Shen Xingkong had no mood to keep reading the thank-you letter. After a few casual words with Professor Shi, he excused himself from the office and headed to the inpatient department to continue learning about the patients' conditions. On his way there, his face was twisted in contemplation, wondering how to deal with Dr. Guo.
Without Dr. Guo accompanying him today, Shen Xingkong had more freedom. He prepared a small notebook and went room by room, questioning every patient. He asked in great detail, including their illnesses, the hospital's treatment methods, and the medications being used, recording everything meticulously in his notebook.
While his powers were impressive, they weren't a cure-all. Even if Shen Xingkong could heal people, he first needed to know what their illnesses were and understand the pathology—a knowledge gap he, as a second-year medical student, sorely lacked.
There were over thirty patient rooms across the four floors of the inpatient department, and visiting all of them was exhausting. Shen Xingkong pressed on, though, and only after gathering all the information did he lazily make his way back down from the fourth floor. As soon as he reached the first floor, he saw Dr. Guo standing at the stairwell, his face dark and his eyes fixed menacingly on Shen Xingkong.
"Hello, Dr. Guo," Shen Xingkong greeted with a faint smile, waving at him.
"What were you just doing?" Dr. Guo ignored Shen Xingkong's greeting, interrogating him as if demanding a confession.
Hearing his tone, Shen Xingkong sighed inwardly. What was meant to happen had finally come.
"I was conducting patient research. Is there a problem?" Shen Xingkong's smile faded. He wasn't one to stick around where he wasn't welcome.
"What were you investigating? Who told you to do this? And you even wrote it all down! Do you realize how serious this could be?" Dr. Guo's expression was as stiff as iron as he scolded Shen Xingkong without holding back.
"And how serious might that be? Why don't you enlighten me, Dr. Guo?" Shen Xingkong shrugged, his voice light.
"All patient information, including their medical conditions, is confidential and private—top-secret hospital information! We don't even allow medical records to be shared outside. Yet you're conducting your own research and writing it down? What exactly are you planning?" Dr. Guo's tone grew harsher.
"Uh…" Shen Xingkong was momentarily taken aback, not having anticipated this issue. "Well, Dr. Guo, what do you suggest I do?"
"Hand over your notebook. I'll be reporting your violation to Professor Shi," Dr. Guo demanded arrogantly, stretching out his hand as if ready to snatch the notebook.
"Alright, here you go." Shen Xingkong didn't even hesitate and acted like he was really going to hand it over.
Just as Dr. Guo was about to grab the notebook that contained all of Shen Xingkong's hard work from the entire morning, Shen Xingkong pulled it back at the last second, leaving Dr. Guo grabbing at thin air.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Shen Xingkong said with a mock expression of realization. "It was Professor Shi who asked me to come here and gather patient information. Sorry, I can't give you this. If you're not happy, feel free to report me to him."
With that, Shen Xingkong brushed past Dr. Guo, even bumping his shoulder on purpose as he strode towards the exit of the inpatient department.
Dr. Guo's face turned blue with anger, his gaze filled with venom as he watched Shen Xingkong's back. If looks could kill, Shen Xingkong would have died at least ten thousand times by now.
Just as Shen Xingkong reached the door, he stopped and turned back, flashing Dr. Guo a mischievous smile. "Oh, Dr. Guo, could you do me a favor? Pass on a message to Xu Jianhui for me. Tell him that I'm quite busy with my internship at the hospital and won't have time to visit him at school. He should focus on his studies. Bye!"
Dr. Guo's face changed from blue to green, then from green to purple, his eyes practically spitting fire. He looked like he wanted to chase after Shen Xingkong and tear him to pieces.
Although Shen Xingkong left the inpatient department, he didn't feel any satisfaction. He hadn't meant to stir up trouble; he simply wanted to make it clear to Dr. Guo that the connection between him and Xu Jianhui was no secret. If Dr. Guo intended to play dirty, Xu Jianhui would suffer too. At worst, both sides would go down together.
Professor Shi had hoped Shen Xingkong could get along with Dr. Guo, but it wasn't that he didn't want to; it was just impossible. Dr. Guo held a deep grudge against him. Against someone like that, you had to fight fire with fire. Otherwise, Shen Xingkong would never know peace at the hospital.
After grabbing lunch at a small eatery near the hospital, Shen Xingkong returned in the afternoon to Professor Shi's office, where they discussed each patient's condition in detail. Professor Shi, always a patient teacher, carefully explained each case, going over the causes of their illnesses, the reasons behind the hospital's treatment plans, and the medications used. Shen Xingkong felt like he was learning a great deal.
Meanwhile, Dr. Guo was having a miserable afternoon. Seething with pent-up anger, he lashed out during patient checkups, even scaring off some of them. That evening, he returned home with a scowl on his face, silently swearing that he would find a way to bring down that brat, Shen Xingkong.
To his surprise, around eight in the evening, his doorbell rang, and standing outside was none other than his nephew, Xu Jianhui.
"Jianhui? What brings you here?" Dr. Guo was caught off guard.
"Uncle, I heard there's a new intern at your hospital named Shen Xingkong?" Xu Jianhui plopped himself down on the couch, legs crossed, looking every bit the part of a scoundrel.
"You know him?" Dr. Guo frowned.
"Of course I do! That bastard has been nothing but trouble for me at school, and now he's interning at the hospital. If he's there, how am I supposed to get in?" Xu Jianhui's voice was full of resentment, as if it was only natural that he should be the one interning at the hospital.
"Sigh!" Dr. Guo sighed, his face dark. He wanted his nephew to get the internship as much as anyone. "Jianhui, that brat was personally called in by Professor Shi. There's nothing I can do."
"No, Uncle, don't worry about it. I've got a way to get rid of that little punk. But if I succeed, you'll have to make sure I get the internship in his place," Xu Jianhui said, his expression suddenly turning cunning, clearly up to no good.
"You can get rid of him? Alright, fine, I'll leave it to you. If you can really get rid of him, I guarantee you'll take his spot as an intern at the hospital," Dr. Guo, well aware of his nephew's scheming nature, didn't stop him. In fact, he confidently gave his word.
"Got it! That's all I needed to hear. I'm off!" Xu Jianhui leaped off the couch like a mouse darting away, disappearing in an instant.
Shen Xingkong had no idea about the conspiracy brewing at Dr. Guo's house. That evening, after returning home and eating dinner, he went straight to his bed to continue training his heart muscles and blood vessels with his bee-tail needle, pushing himself even further this time. He didn't stop until he was on the verge of collapsing from overexertion.