Chapter 215 214: A Man's Fatal Weakness
On Monday morning, just before eight, Yan Feifan and Yu Suye rode their brand-new bicycles to work.
Along the way, the pair cut a striking figure. The woman was beautiful with a great physique, the man tall, slender, and refined. Together with their stylish city bikes, they became a lovely sight for passersby, turning many heads.
Of course, most of those turning heads were doing so because of Yu Suye.
Yan Feifan was merely an afterthought, and his presence only served to confirm a long-held belief in the minds of the men who looked back.
All the finest women end up with pigs.
As for the women who turned their heads, most of them probably thought, 'That scrawny guy must be rich. Filthy rich.'
By the time the two of them biked to the Affiliated Hospital, it was just past eight.
Yan Feifan parked his bicycle in the covered rack and headed first to the trauma surgery ward to check on Peng Jun's thumb.
The moment he entered the room, Yan Feifan saw Peng Jun sitting on the hospital bed, his face contorted in a grimace of extreme pain.
This gave Yan Feifan quite a scare.
'It's already the fifth day after his surgery. Based on his expected recovery progress, he shouldn't be in this much pain.'
'Unless…'
Yan Feifan strode over to the hospital bed, ready to examine him.
"Mr. Yan, I forgot I had a thumb for a second," Peng Jun explained hastily, wincing in pain and looking a little embarrassed. "I was getting ready to eat breakfast and accidentally bumped it."
Yan Feifan breathed a huge sigh of relief.
He gently unwrapped the dressing on Peng Jun's right thumb and gave it a quick inspection. He found no issues with the reconstructed digit.
"A thumb that's been gone for nearly ten years suddenly reappearing... it definitely takes some psychological adjustment."
Yan Feifan offered, his words laced with empathy.
After waking from his coma, he had spent over a month frequently confused about his own experiences, unable to tell whether he was in his inner world of consciousness or in reality.
It wasn't until two months later that Yan Feifan, lying in his bed, no longer spent his first waking moments trying to discern whether he was in his world of consciousness or had actually woken up.
Even now, Yan Feifan sometimes had nightmares of being trapped in that world of consciousness, struggling to escape but finding no way out.
Yan Feifan's expression turned serious as he cautioned, "Peng Jun, you have to get used to it quickly. I'd rather not see you back in this hospital anytime soon."
Peng Jun declared, "I'll get used to it, Mr. Yan. I promise."
"Coming back here again would mean more suffering, not to mention I'd have to pay my own way."
As per their prior agreement, Yan Feifan's side was covering the costs of Peng Jun's total thumb reconstruction surgery and his hospital stay.
Yan Feifan had found a small workaround, using the R&D funds sponsored by Pan Lirong to cover Peng Jun's medical expenses.
That way, Professor Qin Ying wouldn't have to dip into the already meager office budget of her medical research and education department.
Once Yan Feifan finished his detailed examination of Peng Jun's reconstructed thumb, Mrs. Hui, the owner of Xinfeng Restaurant who had been standing quietly to the side, asked warmly, "Mr. Yan, have you eaten breakfast?"
"I brought a little too much breakfast this time. If you haven't eaten, why don't you have some?"
Yan Feifan shook his head and thanked her for the generous offer. It was only then that he noticed Mrs. Hui's double eyelids were red and swollen.
"Are your eyelids inflamed?"
'It's been so long since her double-eyelid surgery. This shouldn't be happening.'
Mrs. Hui raised a hand to touch her eyelid, explaining sheepishly, "It's not an infection, Mr. Yan."
"It's from all the smoke and fumes in the kitchen. I wasn't paying attention and it irritated my eyes."
Just then, Peng Jun bluntly called her out. "What do you mean, from the smoke? She was crying, Mr. Yan."
Just as Yan Feifan's curiosity was piqued, he heard Peng Jun continue, "The first time I met that guy, I could tell he was bad news."
"Mrs. Hui, once I'm healed and out of this hospital, I swear I'll find that bastard and teach him a lesson for you."
Yan Feifan saw Mrs. Hui snap, her face flush with a mix of anger and embarrassment, "Peng Jun, you've got a big mouth! Would it kill you to just shut up for once?"
"And since when do I need you to fight my battles for me?"
Mrs. Hui's expression turned icy, her voice dripping with menace. "The man who thinks he can take advantage of me and just walk away scot-free hasn't been born yet…"
Yan Feifan had a psychological aversion to and fear of such talk of fights and violence.
He wrote Peng Jun a new prescription and quickly left the room.
Next, Yan Feifan rushed over to the plastic surgery center to check on the recovery of Wang Dongdong, Qiqi, Jingjing, and his other patients.
As Director Wang Chuan had said, Wang Dongdong was incredibly tough.
She remained silent throughout Yan Feifan's examination, simply gritting her teeth and bearing the pain.
When the checkup was done, Yan Feifan re-dressed her face—which looked quite mangled and horrific—and said softly, "If it hurts, if it's uncomfortable, it's okay to make some noise. You don't have to hold it all in."
Wang Dongdong raised her right hand and made an OK sign…
As he was leaving the plastic surgery center, Yan Feifan bumped right into Wang Chuan, who was just coming back.
"Jia Xin hasn't woken up yet, and Dr. Qiu is still giving us the same old spiel."
Hearing the complaint in the director's voice, Yan Feifan tried to comfort him. "The brain is the most complex organ we have. Our understanding of it is less than one percent."
"You have to be patient, Director."
Wang Chuan sighed. "I can't be patient. It's strange... I wasn't even this terrified when Yanyan had her surgery."
Remembering the gossip he'd heard from Meng Yao and Ye Lin the day before, Yan Feifan couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "Director, is it possible you've developed... that kind of feeling for Mrs. Jia?"
Wang Chuan's eyes shot wide. "What are you talking about?"
"How is that even possible?"
"We've worked together for years. I just see Jia Xin as family. Besides, I feel so guilty…"
"It's not what you think at all!"
Wang Chuan glanced at his watch and rushed him. "It's almost nine o'clock! You're going to be late. Watch out, or Dr. Qin will have your hide…"
Yan Feifan sprinted back to Qin Ying's medical research and education lab, arriving at five minutes to nine.
He quickly changed into his scrubs, stood before his workstation, and waited for the perpetually stern Professor Qin Ying to begin the day's lesson.
"Once you've mastered finger replantation, reattaching arms and legs is comparatively simple."
"As for arm and leg replantation, given your ability to extrapolate from what you already know, there isn't a lot I need to teach you."
"I'll just need to give you a few pointers while you practice."
Qin Ying pointed to a small organ preservation container on the workstation. "What I'm teaching you two today is another type of emergency procedure that trauma surgeons often encounter."
At this, a rare smile touched Qin Ying's lips.
"This... is something only men have. It's a man's most fundamental proof of his manhood…"
With that, Qin Ying opened the organ preservation container.
Yu Suye craned her neck for a look, then shot a meaningful glance down at Yan Feifan's... vital region.
Yan Feifan glared at her.
Qin Ying chuckled softly. "This area is a man's fatal weakness. It's also one of the most frequently injured organs in male assault cases."
"We sometimes get five or six male patients a day sent to the ER for ruptured testicles or severed penises."
"Starting today, I'm going to teach you how to treat the various injuries to this area…"
