CHAPTER 163: I’M MOST AFRAID OF SUDDEN SILENCE IN THE AIR.

(Thanks to my friend 08a for the reward and encouragement, and to my friends The Time That Has Passed and 11111 for their vote of confidence.)

Although Han Miao was a minor and her guardian was absent, the emergency department had its own protocols for such urgent situations. Liu Banxia just needed to call Zhou Shuwen to report it, and the operation would be perfectly legal and justified.

"She’s been diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage, and we’re preparing the operating room now. Shouldn’t you make a call?" Liu Banxia asked Xiao Yue upon returning to the emergency department.

"Oh, it really is a cerebral hemorrhage! I’ll call right now," Xiao Yue replied hurriedly.

Liu Banxia felt relieved. Now that it’s been discovered, a craniotomy to stop the bleeding should suffice. For the neurosurgeons at Second Hospital, this is a very routine procedure.

However, this news struck Teacher Song differently. My student has a cerebral hemorrhage? Did she hit her head at school?

The thought made her dizzy, and her body swayed.

Liu Banxia, standing beside her, quickly steadied her, helping her sit on the hospital bed. "Don’t worry, it’s just a routine surgery. The bleeding point is very small, which is why the symptoms took so long to become this pronounced."

"Fortunately, you brought her in. If the bleeding had increased, it would have raised her intracranial pressure and compressed brain tissue. Intervening with surgery now means she’ll recover without any lasting effects."

"My goodness, Dr. Liu, how did she get a hemorrhage? I mean, if it were my dad, who drinks and socializes all the time, that would be understandable, but this..." Qiu Mingyuan finally processed the situation.

"She likely had a small cerebral aneurysm that ruptured when she fell while running. The impact wasn’t severe at the time, so no one noticed," Liu Banxia explained.

AHEM. AHEM.

At this moment, Zhou Li, who was not far away, coughed lightly. When Liu Banxia looked over, she glared at him.

Liu Banxia was a bit baffled. I diagnosed it correctly, I didn’t make any mistakes. Then he noticed that Xiao Yue, Qiu Mingyuan, and Xu Dan were looking at him rather strangely, and the air had suddenly fallen silent.

Why?

Teacher Song had been genuinely terrified. Even with Liu Banxia supporting her on the bed, she felt unsteady and had naturally leaned against him.

Everyone had been focused on Han Miao’s condition and hadn’t paid much attention to this. But now that the immediate crisis was clear, this detail couldn’t be ignored.

The only one unconcerned by the charged atmosphere was Qing Kewa. She had witnessed everything and was mentally replaying the diagnostic process. I still thought a thoracoabdominal CT was necessary. What if it was caused by an internal tumor? But the amazing Dr. Liu made the right call, saving the patient a lot of time. For cerebral hemorrhage patients, time truly is life.

"Teacher Song, don’t worry, the surgery won’t take too long. However, you’ll need to stay here for now to look after her, as we don’t know when her parents will arrive," Liu Banxia said earnestly, subtly shifting a little to the side.

"Okay... I can stay," Teacher Song nodded, also realizing that her earlier posture had been a bit inappropriate.

The atmosphere grew slightly awkward, leaving even Zhou Li speechless. Where did his usual perceptiveness go?

"Dr. Liu, will Miao Miao really be okay after the surgery?" Qiu Mingyuan asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"You can ask Xiao Yue. All surgeries carry risks, but statistically, Han Miao has a very high chance of making a full recovery," Liu Banxia said.

"Yeah, I asked my dad. He said he’ll arrange everything, and she’ll be fine," Xiao Yue said happily.

"None of you have eaten, right? Doctor Liang, please take them to the cafeteria. Just use my card," Liu Banxia said, taking out his card.

"Dr. Liu, no, please, we can’t let you pay. I’ll treat everyone. Doctor Liang, where is the cafeteria?" Qiu Mingyuan interjected before Liang Xiaolin could take the card.

"You’re just a kid. With so many adults here, we can’t let you pay," Liang Xiaolin said with a smile.

"Dr. Liu, you go eat with them too. I’ll keep an eye on things here in the emergency department," Wei Yuan said.

"That sounds great. That whole situation was so tense, I’m actually starving now," Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

"Let’s eat first, so we don’t waste time. Don’t you all have exams this afternoon? Did you miss the morning one? Do you need me to write a note or something?"

"Dr. Liu, our Teacher Song is right here, why would we need a note? Besides, this morning’s exam was our last one. We’re free this afternoon," Qiu Mingyuan said, finding it both funny and exasperating.

"Well, why didn’t you say so earlier? You had me worried for nothing," Liu Banxia said, widening his eyes in mock annoyance.

"Dr. Liu, do you think I have what it takes to be a doctor?" Qiu Mingyuan asked with a grin.

"Haha, that I wouldn’t know. At the very least, you’d have to get into medical school. Only after you’ve studied would you know if it suits you," Liu Banxia replied with a laugh.

"Even if I don’t get into medical school, I’m not leaving Binhai," Qiu Mingyuan declared earnestly.

"Miao Miao still needs surgery, and you two are over here joking around," Xiao Yue, walking ahead, turned and shot them a glare.

Qiu Mingyuan clammed up, which Liu Banxia found highly amusing. I suspected there was something unusual about their relationship the last time they met. Well, this was solid proof. He might be muddle-headed about his own life, but he sure enjoyed watching other people’s drama with great enthusiasm.

