As a celebrity, her accommodations were naturally different from ordinary people’s; a single room had to be arranged. Whether it was expensive or not didn’t matter; the class was essential.

Du Heng followed Li Chengzu to a quiet and comfortable hospital room and met the woman named Qinqin.

She looked familiar, and he even had a sense of déjà vu. He thought he’d seen her before, but something seemed off.

After thinking for a long time, Du Heng finally understood. The familiarity stemmed from watching a TV drama she had acted in with Wang Shuqiu. However, apart from scattered plot points, he couldn’t recall which TV drama it was, or even its title.

As for why she didn’t quite look the same, it was because the woman wore makeup when acting in TV dramas. Now, she was barefaced and clean, her expression pained, which explained the feeling of her being both familiar and not.

At the same time, Du Heng also understood why this woman was so thin. Her bone structure, revealed by her thinness, was indeed beautiful and very defined—probably what people online called a "high-fashion face." However, one glance at her body, and all interest would vanish. After all, Du Heng’s philosophy was that being slightly plump was ideal—curvy where it counts. Too thin, and it was all uncomfortably bony.

Upon entering the hospital room, the refined man went to the woman first and reiterated the plan they had discussed. Then, Li Chengzu stepped forward and explained it again in professional terms. Only when the woman nodded in agreement did Li Chengzu turn to Du Heng and say, "Doctor Du, it’s your turn."

Du Heng nodded and confidently stepped forward. "Madam, please bear with it for a moment. I need to perform a check-up."

The woman nodded. She was very curious about how Du Heng would examine her. After all, she had already had two X-rays that day, and she was intrigued by this kind of check-up, which apparently involved no equipment at all.

Du Heng walked over to the woman and had her lie down properly. When he took her arm, the mere action made her cry out in pain.

But was that all? Of course not. Du Heng had to locate every bone fragment and feel the position of the muscle fascia, because the X-rays only showed changes in the bone, not the condition of the surrounding muscles. As Du Heng’s fingers moved, tears streamed down the woman’s face, and she began to scream hoarsely.

Fortunately, Du Heng only palpated the area of the fractured head of her radius bone. Her wrist and palm were only dislocated and fractured, without fragments, so he didn’t need to verify those areas by touch.

Glancing at the woman, who he thought was being a bit dramatic, Du Heng turned to Li Chengzu and said, "Director Li, we can proceed with the manual reduction."

"Alright, let’s go to the operating room. The Anesthetist is already waiting there." After speaking, Li Chengzu called for a nurse to transfer the patient to the operating room.

It had to be said, for Du Heng, a manual reduction could be done anywhere as long as an Anesthetist was available to administer local anesthesia. Ideally, it would be done where a plaster cast could be applied immediately after the reduction for fixation. But the woman was a celebrity. What she wanted was different from ordinary people; she needed to feel her money was well spent. That was why Li Chengzu had suggested going to the operating room, a proposal readily agreed to by both the refined man and the injured woman.

To Du Heng, this was simply a case of having too much money to burn.

Tears streaming down her face, the woman sobbed, "Since you’re going to use an anesthetic, why not wait until after it’s administered to do the check-up?"

Du Heng smiled and said, "I have to first determine if a reduction is possible. If it isn’t, what’s the point of giving you an anesthetic? Besides, without the anesthetic now, I can also confirm if your muscles, meridians, and other tissues are in good condition. If you couldn’t feel pain, I wouldn’t dare perform the reduction on you."

The woman’s Assistant was bustling about, constantly pulling out tissues to wipe the woman’s nose and tears. Even when the nurse had already pushed the gurney away, the Assistant still jogged alongside, determined to wipe her clean.

Du Heng felt tired just watching. That Assistant’s job was practically slavery. He wondered what kind of salary could possibly make someone do that work. He estimated that if it were him, he wouldn’t do such a subservient job unless the pay was at least 50,000 yuan.

The moment he entered the operating room, Du Heng couldn’t tear his eyes away.

Spacious, bright, clean. All sorts of equipment, brand new and looking incredibly high-tech. Compared to the operating room at his Health Clinic, Du Heng felt that his own might not even be as clean and grand as the bathroom attached to this operating room. A wave of envy washed over him.

Li Chengzu saw the sparkle in Du Heng’s eyes and felt a flicker of pleasure. As long as Du Heng liked the environment and atmosphere here, he felt he had a chance.

But he didn’t know that Du Heng was already thinking: When I get back, I need to have a serious talk with An Chunhui. Never mind Class I or Class II operating rooms; those are too expensive, and I can’t afford them nor do I need them. A Class IV standard clean operating room would be enough. Although I can perform reductions anywhere, doing it in an environment like this would definitely feel different. And even if I don’t use it, the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department can. Yu Haiting could also get his fill of performing surgeries. Hmm, Yu Haiting is capable of surgery, but he must get further training. Otherwise, I wouldn’t feel at ease, not even for an appendectomy. Yes, when I get back, I’ll find a place for him to get advanced training.

While the patient was still being anesthetized, Du Heng was already secretly planning for the Health Clinic.

One could only imagine how frustrated Li Chengzu would be, perhaps even to the point of a figurative liver ache, if he knew.

After the Anesthetist made the final confirmation, he nodded to Li Chengzu, indicating they could begin. Li Chengzu then signaled Du Heng to start.

