Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting

Chapter 224: Perfectly Justifiable

"The patient is in there, his life hanging by a thread, and you’re out here fanning the flames and causing chaos. Who exactly do you think you’re helping?"

Everyone subconsciously held their breath.

"I understand Dean Yuan’s condition better than anyone here."

She spoke slowly and deliberately, her gaze sweeping over every face in the room.

"I’m not some junior doctor who was just handed the case, nor am I a ’parachutist’ who got her position through connections. I am the attending physician who has managed Dean Yuan’s case from the very beginning. I have personally triple-checked every test result and every medication record."

"I know the functional limits of his liver and the critical point of his cardiac compensation. In a situation this critical, I doubt anyone else would even have the courage to make the first incision into the abdominal cavity."

As she spoke, she slowly turned her head to look at Qi Yuanyuan.

"As for you, Doctor Qi, this surgery involves multiple organ systems. The liver transplant is just the beginning. It will be followed by bile duct reconstruction and portal vein anastomosis, and it could even trigger acute renal failure requiring hemodialysis."

"Your specialty is in gastrointestinal general surgery. This kind of complex, multi-disciplinary, collaborative operation is not within your area of expertise."

"I’m not questioning your skills. I’m taking responsibility for the patient’s life."

"Professional matters must be handled by professionals. This isn’t arrogance; it’s responsibility."

The color instantly rushed to Qi Yuanyuan’s face, and a vein on her temple throbbed violently.

Then, just as quickly, the flush faded, replaced by an ashen fury.

’Is she publicly humiliating me?’

’In front of all these people?’

She took a sharp step forward, her nails digging into her palms.

"Song Qingya! Stop putting on airs and acting so high and mighty!"

"You’re just using the fact that you’re young and sharp to make a big show now that you’re in charge! Are you trying to use Dean Yuan’s surgery to build up your own reputation?"

"A difficult transplant surgery with the whole country watching... if the chief surgeon turns out to be the ’youngest female dean,’ you’ve already got the headlines written, haven’t you? ’Medical Rising Star Turns the Tide!’ ’Heroine Saves Life of a Titan!’"

"You want to use this to make a name for yourself, to climb higher by stepping on the old dean! Do you think we’re all blind?"

Her voice rose to a near-hysterical shriek.

"If something really happens to Dean Yuan, can you bear that guilt? He has students all over the country, and so many in our field respect him as a teacher and a father! If he dies at your hands..."

"...you’ll never be able to wash away that stain for the rest of your life, no matter what else you achieve!"

Several of the onlooking doctors lowered their heads and exchanged glances.

But Song Qingya didn’t even bat an eye.

"First, I’m not interested in fame. For the past five years, I’ve rejected all media interviews and haven’t participated in any industry awards. My name doesn’t appear on any promotional material."

"Second, I am standing here not because I’m the dean, and not because I want power. It’s because..."

"I am the only person who can complete a hepatic inferior and superior vena cava reconstruction in under ninety minutes, and I am currently the only doctor in this entire hospital who has mastered the rapid assessment system for living donor livers."

"More importantly, I have performed seventeen similar surgeries with a one hundred percent success rate. The so-called ’safe plan’ you’ve proposed will only make Dean Yuan waste away his last bit of strength while waiting."

As she said this, her gaze hardened, boring straight into Qi Yuanyuan.

"The most important thing right now is to save the patient, not to hold a meeting to argue, and not to put on a performance of loyalty."

"If you insist on delaying the optimal window for surgery..."

She slowly advanced a step.

"Can *you* bear the consequences?"

After a brief silence, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly as she added another sentence.

"Or is it that some people have a short memory for pain? Was last night’s lesson not enough that you want to try some more petty tricks today?"

Yang Meiling’s body stiffened slightly, her pupils contracting sharply.

A chill shot up her spine, and her gaze began to shift evasively.

’But to just stand by and watch Song Qingya walk into that operating room, put on the chief surgeon’s scrubs, receive all the attention, and become the hero who saved Dean Yuan...’

’She just couldn’t swallow that indignity!’

’Absolutely not!’

’If Song Qingya pulls off this surgery, her prestige will be at its peak.’

’At that point, forget fighting for power—even questioning her will be seen as an act of disloyalty!’

’I have to stop her!’

She suppressed her inner panic, lifted her head, and prepared to argue back.

But before she could speak, several of the doctors who had been hesitating on the sidelines couldn’t hold back any longer and stepped forward.

"Dean Song, we’re just thinking of Dean Yuan... The risk is just too great. If something uncontrollable happens during the operation, who’s going to take the fall?"

"Exactly. The surgery is too dangerous. The patient is old and has many underlying conditions. Why don’t we... organize another consultation? We can decide after a multi-party discussion?"

"You became dean at such a young age, so your ability is surely not in question. But for you to insist on personally performing such a critical surgery... it’s not surprising that people have some reservations, is it?"

"That’s right! If anything goes wrong, the entire hospital won’t be able to bear the consequences!"

This sounded as if they were considering the hospital’s best interests.

In reality, they didn’t believe in Song Qingya’s abilities at all.

In their eyes, Song Qingya was just a rookie with insufficient qualifications and experience.

Their words were polite, but the meaning couldn’t have been clearer.

They simply didn’t trust Song Qingya.

As these words drilled into her ears, Song Qingya’s patience finally reached its limit.

"All of you, shut up!"

The roar was loud and clear.

The noisy discussion came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone was stunned, shocked that the normally calm and composed Song Qingya would suddenly explode like that.

"First, I am the officially appointed Dean of this hospital."

She straightened her back.

"That letter of appointment isn’t just hanging on my office wall; it’s a decision made by the higher authorities after a rigorous evaluation!"

"If anyone objects to my position, you can produce an official directive to overturn it right now! Otherwise, you will respect the system and respect the rules!"

"It is perfectly reasonable and fully justified for me to set the surgical plan for Dean Yuan and for me to be the chief surgeon!"

"This is not about my personal ambition; it’s about my duty. As the dean, I must step up at critical moments, not hide in the back and shirk responsibility!"

"If I don’t even have that much courage, am I even fit to hold this position?!"

"Second, regarding my grasp of Dean Yuan’s condition and my judgment of the surgery’s success rate..."

She paused, her tone growing even colder.

"Since taking over Dean Yuan’s case, I’ve spent three days and three nights without sleep reviewing all the imaging data, analyzing every lab report, and personally visiting multiple experts for their opinions."

"Which one of you can say the same? Who here truly understands the location of that tiny tumor near his brainstem, its blood supply, and all the potential complications that could arise during the operation?"

Her voice suddenly rose.

"No one! Not a single one of you! So please, do not use your ignorance to question my professionalism!"

"Of everyone present, no, in this entire hospital, no one understands this better than I do!"

"I know the tumor is only two millimeters from the medulla oblongata. I know that if the respiratory center is damaged, the patient’s heart will stop within three minutes."