Chapter 12: You're Amazing, Doctor Fang

“What!”

Xu Qiushuang’s delicate brows furrowed sharply, a thin veil of anger flashing across her beautiful face.

Clearly, she seemed to have misunderstood something.

She even thought that Fang Zhiyan was teasing her.

But would Fang Zhiyan do such a thing?

He was a doctor with professional ethics.

Beside her, Shen Qingyue’s brow was also tightly knit in concern.

Fang Zhiyan sighed lightly and pointed to the X-ray in front of them.

“Do you see? The serrated edge of the bottle cap is pressing tightly against the upper mucosa of the esophagus. Using only the gastroscope forceps to remove it would be very difficult.”

“Moreover, it could easily damage the esophagus. But if we use a condom to cover the bottle cap,”

“and then pull it out with the gastroscope forceps like this, wouldn’t it be much easier to remove the bottle cap?”

To make Xu Qiushuang understand, Fang Zhiyan explained as clearly as possible.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qiushuang’s lovely face flushed a deep red.

So she had misunderstood Fang Zhiyan all along.

“I… I’m sorry, Doctor Fang. I thought—”

Xu Qiushuang was deeply embarrassed, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

Fang Zhiyan sighed again, looking somewhat helplessly at Xu Qiushuang before him.

He waved his hand gently. “No need to apologize. What we need now is a condom. Can you go and buy one?”

Xu Qiushuang nodded repeatedly and hurried out.

But in the blink of an eye, she stopped abruptly, turning back with a helpless expression to look at Fang Zhiyan.

“Where… where does one buy this? I’ve never bought one before.”

Her face was flushed with a delicate, enchanting pink, making her look all the more charming.

As she spoke, she almost buried her head in her chest.

Fang Zhiyan’s lips twitched slightly.

Ah, still such an innocent young lady.

He scratched his head and then looked toward Shen Qingyue beside him. “Qingyue, why don’t you take her to buy one?”

Shen Qingyue gave him a sharp look. “You think I know where to get one? Have I ever bought one before?”

“Ahem.” Fang Zhiyan cleared his throat, momentarily at a loss.

Is it really this difficult?

Just as Fang Zhiyan pondered how to guide Xu Qiushuang, the attending physician in charge of the gastroscope room spoke up.

“A condom? You should have said earlier—I have one.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled one out.

“Don’t misunderstand, a friend asked me to bring it for him, not for my own use.”

Fang Zhiyan nodded with a look of admiration. “I understand. Good friends.”

“Ahem!”

The attending physician cleared his throat and, wearing a stern expression, led the patient inside.

In the early twentieth century, gastroscopy was still a newly emerging technology.

Even traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, though equipped with gastroscopes, were still at a rather basic stage in mastering the technique—mostly exploratory.

Fang Zhiyan and Xu Qiushuang carefully explained the details of the procedure, ensuring all preoperative consents were signed and clarifying that if unsuccessful, transfer to another hospital might be necessary.

After all, this surgery was quite challenging.

The serrated bottom of the bottle cap could easily scrape the esophageal mucosa.

Because of the esophagus’s unique nature, it was difficult to heal on its own. If injured or ruptured, surgical treatment similar to that for esophageal cancer would be required.

For instance, the current case might demand a three-incision cervical anastomosis, with an indescribable odor permeating the hospital corridors daily.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Fang Zhiyan shook his head slightly, trying to be as careful as possible.

However, the attending physician did not intend to let Fang Zhiyan perform the procedure himself.

He took the lead in the operation. Amidst a sea of redness, the gastroscope forceps cautiously approached the bottle cap.

The serrated edge was pressing against the esophageal mucosa, which already showed slight signs of ischemia.

But no matter how the attending physician tried, the condom wouldn’t fit snugly over the bottle cap. In fact, it seemed to push the cap further down, causing secondary injury to the esophagus.

His brow immediately furrowed deeply.

He paused briefly before continuing.

But after a few breaths, he gave up.

“This isn’t working. This procedure is too difficult; I can’t succeed.”

“This crazy idea of yours doesn’t seem reliable at all.”

The attending physician spoke, as if trying to shift the blame onto Fang Zhiyan.

Fang Zhiyan rubbed his nose and said, “How about I give it a try?”

“You?” The attending physician immediately grew anxious.

“That won’t do! You’re an intern. Do you even have the skills?”

Fang Zhiyan blinked and decided to bluff a little.

“This method was my idea. Besides, Director He from the Emergency Department personally recruited me. I’m fully capable. Trust me.”

The attending physician hesitated.

He scrutinized Fang Zhiyan but still couldn’t make up his mind.

Fang Zhiyan smiled wryly. “How about you do it, and I’ll assist, okay?”

“Fine.”

This time, the attending physician did not refuse.

Together, with Fang Zhiyan’s help, the gastroscope forceps re-entered, while they carefully pulled the edge of the condom down around the bottle cap’s circumference.

In the next moment, the condom fully encased the bottle cap, and they smoothly extracted it.

The attending physician was stunned.

So simple?

Why couldn’t he do it just now?

That kid isn’t really an intern, is he?

What kind of intern pulls off something like this?

His face was full of disbelief as he looked at Fang Zhiyan, who had so effortlessly removed the bottle cap.

“This?”

“Impressive!”

The attending physician gave a thumbs-up, his expression full of excitement.

What an eye-opening method—using a condom to solve such a difficult problem!

Perfect. Now he had an excuse for carrying condoms around.

Fang Zhiyan smiled humbly. “Dr. Cui is the real expert. This was just my guess, and you confirmed it.”

The attending physician paused, then cleared his throat. “Heh, well said, well said.”

“You’re quite impressive, young man. Bold and reliable ideas. Next time you need a gastroscope, come find me.”

“All right.” Fang Zhiyan replied cheerfully, then carried the bottle cap wrapped in the condom and left.

Outside, Xu Qiushuang was anxiously waiting.

Fang Zhiyan’s preoperative instructions had made her extremely nervous.

If the traditional Chinese medicine hospital couldn’t solve it, they would have to transfer him elsewhere.

Then an open-chest surgery would be unavoidable, which would be truly troublesome.

Why was her little brother so unlucky? Even drinking a soda could lead to trouble.

Just as she paced anxiously, the door to the gastroscope room opened.

Fang Zhiyan emerged with a smile.

“Look, is this the bottle cap?”

Xu Qiushuang’s eyes widened in delight.

“Ah! Doctor Fang, you’re amazing!”

“You really managed to get it out!”

“What about my brother? How is he?”

“He’s fine now, out of danger.”

Fang Zhiyan smiled as he spoke.

Beside her, Shen Qingyue was also full of admiration.

“Doctor Fang, I didn’t expect you had this ability.”

Fang Zhiyan smiled silently.

Meanwhile, down the corridor opposite the gastroscope room, hurried footsteps echoed.

“Ridiculous! Fang Zhiyan actually sent the patient to the gastroscope room? What is he trying to do?”

“He’s just an intern. Has he gone mad?”