Du Heng took a deep breath, looked over the X-ray films once more, and then began to work according to the plan he had already formulated in his mind.

The woman, initially panicked, started to relax once she realized she felt no pain at all. Watching Du Heng meticulously and slowly palpating her arm, she took the initiative to start a conversation, "Doctor, how should I address you?"

"Du Heng."

"Oh, Doctor Du. My name is Li Qin. You can call me Qinqin."

Du Heng grunted in acknowledgment, then took hold of her numb arm and asked Li Chengzu to assist.

If this were outside, and if this woman weren’t a celebrity, he would have done exactly what he did for that student the other day: press her directly onto the operating table and reduce her fracture using a very rough and simple method. Reducing a major dislocated bone, unlike setting tiny fragments, isn’t done by slowly kneading and pressing. The movements are quite forceful. One must understand that human muscle and fascia aren’t just for appearance or displaying strength; they also protect the bones. Of course, when bones are damaged, this same muscle and fascia become the biggest obstacles. For a major bone like the radius bone, the difficulty in manual reduction isn’t aligning the bone itself, but overcoming the resistance from the muscle fascia.

Li Qin watched as the two men worked on her slender arm as if doing strenuous manual labor, yet she felt no sensation at all. It was a very novel experience.

"Doctor Du, are you a specialist in bone setting?" Li Qin asked, trying to make small talk.

With Li Chengzu’s help, Du Heng first performed the reduction on her wrist joint, then the radius bone. This, again, was a task requiring considerable effort. Only after the joint reduction and the major bone reduction did Du Heng begin the more delicate work of setting the fragments and reducing the fractures in her palm. It was only then that he let out a slight sigh.

Seeing Du Heng ignore her, Li Qin persisted, "Doctor Du, are you a specialist?"

Du Heng couldn’t help but glance up at the woman. She’s so talkative, he thought. Besides, who goes around calling themselves a specialist?

Seeing her unyielding expression, Du Heng continued to feel for the fragments and said coolly, "No."

"Huh? Doctor Du, if you’re not a bone-setting specialist, then what kinds of illnesses do you treat?"

"I’m a general practitioner."

"What’s a general practitioner?"

"It means I treat all sorts of illnesses."

Li Qin suddenly burst into delighted laughter, almost like someone unhinged. Her arm was still broken, and Du Heng couldn’t fathom what she found so amusing.

"Doctor Du, can you perform pulse diagnosis?"

"...Yes."

"Then could you check for me? My stomach has been bothering me. Can you treat it?"

"...Alright. I’ll take a look after I’m finished here."

"Thank you, Doctor Du. After you’re done, will I have any lasting complications?"

"...As long as you follow instructions and don’t move unnecessarily, there shouldn’t be any complications."

"Oh, I’ll definitely listen. I’ll do whatever you tell me."

...

"Doctor Du, does traditional Chinese medicine have any methods for breast enhancement? You know, safe and healthy ones?"

"Yes. Find a boyfriend, then get pregnant."

"What about papaya? Is that effective?"

"No, but it can make your face turn yellow."

"Doctor Du, then..."

Du Heng abruptly let go of her arm and stared helplessly at the incessantly chattering woman.

What he disliked and dreaded most were overly talkative women. And today, he’d encountered one who had seemingly evolved into the ultimate form of chatterbox, about to drive him to his breaking point.

Li Qin looked curiously at Du Heng, who had suddenly straightened up. "What’s wrong, Doctor Du? Is your waist sore?"

Du Heng took a deep breath, turned his head to the Anesthetist, and asked, "Teacher, can you give her an injection in the mouth?"

The Anesthetist looked at Du Heng with an amused grin and said cheerfully, "No."

Du Heng didn’t give up. "Then how about general anesthesia? Let her sleep for a while."

"Not possible."

Li Qin paused, stunned. "Doctor Du, what do you mean by that?"

"Ms. Li, could you please stop asking me questions? They’re making my head buzz so much I’ve forgotten where the fragment I just located needs to be set. If something goes wrong and your bone heals crooked, don’t come crying to me."

Li Qin was utterly dumbfounded, too surprised to speak. Then, her expression shifted to one of extreme grievance. "I only wanted to chat with you because I saw you were working so hard. I just wanted to help you relax a little."

Watching Li Qin’s expressions change in the blink of an eye, Du Heng mused, She really is an actress. She can switch faces on a dime, and her emotional control is impeccable.

"Ms. Li, I really don’t need that. If you absolutely must chat with someone, you can talk to Director Li beside you, or our Anesthetist Teacher. They are very knowledgeable and experienced; I’m sure they have many interesting stories to share."

With that, Du Heng lowered his head again and resumed feeling for the bone fragment.

Li Qin glanced at Li Chengzu, then at the Anesthetist in the corner.

Neither as handsome as Du Heng, and older too. She had absolutely no desire to chat with them.

Turning back to look at the diligently working Du Heng, Li Qin couldn’t stop herself from speaking again, "Doctor Du..." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Quiet, please."

Err...

Li Qin stared at Du Heng, utterly speechless. She never would have imagined that a young man existed in this world who would refuse to chat with her, let alone say something so heartless.

Meanwhile, Li Chengzu and the Anesthetist in the corner almost burst out laughing.