179 – Busy Man

"Bro!" Ersan greeted Li Yun with a hug as they exited out from the terminal gate. "Sister Meilin, you two had us worried for a moment."

Ersan escorted them to Xuxu, who was waiting by her car.

"Heroic doctor performed miraculous surgery in mid-air, quite impressive," Xuxu jested, cooly leaning on her imported SUV. "Too bad there wasn't any footage on the flight."

The event that happened on the plane made it to national news. When the plane landed, there were reporters camped near the airport ready to take pictures when the woman was transferred into the ambulance. It wasn't every day that a flight was grounded for medical reasons.

Although the reporters weren't able to get close-up pictures, there were plenty of passengers who were able to take pictures. Rouxi avoided most of the cameras as she wasn't close to the patient, but Li Yun's pictures were everywhere as he was the one escorting the patient to the hospital. Privacy did not exist in China. After the incident, the airline offered to pay for their next flight to Magic City.

"Doesn't he look cool? I took a video!" Rouxi's video focused on Li Yun, but it was for her personal collection that she was planning to share with Lu Suyin and Wu Ling.

Xuxu drove them to the apartment. The last time Li Yun had stayed there, he didn't think it belonged to RoXu Enterprise. There were more than 100 units, and most were occupied. Ersan and his girlfriend stayed in a unit on the 7th floor. Rouxi and Xuxu both had units next to each other on the 11th floor.

After Li Yun and Rouxi dropped off their luggage, they headed over to Xuxu's apartment. A handsome man in his late thirties opened the door.

"Hi Meimei," the man greeted and considered giving her a hug, but being a tactful man, he reached out to give Li Yun a handshake instead. "This is Li Yun?"

"Hi, nice to meet you. You're Guan Dao?" asked Li Yun.

Guan Dao was Xuxu's live-in boyfriend for the past five months. After the brief introduction, they headed inside for dinner.

"Brother Dao is pretty cool, how did you manage to cook all of this with your work schedule?" asked Rouxi, eating the dumpling with shredded pork.

The dishes of Imperial City cuisine were laid out perfectly on the round table as though they were eating out at a fine dining restaurant. The six friends, old and new, sat together to enjoy a meal that Xuxu's boyfriend cooked.

"It's not that hectic, I'm sure your boyfriend has a crazier schedule than me," Guan Dao replied.

Li Yun heard Xuxu's boyfriend was a plastic surgeon, but it wasn't the type most people assumed when they thought of plastic surgeons. Guan Dao specialized in burn restoration and reconstructive surgery. He often worked in the ER to provide consultation and cosmetic repairs.

"This is considered a vacation," Li Yun replied, examining the evenly cut pieces of roasted pork.

"Still, managing to save people on vacation is quite impressive," said Guan Dao.

"I'm sure you provide a more meaningful service."

Guan Dao laughed at Li Yun's remark. "Many of my colleagues think I'm overpaid. They don't see it as meaningful work."

Plastic surgeons received larger red envelopes after their surgeries than the rest of their peers.

The ER doctors who worked regularly to save people's lives weren't paid close to the amount they deserved. Doctors were expected to save a person's life, and therefore not paid as much. Patients could quibble with their doctor on a 40k yuan pacemaker, but they wouldn't bat twice about spending 50k on a facelift.

Li Yun laughed. "I bet they are orthopedic surgeons."

It was likely that Guan Dao had to work with a lot of orthopedic surgeons, who were known for being territorial. It wasn't because they were orthopedic surgeons, but because of the salary and necessity of their profession had inflated their egos. As one of the most powerful departments in China, orthopedic surgeons had taken over spinal surgery, which was usually operated by neurosurgeons in other countries.

With a high salary and constant stream of red envelopes, they were often the envy of other doctors and surgeons. However, it did not mean that plastic surgeons were overpaid. People often forget the importance of physical appearances on mental health. If a person did not feel happy about themselves, it could lead to mental illness. How many people suffered from depression because they felt ugly?

No matter how many times people tell each other that the inside was important, the reality was, the physical appearance was what people see. Understanding a person's inner beauty took too much time, especially if it was covered in darkness.

In most places, plastic surgeons were highly sought after and almost on par with orthopedic surgeons.

