novelraw Chapter 226: Merciless
Chapter 226: Merciless
Yang Meiling immediately chimed in, sighing and lowering her voice.
"Sigh... we’re all on pins and needles. Everyone standing outside the operating room, everyone keeping vigil in the patient wards—who isn’t terrified? To be honest, Dean Song has only been in her position for a few months, and she’s so young. A major surgery of this difficulty, especially one involving the central nervous system and a dense network of blood vessels, is just so hard to control. The slightest slip could mean..."
She glanced discreetly at Mrs. Yuan’s expression. Seeing the color drain from the other woman’s face, she knew her words had hit their mark.
She continued, speaking even more cautiously, her tone laced with a faint, almost imperceptible hesitation.
"According to protocol, a surgery like this should have involved several consultations and a panel of nationally renowned experts to finalize the plan. After all, Old Yuan is our hospital’s former dean. Everyone wants him to receive the safest possible treatment. But Dean Song refused, insisting on performing the surgery herself..."
Mrs. Yuan was already worried sick, but hearing this, her heart sank as if the ground were slowly collapsing beneath her feet.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around her purse strap.
Old Yuan had mentioned before that while Song Qingya was capable, had a solid foundation, and her surgical technique was clean and precise...
...she was just too young. Only thirty-four. She hadn’t even been an attending physician for many years before she received an unconventional promotion to Dean.
No matter how talented she was, she just hadn’t faced that many life-or-death situations!
The split-second decisions a person makes at the operating table are often born from decades of accumulated experience.
And that’s something you can’t get from theory and a few successful surgeries alone.
Seeing that the time was right, Yang Meiling kept her expression neutral, maintaining a look of troubled sympathy.
"Actually, our hospital’s Doctor Qi Yuanyuan is incredibly experienced. She’s been on the front lines of neurosurgery since the eighties and has performed hundreds of high-risk operations as the lead surgeon. We even have patients from other provinces who come here specifically requesting her. Everyone originally thought she would be the safest choice. The anesthesiology department and the nursing team were all prepared to follow her procedures..."
She paused, her voice tinged with regret as she deliberately drew out her last words.
"But Dean Song insisted on doing it herself. She said it was her responsibility, that she couldn’t back down or let anyone else interfere. She said that as the current dean, she had to bear the heaviest burden, or else how could she command respect? How could she lead the team forward? It all sounds so noble, but the reality is, if her hand slips, who will take responsibility? Is Old Yuan’s life something she can afford to gamble with?"
"When young people first get into leadership, they’re always eager to achieve something. But to use Dean Yuan’s case as a gamble... to be honest, it sends a chill down the spines of us old-timers. We’re not just sad for Old Yuan; we’re also worried about the hospital’s culture. You can teach technique, but a sense of responsibility and propriety... sometimes that only comes with time."
She said no more, lowering her gaze.
’Using my husband to secure a promotion?’
’Using Old Yuan’s life to pave her own way?’
’How could that Song Qingya be so ruthless?’
The more Mrs. Yuan thought about it, the angrier she became, her chest heaving violently.
She had originally held a shred of respect for the young female dean.
But now, it seemed that was just the composure of a cold mask!
"Ma’am, please calm down! Don’t do anything rash!"
Seeing this, Yang Meiling’s heart clenched. She immediately rushed forward and grabbed Mrs. Yuan’s arm.
Her face was etched with anxiety, her tone urgent.
"The surgery has already started! It’s too late to stop it now..."
She whispered, keeping her voice extremely low.
"We can only hope that Dean Song is truly as capable as she claims and can bring Dean Yuan back safely..."
"Sigh, but there’s nothing to be done..."
She sighed softly and shook her head, her eyes flickering evasively.
"She’s the official dean, an expert sent down from on high. She has a lot of power. What she says, goes. No one dares to openly disagree. Especially with Old Yuan’s surgery—the situation is complex and the risks are extremely high. Who would dare to object? One misstep and you’re the one taking the blame..."
"Someone tried to reason with her just now, and she ended up scolding Doctor Qi right on the spot..."
She left her sentence half-finished, deliberately lowering her voice and feigning an unwillingness to say more.
When Mrs. Yuan heard this, her eyes flew wide open.
How could she possibly bear it any longer?
Tears welled in her eyes as she spun around and staggered toward the operating room.
’What a piece of work, that Song Qingya!’
’Not only is she arrogant and conceited, but she also lacks the most basic human decency. She’s completely cold-hearted!’
"I can’t let her just do whatever she wants! I’m going to call her out! What right does she have to risk my husband’s life!"
Mrs. Yuan’s voice was practically a shriek.
Yang Meiling immediately blocked her path, grabbing Mrs. Yuan’s arms tightly.
Her own voice was strained and tinged with tears.
"You mustn’t, Ma’am! You really mustn’t!"
"The surgery is in progress right now, at the most critical moment! If you burst in, even for a second, what if the distraction causes an error? What if interrupting the procedure leads to... something happening to Dean Yuan..."
She deliberately left the sentence unfinished, her meaning conveyed by a look and the slight narrowing of her pupils.
The unspoken words were more terrifying than anything she could have said aloud.
Blocked by her, Mrs. Yuan stopped dead in her tracks.
The thought that her own impulsiveness could cause Old Yuan to suffer a terrible fate made her tremble all over, her heart aching so much she could barely breathe.
’That Song Qingya is really something else.’
’If anything happens to Old Yuan, I’ll never let her get away with it!’
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the conference room was heavy.
Fei Jin sat in the frontmost seat, his posture ramrod straight, his shoulders perfectly squared.
His fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop, one beat after another.
His calm gaze swept over everyone present.
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
Xu Jun coughed twice, breaking the silence, his face set in a serious expression.
His fingers unconsciously rubbed the corner of the table, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
"Mr. Fei, and to the leaders present, I’d like to talk about the matter of Dean Song—your wife—wanting to establish an acupuncture department in our hospital. Some of our comrades have... reservations."
Seeing no immediate reaction, Xu Jun grew a little bolder and continued, "What kind of hospital do we have? We have advanced equipment, first-rate technology, and a very strong team of Western medicine practitioners. We can completely meet our internal medical needs. To start this acupuncture thing now... isn’t it a bit unnecessary?"
Someone else immediately chimed in.
A middle-aged doctor sitting in the back row looked up, his brow furrowed.
"That’s right, Director Xu has a point. Acupuncture is old-fashioned. These days, the focus is on scientific treatment and prioritizing efficiency. Western medicine is fast."
"Besides, the hospital is already short-staffed and we don’t have enough beds. Diverting resources to create a new department would be a waste, wouldn’t it? Our priorities would be all wrong."
After he finished speaking, two or three others murmured in agreement.
An atmosphere of opposition gradually filled the conference room.
As these words reached his ears, Fei Jin’s brow twitched slightly, but his expression remained impassive.
The room was so quiet that even the hum of the air conditioner was clearly audible.
He knew these people had been gossiping behind his wife’s back for a long time. He also knew that their real dissatisfaction wasn’t with acupuncture itself.
Ever since Song Qingya had been appointed Dean of the hospital, her series of reforms had made many of the old guard restless.