MEDLIFE 2

Luo Jingyi squared her shoulders and entered through the back. Luo Jingyi was assailed by that all familiar hospital scent and smiled, "Game on."

Luo Jingyi's first stop was the Emergency room because she wanted to check how it was run and what system was being followed. It wasn't as busy as she expected. There were nurses at the station, gossiping.

Luo Jingyi saw a man writhing in pain. He was on the floor. She hurriedly neared him and helped him to get on the bed. "Can you hear me?" The man nodded. Luo Jingyi continued, "Okay, I'm going to check your abdominal area." When he gave another nod, Luo Jingyi fixed his position on the bed and palpated his abdomen. She placed her hand on the abdominal wall and applied, firm yet steady pressure. At the same time, she asked the man to rate the intensity of pain as she palpated from the upper quadrant to the lower quadrant. 

"What are you doing?" A woman spoke behind Luo Jingyi. Without lifting her head, Luo Jingyi replied, "Isn't it obvious? I'm checking on him."

"He's my patient. What are you doing? It's just simple gastritis" The woman in a white coat pushed Luo Jingyi aside. It was Dr. Tang. 

"Are you sure about that?" Luo Jingyi challenged her. When she palpated, his abdomen was soft and non-tender. Also, she noticed the jugular venous distention. 

"How dare you question my diagnosis!" The woman's brows furrowed. "Who is this woman?" Dr. Tang turned to the nurse behind as she pointed to Luo Jingyi. The nurse gave a blank look. 

"I am asking if you are certain it's gastritis." Luo Jingyi asked again. The woman proudly nodded. "Of course."

"Bring me an echocardiogram machine," Luo Jingyi ordered the nurse who was hovering. At the same time, Luo Jingyi placed a stethoscope on the man's chest and listened to the patient's heart. His heart sounds were muffled.

The nurse didn't dare to move and looked at Dr. Tang for instruction. "Get it." Dr. Tang ordered while she looked at Luo Jingyi condescendingly as if what Luo Jingyi was doing was non-sensical. Luo Jingyi took the machine to take a cardiac ultrasound. She moved, rotated, and slid the probe on the man's chest while looking at the screen.

"So, how do you explain this?" Luo Jingyi angled the screen for the woman to see. Dr. Tang squinted at the screen. There was fluid build up around the man's heart. She couldn't believe she missed that. 

"Get a chest X-ray, perform a lab test, and get a TTE." Luo Jingyi told Blue girl who arrived panting. Blue girl nodded and spun on her heel. It was a good thing she checked the Emergency Room instead of joining everyone who was at the entrance waiting for Luo Jingyi's arrival.

Blue girl was stopped by Dr. Tang. "Hold on a second, who are you to order people around?" The question was directed to Luo Jingyi. 

"Save it. The patient comes first." Luo Jingyi turned her back and pulled the man's chart, but before she could check the notes on it, the chart was forcibly grabbed by Dr. Tang.

"Are you the doctor who got transferred from the branch hospital?" When Luo Jingyi was silent, Dr. Tang scoffed. "Don't think that you can just barge in and do what you want. You country bumpkins don't have any idea how big city hospital's work." Because Luo Jingyi was wearing a simple attire, Dr. Tang had mistaken Luo Jingyi as the new doctor who was transferred from a branch hospital in a small town.

Luo Jingyi's brows knitted. 'What is she talking about?' She glanced at her attire and wondered if she was wearing countrified clothes. But she wasn't. Blue girl almost wanted to puke. 'How could she relegate Dr. Luo to a country doctor?' Blue girl opened her mouth to explain but was silenced by Luo Jingyi's eyes.

"Go and do the test." Luo Jingyi turned to Blue girl and decided to ignore the woman, which irritated Dr. Tang more. She hated other doctor's meddling in her case, especially if the other person was a nobody.

Dr. Tang grasped Luo Jingyi's hand. "It feels like I was talking to the air, or are you just deaf. I can't believe the Director even signed your transfer."

"Let go of my hand while I am asking nicely." Luo Jingyi warned. Dr. Tang suddenly felt chills passed her. Her grip loosened. 

Turning her back on the woman, Luo Jingyi repeated her order to Blue girl. "Right away, Dr. Luo." Blue girl purposely addressed Luo Jingyi louder so that they could hear. She couldn't stand the other doctor from relegating Dr. Luo as nobody. It had to stop now.

Dr. Tang paled when she heard the name. She couldn't believe she belittled the woman she meant to impress. She was very confident that she could get into Dr. Luo's special OR team. "Oh, Dr. Luo. Please forgive my improper behavior earlier." Gone was her condescending behavior. She was gravely mistaken. She mistook Luo Jingyi as the junior resident who was starting work today. 

Luo Jingyi simply looked at her. She almost wanted to glare at Blue girl for mentioning her name. She was disappointed that she couldn't do her observation as planned. Luo Jingyi reached for the chart and skimmed over the patient's report. The man was brought to the ER after complaining of recurring stomach pain. He came in minutes before the shift change, so she had a suspicion, the staff brushed it off as simple gastritis. He was given analgesics to alleviate the pain. Nobody ran tests and sometimes small mistakes as this one could lead to severe repercussions. 

Blue girl returned later and showed the report on the computer. "Dr. Luo, his TTE showed evidence of right ventricular collapse."

Luo Jingyi was right. She suspected pericardial effusion. "Contact the general surgeon who's on duty today and report the case." She instructed. 

Dr. Tang, who was standing docilely beside Luo Jingyi and the other nurses were surprised. They all thought Luo Jingyi was going to wrestle the case and operate on the man to show off her surgical prowess. 

Meanwhile, at the hospital entrance, a few people craned their necks to check if Luo Jingyi arrived, but as the minute dragged on, her shadow never appeared. They were starting to be irritated.

When one of the interns checked her phone that beeped, she announced, "Dr. Luo is already at the ER."

"What?!" A collected gasp was heard.

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Extra:

YJH: I hate you Aeris! You purposely sent me away. I miss my wife. 

Aeris: Keep on saying that and I will never lift your ban! I shall keep you overseas. 

EvilMe: You are too soft. Kill his character and replace him, ah. 

Aeris: (Cupping an elbow with one hand while tapping the lips with the other) Hmm- that's a good suggestion.

YJH: (He warned cooly) Do it and the readers will turn you both into a roasted chicken. 

Aeris: You are right. (Contemplating) Well, I shall let you return next week. 

YJH: (A triumphant smile was tugged at the corner of his mouth)