what they saw as Wu Ting's cheap publicity stunt.
"Does this Wu Ting really think going a little viral online will increase his chances of getting a permanent position? That's just delusional. We're doctors; we're judged by our skills, not our looks."
"Exactly. If we were ranked by looks, wouldn't that make Cheng Feng even worse off than me?"
"+1. Worse-looking than me, too."
"+1"
"That's not very nice of you to say. I mean, sure, Cheng Feng isn't exactly handsome, but... he really is pretty unattractive."
"..."
"Still, I heard Wu Ting has really been showing some talent in suturing lately. It's probably not just a groundless rumor."
"Give me a break. He's a resident, just like us. How much clinical experience could he possibly have? It must be one of those fangirl bloggers making stuff up for traffic. What does she know about good Suturing Skill?"
"That's true. But this whole thing really has brought him a lot more cases. A lot of patients are specifically asking for him to handle their wound debridement and suturing."
"Society is really going downhill. I even saw a few girls dressed like students with tiny little cuts. If they'd come any later, their wounds would've already healed on their own."
...
...
Shen Guofeng, the Director of the Emergency Center at Jinggang University Affiliated First Hospital in Jin Province, was also a Fan City native.
He happened to have some time off today and had returned home from Xiao City.
Aside from medicine, Shen Guofeng's greatest hobbies were gardening and fishkeeping.
However, he hadn't expected that while trimming a banyan bonsai, his mind would wander, and he would snip the web of his thumb, causing blood to gush out instantly.
The pruning shears were large and sharp, and the wound was quite big.
As a doctor, his home was naturally stocked with first-aid supplies. After giving the wound a simple disinfection himself, he still decided to head to a hospital for proper treatment.
The closest hospital to his villa district was Fan City First Hospital. Of course, compared to Jinggang University Affiliated First Hospital, Fan City First Hospital was a far cry.
But within Fan City, City First Hospital was still the best.
Soon enough, Shen Guofeng arrived at the emergency department of City First Hospital.
Given his status, a single phone call would have had even Huo Yun personally coming to greet him. However, Shen Guofeng was a very low-key person and didn't want to bother his old friend.
Besides, it wouldn't be a particularly proud moment if word got out that the Director of the Emergency Center at Jinggang University Affiliated First Hospital had gone to City First Hospital for treatment.
He decided to just follow the standard procedure—take a number and wait in line. It would also give him a chance to observe the diagnosis and treatment process in the Fan City First Hospital emergency department.
And what he saw truly surprised him. There were quite a few female patients ahead of him, and they were all asking for a Dr. Wu Ting by name.
From the snippets of their conversation, Shen Guofeng managed to piece together what was going on.
'I can't believe they're actually queueing up at the emergency department just to get a look at this so-called 'divinely handsome' doctor.'
'Isn't this a waste of medical resources?'
'If they were clamoring like this because the doctor was highly skilled, that would be understandable. But to do it just for his looks? That's not taking things seriously at all. This is a hospital!'
Shen Guofeng felt a sour taste in his mouth. If this were his hospital, he would have immediately disciplined a junior doctor who engaged in such publicity stunts.
'Next time I see Huo Yun, I'll have to have a word with him. This sort of thing shouldn't be allowed.'
Time ticked by, second by second.
Soon, it was Shen Guofeng's turn. To his surprise, the doctor assigned to treat him was none other than the very same Dr. Wu Ting that so many patients had been requesting.
Looking at Wu Ting's handsome, bright face, Shen Guofeng could understand why so many people online were flocking to him.
'I hope this young doctor doesn't let all this superficial hype go to his head. Honing his fundamental skills is the only proper path.'
Shen Guofeng was, after all, a man of status and position, so he wouldn't say anything out loud, simply acting like an ordinary patient.
Shen Guofeng's case was relatively simple.
After a quick examination, Wu Ting determined that all it needed was a simple debridement, followed by sutures.
Wu Ting led Shen Guofeng into a treatment room. Since his injury was minor, Wu Ting could handle it by himself.
As Wu Ting debrided the wound, he was a little surprised. It looked as though the wound had already been given a preliminary disinfection, but he didn't ask any questions.
After irrigating it a second time, Wu Ting began to suture the wound.
Since the wound was on the web of the thumb, Wu Ting optimized his suturing method.
During the subcutaneous suturing, he passed the needle deep into the dermal layer. When the knot was tightened, the skin edge formed multi-layered folds rather than a punctate depression. This prevented the separation of the epidermis from the dermis at the suture site, which could otherwise lead to tension blisters and impede healing.
As for the epidermis on either side of the wound, he used a fine needle and thin thread to achieve precise anatomical apposition.
Over the past few days, by integrating the 'Top Student's Talent (Yellow)' he'd gotten from Cheng Feng, Wu Ting's original Suturing Skill had evolved, and he'd had new insights.
Although it was a very simple wound treatment, the thought and technique it demonstrated were exceptionally skillful.
Looking at the meticulous suture line on the web of his thumb, how could a veteran chief physician like Shen Guofeng not recognize the skill involved?
'He was rather surprised. This young doctor really had some skill.'
Shen Guofeng's opinion of Wu Ting improved considerably. By extension, he also began to see the emergency department of City First Hospital in a new light.
'After all, this was just a junior doctor, yet his suturing level was nearly on par with some of the attending physicians at my own hospital.'
"Change the dressing every other day. If the wound heals well, you can have the stitches removed in about a week."
After finishing the sutures, Wu Ting went over the aftercare instructions.
Shen Guofeng acknowledged with a placid expression and left the emergency department, feeling rather surprised.
[Ding! Host has completed one suturing procedure on patient Shen Guofeng. Obtained entry from Shen Guofeng: Diagnosis Skill (Purple)]
[Diagnosis Skill (Purple): A Diagnosis Skill from a master, extremely rare. Allows the user to analyze and see through numerous difficult and complex medical cases.]
'Over the course of the day, he had gotten a few entries from those other patients, but they were all strange and mostly useless.'
'But with this patient, Wu Ting was completely stunned.'
'It was actually Diagnosis Skill (Purple)!'
'Until now, the best entry he'd ever gotten was the Top Student's Talent (Yellow) from Cheng Feng. Even the entries he had synthesized himself had only reached the yellow tier. He never imagined he would get a purple one.'
'Just how powerful is it?'
Wu Ting's heart began to pound in his chest.
'I wonder what kind of master physician he is.'