Chapter 220: The Girls
Although both Chen Yu and Daimon Michiko liked to call on Jounouchi Hiromi to act as an anesthesiologist during surgeries, she was still officially a surgeon in the hospital's roster, not an anesthesiologist. Helping out during surgeries was possible, but it was not Jounouchi Hiromi's primary job.
Despite the fact that as an anesthesiologist, Jounouchi Hiromi's skills surpassed those of other hospital anesthesiologists considerably, her daily work still consisted of typical surgeon duties like seeing patients and even performing surgeries herself.
The role of an anesthesiologist was more like a side interest or an occasional helping hand, and only Chen Yu and Daimon Michiko could call upon her assistance—no other doctors had the clout or the privilege to do so.
For Jounouchi Hiromi, being a regular surgeon was far more relaxing than her previous role as an anesthesiologist. After all, there are always significantly more surgeons than anesthesiologists in a hospital. Some less equipped hospitals may even have only one or two anesthesiologists on staff, with no time for rest during consecutive surgeries, which was more exhausting than being the lead surgeon.
Moreover, from the moment a patient enters the operating room to the moment they wake up from anesthesia, anesthesiologists must pay continuous close attention.
At a university hospital like Eastern University Affiliated Hospital, things were still manageable, but in ordinary emergency hospitals, anesthesiologists were needed for all sorts of surgeries, including painless laparoscopies, outpatient surgeries, gastroscopies, pediatric CT scans, MRI sedations, and painless procedures.
And those were just the regular duties. Emergency shifts were even more daunting, with ectopic pregnancy ruptures, car accidents, cerebral hemorrhages, and the like—each more dangerous than the last. Anesthesiologists had to put patients under and also ensure their safe awakening.
This job was much more tiring than that of a regular doctor, and the incidence of sudden death among anesthesiologists was also much higher.
This was one of the reasons why Jounouchi Hiromi, upon her return to the medical field, did not continue as an anesthesiologist but instead put in the extra effort to qualify as a surgeon. The workload for surgeons was significantly lighter.
Of course, this so-called ease was only relative. Although not a 7K profession like forensic medicine, being a doctor was still exceptionally demanding. Even as a regular surgeon, Jounouchi Hiromi had an abundance of daily tasks—simply slightly less intense compared to her previous anesthesiologist duties.
With a just-released medical report in hand, Jounouchi Hiromi was preparing to head back to her office. She quickly stepped onto the escalator, flipped through a couple of pages of the report, and as Jounouchi Hiromi looked up, she saw someone who surprised her greatly, and it was clear the other person noticed her as well.
"Hiromi!" The other person called out Jounouchi Hiromi's name loudly, eyes brimming with surprise and joy.
However, Jounouchi Hiromi, on being addressed by name, seemed to have a change of expression, showing quite a bit of panic and embarrassment.
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In the office, Chen Yu was seriously contemplating the surgical plan for Higashiyama Keika's X-rays and CT images. Following the suggestion by Daimon Michiko to cut out the deformed spinal segment and replace it with a customized support, thus reducing the workload of spine correction, the entire surgery remained extremely complex and difficult.
Even with the operation time condensed, it was still a major surgery that required several hours to complete. Chen Yu had to meticulously calculate every detail, preparing contingency plans for every possible scenario.
However, just as Chen Yu was thinking about what might be lacking in the surgical plan, someone knocked on the door of his office.
Chen Yu frowned and turned his head, only to see Jounouchi Hiromi entering. His frown smoothed out as he dissipated the initial sense of displeasure.
However, Jounouchi Hiromi did see Chen Yu's displeasure just now, so she asked somewhat cautiously, "Did I disturb you?"
"It's alright, come in. I was just thinking about the surgery plan. Is something the matter?" Even if his train of thought was interrupted, Chen Yu couldn't get mad at his fiancée. After smiling at her, he gestured for her to come in.
Jounouchi Hiromi walked into Chen Yu's office, smiled at him, and seemed to hesitate as if she wanted to say something. At the same time, her face showed a bit of embarrassment, but she still handed over a medical record to Chen Yu, saying, "Do you have time right now, Mr. Chen Yu? Could you take a look at this medical record for me?"
"Medical record?" Hearing Jounouchi Hiromi say this and noticing her strange expression, Chen Yu became somewhat concerned. As he took the medical record from her hands and started to look through it, he asked curiously, "Whose medical record is this? Is it a patient you're treating?"
"It's from... a classmate... of mine in high school." As Chen Yu inquired about the subject, Jounouchi Hiromi's face grew even weirder, as if she had an unusual relationship with this classmate.
"Must be someone you were close to, huh? I know you girls always have a few close friends or classmates, was she one of your best friends? Let me see... Yuiko Tsuina, I've never heard you mention this name before, Hiromi." Chen Yu, looking at the patient's name on the medical record, was surprised that he hadn't heard Jounouchi Hiromi mention it before.
But he didn't dwell on it, flipping through it before looking at the condition described below.
"Er, my relationship with her... was somewhat..." Chen Yu didn't seem to care much, but Jounouchi Hiromi's face made a fleeting blush of embarrassment and awkwardness when she heard the name Yuiko Tsuina, and hesitated before she continued, "Somewhat unusual."
Listening to Jounouchi Hiromi's halting speech, Chen Yu couldn't help but raise his head to look at her, asking with some bewilderment, "What's wrong, Hiromi? Why do you seem to be speaking so hesitantly today?"
Chen Yu put down the medical record and stood up, walking over to Jounouchi Hiromi. Looking at her flushed cheeks, he reached out to touch her forehead with concern and asked, "Are you alright, Hiromi? Why does your face feel so hot? You didn't catch a cold last night, did you?"
"No, I'm fine." Being cared for so affectionately by her fiancé, Jounouchi Hiromi's face became even more embarrassed and shy. Her expression struggled as if she was hesitating, but every time she tried to speak, she didn't know how to say it, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Seeing Jounouchi Hiromi looking so strange, Chen Yu watched her seriously and asked, "What's the matter, Hiromi? You're acting too strangely today, what happened? Is there something you can't tell me?"
"I... Mr. Chen Yu, if I told you I dated someone in high school... what would you think?" Jounouchi Hiromi looked up at Chen Yu with a probing and questioning gaze, "Would you despise me for it?"
"Despise you? Why? Just because you dated someone in high school?" Chen Yu chuckled at Jounouchi Hiromi's words, shaking his head in disbelief while affectionately pinching her nose, "That's nothing to worry about, right? I've had relationships in the past too! Who doesn't have a past? You're not upset over this kind of thing, are you?
Hahaha."
Seeing Chen Yu's nonchalant attitude, Jounouchi Hiromi still asked worriedly, "What if the person I was seeing was a girl?"