"You're a trauma surgeon? Do you perform orthopedic surgery often?" Guan Dao had heard Li Yun was also skilled in radiology and vascular surgery, but he wasn't sure if he had done any orthopedic surgery.

Li Yun shook his head, "the orthopedic department handles broken bones and fractures." He had little reason to pick fights and steal patients from the powerful department in the hospital. "You're a professor at Magic City University Hospital?"

"Associate professor, not a full-fledged professor. I heard you're giving a lecture at the Magic City Cancer Center in coordination with the TCM University?"

"It's in a few days, but I'm heading to MCUH to see Doctor Shao Shan tomorrow."

"Why are doctors so boring?" Xuxu interrupted them.

"Ah, yes, that reminds me, I have a present for Meimei," said Ersan. Ersan gave Rouxi a wrapped present. "Beibei and I had a deadline, so you couldn't attend your birthday. Happy belated!"

Rouxi took the gift and thanked the couple.

"Beibei, when is your cousin coming?"

"Nali? She will arrive on Friday," Beibei responded.

"Invite her over, I haven't seen her in awhile."

"Can you not cause trouble?" asked Li Yun.

"What! Nali is my friend too, you know. And I'm sure Meilin will want to meet her."

"I wish, but Yun and I are going somewhere," said Rouxi.

"Oh, how could I forget?" Xuxu asked with a knowing grin. "Isn't that the day I texted you? Did you two meet up afterward?"

"Wait, seriously? It has been a year already?" Ersan couldn't believe how fast time had flown by. When he learned about them dating, it was after his graduation and that was six months ago.

They continued talking throughout the night. The following day, Rouxi dropped Li Yun at the hospital as she went shopping with the others.

"I heard you made quite a splash in Changkou," said Professor Shao Shan greeting Li Yun at the entrance of Magic City University Hospital.

"Good to see you too," Li Yun shook his hands.

"You're quite a busy man." Professor Shao Shan had also seen the news of Li Yun's surgery in Changkou.

"I am just making my rounds to advertise my medicine," Li Yun. "You said there's someone with idiopathic neuropathy?"

"Come, I'll introduce you."

"Why did you think I could assist you?" asked Li Yun.

"I thought since you could create medicine to relieve pain, at least you should have some idea on neuropathic disease."

"That's a bit far fetched."

"Not as far-fetched as using acupuncture needles to stop pain." Professor Shao Shan had a point. "And you wouldn't agree to seeing the patient if you didn't completely think it was out of your element."

Li Yun considered the nervous system to be his weakness, but only because he knew far more about the CV system. He could discern the location of the nerves based on the vasa nervorum, blood vessels that send blood to the peripheral nerves. If an area contained damaged vasa nervorum, it was likely that the nerve was damaged as well. The ability gave him an edge over neurologists.

His main problem was the nerves themselves. He lacked information about the nerve fibers and neurons. Unlike the CV system, the nerve fibers were technically not connected to each other.

Li Yun reviewed the medical reports from Chen Weili's files. Chronic pain was usually caused by the nervous system sending false signals to the brain. The problem with neuropathy was that tests were performed to rule out illnesses, and most were diagnosed based on clinical experience.

"You gave her Huifu?" asked Li Yun looking at the latest report.

"Yes, for a few days, and she has been able to sleep because of it," said Professor Shao Shan. "Mr. Chen had been easier to deal with since she wasn't in as much pain as before."

"What dosage did you give her?"

"30 mg. I want to see if we can reduce it and see if her pain still persists. We may end up diagnosing her with fibromyalgia."

It was a condition of severe chronic pain caused by mental or physical triggers.

"Isn't that the same diagnostic as Imperial City Hospital?" asked Li Yun.

"Well, that's what the director is afraid of," said Professor Shao Shan. After exhausting all tests, it was a common diagnostic given to patients.

They arrived at the suite and greeted the people in the room.

"Mr. Chen, Ms. Chen, this is Dr. Li, he would like to check on your condition," Professor Shao Shan introduced.

Chen Toubo did not say much, as he had been worried about his wife's health. Chen Weili appeared in good health aside from the paleness of her skin, likely from lack of sleep.

Li Yun wondered if they were Chen Gan's parents. Something about them was off, but many married couples had problems, especially the wealthy ones. He approached Chen Weili and felt her pulse.