Chapter 797: Teacher

Chapter 797: Chapter 797: Teacher

At the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of Feng City People’s Hospital.

Ju Jiahong sat behind a large mahogany desk, flipping through a proposal for the "Youth Traditional Chinese Medicine Exchange Conference." Sitting opposite him was Liu Haohui, an attending physician in the department.

"Director Ju, you were looking for me?" Liu Haohui looked rather relaxed. Although Ju Jiahong was a chief physician and only a few years older than him, the two of them had a fairly good personal relationship. Liu Haohui knew the temper of this "TCM genius" very well—as long as they weren’t discussing academics, he was actually a quite quiet person.

"Yes." Ju Jiahong nodded, put down the proposal, and looked at Liu Haohui. "Our department is taking the lead in organizing a ’Feng City Youth Traditional Chinese Medicine Exchange Conference’ next Wednesday. It will be held in the auditorium of the City Hotel. When the time comes, you and I will represent our hospital. As for the other hospitals, each department can recommend two or three people."

"Why the sudden idea to hold an exchange conference?" Liu Haohui raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I remember that you’ve never been interested in these kinds of social events, Director Ju. In the past, you’ve always pushed away any such arrangements made by the hospital whenever you could."

Ju Jiahong smiled faintly. "We need to interact with the outside world occasionally. As doctors, no matter how skilled we are, we cannot work behind closed doors. Keeping abreast of the skill levels and trends of the younger generation in other hospitals, as well as gathering industry information, is also beneficial for our own development."

Hearing this, Liu Haohui saw right through him. He stared at Ju Jiahong for a moment and suddenly smiled. "Director Ju, just tell me the truth. Did you hear about some incredible ’newcomer’ at another hospital, and it piqued your interest?"

The reason people in Feng City’s medical circles could easily guess Ju Jiahong’s intentions was that the goals of this "Saint Heir" were simply too predictable.

Ju Jiahong was a classic "academic fanatic." He usually didn’t smoke or drink, and he rarely participated in workplace politics. At the hospital, he was either seeing patients or doing research in the lab or library. The only things that could pique his interest, other than rare and intractable diseases, were those peerless, allegedly god-like genius colleagues. This personality made him seem more like an ancient swordsman wandering the world with a sword, single-mindedly seeking out worthy opponents.

"I did hear that there’s been a very formidable young doctor in the past two years, named Li Xu," Ju Jiahong said. He didn’t intend to hide anything. Since he had already called Dean Song, this matter would spread sooner or later. "I heard he’s the newly hired vice president at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and his name carries a lot of weight. Dr. Liu, you should know this person, right?"

"I know him. Of course, I know him." Liu Haohui nodded, thinking to himself that, as expected, it was because of Li Xu. The commotion Li Xu caused at Feng City Medical College yesterday was simply too huge. Even Dean Ai Rong showed up in person. This news was like a blockbuster bomb dropping on the traditional Chinese medicine circles of Feng City. As the "top dog" of Renmin Hospital, it would be strange if Ju Jiahong had no reaction.

Liu Haohui hesitated for a moment. Looking at Ju Jiahong’s face, which radiated the aura of a "truth seeker," he decided to be a good person and give him a preemptive warning.

"Director Ju, if you’re organizing this exchange conference just for Li Xu, I feel... it’s actually quite unnecessary," Liu Haohui advised sincerely.

"Unnecessary?" Ju Jiahong looked up, a hint of puzzlement in his eyes. "Do you think he’s not qualified to participate in an exchange of this level? Or do you think his reputation doesn’t match his reality?"

Ju Jiahong was naturally brilliant, and his journey up to this point had been smooth sailing. He was a top student in school, exceptionally earned his attending physician title during his Ph.D., became an associate chief physician after three years in the hospital, and last year, he became the youngest chief physician in the province. In his entire life, he had never encountered a rival among his peers. Even descendants from medical families like Liu Haixue and Liu Haohui could only concede defeat in front of him. Therefore, in Ju Jiahong’s subconscious, a so-called "opponent" was merely someone who could make him expend a bit more effort and debate for a few more rounds.

But Liu Haohui knew very well that someone like Li Xu could no longer be measured by the word "genius"; he was a "monster."

"No, I mean this matter is meaningless anyway. I’m telling you the truth. If you insist on sparring with him, you might... ahem, ruin your winning streak’s state of mind," Liu Haohui said tactfully.

Ju Jiahong was slightly taken aback, then chuckled helplessly. He clearly misunderstood Liu Haohui’s meaning. He thought the other party felt that no matter how impressive Li Xu was, he was ultimately only thirty years old. Compared to an already established chief physician with rich clinical experience like himself, the gap was too obvious. Sparring with him would be an overwhelming mismatch, which was why Liu Haohui said it was meaningless.

"I’ve already applied for this with the director. The documents have been sent out, and it’s finalized." Ju Jiahong stood up and straightened his white coat. "Whether his reputation is unearned or he has genuine talent, it’s always good to meet. Our traditional Chinese medicine circle has been stagnant for too long; it needs a bit of fresh blood to stimulate it."

Liu Haohui looked at Ju Jiahong’s confident back, which carried a bit of a "lonely at the top" vibe, sighed silently, and said no more. He thought to himself, "Director Ju, oh, Director Ju. You think Li Xu is a junior you need to mentor, but the way I see it, you’re rushing to put your neck under his guillotine. When you suffer a setback, don’t blame me for not warning you."

At this time, Li Xu had no idea that he had already become a "newcomer to be evaluated" in Ju Jiahong’s eyes.

He had just gotten home from work, taken a shower, and changed into a refreshing set of loungewear. He was planning to brush his teeth, read a book for a while, and then go to sleep. However, his phone rang at an inopportune moment. The caller ID showed: Gao Mingxuan.

Li Xu answered immediately. Gao Mingxuan was a friend of his father’s from when he was still a child, and also a doctor. He had studied under him for a period of time. Although Li Xu hadn’t obtained his system at that time, and the things Gao Mingxuan taught him were quite basic, Gao Mingxuan’s care and guidance during his childhood had been completely genuine. This was a pure teacher-student relationship.

"Teacher," Li Xu greeted politely into the phone.

"Li Xu, you’re not asleep yet, are you? I’m not disturbing your rest, am I?" Gao Mingxuan’s voice came through the receiver, carrying a forced politeness and an unconcealable anxiety.

"I usually go to bed late, so it’s still early." Li Xu noticed the anomaly in his teacher’s tone and asked with concern, "Teacher, from the sound of your voice, is there some sort of emergency?"

"Sigh, there is indeed something, and I’m really embarrassed to ask." Gao Mingxuan sighed on the other end of the line, sounding a bit anxious. "It’s Miaomiao. Miaomiao is sick. Brother Ruiping and his wife were afraid of bothering me at the time, so they didn’t tell me and took the child straight to Feng City. They’ve been seeing doctors there for three or four days, but they still haven’t figured out what’s wrong. I only found out today, and my heart is truly in a panic..."