Director Liu took a moment to calm himself, then patted Xia Tian's shoulder with a hand that still trembled from excitement.
"Promising young man. Truly teachable!"
"You've got potential, kid!"
"Thank you, Director Liu," Xia Tian replied politely.
He had the system backing him. A few words of praise from a department head weren't going to inflate his ego.
But Zhang Ming was already floating.
Beaming with pride, he gazed at Xia Tian as if he were a proud father watching his son achieve greatness. His face radiated that rare glow of "my boy made it".
"Haha! Liu, you always accuse me of being overprotective," Zhang Ming chuckled. "But tell me—how could I not be when I've got a student like this?"
Liu nodded earnestly, then cast a cautious glance at Zhang Ming and asked, "Don't you have patients to see? You should probably get going if you're busy."
Zhang Ming blinked.
Was he trying to get rid of him?
"Fine, I'll go take care of things," Zhang Ming said, giving Liu one last look before stepping out of the office.
Inside, Director Liu pulled over a chair and sat down, his face still glowing with delight. He looked at Xia Tian warmly.
"Xia Tian, it's been about three months since you started your internship, right?"
"Yes," Xia Tian nodded.
"Well, that's a decent stretch of time. Just one more month, and you'll be eligible to stay on full-time. Have you thought about which department you'd like to join?"
He leaned in slightly.
"How about orthopedics? Does that interest you?"
Zhang Ming, who had only taken a few steps outside the door, overheard this and charged back in like a storm.
"You damn dog, Liu Yu—trying to steal my guy, huh?!"
"Dream on!!!"
"Talent like Xia Tian's? There's no way he's going to orthopedics. He's staying in emergency. Period!"
Liu glared at him, clearly annoyed.
"What's wrong with orthopedics, huh?"
"When your wife fractured her leg, I was the one who operated on her. You even said, 'Thank God for you, bro! We're brothers for life now!' What happened to that?"
"Trying to take my apprentice is like trying to steal my wife! Tell me—are we brothers or not?!"
"Oh, so now it's wife stealing, huh? Fine. Give me Xia Tian, and I'll give you my wife."
"You dog! Since when do you even have a wife?! You're single as hell! You think you can scam me?! Dream on!"
"Single?! You wanna fight?!"
"Bring it on! I'll fight you with one hand tied behind my back!"
The two department heads—both over 50—were now glaring at each other, fists clenched, brimming with testosterone, ready to brawl.
The interns sat frozen, dead silent, like sparrows during a frost. Li Yajun and Dr. Mu looked utterly speechless.
Li Yajun cleared her throat.
"Directors… this is work hours."
Dr. Mu added awkwardly, "You two still have two surgeries later. Are you sure you wanna throw down right now?"
Realizing how absurd they looked in front of the interns, both men flushed with embarrassment.
Liu gave Zhang a sharp look. "This isn't over."
"Fine. I'll be waiting. See you on the rooftop!" Zhang shot back.
Liu snorted in frustration, then turned to Xia Tian with eyes full of paternal affection and a syrupy-sweet tone.
"Xia Tian, here's my card. Keep it."
"My number's also my WeChat. Add me when you're free—we should stay in touch."
He placed the business card carefully on Xia Tian's desk, then left with Dr. Mu.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Zhang Ming stormed over, snatched up the business card, shredded it into confetti, and tossed it in the trash.
"Damn mutt, trying to steal my guy!"
The room remained dead silent.
Xia Tian was completely stunned.
What the hell just happened?
Wasn't this the same Director Zhang who always lectured them about professionalism and how doctors should mind their language and image?
Now he was swearing like a sailor.
Realizing his slip, Zhang straightened his white coat, cleared his throat, and muttered, "Carry on. Let me know if you need anything."
And with that, he left.
The moment the door closed behind him, the office erupted.
"Brother Tian!" Wang Xiaobei shouted, cheeks flushed with excitement. "Director Liu and Director Zhang almost fought over you!"
"You're insane!"
"No kidding. With your skills, it's no wonder they're fighting to keep you."
Fatty Yang puffed up with pride. "You should've seen Tian Ge do that closed reduction. Two words: absolutely legendary!"
"It took him less than five minutes. After he was done, there wasn't even a sliver of misalignment. The bones were perfectly aligned. Dr. Mu literally said, 'Holy sh*t!'"
Yang and Li Xiaohong's cheeks were glowing with pride.
They had witnessed Xia Tian's hand reduction.
That alone made them feel like VIPs.
"But seriously, Brother Tian…" Wang Xiaobei asked, eyes curious, "How did you do it?"
Smart students were common. But Xia Tian's skill level? It was otherworldly. He was even better than Director Liu.
There had to be something fishy.
Xia Tian cleared his throat, casually brushing it off.
"Well, I usually watch surgery videos after work and study technique books."
"I practice a lot, observe a lot, and study hard. That's really all there is to it."
"Also… I might just have a natural gift for medicine."
That was the only explanation he could offer.
"Some gift? Your talent is next-level god-tier."
"You're a beast, Tian Ge!"
"Brother Tian, you rock!"
Everyone jumped in, cheering.
Wang Xiaobei's eyes sparkled. "Tian Ge, you have to treat us! You just scored a 100,000 yuan bonus from the hospital. Time for hotpot—Tanyaxue, let's go!"
The interns often went out together, and it had been a week since their last get-together. With a bonus in his pocket and a successful day behind him, Xia Tian was in a great mood.
"Alright, Tanyaxue tonight."
"Xiaobei, book a table."
"Dinner's on me."
The office buzzed with excitement. Everyone was thrilled.
In the corner, Li Xiaohong shot Xia Tian a meaningful look and quietly whispered:
"Li-jie is still here. Should we invite her?"
It wasn't right to exclude Li Yajun—they all worked in the same office. But she was older, and had declined all their previous dinner invitations.
Still, not asking her would be rude.
Xia Tian glanced over at her and asked gently, "Li-jie, I'm treating everyone to Tanyaxue tonight. Would you like to join us?"
He was fully expecting another polite refusal.
But Li Yajun lifted her eyes, hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Send me the reservation. I'll drive over after work."
Wait… what???