They formed quite a large contingent: Liu Banxia with his two "lovely bodyguards" (Liang Xiaolin and Qing Kewa), plus Xu Dan. On the other side were Teacher Song with Qiu Mingyuan and Xiao Yue—enough people that one table wouldn’t seat them all.

Many onlookers were envious. Dr. Liu is really something. When does he ever eat alone? With company like this, even if the food were mediocre, you’d still enjoy an extra helping of rice.

Today, they didn’t order any dishes a la carte, mainly to save time. Liu Banxia naturally paid with his card. While others were mostly done, he was still tucking into a large plate of rice topped with two servings of curry chicken.

His appetite alone meant he ate more than Teacher Song and her two students combined.

"Dr. Liu, you can really eat a lot, huh?" Qiu Mingyuan asked curiously.

"I have to. You never know when an emergency surgery will come up, and the next meal could be hours away," Liu Banxia said, mixing his rice.

"By the way, you all know Wang Mingxing, right? If you’re free tonight, come with me to his place for barbecue. He’s been asking me for ages, but I haven’t had the time."

His reasoning was simple: Xiao Yue was Xiao Zhaoqiu’s daughter, and it was important to keep her happy. However, to the others, his invitation sounded like he had an ulterior motive, especially after what had transpired in the ward earlier. After all, a peculiar scene had unfolded on the hospital bed not so long ago.

"Wang Mingxing isn’t in our class, but we play basketball together often. If it’s no trouble, I’ll tag along. And it’s settled, I’m treating tonight," Qiu Mingyuan said.

"You silly child, it’s not your turn. Plenty of people are lining up to treat him," Liang Xiaolin chimed in.

Actually, I really don’t want to go to this dinner tonight, Liang Xiaolin thought. But Qing Kewa is bouncing with excitement and looking forward to it so much, I’ll just have to keep her company. That Liu Banxia is too thoughtless, always acting on a whim! Can’t he be a bit more dedicated?

she fumed internally, jabbing at her rice so hard with her chopsticks it was a wonder they didn’t break.

It had to be said, the cafeteria food was quite good. Qiu Mingyuan ate with gusto; for him, finishing everything on his plate was the highest form of praise.

From their conversation, it was also clear that Qiu Mingyuan’s family was genuinely well-off. His cultured speech wasn’t an act, unlike some people who, with only three hundred yuan in their pocket, would boast about multi-million yuan deals.

「On the way back」

"Qing Kewa, why are you so listless today?" Liu Banxia asked casually.

"Dr. Liu, what does ’listless’ mean?" Qing Kewa asked curiously.

"Er... it means looking like you have no energy, unenthusiastic," Liu Banxia explained after a moment’s thought.

"No, no, no, Dr. Liu, I’m very energetic! I’m just thinking about something," Qing Kewa said earnestly.

"I still don’t quite understand why you were so certain it was a cerebral hemorrhage back then. I kept thinking it might be a reaction caused by some tumor."

Liu Banxia nodded. "That was indeed a possibility. A key indicator I relied on was the sudden onset of the patient’s condition and its rapid deterioration."

"No matter the type of tumor, it grows from small to large. Even the most malignant tumors undergo a period of development and change. During this period, the patient would experience effects."

"However, considering the patient had always been perfectly normal and then suddenly developed these epileptic symptoms, while other basic examinations were normal, I felt it was worth investigating for a cerebral hemorrhage, even if it seemed less likely at first."

Qing Kewa thought about this seriously, then nodded happily, her face breaking into a radiant smile. That was a difficult point that had been bothering me, and now I understand.

「Back at the Emergency Department」

Liu Banxia didn’t go straight to the main waiting hall but headed to the inpatient ward on the second floor to check on Grandpa Cao.

"Dr. Liu, come in, sit down! Help yourself to whatever you want to eat, don’t stand on ceremony with me," Grandpa Cao, who had been listening to storytelling, said with renewed spirits.

"We just finished eating. Where are your sons? Why is it just you today?" Liu Banxia asked.

"I sent the older one to eat. It’s no use him just sitting here with me. He’s not as helpful as your nurses, and frankly, just looking at him gets on my nerves," Grandpa Cao said.

"Your health indicators are well-controlled now. A few more days of care, and you should be ready for discharge. And remember what I said: take proper medication. Don’t trust ads; trust the results," Liu Banxia said.

"This time, I swear I won’t take just any random stuff again. SIGH... those things are such a scam," Grandpa Cao sighed.

"When I was a soldier, I participated in flood fighting and emergency rescues. I was swept away by floodwaters but didn’t drown, yet I was nearly killed by these sellers of fake medicine! I heard the people from that shop all fled, no idea where to."

"Try not to get too worked up about them. There are too many people like that," Liu Banxia consoled him.

"You get some rest for now. My senior colleague is on duty here tonight, and I have some errands to run. He’s very skilled, even more so than me. If anything comes up, just ask the nurse to call him directly."

"You’ve already taken such good care of me. I’ve been hospitalized before, but this is the happiest I’ve been during a stay," Grandpa Cao said.

This made Liang Xiaolin laugh. After interacting with Grandpa Cao over these past couple of days, she’d realized he had a very cheerful personality.